5 Eagles playoff questions
Five Eagles playoff questions as the countdown to Green Bay begins:
5 Eagles playoff questions
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
Five Eagles playoff questions as the countdown to Green Bay begins:
1. What is the state of Vick? Michael Vick sat out yesterday’s game with a quad bruise. But Eagles coach Andy Reid gave every indication that he will be ready, willing and able to play Sunday against the Packers.
2. What is Stewart Bradley’s status? Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, who has missed the last 3 games with a dislocated elbow, said after the game yesterday that he will be ready to go for Sunday’s playoff game against the Packers. If that’s the case, the only question is where he’ll play. Will he return to middle linebacker or will Sean McDermott shuffle his linebackers, keep rookie Jamar Chaney at MIKE and move Bradley to the strong side, where he played in college?
3. Can the Eagles stop Aaron Rodgers? The Eagles defense, which has given up 31 touchdown passes and is dead last in the league in red zone defense, will have its work cut out for it Sunday when it takes on red-hot Aaron Rodgers, who has a 122.0 passer rating in his last 7 starts. "They gave us some problems when we played up there," Rodgers said. "We weren’t overly efficient on offense, so it’s going to be important for us to have a good week of practice.”
4. Do the Eagles have an answer for Clay Matthews? The last time the Eagles faced the Packers, linebacker Clay Matthews made their life miserable. He had two sacks in that game and knocked starter Kevin Kolb out of the game with a concussion. Matthews finished the season with 14 sacks.
5. What will DeSean’s contribution be? Wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who rested his sore foot yesterday, had just 4 catches for 30 yards in the Eagles’ Week 1 loss to the Packers. They’re going to need better production from him in Sunday’s rematch if they hope to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.
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Comments (32)
We need to get Riley Cooper involved more with quick slants over the middle to beat the blitzes; he's a big target. You know D.Jackson's not going over the middle after the hit he took in the Atlanta game; most of his catches are on the outside. Vick, coach Marty and the receivers need to watch packer offensive film they might learn something about hitting the quick slant..— jayrard16- For those Eagles fans so sure of the Packers winning Sunday, how about putting a big bet on them? They are the underdogs so if you put a mere $50 on the Eagles to lose, you win $60. Thats a great price if you're a true Eagles fan. If they win you're happy but only out $50...if they lose you have $110 in your wallet instead of 50. Easy choice...where's my bookie??— sedale
6. What round will Vick choke like McNabb did?- No matter what happens, the Eagles will have had a nice season, one in which they did far better than they had a right to expect. If you were seeding these teams on talent, the Eagles would probably be No. 5, behind Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Green Bay and in front of Seattle. It will be a Bears-Patriots Super Bowl, with the Patriots winning 28-10.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- Get a clue, nobody wants to hear politics on a sport site. Get yourself worked up on the appropriate forum where somebody might give a sh*t. Try the Inquirer editorial section.— escapedcamden4monterey
i amthe biggest fan, but I just don't see them winning this game by being the better team! A fluke win, perhaps!— dexter55- Reid will prepare but will be unable to adjust during the game. He'll blow a TO and a challenge and take full responsibility for the loss. After the loss MM takes the Cleveland job and Vick goes FA.— greenflyer
- Reid will prepare but will be unable to adjust during the game. He'll blow a TO and a challenge and take full responsibility for the loss. After the loss MM takes the Cleveland job and Vick goes FA.— greenflyer
- The Eagles will win easily. Give the 2 points and get out of the basement.— richsal
- Game will be a shootout and the secondary is not up to the task. Birds will experience an early exit form the playoffs. Thanks.
Andy Reid— Dogkilla - I don't think I am saying anything new here when I say the Eagles are a one and done team. I have absolutely zero confidence in them getting past the first round of the playoffs. Unless Shady has a huge game for well over a hundred yards, and Vick scrambles his way out of the Packer blitz, the Birds are toast. If the Packers offense remains on the field for any length of time Aaron Rodgers will burn the Eagles secondary all day long. The Giants for 3 quarters and the Vikings last week showed the rest of the league how to contain Vick. Our defense is just plain aweful and I just don't see anyway they can come up big. Miracles like the Giants game only come along every 30 years or so, don't expect one Sunday. Go Flyers and Phillies! PS: I hope I'm wrong........— rjernee
- 1) we need to cut down the hits on Vick
2) We probably need to score 30 & some sustained drives - unlikely
2) Pack QB Rogers is hot with targets like Jennings, Lee & Driver
3) My grandmother could catch a ball on Dimitri Patterson
4) We don't stop anyone in the redzone
5) Andy on the sidelines pretty much guarantees a loss
with his predictable play calling,
inability to adjust during a game, & challanges / clock management issues.— Fan74 - The Eagles have won most of their games this season via the big play! They've had very few sustained drives on offense that lead to touchdowns, and the only team they're better than on defense in their division is the Cowboys. True that the Packers are in a weaker division than the Eagles, but the Packers have given up 137 fewer points than the Eagles. That is the difference between the two teams. The Eagles will get beat by at least points!— Ron T
Comment removed.- I remember when we played the other teams back in the day we would dial up blitz after blitz on them and they always had their RB standing in the flats waiting for it. They gotta get McCoy on board to also recognize the blitz, chip block and turn around waiting for a pass. Keep the defense honest by doing that a few times and they won't be so eager to blitz.— Nova
- Eagles throw the ball 45 to 50 times and run it 10 times and we get beat. Very simple to see this coming. Another playoff year and no Super Bowl. McCoy averages 5.2 a carry. Yet we will be pass happy and Vick will continue to take a pounding. Fat Boy says its his fault and then we wait for next year.
