Ya Gotta Believe (aka Why No Love? - Part 2)

That was a decent win on the road though the competition wasn't anything to write home about. It was nice to see the defense play lights out like that. Offense could have been a bit more consistent, but there really isn't too much you can criticize about that game. The o-line improved a bit, fewer penalties, and better special teams play all helped out.

I think the important thing is that they didn't look past this game to next week. Now you might say that's an easy thing to do, but it's not. Look no further to our next opponent. WAS lost an ugly game to STL yesterday by letting a rookie QB hang 30 points on them.

I think this is a playoff team. Looking at how the rest of the division has started the season should give us all more hope than before. 10-6 might just win the division. So until the games prove us wrong, I think ya gotta believe.

Why No Love?

I think this could be a playoff team no matter who the QB is. I keep coming back to the question: Are they really that much worse than the 11-5 they were last year? It's not like Reid has a history of missing the playoffs. He has a history of not winning the Super Bowl, but you can't say the guy doesn't make it to the post season.

A history lesson:

2009 11-5, playoffs loss in round 1
2008 9-6-1, loss in NFC Championship game (2 wins in post season)
2007 8-8, no playoffs
2006 10-6, loss in 2nd round of playoffs
2005 6-10, no playoffs
2004 13-3, loss in SB (2 wins in post season)
2003 12-4, loss in NFC Championship game (1 wins in post season)
2002 12-4, loss in NFC Championship game (1 wins in post season)
2001 11-5, loss in NFC Championship game (2 wins in post season)
2000 11-5, loss in 2nd round of playoffs
1999 5-11, no playoffs

So 70% of the time, Reid manages to get to the playoffs. And only once in those 7 attempts does he go one and done. That's a playoff win 60% of the seasons for those keeping score at home. Anyone care to guess how many playoff wins the Eagles had in the 30 years before Reid took over? The answer is 5. Total. Or 1 playoff win every 6 years. Or half what Reid's has in the last 10 years.

This is what boggles my mind. I'll give you all the clock management issues, inability to run the ball, yadda-yadda-yadda, etc. But at some point don't you have to look at THAT track record and say, "I don't know how he's going to do it, but Reid's going to figure out a way to get this team to the playoffs."

Given how much crap 5 got over the years, I know you're not going to tell me it was all McNabb all those years and Reid was just along for the ride. Banner's great cap management (front office never won a game)? It must have been Dawk (oops, not on the team last year)?

Akers has been the only other constant over the years so it must have been all those FGs he's kicked. That's the only other logical conclusion you can draw. Personally, that seems a lot more illogical than Reid is a great head coach and deserves the benefit of the doubt.

No QB Controversy Here

Vick in, Kolb out even though he's healthy. Gotta say I'm a little surprised based on everything Reid has said before. This is your guy and he's done after less than a half of football? Seems a bit quick to me.

The flip side is that Vick has been playing well. He's got his burst back. Nice touch on deep balls (i.e. hitting DeSean in stride for his TD). Picking up positive yards when the pocket disintegrates.

I think the more interesting thing is the timing of this announcement. Any other team would've given you the "we'll make a decision by game time", while Reid comes out and says he's making the switch on Tuesday. I guess JAC was going to prepare for Vick anyway s

I think this decision also shows Reid's flexibility. I'm not sure how many other coaches would have made this decision this quickly. Kolb's the QB of the future, Vick's only signed through this year. I think a lot of other head coaches would've stuck with Kolb for a loss or 2 before making the change. Nice to see quick decision here. This shows the team that it's all about the Ws and not about any agendas. This probably does more for team chemistry than anything else.

Now let's see them get another win.

Game 2 Review

This is one of the most frustrating teams I've seen this side of Rich Kotite. Stop with the penalties! Stop with poor kick coverage teams! Stop with the 80 yard rushing TDs!

I was close to breaking stuff during the 1H of this game. My wife had to take my son outside because I was stomping and grunting and making other loud noises that was upsetting him.

A win on the road is always a good thing, but ARGH!!!!!!!!

My Thoughts on Game One

i went into game 1 worried that the eagles were going to be on the wrong end of a 31-13 game against the team i thought was the best in the nfc coming into the season. my hope was that they were going to be able to keep it close and show some things and not get blown out in the opener. i wasn't expecting them to win. i wasn't even really hoping they were going to win, i just wanted them to keep it close and show some potential.

these were the some of the specific things i was hoping to see in the game and watching for:

- kolb to show his trademark accuracy while being quick and decisive
- the refashioned d-line to consistently get pressure on rodgers without having to blitz
- stewart bradley to have decent change of direction skills as he recovers from his knee injury
- nate allen to have a good feel for the game and show some inkling that he may one play be half the player dawk was
- jamaal jackson to bring back some stability to the o-line with his ability to call the right protections

what i got was dreck. don't let the 7 point loss fool you. there were some good performances, but the game i watched makes me concerned that it portends bad things for this team in the future. it's only one data point, so i'll reserve judgement until we see some more but yuck! i really didn't like what i saw.

