Patriots Perfect Season?

18-0....... and counting


The Patriots are one game away from history. If they beat the Giants for the second time this season, they will be the first team to go 19-0 in a season. Right now only the Dolphins can say they were perfect. But just how good are the Patriots?

They rolled against some teams like the Redskins, winning 52-7 and the Bills, winning 38-7 AND 56-10. They played well enough to beat the Colts 24-20 and Steelers 34-13. And they struggles yet pulled out wins against the Eagles 31-28, the Ravens 27-24 and the Giants 38-35. This is the same Giant team they will face this Sunday in the Super Bowl.

We all know Tom Brady is a great QB. Randy Moss is a record breaking WR. But it was the play of Wes Welker, Jabbar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth that got the Patriots where they are. Kevin Faulk in another unsung hero on the team. He has been a steady force, a reliable safety valve for Brady. The OL has been rock solid. You rarely saw Brady get sacked, or even knocked down for that matter. All this combined made for a great offense. Maybe one of the best we've ever seen.

The defense has veteran leadership. Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrable, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau. All of them are leaders on that defense. All of them know what it takes to win. The addition of Adalius Thomas made a good defense even better.

And the coach. Say what you want about B.B. after the "spygate" scandal, but he is still one of the top coaches in the league. He loses assistants year after year, yet the team never misses a beat. If that is not a sign of good coaching, I don't know what is.

Many people are rooting against the Patriots to lose this week. I'm on the fence about it. I would like to see perfection. It's a rarity in sports. It's history in the making. Yet these are the same Patriots that beat my Eagles a few years ago. I still remember it like yesterday. In that respect, I want them to lose. I want them to win 18 games straight only to lose the biggest one of all. But I doubt it will happen. This team is just too good not to lose...... until next year.

Super Bowl XLII

Patriots VS Giants Part Two. A few weeks ago these two teams played what might have been the best game of the season. Now they meet again in the biggest game of them all.

The Patriots are 18-0 and chasing history. Only the second team to go undefeated. Standing in their way are the Giants who barely lost last time they met. New England defeated Jacksonville and San Diego in Foxboro. While the Giants defeated Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay...... all on the road. That is a feat in itself.

Eli Manning is coming out. He is finally showing to be the QB the Giants hoped he would be. He is playing the best football in his career and is one win away from a championship. He would be the second Manning in a row to win. Older brother Peyton and the Colts won last year. Meanwhile Tom Brady is trying for his fourth title. Mr MVP broke records this year, and will be trying to add SB champ to the list of accomplishments this year. By winning number four he would join Terry Bradshaw as the only QB's to win that many.

Speaking of Brady, he has an arsenal to work with. WR's Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabbar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth, along with RB's Lawrence Maroney and Kevin Faulk give Brady many options to go to. Add TE Ben Watson and Kyle Brady and LB Mike Vrable, and it's almost impossible to stop. The Patriots D has been solid also. Always one step ahead, they seem to make plays when they need to.

The Giants meanwhile have been playing the best football of all as of late. Beating the Bucs, Cowboys and Packers when they were underdogs was tough enough. But beating them on the road is even tougher. Losing TE Jeremy Shockey was a tough blow, but the Giants rebounded. WR Plaxico Burress has been dynamic. The RB tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw has been solid. And the Defense has stepped up and made plays.

This should be a good game. If the last game was any indication of how this game might go, it will be entertaining. Patriots are already favored by 13 1/2. Can the Pats stay undefeated or will the Giants take them down and win it all? We find out in two weeks.

RipperEagle Headlines

RipperEagle presents:

