Bears maul Eagles
Bears 30, Eagles 24
Bears maul Eagles
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Andy Reid was furious. Referee Scott Green had just cost the Eagles four points because of a roughing the passer call that he had made on defensive end Jason Babin, prolonging an extinguished drive. What should have been a Chicago Bears field goal in the last minute of the first half ended up being a touchdown because of that flag, and Reid was chewing out Green in a way that you rarely see: pointing, gesticulating, the anger shooting from his eyes.
It was a debatable call, to be sure. The hit on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was a little bit late, and that was true enough -- but Babin did appear to be shoved from behind by the Bears’ Chris Spencer. It wasn’t much of a shove, but it also wasn’t much of a hit on Cutler, either. It was a play that the referee might have chosen to ignore in many circumstances. But Green didn’t, and Reid was wild.
Because that is the thing about this Eagles defense -- and Reid has to know it as well as anyone. That is, the margin for error is so small, still.
It is the story of this season, a defense that cannot quite be counted upon. They had come off a good game against the Washington Redskins and a great game against the Dallas Cowboys -- proving, perhaps, that the NFC East really isn’t very good this year. They had played those games, though, and they were beginning to develop a little bit of a swagger, and then they found themselves on the wrong end of a 30-24 score against the Bears at Lincoln Financial Field.
They blew another fourth-quarter lead, allowing the Bears to score 10 unanswered points at the end. It was their fourth blown fourth-quarter lead of the season and their third at home. And when Michael Vick couldn’t pull out the game at the end, the Eagles were left with a 3-5 record and all kinds of issues once again, starting with the fact that they are three games behind the New York Giants in the standings.
They have a run defense that aspires to be adequate. They are using a nickel cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was having a really rough game against the Bears. At one point in the fourth quarter, after defensive coordinator Juan Castillo had words with Rodgers-Cromartie, the player stomped off, waving his arm in obvious disgust and needing to be calmed down, first by teammates and then by Reid.
Their game is speed. If their pass rush is not dominating, though, it is not enough. As a result, their games can often have a shootout quality to them. If the game is competitive, they cannot seem to keep a lead secure.
Other than that, things are fine.
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Buy Eagles tickets Comments (77)
Give the Bears some credit, losers.— vegasscott
Nnamdi Asomugha has been a bitter disappointment.- Lurie Banner and Howie too. Please just leave. Sell the team and do something else. Jeff much like your movie making career your foray into Fantasy Football stinks too. Why dont you start sailing in the America's Cup or take up Polo. Lots of bored rich people do that when all else fails. Just leave this city and sell the Birds to an owner who will care about W's. You obviously dont care as your lack of changing the coach shows. Please leave as I would like to root for the Eagles again.
- Everyone has heard the old saying, "can't speaking about different people in the same breath"? Well, I have never seen that more come true last night when it came to the Eagles Linbackers, and the Bears Linebackers. WOW, what a difference in level of play. No team should be THAT far behind any other team at a similar position.— hawaiiphillyfan
- Question to anyone..... Other than his sacks, has Jason Babin made ANY other tackles for this team? They just watched him rush upfield on EVERY down, and just ran underneath him everytime. First downs, third downs, they just kept waiting for him to get into his "cool" stance, and ran right past his vacated spot. Now, I'm no coach, but do the Eagles coaches not see this happenning? Wow.........— hawaiiphillyfan