- One and done is so true. The Packers are going to embarress the Eagles on national TV. Vick can play the whole game-it won't matter. The Eagles just don't match up with this team. The only chance we have is if the Packers self-destruct with fumbles and interceptions.— roadkill
- Comment removed.
- The problem with the Eagles starts at the top, with Andy Reid, whose game management is even more inept that when George W. Bush was "managing" the Bush Administration. Reid refuses to run the ball, which is just like Bush's refusal to admit the thousands of mistakes he made in office that hurt this country. Reid's love of the passing game, even when it is getting Vick beat up all over the field, is just like Bush starting two illegal wars that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and thousands of American troops. And, after the Giants win, Reid acted like the Eagles had already won the division and earned a bye week, just like Bush stupidly put up that Mission Accomplished banner. The parallels between the incompetent Bush Administration and the incompetence of Andy Reid are striking. I only wish Jeff Lurie would throw Reid out on the street like the voters threw Bush out in 2008. Instead, we'll get ESPN and the media talking about how great of a coach Reid is, even after he blows the Packers game, which is just like Fox News singing the praises of Republicans while they are destroying the economy in order to make their cronies at Wall Street and Big Oil rich.— eldiablodelsol2009
- Nice mixture of politics and football. Yeah, osama is much better. Enjoy your 10% unemployment rate genius! — Dogkilla
- Dude, given what Bush did to destroy US credibility around the world and waste hundreds of billions of $$ on a lost cause war looking for WMDs that didn't exist we could have had a concussed Brett Favre in the White House and be better off . . . if all that war money had been put into the US economy, in research for alternative energy sources, infrastructure, and for all levels education, the USA would be reaping massive benefits right now . . . instead, we're looking at the possibility of another depression in 2011. And an NFL strike. You'd probably blame the Dems for the 1929 stock market crash. So yes, let's keep the political bs off these sports blogs . . . — petergou
- You go right ahead and ignore the parallels. Go back to watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, who are nothing but bigoted Religious Right mouthpieces who haven't offered an original thought in years. All they do is read Karl Rove's dispatches for 3 hours a day. — eldiablodelsol2009
- You beat Rodgers by keeping him off the field. Long controled sustained drives rather than quick strikes for scores. Like everyone (except the coaching staff)in the Linc knew Dallas would go to Witten for the TD yesterday, the same holds true for Driver and Jennings. Figure a way to shut them down or contain them. The Packers have no ground game and we have a weak pass defense...use their weakness to make our weakness a strength.— jakster
One and done.- if vick goes down its over! i was hoping kolb played better but i guess not.i know the o line isnt the best and he played with mostly backups but that 1 play cost the game.i'm not as worried about linebackers as i am whoever plays opposite samuel.could be a long day!— Geno D
Just put out your three best linebackers. Chaney has had enough time in the middle to settle in, so don't yank him just because Bradley is ready for action.
As for Matthews, you either leave McCoy or Celek in on every play to pick him up or chip him. Eagles CANNOT allow Packers to send 6 on 5 or 7 on 6 every play, especially when the extra man is Matthews.— jpk- Ah so genius Andy moved Bradley to MLB. Makes sense as he did not look real good there. Keep him outside and Chaney in the middle. Done.
Oh and Les Bowen knows less about football that the average fan.— phillyceltic - Feel sorry for A.R. beginning 2011 next week by taking blame(it was my fault)and taking full responsibility. Oh for the good old days of BOZO, now all we have is Charlie Manson to critize.— jwatson
- if vick goes down its over! i was hoping kolb played better but i guess not.i know the o line isnt the best and he played with mostly backups but that 1 play cost the game.i'm not as worried about linebackers as i am whoever plays opposite samuel.could be a long day!— Geno D
- for the first time ever, I was rooting for the Giants to win and the Packers to lose. Don't want to face the Pack in the first round. They are hot!— micconway
The linebacker question concerns me. Swapping Bradley to the strong side and keeping Chaney out there may be the best route talent-wise, but do you shake things up for a playoff game or stick with what the players are used to? It's not like they have dazzled in any arrangement.
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Eagletarian is your home for comprehensive coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Les Bowen
Daily News Staff Writer
Paul Domowitch
Daily News NFL Columnist
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