Lessons for Eagles from Super Bowl
Since I cover the Eagles, and the Super Bowl, I'm always interested in what the latter can tell me about the former. This year's lessons were not all that clear.
Lessons for Eagles from Super Bowl
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Since I cover the Eagles, and the Super Bowl, I'm always interested in what the latter can tell me about the former. This year's lessons were not all that clear.
* If you were hoping to find evidence that Andy Reid should commit more to the running game, this was not the contest for you. The team that ran most effectively lost by two touchdowns. The team that couldn't convert third or fourth and 1 at the goalline won. I could almost hear the late Jim Johnson chuckling somewhere when Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams explained afterward that he wanted the Colts to run the ball to their hearts' desire - killing the clock and cutting down on Peyton Manning's ability to put up points with long strikes.
* I'm not sure Drew Brees' performance teaches us much, either. Sure, it would be great to have a quarterback who completes 82 percent of his passes. No, you're not likely to see Donovan McNabb do that. But would Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick? Sure.
* Probably the biggest Eagles lesson I took out of the game is that you really need to get that o-line functioning as a seamless unit. There was one sack in the Super Bowl, by Dwight Freeney, early, before his ankle stiffened up. After that, both passers were able to go deep into their progressions, sometimes waving blockers out into dump-down routes. I can see McNabb being effective in that type of game.
*The Saints' defensive model in the last two playoff games - you can give up yards and even points, as long as you produce the killer turnover when it matters - might make me look more charitably at Asante Samuel.
*I have to say, the Colts' vulnerability underneath might have cooled my ardor for potential free agent linebacker Gary Brackett, though I didn't go back and study his snaps closely.
*All in all, maybe the Saints teach us that a couple of key free agent signings can make a defense championship-worthy, and that you don't have to be perfect to win, you just have to be able to seize the moment.
Someday, maybe we'll be able to say the Birds did that.
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To read our earlier post about Joe Banner, click here.
Comments (81)
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I have learned that nothing will change next year with the Eagles. With or without McChump, we will not win a SuperBowl. I have learned that Andy Bleed is no longer a quality coach. I have learned that the Eagles are NOT the gold standard. Anything else to learn here??- It amazes me how the masses here blame one player for the demise of a season. Do I hate McNabb? Not at all. Do I think he has areas in his game that need improvement? Absolutely! Do I think he single handedly lost every game he has been in, including playoof/Suberbowl. No! Few blame them as a team, all 53 players have ah nd in a lose, as well as a win.— PhillyFanSouth
- MG44 - that's a fair assessment. My only counter to that would be that the deep stuff is almost always on the safeties (depending on coverage, what the offense does, down and distance, etc). On those plays where he takes a calculated risk, I'm sure he only does so when he knows he is supposed to have safety help over top. And given the way our safeties played this season, you have to wonder how many of those blown coverages were ultimately the safety's responsibility. Sure, he has more of a renegade style than true shutdown corners like Nnamdi or Revis. But I think if the secondary as a whole played more cohesively this season and everybody covered their assignments, you may not have as much as a problem with him
- The Eagles self proclaimed "gold standard" comment still irks me. Every other team in our division has multiple superbowls.....we have NONE! How are we the "gold standard" again???? What a joke, embaressing.— Tar Heel 1
- We can forget about winning a Super Bowl as long as #5 is under center.— BG in So.Cal
- stikolaboloni: Good post on Asante, even if I (surprise?) disagree. In my opinion, the problem with Asante (in addition to his aversion to tackling and wrapping up) is that he gets burned for a lot of big plays on double moves and the like. In the SB, the Colts never really threw deep all night, so how much did those risk-taking corners give up. If the team is in fact 11-2 when Asante makes at least one pick, I would venture to say that he's been a liability in those other 23 games, including playoffs. I detested Deion Sanders, but I laughed at those who wanted to compare Samuel to him. Samuel is anything but a shutdown corner, and his freelancing seems to hurt the team more than help them.— MG44
- Cletisvandam, That's a fair question. And, it's also fair to ask why those who support McNabb are labeled as "apologists"? Even more ridiculous, in my opinion. I am a fervent McNabb supporter, but think it's fair to question what the Eagles should do right now. What is not fair is how the guy's resume is ridiculed, and how he is personally attacked and denigrated. And no, if you really watched this past year, he is still much higher than middle-of-the-pack, unless the middle of the pack starts at about #5 of 32.— MG44
