Philadelphia Eagles Collapse to New Orleans Saints 27-24
Monday October 16, 2006
Yesterday's Eagles-New Orleans game started off horribly and ended horribly. In between the Eagles played some good football with Donovan McNabb putting on another passing show and the Eagles defense holding New Orleans scoreless for the third quarters while the offense caught up and actually took a 24-17 lead.
In many ways, the game highlighted many of the same weaknesses that have been shown throughout almost all 2006 Eagles games - the only difference being a loss instead of a win.
While McNabb's passing has kept the team in all of their games, the teams ability or unwillingness to build a running game hurts them. They have no ability to control the clock when the majority of their scoring drives take so few plays. This allows the opponents to get the ball back quickly. As good as Hank Baskett was last week, he was just as bad this week. That's not unexpected from a rookie and shows how desperately the Eagles need Dante Stallworth back on the field.
Special teams play was inconsistent as it has been all year. The muffed punt which resulted in a quick New Orleans touchdown was inexplicable. Overall Eagles punt coverage was terrible and their punt return ability was just as bad.
The most serious problem that resurfaced was the inability of the Eagles defense to stop a team from marching down the field and scoring at the end of the game. In this way, this game was so reminiscent of the loss to the Giants. The Eagles defense allowed New Orleans to hold the ball the final 8:26 of the game, never allowing the Eagles offense to get back on the field. Meanwhile, poor clock management by Eagles coaches left the team with no time outs left during the Saints final drive.
I expected the Eagles to lose this game, but once they grabbed the lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the team should have found a way to keep it and go 5-1. Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants both won and are close on the heels of the Eagles for first place.
In many ways, the game highlighted many of the same weaknesses that have been shown throughout almost all 2006 Eagles games - the only difference being a loss instead of a win.
While McNabb's passing has kept the team in all of their games, the teams ability or unwillingness to build a running game hurts them. They have no ability to control the clock when the majority of their scoring drives take so few plays. This allows the opponents to get the ball back quickly. As good as Hank Baskett was last week, he was just as bad this week. That's not unexpected from a rookie and shows how desperately the Eagles need Dante Stallworth back on the field.
Special teams play was inconsistent as it has been all year. The muffed punt which resulted in a quick New Orleans touchdown was inexplicable. Overall Eagles punt coverage was terrible and their punt return ability was just as bad.
The most serious problem that resurfaced was the inability of the Eagles defense to stop a team from marching down the field and scoring at the end of the game. In this way, this game was so reminiscent of the loss to the Giants. The Eagles defense allowed New Orleans to hold the ball the final 8:26 of the game, never allowing the Eagles offense to get back on the field. Meanwhile, poor clock management by Eagles coaches left the team with no time outs left during the Saints final drive.
I expected the Eagles to lose this game, but once they grabbed the lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the team should have found a way to keep it and go 5-1. Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants both won and are close on the heels of the Eagles for first place.
Comments
no body expected the eagles to lose, nobody
Donovan McNabb said it best - “They (The New Orleans Saints), treat every weekend like it’s their last!”
You are wrong about nobody believing Philly would lose. There were 70+ thousand of us at the Superdome who believed that Philadelphia would lose and they did!
You mention the defense allowed the Saints to keep the ball for the final 8:26. Didn’t the Saints offense have something to do with that? I’m absolutely certain the Philly D was doing its utmost to get off the field. Well, okay, there was the 12 men on the field thing, but other than that….
And you really believe donte “stallplayer” would have helped???? maybe the SAINTS actually played well enough to win…they and their coach wanted it more! And by the way…NO SACKS!!!
Don’t be a sore loser,just be a loser,it makes you sound very unprofessional. Was it the teams inability or unwillingness to build a running game? Or was itthe rookie reciever’s fault?(We have rookies too) Or maybe the poor special teams play? You seem to be reaching for that perfect excuse instead of acknowledging that the Saints kicked ya’ll ass. Look at the bright side,at least Donte still has one good hamstring.
Oh and by the way,we are in first place.WHO DAT?
ARE YOU KIDDING?? The Feagles couldn’t STOP the Saints. They were plucked apart. The bottom line is this: the Saints are a solid, well-rounded football team, probably among the best in the NFC at this point. The Eagles are a mid-level team at best. (and I am a DALLAS fan!)
Maybe the most shoddy attempt at journalism EVER. You’re obviously a computer geek who thinks he knows football. WHO DAT!!!!!!!
Please send me your mailing address, and I will happily send you a fresh box of Kleenex. Who Dat!!!!!!
Well - I don’t believe that we Saints fans thought we were gonna win really. We always expect to lose and so it’s not so hurtful when it happens - but waddya know… we DIDN’T lose! Both teams had their moments and it was a pretty even contest. A coiuple of Eagles mistakes and a couple of surprising clutch calls cost them the game.
You need to learn how to spell the names of your players.
Everybody up in Philly still thinking Loomis’ decision to trade Stallworth was crazy. Good luck getting him to play in 50% of your games. That hamstring injury forced Donte to miss a hell of a lot of games in N.O. He is a talent but is often injured and has historically been a problem in the locker room. Could be Philly’s next T.O. You guys up there just can’t seem to get it together especially with all the talent you have. Watch out for the underrated Saints as they march through the playoffs. Hope to see you again before the end of the year…..I hope you won’t mistakenly feel then that your underachieving Eagles will certainly win.
I for one have to give major props to the Saints. They pulled the wool over our eyes with the whole Stallworth “trade”, and totally outplayed/outcoached us on Sunday. HCAR looked lost on their last drive…using all our timeouts was just the icing on the cake.