By #1 Sports
Philadelphia (5-4-1) Eagle fans – a warm and cuddly bunch by nature – have been screaming for heads since their crew finished with a 13-13 tie on Sunday at Cincinnati in which Coach Andy Reid continued to ignore the running game (23 passes vs. 5 rushes first half) and QB Donovan McNabb (227 of 382 for 2711 yards, 14 TD, 8 INT) threw 30 incomplete passes (28 of 58 for 339 yards, TD, 3 INT) including 3 caught by Bengals plus added a lost fumble. Further fueling the fire was the fact that many Philadelphia players – not just 10-year veteran McNabb – had no idea that no second overtime was waiting after the first extra frame expired in a deadlock! OK, with many connections to pro and college players over the years we can attest that these guys know more about coverages, systems, and schemes than what 98% of the viewers think they are seeing during a play but when it comes to the more geekafied points like statistics, records, and the more esoteric rules they are clueless compared to the average Arm-Chair Charlie. Counting ourselves in the Charlie group, combined with time spent around these guys, this seemingly odd hole in their knowledge came as absolutely no surprise to us. The comparisons of football to the military have been done (ground attack, aerial assault, gridiron, scrimmage, the bomb, flanker, field general, and many more) and these players see their job as playing the game, with the best teams those that most consistently and without question execute the strategy of the coaching staff whom holds the responsibility for these finer points. Anyway, every Charlie knows you have to run the ball in this league to win championships and Philadelphia just doesn’t consistently. 95.3 yards per game on the ground ranks 25th in the NFL and with an offensive line led by 6’7” 335 LT Tra Thomas (160 career starts) and 6’7” 330 LT Jon Runyan there’s just no lack of talent or beef to pound out the yards. Sure, 3rd-year 6’3” 338 RG Max Jean-Gilles is playing for Shane Andrews (out recovering from back surgery) but with a solid 4-0 yards per rush through 11 games, play calling is the only thing stooping RB Brian Westbrook (123 for 508 and 6 TD) and RB Correll Buckhalter (57 for 233 and 2 TD). At least Reid gets this pair of superb all-around athletes the ball in the passing game (combined 53 catches for 465 yards and 3 TD) but there just is no substitute for lining up and pounding the ball for what it can yield later in the game. As one would expect, the stat sheets for most of Philly’s receivers are filled but we are impressed by the job done by backup 6’4” 255 2nd-year TE Brent Celek (17 for 239 yards) and 5’10” 175 rookie WR DeSean Jackson (42 for 652 and TD receiving, 12 for 80 and TD rushing, 10.3 per punt return and TD) who has seized a starting job over Reggie Brown (13 for 192 and TD) and others.
Philadelphia’s defense certainly did their job on Sunday, holding the Bengals to just 282 net yards over 5 quarters while allowing just four 3rd-down conversions in twenty attempts and racking up 8 sacks of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The line of 6’2” 250 LDE Junqua Parker (32 T, 5 S, INT, FR), 6’0” 292 LDT Mike Patterson (24 T, INT), 6’2” 306 RDT Brodrick Bunkley (33 T, 2 S), and 6’3” 270 RDE Trent Cole (51 T, 6 S, 2 FR) are young and full of energy that lasts to the whistle, giving a veteran guy like 9th-year Darren Howard (18 T, 8 S, INT) the luxury of entering for passing situations fresh and ready to terrorize the pocket. The backer group of 6’3” 263 SLB Chris Gocong (35 T, 2 S, FR), 6’4” 255 MLB Stewart Bradley (76 T, S, FR), and 6’2” 245 WLB Omar Gaither (54 T, 2 S, FR) are also very young (combined 5 combined pro years of experience entering 2008) and are huge by NFL standards in the 4-3 alignment. We especially like the hammer that Bradley brings in the middle and he led the team in tackles again last week with a dozen. Health of the eagle stoppers has been a real key to holding opponents to 19.3 on 292.7 yards per game and nowhere has it been more important than in the backfield where injuries have been overwhelming the last couple of years. Corners Asante Samuel (26 T, 3 INT) and Sheldon Brown (31 T, S, FR) plus safeties Quinten Mikell (59 T, 2 INT, S, FR, 24.1 yards per kick return) and Brain Dawkins (50 T, 2 S, 3 FR) make up the most productive group in football, given a huge assist from the pressure up front that has yielded 36 team sacks. And how about players like Lito Sheppard (17 T, INT, FR) and Sean Considine (19 T) to fill out your nickel and dime! K David Akers has been as accurate as ever with 22 makes in 26 field goal attempts but at 0-3 from 50+ the cannon is gone.
