20 thoughts: An Eagles slant to the playoffs
Here are 20 thoughts (with an Eagles slant) on this weekend's playoff action:
20 thoughts: An Eagles slant to the playoffs
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here are 20 thoughts (with an Eagles slant) on this weekend's playoff action:
1. On Nov. 21, the Giants sat at 6-4. They had just come off a 17-10 loss to the Eagles at New Meadowlands Stadium. A loss in which their offense punted nine times, turned it over twice, scored one touchdown and one field goal in 13 possessions. A loss in which Vince Young led an 18-play, 80-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Packers, meanwhile, were 10-0 on Nov. 21. They were coming off a 35-26 win over the Bucs. They had scored 30+ points in four straight games and seven of their first 10. And they were the odds-on favorite to repeat.
2. Which is part of what makes yesterday so remarkable. The Giants went into Lambeau and beat the Packers soundly, 37-20. They are now 2.5-point underdogs entering Sunday's game in San Francisco and are in great position to compete for their second Super Bowl title in five years, despite going just 9-7 in the regular season. So, how'd they do it? Let's start with the Giants' offense and Eli Manning, who completed 21 of 33 passes for 330 yards, three touchdowns and one interception (114.5 QB rating). In two playoff wins, Manning has completed 44 of 65 passes (68 percent) for 607 yards (9.3 YPA), six touchdowns and one interception. He's now two wins away from having one more Super Bowl ring than his brother.
3. Waiting for Manning and the Giants are the 49ers, who knocked off the Saints, 36-32. With 14 seconds left in the game, San Francisco lined up at the Saints' 14 yard line, down 32-29. I was watching the game with a bunch of friends. The feeling in the room was this: Don't make a mistake, Alex Smith. Be smart. Even if you don't score, a David Akers field goal will force overtime. But looking back, the truth is that to get to the Super Bowl, your quarterback is going to have to make a play at some point. This was that point for Smith and the 49ers. He dropped back and hit Vernon Davis in the end zone. Not only did Davis catch the ball, but he simultaneously crushed Saints safety Roman Harper, for the game-winning touchdown. A moment Niners fans won't soon forget, and a moment that reminded many of Terrell Owens making a similar catch against the Packers 13 years earlier.
4. In the AFC, the Ravens handled the Texans, 20-13, to advance to the AFC championship game in New England. Joe Flacco is in his fourth season. And while the Ravens have won a lot of games with him, the quarterback needs to be evaluated individually. That's a long way of saying Sunday's game is huge for Flacco at this point in his career. He's only 27 years old and in his fourth season, but as I mentioned with Smith, at some point, your quarterback has to make a play. The Ravens' offense was unimpressive against a good Texans defense. The Patriots' defense has holes, and Tom Brady will be on the other sideline, not T.J. Yates. The Ravens will have to rely heavily on Ray Rice and their defense, but at some point, Flacco will be expected to make a play. Baltimore scored just three points after the first quarter Sunday. That won't get it done against New England. Big spot for Flacco.
5. The most boring game of the weekend was the Patriots' 45-10 win over the Broncos. Not much to really say about that one, as Tebow-Mania came to and. Taking a step back, Tim Tebow was good for the league this year. Did some (ESPN devoting a full hour to him comes to mind) get carried away? Of course. But in Week 13, after the Eagles lost to the Seahawks on Thursday night, I went to Boston for the weekend. I was watching NFL games at a bar that Sunday afternoon, and you know which game captured my attention? Broncos-Vikings. Denver scored 28 second-half points en route to a 35-32 win. As I said last week, I'm not sure Tebow will even be the Broncos' starter at this time next year, but he certainly gave Denver fans some great memories this season, including last week's win over the Steelers.
