What I saw: Eagles vs. Bills
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What I saw: Eagles vs. Bills
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's what I saw during today's Eagles-Bills game.
OFFENSE
* It comes down to turnovers. Michael Vick threw four interceptions, and Jason Avant added a fumble for a grand total of five giveaways. That adds up to 15 turnovers in five games. This was the third straight game the Eagles had at least three turnovers. In addition to the fumble, Avant, who finished with nine catches for 139 yards, couldn't hold on to a Vick pass late in the fourth quarter, and he was picked off.
* The end of the first half was a disaster. The Eagles had the ball at the Bills' 26 with 8 seconds left. The play there is to either make a quick throw to the sidelines, throw the ball away or take a shot in the end zone. Vick waited too long before throwing it away, and time ran out. Instead of getting a shot at a field goal, the Eagles got no points out of it.
* The Bills blitzed six on Vick’s second interception. It looked like Todd Herremans got beat.
* It looked like Vick changed the call in the red zone and went to a LeSean McCoy run. He picked up 15 yards to set up the first touchdown.
* The Eagles scored touchdowns on two of three trips to the red zone. Vick hit Jeremy Maclin over the middle for a 2-yard touchdown on the first one.
* Vick had a 53-yard run to set up the Eagles' second touchdown. McCoy delivered great effort as a blocker on the play and then scored on the next snap.
* Vick finished 26-for-40 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran five times for 90 yards. McCoy carried 11 times for 80 yards.
* DeSean Jackson showed great burst on the 31-yard touchdown in the fourth, and Jason Kelce threw a nice block downfield.
* Danny Watkins and King Dunlap were called for back-to-back penalties in the fourth quarter with the Eagles inside the 10. Watkins' penalty negated a Vick touchdown run, and the Eagles settled for a field goal.
DEFENSE
* Juqua Parker jumping offsides is one of the most inexplicable plays you will see all year. The Bills had the ball near midfield on 4th-and-1. They initially brought the punt team out and then sent the offense back out there. It was clear to everyone in the building and everyone watching at home that they were just trying to draw the Eagles offsides. But Parker fell for it, and just like that, the game was over.
* The Bills had the Eagles in nickel personnel and ran on the first five plays of the game.
* The Bills’ first touchdown drive exposed all the issues the Eagles’ defense has had this season. Six of the seven plays were rushes. Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha both missed tackles on the one pass play, a 19-yard completion to wide receiver David Nelson. And Buffalo scored a touchdown in the red zone with ease.
* Asomugha was called for a face-mask in the third quarter on third down, giving the Bills a first down.
* Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was unable to come up with the interception that was in his hands in the first quarter. I have to go back and re-watch the game, but this sure seemed like his worst game as an Eagle.
* Here's what I wrote in my preview Sunday morning:
Look for the Bills to go to the screen on third downs. They ran a screen for ex-Jet Brad Smith that picked up 17 yards on one third down. And they ran two more screens on third downs to running back Fred Jackson.
So I was surprised to see the Eagles look so unprepared when Buffalo completed a screen to Jackson for 49 yards on 3rd-and-5 in the second quarter. Jackson ended with 111 yards on 26 carries and 85 yards receiving on six catches.
* The Bills went 3-for-4 in the red zone. The Eagles have allowed touchdowns on 11 of 14 red-zone trips by their opponents.
* On 3rd-and-5 in the second, Fitzpatrick exposed the Wide-9 with a keeper up the middle for 10 yards. Why don't offenses try that every week?
* Jarrad Page missed tackles on back-to-back plays in the fourth and was replaced by Kurt Coleman, although I'm not sure if there was an injury involved. I'm going to go back and look at how many missed tackles the Eagles had overall, but it was once again a huge issue.
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Vick threw FOUR INTERCEPTIONS today...Vick has thrown SEVEN INTERCEPTIONS in the last three games....Vick is 1-7 in the Eagles last eight games...that's absolutely awful...period.— frank105- The people blaming all of this (the season) on Vick are either: A. Idiots, B. Not watching the games, C. Haters, or D. All of the above.— Penfold18
- No heart, no attitude, no brains, no adjustments, no fundamentals, no tackling, no ball security, no urgency, no LBs, no safeties. That ought to just about cover it.— Penfold18
- Frank you are a moron. I would like you to explain how avant fumbling way th ball after a 40 yd strike from Vick is vick's fault. Or how losing in atlanta is his fault. Last i checked he wasn't in the game when the falcons came back. He also does not kick any of the field goals that would have won the 49er game. He more than does his part. Any other QB would die on this team right now.— djack10
- The blind screen int. was not Vick's fault, the play called was bad.— aia
- djack10, don't worry about frank105. He's a Giants fan who gets on this board to aggravate us Eagles fans. frank105, how did your Giants do this weekend? Hmmmm?— dlscholt
- so, Im sure Denver is looking for draft picks - why not trade and get Dawkins back for the rest of the year? He would instantly solidify the middle, could teach the young safeties that hitting is part of the game and maybe even blitz every once in a while - instant upgrade even at his age.— jhendl3
- let the cornerbacks play man to man they can shut down most wide receivers, stop playing all this zone bullcrap its a mess!!— Charliewonk
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