Man Up: What went wrong for Eagles' offense?
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Man Up: What went wrong for Eagles' offense?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Where to begin with the Eagles' offensive struggles against the Cowboys?
We go player-by-player like we do every week. Enjoy.
Donovan McNabb - After turning in one of his best performances of the year in the first half against the Broncos, McNabb has struggled in his last six quarters. I know some will point to the lack of balance on offense, but the Eagles had opportunities for big plays in the passing game and just didn't get it done. The one he would like to have back is the deep ball to DeSean Jackson early in the second quarter. McNabb overthrew his receiver, and it also looked like he turned Jackson around with the pass. He struggled with the crossing routes throughout, throwing behind Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The fumbled snap was huge, and after viewing the replay, it was a little low, but certainly one that McNabb could have handled. McNabb made good reads and took shots deep, trying to let his receivers make plays. But was just off-target all day, and his receivers weren't able to help him out.
Leonard Weaver - Two weeks ago, he had a season-high 19 touches against the 49ers. On Sunday, Weaver had just one carry for 2 yards and no receptions. He was on the field for just 16 snaps. That's no good. As a blocker, Weaver was solid, chipping and picking up blitzers multiple times to give McNabb time. He had a drop in the third, but there was no room on the play anyway.
Brian Westbrook - He was on the field for 28 snaps, carrying five times for 17 yards. The 8-yard run in the third quarter was his best of the day. The Eagles used Westbrook in a variety of ways. He was split out wide on multiple occasions, finishing with four catches for 20 yards, including a nice 11-yard gain. And he was outstanding as a blocker. Westbrook was flawless, chipping and picking up blitzers throughout. His blocks gave McNabb time on several throws, including a 25-yard completion to Brent Celek in the second quarter.
LeSean McCoy - McCoy played more than Weaver, but less than Westbrook, getting on the field for 19 plays. A season-low one carry to go along with two receptions. It looked like he tripped on the screen pass in the first. Like they did with Westbrook, the Eagles split McCoy out wide at times. As a blocker, he was called for holding in the fourth.
Jason Peters - As a blocker, Peters did a good job, keeping DeMarcus Ware away from McNabb for most of the day. He got beat once in the fourth quarter, but that was pretty much it. Peters got the better of Ware in both matchups this season. However, a pair of penalties from Peters hurt - a personal foul for hitting Mike Jenkins out of bounds and a false start in the second quarter.
coaching comments please > DUMB timeout > DUMB punt > DUMB gameplan > DUMB run/pass ratio— daveH
What's wrong with the offense? It's called having a bad game. They just broke the team record for season points in only 15 games and they averaged more than 30 points per game during their 6 game winning streak. There's nothing "wrong" with the offense other than them having a bad game...it happens.— JimG- not a championship team. their youth did show on O and D. Mcnabb had a bad game. They need to go back to the rotation of McCoy and WEaver running the ball. It has been great for play action and will allow them to keep Romo off the field. But Andy won't change cause of his respect for WEsty. Love the guy but he is a step slower and just not a game breaker anymore. Unfortunately this year will be an early exit for the birds.— sore richard
Comment removed.- you cannot run a west coast offense with such an inaccurate and inconsistent QB. mcnabb is average at best, and will never, i repeat NEVER win a super bowl. he chokes when the pressure is on him.— Fire Andy Reid
- I was looking to see who was responsible for blocking Ratliff on the McNabb fumbled shotgun snap. As bad as a fumble is, what was worse was that Ratliff was at McNabb's feet almost as quickly as the ball and McNabb never really had a shot at recovering. That became a pretty big play.— amg
JimG: I almost always agree with you (especially about baseball), but come on, you don't break out your bad game in a situation like Sunday's, with a big ol' bye on the line. Not if you have serious championship aspirations. Tony Romo and the Cowboys' offense didn't have a bad game. We can only cross our fingers for Saturday night, but I have very little confidence in the Reid-McNabb combo's ability to win this next big game.- Ah yes, I was wondering where 'Fire Andy Reid' was during the last month or so...It's #5s fault that the boys gashed the defense. Give me a break. The pressure isn't the issue, he did win 9 playoff games, beat Dallas last year to get to the playoffs. It's called team effort. The team failed collectively.— palmyra21
- larlib: "McChoke did it again he CANNOT play in big games." I hate to have to come to McNabb's defense after the poor game he played yesterday, but Dude, EVERYBODY played bad yesterday. Here's how it works with you. If McNabb had won yesterday, then that wouldn't have qualified as a "big game" but if he lost next week, that would qualify as a "big game". McNabb has won plenty of big games no matter how much you try to define them out of existence.— Falkirk
Eagles, stick a fork in them.— ZOSO- Comment removed.
- larlib and FireAndyReid, where were you genius' when the Eagles were reeling off 5 or 6 wins in a row? Where were you when the Eagles were scoring the most points in franchise history. You only climb out of your hole when the Eagles manage to lose and you're no where to be seen when they're winning.— dusk2k3
- we all got giddy after winning six in a row,but how many of them were 4th quarter comebacks,against bad teams.this team is not as good as advertised,when you look at who they beat this year,ther is no way this team can win 3 road games to the superbowl,it ends next week and if i were andy reid i would take a long hard look at sean mcdermontt and see if he really knows what he is doing— scottz
- who cares - nobody was that hurt where you needed the bye anyways. Clearly Reid did not show the cowboys what this team is capable of. It reminds me of the ARZ-PHL games last year just switched. I think the Eagles come out strong against the boys next week and stun them. They seem to play better as the underdog in the playoffs anyways.— vladamir
- Come on Andy. Turn this ship around! Throw your weight around the club house. (and that's a lot of weight to throw around...)— Big Ragu
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