We Need to Know More About The Eagles By Joseph Santoliquito
It’s fortunate that the headmasters of the NFL in all of their infinite wisdom opted to give the Eagles an extended pre-season. We do know one thing for certain after four games—the Birds can chew up really, really bad football teams.
Sunday’s 33-14 victory over the woeful and winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a foregone conclusion. It gave the Birds a 3-1 mark, with all three of their victories coming against teams with a combined record of 1-13 (Tampa Bay 0-5, Carolina 1-3 and Kansas City 0-5).
What we do know after four games is that Jeremy Maclin can be a deep threat, and Brent Celek is proving with each week that he’s a viable weapon, someone capable of forcing a defense to pay attention to the middle of the field.
We know Andy Reid is the winningest coach in Eagles’ history, adding to his victory total by picking up his 100th career win. But it’s those little annoying things that still pique at us, like faulty special teams, dubious linebacker play, and a revolving door offensive line. Add a penchant for sticking with gimmicks that don’t work, like putting in Michael Vick and the wildcat, a ploy that actually fools no one it seems.
“It’s not exactly blowing my blouse up,” Reid said about the wildcat production.
After that, despite what appears to be a good team that’s 3-1 and the second-best team in the NFC East behind the New York Giants, we actually know very little about the 2009 Eagles. They can beat three bad teams and lose to a very good one, New Orleans. We won’t know more for another three weeks, when the Eagles host the Giants on November 1.
Until then, let’s sit back and enjoy the leisurely tour the Eagles will continue to take through the NFL, with trips to 1-4 Oakland and 2-3 Washington, losers to the hapless Detroit Lions. The Birds should be a comfy 5-1 on November 1st, and by then may have shucked the wildcat, focusing on the talent they actually do have in budding stars DeSean Jackson and Celek, and in weapons Maclin and LeSean McCoy.
But one thing was clear, though the Eagles took this with barely a whimper from the Bucs, they know they have to play better.
“We definitely have to play better, we have no choice,” Eagles’ center Jamaal Jackson said. “Today was sloppy. There were some things we have to improve and tighten up. We did some nice things today, but I don’t think we’ve reached our potential. We’re still a little banged up. We still have to work out the continuity on the offensive line.”
Something has to be said at least for the way the Eagles are stomping on these lesser teams. The emergence of Maclin could spell big things for the Eagles’ future this season. His game Sunday shows he can take some pressure off of Jackson. The Missouri product had a career game, snaring six passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns, the longest coming on a 51-yard TD pass on the Eagles’ second play.
“This kind of game is something I always expected out of myself, and something I know everyone in this locker room was expecting out of me,” Maclin said. “I know if anyone knows they’ll get the ball that much with this offense. But they kept rolling to DeSean’s side and softened up on me a little bit.”
The Eagles made them pay by rolling up a 21-7 halftime lead on just 8:33 in time of possession.
“That’s some great play-calling by the coaches,” Jackson said. “You usually see eight minutes up there, and you think you turned the ball over and you’re down. But here we’re going into halftime with a 14-point lead and on about 20 plays.”
Celek is approaching career marks just four games into the season, grabbing two passes for 43 yards, including a 38-yard reception where he leaped over Ronde Barber.
But the Eagles were also hit with 10 penalties for 111 yards—and the boss didn’t seem to be too pleased about that afterward.
“Too many penalties,” Reid said. “We have to sharpen that up. Way, way too many penalties.”
Another sharpening tool is next in Oakland, which was drubbed 44-7 by the Giants.
“We like everything we’re doing right now, take away the penalties,” said Leonard Weaver, who contributed with a 20-yard TD reception from Donovan McNabb. “The main thing is we’re successful and you look at the NFL, there are no slumps or walk-overs. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing, and focus on that.”
Let’s hope it keeps working past November 1.
WELCOME BACK TROTTER
You can’t say Jeremiah Trotter didn’t warn us all beforehand, that getting up to game speed would be his biggest concern. Looks like the erstwhile lynchpin of the Eagles’ defense was right. Trotter appeared slow, took wrong angles of pursuit, he just looked rusty, despite how much we all wanted him to look remotely close to the Ax-Man we remember.
“I didn’t really do that much,” Trotter said. “I think I’ll be okay tomorrow, but I didn’t hit anyone. I tried to take advantage of what they were giving me. The defensive line did a great job of keeping everyone off me. I really didn’t have a chance to open up.”
Hopefully that will come as Trotter gets his game legs back.
THE GIMMICKS GOTTA GO—OR LEAVE VICK ON THE SIDELINES
Enough with the Michael Vick experiment. It’s not working. All he did Sunday, when the game was still somewhat competitive, was hand the ball off for either no gain, or a loss. It does nothing. There is no surprise involved. Doesn’t Reid have to let Vick do something if he’s going to put him on the field?
Joseph Santoliquito is an Emmy Award-nominated sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area.