- It's funny, the last two weeks there were hardly any comments on the boards or stories written but a loss tonight and the boards light up. Goes to show how negative this town really is. Avant was right.— realtruth
- It's funny, the last two weeks there were hardly any comments on the boards or stories written but a loss tonight and the boards light up. Goes to show how negative this town really is. Avant was right.— realtruth
- I am so tired of Andyspeak.. Get it done or get out of here....— Seal Rock
- Has there been a more unlikeable Eagles team? This type of loss normally would bother the he11 out of me, but I really can't get worked up over this team. I take Phillies preseason losses more harshly.— Repubrebirth
- I don't know who to blame forth is pathetic loss. Fromthe get go....the Eagles looked to be lacking the intensity they had in theDallas game. They looked flat....and it showed in every aspect of the game. everything looked in slow motion, except the Bears. The only glint of light was McCoy. Both aJackson and Maclin appeared to be afraid of catching the all isnthe middle of the field. Cutler made our defense look silly...and he is far from being a star...yet John Gruden spoke about him like he was the Messiah. Whew the loss hurt and JohnGruden's announcing made it even harder to watch and listen tothis game.— envirojoe55
- shame on us— Seal Rock
- Somebody tell me why some things I saw from the QB tonight shouldn't smell like there's something rotten in Denmark— escapedcamden4monterey
- At least Jeffrey won't have to sign DeSean to a big contract. Let him walk. What happened to the best corners in the NFL. What a joke. Offense line coach as defensive coordinator. A JOKE, I TELL YOU, A JOKE. That's it. We're ALL DONE WIT DIS TEAM. Choke artists and NO HEART— BigMike100
- Have to agree with sam bonner.Eagles won't make it. Just don't know what to think about this Jekyl and Hyde of a team. It's driving me nuts. I'm giving up with the Ealges for this year.— wilmington
- I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! THE DREAM TEAM! BIG BLUE PLAYING W/HALF A TEAM ARE PLAYING LIKE CHAMPS! NOT CHUMPS ,LIKE THE SHEAGLES! GO GAINTS!!!!!!!HOW GREAT TO GET BEAT WHILE HONORING BUDDY RYAN AND THE OTHER LOSERS FROM THE 80S& 90S.— L.T.8690
- From Andy Reid's postgame press conference: "This one's on me. I've got to do a better job."— Snap Crackle Propp
- Here's the painful truth. You are going to finish 9-7. You have lost the tie breaker for the wild card to both the Falcons and the Bears, two of the three teams that you will be fighting for the two wild card spots. Neither Atlanta or the Bears will finish worse than 9-7, so you can't beat either of them out.
You don't make it. Too bad.— sam bonner - Sam bonner you are an idiot. Why exactly do the bears deserve any credit. The eagles blew it the bears were just lucky enough to be there. Now go back to Chicago. Next year you can suck obama's u know what if he has one.— rich729
- The Bears have beat you 4 of the last 5. They have a better team. The NFL does not revolve around your so called dream team, as we can all see.
Truthfully, Bears fans would have been p.o.'d if they had lost. They expect to win these games every bit as much as you do.
Keeping Cutler clean is the key. If they do that, they can beat everybody but Green Bay.— sam bonner - Andy Reid never respected LB positions and have blown wasting 1st round picks year after year - Blind Squirrel 12 acorns found - Andy Reid 0 1st rounder found. Just go away and take your arrogance with you.— 2:01TimeOut
Comment removed.- RE: Babin's late hit on Cutler. Wasn't that the type of hit that Vick was bellyaching about after the Giants game? If it was Vick getting hit that late, wouldn't every Eagles fan be screaming for a flag? — Snap Crackle Propp
- Comment removed.