- The Super Bowl showed the significance of leadership on the field. Leadership that is missing on the Eagles.— Disco Dave
- "But would Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick? Sure." Let's just cavalierly assume some guy with three games NFL experience and another guy who is the only QB McNabb has ever beat in an NFC Championship game can connect on 82% of his passes in the postseason. Sure. Can you please mark this guy's article more clearly so I can be sure not to read them.— thefadd
- Both Payton and Gruden were asst coaches for Ray Rhodes here with the Eagles, and both went on to win Super Bowls. I'm not sure what that means, but to me in both cases, the urgency to win is now, especially in New Orleans case. The don't seem to be worried about picking up players who might be good 3 years from now. They started by signing a vetern QB in Brees, then picked up some veterns on offense and defense to help them turn the corner. They will trade a 4th round pick, for help now. Eagles finally did something like that with Witherspoon, and he is a good player that can help. The Eagles however missed their chance at doing this earlier in the decade, and the window I believe is now closed. The NFL East will be better, the opposing coaching will be better, and the Eagles will be stuck depending on less talented, younger players, and an offensive system that is stale and predictable in big games.Therefore you cannot say they learned anything, because they won't change, and some things you can't, like calling ill-advised time outs, unless the one calling them is replaced.— watsonmr
- I like Asante in spite of his ridiculous, sometimes comical tackling efforts. All-Pro corners don't grow on trees, and they got Asante at a time JJ's D had somehow slipped to the bottom of the league in takeaways. The Saints D was a reminder on Sunday (and all year if you look at that secondary) that takeaways are king. The Birds needed someone who devotes his film study to being a game changer -- whether or not he could tackle was never part of the equation. Do I cringe when he wiffs on a tackle on third down or jumps a route and misses? Doesn't everybody? Still, he pretty much IS what they thought they were getting. And I know we all hi-5 when was out there making 9 picks this year. If you check it out; in Asante's 2 years here, the Eagles are 11-2 in games when he makes a pick (or two), and that includes 2-0 in the playoffs last year. I say let him keep doing his thing and worry about getting more guys in the front-7 who are big and mean and just want to hit somebody in the mouth
How come if you criticize McNabb you are a "McNabb Basher"? He has won a lot of games for us, I give him his props, but it's time to go big guy. He is a middle of the pack quarterback. Period. For the record, Andy Reid should go too. Same reason. Maybe AR could stay as GM, where I think he has done a decent job. But the Eagles need a new direction, a new plan and a new identity.- Almost spring training time....when the only Philly team with a shot at a championship in the next 3+ years (I'd say more...but you just never know) takes the field.
- I learned that Darren Sharper would have been a lot better than Sean Jones, Macho Harris and Quentin Demps at Free Safety.— reggiedunlop
- The only thing we have learned is the Birds will never win a SuperBowl.— Drew777
- Here's a thought for Reid, its called running the football which creates something called balance which in turn keeps their D from keying in on every play he calls. Yeah thats what can be learned from the SB how to run the ball more.— realtruth
- phillysportswriter: Yea you dope 1-5 for 2 yds and 40yds in a half are great playoff numbers. When you gonna stop giving 5 a pass??
- Donovan McChoke "seize the moment"? Are you kidding me?— Mark1npt
- I wouldn't look to learn anything from the Saints' defense. They're not that good. The o-lines were the main lesson. The other lesson was that Drew Brees is freakin awesome.— p-diddy
- The key phrase in this whole article is: "*... and that you don't have to be perfect to win, you just have to be able to seize the moment." <--- This is something that the Eagles have not been able to do.— roque32
- The Cowboys blew out the Eagles for two reasons. 1) The o line stinks. 2) the defense stinks. But that's not fun to talk about. Let's blame the quarterback beaucse that's about the extent of our football knowledge in Philadelphia.— bobbyd24
- I like McNabb. Good QB. Dealt with the T-O thing as well as possible. But he doesn't seem to have the fire that the top QBs do. Brees, Manning, Brady -- during the games, tight games, their focus is intense. They're not smiling and slapping teammates' helmets. Do the Eagles have a better alternative? Absolutely not. Will McNabb be an elite QB? Absolutely not. I don't see the fire. Sorry.— eman
Andy is still trying to "work on" what he learned from the game...hmmm
LESSON 1: A good QB and good coach can overcome any team's weaknesses. LESSON 2: Six years is more than enough time to figure out if the QB and coach are capable of winning a SB; 11 years is just proves what you should have known 5 years earlier, idiot. LESSON 3: There are MUCH BETTER QB's and coaches out there. LESSON 4: Don't be scared of change, or you will always be a loser.- Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks.— Han Solo
