I appreciate a win as much as the rest of Eagles nation, but I think the demeanor of the coverage is appropriate - it was a nice win, a HUGE, potentially season-saving win, but it doesn't suddenly mean the Eagles have arrived.
Let's face it. There is the potential for an equally GI-normous letdown next Sunday when the 0-fer Dolphins limp into the Linc. Who the F wants to a face a win-less team at this point in the season?
NOBODY! Ask the Saints. At some point, pride kicks in and the team comes up with a respectable effort (though they really should've beaten the Bills yesterday, oh well, oops).
Think the Boo-birds were bad Sunday Night vs Dallas? What happens if McNabb coughs up another cheap fumble to Jason Taylor? Or the special teams isn't and the Birds finds themselves looking up at a winless team in November at home? Yikes....
Look, I don't expect any of that to happen. If this Eagles team is going to do anything, they need to stomp on Miami, get to .500 and then try and summon an angel to help them defeat the Patriots...
But back to Sunday, my satellite coverage was spotty but AFN replayed the Eagles games last night, so I got see some of it on my nice big widescreen TV instead of streaming to my computer monitor (which ain't so small either).
Did anyone notice:
- The effectiveness of the offense with a finally healthy L.J. Smith in the line-up. Westbrook was his usual phenomenal self, but its hard to ignore a 4 TD performance by McNabb and 3 for 3 TD ratio inside the redzone in the first game that L.J. was out there for a significant period (and by that I mean consistently, every series, not just spot duty.). Not saying he's the magic pill that made the O go, but his presence helped. For whatever reason, the Birds got it done when they needed to.
- The plays by the up-to-now-invisible Darren Howard on the goal-line in the 4th quarter? He was in the run to the right (tackle made by Howard, Bunk, Patt and Co), he was in the Portis dive to the goal-line where he got stood up, fumbled and snatched it back before it got away, and he was the guy who penetrated the line and dragged Portis down on the the running play to the right. Somehow, he was all over the place. Does that mean I think he's not a stiff. Umm no, he hasn't played anywhere near close to contract, and he'll be gone after the season...but...it was nice to see him show up and be accounted for...
Showing posts with label l.j. smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label l.j. smith. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Eagles' Subs Stepping Up
With Friday night dispelling most of the angst I had concerning Donovan's knee, I thought it would be appropriate to look at some other players who are filling in for star Eagles players currently "on the shelf"
Quintin Mikell - None bigger here folks. Little "Q" is filling in for my all-time favorite Eagle - Brian Dawkins. Our All-Pro safety is experiencing some Achilles tendinitis and I'll be damned if that doesn't concern me some. Concern NOT worry. I am not declaring his career over. Personally I would like to see him able to suit up and get in a little bit of action, just to get in a some live game prior to the start of the season. But if he can't....Well look, I don't want to start thinking about life after "#20" just yet, alright...With that out of the way - I think the Eagles' F.O. decision to retain the services of Quintin Mikell could pay off this season. Q has done well. True, its not the same, but as Bob Brookover writes - Mikell, entering his fifth season, is a player whose stock has steadily risen with the Eagles. Not only has he emerged as the most valuable player on the special teams; he also has become valuable enough that defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will create packages to get the safety on the field this season. Mikell will likely play the same hybrid linebacker role safety Michael Lewis had in passing situations last season.
Juqua Thomas - Filling in for Jevon Kearse, Juqua Thomas had himself a heckuva game the other night. Kearse's absence may have been merely precautionary (and I believe it was), but the man is still coming off a serious knee injury. Setbacks are a way-of-life with those sorts of things, but I couldn't help but notice - Juqua brought the same motor he had last year - it looks like he going to try and make it hard for J.J. to keep him off the field. He probably won't start, but a more-than-solid year might make a fellow, pricier vet like Darren Howard or Kearse expendable in 2008.
Brent Celek - Who knows how long L.J. will be hampered by this nagging "sports hernia" thing. I hope its not very, but I have to say this - I am very encouraged by the play of rookie TE Brent Celek. I mean this dude has some skills. He's caught almost everything thrown his way (something with which L.J. still shows occasional signs of trouble) and has been able to hit some deeper passes over the middle (talking 16-20 yard range). Will this team be better offensively with L.J. - no doubt. Will we be even more dangerous lining up Celek a few times and zapping unwary defenses - hell yeah.
