Despite loss, Eagles show they are a force in the NFC East
IRVING, Texas -- America's Team showed up for once last Monday night game at Texas Stadium.
for once. 15-4 in their last nineteen games, #1 seed in NFC last year, but this, finally, week two of 2008, they showed up. It's about time, the lazy good for nothings. Not like those plucky 9-9 Eagles huh?
Also, last Monday night game? Last Monday night game...really Stephen? Lock it in? Okey dokey.
And when the Dallas Cowboys were finished, surviving in thrilling fashion for a 41-37 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, they proved to be everything everyone thought they were.
I get it. Denny Green was mad. It's been two years now. 'Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! '
They were sensational, courtesy of Terrell Owens. They were explosive, courtesy of an offense that proved it could score in bunches, against anyone, at any given moment. They also were erratic (i.e., Tony Romo), inconsistent (i.e., Tony Romo), prone to implosion (i.e., Tony Romo)
cool your jets hotshot. Romo was 21 of 30 for 312 yards. Yes, he threw an interception and had a critical fumble but he also found receivers for three touchdowns. His QB rating was 123.2, he was generally awesome, and it's ridiculous for you to imply he was "hot and cold" or anything of the sort. He's currently third in passing yards, has yet to be sacked, is equal third in passing TD's and second in YPA. He's pretty fucking good, no matter what you claim, and it wasn't just TO = good, Romo = "inconsistant" (and we know you're implying bad).
flat-out defenseless (no explanation needed). So much so that Monday night's performance should give pause to all those folks who plan on riding their big blue stars to Tampa in February.
sure, this you can have. They were poor defensively, though they did register four sacks, recovered a fumble and 337 total yards, while not good, isn't quite "flat-out defenseless". It's a little over the top. But "a little over the top" would be a remarkable accomplishment for SAS, and would make Mr and Mrs SAS beam with pride I'm sure.
Especially with the Eagles nipping at the Cowboys' heels in the same division.
1.0 games. As opposed to the 2.0 maximum possible lead. The Eagles still trail the Giants, mind you, and are tied with the Redskins. WOW, who thought it would be so close in the NFC East after a marathon of two games? It's a wild division clearly.
At the moment, you can write in stone that Owens is the best receiver in football
stone? Stone? I like TO, have defended him on this blog before, he's good; sometimes I forget how good he is because he's so strong, you don't quite expect the same "spectacularness" you might of a Fitzgerald or Edwards or Smith. But in stone? My God man! Owens is tied with Hines Ward, Anquain Boldin and Chris Chambers for receiving TD's, with three, I guess that's what the case hinges on. Here are players that have more receiving yards this year, and I'm using this year, because Smith deliberately says "at the moment".
- Greg Jennings
- Calvin Johnson (btw, if you watch the games, and there's a stat for "holy fucking shitness", Johnson would be destroying fools right now, he's AMAZING to watch)
- Anquain Boldin
- DeSean Jackson (ok, not gonna last, happy to scratch his name off)
- Plaxico Burress (maybe be my choice for best receiver over the last year and a half...just for sheer guts and importance to his team...maybe)
- Jason Witten (MORE YARDS AND HE'S ON HIS TEAM!!!)
- Santana Moss (strike this name too as a flukey game last week)
- Anthony Gonzalez (ditto)
- Larry Fitzgerald (as athletic as any player in the game)
- Eddie Royal (nuff said)
- Lee Evans
- Reggie Wayne
You know who isn't on this list either and tops them all? Of course you do, because you follow football. Would you like a new piece of stone Stephen?
"This was 'Monday Night Football,' baby," Owens said, walking through the tunnel after the game. "The bright lights were on. I told y'all to get your popcorn ready. You should've listened."
You can't help but listen to Owens, because his game speaks loud and clear.
fun bullshit quotables are still bullshit quotables.
He's always in phenomenal shape. At 34, he's still faster than most in the game. But you still have to wonder whether he'll be enough once things get really thick and difficult come postseason time, particularly if these Eagles are still around.
