Archive: December, 2011
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The Eagles needed help from the Jets to stay alive in the NFC East hunt today, and they didn't get it.
The Giants beat the Jets, 29-14, eliminating any chance the Eagles had to sneak into the playoffs.
The Birds are currently playing the Cowboys (chat here) and host the Redskins in the regular-season finale next Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here are 10 Eagles-Cowboys numbers that matter:
34 - The number of big-play passes (25+ yards) for Tony Romo this season. Only Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have more. Since the Eagles last played the Cowboys, Romo has gone without an interception in six of seven games. In that span, he’s thrown 18 TDs and just two picks. In the fourth quarter, Romo has a 103.6 QB rating. On third down, he has a 107.4 rating. And in the red zone, he’s thrown 17 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Eagles’ defense has played well the last two weeks, but Juan Castillo’s group faces a big challenge today, especially without Asante Samuel.
102 - The number of times Jason Witten has been targeted this season, a team-high. He was targeted 12 times the first meeting against the Eagles, but came away with just four catches for 28 yards. The Eagles did an outstanding job on Witten, using a variety of coverages. Nnamdi Asomugha was on him for about 12 of 40 pass plays, but the Eagles used Jamar Chaney and some zone looks too. With Asante Samuel out, they probably don’t have the luxury of using Asomugha on Witten. Maybe Keenan Clayton, who’s been playing more in the nickel, will get a shot at him. Overall, the Eagles rank fourth in the league at covering opposing tight ends, according to Football Outsiders.
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Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Against the Jets, Juan Castillo dialed up the blitz on 10 of 34 pass plays, or 29.4 percent of the time.
The only time they've blitzed more this season was against the Cardinals.
So, did it work?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
After two of his worst performances of the season, Michael Vick and his injured ribs bounced back against the Jets, completing 15 of 22 passes for 274 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Vick's 107.0 QB rating was his second-highest of the season, and his 12.46 yards per attempt was his highest mark of 2011.
So what was different about Vick? And how will he perform against the Cowboys? Let's take a look, as always, starting with pass distribution.
| Targets | Catches | Yards | Drops | |
| Brent Celek | 6 | 5 | 156 | 0 |
| Jeremy Maclin | 4 | 3 | 57 | 0 |
| DeSean Jackson | 2 | 2 | 28 | 0 |
| Clay Harbor | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0 |
| LeSean McCoy | 2 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| Riley Cooper | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Jason Avant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 15 | 274 | 0 |
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles as they prepare for Saturday's matchup against the Cowboys.
And in case you missed it from earlier, here's my post on Brent Celek and how he's become a major factor in the Eagles' passing attack.
SI.com's Don Banks has the Eagles 17th in his power rankings:
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
All of a sudden, after averaging fewer than two catches per game in the Eagles' first five games, tight end Brent Celek leads the team with 54 receptions.
It's been a tale of two seasons for Celek. His effort's never been a question, and he's improved as a blocker, but in the first five games, Celek averaged 1.8 catches and 14.6 yards per contest. Since then, he's averaged 5 catches and 66.7 yards.
So, what's been the difference? Let's take a look.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
If the season ended today, the Eagles would have the 11th pick in the first round of April's draft.
A couple weeks ago, the Birds were slotted for the No. 6 spot, but after having won back-to-back games, there are now 10 teams with a worse record than them. The Chiefs, at 6-8, have the same record as the Eagles. And there are seven 7-7 teams (the Titans, Cardinals, Seahawks, Chargers, Raiders, Bears and Giants).
Four teams - the Redskins, Panthers, Dolphins and Bills - are just one game worse than the Eagles, at 5-9.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's the player-by-player look at the Eagles' offensive performance, after having re-watched the 45-19 win over the Jets.
If you missed the defensive breakdown, click here.
Michael Vick - Against the Cardinals and Dolphins, Vick completed just 48.4 percent of his passes and averaged 5.25 yards per attempt, but he bounced back with one of his best performances of the year against the Jets, completing 15 of 22 passes for 274 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Vick also ran five times for 32 yards and notched his first rushing TD of the season. I'll have the full breakdown in Mike Check tomorrow, but Vick's throw to Brent Celek for 38 yards in the first was on the money, right over Bart Scott’s hands. Later, he made a gutsy throw, staying in the pocket and delivering the ball to Celek before taking a big hit on the 26-yard touchdown. Vick did a good job of fooling the linebacker with a pump-fake, before hitting Celek for a 73-yard gain in the third.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's the player-by-player look at the Eagles' defensive performance against the Jets on Sunday, after having re-watched the game:
Jason Babin - Three more sacks put him at 18 on the season; that's tops in the NFL. Babin went right around right tackle Wayne Hunter for his first sack. He lined up as a blitzing linebacker and looped between Mike Patterson (who was at right defensive end) and Kurt Coleman (who was blitzing) for his second sack. Babin looped behind Patterson on a stunt and chased Mark Sanchez out of the pocket in the red zone in the second. He pressured Sanchez again on third down in the third, helping to force an incompletion. Maybe more impressively, he let up on his hit and avoided drawing a penalty (OK, so he made up for it with a personal foul later, but still). It's amazing that in the third quarter, when Babin lined up again as a linebacker, starting in the middle and then rushing outside, the Jets let him go untouched for his third sack. It was a four-man rush. The Eagles had used that formation multiple times earlier in the game. Yet, it was as if the Jets' offensive line was caught completely off-guard.
Cullen Jenkins - Actually a pretty quiet game for Jenkins. Didn't notice him much, but the Jets averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, so it's safe to assume the defensive tackles were doing their jobs. Jenkins only played about 29 snaps.
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