Fallen Eagles

Larry Fitzgerald's second TD catch, which led to another Eagles loss.

To those of you reading that have already heard more than enough about and/or hate the Philadelphia Eagles: I am sorry. But I am a diehard fan, so I am going to write about them in order to get what I have to say about their struggles off my back.

Obviously, all of the talent is there for this team to win, but a number of factors hold them back.

I won't even address the linebacking issue much because it is blatantly obvious. Stewart Bradley was the only decent player at that position on this roster and he was let go, so now the team is left with a Clay Matthews look-alike and a couple of second stringers. Before the season I questioned why the team didn't at least take a look at free agent Lofa Tatupu; he had been a beast in the league for years and while he is aging, definitely presents a better option than what the team has right now.

But aside from the linebacker position, the personnel on this defense is incredible; regardless, the unit has still massively underachieved. Okay, first off, Juan Castillo needs to be let go. His zone scheme in the secondary is flat out awful. He has the arguably the best cornerbacks in the league on his roster (yes, I know they can't tackle, I'll get to that), but opposing QBs can still carve up the defense.

You could justify a Castillo firing for one reason alone: Larry Fitzgerald's performance in Sunday's game, which led to another Eagles fourth quarter collapse. Nnamdi Asomugha is up there with Darrelle Revis among the best cover corners in the NFL. So why, then, is he not assigned to stick to a team's number one receiver throughout the entire game? To put it into perspective: Asomugha covered Larry Fitzgerald on 20 of the 46 Cardinals' pass plays. In those 20 plays, Fitz was targeted twice and had no catches. When Asomugha was not on Fitz, but instead Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Kurt Coleman and a slew of other guys were, he had seven catches for 146 yards and two TDs.

All season I have wondered why Castillo hasn't had the corners play man; at least this game made his stupidity look obvious. All he needs to is have Nnamdi cover the one, Samuel the two, and Rodgers-Cromartie cover the three, and the opposing team will be forced to try check-downs and tight end slants the whole game. If pride becomes and issue among these three, Castillo simply needs to tell them to deal with it. And Castillo also needs to learn from the Jets on how to use a top corner, or even Oakland on how to use Asomugha, because he doesn't seem to get it.

Defensive front has been fine so far, no problems there. Except for maybe Cullen Jenkins, who is known for a lackluster work ethic...he had five sacks in the first five games, but has slacked off since and not gotten any. He is a talented player, and I expect him to turn it around.

The effort on defense overall has been terrible. No one is wrapping, and they are bouncing off ball-carriers like flies. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has been especially bad, lacking effort entirely. A few times I have seem him give up a pass, and rather than try to tackle the guy, just stop and hold up his hands like it was the beer vendor in the 45th row's fault. As a whole, though, the defense needs to learn the art of tackling, which you would think an NFL defense should have down by now.

And Michael Vick? Yeah, too much money. You could tell as last year wound down opposing teams were starting to figure him out, and this season has looked even worse. 100 million dollars was based off of eight good games, and recently he hasn't looked like any better a passer than he was in Atlanta, in fact probably worse. Thank goodness 60 million of the contract isn't guaranteed, as there was no way he would stay healthy for the entire life of the five year contract.

The o-line has been steadily improving. Rookies Jason Kelce and Danny Watkins are starting to come into their own, and Jason Peters is a beast. They've provided average pass blocking recently, but Peters especially has provided gaping holes for Shady McCoy.

Which brings me to another point. ANDY REID, RUN THE BALL! I can't believe that this is still a problem. I don't want to talk about it. McCoy is a god out there, and he only got fourteen carries last week...

Reid can gameplan after the bye, I will give him that. He's a good NFL coach. But his time has run out. He can no longer motivate this group of egotistic players. Someone needs to discipline this team more, get into their heads a little bit. And I don't think Reid is capable of it. Sure, he benched soon-to-be prima-donna DeSean Jackson for not showing up to a meeting (Meanwhile, DeSean's inconsistency is showing he isn't worth the big bucks as much as fellow receiver Jeremy Maclin). But that isn't enough. Reid's team has fallen apart in front of his eyes, and his exit after over a decade could be the cost.

