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What happened on Vick's 3 interceptions?

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51 comments

What happened on Vick's 3 interceptions?

POSTED: Thursday, August 18, 2011, 10:20 PM
Michael Vick threw three interceptions in his only half of work. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)

The first half Thursday night was one to forget for Michael Vick.

The Eagles' starting quarterback completed 5 of 12 passes for 47 yards. Vick also completed three passes to Steelers defenders for a quarterback rating of 13.7.

So what happened on the interceptions? Here's a quick look at each after having re-watched them:

Interception No. 1: The Steelers showed six men in the box before the ball was snapped. One of the defenders dropped back, but Pittsburgh blitzed, sending the other five at Vick. Fullback Owen Schmitt stayed in to block and did a good job. Vick had plenty of time, but he went with his first read, looking to squeeze the ball into Riley Cooper between the Steelers' cornerback and safety down the left sideline. Vick made a bad decision and a bad throw.

Interception No. 2: The Eagles went with a slow-developing play-action pass, and the Steelers only rushed three defenders. LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek stayed in to block. Schmitt went out in his route. That meant the Eagles had three potential receivers against eight Steelers defenders in coverage. Not a very favorable matchup there. Vick was looking for Chad Hall, who was blanketed. Just a bad decision. He had plenty of time.

Interception No. 3: The Steelers showed six defenders at the line of scrimmage. Four of them rushed, and two dropped back. But safety Ryan Clark then blitzed from Vick’s left side. McCoy stayed in to block, but saw Clark late and didn't pick him up. Vick got away, scrambled, but had nowhere to go with the ball. He decided to lob one to Celek and it was deflected before Troy Polamalu made the interception.

MORE OBSERVATIONS:

+ The Eagles looked for DeSean Jackson deep on their first offensive play, and Vick targeted him on the first two plays. Jackson went to the sideline before the rest of the first-team offense.

+ McCoy was 8-for-10 on 3rd-and-short last year. He converted a 3rd-and-1 with an 8-yard carry tonight.

+ With 11:06 left in the first half, the Eagles' offense had been on the field for just 3:03. The Steelers had drives of 7:36 and 8:15 in the first half.

+ Did you notice who lined up at right tackle with the second team? Offseason acquisition Evan Mathis. Could he be a potential option if Ryan Harris and Winston Justice remain sidelined?

+ The first Dream Team mention came at 8:08 p.m., before the game had even started.

+ How did Jason Babin not draw a penalty for hitting Ben Roethlisberger late? He hit him low too.

+ It looked like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie played inside, not Joselio Hanson, when the Eagles were in their nickel package.

+ The Eagles plan on rotating their defensive linemen every four snaps or so. The first team was Jason Babin, Anthony Hargrove, Cullen Jenkins and Trent Cole. The second team was a surprise, with Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Derek Landri, Cedric Thornton and Darryl Tapp. Te'o-Nesheim later left the game with a hamstring injury.

+ Jenkins got called for a facemask early, but got good pressure on Roethlisberger from the interior.

+ On the Steelers' first TD, the Eagles rushed six, blitzing Rodgers-Cromartie and Nate Allen. Tapp rushed from the inside. The pressure didn’t get there, and Asante Samuel got beat on the outside. The Eagles were in their dime package and had four corners and one linebacker (Jamar Chaney) on the field.

+ On another play, the Eagles sent Allen and Chaney. Roethlisberger beat the six-man blitz with a dumpoff to Mewelde Moore for 24 yards.

+ On Roethlisberger's touchdown to Hines Ward, the Eagles rushed four and played zone coverage. It looked like Ward was Allen's responsibility.

+ Here were some instant reactions from our chatters: Andy Reid didn't have the Eagles prepared; Juan Castillo is overmatched; the wide-9 is horrible; they should have kept Kevin Kolb; and Casey Matthews stinks. Other than that, the people were happy with the Eagles' performance.