- Remember 08 guys 5-5-1 died to rights Mcnabb benched no hope we survived it. Remember 06 5-6 No Mcnabb Torn ACL. Guys Big Andy can circle the wagons. They key we must make it out of November 3-1. Arizona,N.Y.G,Pats Tough 3 games but our character will be tested. Is Mike Vick the answer can DJax step up for a new deal. Will Nhamdi and DRC step up. We need alot of help but if we those 3 games we get Seattle,Miami,Jets,Dallas Wash. guys have faith if you give up hope in week 9 then how long have you been a real eagle fan. We've been down and out many times before Stay strong Philly Fan Base Stay strong.— #5 fan for life
- This team is stupid, period. Throws to nobody. Return not necessary try a fair catch. That throw by the punter looked like I threw it. Fall and by fall I mean flop on top of guy after play over? Get hit over and over while Jackson runs where? Cutler can just hang up his shirt, it did not get dirty. Go watch tapes of the 49ers good years. Watch until it hurts. Morons!— NYPHILLYPHAN
Maclin....dude is killin us..and Jackson is a ghost— elijah29- Not Maclin's fault on the last play. Horrible pass by Vick - he was lucky to catch it. I think Jackson has proven that the Eagles would be foolish to spend big money on him which, of course, is the reason why they will do exactly that. — DallasEagle
- Stupidest idea EVER to change defensive coordinator on a shortened preseason and then throw a complicated scheme at them.... WTF? DBs look lost? Where is Dimitri Patterson when we need him? NO Heart! Inexcusable.— phillyphan801
- Again. Asante lost in back corner of the end zone. Nnamdi grabbing for something on pass interference at goal line. Forte fumbles twice, once resulting in a defensive touchdown, and still they lose. Unreal.— CornerPretzelGuy
- Since the Bears offensive line has gotten better and they stopped giving up sacks, they are a different team. The Eagles lost to the better team.
Philly won't make the playoffs. One reason is that they just lost the tiebreaker to the Bears. No way Philly finishes with a better record than the Bears this year. If they tie in record, the Bears get the playoff spot. Bye Bye Eagles.— sam bonner - don't put all your faith in Jay Cutler. He pulled himself out of the NFC championship game when he broke a nail. Your backup out played him. I watched the Cutler act after he was drafted here. He is Jeff George 2.0 — coloradoeagle
- C'mon man. Haven't you learned yet? You're just setting yourself up for a terrible depressing let down. Don't you see? It doesn't MATTER if the Eagles make the play offs or not. They won't do anything once they get there. Just like every year. Wake up, man. With the Eagles... IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY. — essell
- I'd like to know the answer to that question...
Are we 0-12 two weeks after the bye?
— Lonewolf11— jaidubb - Hey Philly fans let me remind you in 08 we were 5-5-1 Mcnabb had been benched it looked bleak. Andy can circle the wagons. 3-5 is our 2nd worse record under Reid. I am losing hope but we can do it. Remember giants were 12-4 dominated the division. It has happened before. This season is the exact same. Huge expectations that year we brought in Asante drafted D Jax. Andy can bring his team from the dead but the real question is how long we can stay alive?— #5 fan for life
- Relax everybody ! Reid will hold his day after press conference, state that they will look at the tapes, find out where the problems were, and correct them. He has been saying that since he came here and everybody gives him a pass on it.
That defense out there was'nt bad, it was putrid.Those high priced free agents don't like to hit or tackle, do they ? Now that they got their money, they don't want to hurt themselves.
Nauseating display. Wonder what Buddy Ryan thought of those wimps.— candidly - Hey, candidly. Buddy Ryan was happy no matter who won. Remember, Ryan was the DC of the Bears when they won the Super Bowl in 1985, so it was a win-win for Ryan.
The Eagles aren't hardly ready for prime time much less deserving a "Dream Team" status.— essell - Nights like tonight are why the Iggles will never show Desean the money. Is he even interesting in playing for the Eagles anymore. Seems he only catches the ball when he's got a step or two. Can someone say T.O. At least, it will be interesting again.— jaidubb
- YES, THIS SEASON IS OVER.
WHAT
does Jeffrey Lurie have to see to fired Andy Reid & get a new head coach?
a coach who will make DEFENSE a priority & not an afterthought?
a coach who will RUN THE BALL more than (only) when his team has a 2-touchdown lead???
I've been a DIE-HARD, LOYAL Eagles fan for 25 years. I'm TIRED of drinking the cool-aid.. I'm TIRED of GETTING MY HEART RIPPED OUT
EVERY
SEASON
by this team.
FIRE ANDY REID
SEND VICK TO THE DOLPHINS
LET'S GET A REAL DEFENSE
that can stop an opponent even
25%
of the time.
& send Vince "dream team" Young out the door too
while we're at it.
