Tag: Philadelphia Eagles

Here We Go Again!

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Well, this sucks. The Eagles, once again, are underachieving. Despite the firing of ex-defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, the Eagles have once again fallen far from expectations. The team just doesn’t look solid, and we are close to the halfway point.

One major red flag was this past weekend. The Eagles, with Andy Reid as head coach, have never lost a game following their bye week. This year was a different story. The team looked even sloppier following their bye, almost as if they hadn’t put in any extra work to help their cause.

I don’t blame this recent loss on Michael Vick. I blame this one on coaching and defense. I do not blame new DC Todd Bowles. He was given two weeks to turn a lackluster unit and completely transform them. That’s a tall task considering how much star power the defense has.

Let’s go down the list.

Jason Babin has been horrendous. He hasn’t been able to get to the quarterback at all this season. He’s far behind his 18.5 sack mark from last year.

The other defensive end, Trent Cole, hasn’t had any success either. However, if both pieces can improve, the entire defense will improve as well.

I now turn the attention to one of the most incredible busts (although still somewhat too soon to tell) I think I’ve ever seen.

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NFL week 2 recap-A reflection on a year ago

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This time last year, the Eagles were 1-1, after beating the Rams in their first week and losing to the Falcons a week later. People were beginning to question just how good the “Dream Team” was. This year, we have a different situation. The Eagles BARELY stole a win in week 1 by beating the Browns 17-16. This week, they had to deal with the Ravens, and the Eagles needed to step it up in order to beat the Ravens. Turnovers were once again an issue, as Michael Vick threw two interceptions (only one was his fault, the other was a tipped pass that should have been caught).

Before I continue about the Ravens-Eagles game, I want to point out my rational behind stating that Vick is only accountable for a certain number of interceptions. When the ball leaves his hand, if it hits his receiver first, I expect it to be either caught or fall incomplete. But if the receiver has good enough contact with the ball, the interception should not be on Vick. My one exception is the fact that Vick throws with such an extreme amount of velocity. It must be hard catching that ball.

Anyway back to the game. The Eagles were dropping like flies. Jeremy Maclin, Jason Kelce and King Dunlap all dealt with injuries. Maclin aggravated his hip pointer from week 1, and Kelce is likely lost for season with a torn MCL and partially torn ACL. Dunlap (who I have no sympathy for) apparently strained his hamstring. Quite frankly, I could care less about King Dunlap. Kelce and Mac are tough losses.

At halftime, 17-7 Ravens. The air was taken out of the stadium and spirits suffered.

That is…until DeMeco Ryans intercepted Joe Flacco.

A turnover can go a long way, and this time, it went for a touchdown. The Eagles were rallying.

We go inside the two minute warning. Eagles down 23-17. They need a touchdown to take the lead. They’re close to midfield, and Michael Vick showed why he’s an elite quarterback.

He chucks the ball down the field to tight end Clay Harbor (who caught the winning touchdown pass a week before in Cleveland) and gets them down inside the Ravens five yard line.

1st and goal the Eagles rush from the 3 yard line to the 1.

2nd and goal, the Eagles give everyone a heart attack by sending Vick on a pass play. He was being rushed by star defensive end Haloti Ngata, and almost fumbled the ball. However, he was able to throw it away.

3rd and goal, the prayers were answered. Vick decided to run through everyone into the end zone.

Only one problem remained. The Eagles, now up 24-23, needed to hold the Ravens in check with just less then 2 minutes remaining. A lot can happen in 2 minutes.

1:48 left in the game, Ravens at their own 21. Anyone that has followed the NFL like I have can remember last season. When it came down to close games, the Eagles defense failed to hold onto the lead, and usually cost the team the game.

Not today.

Today, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Brandon Boykin, Mychael Kendricks, Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Derek Landri, Fletcher Cox, and DEMECO RYANS shut down the Ravens.

It wasn’t pretty however.

On 3rd down, Nnamdi played an incredible dose of coverage to keep the ball away from Ed Dickson of the Ravens. It looked completely legal, and yet was called illegal contact. That gave the Ravens a fresh set of downs. But in the end, it wouldn’t matter. The defense refused to budge. They forced the Ravens into a 4th down and 2 yards to go situation, and forced Flacco to overthrow star running back Ray Rice.

The stadium has never been louder. I’ve been to a lot of Eagles game, and I can’t remember one being much louder than that.

Now let’s break down one very funny play. Enter BRENT CELEK!

The tight end accounted for more than 150 yards of total offense, and capped off his day with a hurdle over All-Pro and future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed.

Leap Frog!!

Coaches always teach players to stay low when engaging a tackle. They also tell you to keep your head up.

Ed Reed simply whiffed. But man was it funny!

The Eagles next week travel to Arizona, where they will take on a Cardinals team fresh off an upset over the New England Patriots. The Cardinals have showcased a relatively strong defense in the first two weeks, and the Eagles may have their work cut out for them. These two squads played against each other last season, and the Eagles fell in the minute.

There are two things that I’m very excited about going into this matchup.

Number one is seeing if Juan Castillo uses Nnamdi correctly this year against Larry Fitzgerald. If they stay 1-on-1 all day, that’s gunna be a very interesting duel.

Number two is that last year, the Cardinals used John Skelton as their quarterback.

