Man Up: The red zone struggles
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Man Up: The red zone struggles
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Our weekly player-by-player look at the Eagles' offense:
Donovan McNabb - I've heard some rip him for the Eagles' red zone struggles. And others are going overboard since he threw for 450 yards. McNabb discovered after two drives that the Chargers were not going to let him hit huge plays down the field, but the intermediate passes would be there all day. He did a great job spreading the ball and had more ups than downs. He threw behind DeSean Jackson once, missed Leonard Weaver down near the goal line and really could have been picked off on three separate occasions when the Chargers defenders had drops. In terms of the red zone failures, he missed the Weaver throw, but the Eagles ended up getting six on that drive anyway. On the three drives where the Eagles settled for field goals, I didn't see a throw that he just missed. But then again, that kind of thing isn't always easy to gauge on TV. On the two touchdowns, McNabb bought time and had to improvise. It's not like the plays that were called worked to perfection. In other words, I wouldn't put the red zone failures squarely on his shoulders.
Michael Vick - He was only in on one play and looked frustrated afterwards. Vick threw to Jackson, who dropped the ball. The pass was behind him, but catchable.
Brian Westbrook - He took a screen 17 yards on the play where it is believed he sustained a concussion. Westbrook also had a nice run for 11 yards in the third quarter. In a rarity, he actually missed a blocking assignment in the second, trying to pick up a blitzer. We'll just have to see where his career goes from here. Obviously the first concern is his long-term health.
LeSean McCoy - He got a chance in short yardage on 3rd-and-2, but couldn't get it done. Like last week, it appeared he had some room but bounced it outside. McCoy also missed a blocking assignment. He did make a nice individual effort on a 5-yard screen in the fourth.
Leonard Weaver - Quiet day for the fullback. Just two carries for 2 yards. The big one was obviously the first-down try from the Chargers' 1-yard line. You just knew after he didn't punch it in that he probably wasn't going to get another chance all day.
Winston Justice - Another good effort in protection, for the most part. Defensive back Paul Oliver blitzed in between Justice and Stacy Andrews in the third quarter to sack McNabb. A lack of communication along the line. Justice was not particularly good in the run game. He didn't get a good block on the failed 3rd-and-2 attempt by McCoy in the second half.
Stacy Andrews - He was OK, but had probably the most trouble of any lineman in pass protection. Andrews was beat in the third quarter, as pressure caused a McNabb incompletion. Plus the sack mentioned above.
Jamaal Jackson - He was part of weak offensive line effort on 3rd-and-goal when they ran Eldra Buckley and got no push. Jackson was solid otherwise. He did a good job on a 7-yard Westbrook run in the second and delivered a nice block on a Westbrook screen.
Nick Cole - Buckley ran right behind him and got stuffed on the 3rd-and-goal play. The Eagles' line did a good job in pass protection, but couldn't get it done in crucial running situations.
Todd Herremans - I thought this was one of his better games overall. Herremans was by himself quite a bit in pass protection. He did a good job on a 7-yard Westbrook run in the second. He did a bad job against Shawne Merriman on the 2nd-and-goal Westbrook stretch run.
Brent Celek - The trust between he and McNabb was evident when the Eagles went to Celek on 4th-and-4 in the fourth quarter. He hauled in a 17-yard pass to keep the drive alive. Overall, six catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
DeSean Jackson - He had eight catches Sunday, more than the total in his previous three games combined. Jackson finished with 91 yards, and easily could have been up near 120 had McNabb and Vick not each thrown a ball behind him.
Jeremy Maclin - A nice bounce-back effort after he struggled against the Cowboys. Six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Maclin did a good job to pick up the first down and get out of bounds for a gain of 12 during the Eagles' drive at the end of the first half. I like his effort in downfield blocking. He was helping Avant along during the 58-yard play in the third quarter. It was close to a block in the back, but looked on the replay like Maclin got the DB on the side. An offensive pass interference negated a big catch in the third. Maybe he doesn't get flagged for that in a couple years.
Jason Avant - An MTC favorite, Avant led all receivers with eight catches for 156 yards. He had back-to-back 14- and 27-yard receptions in the second quarter, plus the big 58-yard gain in the third. Unbelievable catch on 3rd-and-18 for a first down. Has to be the team's best catch of the year, and among the league's best.