The team's lack of effort should be placed more on the players than on Reid, but it is still the responsibility of the coach. The absence of fight was illustrated Sunday when Steve Smith, a guy with a ton of talent fighting for playing time, caught a pass two yards shy of a crucial first down with a defender approaching. Rather than fight to move the chains, he dove in front of the defender to avoid taking a hit, resulting in a critical punt. Now I hate to single out Smith, but plays like this have contributed to bringing this team down.

I will love this team for eternity, but they have a knack for pissing off the hometown fans.

Week 8 NFL Projections

Last week: 8-4
Season: 63-23

Buffalo Bills 27, Washington Redskins 20

Both of these teams are coming off of losses last weekend; the Bills losing a close one to the Giants and the John Beck-led Redskins by thirteen to Cam Newton's Panthers. Buffalo has the worst defense in the NFL this year, but Washington won't have the skill to exploit it enough to outscore the Bills. John Beck simply isn't what Mike Shanahan expects him to be: a reliable NFL starting quarterback. He didn't have that in Rex Grossman, either. And everyone knows in the NFL you need a good starting quarterback...

Philadelphia Eagles 27, Dallas Cowboys 24

No, I shouldn't be picking the Eagles to win this game. I just have a feeling about this one. Andy Reid has finally realized that it is desperation time in Philadelphia, which means he will call the pass 99.9% of the time... That is really the only thing holding Philadelphia back (the linebackers are another issue). If Reid comes to his senses and uses LeSean McCoy effectively like he did in last week's win, the Birds should be able to keep their playoff aspirations alive (unless they can't stop DeMarco Murray).

New England Patriots 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

It's cold. It's in Pittsburgh, and it has the makings of an old-fashioned, grit and grind battle. Twenty points would tie the Patriots' lowest scoring output of the season, but it makes perfect sense as the Steel Curtain looms. This game rides in the hands of Ben Roethlisberger and whether he can exploit the porous pass D of the Pats, as Rashard Mendenhall should have another rough day. I still have Tom Brady pulling out a win, but this game is essentially a toss up, even if New England has looked like the better team thus far.

Tennessee Titans 20, Indianapolis Colts 13
New York Giants 30, Miami Dolphins 6
Baltimore Ravens 23, Arizona Cardinals 14
New Orleans Saints 41, St. Louis Rams 10
Carolina Panthers 28, Minnesota Vikings 24
Houston Texans 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 15
Detroit Lions 27, Denver Broncos 20
San Francisco 49ers 24, Cleveland Browns 17
Cincinnati Bengals 21, Seattle Seahawks 7
San Diego Chargers 24, Kansas City Chiefs 20

Is This the Year for the Eagles?

The fans in Philly have been waiting forever. The Andy Reid era has consisted of perennial winning seasons with numerous playoff and NFC Championship appearances. Of the five NFC Championship appearances, the Birds have only gone to the Super Bowl once, in which they lost by a field goal to New England.

Every year, when it looks like the Eagles have another strong team, fans in the City of Brotherly Love get their hopes up for a Super Bowl run. Every September, as the NFL season comes around, people ask "Is this the year?" But it never has been. They've always found a way to come up short in the end. There's always been some fatal flaw. Every year, the season ends a failure.

Fans continue to flock to the Linc, selling out game after game, in hope of a Eagles victory. More times then not, they deliver. But not in the end. Someone always gets the best of them, whether it be the Cowboys like last year, or any other team.

The failure to go all the way brings change. The former faces of the team, Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins are all somewhere else. New, young talent has taken their place, with the likes of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy, as well as numerous other changes. Trent Cole remains a game-changer on the defensive side of the ball, and corner Asante Samuel, who has been in Philly a couple years now, jumps routes with the best of them.

And then there's Michael Vick. No one could have mapped out his path back, as Kevin Kolb was the presumed starter. Vick's game is better than ever, and he's taken this offense places McNabb never had.

So as a Birds fan, I have my hopes up once again, while expecting them to be deflated, but always knowing there's a chance, that this could finally be the year.