DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff photographer
Akeem Jordan puts shoulder into Saints' Mike Bell, but it was too late to stop Bell from scoring.
- Eagles Notebook: Eagles' Westbrook says ankle is sore, but hopes to play against Chiefs
- Paul Domowitch: Eagles defense knocked over by strong Brees
- Sam Donnellon: Eagles accommodate Saints with special delivery
- John Smallwood: Blame loss to Saints on Eagles defense
- Eagles' Kolb could have used some help, but Saints' Brees didn't need any in win
- Rich Hofmann: Eagles to Kolb: When it's your fault we'll let you know
- Outside the stadium, Eagles tailgaters salvage fun
- Win over Eagles proves Saints are legit
- Groin injury slows explosive Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson
- With or without McNabb, Wildcat wasn't a disruption for Eagles
- Saints again show they can pile up points
- Making Our Grades
- What We Saw
- Eagles Aftermath
- Talking Points
- AROUND THE LEAGUE
- With Cassel, Chiefs outplay Raiders, but squander a win
- Dallas crowd goes home disappointed as Giants pull out win
- Jets keep their word, beat Patriots
- Eagletarian
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John Smallwood: Blame loss to Saints on Eagles defense
BEATING THE New Orleans Saints wasn't ever about Kevin Kolb.
Nobody expected the third-year quarterback making his first start to outduel Saints Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees.
Kolb's primary responsibility was to avoid imploding and make it impossible for the Birds to win. He accomplished that.
This game was on the Eagles' defense.
This was a game in which the defense needed to step up from a stellar performance in the season opener and contain New Orleans' high-powered attack.
It didn't.
"We didn't plan for it," said Eagles safety Quintin Mikell. "It happens sometimes. [Kolb], I feel bad. He had a really good game and we put him in a bad position.
"I just think that as a defense, we've got to keep the points down."
To be fair to defensive coordinator Sean McDermott' s unit, the Eagles' atrocious play on special teams and a key interception by Kolb put the defense in some tough spots.
Still, when the opponent hangs up 48 points and the only nonoffensive touchdown was a 97-yard interception return in the final minute, your defense didn't have a good day.
Granted, the game-breaking touchdowns by the Saints came at the start of the third quarter, when Ellis Hobbs fumbled the kickoff and Kolb threw an interception deep in his own territory in the next series.
New Orleans needed just seven plays, 46 total yards and 2 1/2 minutes to turn a four-point game into a 31-13 advantage.
But isn't that when a defense with aspirations of making a Super Bowl holds a team to a field goal, maybe two?
How about creating a turnover to snatch momentum back?
"We put ourselves in a bad position, but as a defense it really doesn't matter," Mikell said.
"We've been in that position before and we held people to field goals.
"That's something that we've got to get better at."
I think we all knew that the Eagles' defense wasn't going to get five sacks and force five turnovers, the way it did against Carolina, but it barely made any big plays against the Saints.
McDermott had challenged his unit to be a different defense from Week 1, a better defense.
Well, it was definitely different.