The 2007 News Making Headlines

West-36: major highway, major production
Okay, so we already know how well Brian Westbrook can do: the man can flat out run with the football in hand and is a vital pass catching weapon (led the team in it for 2006 and 2007) but THIS season was really something even MORE special then 2004 (when he made the pro bowl for 2005) and even 2006 when he set his previous best for rushing yards and receptions. Westbrook again proved his durability after an injury plagued 2005 season, as he has started 30 out of 32 games the past two seasons (missing week four contests both years) and usually still plays through ailments in his knee, so it makes the season that much more special. Westbrook ran the ball 278 times for 1,333 yards rushing and collected seven touchdowns by ground and he caught 90 passes for 771 yards and five touchdowns through the air: his entire venture saw him notch 368 total touches (fourth best in franchise history) for 2,104 yards (not only did he break Wilbert Montgomery’s 2,006 yard mark, he also led the NFL in total yards) and 12 touchdowns. In fact, his reception total broke the record set by Irving Fryar in 1996, and he led all running backs this season too. Now, if you would imagine just how much BETTER he would be if we ran the ball more times then we do like, say, he got about 300 or 310…scary isn’t it? What’s even scarier is trying to prepare for the guy: Minnesota and New England kept his rushing yards in check, but he still scored two touchdowns in both games, and when he lines up at receiver, he becomes a coverage nightmare. And his unselfishness was noted in the week 15 win over Dallas, when, rather then walking into the end zone for a sure touchdown, he knelt down at the 1-yard line to allow the Eagles to run out the clock and defeat the Cowboys.

Red zone defense: Beware of Birds Within the 20-yard Jungle
The defense wasn’t perfect this season, and that is fine as they had a tendency to give up their yards between the 20-yard lines this season, more so in some passing situations (as proof, check the 18th overall ranking against the pass against the 7th overall ranking against the run) but when the opposing offense got inside the “red zone” (the team’s 20-yard line to the end zone) something very weird happened. I cannot explain it, but it’s like the good players suddenly got much better, and if you were lucky, the team sparred you a field goal if not a turnover or a 4th down stand: the defense finished tops in the league in overall red zone defense and also in allowing touchdowns in goal-to-go situations, finishing 2nd in least field goals allowed in goal-to-go situations. One of the most memorable moments came in the second Dallas game where Tony Romo threw a pass which was intercepted by Mikell but then coming out of the end zone he fumbled at our 13-yard line: three plays later, and Dallas was kicking three of their allowed six points in that game. A similar situation happened in the win at Washington which allowed us to win the game, and for the season, only ONE time did someone convert on 4th down against the defense (Romo to Jason Witten in week 15 at Dallas).

Down on the Front Line: D-Line means Domination
The team, dying for an answer to the 28th worst run defense in 2006, kicked Walker in the @$$ all the way to Buffalo, and decided to roll the dice on Bunkley, thinking he was mature enough after a flop of a rookie season that he could play better. At end, Trent Cole, who was the rookie of the month back in November of 2005 and posted eight sacks in bench duty in 2006, was inserted into Darren Howard’s starting spot for the season opener, forcing Howard to be the 2nd man off the bench, and the moves paid off very quickly. Not only did the defensive line get tougher against the run, but it also provided more pressure then in year’s past, as evidenced by the 12.5 sacks that Cole posted, the solo tackles and forced fumbles by Bunkley, and the speed and freak athleticism of Patterson. And when you add in Juqua Thomas, who was promoted to starter mid way through the season, the quarterback hurries couldn’t compensate for the MANY opportunities that these guys had to post even MORE sacks then they got on the stat sheet. Yes, Jevon Kearse, Montae Reagor, and Howard were hardly noticeable when they were interchanged, the chemistry and bond between these four guys was a hard thing NOT to notice, and guess what…IT DOESN’T INCLUDE ANY OVERPAID PLAYERS EITHER!

In the Middle of it all: Linebackers turn from lousy to luxurious
Prior to the start of 2007, the Eagles were going for it all: not only did they have two new starters up front, but they were also starting three all new linebackers. Now granted, Omar Gaither wasn’t new to the starting role because he did play WILL linebacker for six games in 2006, but he wasn’t returning to WILL: that job was given to Takeo Spikes, who the team acquired in March along with Quarterback Kelly Holcomb for Walker. So the team moved Gaither to MIKE to back-up Jeremiah Trotter, and promoted him to starter when the team cut Trotter in July: at SAM, the team decided to allow Gocong to compete with 3rd round pick Bradley for the job, and Gocong won out. So, Spikes-Gaither-Gocong was your starting line-up for 14 games (Spikes missed two due to injury) and the results were, for the most part, really positive. Granted, Spikes wasn’t the Spikes of Bengals or Bills fame (prior to 2004) but he played MUCH better then any WILL linebacker in recent history, Gaither responded well at MIKE, leading the team in tackles and covering the run as well as the pass, and Gocong brought the heat from the SAM spot, and still was able to provide decent coverage on the tight end…unless they wore #82 and the name was Witten, which no one seemed to be able to do.

