Archive: October, 2009
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
Paul Domowitch’s report card on the Eagles-Raiders game:
RUSHING OFFENSE: Passaholic Andy Reid fell off the wagon and called just 11 run plays for Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy. Westbrook had 25- and 9-yard runs on the Eagles’ first possession of the second half, then carried the ball just two more times the rest of the game. Grade: D
PASSING OFFENSE: A week after completing 76.2 percent of his passes against the Bucs, Donovan McNabb completed just 22 of 46 passes against the Raiders. The offensive line had no clue how to deal with the Raiders’ blitzes and stunts, the receivers dropped passes and McNabb didn’t make plays when he had opportunities.
Grade: F
Daily News staff
Andy Reid was not in the mood for many questions today, making a quick statement and then heading out of his press conference with an "Ok, we're done here" following the Eagles' 13-9 loss to the lowly Raiders.
"The Raiders outcoached us and they outplayed us in every phase of the game," Reid said. "They did a heck of a job and we didn't."
And, "They blocked better, they tackled better, they blitzed better, they did it all. No. 1, they coached better. Tom did a heck of a job, getting his team ready to play. We all had a piece, starting with me. We all did not do a good enough job."
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Not a great start. Jason Peters has left the field on a cart with a left knee injury. Donovan McNabb has been sacked twice and buried trying to throw once, on third down each time. Eagles can't figure out Oakland stunts, but McNabb did hit DeSean Jackson for 51 yards to set up a 45-yard David Akers field goal and a brief 3-0 lead.
Brief, because on the first play from scrimmage after the field goal, JaMarcus Russell found tight end Zach Miller wide open over the middle, Miller having run away from Jeremiah Trotter. Miller just kept rambling, through a Trotter tackle attempt, picking up blocks, most notably from Louis Murphy, who earlier had batted a ball and caused an interception. Murphy walled off Ellis Hobbs near the goal line as Miller completed an 86-yard TD play, for a 7-3 Raiders lead.
Stanford Routt was called for interference against Jeremy Maclin, negating an interception he ran for a touchdown that would have given the Raiders a double-digit lead.
Daily News staff
Game day has arrived once again as the Eagles travel to Oakland to face the Raiders.
As usual, we kick off the day with our staff predictions and key matchups. Les Bowen will join the fray from the Oakland Coliseum and then we will have postgame coverage into the night here on Eagletarian.
STAFF PREDICTIONS
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
The Eagles have finished a quarter of their schedule with a 3-1 record, heading into Sunday's game at Oakland.
After each game, we provide our report card here on Eagletarian and in Monday's Birdwatch coverage of the Daily News.
Taking the grades in each area from the first four games and averaging them out, here is where the Eagles stand on our season report card to this point:
Les Bowen and Daily News staff
UPDATED: In case you are an Eagles fan in the Bay Area, you can't watch Sunday's game on local television. The game will be blacked out because the Oakland Coliseum was not sold out by the deadline. Just another sign of how the once might franchise has fallen ...
EARLIER:
As the Eagles continue to develop their offensive weapons, there will be a spreading of the wealth.
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
Each week, we provide a list of what we will be watching during the Eagles game:
1. The assault on JaMarcus. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott blitzed Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson on 60 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps (45 of 75) last week. That percentage might be even higher this week against Russell, who was sacked six times and lost three fumbles last week against the Giants.
2. Turnover time. The Eagles are second in the league in takeaways with 12, and should be able to add to that total this week against a Raiders team that has the third most giveaways (12). Seven of those 12 giveaways belong to quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who isn’t very adept at reading coverages and doesn’t protect the ball in the pocket.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Asked what Brent Celek had to do to rank among the NFC's top tight ends, Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said he thnks Celek is already there. Mornhinweg said Celek began to elevate his play last season, with more tangible results this season. Celek leads the Eagles with 26 receptions, for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns. That figure ranks fourth among NFL tight ends -- more impressive when you factor in the Birds' early bye week.
Mornhinweg called Celek, a fifth-round draftee in 2007, "an excellent all-around tight end."
It might look like Celek is courting injury, the way he strains for extra yards -- last week he spectacularly hurdled a Tampa defensive back who tried to come in low -- but Mornhinweg said he isn't concerned.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Left guard Todd Herremans said he was "stoked" to get back on the field today for the first time since the preseason. Eagles coach Andy Reid cautioned that Herremans was only scheduled to work 15 or 20 minutes in individual drills, as he returns from stress fracture surgery on his left foot. Doesn't sound like Herremans will be playing this week at Oakland; he talked a little about that possibility last week, but previously had targeted the Oct. 26 game at Washington, which seems more realistic.
Herremans was not available to speak to reporters after practice. He and corner Dimitri Patterson (quad) were the only Eagles who didn't officially practice; corner Sheldon Brown (absdomen) was listed as a limited participant.
WR Kevin Curtis fully participated but said his sore knee didn't feel much better. "It's still not where I want it to be," he said.
Daily News staff
The Eagles signed cornerback Stoney Woodson to the practice squad and released linebacker Jeremy Leman.
Woodson, 24, was originally drafted by the New York Giants in the seventh round in 2009 and saw action in two preseason games before being released on September 6. In those two games, he totaled five tackles and one interception.
Woodson (5-10, 198) played collegiately at South Carolina, where he amassed 109 tackles and seven interceptions during his four-year career.
