Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Eagles falter once again, slip out of division picture

You can forget about all of that NFC East title talk, Birds fans.  The Eagles flaws all came to the forefront once again at they lost to the Bears, 30-24, and fell three games behind the Giants in the division.  Here are my thoughts on another tough loss for the Eagles:

-This game erased nearly all of the good feelings from the Cowboys win.  Bad turnovers, poor defense, dumb penalties and a ton of head-scratching plays.  The way their final drive ended, with Maclin falling down when he appeared to have a first down in his sights, completely sums up the Eagles season.  Despite all of the talent on the roster, they just aren't good enough to overcome their many, many mistakes.

-ZERO sacks by the Eagles vaunted pass rush?  ZERO?  Jay Cutler had all night to find open receivers thanks to the Eagles inability to put any pressure on him.  It's tough to win games when you can't pressure the quarterback and can't stop the run.

-Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is terrible.  When the Eagles acquired him from the Cardinals, I knew he had flaws but DRC hasn't added anything to the Eagles secondary.  He can't cover anyone, he can't tackle and he never looks like he knows what he's doing.  I'd just assume he take a few weeks off and figure this thing out.  Thank goodness the Eagles also got a second rounder from Arizona for Kevin Kolb.

-Speaking of the Eagles secondary, they sure did a great job making Earl Bennett, who hadn't played since Week 2, look like a Pro Bowler.  Much of the blame goes to DRC but Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha also had their chances and couldn't slow him down.  Bennett is apparently an Eagles killer as he had two TD's against them last season.

-The one positive on the night was the continuing dominance by LeSean McCoy, who continues to make things happen with the ball in his hand.  It's too bad the rest of the Eagles are wasting his talents.

-Besides the worst punt return I've ever seen and one nice catch along the sidelines, DeSean Jackson was completely invisible tonight.   You have to wonder how much money he has left on the table with his mediocre play this season.

-Asante Samuel had a lacerated groin in the first half.  It hurts just typing that.

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