It was Sunday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and the story was former Falcons-quarterback Michael Vick playing against his former team as the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Atlanta got off to a good start, mainly due to their running game. Michael Turner found holes in the Eagles defense larger than Rush Limbaugh's. That appears to be the weakness on the Eagles' defense this year, although they did settle down after their dreadful first quarter.
The Eagles offense got off to a bit of a slow start as well, but began to get it going again in the second quarter. Michael Vick was much sharper this game than he was in the Eagles' first contest against the Rams. He appeared more comfortable in the pocket, was more accurate in his throws, spread the ball around nicely and only ran when he had to do so.
Vick made three mistakes, though - one being his fault, the other being the case of very good defense and the other being the fault of head coach Andy Reid. Up 3 points and about to go up 10, Vick faked a pitch to his right and was going to hand the ball off to the tailback on his left, but the defense was in Vick's face before he could give a clean hand-off and the ball was lost. Atlanta returned the ball inside Philly territory only to capitalize and score a touchdown. On another occasion, Vick didn't see anyone open and ran the ball, but ran with the ball very carelessly, which made it easy for the defense to swipe, which they did. Finally, in the 3rd quarter, on the Eagles' first play, Vick appeared to throw an interception. Reid never challenged the play, but based upon replay, the ball hit the ground and would have been called incomplete had Reid decided to throw the red flag. This resulted in another Falcons' score.
Up 24-21 in the 3rd quarter and driving, the Eagles caught a very bad break when Vick was hit in the pocket and tossed right into an offensive lineman, his helmet connecting with the lineman's and being forced to come out with a concussion. The Eagles did score a touchdown on that possession, thanks to tailback LeSean McCoy to put them up 31-21. That was the last time Philly would score.
Atlanta took over the game in the 4th quarter, shredding the Eagles' defense for two scored to win the game 35-31 and improve to 1-1, while the Eagles fell to 1-1.
The big question now is Vick. The Eagles haven't let it be known what his status is for their next game or how he is progressing. If he isn't able to go, the unproven Matt Kafka will likely start.
Outside of that, the Eagles have to be fairly pleased with their team, outside of the run defense at times and how they closed the game against Atlanta. Their offensive line appeared more sound against the Falcons than they were against St Louis. The passing game was more sound and the running game was solid once again. The pass defense, for the most part, played very well, as did the special teams. Unfortunately for Philly, who dominated most of the game, made critical mistakes and/or caught very bad breaks. For their sake, hopefully Vick returns this week, because it will likely be difficult to beat the New York Giants with Kafka at the helm. No offense to him.
Atlanta got off to a good start, mainly due to their running game. Michael Turner found holes in the Eagles defense larger than Rush Limbaugh's. That appears to be the weakness on the Eagles' defense this year, although they did settle down after their dreadful first quarter.
The Eagles offense got off to a bit of a slow start as well, but began to get it going again in the second quarter. Michael Vick was much sharper this game than he was in the Eagles' first contest against the Rams. He appeared more comfortable in the pocket, was more accurate in his throws, spread the ball around nicely and only ran when he had to do so.
Vick made three mistakes, though - one being his fault, the other being the case of very good defense and the other being the fault of head coach Andy Reid. Up 3 points and about to go up 10, Vick faked a pitch to his right and was going to hand the ball off to the tailback on his left, but the defense was in Vick's face before he could give a clean hand-off and the ball was lost. Atlanta returned the ball inside Philly territory only to capitalize and score a touchdown. On another occasion, Vick didn't see anyone open and ran the ball, but ran with the ball very carelessly, which made it easy for the defense to swipe, which they did. Finally, in the 3rd quarter, on the Eagles' first play, Vick appeared to throw an interception. Reid never challenged the play, but based upon replay, the ball hit the ground and would have been called incomplete had Reid decided to throw the red flag. This resulted in another Falcons' score.
Up 24-21 in the 3rd quarter and driving, the Eagles caught a very bad break when Vick was hit in the pocket and tossed right into an offensive lineman, his helmet connecting with the lineman's and being forced to come out with a concussion. The Eagles did score a touchdown on that possession, thanks to tailback LeSean McCoy to put them up 31-21. That was the last time Philly would score.
Atlanta took over the game in the 4th quarter, shredding the Eagles' defense for two scored to win the game 35-31 and improve to 1-1, while the Eagles fell to 1-1.
The big question now is Vick. The Eagles haven't let it be known what his status is for their next game or how he is progressing. If he isn't able to go, the unproven Matt Kafka will likely start.
Outside of that, the Eagles have to be fairly pleased with their team, outside of the run defense at times and how they closed the game against Atlanta. Their offensive line appeared more sound against the Falcons than they were against St Louis. The passing game was more sound and the running game was solid once again. The pass defense, for the most part, played very well, as did the special teams. Unfortunately for Philly, who dominated most of the game, made critical mistakes and/or caught very bad breaks. For their sake, hopefully Vick returns this week, because it will likely be difficult to beat the New York Giants with Kafka at the helm. No offense to him.
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