Max Jean-Gilles - I saved the worst for last. We fans simply do not know what exactly is wrong with All-Pro Guard Shawn Andrews. He gave a very cryptic response the other day, with has led to a slew of worrying about whether or not Andrews availability for the 2007 season (and beyond) is in doubt. Big Red says he expects Andrews back to start the season. I hope so. Max Jean is a big boy in his own right - but the Eagles line has NOT run-blocked well this preseason. And at some point, we are going to need to run the ball. For a variety of well-documented reasons: protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much, protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much, and protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much. Perhaps, more importantly, the Eagles surge last year was led by Brian Westbrook and a renewed emphasis on offensive BALANCE. To keep that going, we need to run....These preseason games have shown we can pass, I'd like to see us show we can run. This is the question mark - if Andrews misses more time than any of us would like - can Jean-Gilles step up. Will it be Scott Young?? We fans have lauded the Eagles O-line for its depth...so far the run-game results have not been encouraging. Hmmmm, come back soon Shawn.
Now I think we'd all agree: Philly fans would/are going to be a LOT more positive about the Eagles' prospects for 2007 once we have Andres, Dawk, Kearse and L.J. back on the field, but I have to give the front office credit - we made the right moves to assure the team has the depth not to collapse without them.
Quintin Mikell - None bigger here folks. Little "Q" is filling in for my all-time favorite Eagle - Brian Dawkins. Our All-Pro safety is experiencing some Achilles tendinitis and I'll be damned if that doesn't concern me some. Concern NOT worry. I am not declaring his career over. Personally I would like to see him able to suit up and get in a little bit of action, just to get in a some live game prior to the start of the season. But if he can't....Well look, I don't want to start thinking about life after "#20" just yet, alright...With that out of the way - I think the Eagles' F.O. decision to retain the services of Quintin Mikell could pay off this season. Q has done well. True, its not the same, but as Bob Brookover writes - Mikell, entering his fifth season, is a player whose stock has steadily risen with the Eagles. Not only has he emerged as the most valuable player on the special teams; he also has become valuable enough that defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will create packages to get the safety on the field this season. Mikell will likely play the same hybrid linebacker role safety Michael Lewis had in passing situations last season.
Juqua Thomas - Filling in for Jevon Kearse, Juqua Thomas had himself a heckuva game the other night. Kearse's absence may have been merely precautionary (and I believe it was), but the man is still coming off a serious knee injury. Setbacks are a way-of-life with those sorts of things, but I couldn't help but notice - Juqua brought the same motor he had last year - it looks like he going to try and make it hard for J.J. to keep him off the field. He probably won't start, but a more-than-solid year might make a fellow, pricier vet like Darren Howard or Kearse expendable in 2008.
Brent Celek - Who knows how long L.J. will be hampered by this nagging "sports hernia" thing. I hope its not very, but I have to say this - I am very encouraged by the play of rookie TE Brent Celek. I mean this dude has some skills. He's caught almost everything thrown his way (something with which L.J. still shows occasional signs of trouble) and has been able to hit some deeper passes over the middle (talking 16-20 yard range). Will this team be better offensively with L.J. - no doubt. Will we be even more dangerous lining up Celek a few times and zapping unwary defenses - hell yeah.
Max Jean-Gilles - I saved the worst for last. We fans simply do not know what exactly is wrong with All-Pro Guard Shawn Andrews. He gave a very cryptic response the other day, with has led to a slew of worrying about whether or not Andrews availability for the 2007 season (and beyond) is in doubt. Big Red says he expects Andrews back to start the season. I hope so. Max Jean is a big boy in his own right - but the Eagles line has NOT run-blocked well this preseason. And at some point, we are going to need to run the ball. For a variety of well-documented reasons: protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much, protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much, and protect McNabb's knee/health by not passing so much. Perhaps, more importantly, the Eagles surge last year was led by Brian Westbrook and a renewed emphasis on offensive BALANCE. To keep that going, we need to run....These preseason games have shown we can pass, I'd like to see us show we can run. This is the question mark - if Andrews misses more time than any of us would like - can Jean-Gilles step up. Will it be Scott Young?? We fans have lauded the Eagles O-line for its depth...so far the run-game results have not been encouraging. Hmmmm, come back soon Shawn.
Now I think we'd all agree: Philly fans would/are going to be a LOT more positive about the Eagles' prospects for 2007 once we have Andres, Dawk, Kearse and L.J. back on the field, but I have to give the front office credit - we made the right moves to assure the team has the depth not to collapse without them.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Should we be Concerned about the Eagles Injury-bug?
