|
|||||||||
Two Eagles Make Pro Bowl
The newest member of the Eagles' defensive backfield and the oldest both made the Pro Bowl, the only two Eagles to make the cut. Brian Dawkins is enjoying a renaissance season with 65 tackles (18 for a loss), 2 sacks, 1 interception and 4 forced fumbles. Asante Samuel has been worth every penny the Eagles shelled out for him. Congrats to those two, but was someone snubbed? I think so.
The three running backs representing the NFC have all had very good seasons running the ball. Adrian Peterson is up over 1,500 yards, Clinton Portis has 1,300+ and Michael Turner has 1,400. If running the ball was the only responsibility backs had, I'd be fine with those three guys going to Hawaii. Unfortunately, a back has to do a lot more than just receive the hand off and run. Turner has 6 catches all season for only 41 yards. Portis has 27 for 207 yards and Peterson 19 for 109. All paltry numbers, when you think about it. Brian Westbrook may have only wracked up 841 yards on the ground to this point, but he's also caught 46 passes for another 319.
Of course, catching passes isn't everything. There's pass blocking, which as we all know Brian Westbrook is second-to-none at. But if these ancillary stats don't mean much to you, then let's talk about the one stat that you can't discount. Touchdowns. Michael Turner and Clinton Portis have combined for 13 touchdowns. Adrian Peterson has 9. Brian Westbrook has 14.
So, who should be in and who should be out? If I had a vote, Westbrook would be going and Portis would be sitting at home, but that's just me, I guess.
No argument...Westbrook should be in. However he has missed a few games and been REALLY ineffective in a few more due to being banged up. Im sure if he played the whole season injury free not only would he be in but he would be starting and probably the MVP of the league.
You know the funny thing is...with Mcnabb playing this way and Westbrook semi-healthy, I dont think theres a team we couldnt beat--in either conference. But I think if either Minny or Tampa doesnt lose THIS WEEK....we will be on the outside looking in and the Dallas game will mean nothing.....its too bad because the Giants are beatable without Plax for sure. At least by the Eagles because hes killed them for years. Go Chargers...Go Vikings...and of course..Go Eagles !
It's going to kill me if we win out and don't get in. Absolutely kill. That fucking Cincinnati tie, man.
The Cincy tie, the bears 4th and 1, the cowboys fumble late in the game all of them hurt..but ur right..the one game that we absolutely should have won is the Cincy game. I put that loss 100 percent on F****** Andy reid and his 60 passes in the wind against a team that cant defend the run. Dumbass.....
There's no reason they couldn't have played like this all season long. No reason other than Andy's dumb philosophies, that is.
Barring a collapse in these last two games, he saved his job again w/ a late season surge. He saved his job so he can come back next year and do the same thing again, until mid November when he has to coach for his job again.
Have you noticed that he's even been better at clock management in the past three? It's like he's a totally different coach.
As much as I blame Andy for his refusal to run the ball...I do give him credit for lighting a fire under Mcnabb. They werent going to win that Ravens game anyway...a calculated risk that paid off. Mcnabb has played as well as I have ever seen im these past few games. Before that he was as bad as Ive ever seen him. Even if the birds dont make the playoffs...I will be happy to see them knock Dallas out...
I have to say though...if Westbrook stays healthy...Isnt this maybe the best Eagles team weve had here ? I think the Defense is better than 2004...and our combination of receivers is pretty darn good--(Jackson, Curtis, Avant, Baskett) vs (Owens, Mitchell, Pinkston, Greg Lewis)---TE is a little worse(Lj was better then)--O line about the same...----I think our linebackers, secondary and D line overall is probably better. Special teams are pretty darn good too...whatdo you think ? Is this a better team than 2004 and we just are unfortunately stuck in a super tough division ? The rest of the division sucked in 04.
I think the tackles are older, and slower. I'd still take T.O. circa 2004 over all of our receivers combined, but yeah, I think the D is better, special teams are better (Akers was better then as well).
I don't know if I'd go as far as saying they're a better team, but I know for sure I would be saying that if they had pulled out 3 of those games we talked about earlier. It's really been a gut punch of a season.
Agreed Westbrook should be in but also should Trent Cole. Like Westbrook, there's more to his stats than meets the eye. While he doesn't have the flashy sack numbers, he's one of the most disruptive defensive players in the game.
Cole has been very impressive against the run this year as well. I always thought he was going to be an under-sized DE who got pushed around in running situations, but he gets up the field and even hold his own when he's doubled by the tackle and the TE.