McNabb: A Late Rise from the Phoenix Provides Hope for 2008
You know something is wrong when Donovan McNabb can not get out of the most simple of sack attempts with his renown speed and agility as a runner: that problem was the ACL he tore back in November of 2006. He was severely limited during training camp and he still held his Arizona training regimen, but again, his time during that and the pre-season was very limited, if at all tested. So, it came as no surprise that he would appear to be rusty for the first game or two in which he threw for only one touchdown pass and didn’t run as much as he used to with the brace on his leg. Once the brace was taken off, McNabb became only the fourth quarterback in league history to throw for a perfect passer rating as he ripped apart the Lions secondary en route to what we thought was the McNabb of 2006 again. But alas, that didn’t stick around long, as he faltered against the Giants, and except for one pass against the Jets, he really didn’t set the world on fire. After a tough loss to the Bears which saw them drive 92-yards on the final drive of the game to beat us, Vintage McNabb returned to beat down the Vikings. But no sooner did he find his touch, he got injured, breaking his big toe and spraining his throwing thumb. After AJ Feeley lost two straight games which virtually took us out of the playoffs, McNabb returned with a mediocre effort against the Giants, but he turned around with a good game against the Cowboys, a stunning mastery of the Saints, and an impeccable performance against the Bills to end the season with three straight wins. The question now becomes, after an end to the 2007 season like we bared witness to, is McNabb back in the saddle again, 100% healthy, and confident?

2007: Calling You Out

“You need to play better so I am calling you out…” but as it turned out, ONE of the guys I challenged was released in April but regardless I will follow up anyway.

1. Dhani Jones
“…I think the one thing he lacks is a killer instinct: of course, consistent play, a nose for the ball, and sheer power would be easy to pick too but KI (killer instinct) is certainly lacking.”

SURPRISE! Jones was actually cut back in April of 07, and while Gocong is no perfect player or Stewart Bradley for that matter, Gocong played the angles better then Jones and showed ruthless power that “Banjo” didn’t have. Hell, in the two games Bradley was featured as a starter at MIKE, he showed ME more in them two games then Jones did in three years here.

THE VERDICT: don’t know because Jones’s @$$ got cut…finally.

2. Sheldon Brown
“…But let’s face it, Brown needed to become more of a leader like he did in 2005 when Lito was injured and didn’t do it this year, instead turning out 59 tackles and only five knock downs and one interception…for someone who was supposed to make leaps and bounds between 2004 and 2005 didn’t cut it in 2006.”

Well, Brown made me eat my words…kind of. You see, while Sheppard again experienced down time, Brown was the man, and he played like it too, but as soon as Sheppard came back, his speed and agility in coverage forced teams to throw more at Brown, and he kind of slumped then. Still, he led the team in interceptions this year and he had more tackles and more hits that rung the bells of receivers then he had in years past and he STILL hasn’t missed a start in three years as a starter.

THE VERDICT: from 2006 yes he improved, but I STILL think he can be better.

3. Sean Considine
“…Considine lacks the size to tackle effectively and has noted himself he needs to bulk up a bit. True, Considine may be better in coverage then (Michael) Lewis, but in the instance that the running back makes it into the secondary YOU are the last line of defense, and I do not believe that Considine holding on for dear life as the back drags him into the end zone is the sight that I want to see.”

Well, Sean added that weight and muscle he said he was going to after he completed the rehab from his off-season shoulder surgery and started 2007 off at strong safety, but yet ANOTHER injury put him on the shelf for the season after only six games into the season: Quintin Mikell and JR Reed took turns at strong safety in his place.

THE VERDICT: The jury is STILL out on Mr. Considine (and that shouldn’t change if I am still doing this after 2008), and he is a good reason as to why this team NEEDS to re-sign Reed, and perhaps even draft high for a safety.

4. Mike Patterson
“…But it appeared to me that after the first three games of the season in which he had one and a half sacks in week two and an amazing 98-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in week three, that Patterson died out. Call it long season fatigue, call it still being broken into a 16-game schedule, but whatever it is he must overcome it and be more consistent then he has been.”