6. Last week, I mentioned how the Texans added a new defensive coordinator (Wade Phillips) in the offseason, switched systems, lost Mario Williams for the year and still improved dramatically in just about every defensive category. The one area I probably undersold them was the play of their rookies. Houston's top two picks - J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed - combined for 20 tackles (15 solo), five sacks and a forced fumble against the Ravens. Danny Watkins and Jaiquawn Jarrett, the Eagles' first two picks, could very well end up being good players. But Watt and Reed provided quite a contrast to what we saw from the Birds' rookies this season.
7. And the 49ers have done a pretty good job of disproving the whole lockout/shortened offseason excuse too. With a new head coach (Jim Harbaugh), they went from 6-10 to 13-3 and are now one win away from the Super Bowl. Alex Smith set career highs in pretty much every statistical category. San Francisco signed Carlos Rogers to play cornerback, and he had a great year. And first-round pick Aldon Smith had 14 sacks (not including the one he had on Drew Brees on Saturday).
8. Speaking of draft picks, the Eagles and Giants both selected wide receivers in the first round in 2009 and defensive ends in the first round in 2010. In '09, the Eagles traded up to get Jeremy Maclin (19th overall). The Giants picked Hakeem Nicks at No. 29. In 2010, the Birds took Brandon Graham with the 13th pick, and New York selected Jason Pierre-Paul at No. 15. I'm not making this point to rip the Eagles. The truth is, Maclin is a really good player. And it's unfair to properly evaluate Graham until we see how he performs when healthy. But Nicks and Pierre-Paul are already superstars. This is going to be a comparison worth monitoring for years to come.
9. More on Nicks: in two playoff games this season, he's got 13 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns. The Giants have gotten huge YAC plays from either Nicks or Victor Cruz in each of their last four games. Against the Packers, Nicks took a Manning pass 66 yards for a touchdown in the first half; about 49 of those yards came after the catch. And he also came down with the 37-yard Hail Mary. In case you're wondering, here's a look at how Nicks and Maclin stack up (regular season only):
| Games | Catches | Yds/g. | YPC | TDs | |
| Nicks | 42 | 202 | 72.2 | 15.0 | 24 |
| Maclin | 44 | 189 | 59.0 | 13.7 | 19 |
10. One more comparison to make: LeSean McCoy and Ray Rice. Rice wasn't all that productive on Sunday, accumulating 80 yards on 25 touches. His longest run went for just 9 yards, although Rice did have a 20-yard catch. Why compare him to McCoy? Because Rice is a free agent this offseason and was a second-round pick (55th overall) in the 2008 draft. McCoy was the 53rd pick overall a year later. His contract is up after the 2012 season, but the Eagles could lock him up this offseason. Here's how their numbers from 2011 compare:
| Rushing Yds. | YPC | Receiving Yds. | Total Yds. | TDs | |
| McCoy | 1,309 | 4.8 | 315 | 1,624 | 20 |
| Rice | 1,364 | 4.7 | 704 | 2,068 | 15 |
Rushing yards are nearly identical, although I should mention that McCoy played one fewer game. And while McCoy's receiving yards were down, it should be noted that he had 592 through the air in 2010. Keep an eye on what happens with Rice's contract situation, because the Eagles and McCoy could be looking at his deal as a model to follow.
11. Special teams played a key role this weekend. Jacoby Jones' fumble on a punt return in the first quarter led to a Ravens touchdown. And the Saints fumbled twice on special teams; both led to 49ers field goals. That got me thinking about the Eagles' special teams. According to Football Outsiders, that unit took a step back in 2011, ranking 18th overall. The kicking game ended up being fine with Alex Henery, but the return game was terrible. That's something else to keep in mind as the Eagles tweak their roster this offseason. They need to improve in the return game.
12. Last offseason, we threw around several names when discussing how the Eagles would upgrade at right cornerback: Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, Johnathan Joseph, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jimmy Smith. Taylor had a nightmarish game last week against the Broncos. Rogers had a career year. Joseph was a second-team All-Pro. And Smith, the rookie, is playing a lesser role with the Ravens. I expect Asomugha to bounce back in 2012, but that's not how I expected things to play out in 2011.
