Eagles-Buccaneers Up-Down Drill
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles-Buccaneers Up-Down Drill
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. -- The highs and lows from the Eagles' first win in over two months -- a 23-21 victory over the Buccaneers:
Nick Foles
↑ The kid can play. Can he be next year’s starter? The fact that Foles has gotten better with each of his four starts suggests that he could be. It should be noted that the Buccaneers entered with and will likely continue to have the worst passing defense in the league. But Foles should enjoy his first NFL victory.
Damaris Johnson
↓ For all of his skill, Johnson is starting to lose a little confidence that he can be placed in a big spot. The rookie muffed his second punt of the season, and this one rejuvenated a dormant Tampa after they turned the turnover into seven points.
Bryce Brown
↓ Tampa has one of the best run defenses in the NFL, if not the best, and the barrage of stretch plays certainly didn’t help in the early going, but Brown fell back to earth. The Eagles rookie running back was held to just six yards on 12 carries and looked mortal. Minor victory: He didn’t fumble.
Jason Avant
↑ He’s had a slew of one-handed grabs in a notable career, but when Avant plucked a high throw from Foles out of the air in the first half it made the hair rise on backs across the Delaware Valley. The fact that he was able to stay in bounds was equally impressive. Avant finished with seven catches for 133 yards.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
↑ He had a couple of cringe-worthy tackle attempts in the second half, but for the most part, Rodgers-Cromartie played his best game in weeks. The Eagles cornerback allowed very few catches and actually brought the hammer on a few plays.
Nnamdi Asomugha
↓ The Eagles cornerback fought back from a nasty looking back injury, but was a detriment in the secondary before and after he briefly left the game. Asomugha hasn’t been the worst free agent signing in Philly sports history, but his name deserves mention.
Mat McBriar
↑ McBriar’s 40-yard net was his third best output of the season, but considering that he had to punt seven times it was a strong number. As the Eagles offense took its time getting its act together, McBriar made sure the defense wasn’t on its heels. One caveat: It looked like his hold on Henery’s failed 31-yard field goal attempt had the laces the wrong way.
Jeremy Maclin
↑ He caught 9 of 13 passes thrown in his direction and finished with 104 yards receiving. Maclin’s 1-yard game-winning touchdown catch was a bright moment in a season full of many dark ones.
Alex Henery
↓ Laces or no laces, Henery has to be able to connect from 31 yards out. The kicker saw his consecutive field goals made streak stop at 22 when he was left on a 58-yard try before the half. Henery got an unfortunate break when the Eagles false started and his successful 53-yarder was negated a play earlier.
Jim Washburn/Jason Babin
↓ All of the Eagles’ problems did not rest on the shoulders of the recently departed Wide Niners, but it can’t be a coincidence that the Birds finally won when both were gone.
Colt Anderson
↑ Some could say Anderson had nowhere to go but up when he had to fill in for the injured Kurt Coleman at safety. But he was active against the run, finished with six tackles and most important did not make any major errors.
Andy Reid
↑ It’s been a rough two-plus months for the Big Guy. He deserves some praise for keeping his players together and still fighting.
as an eagles fan, it was a good win.— camasbud- Foles was sensational with a dramatic last second game winning drive..and this was on the road with no time outs against a tough playoff team...— jim35
- Give credit where credit is due. You could clearly see from the emotion and energy on the field and on the sideline that the players and coaches who are still here have not quit on their head coach or themselves.— fentonhardy
- Foles was great...and he did it with an AWFUL offensive line that got him sacked 6 times...and he had NO Desean, McCoy or Celek to help him out..Foles was simply outstanding.— jim35
- The Italian word for Asomugha is Mamula.— LocustWalker
- I agree that Reid has kept the players together and fighting.— armchairGM
- Laughable. This team is "together and fighting"? They have refused to tackle since game 4 and have obviously laid down. One win against an average team and the disgrace of the past 8 games is forgotten? No wonder Lurie sees no reason for change, he has a city full of clowns who will worship any product he trots onto the field.— Scope33
- Good one Locust!
I guess I'm o.k. with the up arrow on DRC, but only because he was down pretty low and had nowhere to go but up (much like Andy Reid). Given all that DRC has to play for - he is not signed for next year and has not received much of a pay day yet - I'm pretty surprised at how poorly he has played (and tackled, especially!) this year.— Mr. Magee - Hey Scope33, the only thing laughable on here is yourself, have a nice day!— DJ
- Did anyone else think the false start penalty was bogus? Tampa was moving around a lot on the line attempting to get the line to move in my opinion.— meteo30
- could this be FOLES GOLD???????I like him.— joed1
- Yes, DRC played MUCH, MUCH better against the Bucs. He showed hustle, fire and aggression. Which begs the question, why the F hasn;t he played like that before now? I think he's been dogging it for a long time, and for THAT reason he deserves to be benched or traded.— Squizzy Magee
- I was impressed with the ever improving Nick Foles and his wide receivers. Not with the second worst left tackle in the NFL, the worst one is his backup sitting on the Eagles bench.— rfitz
- I was impressed with the ever improving Nick Foles and his wide receivers, in spite of the second worst left tackle in the NFL, the worst one is his backup sitting on the Eagles bench.— rfitz
- King Dunlap actually looks worse in person than on TV.— hockeyray
- Foles played really well behind a 3rd string OL, without his TE, stud receiver or back who catches well out of the backfield. He seems to be a smart football player, unlike Vick who is just incorrigible. Jury is still out though....Thursday will be interesting.
- Intereting commentary from John Lynch in the announce booth. He said that when he looked at the secondary coverage in the Dallas game, he saw poor effort on the part of DRC and Namdi. He said that was plain not acceptable to the game of football and even spoke to Reid about it. It was noted more than once that both CB's were on thin ice.— LarsMendte2
- Interesting commentary from John Lynch in the announce booth. He said that when he looked at the secondary coverage in the Dallas game, he saw poor effort on the part of DRC and Namdi. He said that was plain not acceptable to the game of football and even spoke to Reid about it. It was noted more than once that both CB's were on thin ice.— LarsMendte2
- derp— bhamss12
