Eagles get back in the win column against the Skins

That was much more of what we expected from the Eagles.  Just like they did against the Niners, the Eagles had a 20-3 lead at halftime and allowed their opponent to crawl back; this time, however, they didn't let their inferior opponent come all the way back as they held on to win, 20-13.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

-That is the defense we thought the Eagles had.  They made strong tackles, forced turnovers, stopped the run, shut down the Redskins wide receivers and put pressure on the Redskins QB's throughout the game.  Sure, they were still unable to cover the tight end but you can't expect them to fix everything in one week.  While the Redskins offense isn't exactly a juggernaut, holding your opponent to just 13 points is an impressive feat in the NFL.

-The Eagles safeties came to play today.  While the safety position has been a revolving door of mediocrity for the Eagles this season, Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen both had big games for the Birds.  Coleman especially had a career day, picking off Rex Grossman three times.  If the Eagles can get play like this from their safeties, their defense will continue to shine.

-I've been calling for it every week and the Eagles finally listened: LeSean McCoy got a boatload of touches (28 carries and 2 catches) and proved once against that he is a beast.  Good things happen when they give Shady the ball so I can never understand why he ever has fewer than 20 touches in a game.  He is the most consistent weapon the Eagles have and the offense needs to be run through him at all times.  Plus, he hilariously popped Andy Reid in the gut near the end of the game.

-Michael Vick played a better game this week, making only one truly terrible pass that was picked off.  Much had been made about how the offensive line was going to struggle to hold up against the Redskins pass rush but Vick has just enough time to make plays with his arm and his feet.  Of course, he did get knocked out of the game briefly with what looked like a possible concussion, but he thankfully turned out okay.

-The Vince Young era started out brutally with a lame duck interception on his first pass.  For the guy that coined the "dream team" moniker, Young looks like a nightmare.  Pray for good health for Mike Vick.

-The bye week comes next for the Eagles, who can rest up, get their offensive line healthy and prepare for three very winnable games against the Cowboys, Bears and Cardinals.  Looking further down the schedule, the Eagles really only play two "good" teams, the Patriots and the Jets.  A playoff run isn't that ridiculous of a notion.  Yeah, I got sucked back in already.

Eagles vs. Redskins Week 6 inactives

The Eagles and Redskins have announced their Week 6 inactive players:

Eagles: LB Keenan Clayton, DE Trent Cole, T King Dunlap, CB Curtis Marsh, S Jarrad Page, T Jason Peters, OL Julian Vandervelde

Redskins: WR Anthony Armstrong, CB Philip Buchanon, WR Leonard Hankerston, DE Darron Scott, FB Mike Sellers, T Willie Smith, LB Markus White

With Dunlap out, the Eagles will start Todd Herremans at left tackle and Winston Justice at right tackle.  This will be Justice's first start of the season and he will be protecting Vick's blind side.  This could go badly.

Obviously, this is a must-win game for the Eagles this week.  Scarily enough, if they do win, they will be right back in the mix for the NFC East division.  I'll believe it when I see it.

How the mighty have fallen: Donovan McNabb benched for Rex Grossman

The Donovan McNabb trade is looking better and better for the Eagles every week. According to multiple sources on Twitter, the Redskins have decided to bench McNabb and start Rex Grossman in his place in their Week 15 game against the Cowboys. With the way McNabb has played this season, its really not all that surprising that the Redskins would look to bench him, but do they really think Rex Grossman is a better quarterback?

Given how McNabb and Michael Vick have played this season, I don't think any Eagles fan can argue that the Birds traded McNabb at the right time. I for one don't miss the bounce passes he used to throw to the wide receivers.

Monday Night Massacre: Eagles demolish Redskins

Where to begin with this one?

The Eagles exploded right out of the gate and never looked back, riding a nearly perfect effort by Michael Vick to a 59-28 beatdown of Donovan McNabb and the Redskins. From the opening 88 yard touchdown bomb to the defense shutting down the Redskins on every 3rd down opportunity, the Eagles drubbing was historic on a number of levels. Of the many team and NFL records the Eagles set in the game, perhaps the most impressive was the team record 593 yards of total offense the Birds piled up.

Vick was the story of the game by far as he put together possibly the best performance by a quarterback I've ever seen. Vick was sharp with his arm, completing 20 of 28 passes for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns, and with his feet, rushing for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Not only was Vick the best player in this game, he also made a case for being the MVP of the entire league with how he dominated the game from start to finish. You can't say enough about the transformation that Vick has undergone in the last year from simply a running back who occasionally throws to a quarterback with tremendous speed. Now that Vick is a legitimate pocket passer, he has become even more dangerous when he can't find an open man and decides to make things happen with his legs. He has truly turned himself into a dual threat as the most dangerous weapon in the game. Now, about that contract that ends following the season....