— JTnelmondo - Oh I see, Rich. The Eagles lost becauise of the ref's bad call. "A bit late, not much of a shove" You sure know how make excuses for a team thjat wqas supposed to be a Dream Team and which will not even make the playoffs. One more time, it is always the wuarterback. Look at the otrher games this week and see what elite quarterbacks do in the last minute of the game to win it for their team, or are you blind.
Chicago 30, Philly 24. No excuses. Get away from your computer.— mario1239 - Guys its simple cant blame DJax and Maclin thats too easy. Once again it goes on Juan Forte 150 All purpose Earl Bennett 107 Cutler no sacks. Why do we blow 4th quarter leads No QB Pressure. Cutler no sacks,FitzPatrick no sacks,Eli Manning no sacks how can you hold a 4th quarter lead when the QB can just stand in the pocket for 7+ seconds.— #5 fan for life
- Questionable play calling in the clutch. Check. Bone headed plays and penalties both sides of the ball. Check. Untimely turnover by Vick (could have been even more). Check. Choking when the game is on the line. Check. Wasted timeouts. Check. Outcoached. Check. SAME OLD ANDY REID EAGLES. Reid should have been fired 5 years ago. Don't buy and tickets until Lurie and Reid are gone, or you will continue to see more of the same!— eaglephanatic
- Comment removed.
- This team is one big botched punt fake.— cea
- Where you find the losers that do your pre and post game show? They never give the opponent any credit. You know what? The BEARS are better than you are. They have beat you 4 of the last 5 times. They were in the NFC championship last year. They're better than you are.
— sam bonner - 5280philly - try 51 years and counting— DallasEagle
- Goodbye Eagles, see ya next year. This season is done. Might as well at least tank the rest of the way so we get a higher draft pick. Time for a new coach. You don't give up 30 points and expect to win too may games.— Kanayd
- If the Eagles really really try as hard as they did tonight, we may still qualify for the Anrew Luck sweepstakes. — essell
- Why blame just Vick @winoneplease?? Has a Andy team ever won it on a last drive ??? N how about the DJax fumble ??? N our defense getting no sacks and giving up 30pts doesn't help !!!— diehardeagle
- Vick, the highest paid player and team leader, was as guilty as anyone on the team. Awful interception in the red zone that tuned into 3 points for the Bears. That's the game right there. He does not have the mental fortitude to pull out a clutch win. He's only slightly better than bench warmer McNabb. — eaglephanatic
- 13 years and counting. Please blow it up after this year and start over with a different coach. I don't care who it is, just ANYTHING other than this same movie we've been watching year after year after year.— jd509
- Let me state again for the record: we have an offensive line coach coaching our defense. He last coached defense in HIGH SCHOOL.— coloradoeagle
- Fraud......please get rid of Reid— klew
- The "Dream Team" has yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. But they always walk around, pounding their chests, acting like they're Champs during the game. But after the fourth quarter is over they're simply CHUMPS!— Ron T
- Im sitting here watching Fat B***ard Reid, once again saying he needs to put the guys in a better position. Hopefully you guys will have a new regime next year because the current people just arent going to get it done for you. I'm a Giant fan but i must admit i actually do feel bad for you guys. I mean after 12 years of mediocrity,youd think Lurie would can the guy tomorrow. Vick isnt going to get it done for you either. Fire Reid now and have an interim coach until the end of the season. Cut your losses and start rebuilding for next year because i dont see the iggs going anywhere unless they run the table and i doubt thats gonna happen.— 06hdfxdwg
- There is your dream team led by the softest head coach in the league and a QB with a 62.1 QB rating for the game. Yep, season is over, decade too, if Reid sticks around.— Carlos2
- I'm afraid my punter would be looking for work somewhere else. That pass could have been made by my grandson PJ.— stoky
