2008 - Game 1 Thoughts
except for the short hop throw by mcnabb in the second quarter (which i'm sure infuriated half the stadium), you really couldn't ask for more from a season opener... or any other football game really. i'm trying to temper my enthusiam because it was against the lowly rams, but all eagles fan should be ecstatic right now. the game plan was terrific as was the execution and the in-game management.
- welcome back donovan mcnabb. don't know why, but it's too easy to forget how good you are/can be when healthy and confident. too bad you short hopped that ball in the second quarter. if you hadn't done that, eagles fans might start to appreciate you. you should try to work on your accuracy.
- that asante samuel is pretty darn good, no? wow. not only was he playing tight man coverage all day, his anticipation and ability to jump routes is better than i expected, much better than i expected. i wasn't that excited about the samuel signing because i wasn't sure how his skills would translate to the eagles d -- since belichick employs such a different defensive scheme (predominantly zone coverage vs. predominantly man coverage). time to get excited i guess. definitely excited to see how he handles me-o. this secondary could be awesome. i'm still concerned about the safeties, but the set of cornerbacks are unmatched in the nfl. i'm excited to see what demps can do on defense.
- stewart bradley really stood out today among the linebackers. he took on blocks really well and plays very fast. very instinctive. gocong and gaither played ok, but bradley was great.
- the offensive line gave don all day to throw today -- not that he needed it as he was getting the ball out quicker than just about any game i've seen him play. they got a slow start in run blocking, but i attribute some of that to the rams crowding the line of scrimmage early in the game daring the birds to throw. once the game was in hand the o-line was able to grind it out nicely.
- who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? big red took mcnabb and westbrook out early! i'm not complaining, but what gives? why the change in philosophy? must be the same line of thinking as his new "over-30 club".
- d-line played very well. there was a darren howard sighting -- this is the best game he's played as an eagle. patterson and bunkley were their usual disruptive selves. klecko and laws played well. cole played pretty well.
- desean jackson is the guy that everyone is talking about, and rightly so. he is a difference maker as both a receiver and a punt returner. how is it possible that he caught onto the worst coast offense so quickly? not only does cal not run the worst coast offense, their head coach jeff tedford is infamous for producing stud college qbs who suck in the pros. i've seen speculation that the reason why his qbs don't make it in the pros is because of the offense he uses and the way he coaches qbs to read defenses -- they're both very different than pro-style offenses. doesn't make sense for desean to look so comfortable in this offense. i didn't see a single play where he was on a different page than donovan, whereas freddie mitchell ran a different route than donovan was expecting on like every other play. he's going to be entertaining to watch. i hope he doesn't turn into the typical superstar wideout --> jackass.
- kicking the field goal to break up the shutout was a BS move by linehan. they were down by 38 points with 9 minutes left in the game. the only chance they had was to score touchdowns. you have to go for it there.
- about the only negative i can think of right now is that lj smith wasn't that great. he dropped at least two passes that hit him in the hands. same old littlejohn.
bring on the cowboys! what a week this is going to be.
- welcome back donovan mcnabb. don't know why, but it's too easy to forget how good you are/can be when healthy and confident. too bad you short hopped that ball in the second quarter. if you hadn't done that, eagles fans might start to appreciate you. you should try to work on your accuracy.
- that asante samuel is pretty darn good, no? wow. not only was he playing tight man coverage all day, his anticipation and ability to jump routes is better than i expected, much better than i expected. i wasn't that excited about the samuel signing because i wasn't sure how his skills would translate to the eagles d -- since belichick employs such a different defensive scheme (predominantly zone coverage vs. predominantly man coverage). time to get excited i guess. definitely excited to see how he handles me-o. this secondary could be awesome. i'm still concerned about the safeties, but the set of cornerbacks are unmatched in the nfl. i'm excited to see what demps can do on defense.
- stewart bradley really stood out today among the linebackers. he took on blocks really well and plays very fast. very instinctive. gocong and gaither played ok, but bradley was great.
- the offensive line gave don all day to throw today -- not that he needed it as he was getting the ball out quicker than just about any game i've seen him play. they got a slow start in run blocking, but i attribute some of that to the rams crowding the line of scrimmage early in the game daring the birds to throw. once the game was in hand the o-line was able to grind it out nicely.
- who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? big red took mcnabb and westbrook out early! i'm not complaining, but what gives? why the change in philosophy? must be the same line of thinking as his new "over-30 club".
- d-line played very well. there was a darren howard sighting -- this is the best game he's played as an eagle. patterson and bunkley were their usual disruptive selves. klecko and laws played well. cole played pretty well.
- desean jackson is the guy that everyone is talking about, and rightly so. he is a difference maker as both a receiver and a punt returner. how is it possible that he caught onto the worst coast offense so quickly? not only does cal not run the worst coast offense, their head coach jeff tedford is infamous for producing stud college qbs who suck in the pros. i've seen speculation that the reason why his qbs don't make it in the pros is because of the offense he uses and the way he coaches qbs to read defenses -- they're both very different than pro-style offenses. doesn't make sense for desean to look so comfortable in this offense. i didn't see a single play where he was on a different page than donovan, whereas freddie mitchell ran a different route than donovan was expecting on like every other play. he's going to be entertaining to watch. i hope he doesn't turn into the typical superstar wideout --> jackass.
- kicking the field goal to break up the shutout was a BS move by linehan. they were down by 38 points with 9 minutes left in the game. the only chance they had was to score touchdowns. you have to go for it there.
- about the only negative i can think of right now is that lj smith wasn't that great. he dropped at least two passes that hit him in the hands. same old littlejohn.
bring on the cowboys! what a week this is going to be.
Labels: football
posted by The Mean Guy at 11:51 PM
3 Comments:
The TV commentators were complimenting Jackson on doing all the things that crafty vets do. For instance, on his 2H catch in tight coverage, he didn't put his hands up until the VERY last second.
We really won't know about these WRs until after next week though. Which is more likely: that Basket, Avant, and Lewis all improved dramatically in the off-season or the Rams secondary really sucks? I'm leaning towards the latter right now.
Akers leg looks to be getting smaller and smaller. He only got 2 kicks to the end zone by kicking line drives. The punt receiving unit needs to do a better job slowing people up. Jackson had a couple nice returns, but most of the plays he had no time to react despite the punts going 50+ yards. Does STL have the best punter in the league?
Overall, very nice way to start the season.
My only gripe was the dropsies by LJ and the d backs. They easily could've had 2-4 picks and dropped them all. I love jumping the routes, but make the play. They need turnovers vs. the better teams and they had chances and didn't get any yesterday. I am not a Little John fan. Despite a nice TD catch, he drops too many balls. That little drag across the middle should be a money play for him, guaranteed chain mover, but he constantly drops the ball. If I were Don, I'd be hesitant to throw to this turd because on the off chance he does catch the ball, he holds it in one hand and fumbles it.
But I saw a ton of so-so teams in the NFL yesterday. I did not see every game, but the only things I left this weekend impressed by from the other 31 teams were the Giants O and D line, the Cowboys O line, the entire Bears D, and Delhomme having a good game on the heels of Tommy John surgery. everything else was less than impressive.
Bumble
But I saw a ton of so-so teams in the NFL yesterday. I did not see every game, but the only things I left this weekend impressed by from the other 31 teams were the Giants O and D line, the Cowboys O line, the entire Bears D, and Delhomme having a good game on the heels of Tommy John surgery. everything else was less than impressive.
agree completely. i'll add this -- the tide has turned and the nfc is now better than the afc both overall and at the top.
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