- Next year Super Bowl: Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions— tightmadness
chrisrr, if your contention is that McNabb is not accurate enough to sustain drives with his accuracy or lack there of then that is the very reason they should/should've done so. The fact that they didn't...Reid. Falkirk, don't point to one game to disprove a proven rule. Colts and Saints extremely powerful passing games and both QBs got the ball away quicklyso sacks were tough to get. If the rule may not hold for them it certainly does for the Eagles who don't run despite McNabb not having the ability of Pmanning or Brees. That fact alone should make the Es WANT to run more, but then again AR is the coach. Don't forget, the Vikes, a better balanced team than the Saints would have been in the SB instead of the Saints except for one bone headed pass.— tpizza- Andy and management are too arrogant to get it. McNabb is too dumb to get it. The fans don't have the ability to see reality because their dreams blur their vision. What's there to learn? Andy and Company keep promising the moon while delivering the space station and the fans keep accepting less than the moon. Someone call me when Andy actaully does a better job as he has promised for soooo long without consequence.— Voytas
- One point I completely agree with you on. We need an O-line. Even without the injuries, our line-up is totally SOFT. DMac or Kolb (or Vick), we're going to get pounded next season too if we don't get quality linemen. Same for our running game. We need an O-line that can both pass-protect and open up holes for Weaver. As for the D, I'm not such a great fan of Asante, but we need to upgrade at LB and safety, and possibly get another pass-rusher first. Get those parts, and it really won't matter who's at QB next year.— goeagles87
- here's something i learned: going into the game all we heard about was how incredibly smart and talented manning was (and i agree). now that he lost, what we hear is that he's only 9-9 in the playoffs (worse than you-know-who) even though he's had (much!) better receivers his whole career than you-know-who, and he threw a horrible choke interception to lose the game. so, in philly i assume the fans would be calling for kevin kolb to replace manning. LOL!!! that should get the haters going (and before i hear how he won a super bowl, consider he was lucky enough to go against Rex Grossman in that game, a third string talent!, compared to you=know-who that lined up against Brady). and while i'm at it, shouldn't we also run the colts coach out of town for a)not going for the perfect season b)running three times at the end of the first half c)picking up hank baskett and d)not being ready for an onside kick. OVERALL, what i learned is that the Indy coach and QB are lucky they live in Indy!— stopbooing
- Fact: As long as McNabb is completing 60% of his passes in a west coast offense, the Eagles will come up short. Do you really think Donovan could have made half of the passes that were made in the super bowl?— chrisrr
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- "running the ball consistently prevents the defense from just sitting back in pass defenses all game, which is what opposing defenses do to us EVERY GAME. New Orleans runs the ball to setup the pass." Are. You. Mad? New Orleans runs the ball to setup the pass? Geez, I guess no amount of facts will get in the way of your reaching your preordained conclusion that the run is king. If there ever was a Super Bowl to prove that the run ain't what it used to be - this was it. But go ahead. Ignore reality and keep telling yourself that a) You need a running game to slow down the pass rush (1 sack in the entire game); the run sets up the pass (NO threw 68% of the time) and that passing teams don't win Super Bowls (Oops! A passing team would have won this Super Bowl no matter who the victor was.)— Falkirk
- everybody jus keep blaming #5 last time i checked there are 11 players own the field...our d is suspect...our o line is mangled...game planning sucked balls...when do we blame the eagles instead of mcnabb...most of you are blind...im ashamed to luv the same team as ya'll..this guy has done more for us than any other qb in eagles history we'll never get that parade like this...you guys suck....go be cowgirls fans...leave us alone— birdmanholla
- The main lesson is that both Peyton and Brees are better QB generals than McNabb, Both in leadership, reading the defense, efficiency and high passing average. The losing performance by the Colts. If Mcnabb had been QB the Eagles in the SB, might have ended up being alot worse of a beating than the Colts endured.Because McNabb would have been sacked 3-4 times due to holding the ball too long, probably 1 or 2 INT's and a fumble or two. Basically, it's the confidence in the QB before and in a big game that we don't have in McNabb versus confidence in an elite level QB like a Brees or Manning that fans would have.— robmarina9
- We are a lot of players away. We will compete, and it takes some luck, but we are not a top 10 team as of now.— hawk18