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51 comments
Comments  (51)
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:28 PM, 08/18/2011
    I hope this is just an anomaly, and the Eagles are better than they played today.
    vejjev
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:39 PM, 08/18/2011
    uh no. they are just not as good as a true SB contender in the steelers. Vick is NOT an accurate QB in general in his career, and after surprising the league early last year, has lost to good teams over and over. Ever since late last season he hasnt beaten one good team (mostly Reids fault for horrible playcalling) Vick, McNabb, Garcia, Kolb, Feeley, anybody, it doesnt matter, if you PASS THE BALL OVER AND OVER you are at higher risk for sacks, interceptions, deflections etc., and you do NOTHING to contorl the clock, or win the game. Reid will NEVER, EVER, win a SB. his formula is GARBAGE againt any good coach with a good team, which is why he gets outcoached in EVERY big game and will NEVER, EVER, win a SB. NEVER.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:51 PM, 08/18/2011
    lol, thats some brilliant insight there "stevenic"
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:24 PM, 08/18/2011
    lol...
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:42 PM, 08/18/2011
    They need to trade that Arizona 2nd round pick to someone for a
    a big stud MLB. Matthews is too young and small right now.

    We might have got rid of Kolb too fast??? Could Vick's year
    in 2010 have been a fluke??? He looked like Mike Vick circa 2009:
    CONFUSED and couldn't read a paper, let alone a defense.
    mikey48
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:49 PM, 08/18/2011
    They weren't his fault! It's because he grew up poor in a tough area.
    JPCase
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:49 PM, 08/18/2011
    Get ready. Going to be an 8-8 year. We have no: (1) linebackers; (2) offensive line; (3) big, physical receiver; and (4) defensive coordinator. And how about that vaunted secondary? Gave Big Ben fits. If this were a prize fight, they would have stopped it mid way through the 2nd quarter. The 2011-2012 Eagles will be like the 2010-2011 Cowboys.
    DallasEagle
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:50 PM, 08/18/2011
    — CharlieGarner25 makes a good point: I have said that too. The guy
    can't win a SB, no one can passing 60 to 70% of the time. You
    don't control the clock, your defense is EXHAUSTED in the 4th
    quarter, due to a lopsided time of possession, you need a 70%
    completion passer, Vick will NEVER be that accurate.

    Andy's tenure will hopefully be over after this year, and next year bring in a real NFL coach like a Jon Gruden or a Bill Cowher they can and coach all this talent to a SB win. Get rid of Vick too, and groom
    Kafta as your new franchise QB.
    mikey48
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:37 PM, 08/19/2011
    Actually that is a myth that T.O.P. wears out a defense, it is number of plays defended and also what they had to do on those plays. You hear many defensive linemen complain that they got gassed when they had to chase a mobile QB around.

    If you really think about this, a passing team stops the clock more often with incompletes and receievers getting out of bounds. But ask a DE if he would rather defend 28 minutes or 45 out of 70 plays. Sorry but this is one of my pet peaves that the talking heads perpetuate. It is a useless statistic. Look at the 2000 Rams, they never won the T.O.P. battle.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:01 PM, 08/18/2011
    "Dream Team" is rapidly turning into a nightmare. Even Bradshaw is
    clever enough to know you don't take a dude with zero Def Co
    experience and install him, then unload a bunch of veterans???

    Reid is and has always been clueless. He was lucky enough to
    have a Hall Of Fame Def Co for much of his tenure, where MaGoo
    could NURSE(Ala Trent Dilfer) victories and win games 20 to 13.

    Also had the underrated Westbrook: who he lucked out with, that
    3rd rounder, who was a few big plays a game waiting to happen.

    Our motto already should be Gruden and 2012: are we "All in"
    on that????
    mikey48
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:07 PM, 08/18/2011
    Over reaction, over reaction, over reaction, that's all i am reading on this board. Be concerned and be caring, but don't be stupid. Just because the team looked bad on "1" PRESEASON GAME, doesn't mean that is the way they will perform during the regular season. The problem with most Eagle fans posting on this board is that they want to sudden of an instant gratification. Be patient...Vick, despite what many of you think is just fine and he is very accurate, he may not be Manning or Brady, but then again, who is! you have to give this team a chance and stop "whinning" with every little mistake the guys make, like little babies and wanting to throw everyone under the bus. you are bandwagon jumpers. you hate them now, but if they start winning all the games in the regular season, you band wagon jumpers will jump back on board and start heaving all the praise on Vick, Reid and another member of the team for being the "dream team".
    will50
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:10 PM, 08/18/2011
    It's a stinking preseason game for cryin' out loud. Relax.
    Philly.Tru


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