Well, I think it is safe to say that, despite dropping a few tackles, Patterson proved his worth above and beyond this season. I think that the insertion of a competent tackle next to him (no, Darwin Walker didn’t count either) with Bunkley in there helped him out: no longer could the right guard and center double team him because you couldn’t find Walker anywhere: now they had to account for BOTH our #1 picks in 2005 and 2006 at once.

THE VERDICT: Patterson played MUCH better, and with another year together with Bunkley in 2008, this could be one of the best tackle duos in the NFL.

5. Thomas Tapeh
“Tapeh should be lucky that Jason Davis went down for the year because he was his main competition for the job after Josh Parry was traded to Seattle.”

I don’t know what to say here: Tapeh didn’t even PLAY enough to warrant any time of judgment, and in 2008, he might not be here even: he is a free agent and Davis COULD be our starter in 2008.

FINAL VERDICT: he rarely played and when he did, he was hardly noticeable, so I am not sure what grade to give him.

And finally, I made eight predictions for the 2007 season that I thought would come true or would come close to happening, so here they are.

Player who will see the most increased playing time
“Hank Baskett gets my vote, especially if Stallworth does not re-sign…”

Well, even though Stallworth DIDN’T re-sign, I was still off on this one: Hank’s production was well down this year, and his longest catch was 70 yards short of his longest reception of 2006 (89-yards down to 19-yards).

SCORE: 0-for-1

Player who will soar to new heights not yet seen in his career
“I could offer you three players here, but I am going to place my wager on L.J. Smith who has had some decent years…”

Yeah, this one was right…if you replace “soar” with “fall” and “heights” with “lows.” What did Smith in was the fact that, being in a contract year, he rushed back WAY too early from his hernia surgery and he ended up paying for it, only playing in ten games this season and making Brent Celek look better and better.

SCORE: 0-for-2

Player who will get better to save his manhood and his job
“Easily Jeremiah Trotter: I mean, even he admitted he needs to get back in shape…”

In July, this cut up rendition of a prediction died hard.

SCORE: 0-for-3

Player who will need to take a lead to improve the whole unit around him
“It’s not going to be easy, but Brian Dawkins might not be able to play better then he is but he needs to motivate Brown and Considine to play better…”

Well, he never got the chance to because both him and Considine missed a lot of time together, although Brown played much better.

SCORE: 0-for-4

Player who needs to be more competitive then ever before to keep his fire
“None other then Donovan McNabb, who not only had to deal with an injury but the Jeff Garcia rumors and the ones his mother started…”

Early on it looked like he would prove me wrong, and he did miss two starts, but compared to 2005 and 2006, that didn’t look as bad, and vintage McNabb showed up against the Lions and the Vikings before making a full throttle, in your FREAKING face return for the final three games of the year: I give him the benefit of the doubt due to the recovery from that ACL injury.

SCORE: 1-for-5

Player who no one knows about who will make the quantum leap
“I am hoping it is Chris Gocong even if the fact that his emergence will force Jones to the bench or even out of town.”

Well, it wasn’t his emergence that forced Jones out of town, and since Gocong didn’t play PERIOD in 2006, you have to consider this to be on the money.

SCORE: 2-for-6

Player everyone knows about who should get SOME work after having none
“Winston Justice would be a great candidate or even Max Jean-Gilles…”

Well, I was right on both of these young guns, but in the case of the former, the play he brought was god awful and the latter played much better in his time.

SCORE: 3-for-7

Player who will be the overall force in 2007 that we knew he could be
“I got to go with Mike Patterson here: at times he looked like the choice who was 31st overall in the 2005 draft, and other times he looked like an average tackle: look for him to make it click in 2007.”

As I touched on with the step up category, I think Patterson did MUCH better but again I think it was due more so in part to the emergence and sudden maturity of Bunkley, but still, Patterson was more impressive in 2007.

SCORE: 4-for-8

Wow, glad those last four saved my hind!

2007 Season

The 2007 Philadelphia Eagles Season:

Some Highs, Some Lows, and Few Mediums

By the RipperEagle

2007 marked the 75th anniversary of the origin of the Philadelphia Eagles as they entered the NFL back in 1933 after 12 years of being the Frankford Yellow Jackets, and after the way that the Eagles ended the 2006 season, you would think that the celebratory occasion would make for arguably one of the best seasons in the history of the franchise and with the people the team added, it made perfect sense right?