- Sean Peyton got a lot of credit for the win. And during the game, I felt like I was watching Andy Reid. The difference is that the Saints, on this day, executed. When the Saints went for it, and failed on fourth down with a run, that's something Andy would do. However, the defense held the Colts to a 3-and-out (execution), Saints got the ball back and Saints went down and got three points (execution). Saints started the second half with a onside kick. Remember Andy and the first Dallas game. The difference, the Saints executed (the ball coincidentally bounced off former Eagle Hank Baskett, who did not execute). I know Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl win, but that pick was bigger than Donovan's in the NFL title game against Tampa Bay. McNabb is 9-7 in the postseason; Manning is 9-9.— Slovs
- A lesson that's very obvious is that the Colts D-line, small and quick, cannot generate any pressure on the pocket. Another lesson was that "bend but don't break" doesn't always work. How many passes did Brees make that were of the 5-7 yard variety, to receivers split out? The Eagles rely on the big play, N.O. just took what was given to them. Of course, as indicated, the two QBs were the most accurate passers in each league. We know that will never be McChoke.— 4thand10
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- Sean Peyton got a lot of credit for the win. And during the game, I felt like I was watching Andy Reid. The difference is that the Saints, on this day, executed. When the Saints went for it, and failed on fourth down with a run, that's something Andy would do. However, the defense held the Colts to a 3-and-out (execution), Saints got the ball back and Saints went down and got three points (execution). Saints started the second half with a onside kick. Remember Andy and the first Dallas game. The difference, the Saints executed (the ball coincidentally bounced off former Eagle Hank Baskett, who did not execute). I know Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl win, but that pick was bigger than Donovan's in the NFL title game against Tampa Bay. McNabb is 9-7 in the postseason; Manning is 9-9.— Slovs
- Even if the O-line was healthy through the year - I just do not see #5 being that much more effective. The guy misses throws, especially crucial 3rd downs and does not run anymore. #5 is a good QB but will not get the championship ring unless the defense is a top 2 unit.— cheesefry
- watch castle (HTML deleted)— ziaur
- Do you think once the Birds finally win a Super Bowl, we'll spend February talking about how they could have scored more or kept the other team off the board? I'm thinking we will. If we ever get the chance. watch castle (HTML deleted)— ziaur
- how about the great pass Peyton made from his own end zone to the rb on his own goal line? what did the RB do? turned it into a 9 yard gain. our RB likely would have been tackled, due to poor blocking, and an inability to make a play on that call and McNabb would be crucified for throwing it in the first place. that play taught me an awful lot about the difference between the colts and the eagles.— birdfannnj
- Did anyone notice with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter both teams had all 3 timeouts? Eagles are great at managing money, cap and do pretty well at draft- Managing the game, umm not so much. Get what you can for mcnabb, draft linebackers and dont waste money on Peppers for one year— fman727
- Here we go! With inferior talent this year, Mcnabb's YPA (yards per attempt) was higher than Manning's, and the Eagles scored more points this season. Care to explain, or refute? You know, Peyton (who played a fairly good game) almost never took a shot downfield Sunday, and the one he threw was about 10 yards short - for whatever reason. There's more than one way to win a championship. And, for the McNabb bashers, no his style is not 3 steps and out, but how many plays does he still keep alive, and how many sacks (with our porous line) does he still fight off. And yes, he throws the slant and the out pretty darn well at this point, but see what you want to see, and keep repeating the same tired refrains.— MG44
- The lessons that I have from the super bowl are that if you have a quarterback that can make throws and complete 68%-70% of their passes all season, you will have a shot at the super bowl. Brees 70%, Manning 68%, Farve 68%, Warner 66%, McNabb 60%. McNabb's completion percentage ranks right up there with Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, David Gerrard and Chad Henne. McNabb is not elite. He is average at best and certainly not suited for the west coast offense. While the defense did play well, to their credit, they are on the field. The Eagles were 26th in time of possession. There was only one team with a winning record that had a worse time of possession, the Bengals. The only reason everyone is clamoring for Reid to run more is because McNabb is not accurate enough to sustain drives. Do you hear anyone saying that the Colts lost because they did not run more?— chrisrr
- Pretty easy lesson, hire a good coach.— franky
- The one thing that you can take away from the Super Bowl is that to get there it can't hurt to have a couple great QBs. I like Donavan, but he is no Brees, or Manning. The other key point is both the Saints and Colts have really excellent O-Lines. I have never seen so much passing, and so little pressure.— Bobphxville
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- The Eagles have had XLIII years to learn from Super Bowl winners. Appaently, they haven't learned much.— JamesJ
YEAH, GET BRACKETT AND PEPPERS!!!- Comment removed.
