Jody Mac
11-15-2011, 05:20 PM
In what has been an ugly season, Sunday's loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals was the ugliest loss this year. It might be the ugliest loss in quite some time for the Birds. A two touchdown favorite blowing another fourth quarter lead, this time to a second year QB out of that football factory Fordham University. Everywhere you could have questioned the Eagles going into the game turned in an unacceptable answer after. We'll start with the offense.
The offensive line, which seemed to be coming together, all of a sudden have gone backward. Although Michael Vick continues to avoid sacks, he hasn't avoided hits and seems ready to lose the ball from his hands as soon as possible. Whether it's his skittishness or the busted ribs we found out about after the game, Vick was woefully inaccurate Sunday. Neither DeSean "Inactive" Jackson or Jeremy "Injured" Maclin could have caught some of the high and wide tosses Vick was making to nowhere. Steve Smith was given a chance to come off the bench and step in to the mix, but he will be remembered for coming up short on a makeable third down rather than the fact that he led the Birds with 5 catches. Jason Avant grabbed exactly one pass for two yards. Not the kind of production you would expect from a player who has been quite outspoken about how the fans have handled the Eagles this year. Were Birds fans not supposed to boo that effort against the Cardinals, Jason?? Other than Shady McCoy and Brent Celek, who exactly is holding up his end of the bargain on offense? How does McCoy get only 14 carries on a day when the Eagles never trailed till the last two minutes and when their two top receivers either didn't play at all? Or were limited by injury and their QB was playing with broken ribs from the second play of the game on. Andy Reid's attempted explanations after-the-fact rang less than hollow. The offense is a mess.
Unless of course you compare it to the defense. The under-achievers there are even more evident. In the not-as-wide nine, big bucks free agent pass rusher Jason Babin is virtually useless. If he doesn't get just the right angle to sack the QB, it's like playing 11 against 10. At least Trent Cole tries to actually run down a back on non-passing plays. Everyone appreciates Mike Patterson for the guts he showed coming back from the scary training camp seizure he suffered, but his game has disappeared before our eyes. Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle are the only two linebackers who can play even a little bit. (Thank god for 6th and 7th round draft picks) Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looks lost and Ass-ante Samuel is unhappy and playing that way. What happened to the "dream team" aspect of this squad? Juan Castillio is woefully over-matched as defensive coordinator, but this all goes back to the man who put these pieces together, the head coach and chief mover and shaker of player personnel, one Andy Reid. The seat has to getting pretty warm under his ample backside right about now. Ashley Fox, former scribe for the Inquirer, now writing for ESPN.com wrote a column last week projecting Reid's job was safe going forward to 2012. Maybe she should have waited till after the Cardinal game to look into her crystal ball!!
So now a rematch with the Giants waits for Sunday night up the turnpike. The Giants have been better, are playing better and have the scars of the "DeSean Jackson Return Game" in that building as extra-added motivation. That's a bad compilation of situations leading into that game. If Mr. Vick weren’t capable of going, maybe a Vince Young start would be a blessing in disguise. Reid would be forced to ride the "Shady Bandwagon". There's no way Reid would ask Vince Young to throw it 35 times! Well this is Andy we're talking about?? Never mind, ugly and getting uglier!!
So Cinco Ocho is coming to the Phils. As I told you here last week, the quick signing of Ryan Madson was being grossly overstated at best, woefully inaccurate at worst. I'd love to say I knew a quick turnaround signing of Johnathon Papelbon in the offing, but then I would be putting forth inaccurate information as well. If you believed four years and 44 million dollars for Madson was a good move you have to like the Papelbon four year 50 million dollar signing. He's done it longer, done it better and is actually a couple months younger than Madson. His care-free, slightly flighty attitude may take some fitting in to the Phils clubhouse but I have faith in the Halladay’s and Lee’s of the world to help him to fit in. My only reservation is the same as it has been since the Phils were eliminated by the Cardinals in the playoff, if they cannot retain Jimmy Rollins, the offense will pay a price that I'm not sure they can afford. I would have prioritized shortstop while the Phils surely thought securing closer was their biggest off-season duty. Hopefully the powers that be with the purse strings allow the Phillies payroll to go to limits that only the Yankees have gone to before!!.... Nice to see Vance Worley get some recognition in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, much deserved ! As was the award going to Braves closer Craig Kimbral, rightfully a runaway winner. The NL Cy Young will be a lot closer on Thursday with much support going to both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, but look for the award to go to Dodger southpaw Clayton Kershaw, much deserved!!
Nice week for the Flyers getting five out of a possible six points on their 3 game roadie. Quality time as a team in Florida seems to have agreed with them. Their 10-4-3 record stands as one of the best in the league as we approach the quarter point of the season. What has opened my eyes most about them in these first 17 games is the way they have rallied as a unit on the penalty kill. They seem to pick up their effort when one of their own is in the box. Even with Mike Richards gone they have already logged 3 shorthanded goals. Now don't get me wrong, they lead the league in number of penalties taken per game that needs to be cleaned up ASAP, but when they go down a man, they seem to turn the intensity up. Good trait to have, just wish they wouldn't need it as often!
As with last weeks "Attack" I could have done the entire blog on the fiasco that has been the week at Penn State. I will instead keep it short and sweet. Those that have been punished to this point have been deserving of what they have gotten including Joe Paterno. At times during the week, the focus and attention was in my opinion misguided. There is one monster involved here. If it weren't for Jerry Sandusky this entire scandal would not have taken place. Remember where your main ire should be placed. If his attention-grabbing attorney continues to insist that his client make national televisions appearances like he did with Bob Costas last night, the spotlight should stay right where it belongs!! ....PS..How good is Bob Costas?? The "Gold Standard" of sports broadcasting!!
