Paul Domowitch's Eagles-Giants report card
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Paul Domowitch's Eagles-Giants report card
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
Here is Daily News columnist Paul Domowitch's report card from the Eagles' 29-16 loss to the Giants in the home-opener. Click here to send in your own grades.
RUSHING OFFENSE: The Eagles ran the ball 40 times and rushed for 177 yards, including 128 by LeSean McCoy. But their short-yardage offense was putrid. They failed to punch it in on two separate goal line situations from the 2 and the 3, and McCoy got dumped for a 3-yard loss when Andy Reid went for it on a fourth-and-1 at the Giants’ 44 early in the fourth quarter.
Grade: C-minus
PASSING OFFENSE: Mike Vick had a a first-possession interception that clanged off Steve Smith's hands. Mike Kafka threw two picks, including one into double coverage that never should have been thrown. Kafka and Vick completed just 4-for-8 third-down passes. For the second straight week, DeSean Jackson had just two quiet catches.
Grade: D
RUN DEFENSE: The game of musical chairs that Juan Castillo played with his linebackers last week didn't really make much of a difference. While the Giants' final rushing numbers - 102 yards on 25 carries - aren't awful, they're also a bit misleading. Giants averaged 7.1 yards per carry in the first three quarters, including a 37-yarder by Ahmad Bradshaw.
Grade: C-minus
PASS DEFENSE: For the second straight week, the Eagles gave up four touchdown passes, this time to a team whose wide-receiver corps qualifies for federal aid. Kurt Coleman had not one, but two missed tackles on Brandon Jacobs' 40-yard TD catch and run, and Nnamdi Asomugha got beat for a score by Victor Cruz. Eagles are on pace to give up, gulp, 43 touchdown passes this season.
Grade: F
SPECIAL TEAMS: Jason Babin's fourth-quarter brain fart when he got called for encroachment on a Giants' field-goal attempt, opened the door for Eli Manning's game-clinching TD pass to Bradshaw. Alex Henery made all three of his field-goal attempts and had three touchbacks on four kickoffs.
Grade: C
OVERALL: Andy Reid's and Marty Mornhinweg's goal-line play-calling left a lot to be desired. Giving the ball twice to Owen Schmitt rather than McCoy or Ronnie Brown? Those two lame pass-play calls inside the 3 after running the ball on nine of the previous 10 plays? Then there's a defense that continues to give up big run plays, can't tackle and gave up four touchdown passes for the second straight week. There's a lot of blame to go around for this disgraceful loss.
Grade: F
**
To read our earlier reports from a busy day at Eagles-Giants, click here.
#EAGLESAFTERMATH: Be heard on the Birds
Man, the only good thing that I can say about the prospects for this season is that due to my travel schedule, I opted out of re-newing DirecTV's Sunday Ticket. Phew! That decision saved me nearly $360 and hours of agony watching this team self-destruct with trying to appear to be "smarter" than everyone else. The only good news is that Donovan McNabb is now 0-3 as teh Vikings' startign QB.- Vick looked like he was in a fog all game. There is something mentally wrong with Reid. Why call a quarterback sneak with a quarterback a week removed from a concussion.— franknbeans
- Andy had to have a play in between to set up the 2nd fullback run. After all Schmitt is like the 8th or 9th most dangerous weapon the Eagles have. Obviously he should get the ball over Shady on a critical goal line series. It's not like Shady was having a good game or anything. — Blankman
- Can someone please tell me if the Eagles still employ men called "linebackers"? I had a hard time finding any of them today.— Bobby G
- All this talk about specific plays and bad calls.......the bottom line is that this team has major weaknesses at a multitude of positions. They have unproven rookies and journeyman making up their interior offensive line. The call a game plan that leaves everything on the QB's shoulders. Andy has been lucky to have extraordinarily athletic QB's to make him look good. Unfortunately, this QB is not 6-2 245, he is 6-0 and 200 and it didn't take 8 years for the injuries to mount, it took 8 games. On defense, at the tackling positions, LB and Safety, they stink. No play makers, unproven players at all 5 positions. The idea that certain positions don;t matter and you can just plug guys in has been Andy's MO and it's reason he hasn't won a championship. The closest he came is when the majority of his teams were either drafted by Ray Rhodes or Tom Modrak.— gee1971
- I sense big trouble for this team in the next 3 weeks, the Eagles D is worse than last year's even with Namdi and DRC...Without Vick the offense is going no where, I think Andy's fate will be sealed following the Buffalo game in the few weeks— SouthJerseyMike
- Andy thinks that Mudd's little athletic line works in the NFC EAST lmao. How we doing on short yardage with these guys? Even the Colts had trouble outside against big dline and won because of Payton period!!! We should have a BIG n Fast team not small n fast!! The Giants beat us with their 3rd stringers in there lol ...Poor drafting, poor overall philosophy (small players),poor coaching decisions(Juan) no regard for LB's..Horrible redzone calls on both sides etc...Please just get rid of this fat clown already !!!!— diehardeagle
- Name any other team in the last 50 years that have made their OL coach the DC. Name one, please. I'm still waiting. Get back to me when you have an answer.— Drew777
- Someone please tell me how after years of having a 245 pound QB and rarely ever using QB sneaks, we go to a 200 pound QB, ONE WEEK AFTER HE HAD A CONCUSSION, and the coaches call for at least 3 QB sneaks.