As for the rest of the Eagles team, there were plenty of other offensive players who stood out for the Eagles as they racked up the second most points in team history. From DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, who were really only needed on one play each, to LeSean McCoy, who had nearly 100 yards of total offense, the Eagles once again proved they are loaded with playmakers. Add in the recently acquired Jerome Harrison, who rushed for 109 yards on just 11 carries, and the Eagles offense is an embarrassment of riches.

Making the beatdown even sweeter was the fact that Donovan McNabb was standing on the opposite sideline. Fresh off his huge contract extension, McNabb had a miserable night, throwing 3 interceptions while getting sacked twice. Sure, the Redskins defense is to blame for not even attempting to slow down the Eagles offense, but McNabb didn't do himself any favors with his usually array of questionable decisions and erratic throws and his inability to convert a single 3rd down in the entire game.

With the win against the Colts last week and this nearly perfect effort, the Eagles have made their case for being the best team in the NFC. With a huge NFC East showdown against the Giants next week, the Birds will have their chance to make another statement. If Michael Vick continues to play like he did tonight, that statement could be that they are the best team in the league.
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Cowboys and Redskins losses, McNabb benching highlight Eagles bye week

The Eagles didn't play in Week 8 but they have to be pretty happy with everything that happened to their divisional rivals in the week. Not only did the Cowboys and Redskins lose, they both lost in embarrassing fashion, with the Cowboys getting worked by a very average Jaguars team and the Redskins collapsing in the 4th quarter against the Lions. Oh, and of course, there is the little matter of the Redskins benching Donovan McNabb.

With the Redskins still within a touchdown late in the game, head coach Mike Shanahan chose to bench McNabb, turning the offense over to Rex Grossman. Yep, Shanahan thought the team had a better chance of winning with Rex Freakin' Grossman than they did with McNabb. While Shanahan said after the game that McNabb was still the starting quarterback, you can bet the sensitive McNabb will sulk in practice and won't soon forget getting benched. The Redskins can probably forget about signing McNabb to a long term deal.

As for the Cowboys, while their season was pronounced over once Tony Romo went down, starting the season 1-6 is still a nightmare scenario for "America's Team". The disappointment on the face of Jerry Jones is enough to bring a smile to any Eagles fan.

Of course, with a game against the Colts looming in Week 9, the Eagles don't have much time to enjoy the suffering of their biggest rivals. With the way the rest of the NFC is playing, the door is still wide open for a darkhorse contender like the Eagles to get hot and make a Super Bowl run.

Eagles lose ugly to McNabb, Redskins

When two teams play as poorly as the Eagles and Redskins did today, it's hard to say that one team really beat the other. In a game filled with injuries, bad decisions and poor execution, Donovan McNabb and the Redskins outlasted the Eagles, 17-12, to help pull them into a tie atop the NFC East.

The biggest storyline coming out of the game will be the injury to Michael Vick, who suffered an upper body injury at the end of the first quarter when two Redskins sandwiched him as he scrambled towards the end zone. Vick was forced to leave the game and did not return, handing the reigns over to Kevin Kolb. The initial reports on Vick are saying that he has a chest injury and that he will have an MRI tomorrow, with some speculating that he has a collarbone injury that could keep him out for a few weeks.

As for Kevin Kolb, he certainly didn't make a great case that he should be starting quarterback if Vick is healthy enough to play. Kolb played the checkdown game all afternoon, dumping the ball off 4 yards at a time and refusing to look downfield for DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin. Because of this, Kolb finished a respectable 22 of 35 in the passing game but only managed 201 yards and Jackson and Maclin combined for only 4 catches. LeSean McCoy ended up being the beneficiary of Kolb's ineptitiude as he ended up with 12 catches for 110 yards. Adding in his 64 yards on the ground, McCoy was clearly the offensive MVP for the Birds.

Cheered in his return to Philadelphia, McNabb hardly made Eagles fans wish they had him back. He was incredibly inaccurate, completing just 8 of 19, and made several dumb decisions, like running out of bounds to stop the clock when the Redskins were up late in the game. While he didn't play great, McNabb did look pretty nimble on his feet and does deserve credit for leading his team to victory, taking advantage of what the Eagles defense gave him, which was plenty at times.

As for the aforementioned Eagles defense, they certainly weren't ready to play in this one, allowing the Redskins to do whatever they wanted against them in the first half. Sure, they did well to shut them down in the second half, but that was more a product of McNabb not being able to complete a pass than anything else. For a defense that thrives on putting pressure on the quarterback, McNabb looked way too comfortable in the pocket, and even when was flushed out, there were open lanes for him to run through.