Baltimore (6-4) Giants’ beast of a back Brandon Jacobs busted off a 36-yard run on New York’s first play from scrimmage last week, setting the pace for an absolute bullying of John Harbaugh’s team that finished 30-10 with 207 yards surrendered on the ground by the Ravens’ defense, ending a 4-game win streak. The defending Super Bowl Champions can make anyone look bad but it also appears that the injuries are starting to catch up with these stoppers. Eight Raven defenders have been put on Injured Reserve this season including LB Prescott Burgess, NT Kelly Gregg, SS Dawan Landry, and Chris McAlister plus defensive backs Samari Rolle and Fabian Washington have each missed significant time. Overall, the numbers are still superior with 18.0 points and 267.9 yards allowed per game with only 79.6 of those yards yielded on the ground at 3.4 yards per carry plus it appears that 6’0” 175 RCB Rolle (10 T, 2 INT) is back to health. In just his second game back from neck surgery he held 6’5” Plaxico Burress to just 3 grabs for 47 yards – all the more important since Defensive Backs Coach Mark Carrier’s remaining unit of SS Jim Leonard (42 T, S, 10.8 yards per punt return, 21.6 yards per kick return), FS ED Reed (23 T, INT), LCB Frank Walker (23 T, INT, FR), CB Fabian Washington (20 T), and CB Corey Ivy (34 T, INT, FR) all measure in under 6-feet tall. That all being noted, Baltimore’s 3-4 front is still just as tough as nail and produces enough big plays to turn a game. LDE Trevor Pryce (18 T, 4 S), NT Justin Bannan (32 T, S, INT), and RDE Haloti Ngata (34 T, S, 2 INT) plus backup end Marques Douglass (24 T) hold the point and deflect a ton of passes, a huge factor in the backers and linemen snaring 8 of the team’s 15 picks this season including 3 in the last 2 games by LILB Ray Lewis (73 T, S, 3 INT, FR). After the whooping they took last week, Lewis will have fellow LBs ROLB Terrell Suggs (46 T, 5 S, 2 INT, FR), RILB Bart Scott (49 T, S, FR), and LOLB Jarrett Johnson (37 T, 3 S, FR) hungry for blood.
Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron has put together a game plan this season, built around protecting rookie QB Joe Flacco (171 of 276 for 1813 yards, 8 D, 9 INT) and grinding down the clock (33:48 minutes to 26:48). The numbers so far are 22.2 points on 318.3 yards per game, which aren’t going to win Cameron any awards but he clearly understands his personnel. Six offensive linemen plus TE Todd Heap (21 for 211 and 2 TD) isn’t just the “heavy” or “max protect” package for Baltimore but actually their base alignment and injuries have hit this crew as well lately. Starters RT Adam Terry has been battling through, LT Adam Gaither suffered a back injury against the Giants, and Willie Anderson missed last game with a knee injury. All have a shot to go this week but if not, rookies 6’4” 310 T Oneil Cousins and 6’6” 315 G David Hale are on the clock. With 146.8 yards per game at 4.0 yards per rush and 13 scores on the ground, clearly rushing the ball is the first option for Baltimore and the stable of Willis McGahee (134 for 481 and 5 TD), LeRon McClain (99 for 371 and 5 TD), and Ray Rice (85 for 375) have all been strong but they also make up a big part of the passing game as well. Cameron’s conservative approach has racked 59 grabs out of the backfield for 460 yards and a score, making up more than a third of the touches through the air. The numbers for Heap and 5’10” 190 WR Mark Clayton (21 for 235 and TD) have suffered greatly this season but 5’10” 192 Derrick Mason (53 for 680 and 2 TD) has been all-world. OK, so some fantasy players might be grumbling about just a pair of touchdowns but this young man played through a dislocated shoulder again this week and bagged a team-best 7 more catches for 82 yards. The NFL’s 3rd-most career accurate kicker Matt Stover broke the league’s all-time mark with his 372nd straight made extra point against the Giants but has connected with on just 13 of 18 field goal attempts this year and had a 32-yarder blocked by New York.
FREE SELECTION: The Eagles are the better of these 2 franchises right now and playing on the road may be a blessing with the fans from the “City of Brotherly Love” in full freak-out mode. Health is a major factor in this match up and no one bounces back easily after a beating at the hand s of the physical Giants. Ask, the Eagles. They lost to the champs in a brutal 31-36 game the week before Cincinnati. Take Philadelphia – 2.