 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Eagles entered last night allowing four of 23 third-down conversions of 6 yards or more. Pretty good, right? Yep, until you start to remember some of the big plays that have come on other downs.
And some of those conversions, too.
The Cowboys converted three third-and-longs in their 41-37 victory over the Eagles, including that 72-yard bomb to Terrell Owens. They were successful on two other third downs of 4 and 5 yards, drew an interference penalty against Asante Samuel on another.
OK, that was a team with a lot of weapons. Not going to happen again, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson vowed as recently as Thursday. His guys are too fast. And too cerebral.
Last night, the Bears converted five of 10 third downs in pushing to a 21-14 first-half lead, and it might have been worse if Chicago quarterback Kyle Orton had not missed a couple of big plays.
Still, Orton found Devin Hester in a one-on-one with Samuel for a touchdown on a third-and-9 from the 20 for Chicago's third TD. On a second-and-9 from the 23, he found Marty Booker for a their second touchdown, spinning safety Quintin Mikell around like a top in the end zone.
The first touchdown?
That came on a 19-yard strike to tight end Greg Olsen.
Three touchdown passes, all about the same distances. Against a team in which pass defense was expected to be an overpowering strength.
Against Dallas, a lack of pressure was noted as a contributing factor. The Eagles failed to sack Tony Romo once. Last night, the pressure was there, at least most of the time. Orton was sacked four times, hurried into a couple of picks, too. But the awful truth is that this could have been more awful if Orton was, at times, less so. He overthrew Hester for a big gain early in the game, missed on another big play a little later.
Everyone knows: This is the danger the Eagles' defense invites. Their defensive philosophy under Johnson is well-known, well-documented, and prepared for. The basic premise is that they will bring the house at you on most passing downs and dare you to complete passes against a quick group of linebackers and a secondary stocked with Pro Bowlers.
Samuel. Lito Sheppard. Sheldon Brown and Brian Dawkins.
It's supposed to be good for a few touchdowns the other way.
So what's going on here? Chicago's young quarterback was supposed to be meat for this fast, brainy bunch, the way Romo was supposed to be in Week 2. This is why the Eagles paid dearly or Samuel in the offseason, why they weren't willing to part with Sheppard unless they received something good in return.
Johnson has been right too often to doubt him this early, but so far the evidence is that this defense is far from extraordinary - especially when it leaves home. In two road games, opponents have run up more than 600 yards of total offense and converted 50 percent of their third downs (13-for-26).
After shutting down the Bears' offense for most of the second half and pulling to within a point on two David Akers field goals, the Eagles gave up the kind of play that defines mediocrity in the NFL, the kind of play that fools a team into thinking it is better than it really is. On third-and-7 from his 43, Orton took the heat of a blitz that too often has not made it there and fired a 17-yard pass completion to running back Matt Forte.
Five plays later, Robbie Gould kicked a 41-yard field goal, pushing Chicago's lead up to 24-20. Still, it marked a triumph of sorts for the Birds. It was the first time the Bears got inside the Eagles' 25 and failed to find the end zone.
Still, it forced the Eagles to go for that touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line that which led to a very disturbing loss.
And it forced you to at least mull this disturbing thought:
What if they just aren't a very good coverage team?
What if their purported strength is really a weakness? *
Send e-mail to
For recent columns, go to
http://go.philly.com/donnellon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
REGIONAL SCOREBOARD
Latest Sports Blogs
TOP STORIES
Green
email this
print this
reprint or license this
