Devastating loss. The Eagles really should have been the better team out there.
On the big question for the offseason, I basically agree with the Eagles’ brass that McNabb and Reid should be back. I’ll follow with a much more detailed off-season assessment of where the team is and where they might go next month.
For now, let’s take a brief look back at what went wrong on Sunday. Who gets the blame? Mostly the defense. McNabb had an inconsistent, but at times brilliant, game, and the running game was mostly ineffective, but produced some plays when the Eagles needed them. Also the Eagles caught a few bad breaks from the refs (and one good one on a correct, but difficult, call on the kickoff out of bounds late in the first half). With all that, the defense gave up thirty-two points and you just can’t win that way.
Ok, so what happened?
First of all, Larry Fitzgerald happened. Fitzgerald ran some impressive routes, generating natural picks, making unbelievable catches on mediocre throws, and refusing to go down.
Still, the Eagles missed way too many tackles, especially on Edgerinn James in the first half (and obviously on Fitzgerald across the middle on the Cards’ first TD, on which Dawkins blew his coverage assignment).
On the second TD, B-Dawk bit bad on the trick play that Fitzgerald helped sell as run. On that play, Sheldon Brown also got sucked in by the trick play. It should be noted that Mikell was inches from breaking Warner’s throw up and Demps could have had a shot at the ball if he turned correctly. That’s how close this stuff can be.
So Dawkins definitely had a bad day. Stewart Bradley also got caught out of position multiple times, pressing a bit in the run game and being late on coverage assignments, esp. as he may have been too aggressive at trying to sell blitz on plays in which he was dropping back.
Jim Johnson really failed too. The overload blitzes didn’t seem to work, as Warner did a great job getting rid of the ball quickly. Big blitzes, especially those including safeties, also, of course, prevented them from pressing Fitzgerald at scrimmage, which they only rarely did. On almost all of his big catches, Fitzgerald was covered by a corner who started the play playing six to ten yards off, b/c there wasn’t sufficient help for the corner to press.
As for why the offense wasn’t better in the first half, I think B-west wasn’t the same player he usually is, b/c of his health. Westbrook couldn’t make the sorts of out cuts that he normally would, but our offensive linemen also were outplayed in the running game, on several plays missing blocks on safeties running downhill.
Tra Thomas had a very mediocre game, struggling especially against speed, such as with blitzing safeties in both the pass and run games. Herremans made similar mistakes, both of them also seemed confused at points by Cardinals twists and stunts to their side of the line.
I do criticize Reid, also, for not having B-West on the field more. Even if he can’t carry so much, he’s such an important decoy that he really needs to be on the field in many more key situations than he was.
As for McNabb, Donovan missed some key 3rd down throws in the first half, but he was absolutely amazing in the third and early in the 4th quarter with those nasty throws to Curtis, Celek, and Jackson. Several of his throws to Celek were actually incredible stick throws in very tight zone coverage. Celek and Jackson both deserve praise for some quite excellent games, and they gave us reason to be optimistic for the future of this passing game. Jackson will really be an interesting player to watch going forward. His hustle and speed were especially on display in the first quarter play in which he came from behind to force a fumble after the Cardinals had intercepted McNabb several yards upfield from the route Jackson had been running.
In addition to Celek and Jackson, I want to give a shout-out to Victor Abiamiri, who made some nice plays by forcing an incompletion on a key 3rd down, and a sack on another third down, along with at least one nice play against the run. I’m excited about Abiamiri’s future lining up as nickel tackle.
Here is a brief look at one instance of offensive failure followed by defensive failure in the first half—when the Eagles put up a field goal and the Cards followed with a TD. On the drive that led to the Eagles’ second successful field goal drive (making the score 14-6), after a nice six yard first down run by Buckhalter, with 2nd and 4 from about the Arizona 13, the Eagles threw a wide receiver screen to Greg Lewis that lost two yards. That play was mostly on Andy (first of all why Greg Lewis), as safety Antrel Rolle sniffed out the screen and left his man (Avant I think) to quickly cover up that screen and tackle Lewis. McNabb’s throw also was too low for an effective screen.
On the next play, 3rd and 6, there should have been a pass interference call when Cardinals corner Ralph Brown hung on Avant.
Then on the third Cardinals TD, the Eagles had single coverage on Fitzgerald on the outside every play down near the goal line. That’s why Samuels was forced to interfere on the goal line, and that was why Fitzgerald scored on the fade the next play—I just don’t get it Jim, let them beat you with someone else, and on the fade opportunity—why Sheldon? He’s never been great at defending fades (How many times have we seen Plax out-jump Sheldon or Lito on a fade?)
We all know what happened in the third quarter and the first third of the fourth. Donovan was impressive.
But after the offense took back over the game and took the lead at 10:45 in the fourth quarter, the defense just couldn’t get off the field.
On the 4th and inches play, it has been widely noticed that strong safety Quintin Mikell couldn’t get off the fullback, but I’m not sure that was really his job. Dawkins, Bradley, and Gocong misread the play as a run up the middle so that Mikell was left as the only man out on the edge and would have had to make a spectacular play to get off Tyrelle Smith’s block, which Mikell still almost did. Two plays later, Fitzgerald beat Asante in single coverage. There was no opportunity for him to press, b/c B-Dawk had to play centerfield alone, since the Eagles overloaded blitzing the left side of the Cards O, including bringing Mikell on a blitz that didn’t even get to the defensive line by the time the throw was off.
On Hightower’s subsequent conversion of a third and one, Bradley missed a tackle, and Quintin Demps got out of position and couldn’t get upfield to help Bradley.
The Hightower screen for the go-ahead touchdown three plays later was also mainly on Bradley for missing a tackle and Demps for taking a bad angle.
Either Bradley or Mikell misread their coverage assignment on the two point conversion.
Since we’re talking about why this team failed, let’s also looks that the offense’s four straight incompletes from the Eagles forty-seven yard line.
1st down, ok read by Donovan, Baskett slips
2nd down, overthrow by Donovan, I think he may have been making sure he could get it over a linebacker in the middle, but if he needed to throw it that high, he should have tried to hit Curtis behind Jackson. Curtis was just as open.
3rd down, just a bad throw by McNabb under some pressure. The throw was behind Baskett, but McNabb could have had a couple other guys also. Jackson was wide open, but McNabb probably couldn’t get the ball across his body b/c of confusion in protection by Eagles three interior linemen.
The 4th down play was beautifully designed, with a eight-yard drag route in front of Curtis, enabling Curtis to maintain a one-on-one matchup on the outside. The throw was good enough if not perfect. I really do think there was pass interference on an otherwise good play by the Eagles.
Stay tuned for multiple offseason posts btw now and the draft.
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