kevin kolb looked exactly like he did in the preseason. afraid to make a mistake and not at all comfortable with being the man. best case is that he's putting way too much pressure on himself and needs to relax and get comfortable. worst case... this isn't an aberration and what we saw last season was a result of playing bad defenses at a time when kolb had nothing to lose. kolb has looked bad all preseason. he's making bad throws and making bad decisions and has been doing it all season. i know it's still early, but he's a huge question mark and it's concerning.

the o-line wasn't playing all that well. i know, it's an obvious statement, but if kolb is going to be the starter. it's a huge... HUGE concern. there were at least 5 times in the first half where kolb was either sacked or forced into a hurried throw that don would easily have been able to avoid. mcnabb was amazing at keeping a play alive and kolb has none of that. zip. less even than eli manning. unless this o-line magically transforms into the second coming of the hogs, i have trouble envisioning how kolb is going to be successful.

this loss was not GAMEPLANNER andy reid's fault. it was COACH andy reid's fault... but i repeat, this loss was not GAMEPLANNER andy reid's fault. he had the perfect gameplan for easing kolb into his first start. almost every play call in the first half involved short routes and easy throws. there were no deep routes. how do i know this? because i kept complaining all first half that there were no deep routes. don't buy the garbage you hear on the radio about andy's poor gameplanning. it was an execution problem --> kolb <-- not a gameplanning problem.

however, COACH andy reid is at much fault for the loss. he is still the same ineffective gameday coach we've come to know over the years. HOW CAN YOU NOT CALL A QB SNEAK THERE?!?!? that fat f*ck is giving me a brain aneurysm with his stubborn refusal to employ the QB sneak. i swear, i can feel it growing in my head every time i see him call a pass or line up the qb in freaking SHOTGUN formation on 4th and inches.

there were a lot of things to be happy after the game -- d-line play, nate allen, michael vick -- but if kolb is the QB i don't see how he's going to be successful without a better offensive line... and if he's not successful there is no way the team will be successful. no matter how good the rest of the team is... QB play is 60% of the game.

vick looked great, but let's see what he does in a full game against a gameplan designed against him. still, with our o-line, vick's elusiveness gives him a better chance to be successful than kolb.

who knows, maybe andy the developer of QBs can turn vick into a legit nfl QB. i just wish that GM andy would hire a real coach to guide the team. to borrow a line from the godfather, we need a war-time consigliere and andy reid is no war-time consigliere.

Moral Victories Don't Count

You want the bright side? Your team loses 4 starters in the first half to a team you're not expected to beat anyways and you only lose by 7 points. Especially considering 1 of those guys is your starting QB. Think about that for a second.

Bumble, now toss in your criticisms (all valid): 1) horrendous penalties, 2) special team breakdowns EVERY time GB touched the ball, and 3) poor play by Kolb in 1H. And they lost by 7 points. They were down 1 score. They didn't get blown out by a team most people see going on to a SB. They didn't get blown out to said potential SB team after losing your starting QB, racking up penalties like they're going out of style, and giving your opponent great field position with cruddy special teams play.

There are no moral victories. This goes down as a loss. But this realistically wasn't a game they were supposed to win. They kept the game within reach and had a shot of pulling off the upset in the 4th quarter. I'm not saying we should feel better about this team after this game, but we certainly feel worse.

More later. . .

GB at Eagles Preview

Man this is going to be a tough game. Lots of people think GB are going to make the SuperBowl this year (and they may) so a really tough game out of the gate.

Why I think they're going to win:

• Great talent at the WR position. This rookie Cooper finally gives us a tall guy for the end zone fade routes, which we haven't had in forever.
• Defense should be better than last year.
• Team's starting off fairly healthy.
• Home game.

Why I think they could lose:

• First game of the year and this team always starts slowly.
• GB is a top notch opponent that can put up 40 a week.
• Kolb will probably take a couple months to really hit his groove.
• O-line has been very injured and hasn't played together yet this year

Basically, I'm cautiously optimistic that they'll steal a game here. Would be happy with them just keeping it close. Would be very disappointed if they get blown out. I think they'll do enough to pull it out though.

I Could Not Say It Better (But I've Tried)

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2010/walkthrough-mcnabb-deniers

7th Best Team - huh

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2010/2010-dvoa-projections

Another reason why I love FootballOutsiders. These guys always seem to have the Eagles highly rated. And while their ratings may tend to be on the high side, they always seem to end up much closer than anyone thinks going into the season.

Two really interesting things struck me: 1) Special teams are projected to be best in the NFL and 2) all NFC East teams are projected to be in the top half of the league. Going to be a tough, tough year.

It's on like Donkey Kong

Settle down, people. This blog isn't quite dead yet. But the off season finally is. Woo-hoo! I love my Eagles. I love reading about them. I love reading about football in general. But discussing them before the real games start is just not that appetizing to me. Fake Life (http://scrapplelog.blogspot.com/2009/11/fake-life.html#links) = cool. Fake Fake Life = not cool.

Well, the eternal optimist is back and I see great things for this year. And by great things I'm talking about 9-10 wins and another playoff berth. The naysayers will trot out their normal excuses for why this will be the case and this team will once again prove them wrong. I've never understood all the haters. This team has as much chance to win as any other and more than most.

I'll be back to break down week 1 later on in the week. Hint: it's nice when the other team's entire secondary is out of action.