This year, they may be forced to use Kevin Kolb, the former Eagle.

Last year, the Eagles traded Kolb to Arizona for Cromartie and a 2nd round pick that turned out to be Mychael Kendricks. Needless to say, the Eagles ended up winning that trade.

Maybe Babin and Cole can break Kolb.

WELCOME BACK WORLD!!!-Worst Person #21-New York Jets

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Well Dang its been a while. Tons of time has passed. Summer came and went and here I am back at school and everyone has that look of excitement to begin the new school year. To start us off on the right foot, I’m bringing back everyone’s favorite series, “The Worst person in sports”. Whether it be a team, owner or player, there’s always some sense of athletic mediocrity. This year, we will start with the New York Jets.

There’s a lot I can say. I never addressed it last year but Tim Tebow going to New York was just dumb. There was no reason. I thought Mark Sanchez was quite overrated, yes. But Tebow is NOT an upgrade. And that’s only the beginning.

In the preseason the Jets did not score a touchdown until their final game. The funniest part? The quarterback that threw for the touchdown was Greg McIlroy. That’s gotta be embarrassing.

Now a little recap of…MY EAGLES WINNING THE SEASON OPENER TO…….cleveland. HAHAHAHAHAHA

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Worst Person in Sports #20-Juan Castillo

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As many of you readers may recall, I spent an awful lot of time trashing Juan Castillo, defensive coordinator of my beloved Eagles, last season. Now, he’s back with an even more atrocious act than simply calling the wrong formations.

First round pick Fletcher Cox was criticized by Castillo during the team’s rookie minicamp. I’m not talking about a playful criticism or a little teasing to haze the rookies. I’m talking full on cursing him out. The kid is brand new to the squad, and you’re gonna start yelling at him? Probably not the right approach.

Honestly, Cox handled it like a seasoned pro, only responding with “Yes sir, I’m gonna correct it, sir.” and “I know sir, I apologize.”

Class act for a rookie, if I do say so. As an athlete myself, I should explain that when a coach gets hard on you, it’s nothing personal. It’s for an athlete to recognize a mistake and correct it themselves.

My one massive issue with this was that Cox had no idea what he did wrong, and apparently Castillo failed to explain it. That’s just bad coaching. I always appreciate when a coach has something to criticize about my style of play. I always welcome that kind of criticism. But tell the kid what he did wrong, Juan!!!!

It’s the only way he’s gonna be able to get any better. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with being a team’s first round pick.

The NFL Draft-Let’s take a look

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Well, the NFL Draft has come and gone with a lot of solid performances by some already powerful teams. The New England Patriots added some strong defensive depth, adding Chandler Jones and Donta Hightower in the first round. The Baltimore Ravens were able to add even more depth to their linebacking core, drafting Courtney Upshaw. Even the Philadelphia Eagles had a strong draft, picking up Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry and Brandon Boykin, just to name a few.

I am very excited for the new season to begin. I gotta wait until August to see them in action, since that’s when the preseason games start. I can’t wait to watch these teams go at it.

But of course, as is the case with every draft, there is always one just BAD selection.

That, my friends, was the Seattle Seahawks and Bruce Irvin.

Irvin, which I will take as my worst person #19, went into the draft as the number 99 overall player. He was taken in the top 15.

Even if Bruce Irvin turns out being this incredible football player, he would have been available in the second round and maybe even the third. Seattle shouldn’t have reached this far. Probably going to be a huge mistake for them.

Anyway, I’m pumped up, despite the Giants having a solid draft as well.

We are ready this year. I smell a Super Bowl for Philly!

Either that, or I smell the bust factor of Bruce Irvin.

Asante Samuel-Oh God Not Again

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Eagles put Asante Samuel back on the trade block for the third time in a little less then a year. Trying to get something in return for Mr. Samuel is surely…well…stupid at this point.

Asante had arguably his worst professional season this past year and the Eagles would have been able to secure a pretty decent price for the ex-Pro Bowl cornerback. Last year, as reported, the Lions were willing to sacrifice a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Samuel, to which the Eagles wanted a 1st and 3rd. The Lions rejected that proposal and the deal was not completed.

I can only wonder what could happen this time around. I don’t think the Eagles will get much from any potential trade except for the extra 10 million dollars of cap space.

We could then use that money to pay All Pro running back LeSean McCoy.

We are building the team for the ages. How you like us now, New York?

NFL Free Agency…Gotta love it!

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Now that my Eagles have finally been able to sign DeSean Jackson to a long term contract (5 years, 48.5 million), I can now focus on other teams and their signings.

The talent class this year is absolutely endless. Some stars like Cortland Finnegan, Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson went off the board very early. And now, as we sit in the third day of free agency, I just have one thing to say to the Eagles.

SIGN A FRICKIN LINEBACKER!!!!

Now that we have covered that, let’s look at some more big names. DE and OLB Mario Williams signed a massive 6 year, 96 million dollar contract with the Buffalo Bills, which may be the big signing of the year. This move bolsters an already dominant defensive line for Buffalo.

Another big signing was the signing of Brandon Carr by the Dallas Cowboys. Ya, I hate it. But it was still a smart pickup by the Cowboys.

I won’t say much more since i hate this team.

The moves are wild right now. I will probably blog a supreme amount in the coming weeks as the NFL Draft approaches and other trades and signings are made.