When our main RB is having a fantastic game.
Does this make sense to anyone?— AtlantaIggle - I'd love to say it's still early but...This team is hugely flawed again. The defense, aside from the DL is a complete joke. Why is Asomugha playing zone? He's be a bump and run cover corner his whole career and now they try to change it? The Castilo experiment is a nuclear bomb. The reason the free agent overhul was needed was due to the lack of players from the last couple of draft classes. Aside from D-Jax, Shady, and Maclin who else is on this team from the last couple of draft classes? Roseman's first two draft's have been a complete joke. 13 years of Reid has been more than enough. Same ol mistakes year after year after year after year.— pflynn20
- Just wait out the season because after all is said and done, Reid will be fired and with him goes Marty and Juan— ESFjellin
- FFAR quote" I have to do a better job" "I have to put the players in better situations" HEY FF, just leave, then you'll put the players in a better situation. Bye Bye Fat boy. Back to Utah, where you belong.— momzer
- Sick and pathetic. I refuse to watch Mike Kafka and Reid coach anymore. Hopefully others will join in until they get rid of this inept group of three muskateers, Andy/Marty/Juan. What a joke. Disgrace. Embarassing. And as for Vick, he is a walking, talking turnover. What a waste of money. Figures he doesn't have a clue. Not sure he could QB much of anything yet an NFL club. And, btw, he's soft. Always hurt and complaining.
- You failed to give Andy a big fat "F" for the lousey job he did in player selection.....Big and strong (studs) beat light and fast every time (see Pittsburg in preseason, Rams in opener...we would not have that W if Steven Jackson had not got hurt, Falcons Turner crushes us, and now giants brandon steam rolls us.....Duh, Andy.....do you think you need some Stud DTs or linebackers who are big enough to stop a stud RB and can any linebacker cover or tackled.....and now that mathews is on the outside, that first TD was all him...(over matched, cut him...) But then Andy knows every thing (yeah, right)....and count the number of times Michael got hit while in the pocket.....Oh, good Job Andy with that OL talent selection....(did the first round wasted pick dress this week....he sure as hell was missing in action..... and sorry, but not unexpected, Kafka was horrible......THANK YOU ANDY REID FOR NOT HAVING THE SKILLS TO SELECT TALENT......Hello upstairs.....Jeff, Joe......aren't you tired of this self appointed football genius....Isn't 12 years of failure enough for you.....Have you no pride.....— nuggett
- Yeah, I think, it will be the Andrew Luck sweepstakes next year?
Just trade Vick and eat the guaranteed money you gave him.
There are still 4 or 5 teams that would give you a couple of
high pics for Vick? Tank it, fire Reid, hire Cowher or Gruden:real
NFL coaches and start over from scratch. In 2 years we could be
perennial SB contenders, instead of PRETENDERS under Andy Feed.
Reid has always had a flawed philosophy and was only competitive
because the NFC East was awful for years, and he had Def guru Jim
Johnson all those years, whom is gone now.
Costillo is not even Ron Rivera, let alone Jim Johnson??
A least another garbage season Reid is history, thank God.
Time is yours.— mikey48