Reggie Brown - Let me take this opportunity to welcome Brown to Man Up. His only catch of the season had come in Week 4 against the Chiefs, but Brown made two receptions in this one, including a first-down grab on the second drive. Not sure about the plays that went deep to him with three DBs in the vicinity though.
Dierte-have you played football in your life; truth is if you pass block all the time (which requires you to be on your heels and serve as a human catcher) vs. run blocking (which allows you to get low, fire off the ball and drive your man out of the hole)...not the same skill set.....but I forgot; you're an expert...you can't avoid "goal line plays" all week, then try and run up the middle for a yard in a critical situation...the Eagles practice, pass, pass, pass, pass..and show it on Sundays...— RoastedBird
Wiff, have you heard from your "sources" when Celek, McCoy, Jackson and Maclin will begin starting for the Eagles? Just wonderin' pal. Keep up the good work. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Moron.— tpizza- wiff, you're agreeing with a guy who thinks you are an idiot. It doesn't get any funnier than that. I agree with madaboutit too. You are an idiot but like you makes no sense. On the one hand he says DM threw for 450 yet criticizes his passing? Then he says the whole team played badly but singles out DM who played well. Makes perfect sense. Yep, just like you but at least he said one thing correctly...you are an idiot.— tpizza
- Would love to see Vick in the wildcat when we are in the redzone. It can't get an worse!— hawk18
- Just blame the darkie in the room, it always works....absolve everyone BUT McNabb....it's HIS FAULT!!!! Eventhough he missed 3 or 4 passes in an NFL game. How many qb's have chucked it for 100% or even 75%....Howard is a knee padded sucka! He won't say anything negative about Reid....cause then Reid will stop talking to him too....lames..— RoastedBird
- The Eagles will not win the Super Bowl this year. It is unlikely they will even make the playoffs given their away schedule. But that's happened many times before..... I've watched teams come and go for close to 40 years and NEVER FELT LIKE I DO NOW......Not with Tose, Khayat and Liske; Tose, McCormick and Gabriel; Braman, Campbell and Jaworski; or Braman, Kotite and Cunningham. To me it appears that WINNING THE SUPER BOWL does NOT MOTIVATE these TYPE of PEOPLE anymore. Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid both have job security, obviously well fed, obviously happy, and are making good $$. They are comfortable....... And no matter how hard the rest of the team plays, the decisions that ultimately win and lose games come down to those two........ And they are not going anywhere, because the owner is rich (recently named a billionaire) and comfortable. Worse, he doesn't care what the fans think, because he can't relate to the average fan anymore. Even if many of us were Eagles fans long before he made his first $100,000. Give us owners, coaches and players who give a damn about Philly and it's fans, even if it means losing for awhile....... I've been through that before......— bleeding green
Comment removed.- ughhhhhh - if i have to hear one more time how great McNabb's 450 yards of passing was, i'm going to cry! yea he threw 450 yards - on 50+ attemps in a game they lost! 450 yards? that number is meaningless.— philly57
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- Since the 2004 Super Bowl season, Andy Reid's won-loss record is slighly better than .500. That is a span of about 4 1/2 seasons. Time for a change.— MorbidCuriousity
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- the line not getting a push should not be a surprise - when you spend 90% of your life backing up to pass protect, you're not likely to flip a switch all the sudden and be great going in the other (not coincidentally, right...) direction. 450 yards in the air - ooo ahh - as they say, stats are for losers. time's yours.— raoool
- dayrl b, I would love it if more people like you jumped off the bandwagon, I'll take the seats from you, been waiting for a long time... Did anyone think they could win with all these injuries? thought so.— sore richard
- whatever happened to qb sneaking or don rolling out on the goal line? What about spreading out and running it to weaver up the gut (just like the chargers did)? Oh man, they have so much talent on offense but just can't get it done. Poor run blocking from the makeshift O-line, nuff said. They are in trouble until they can get some type of rythym. As for the defense, I'll write it off to injuries and rookies/new guys filling in and not getting it done mentally more than physically (see Fokou/Ramzee Robinson). Whatever it is, it's unbelievably frustrating. Not in the cards for them this year, too many moving parts, 8-8 it is...— sore richard