13. I don't remember which broadcast it was, but they mentioned that Gregg Williams rushed six or more defenders more than any team in the league this season. Williams was the Saints' defensive coordinator, but is expected to join Jeff Fisher in St. Louis this offseason. Over the weekend, I brought up the possibility of Jim Washburn joining them both. On the surface, a Washburn/Williams reunion doesn't make sense: A defensive coordinator who likes to send big blitzes and a defensive line coach who likes to rely on pressure from the front four? But Tommy Lawlor over at IgglesBlitz.com recently had a good post about how Williams has run several different kinds of defenses in his career. That point relates to the possibility of Washburn and Steve Spagnuolo working together here. Good coaches evaluate their personnel and craft the system around it, don't they? That's why I'm not ready to discount the possibility of Washburn and Spagnuolo meshing.
14. The Giants' defense had plenty of good moments, but the Packers' offense has itself to blame for not executing when it had chances. Green Bay dropped six passes, and Aaron Rodgers missed throws that we never see him miss. Rodgers was sacked four times, and Green Bay turned it over four times also. The Packers' offense delivered its worst performance of the season at the worst possible time.
15. Two announcing notes: Did you hear Moose Johnston reference the concussions of Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley during the Saints-Niners game? Kolb and Bradley were allowed to re-enter the Packers game in Week 1 of the 2010 season after suffering concussions. Johnston brought their names up after Saints tight end Jimmy Graham took a big hit from Donte Whitner early on. Meanwhile, in the Giants-Packers game, Troy Aikman talked about how much Green Bay missed Cullen Jenkins. The Eagles had plenty of misses this offseason, but Jenkins was not one of them.
16. OK, I lied. Some more viewing notes:
- Fox's Tony Siragusa said Chris Ivory's nickname was Baby Brontosaurus. Is there any way to check if that's even remotely close to being true? And if it is, it's officially the worst nickname of all-time.
- Quite a few commercials about the new Burger King fries. I've tried 'em. Same taste, just a little thicker.
- At what point did Subway think: You know, if we can get Jay Glazer and Michael Phelps to do a commercial together, I really think we'll sell a lot more sandwiches?
- I used to be a constant "flipper" during commercial breaks. Now I just look at my phone and catch up on Tweets. Anyone else find themselves doing that more and more during games?
17. My favorite play of the weekend might have been Justin Smith bull-rushing Jermon Bushrod, reaching over him and dragging Drew Brees down. Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis Tweeted this during the 49ers-Saints game:
There's nobody in football that plays harder than Justin Smith. I'm convinced he's a robot.
Smith, of course, forced a Maclin fumble in the Niners' 24-23 win over the Eagles during the regular season. Had that not happened, the Birds would have had the ball at the San Francisco 32 with 2:06 left, down just one point and needing a field goal to take the lead.
18. The idea that you just have to get into the playoffs, get hot and anything can happen is true (to a point). We're seeing it with the Giants. And we saw it last year with the Packers. It's also true that in many cases, you need the quarterback to be hot. Alex Smith played well on Sunday, but can he put together a three-game stretch that's good enough? And more importantly, from an Eagles perspective, can Michael Vick put together a three- or four-game stretch that's good enough? It'll be interesting to see if Joe Banner or Andy Reid reference the Giants when they address the media at some point this offseason.
19. Luck always plays a little bit of a role. The Texans and Ravens both fumbled three times. Houston lost one that led to a Ravens touchdown. Baltimore didn't lose any. Oh, and don't forget that Neil Rackers' 50-yard field goal that hit the crossbar.