Now at 2-2, the Eagles season appears to already be at a crossroads, with much of where they go from here dependent on the health of Michael Vick. If Vick is healthy, the Eagles can continue to push for a playoff spot with a potent offense. If he isn't, they will have to spend the rest of the season getting Kolb comfortable in the pocket and able to complete passes more than 5 yards down the field. Of course, if the defense played like they did today, it may not matter who the Eagles have at quarterback.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Eagles vs. Redskins Week 4 inactives

The Eagles and Redskins have announced their inactive players for their Week 4 matchup:

Eagles: DE Antwan Barnes, RB Joique Bell, LB Keenan Clayton, TE Clay Harbor, OL Austin Howard, QB Mike Kafka, CB Trevard Lindley, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

Redskins: CB Kevin Barnes, QB John Beck, DL Anthony Bryant, LB Vonnie Holliday, DL Jeremy Jarmon, TE Logan Paulsen, LB Perry Riley, T Trent Williams

Only one change for the Eagles this week as Omar Gaither is once again active and recently signed running back Joique Bell has been benched. The rest of the Eagles inactives are identical to last week. Nick Cole is active and starting today.

Despite all the buzz surrounding the return of Donovan McNabb to Philadelphia, the Eagles are the better all-around team and they need to win this game if they have any intentions of being a playoff team. Go Birds!

Why we must all vote for Donovan McNabb to be a Pro Bowler in 2011

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Believe it or not, many in the Eagles organization are going to be rooting for Donovan McNabb to be a Pro Bowler next year with the Redskins. That's because the details for what the Eagles will receive from the Redskins in the trade have finally come out and one of them has to do with whether McNabb is a Pro Bowler in 2011.

As we knew, the Eagles will receieve the Skins second round pick this year (37th overall) and they will also get either a 3rd or 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. For the Eagles to get a third rounder next year, McNabb has to do one of two things:

1. Make the Pro Bowl

2. Help the Redskins win at least 9 games while taking 70% of the snaps

While it seems obvious that if McNabb hits the second achievement he will likely be a Pro Bowler, smart Eagles fans will realize that stuffing the ballot box in McNabb's favor, even if he isn't a deserving Pro Bowler, would be a great benefit to the Birds. Of course, given how many NFL players opt out of the Pro Bowl every year, McNabb could just as easily back his way into a spot on the team just like he did this year.

Be prepared next season, Eagles fans, to vote early and often for Donovan McNabb in the 2011 Pro Bowl! As painful as it might be to vote for McNabb, it could mean the Eagles get a significantly better draft pick.

The aftermath: more thoughts on the McNabb trade

A day later and I'm still surprised. Not at the thought of Donovan McNabb being traded, rather, the thought that the Eagles would trade him to a division rival like the Redskins. It really shows how confident the organization is that they would deal him away to a team that they have to play twice a year.

As Easter night went on, I posted a bunch of different thoughts on Twitter about the McNabb trade and I thought it would be good to round them all up here and expand on them past the 140 character limit. Here were some of the things running through my head last night:

-The Redskins offer must have been by far the best offer the Eagles received if they were willing to trade McNabb within the division. The Eagles must value Donovan a lot more than the rest of the league.

-Of course, Andy Reid did make it clear in his press conference that he wanted to do right by Donovan, meaning he was going to trade him to a decent team. While it's unclear whether the Eagles asked McNabb about where he preferred to be traded, it seems that Reid made an effort to keep him happy. It seems pretty clear that the Eagles wanted McNabb to go out on the best terms possible and that Donovan might have even been asked before they made the deal with Washington.

-On the other hand, really, Andy Reid, the Redskins? Do you really want to deal with that media circus twice a year? Reid seemed to have no issue with playing against McNabb, in fact, I'm guessing he has put together a pretty good gameplan on how to stop #5. Of course, McNabb will also know everything there is to know about the Eagles offense and he will readily share with the Skins.

-The Eagles won't be a better team in 2010 with Kevin Kolb at quarterback. Maybe by 2011, but not next year. With all of the youth on the offense, the good thing is that this team will have some time to grow together.

-With all of their offseason moves, the Eagles have cleared over 20 million dollars from their payroll. What exactly they plan to do with all that money, well, who knows? I'm sure an extension for Kolb is in the works.

-It was also a smart move by Reid to make it clear that Kolb is the starter next year; Michael Vick would have had delusions that the job was his. Of course, I do expect we see a lot more Vick next year.

-The Eagles now have 11 picks in the 2010 draft. Given Andy Reid's middling draft history, I wish I could be more confident in how those picks are going to be used. One thing is for sure, the Eagles will be doing plenty of wheeling and dealing on draft day. I won't be surprised if they move up into the top half of the first round if there is someone they are really high on.