The offensive line, which seemed to be coming together, all of a sudden have gone backward. Although Michael Vick continues to avoid sacks, he hasn't avoided hits and seems ready to lose the ball from his hands as soon as possible. Whether it's his skittishness or the busted ribs we found out about after the game, Vick was woefully inaccurate Sunday. Neither DeSean "Inactive" Jackson or Jeremy "Injured" Maclin could have caught some of the high and wide tosses Vick was making to nowhere. Steve Smith was given a chance to come off the bench and step in to the mix, but he will be remembered for coming up short on a makeable third down rather than the fact that he led the Birds with 5 catches. Jason Avant grabbed exactly one pass for two yards. Not the kind of production you would expect from a player who has been quite outspoken about how the fans have handled the Eagles this year. Were Birds fans not supposed to boo that effort against the Cardinals, Jason?? Other than Shady McCoy and Brent Celek, who exactly is holding up his end of the bargain on offense? How does McCoy get only 14 carries on a day when the Eagles never trailed till the last two minutes and when their two top receivers either didn't play at all? Or were limited by injury and their QB was playing with broken ribs from the second play of the game on. Andy Reid's attempted explanations after-the-fact rang less than hollow. The offense is a mess.
Unless of course you compare it to the defense. The under-achievers there are even more evident. In the not-as-wide nine, big bucks free agent pass rusher Jason Babin is virtually useless. If he doesn't get just the right angle to sack the QB, it's like playing 11 against 10. At least Trent Cole tries to actually run down a back on non-passing plays. Everyone appreciates Mike Patterson for the guts he showed coming back from the scary training camp seizure he suffered, but his game has disappeared before our eyes. Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle are the only two linebackers who can play even a little bit. (Thank god for 6th and 7th round draft picks) Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looks lost and Ass-ante Samuel is unhappy and playing that way. What happened to the "dream team" aspect of this squad? Juan Castillio is woefully over-matched as defensive coordinator, but this all goes back to the man who put these pieces together, the head coach and chief mover and shaker of player personnel, one Andy Reid. The seat has to getting pretty warm under his ample backside right about now. Ashley Fox, former scribe for the Inquirer, now writing for ESPN.com wrote a column last week projecting Reid's job was safe going forward to 2012. Maybe she should have waited till after the Cardinal game to look into her crystal ball!!
So now a rematch with the Giants waits for Sunday night up the turnpike. The Giants have been better, are playing better and have the scars of the "DeSean Jackson Return Game" in that building as extra-added motivation. That's a bad compilation of situations leading into that game. If Mr. Vick weren’t capable of going, maybe a Vince Young start would be a blessing in disguise. Reid would be forced to ride the "Shady Bandwagon". There's no way Reid would ask Vince Young to throw it 35 times! Well this is Andy we're talking about?? Never mind, ugly and getting uglier!!
So Cinco Ocho is coming to the Phils. As I told you here last week, the quick signing of Ryan Madson was being grossly overstated at best, woefully inaccurate at worst. I'd love to say I knew a quick turnaround signing of Johnathon Papelbon in the offing, but then I would be putting forth inaccurate information as well. If you believed four years and 44 million dollars for Madson was a good move you have to like the Papelbon four year 50 million dollar signing. He's done it longer, done it better and is actually a couple months younger than Madson. His care-free, slightly flighty attitude may take some fitting in to the Phils clubhouse but I have faith in the Halladay’s and Lee’s of the world to help him to fit in. My only reservation is the same as it has been since the Phils were eliminated by the Cardinals in the playoff, if they cannot retain Jimmy Rollins, the offense will pay a price that I'm not sure they can afford. I would have prioritized shortstop while the Phils surely thought securing closer was their biggest off-season duty. Hopefully the powers that be with the purse strings allow the Phillies payroll to go to limits that only the Yankees have gone to before!!.... Nice to see Vance Worley get some recognition in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, much deserved ! As was the award going to Braves closer Craig Kimbral, rightfully a runaway winner. The NL Cy Young will be a lot closer on Thursday with much support going to both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, but look for the award to go to Dodger southpaw Clayton Kershaw, much deserved!!
Nice week for the Flyers getting five out of a possible six points on their 3 game roadie. Quality time as a team in Florida seems to have agreed with them. Their 10-4-3 record stands as one of the best in the league as we approach the quarter point of the season. What has opened my eyes most about them in these first 17 games is the way they have rallied as a unit on the penalty kill. They seem to pick up their effort when one of their own is in the box. Even with Mike Richards gone they have already logged 3 shorthanded goals. Now don't get me wrong, they lead the league in number of penalties taken per game that needs to be cleaned up ASAP, but when they go down a man, they seem to turn the intensity up. Good trait to have, just wish they wouldn't need it as often!
As with last weeks "Attack" I could have done the entire blog on the fiasco that has been the week at Penn State. I will instead keep it short and sweet. Those that have been punished to this point have been deserving of what they have gotten including Joe Paterno. At times during the week, the focus and attention was in my opinion misguided. There is one monster involved here. If it weren't for Jerry Sandusky this entire scandal would not have taken place. Remember where your main ire should be placed. If his attention-grabbing attorney continues to insist that his client make national televisions appearances like he did with Bob Costas last night, the spotlight should stay right where it belongs!! ....PS..How good is Bob Costas?? The "Gold Standard" of sports broadcasting!!