Philadelphia Eagles: Week 11 Recap/Week 12 Preview

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Fuck this team. They somehow have me caring again. Just two weeks ago I wrote a very critical post about the Eagles and their frustrating loss against the Bears. I also said that we couldn't possibly lose to the Cardinals and we somehow did (To fucking John Skelton. I feel as if this should be the tiebreaker for the playoffs. You lose to Skelton, you don't make it). After last week's loss I somewhat gave up on this season. I mean what's the point of cheering for a bunch of under-achievers who don't really seem to care that we're losing (other than Vick) and a coaching staff led by a guy to whom the words time and management have no correlation whatsoever. On Sunday night I had no expectations. How could we win against a Giants team at home who was not likely to lose two in a row? Especially with Vick and Maclin out and Vince Young in at center, it wasn't looking too good. I even tweeted about it (shameless plug @Luka_M91). Despite all of this I turned the game on just in time for the opening kickoff. I don't know if it's because I felt obligated to watch or because I had a psych paper due that I didn't feel like starting. Whatever it might have been, I began to watch.

The Eagles: Week 9

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I've decided to mirror my write-ups about this team to the team's actual on field performance. So expect weeks where I research the match-up, do several rough drafts and post only the best finalized copy that I can possibly come up with. Other weeks I'll start off strong and then simply trail o.... And finally some weeks I simply won't show up. I'm tired of making excuses for this team. It's week 9. We have the Chicago Bears at home in what is essentially a must-win game for the Eagles and what happens? The same stupid shit that's been happening all year. Careless penalties, ridiculous turnovers (Hey DeSean if you can't get any yards by going forwards, how the fuck will you accomplish anything by going backwards? And if you're stupid enough to try something 10 year olds try in Madden on one of the best special teams units in the league, hold on to the fucking ball.) and to put it simply, an inability to get the job done.

The thing that's so frustrating about watching (and especially being a fan of) this team is all of the pieces are there and yet nothing has been happening with them. I felt that the defense for the most part did their job tonight. Other than the opening drive where the Bears DA BEARS marched down the field and scored, Philly's D was decent. We stripped Matt Forte twice (something which hasn't happened since week 1 of last season) returning one of them for a touchdown and even crucially held Chicago to a field goal on their last meaningful drive in the game which gave the offense a chance to win the game with 4 minutes remaining. To the offense, protect Michael Vick. We've seen how this team looks without him (as ugly as a female Jersey Shore contestant without makeup) and yet time and time again opposing players get free shots at Vick (Btw, referees, how do you call an insanely soft roughing the passer call on Cutler and let Vick get repeatedly hit after the whistle? What he did outside of the game should play no part in the way the game is officiated but no other QB in the league gets less respect. I mean I'm not even black and I kind of want to play the race card. Just terrible.).

To the receivers, you guys are way too talented to be dropping passes and falling down without any contact (if Maclin doesn't fall on that fourth down and gets to the marker maybe I'm writing a much more cheerful recap without as much cursing.. Fuck). They call you playmakers for a reason, make plays and help the team win. To LaSean McCoy, nothing but the best. Why you only got 23 carries this week is mind-boggling especially since the last two weeks (both wins) you had at least 30 carries. This is solely on Andy Reid and the rest of the coaching staff. Also, why did we only have one timeout for that last drive? I can't believe how bad this guy is at managing time and things in general (He probably causes 3 mile buildups in the McDonald's drive-thrus he frequently visits).

We are now 3-5 on the season looking like the best 3-5 team ever (This is me trying to be positive). We have the Arizona Cardinals next week. I don't even know who plays QB for them but if he's backing up Kevin Kolb he can't be any good. Needless to say this is a must win game for a team that's looking less and less like the Miami Heat as the season wears on because at least the Heat made the playoffs.

Until Next Week (maybe).

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@Luka_M91

Week 1: Eagles

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1 down, 18 to go. For a game that started worse than Kobe Bryant's rap career (listen to it, i firmly believe he had to do it because he lost a game of poker to Rick Fox or something), it sure ended well with the Philadelphia Eagles starting their much anticipated season with a 31-13 road win against the St. Louis Rams. If you were to just look at the score of the game you would assume it was a blowout but it was closer than the score implies with it being only a 7 point game at half (17-10). In the second half of the game the Eagles depth, athleticism, and that they have Michael Vick as their QB proved too much for the Rams. The Rams were bit with the injury bug in this game as well with Stephen Jackson only having one carry (he scored a touchdown on it) before leaving with a quadriceps injury. Sam Bradford also left in the fourth after hitting his hand on an Eagles defensive lineman.

Even though the Eagles won by 18 against a Rams team that is favored to win the NFC West (not exactly the best division to say the least, but still) there were some issues that were evident in watching the game. One, the Eagles offensive line still needs a lot of work. If anyone else was under center for Philly, there would be a whole lot more sacks. Several times in the game, the pass protection was simply non-existent and Vick had to scramble and do Vick things. The one thing Vick didn't do well in Sunday's game was throw the ball accurately, he finished the game 14/32 on pass attempts with that number being even lower if he had to throw the ball outside of the pocket. Bottom line is the O-line has to offer better protection. We also learned that like last year, the Eagles are a team that can get run on. Stephen Jackson had one carry and scored, Cadillac Williams (a player I completely forgot about until he was mentioned during the broadcast) managed to get 91 yards on the Eagles run D. And finally, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson further showed that they're some of the best playmakers in the game today. Overall I am happy with the performance by my team. Vick and the offense looked explosive, Asomugha got thrown to maybe twice the entire game so he was doing what needed to be done. Up next: another road game against the Atlanta Falcons, a team that got embarrassed by the Chicago Bears in week 1. I'm expecting a high scoring affair in which the Eagles playmakers shine and we (I know I dont play for the team but fans are allowed to use "we" when describing their team no matter how stupid it sounds) start the season 2-0. Good start, looking forward to more games and when I look at the negatives, I just remember that it could be worse, I could be a Colts fan.

Luka Milanovic
@Luka_M91