Injury updates; Vick says Giants are poor sports
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Injury updates; Vick says Giants are poor sports
Daily News staff and Les Bowen
Andy Reid was happy with the result, of course, but was less happy with how his team played to get into a 31-10 hole for more than three quarters.
He called the Eagles’ victory, “one of the all-time great games in NFL history right there."
“For three-plus quarters there, we weren’t very pretty,” Reid said. “That part bothers me as the head football coach. We will go back and learn from our mistakes and get the things that we need to better.”
“We didn’t play very well for three quarters and we need to figure that out. … I’m not sure any of this can sit there and can say we painted a beautiful picture. That’s not where we will be at.”
What Reid was lauding, however, was his team’s determination and poise.
“Those are hard things to coach,” Reid said. “They showed that yesterday, both coaches and players. They all worked together to figure it out and get it right. We were fortunate enough to have time to do that. A big heart, that part’s tough to coach. You either have that or you don’t. This group has that."
Reid, often criticized for his failing to make good adjustments, said among the issues the Eagles are facing is that teams are trying different things to stop Michael Vick, things the Eagles haven't seen them do on tape.
“I think we’re making good adjustments as players and coaches,” Reid said. “I’d like to do that sooner rather than later. We’re getting some unique looks. … It’s hard to put on another tape and see teams do what they do with Michael. They change things up. They throw you a little bit of a curveball so you have to make adjustments.”
The Eagles have allowed 30 passing touchdowns this season, a franchise record.
“That’s an area we have to do better in,” Reid said. “We’ve got some young guys playing in there that week now will get better every week. We try to put them in position to make plays.”
The Eagles' d will start two rookie seventh-round picks, middle linebacker Jamar Chaney and safety Kurt Coleman, this coming week against Minnesota.
Reid also again criticized himself for not throwing a challenge flag on what was ruled a reception and a DeSean Jackson fumble late in the game.
“That was ridiculous. I should have cut that thing loose,” he said. “We weren’t getting the replays. I’ll look into that too. Some of those were bang-bang shots that were a little tough. Unless you see a replay, it was tough to figure out.” Reid said replays were a problem for the Eagles' coaches in the booth all game long, not just on the Jackson fumble.
Fox's broadcast showed several replays that showed Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff touching Jackson's back as Jackson fell, which should have meant Jackson was down when he hit the turf. The ruling on the field was that Jackson went down untouched.
Injury update:
Rookie safety Nate Allen will most likely have surgery tomorrow for a ruptured patellar tendon with team physician Dr. Peter DeLuca. The injury is expected to end his season.
Wide receiver Jason Avant had a slight concussion suffered on the thunderous block on the punt return that won the game. Reid said “it doesn’t look like it’s too bad. He tested out today and did very well.”
DT Mike Patterson has a sore knee and will have an MRI today. “We’re checking him out.”
Linebacker Stewart Bradley “most likely will not play this week” but is making progress from a dislocated elbow.
Rookie linebacker Keenan Clayton did not play with a hamstring strain and will be a “day-by-day evaluation process there.”
Reid said right tackle Winston Justice is “continuing to make progress. He had a good workout today. We’ll just see how he does with the bull-rush with a hard aggressive push on that leg. Right now, he looks pretty good.”
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One sideline was jubilation; the other was shock.
But when it was all over, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick says, the Giants showed themselves to be poor sports by walking off the field without shaking hands with the Eagles.
"I have a lot of respect for the New York Giants. For them to walk off the field at the end really didn't show good sportsmanship," Vick said, according to the New York Daily News. "They were the ones doing a lot of talking. We just wanted to come out and play a good football game. But I still have a lot of respect for them."