- RE. the Offensive line: Herremanns has always been an OT disguised as a guard. Probably best suited to play RT. Cole and Andrews are barely adequate as pass blockers so one would think that they would compensate by being strong rush blockers ... I mean with all that bulk. But alas, no such luck. Sorry, but from this vantage point there is (again!) a lot of rebuilding that will have to take place on the OL in the offseason.— CarpGuy
- K Dot--- I was thinking the same thing— madaboutit
- I'm still in San Diego. I came out here on a vacation and also to support my "team." There were also a lot of other Eagles fans as well. We bleed green! What I witnessed yesterday was inexcusable! In the past I have bashed people on this post, especially lonewolf, claiming he was a racist and so forth. He is an idiot, but I have to start agreeing with him on the fact that it's time for Donovan McNabb to move on. We are Not going to win a Superbowl with him. How can you have 450 yards passing and lose the game? He threw balls behind receivers at least 7 times. Not to mention a few that were in thr dirt. It's time for another direction. I flew all the way across the country to see my team look like a bunch of high school players! Inexcusable!!!!!!— madaboutit
Would it be crazy to say or think that we should make a move for Larry Johnson before Cincy does? McCoy is good but still developing and Westbrook is basically done for this season. Just for the rest of the season, don't you think this would be a great move?— K Dot- xt year.....and as long as Andy Reid is the head coach....i will still support them....but i will not spend a cent watching a dillusional man coach them.................— daryl b
- i've been an Eagles Fan all my 58 years.....you have to have a running game...as long as you RB's..that can take a handoff....Andy Reid does not BELIEVE that having a running attack is important...that has become crystal clear....as a season ticket holder...i will not attend any games, home or away..begining ne— daryl b
- The O line is weak against the run. Maybe that's why Reid throws so much. He knows that his O line does not have the stomach for running the ball. They never get any push on running plays. They aren't gritty. They prefer to get back on their heels protecting, rather than up on the balls of their feet, attacking. We need a complete overall, save Peters. We need some O lineman that actually want to play football. These guys are all "Big Kids"— allen_jones
- Would it be crazy to say or think that we should make a move for Larry Johnson before Cincy does? McCoy is good but still developing and Westbrook is basically done for this season. Just for the rest of the season, don't you think this would be a great move?— K Dot
What is Andy Mornihnreid's aversion to the QB sneak about? 1st and goal from the one, if I'm calling the plays, QB sneak 4 times if necessary.— tornadoh- how much longer must we eagles fans put up with andy ried?he doesn t motivate the team ,he acts as if he has no fire or passion.his play calling is ridiculas and as far as donovan goes he s playing like he doesn t care.michael vick should be used more as the quarterback that he is....if things don t change the eagles will miss the playoffs and any hope of a super bowl will be lost.......DICK VERMIL....PLEASE HELP!!!!— MCHAEL813
- Maybe if they actually, you know, uh,PRACTICED running a little bit.— TBear
- Can someone be reasonable and fire Marty Mohrenwig. We can't score touchdowns and this is not new, and it is a scheme/playcalling issue, just by it's very nature. We were able to move the ball on them until we got within the shadow of the goal line. It seems like we have no plays, and I'm sorry our mammoth offensive line needs to grow a set and start pushing people down field. There's no decent excuse why Nick Cole or Jackson cannot push smaller men 2-3 yards downfield. I was at the game. I was not drunk, and I was not obnoxious, I almost got in 3 fights w/ Chargers fans and basically spent the whole game defending a pitiful looking performance. I paid a bunch of money, and I can deal with Chargers fans, but I cannot deal with multi-millionaires and a lame duck Offensive Coordinator not doing the jobs they are paid to do on a consistent basis. If my team, at my work, consistently under-performed and under-achieved in such a systemic way as the Eagles offense, I would be looking for a new job.— Ryan44
- Please no extension. If we stick with Reid and McNabb, we're stuck with being just good enough to get your hopes but never good enough to win it all. It's like being stuck in purgatory. Yes, they can keep us in it until late in the season, but that's it. Permanent mediocrity keeps bums in seats but doesn't put rings on fingers.— Canuck_Eagles_Fan
- maybe not having the entire line full time during summer camp is rearing its head. Cut your losses and get a real GM and head coach. if you don't focus on running which is apparent, what makes us think we can execute when we want to?— xlGmanlx
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