Paul Domowitch's Eagles-Giants report card
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.
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
Vick sucks. He's reverted to his Atlanta days.— ej610- Put a fork in this turkey of a team, they're done.— kdub13
- Boo hoo, poor Vick. Let's go kill some dogs. Azzhole. — Genghis
- Castillo is way overmatched, which is why it's so easy for offensive coordinator's to come in and expose the Eagles defensive weaknesses. I wonder if that idiotic hiring is the move that finally leads to the fat man being fired. Maybe Andy and Castillo will win the Luck sweepstakes. A well deserved last place for Andy and co.— Blankman
- as I have said here before on at least one other occasion the decision to hire Castillo as defensive coordinator will be the last nail in Reid's coffin here. the absolute arrogance of that move just defies words. — coloradoeagle
- The defense is bad, Vick looked like a guy who got hit in the head last week. Season is slipping away early. No kolb to steady the ship like last year. Young better study up and stretch that hammy. Looks like no playoffs with this defense.— sore richard
- Outside of McCoy, Cole and maybe Jenkins EVERYBODY deserves an F! This team is in trouble, I don't think I am over reacting here, this defense is actually worse the last years and the obvious holes that were there in the beginning of the offseason are still there now and maybe worse then we thought. Kafka is not even a backup in the arena league. Trouble— yourdaddy!
- I choose the positive from this putrid waste of a Sunday afternoon. As long as Reid and his stooges continue to spiral this organization into the ground, there is hope that a regime change might take place when his contract runs out. Thing is, as long as our fannys stay in the seats, nothing will change...Lurie will just keep counting his cash and watching his favorite teams, the Red Sox and the Patriots.— outta work
- I don't know about you but I don't want to wait two more years for Reid's contract to run out. If they finish worse than 8-8 Reid should be fired after this season and with him the entire coaching staff except maybe Duce and Mudd. — coloradoeagle
- Cry all you want, but you know they are not going to dump Reid 3 weeks into the season. Who would they replace him with? He'll get to play out this season, maybe get 6 wins with luck. Reid deserves a lot of credit for the successes this team has had over the years, but the last couple of weeks it really looks like his time is over. And if Vick plays at all in the next two weeks, one of them will be his last - this guy has a bigger bulls eye on him than OBL.— croozn
- Just a horrible loss, especially with all the hype about this team. But the same fundamental weaknesses, beginning with Red's arrogance and delusion that he some kind of offensive genius, continue to drive this team into the mud. Yeah, the one game they run the ball, they can't get their arial assault off the bench. Just pathetic.— BirdofPray
- We go through this type of a loss every year with this team and at the end they make the playoffs. No concern from this Eagles fan!— emilytod
- I wonder if its drafty down there in the basement.— Stone Hendge
- It's not looking good, and I've been a longtime Reid defender. Castillo is overmatched as a defensive coordinator, and this has to qualify as one of Andy's worst decisions. I will GLADLY eat my words if things change drastically by the end of the season, but it really seems Andy Reid, while a good teacher, is just a mediocre-to-bad head coach. This is his 13th season. He is who he is at this point, and at this point, he's a guy who can't make in-game decisions when it's close. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I really think enough's enough.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- Reid should have been fired years ago. Castillo should never have been hired as defensive coordinator. If I were Lurie, I'd fire this coaching staff now.— rhawnhurster
