Monday, January 15, 2007

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints Game Recap

All good things have to come to an end, and Saturday was time for the Eagles season. They put up a little bit of a fight, and fell just short of the New Orleans Saints again, losing by the same 27-24 score as their earlier meeting. It was a disappointing loss because of how it happened. They had a chance to win the game, but poor execution cost them a great opportunity. I think they could beat the Bears, but I guess we’ll never know.

Offensively, we didn’t do very much. We had a few big plays that jacked up our total yards number, but there was absolutely no consistent attack. Run blocking was awful, and the Saints’ front seven got great penetration on almost every play. Jamaal Jackson in particular disappointed me. We made the switch from Fraley to him to get stronger and improve the interior running game, and he didn’t do a thing. We traded our longtime center to put him into our lineup specifically because he’s a strong guy that could handle big Nose Tackles and guys like Hollis Thomas, and he got pushed around two meetings in a row.

Obviously Shawn Andrews getting hurt did not help. Young wasn’t bad and people are quick to criticize him for the false start, but he doesn’t have much experience working with the 1’s on the silent count, and it’s tough to pick up on fast. Dumb mistake yeah, but that’s tough for a young guy to learn. He should still be a pretty good backup for us in the future.

In the passing game, Jeff Garcia showed why he’s Jeff Garcia and not Donovan McNabb (more on that later in the week). His accuracy and decision making was spotty all game. Sometimes he would try to do too much, particularly late in the game. He missed several open receivers in big spots, and the offense started out really slow in part because he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn until Stallworth’s big play. He doesn’t turn the ball over which is a plus, but he can’t win the game when someone needs him too. He’s just another guy. He’s not the guy like McNabb.

Defensively, I don’t know what to say. They blew it. The Saints turned the calendar back to November on us. The front seven was probably worn out by the end of the first quarter. I can’t really blame them though. The Eagles had one of the toughest schedules to close out the season, and they had to fight tooth and nail to win every game and make the playoffs. They got blown off the ball every play, and if Payton didn’t forget how to call plays at some points, the game would’ve been a lot worse. Darwin Walker is a decent pass rusher and has a good motor when Quarterbacks take a long time to get rid of the ball, but he’s not strong at all. He can’t play the run and is a non-factor on a ton of passing plays too. Patterson had a bad game, and he had to be relieved a few times by Bunkley. He gets tired when he gets pushed around as much as he did, and we desperately need depth at the position to improve.

At end, what happened to Darren Howard? The dude had one good game. I wish we could cut ties with him without taking too big of a cap hit, but I don’t think it’s possible. He’s just not a good player. I’ll give him one more chance with Kearse opposite him again, but he didn’t show me anything this year.

I don’t know where to start with the Linebackers. Dhani Jones didn’t do anything again. Trotter disappeared and was always a step behind. For that matter, Gaither didn’t either. The front seven sucked this year, and big improvements want to be made if the Eagles want to get back to the Super Bowl.

Mike Carey sucks. I would’ve ranted about him in an earlier entry, but I was away and couldn’t recap the Dallas game. He’s an awful official, his crew is awful, they make awful calls, and they don’t deserve to do a playoff game. I’m embarrassed for them. I’m embarrassed for the league, I’m embarrassed that officials feel the need to make calls to get involved in the game whether there are calls to me made or not.

That’s it. That’s it for the 2006 season. I’ll start talking offseason in a few weeks after the Pro Bowl. Until then, I’ll be talking about the rest of the playoffs, some Eagles-related things and maybe even another sport.

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