There's one thing guaranteed to turn the near-endless optimism of training camp into an hand-wringing experience. That thing: injuries
And in recent days, as the first pre-season game versus the Ravens approaches, the list of Birds with clipped wings is getting alarmingly long. Stalwarts like L.J. Smith, Jon Runyan, Brian Dawkins, and Shawn Andrews are all currently out. Heck, these guys have gotten all the recognition but another key defender, CB Lito Sheppard, seems to have missed a lot of time with an oblique problem. He only returned to practice on the final day (He had been sidelined with an oblique strain for most of camp). Ok, so he's a key player and probably doesn't need camp to learn anything, but it'd still be comforting to see him out there.
So should we start worrying? hmmm, Rich Hoffman just ran down a few key injuries. He says, worry about LJ, but don't start about Andrews or Dawk.
A bit of good news to report. Runyan and Guard Scott Young (who had a knee scare yesterday) both returned to practice on Saturday. (whew) Not sure if the bullet is truly dodged with those two, but, I'll say this, with our All-Pro Andrews resting a sprained ankle, I do not want his top replacement RG AND our stalwart RT both out....give them time to rest, I want Andrews and Runyan starting in Green Bay in September.
The injury I am most concerned about at this point is L.J.'s recent groin injury, which when coupled with his return from "sports hernia" surgery in May, tells me we might be minus a major offensive weapon for a significant portion of the '07 season. Without L.J., we simply won't have a deep-threat at TE. We might get a surprise deep pass with Schobel or rookie Brent Celek, but not a consistent threat that defenses must respect like we have with Smith on the line.
Second is Shawn Andrews. We want to run the ball more this year. And big Shawn is a world-class road-grader. I mean, he annihilates linebackers, DTs, DEs, anybody......Last year the Eagles kept their O-line together the entire year, and while I have faith that the coaches have ready back-ups, I would like to see us repeat the feat.
Finally there is Brian Dawkins. Normally I'd be quite worried that my all-time favorite Eagle was injured and having Dawk out with Achilles tendinitis (which harkens back to the sort of devastating injury suffered by new LB Takeo Spikes). But unlike a few (now on "timeout") posters on my favorite board (Philly.com's) I am not ready to declare Dawkins' career "over" or declare him as good as "done". The Eagles are going to be cautious with their key players. Stressing them out now serves no one. Better to let them rest. The season is long. Let the new guys take the beating vs the Ravens....I don't need to see any of our rehabbing guys until pre-season game 3.....
And in recent days, as the first pre-season game versus the Ravens approaches, the list of Birds with clipped wings is getting alarmingly long. Stalwarts like L.J. Smith, Jon Runyan, Brian Dawkins, and Shawn Andrews are all currently out. Heck, these guys have gotten all the recognition but another key defender, CB Lito Sheppard, seems to have missed a lot of time with an oblique problem. He only returned to practice on the final day (He had been sidelined with an oblique strain for most of camp). Ok, so he's a key player and probably doesn't need camp to learn anything, but it'd still be comforting to see him out there.
So should we start worrying? hmmm, Rich Hoffman just ran down a few key injuries. He says, worry about LJ, but don't start about Andrews or Dawk.
A bit of good news to report. Runyan and Guard Scott Young (who had a knee scare yesterday) both returned to practice on Saturday. (whew) Not sure if the bullet is truly dodged with those two, but, I'll say this, with our All-Pro Andrews resting a sprained ankle, I do not want his top replacement RG AND our stalwart RT both out....give them time to rest, I want Andrews and Runyan starting in Green Bay in September.
The injury I am most concerned about at this point is L.J.'s recent groin injury, which when coupled with his return from "sports hernia" surgery in May, tells me we might be minus a major offensive weapon for a significant portion of the '07 season. Without L.J., we simply won't have a deep-threat at TE. We might get a surprise deep pass with Schobel or rookie Brent Celek, but not a consistent threat that defenses must respect like we have with Smith on the line.
Second is Shawn Andrews. We want to run the ball more this year. And big Shawn is a world-class road-grader. I mean, he annihilates linebackers, DTs, DEs, anybody......Last year the Eagles kept their O-line together the entire year, and while I have faith that the coaches have ready back-ups, I would like to see us repeat the feat.
Finally there is Brian Dawkins. Normally I'd be quite worried that my all-time favorite Eagle was injured and having Dawk out with Achilles tendinitis (which harkens back to the sort of devastating injury suffered by new LB Takeo Spikes). But unlike a few (now on "timeout") posters on my favorite board (Philly.com's) I am not ready to declare Dawkins' career "over" or declare him as good as "done". The Eagles are going to be cautious with their key players. Stressing them out now serves no one. Better to let them rest. The season is long. Let the new guys take the beating vs the Ravens....I don't need to see any of our rehabbing guys until pre-season game 3.....
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