How about McNabb, who was 25-of-37 for 281 yards (one TD) and clearly was the more poised quarterback on the field -- despite what Romo's 312 passing yards might have indicated.
based on what exactly? He was sacked twice on the final, decisive drive of the game, once when he had an age to pass to his, admittedly incompetant receiving corps, and simply danced around for like, 8 seconds until DeMarcus Ware finally caught him for a sack near the sideline. He was a critical part of the fumble to Westbrook. McNabb has been very impressive (as he invariably is when he actually plays), but I personally disagree with your "clear", "written in stone" impression of the game.
Or an Eagles defense that held Owens to two catches for 17 yards after the game's opening drive, yet still appeared so disgusted that the players could barely disguise their snarls with every word they uttered after the game.
probably to do with the 41 points they surrendered. Or the 380 total yards. Or that they let the Cowboys convert 6-10 on third down. To put it simply, no matter what they held Owens to after a 72 yard reception, they were pretty awful last night. Worse than Dallas if you ask me (though admittedly that is a close call).
"Let me tell you this," Eagles safety Brian Dawkins said after the game. "We made too many early mistakes -- it's that simple. The bomb to T.O. The kickoff return for a TD (by Felix Jones) right after that. Those are mistakes we don't usually make, and it cost us. It's why we lost this game, and that's why we're disgusted. We know we gave it away."
"That fact that we let T.O. get off isn't something I pay attention to, because whenever he scores against us, I just don't look. I don't see the dances, the flapping of the arms or anything anyone tries to tell me he does. I'm not interested in seeing that at all. But I'll tell you we're pretty ticked off with ourselves because we know we're better than what we showed tonight defensively. We know what kind of team we have, especially if our offense continues to perform the way they did tonight."
may I kindly suggest, Mr Dawkins, that you do pay more attention to Terrell Owens, he's the guy getting eight yards open downfield to catch a bomb for a touchdown, one of two on the night - that dude is pretty good, keep an eye on him.
Listen to the man.
listen to TO's game, listen to Brian Dawkins, I only have two ears Stephen!
The Eagles, renowned for their blitz packages and the suffocating pressure they put on opposing quarterbacks, did not record a sack Monday. Instead, they allowed Romo (who, of course, threw one interception and gave the Eagles a touchdown with a fumble in the end zone) to complete 21 of 30 passes for 312 yards, to sit back in the pocket and take a few pictures from time to time, and to connect with Jason Witten (seven receptions for 110 yards) once they figured out what to do with Owens.
they "let him". Let's put this in the same bag as Kari's "once you stop Peterson" line. Romo's good, this is a fatal flaw in your argument, not understanding that Romo is good and makes adjustments very well. His success in this league is not predicated on everyone he plays against playing poorly.
No offense, but it's predictable Owens would feel that way. He had two touchdowns in the first 17 minutes of the game. The Cowboys ended the evening with 41 points, causing owner Jerry Jones to blush -- thinking about the final outcome in Week 2 instead of the residual effects bound to show up later on down the road.
while the defense wasn't good, this was a great game for Dallas with many, many good points. Not least of which is scoring a win against a fierce division rival. It is by far the biggest impact of the game, not the "residual effects" that may or may not "show up later". Why can't it just be a sloppy (though not irredeemable) defensive game? Why does it have to be some telltale sign of a major design flaw. Last week they went, on the road mind you, against Cleveland and held them to 10 points. The same Cleveland (in fact, better, at least on paper, with Donte Stallworth) that was 8th in total offense and scoring offense per game last year.
If the Eagles were able to put up so many points short-handed, what will the Packers and the Giants do against Dallas later?
I dunno, it's too early to tell. I certainly wouldn't let one messy game, which I won, put too much panic into me.
"We know our team, our defense," an annoyed-looking Eagles tight end L.J. Smith said after the game. "We know what happened tonight won't happen very often. We'll see if (Dallas) can say the same things once all is said and done."
Four sacks of McNabb and two key stops to end the game might have provided the Cowboys with an early season victory, but that doesn't make Smith's last comment any less legitimate.
what makes his comment less legitimate is, how can I put this delicately...his possible lack of impartiality on judging the Dallas Cowboys performance. I'll also add that not only did Dallas get all the key plays in this game, they also got them from their defensive unit, doomed to failure according to Stephen A. Smith.
Write it in stone.
0 comments:
Post a Comment