What they're saying about the Eagles (part 2)

I did part one on Tuesday night in case you missed it.

And now, more of what the national media are saying about the Eagles as they prepare to take on the Texans.

ESPN.com's Chad Millman writes that the Eagles being favored by 3 last week was a classic public perception line. Here's what he meant:

The public angle was certainly true this weekend. According to Pregame.com and SportsInsights.com, the top three choices for bettors on Sunday were, in order, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders and the Eagles. Taking a look at VegasInsider.com's trends, which are powered by data from Sportsbook.com, picking the Eagles and the spread was the second most popular bet of the day. And that's why the sharps were all playing the Bears. I wrote earlier this year about being able to identify that moment when public perception has tipped the scales and a team, at least for a week, loses its value. This was that game for the Eagles. And that's what I meant by a public perception line.

Matt Bowen of the National Football Post has the Eagles ninth in his power rankings:

Michael Vick looked human at times in the loss at Chicago.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk drops the Eagles to 10th in his power rankings:

Hopefully, none of the AP voters have already sent in their MVP ballots.

Adam Caplan of FoxSports.com has the Eagles eighth in his power rankings:

As I suspected, the absence of starting CB Asante Samuel against the host Bears last week was a major issue. And the ongoing red zone issues are not going away any time soon ... but they are playing the Texans this week.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has the Eagles eighth in his power rankings:

Mike Vick is beatable and he does throw interceptions. We found that out in Chicago. It will be a fight to the end with the Giants in the division.

The Eagles fall to third in Football Outsiders' weekly rankings. The offense is third, the defense 11th and the special teams 22nd.

Football Outsiders says 12 NFL quarterbacks had better games than Michael Vick:

Vick did a great job leading the Eagles towards a comeback in the second half -- that throw to Brent Celek was almost too good to be true -- but he wasn't able to do much against one of the league's best pass defenses. His first interception of the year came in the Bears end zone, courtesy of a Tommie Harris deflection. (The pick allowed safety Chris Harris to scratch an item off of his bucket list.) Vick was sacked four times by Bears linemen and fumbled three times, with one on an aborted snap. He has now fumbled eight times this season, losing just the lone fumble against the Giants last week. Is that sustainable? Because of the nature of the fumbles, perhaps. Vick hasn't fumbled yet on a scramble that passed the line of scrimmage or on a running play; all of his fumbles have been on sacks or aborted snaps. In 2006, Vick's last full season, he lost two of the four fumbles that hit the ground on scrambles that passed the line of scrimmage. He was sacked and fumbled five times, and held onto four of them. In 2005, he held onto five of his eight fumbles on sacks or aborted snaps. It's not enough of a sample to prove anything, but it's worth keeping in mind going forward.

Tony Kornheiser thinks he knows why Andre Johnson wasn't suspended for Thursday night's game:

"Do you think that part of [the lack of suspension for Johnson] might have to do with the fact that the NFL, which owns the NFL Network, has a game on Thursday night featuring the Houston Texans, whose only draw is basically Andre Johnson? And I'm not going to say, 'I'm not saying, I'm just saying.' I'm gonna say, I think it does.

"This is a commissioner who sits guys out for multiple games for things that happen off the field -- and more power to him. But this made a mockery of the field."

You can follow Moving the Chains on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here.