Week 5 Eagles vs. 49ers

Well, I'm pretty sure it is safe to say that before today came around and after the news of Michael Vick's injury keeping him from the game that most people (not just fans) were set on the idea that the Eagles were going to lose this week, even if it was to the last place team in the NFL. But the astounding performance tonight by our boys certainly shut all of us up. Let's start with Kolb. Boy am I glad he finally showed up and proved that he deserved a spot on this team. His athletic ability really showed through. Whether it was his surprisingly fast ability to find any possible receivers or his Vick like run for a first down, Kolb finally proved to be the QB we need him to be. Unfortunately this causes even more problems for the coaching staff because after this week it's going to be hard to choose between Kolb's keen eye and Vick's fast feet. (Who do you think is going to be our starting QB once Vick returns from his injury?) Now we can't praise Kolb without mentioning those who protected him. With blocks covering left right and center I would have to say that offensively and defensively speaking this was one of the better weeks for our boys, at least until the last quarter and a half where had it not have been for the 49ers offence being terrible our cockiness could have easily lost us the game...again. OK, I'm gonna mention a few more good things before getting into the bad. I'd like to make a special shout out to a very impressive rookie of the game who showed that he like Kolb deserve to be here, Chad Hall. Making his first appearance as an Eagle today I must say I see promise in the kid. I, am I'm sure anyone else who watched the game today will tell you that without Quintin Mikell and his two fumble recoveries (one for a pretty epic touchdown) this game could have never have been one, so thanks! And of course LeSean McCoy (thanks for playing with a cracked rib, shows you're truly a devoted player), David Akers, Bradley Stewart, Mike Bell, King Dunlap, DeSean Jackson, and so many others deserve their 15 minutes for at least one part of the win being thanks to them.
But now it's that lovely time where we must thank about the faults. How we almost lost, how if we let Kolb get sacked 3 or more times in every game we maybe be down two QB, how even though today wasn't a bad show if Kolb doesn't really start to show that he's what this team needs we could be stuck with only Vick, how Reid seriously needs to learn how to handle himself and the team when under pressure, and how if our defense doesn't step it up soon we will lose! Let's face it we did almost give up our lead in the fourth and with the way we preformed, had it had been any other team we would have. This can't really be blamed on one individual (although LeSean's little mistake late in the 4th didn't help any). Let's start with the man who is partially at blame and his been with us the longest...Andy Reid. My goodness if this man doesn't get his stuff together soon I may stop watching (OK that will never happen but I will be really really pissed). I mean think about it, the Superbowl, almost any game against someone in our division, or anytime we are in the last two minutes of the game and are behind by only a little, he somehow looses his cool and is a big factor in causing us to fail. Our only salvation is if we are ahead in those last two minutes, because it seems that is pressure situations, Reid can do fairly decent with our defense in protecting our lead (even if on occasion it gets really really close) but if it's our offense that is under pressure he loves to call plays that no one in their right mind would ever call. How does this relate to this weeks game? Well had we not been winning by the 4th quarter, especially if we were in the 49ers shoes and only been behind by three then we would have lost. Luck,y for us we were ahead, but we did get cocky and Reid certainly called some questionable plays i that last quarter. OK Kolb's turn to be roasted. Dude did well this game, found some decent receivers, even made a Vick play, but if we look at the facts, he barely got the ball going anywhere. It's apparent that Kolb's accuracy in throwing the ball is almost unmatched, but he doesn't have nearly the arm power necessary to actually and consistently get the ball long distances down the field. This is what is going to make picking a starting QB so damn difficult. Do we choose accuracy or distance?  Fresh face or experience? Adaptability or speed? So many questions to be determined. OK it appears that our offense and defense are now on the chopping block. To be honest you would think by now after having one of the most fragile QB's in the league for years (yes I'm talking about McNabb) our line would realize that protecting our QB is vital to win the game or at least have a hope of winning. So why is it that Kolb was out with a concussion, now Vick is out with a rib injury, and we are stilling allowing for multiple sacks to occur within quarters, non-the-less the entire game? Seriously, if the blocking doesn't improve Kolb's keen eye won't mean much because he will either be sacked before he has a chance to pick a receiver or he'll just be out because of injury, and Vick's tremendous speed and agility won't mean much either because he too will be hurt or he'll constantly be forced to run the ball, which a) allows for predictability and b) will cause him to be way to tired by the fourth quarter. The defense is just as bad in my book. Granted today we managed a few good sacks, and a few awesome fumble returns and picks, but when it comes to the actual defending of our goal, it seems to me that a good portion of the time our boys just aren't there. This game fortunately showed us what the Eagles defense can and should be, with 5 forced turnovers, two interceptions caught, and  three recovered fumbles, most people would agree that that makes for a great defensive line, but we lack consistency in the "greatness" of our defense and that right there is what is going to cost us wins nearly guaranteed by our offense.
This week I think we showed the greatest potential of our new team all season, but with our the consistency found in some more established teams, our rookie team, even with some amazing talent, doesn't stand a chance. It makes me wonder if us winning anything this year is a good thing. Maybe through losing we can gain a humbled sense of what we really need to win, a sense of unity, and a bit of stability only offered through learning from your mistakes. I'm not saying that I'm not happy about the Eagles wins this season, nor that I'm happy that we lost to the Redskins last week, all I'm saying is that we are new and in order to live up to the bar of expectations created by the loyal Eagles past, we need to become an experienced team and to start playing like one.


Next week Eagles Vs. Falcons...Will Vick's homecoming be bitter sweet?

Late Introduction

So I want to start off by saying that I apologize for starting so far along in the season with this. Honestly, I know I should have started back in August during training camp, but the end of week 5 is still better then week 16, right? Ok, anyway the prupose of this blog is to get out the feelings of the game produced by true Eagles fans. I always said that a true fan is willing to admit the faults of his team so don't be afraid to rant on how Reid normally faults out under pressure (espically with his offence) or to announce how awesome that fumble recovery touchdown was. Friendly and tatical debates are always welcome and I'll try to get them started if not join into as many as I can. So boys and girls let the true fans speak...