20. Leftovers: The Ravens are 17-1 at home the past two seasons. The Eagles are 7-10. ...The worst call of the weekend had to be the Greg Jennings non-fumble that should have been ruled a turnover. How did that call hold up after a booth review? I didn't think that one was even close. ...Good job by Aikman to point out that Rodgers had Jennings wide open on the play where Osi Umenyiora stripped him. ...At one point, the Packers had a seven-possession stretch of three fumbles, two punts, one turnover on downs and one field goal. That's where the game was lost.
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eldia -- bush administration had black secretary of state and chief of staff --you may not like his politics (and may hate the U.S) and may prefer a president like the current one who destoys his country's prestige (while fighting the same so-called illegal wars with the same so-called illegal tactics) and ruins the economy but stop calling names you stupid f$%$%— warbiscuit- Yes, babbling bellicose bizkit, it is fools like Dubyuh Shrubmeister who have run this country into the ground, and I always wonder why the end point people as you try to assert is that anyone who disagrees with you and your Shrubs is either un-American or hates the USofA.
Insofar as "ruining the economy" Mr. Obalama didn't have to do that. It was all ready in a shambles when he was elected. Today it is not nearly so bad as it was, despite every effort of the obstructionist Congress to assure nothing positive can be done about it.— BEMiller - aldia --what's abhorrent is that you dont livein NKorea, Syria or Iran --try your moronic nonsense there— warbiscuit
- Look everyone don't try to argue with Citizenc, how dare you! There is absolutely no getting through into the realm his fantasy world resides in. Facts are something made up and then clung to. Understand I'm not trying to make excuses for the Eagles, but for crissakes lets get it right, see if we can chip away at Citizen the Doofus Maximus some more. The Eagles went to the playoffs in -- 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010. In '06 they beat -- hey -- the Giants, then lost to NO. In '08 they smashed the Vikings (visions of Clemons slamming T. Jackson to the ground as a block on INT), then -- hey -- went into the home of the defending SB champs and beat them -- the Giants. Then they somehow lost to Arizona. I won't talk about '09. Last year they lost to GB by 5 points at home. So how many wins is that, Citizenc? The story of the Giants of course is there ability to evaluate talent. They just keep getting it done. Strange how teams seem to just catch fire.— Murrayman
- Citizen are you an eagles fan or some other NFC East fan, either way to gloat about the Giants success when youre not a fan of the Giants says more about you than any Eagles fan loser. Also of course the Eagles get support, its the NFL you idiot, the most popular sport in a huge market. Do you think people will stop going or paying to see a team thats missed the playoffs once or twice in 10 years. Do you think the ownership has that type of impact? Where do you ever see conscious consumerism work to change any business practice? Nowhere genius. Do you think Eagles fans wont rip the other NFC East teams no matter how successful or are you just now getting into football? Who sticks up for a team they arent a fan of? Glad to see you can read into the future Miss Cleo— peteike
- Two observations that should be obvious to Jeff Luir and Reid if they watched the Giants, Saints and 49ers games on the weekend; (1)compare Desean Jackson to any of the wide receivers on those teams and it's easy to see he's not a #1 class receiver; (2) the Eagles (if they get into the playoffs next year) won't get far with Vick at QB. If the Colts are serious about the possibility of trading Peyton Manning, Lurie should open up his checkbook and ask, "How much".— 1republican
- Giants may be as mediocre as Eagles at times during reg season but their philosphy (stong classic qb, great pash rushers, good linemen) provide them with an opportunity to actually win championships when everything clicks and is working as opposed to Eagles, who always faltered even when everythign seemed like it was clicking ...becuase their team construction under Reid (running, inconsistent qb, no running game) ultimately is too flawed to ever actually win all the post-season games needed to win a championship ..that's why Giants are undefeated in nfc championship games in past 25 yrs(4-0) and have 3 more SB wins while Eagles under Reid are 1-4 in nfc championship games and 0-1 in SB, though at many times Eagles over past 25 yrs Eagles seemed like "better" team Eagles system doesnt win SB's— warbiscuit
