Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009, 4:47 PM | 11 comments |
 

Game changed on Hobbs' fumble
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At halftime, the Eagles were probably feeling pretty good about themselves.

Kevin Kolb and the offense went 65 yards in 43 seconds to set up a 32-yard field goal by David Akers, cutting the Saints' lead to 17-13 to close out the second quarter.

Kolb had exceeded expectations through the first 30 minutes. The offensive line had played well. And while the defense certainly was not doing much to limit Drew Brees and company, it had kept the Eagles in the game.

But after the intermission, momentum swung immediately.

Ellis Hobbs did not feel Malcolm Jenkins charging behind him, and the rookie stripped knocked the football out of his hands. The Saints recovered and the offense took over at the Eagles' 22 yard line.

Three plays later, it was 24-13.

The Hobbs play was just one part of a sloppy effort by the Eagles on special teams.

Field position was a huge factor in the second half. The Saints started touchdown drives at the Eagles' 22, the Eagles' 24 and their own 48.

Can't give Brees and company that kind of field position and still expect to be in the game.

Much more to come shortly.
Posted by Sheil Kapadia @ 4:47 PM  Permalink | 11 comments
11
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:56 PM, 09/20/2009
    The game changed when Desean Jackson decided to catch a punt and try to return it from inside the 5 yard line.
    — homer2811
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:58 PM, 09/20/2009
    Brees threw for 3 TDs, sure.. but Kolb sure did give him a short field to play with so often. Not only was the INT just awful, but there were so many drives deep in the Eagles' territory that just stalled. Going into halftime, it really should have been 10-10, but Kolb missed a wide open Jackson (or was it Westbrook? He missed two of those crossing routes). Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes killed the Eagles today. Fumble. Missed passes. INT. Countless missed tackles.
    — trungy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:07 PM, 09/20/2009
    but.... we still have the most talented roster in the NFL
    — FireAndyReid
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:05 PM, 09/20/2009
    Did we get a real RB yet?
    — starbird
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:29 PM, 09/20/2009
    The game changed when the schedule maker made the Eagles opener the Saints.The Saints are without a doubt one of the best teams in the NFL but definately a better team then the Eagles.The Eagles gotten soundly out played today and out coached. Face it, the better team won.
    — kneauxla
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:38 PM, 09/20/2009
    Hey Sheil, thanks again for hosting. Tough loss today. It’s one game, we got 14 to go. The Eagles will be there at the end…It will be an interesting week for the special teams. We definitely have some things to work on. Kolb answered any doubts that he can play in this league, (but there’s always gonna be the agenda fans who see things through their own ignorance). …Talk to you next week.
    — Reality Speaks
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:05 PM, 09/20/2009
    Hey,kneauxla,I think you're an idiot.
    — bednarick
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:19 PM, 09/20/2009
    This was the ugliest Eagles game in recent memory. How can you pin the turning point down to 1 mistake out of 100 bad mistakes. 48-22 loss, it was Hobbs' fault. LMFAO
    — cletisvandam
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:54 PM, 09/20/2009
    cletisyandam, he didn’t say the loss was Hobb’s fault. The point is the game changed on Hobb’s fumble. Which was painfully obvious.
    — Reality Speaks


11 comments
About Sheil Kapadia
Sheil Kapadia is in his fourth season writing about the Eagles and the NFL for philly.com. His earliest memories as a sports fan include several trips to Veterans Stadium with his Dad. He's not a beat writer or an Insider, but is here to discuss the NFL 365 days a year. E-mail him at skapadia@philly.com or by clicking here

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