Many Philadelphia Eagles fans had to shake their heads and chuckle some after seeing Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs blow a 38-10 3rd quarter lead against the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, probably saying to themselves, "Well, it looks like nothing's changed there. Same old Reid!" However, after watching the Eagles fall to the New Orleans Saints last night, these same fans also had to realistically say, "We improved this year, but still have a long ways to go."
The New Orleans Saints appeared to be the superior team for close to sixty minutes last night, however, penalties and turnovers almost killed them. New Orleans gained 178 more yards than Philly, converted nine more first downs, was much more efficient on third down, held onto the ball for almost ten more minutes than the Eagles, etc. However, the Saints were also -2 in turnovers (two Drew Brees interceptions) and were penalized seven times for 85 yards.
The Eagles offense wasn't nearly as explosive as it had been in recent weeks. They were largely aided by those before-mentioned penalties and turnovers. From a numbers standpoint, Nick Foles was again very efficient. However, those very numbers don't tell the whole story. Foles completed 23 of 33 pass attempts for 195 yards (5.9 per), two touchdowns, and no interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 105.0. He was also sacked two times for a loss of 19 yards. While Foles didn't get sacked as much as he has in recent games, one of those two sacks loomed very large. It occurred early in the contest when the Eagles were driving. After Foles lost twelve yards on a sack, it forced a much longer field goal attempt by Alex Henery, which he missed. The Eagles wound up losing by two. Also, even though Foles completed two-thirds of his passes, he averaged less than six yards per attempt, which is an insanely low number for a quarterback whom completed such a high percentage of his passes. While Foles has improved in his medium- to deep-range passing, this was one reason I favored Michael Vick over him to start the season. Based on last year's performances and how he played in the pre-season, it felt as if Foles had fallen in love with dink and dunk passing, and while this is fine in certain circumstances, it'd be a pity for the Eagles to not make the most of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin's (when he's healthy) speed by stretching the field vertically. Foles had a remarkably efficient season statistically, but still needs to work on substituting sacks with throwing the ball away and not being fearful of throwing the deep ball more. Standout tailback LeSean McCoy was bottled up fairly well, but was still able to dance his way around defenders for 77 yards on 21 carries (3.7 per) and a touchdown. He also caught four passes for 15 yards. Riley Cooper and Zach Ertz also added touchdowns in the passing game.
Philly's bend-but-don't-break defense almost saved them at times, yet may have killed them as the game was nearing its close. New Orleans averaged 5.1 yards per rush and 8.3 yards per pass attempt (6.4 yards per play). While the Eagles picked off two Brees passes and limited the Saints to four field goals and two touchdowns in the game, they were seemingly unable to get the Saints offense off the field when it mattered most. The Saints were then able to drain clock and set themselves up for the game-winning field goal with no time remaining.
As has been typical this season, the Eagles special teams game was a mixed bag. Newcomer Brad Smith did a nice job on kick returns. DeSean Jackson returned a punt 29 yards. Donnie Jones had another solid game punting the ball. However, the coverage units were fairly average to below average and Alex Henery missed a field goal in the first quarter, which loomed very large by game's end.
While many Philadelphia Eagles fans have to be disappointed with the loss last night, when standing back, I'd like to believe they're all quite content with the season as a whole. The Eagles were coming off a 4-12 campaign from a year ago, hired a college coach with no NFL experience, were implementing a brand new offense which had yet to be proven as effective at the pro level, and to finish 10-6, win the NFC East, and make the playoffs, has to be seen in a very positive light. Philadelphia's defense improve quite a bit in the second half of the season. Their special teams units showed significant strides from their pathetic performance last year. The offense also showed improvements throughout the course of the season and great promise for the future. Chip Kelly also showed flexibility and was able to adjust and adapt from week to week. While there may have been many doubters heading into this season, Chip Kelly's first year at Philadelphia can't be viewed as anything other than a success and there's much reason for excitement and optimism moving forward.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=340104021
The New Orleans Saints appeared to be the superior team for close to sixty minutes last night, however, penalties and turnovers almost killed them. New Orleans gained 178 more yards than Philly, converted nine more first downs, was much more efficient on third down, held onto the ball for almost ten more minutes than the Eagles, etc. However, the Saints were also -2 in turnovers (two Drew Brees interceptions) and were penalized seven times for 85 yards.
The Eagles offense wasn't nearly as explosive as it had been in recent weeks. They were largely aided by those before-mentioned penalties and turnovers. From a numbers standpoint, Nick Foles was again very efficient. However, those very numbers don't tell the whole story. Foles completed 23 of 33 pass attempts for 195 yards (5.9 per), two touchdowns, and no interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 105.0. He was also sacked two times for a loss of 19 yards. While Foles didn't get sacked as much as he has in recent games, one of those two sacks loomed very large. It occurred early in the contest when the Eagles were driving. After Foles lost twelve yards on a sack, it forced a much longer field goal attempt by Alex Henery, which he missed. The Eagles wound up losing by two. Also, even though Foles completed two-thirds of his passes, he averaged less than six yards per attempt, which is an insanely low number for a quarterback whom completed such a high percentage of his passes. While Foles has improved in his medium- to deep-range passing, this was one reason I favored Michael Vick over him to start the season. Based on last year's performances and how he played in the pre-season, it felt as if Foles had fallen in love with dink and dunk passing, and while this is fine in certain circumstances, it'd be a pity for the Eagles to not make the most of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin's (when he's healthy) speed by stretching the field vertically. Foles had a remarkably efficient season statistically, but still needs to work on substituting sacks with throwing the ball away and not being fearful of throwing the deep ball more. Standout tailback LeSean McCoy was bottled up fairly well, but was still able to dance his way around defenders for 77 yards on 21 carries (3.7 per) and a touchdown. He also caught four passes for 15 yards. Riley Cooper and Zach Ertz also added touchdowns in the passing game.
Philly's bend-but-don't-break defense almost saved them at times, yet may have killed them as the game was nearing its close. New Orleans averaged 5.1 yards per rush and 8.3 yards per pass attempt (6.4 yards per play). While the Eagles picked off two Brees passes and limited the Saints to four field goals and two touchdowns in the game, they were seemingly unable to get the Saints offense off the field when it mattered most. The Saints were then able to drain clock and set themselves up for the game-winning field goal with no time remaining.
As has been typical this season, the Eagles special teams game was a mixed bag. Newcomer Brad Smith did a nice job on kick returns. DeSean Jackson returned a punt 29 yards. Donnie Jones had another solid game punting the ball. However, the coverage units were fairly average to below average and Alex Henery missed a field goal in the first quarter, which loomed very large by game's end.
While many Philadelphia Eagles fans have to be disappointed with the loss last night, when standing back, I'd like to believe they're all quite content with the season as a whole. The Eagles were coming off a 4-12 campaign from a year ago, hired a college coach with no NFL experience, were implementing a brand new offense which had yet to be proven as effective at the pro level, and to finish 10-6, win the NFC East, and make the playoffs, has to be seen in a very positive light. Philadelphia's defense improve quite a bit in the second half of the season. Their special teams units showed significant strides from their pathetic performance last year. The offense also showed improvements throughout the course of the season and great promise for the future. Chip Kelly also showed flexibility and was able to adjust and adapt from week to week. While there may have been many doubters heading into this season, Chip Kelly's first year at Philadelphia can't be viewed as anything other than a success and there's much reason for excitement and optimism moving forward.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=340104021
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