- 1republican I think its plain to see the Eagles don't think D-Jax is a #1 receiver. I'm confident they have a price at which they'd love to retain him. I don't know how it was obvious from watching NFC games this weekend that a fatalistic judgment about Vick's performance next year is warranted. I saw Alex Smith emerge from bust status to lead a team into the championship round and I saw Eli, a QB outshined by Vince Young, play like an all-pro. How much? 28-30 million (not counting Vick's salary). "Glad to see you can read into the future Miss Cleo" -- lol.— Murrayman
- Eagles fans can cry all they want. Net net is this. 0 Superbowl wins out of 2 SB appearances since the SB was created. I used to waste my money on this team too. But then realized with this ownership and fanbase, it makes NO SENSE to win a SB whereas the costs and risks associated with winning the SB are too high actually would hurt revenues and jeopardize continuity of profitability. Its a biz people...first and foremost...to think anything other than this is foolish and naive. They would rather have a "competative" team that regularly makes the playoffs (keeping the fan base on a hook) rather than actually paying for the talent and winning a SB and then having to pay all those bonuses and the risk of having to attain that level again which would cost more money. With a 50K waiting list for season tix, why would Laurie change anything??? He's got it made and season tix holders are lining his pocket for an INFERIOR PRODUCT.— Citizenc92
- What's funnier yet is you people are arguing over 1 or 2 wins. Let's not lose sight of the big picture here. Eagles are the only NFC East Team to not win a SB. Have only been to the SB 2x and in recent years under this head coach, are tracing backwards in performance with supposedly a better team. Do the math. Wake up and realize you've been duped and demand a better product.— Citizenc92
- And with that, it should be obvious at this point that Citizenc92 is someone to be pitied. Dare anyone ask how it is that being a SB contending team = less revenue/more costs, therefore always pursue what the Eagles have performed to? Think of it. There are hundreds of thousands of Eagles fans convinced that they plan on being 10-6 every year, win the Division, and then exit the playoffs short of the SB. And Citizenc92 the delusional dingbat leads them.— Murrayman
- As for the top coaches in this town:
1) Collins
2) Laviolette
3) Manuel
Should have pinch hit from the 5th inning on against the cards.
You can't stay with regulars in a short series when they can't hit
If Francisco didn't homer in game 3, the Cards beat the Phils in 4
4) Nowak - Union head coach
5) Reid
No one has had more chances to win a big game than Reid and come up smaller...1-4 in title games, 0-1 in super bowl, losing record against playoff teams. Bone headed decisions - naming Juan as DC, Ronnie Brown play at goal line, starting rookie at ML, wasting time before the half...all those came in his 13th year.
— Fan74 - Still curious as to who I'm supposed to "hate?" Mario, my brother, I need more info. For your information I don't "hate" Tebow, Eli, or even Romo. I haven't "hated" a ball player since I was 12, & I'll defend JaMarcus to the extent of hoping he gets his life together. But I'd still like to be on the same page as "my people"lol...— ClarkU
- Only Murrayman wouldn't know that in the NFL there are performance increases tied to each contract should the team win the SB. Further, let's take this to a granular level. Let's look at the whole TO thing. Hell, the Eagles didn't even win the SB and he demanded more money because he felt he got them there. Now multiply that to any other player that may be in a contract year, and there you have it. Significantly more money to retain talent that wins the SB. Moreover, don't forget the team would NOT realize all that money from winning the SB due to "revenue sharing". You know that little thing that you forgot about. Murray, go crawl back into that cubicle you work in and let the big boys worry about the real dollars and hard decisions. LoL...— Citizenc92
- But wait, the Eagles are the "Gold Standard"! I guess since the current regime has had over a decade and failed to win a SB and Giants current regime has has slightly less and won 1 SB and are threatening to win another, makes them the Diamond Standard, lol! Moreover, Belichick up there in NE (whose team has significantly less talent (except for QB)) must be "Outta This World" Standard!— Citizenc92
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