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- I love how one hater says McNabb dinks and dunks too much to pad his stats and another hater say he should dink and dunk more...Love it!— palmyra21
- This was a very weak argument! Peyton is great, but not as great a winner as the media presents him to be. Saints got some luck and bad hands by Hank Baskett along the way. I can see the Eagles defense giving up conversion after conversion and depending on turnovers! But all in all, just like the Giants 2 seasons ago, except not as good a defense; if you play the game again Colts win, if you played the game again Patriots win.— Tyronne Coppel
- Superbowl proves McNabb will never win one. You have to make quick throws into tight spots. McNabb can throw a quick slant to save his life. Both QB's dink & dunk their way down the field. McNabb is to worried about the bomb pass. McNabb is to slow at the line reading the defense and getting rid of the ball.— Fast Eddie
- special teams was huge for saints, big field goals and an onside kick, how bout that. Great comment th. Big bandaid and his still injured brother, ha.— peteike
- This must be a trick question. We all know that the Eagles don't learn from their own mistakes week after week, why would we expect them to learn something from either the colts or saints? Andy will keep calling passing plays, and McNabb will keep throwing at receiver's feet. Both will claim they need to do better. Repeat that week after week and you have a typical eagles season.— etownbluejay
- This must be a trick question. We all know that the Eagles don't learn from their own mistakes week after week, why would we expect them to learn something from either the colts or saints? Andy will keep calling passing plays, and McNabb will keep throwing at receiver's feet. Both will claim they need to do better. Repeat that week after week and you have a typical eagles season.— etownbluejay
- Reid tries onside kicks and fakes more often than most coaches. What have you been watching. Sometimes its a matter of playoff opponents and getting on a run that can make the difference and a few breaks in the big games. Just ask the giants.— peteike
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- The best lesson is indeed that you don't have to be perfect to win. But it helps to be really good in a lot of areas. Saints, Colts, and Vikings all qualify this year. Saints had the best 12th man in the NFL. Think Philly fans could learn from that?— tacklinjoe
- ah yes, the haters are out in force. Lesson to be learned is a team with a Defense that holds the opponents to 17 points has a good chance to win...— palmyra21
- I'd like to see the Birdz learn something from the fluidity that both QB's displayed and how they 7 the coaches managed the game.— Irish Frank
- Why should Andy and the Eagles learn any lessons from the Super Bowl. After all they are the gold standard aren't they?— mindstorms
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Someday? Maybe when it snows 100 inches in Philly in one year. Wait...— gho_matt- McNabb would have been sacked 5 times more, no matter who he played for, because of his inability to read defenses and MAKE A DECISION!
- A lesson should be for the coach to call aggressive and unpredictable plays instead of staying conservative in big games. The fouth and goal (even though it did not work) was bold and so the the on-sides kick that changed the game!! Reid would not have done this until less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter!— emedina273
- Do you think once the Birds finally win a Super Bowl, we'll spend February talking about how they could have scored more or kept the other team off the board? I'm thinking we will. If we ever get the chance. I'm also thinking that there are plenty of other crappy teams out there that will get better and win the Lombardi trophy before we find out what it feels like.— Montco PA Dem
- The lesson I learned is that we need a better quarterback. That can throw the ball, stand in the pocket, make plays out of nothing. Not one that under throws the ball all the time.— zippy1346
- The Eagles already know it all. You know, "The gold standard best roster". How dare you suggest there's somthing wrong.— drenner
- Come on Les. First, you cannot measure a team's success based solely on total rushing yards. You may not run for a lot of yards, but running the ball consistently prevents the defense from just sitting back in pass defenses all game, which is what opposing defenses do to us EVERY GAME. New Orleans runs the ball to setup the pass. They have a lot of success passing because they will pass out of formations that they have been running from all game long. They design plays to make the defense think "run" and react accordingly at the snap. This mis-reaction allows for the pass plays to develop, especially down the field. Second, to insuate that Vick could ever hit 80% of his passes is down right clownish. Third, exactly where would Brackett play? The Colts defense makes LB's look better than they truly are. Go back and look at the FA LB's that have left Indy over the last few years and see how many of them had success with their new team. He would be an absolute waste of money in Eagles green. Lastly, the OL and DL is where it all starts, lets make sure we improve both aspects this offseason with as-close-to-certain-as-possible players, not question marks riddled with "if's", ala the Big Bandaid and his still injured brother.— The Reddgie
- "Someday"? At this rate, NO DAY will we be able to say that as Eagles fans. I hope to when Kubb starts, but until then, we'll see!
- And let the McNabb and writer-bashing commence!— th
- There are no lessons to learn from this. They know better and are too stubborn to learn or remove the visors and see their faults and try to improve upon them. Andy will still suck at timeouts and not manage the clock in close games. They will sell that their team is the best on paper even with holes the size of the Grand Canyon in the line-up. Just stop writting this stuff. After 11 years, they have learned nothing and are too predictable.— SlinkTMP
- The only lesson should be - Win the last game of the season! All other things are meaningless.— Joe Funk
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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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