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Vote: Grade the Eagles' performance
If you could have only seen those Giant fans exiting the stadium...HAHAHHA. I'm telling you people, it was one of the best feelings I've ever had. These people were KILLING all of us Eagles fans for the whole game...oh until about 8 minutes remaining in the game. I wish you could have all been there to experience that...- Mike Vick said throughout his career, after every match, he always shook paws with his competitors.— AreaMan
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Loss of Nate Allen is a big one.— tacklinjoe
- Mustache, it must have been unbelievable. Just watching Coughlin's face and antics on TV had us laughing our butts off. I hope they suffered horribly.— Bob1
- Vick's right and anyone from midget ball on up would back him up.— absherlock
- Will Colt Anderson replace Allen? The Birds will most likely sign another DB today. Injuries are starting to tear apart the team and yet and yet...they persevere. And Vick is the leader . Reid actually stood strong at half time by not screaming and throwing things ala Tom C at the end of the miracle. Perhaps the players thought, hey, we can play better than we did in the first half, anybody could!!!— Koons
- What a shock, another Eagles rookie goes down with injury. Great win yesterday, but the Eagles will have a hard time getting to a superbowl with this defense. Eventually it's going to bite them in the rear.— Hemingway
- I experienced the shock for a home team against another Eagles QB years ago at RFK in DC. All game me and my friends were getting it from Redskins fans and they were relentless on Buddy Ryan. Then with under a minute Randall hits Greg Garrity for a TD, Eagles win, dead silence, then my buddy starts singing Hail to the Redskins replacing the Red with For then the real fun started.— phillboyinhawaii
- why is it we spent season after season with dawk back there, very seldom injured, often highlite, bone crshing hits. now with the new and young safties, they go down like domino's. is it the players and the lack of understanding the game and what is needed or is it the training that the club now puts them through ? just sayin....
in any event this was a great win !!— edseagles - It’s hard to put on another tape and see teams do what they do with Michael. They change things up. They throw you a little bit of a curveball so you have to make adjustments.” ...
I believe that's where "imagination" and "anticipation" come in. Instead of relying exclusively on old tape, put yourself in the shoes of your opponent - what would YOU do to stop Vick? And how would it be different than what you've done before (and is on tape)???
— CarpGuy - how bad could the secondary be without Allen?— LAEagles
- Glad to see MV trying to slide. He needs to head over to the Phillies complex and get taught the right way.— NC Eagle Fan
"“We weren’t getting the replays... Unless you see a replay, it was tough to figure out.” Reid said replays were a problem for the Eagles' coaches in the booth all game long, not just on the Jackson fumble."
How do you not get the replays in the booth? I was blacked out of the game, but I'm assuming the broadcast clearly showed the bad call. If you aren't getting the replays in the booth, why not walk out to the consourse or something? Or call your buddy who's watching it at home?? Idiots.— Sam Crow- What are we going to do about Patterson?? He needs to play better....Enjoying the win, though!— Static87
Reasons Iggles were down 31-10 after 3 quarters in order of magnitude: 1: Bad officiating by the Officials, 2: Bad Coaching by the Coaches, 3: Bad play by the players.— tornadoh- What's the recovery time on a patellar tendon? Will he be ready to go at the start of next season?
- Its not so much that the Giants were poor sports by walking off the field without shaking hands. They were just understandably shell shocked. Its a natural human reaction to such a sudden turn of events.— SteveS11
- Showing poor sportsmanship and being poor sports are not mutually inclusive. A team can have a lapse and show poor sportsmanship but it doesn't necessarily make them poor sports. Again, the media trying to stir the pot. I do agree, though, that the Giants showed no class yesterday. They did most of the yapping, most of the post play pushing and shoving, trying to intimidate the younger team. Well, the only thing it did was open up a big can that was served to them cold and quick.— beegal99
- i think reid didn't throw the challenge flag on purpose! he figured he'd spot the giants another 7 points so it would sting just a little bit more! it looks like it worked because the giants couldn't get off the field fast enough.don't overlook what akers did.on side kick was absolutely perfect!— Geno D
- what's the status of Al Harris?,...if he's got anything left in his tank we only need a month and a half of football out of him and he pretty much knows our schemes,....he wouldn't go back to GB who gave up on him and if he's got anything in his tank he'd be a good replacement for safety or corner both— SyddBarrett
- I love the Vick rebirth as much as anyone, but didn't he once give Atlanta fans the bird as he was running off the field? That's not very sportsmanlike, either. Also, what is up with the points under people's posts?— phillyinsd
- Hey Andy,,,read the Sam Crow comment. Better yet, keep him on the line to exlain TV replays to you. Hardly rocket science involved here,— NewMick314
- ...Yeah and giving your OWN fans the finger, as you walked off the field in ATL was a real show of sportsmanship there Vick!! Real class act too.— poshnspice