- for the first time since Andy Reid is the coach im going to say it, fire him , and please dont blame the poor rookie punter for missing that pass, he is a PUNTER not a QB that play is on the HC, also Juan Castillo is a joke, that wide nine technique also is never going to work when you dont have LBs, and that Kelce is not a good center, Jamal Jackson is so much better, but woow I thought this was our year— rod 12
- Andy is soft n has build a soft team !!! End of story !!! Maclin leads the parade !!!!— diehardeagle
- The Eagles looked like boys being manhandled by big strong and fast men. The Bears bullied them up and down the field and the Eagles failed to respond and instead cowered in the corner in the fetal position. The Eagles are a mirror image of their coach. Fat and soft. — essell
- Wow - first the Phillies disappoint to new heights and then this? I am so glad we spent so much money signing these wonderful free agents - what a bunch of busts - and are we to seriously take Jackson's word that he deserves a new contract and a huge pay raise? YOU DISAPPEARED BUDDY AND YOU MAY HAVE COST US THE GAME TONIGHT - take your talents elsewhere if this is all you have to bring - what a joke! I am still disgusted with the Phillies, but when does baseball begin? Anything to escape this comical joke we call the Eagles...Season over folks - 3 and 5 and NO WAY they recover from this...— tytler
- even if we did win every game the rest of the way......our kickers stink on every level— jham32
- Has Michael Vick ever led a game-winning touchdown drive? ever? I remember a whole lot of failed 4th downs, but never a victory...never gonna win with that.— winoneplease
- Has Michael Vick ever led a game-winning touchdown drive? ever? I remember a whole lot of failed 4th downs, but never a victory...never gonna win with that.— winoneplease
- 43-years and counting— 5280philly
- mediocre garbage -- get a new coach— warbiscuit
- Has Desean Jackson shown up for any games yet this year? If only we could play every other week we might have a chance to win. This season is over. They'll just play out the string now. Juan Castillo is a joke. As is the entire Eagles' defense.— DallasEagle
- amen. Jackson can sulk off into free ageny. — coloradoeagle
- Is there a bigger jinx in Philadelphia sports than Macklin. Four games lost this year when he had a chance to give the Eagles a chance to win - one dropped pass, interception of his hands, one fumble and now falls down short of the first down. Keep him on the sidelines in the fourth quarter. Avant probably thinks its the fans fault.— candidly
- 4th time this season the BEAGLES have had a LEAD in the 4th Q and lost... 4 of the 5 losses— wxdavid
- Champion teams win those games. Watching the Giants comeback on Patriots. Eagles season is over. 3-5, as out of it as the Redskins. Eagles were consistently beat on passing game, Cutler was throwing at will and scoring while Eagles had no pass rush, no coverage, no pass rush. Washburn and Castillo had no answers. Mudd's offensive line was weak with constant Rush on Vick. It looked like Eagles receivers were as covered as Bears receivers were open. At least I save $1K by canceling DirecTV and Sunday Ticket for the rest of the season. Don't need them any more this year.— Eagles1980
- After watching the Eagles for the past eight games I can state unequivocally, the Giants are gonna sweep us this year. And I think I can add the Cowboys will, in all likelihood, get their revenge as well. The Redskins? Well, I wouldn't bet against splitting with them as well. The Eagles are through this year and for as many years as Reid continues as head coach. — essell
- 4th and 10...in the final drive Maclin FALLS DOWN??? he falls down 3 yards short of the 1st down? Was doing his impression of Ryan Howard in Game 5 NLDS?— wxdavid
- I hate this team.— Tech_Triumph
Are we 0-12 two weeks after the bye?- Season over. Cowboys win was a fluke. We've lost 6 of 7 at the Linc. Time to clean house and start over. PLEASE let Desean Jackson go. Can't win with midgets in the NFL.— DallasEagle
- Actually I'd come back next year with same crew minus Castillo. Even though this season is lost, Eagles have the talent to win and Reid should get a shot at putting it together. Crazy part was they stopped the run after first series but got killed by the passing game with Samuel, Asomugha and Cromartie...that's what I don't get. They spent to improve pass coverage and still get beat by passing game. — Eagles1980
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