Eagles plan to stay aggressive as they strive to prevent turnover

ONE THING Andy Reid said about last Sunday's 31-24 loss at Buffalo wasn't the same, old "better position to make plays" mush. Reid pointed out that a team making five turnovers has a 6 percent chance of winning the game.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg noted yesterday that the Eagles rarely punt; they've done so twice a game the past 3 weeks. They either score or they turn the ball over.

So, once again this week, the team that is 1-4 because its struggling defense can't cope with 15 turnovers in five games is emphasizing not turning the ball over, this time against a formidable Redskins front seven. But if you've watched the Eagles' defense play, you know Reid and Mornhinweg can't afford to pull too far back on the offensive reins.

"Our game plan is always attacking and being aggressive, whether it's the pass game or the run game," quarterback Michael Vick said this week. "I don't think you get away from that. I think you stay aggressive. There's times to be cautious and meticulous about what you do, you do that, and for the most part, you just go out and play ball."

Wideout Jason Avant was even more emphatic.

"Some people, when they draw criticism, will stand back and say, 'You know what, we need to dink-and-dunk, we need to run it a little bit more so we can avoid turnovers.' No. We're shooting for the roof every time," Avant said. "We're going after it, every time. That's our mentality and that's what we're going to do."

Avant, of course, was responsible for two turnovers in Buffalo - both balls ripped from his hands, a fumble and an interception. The fumble was inattention on Avant's part. The other was more of a freak play, Avant having the ball knocked away, then kicking it right to Bills linebacker Nick Barnett as Avant flipped in the air.

The line between being aggressive and being foolish is one of those things that even if you can't define it, you know when you see it. Take that pick-six interception last Sunday by Barnett, much earlier than the fatal Avant play. Vick threw the ball straight to Barnett because he had a blitzing linebacker in his face and had to unload off his back foot, into coverage, Vick desperate to make a play with his team trailing. Vick shouldn't have thrown that ball, and before that, center Jason Kelce shouldn't have left the linebacker alone to help double-team another blitzer. That's a turnover you should be able to avoid.

Others are harder to parse. Three times Sunday, Vick threw balls that were tipped or batted around, then intercepted. The impulse is to say that crazy bounces aren't Vick's fault. But on the first of those, he tried to thread a screen pass through a pass rusher whose hands were extended. It seemed to be a low-percentage throw, never mind that the guy who eventually caught it on the carom made an amazing, highlight-clip catch.

"There's a real fine line there that the great ones understand," Mornhinweg said. He added that "typically, in his career, [Vick is] very good in the pass game, taking care of the ball."

Vick is 6-feet; he is going to get balls batted. Maybe the Eagles can help him cut down on that by rolling him out or cut-blocking rushers who leap into the air when they see his arm cocked, but at some level, they just have to hope the batted balls are rare and that they fall harmlessly to the ground.

"You've just gotta find passing lanes as a short quarterback. That's never really been a problem," Vick said. "Those are things I don't worry about. You just try to make the throws that you can, use the pump fake, move, try to make it happen the best way you can.

"Sometimes you just can't control it. Out of 46 balls, you might get two tipped. I just think it's all about - like, defensive linemen, if they feel screen, they know they can't get to the screen, they put their hands up, or if they know they can't get to the quarterback, then they'll put their hands up . . . Mine have been getting caught. That's crazy, man."

Mornhinweg said the Bills were particularly good at getting their hands on balls.

"It doesn't matter if you're 6-foot or 6-5, typically you throw in lanes," Mornhinweg said. "That ballclub that we played last week is outstanding at tipping balls. Sometimes when they're blocked, they'll try to time it, stop, jump."

Mornhinweg said even the tallest QBs "rarely throw over the top of people," they need a clear lane. He said Vick doesn't throw an extraordinary amount of tipped balls, anecdotal evidence this season to the contrary.

Left guard Evan Mathis said the tape doesn't show turnovers coming on plays where the Eagles are taking huge risks.

"Aggression wasn't the cause of the turnovers," Mathis said. "It was a lack of discipline and accountability, for a few plays, in small areas, but those small areas become magnified when they result in a turnover."

Mornhinweg was asked yesterday about turnovers happening because players are pressing, feeling they have to make big plays, given the team's situation.

He said that can happen, but "I'm not sure that's the case here . . . Our players, now, are very proud people, proud men. They want to take care of the football. Let's get that straight, they want to take care of the football. So we'll just keep emphasizing it, players to players, coaches to players, and we'll get better."

Avant agreed. He was leery of the idea that anyone could try "too hard."

"You can't fault a guy for playing his hardest, in any circumstance, because eventually, it's going to turn around for you," Avant said.

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.

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