In the end, the deal is done, McNabb is a Redskin and the Eagles are moving forward with Kevin Kolb. I hope all the fans take a minute to remember McNabb for the good things he did for this team rather than focus on the bad; despite not winning the big one, he was the best quarterback this franchise has ever known.

Donovan McNabb is a Redskin

The Donovan McNabb era is over in Philadelphia. So begins the Kevin Kolb era.

According to Adam Schefter on Twitter, the Eagles have traded McNabb to the Washington Redskins for a second round pick this year (37th overall) and a 3rd or 4th round pick next year. I assume that McNabb also did not sign a contract extension to stay in Washington.

Why the Eagles would trade to McNabb within the division is beyond me. Do they really want to deal with the media circus of playing McNabb twice a year? They really want McNabb telling a division rival about all the intricacies of the Eagles offense?

I'm shocked. Not that the deal happened but of the fact that the Eagles traded Donovan within the division. I guess you get the best deal you can but this whole thing could blow up in your face if McNabb leads the Skins to a better record than the Eagles.

Let's see what you got, Kolb.

Eagles survive, sneak past Redskins

(AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Another week, another comeback for Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. After what seemed like years between comeback wins for the Eagles, the Birds pulled out their second in a row in the fourth quarter as they edged the Redskins, 27-24.

As always, the Eagles kept this one interesting from the start. Andy Reid, probably thinking he was pretty clever, had the Birds try an onside kick on the opening kickoff, a move that basically gave the Redskins a free 7 points after it failed. From that point forward, it was obvious the Eagles were going to be stuck in a dogfight (poor choice of words?) with the Skins.

The Eagles quickly fought back in the game with an offensive attack that was, for once, a solid mixture of run and pass. The Birds, taking advantage of a Redskins defense playing without Albert Haynesworth, ran the ball effectively all game, something we haven't seen much of this year. Both LeSean McCoy (4.5 yards per carry) and Leonard Weaver (7.3 yards per carry) gashed the Skins for big runs, proving that the Eagles don't need Brian Westbrook to have a productive ground game.

With an offense that was actually balanced for once, Donovan McNabb, with the exception of the third quarter, was effective through the air, finishing with 260 yards. He spread the ball around to six different receivers and overcame three drops by the usually reliable Brent Celek to keep the Eagles in the game. Most importantly, when it came down to crunchtime, with the Eagles trailing by 8 points in the 4th quarter, McNabb had the offense moving at will, picking up huge chunks of yards through the air to Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin.

Defensively, the Eagles were once again not at their best on third downs as the Skins converted 8 of 17 in the game. There is something about this Birds defense that they can't make stops unless the game is on the line. That will likely come back to haunt them at some point this season.

On the injury front, DeSean Jackson left the game in the second half and the early word is that he had a concussion. We all know too well about the lingering effects that concussions can have, we will have to wait and see if Action Jackson will be out for the next game.

So, once again, it wasn't pretty but the Eagles won an important game. A loss to the Redskins would have pushed the Eagles back towards the pack of NFC Wild Card contenders; a win keeps them a game ahead of the Giants and only a game behind the Cowboys. With games looming against the Giants and Cowboys in the coming weeks, the NFC playoff picture is still pretty murky but the Eagles find themselves right in the middle of everything.

Nice win, Birds, but let's try winning a game by a touchdown or two next time. You are going to give everyone in Philadelphia a heart attack at this rate.

Eagles/Redskins Inactives: Redskins missing stars

The Eagles and Redskins have announced their inactive players for today's NFC East matchup:

Eagles: OL Stacy Andrews, WR Kevin Curtis, RB P.J. Hill, LB Akeem Jordan, QB Kevin Kolb, OL Mike McGlynn, CB Geoffrey Pope, RB Brian Westbrook

Redskins: QB Richard Bartel, TE Chris Cooley, OL Paul Fanaika, CB Deangelo Hall, DT Albert Haynesworth, LB Robert Henson, RB Clinton Portis, DE Renaldo Wynn

The Eagles inactives aren't surprising as Westbrook, Curtis and Jordan are still dealing with injuries. There was some worry about Asante Samuel not being able to play but clearly his neck injury isn't going to keep him off the field.

For the Redskins, their inactive list is a basically a list of all of their best players. Their big man in the middle, Albert Haynesworth, will be out which should allow the Eagles to actually run the ball at will. With both Portis out and Betts on IR, Rock Cartwright is the starting running back. Other notable stars out for the Skins are Cooley and Hall, both former Pro Bowlers.

There are no excuses for the Eagles today. The Redskins are missing most of their key players so the Birds should be able to roll right over them. Of course, we know how the Eagles like to make things interesting! GO BIRDS!