THANKS THE 76ERS FOR A GREAT RUN
Here is a look at what we'll be watching during tomorrow night's Eagles-Texans game:
1. As DeSean goes. If DeSean Jackson isn’t the straw that stirs the Eagles’ drink, then he’s definitely the ice cubes that chill it. When he has a big game, the Eagles usually win. When he doesn’t, well, just check out their 4 defeats this season. He missed the Tennessee game with a concussion and had just 9 catches for 75 yards and no touchdowns in their other 3 losses. Tonight, he’ll face a secondary that has given up 25 TD passes and a league-worst 13 pass plays of 40-plus yards.
2. In the zone. The Eagles have been stinking it up in the red zone on both ends of the field. They are dead last in the league in red zone defense, giving up 23 TDs in 30 inside-the-20 tests. On offense, they’ve converted just 2 of 10 red-zone chances in the last 2 games and only 12 of 31 since Week 4. In the last 5 games, they’ve completed just 22 of 44 passes in the red zone.
3. Andre the Giant. After getting lit up for 4 touchdowns by Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox and Greg Olsen, the Eagles, the Eagles’ secondary now has the unenviable task of trying to neutralize one of the game’s very best wideouts, Andre Johnson. The Eagles’ undersized corners have not fared well against big, physical receivers like Johnson.
4. Fostering hope. Lost in Jay Cutler’s 4-touchdown performance against them Sunday was the fact that the Eagles reverted to early-season form against the run, giving up 131 rushing yards, including an early 61-yard run by Matt Forte that set up the Bears’ first TD. If they hope to stop the Texans’ dangerous passing game tonight, they first must do a better job of tackling than they did last week and find a way to neutralize Arian Foster, who only is the league’s leading rusher.
5. It’s better to take than give. The Eagles are tied for the league lead in takeaways and are first in interceptions, but for the first time this season, they failed to force a turnover against the Bears. They’re 7-1 this season when they win the turnover battle. That’s the good news. The bad news is the Texans don’t turn the ball over much. Their 13 giveaways are the fourth fewest in the league. – Paul Domowitch
**
To read our earlier posts from today, including Les Bowen's video preview, click here.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
Download our iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here for iPhone or here for Android.
 | Join on Facebook |