If you bought this, you are willing to buy anything apparently.

The team seemed to jump over a lot of obstacles this season (most of which were put in front of them by their own misjudgments) as the team rolled up to an 8-8 season, being knocked out of playoff contention back in week 15 of the season despite beating the much hated Dallas Cowboys. If the offense couldn’t get the engine revving, the special teams’ unit would make a costly mistake, and if that didn’t happen, then the defense would allow an unusually long drive for a touchdown late in the game and the team would lose. And while we would like to point out certain players (and I will too during the course of this overview) when you go back and look at everything as a whole, EVERYONE added to the unraveling of the team and the ups and downs of the season. When the team was up, everything was good (see the big win over Detroit, the win in Minnesota shutting down Adrian Peterson, and the back-to-back wins for the first time in the year at Washington and over Miami) but there were as many bad things (the first two games at Green Bay and hosting Washington, the game at the Giants, and the 3-game losing streak at New England and at home against Seattle and the Giants) and rarely could the team find a medium (the defense drove the win against Jets, the offense drove the win over the Saints, and both units tried to mesh to get the win over the Bills, but more often then not, the offense couldn’t go far enough). To be blunt, a lot of things went wrong with this team this year, and the record is no indication of what could have been if we hadn’t lost as many games as we did by five-points-or-less, which ended up being five for the season (13-10 to Green Bay, 19-16 to Chicago, 31-28 to New England, 28-24 to Seattle, and 16-13 to the Giants).

Now, I originally did this last year as my review for the year on the other message board I used to frequent but obviously my retrospective served it’s purpose but, to be fair, I will also do this because as there was, I predicted a number of things and challenged a number of people last year to step up and I wanted to follow up and see what exactly became of those situations.

So, I will address what I typed up first last year and how I did it, followed by ANOTHER batch of it this year to reflect on the upcoming season in (checks calendar) freaking NINE months!

Now, I do NOT have this saved anywhere on my computer to copy and paste what I typed and I will NOT go back and re-type all of these things so I will just rehash a few sentences from each. The first thing I did after my positive headlines for the season was create the next part entitled “This team couldn’t be worse at” with five things the team was, obviously, pretty bad at in 2006. So here I will review them and see what came of it:

1. The Run defense unit
“…But with names like Kearse, Howard, Cole, Trotter, Jones, Walker, and Patterson, there is NO EXCUSE AT ALL that the team should have finished 28th against the run. You can blame the loss of Kearse in week two, you can blame the fact that 1st round pick Broderick Bunkley didn’t do a damn thing, and you can blame the fact that Jones, LB Omar Gaither, and SS Sean Considine often tackled as if their hands were tied behind their back.”

Well, fast forward to 2007, and I think I can confidently say that we solved the problem: the team ended up 7th against the run (down a whole 21 spots) and Bunkley not only did something, but he also forced the runner if not away from him then right into Patterson, and the insertion of Cole as a starter gave the line a much better run stopper up front. In addition, the blitzing ability of Chris Gocong from SAM gave the team the option of deploying him on a running back if he figured the quarterback still had the football, and Gaither did much better against the run then we figured he would: oh, and some guy named Takeo Spikes was a force there as well. Just ask Adrian Peterson, Thomas Jones, Marion Barber, Kevin Jones, Shaun Alexander, and Brandon Jacobs what they went up against this year.

2. Receiver drops
“…A lot of it may have to do with the fact that McNabb has the ability to throw deeper and his arm may put the ball on the fingertips of receivers and they may not be able to pull the pass in (as opposed to Garcia lofting it softly)…So my solution is this: McNabb needs to throw more towards the medium passing range instead of taking all day to look downfield for the homerun all the time.”

Initially, I also said about how McNabb needed to stop scrambling as much too, but when you think about it, had he not done that, the 46 times he got sacked might have been more like 62 times. The drops I thought this year weren’t as bad, but then again, either the ball is going over the head or into the ground if McNabb does not have anyone open. That helps, because unlike with AJ Feeley, McNabb very rarely forces a pass into coverage to be picked off THAT way.

3. Offensive plays calling shifts and changes
“It’s fairly noted that during the time McNabb was out injured this past season that Westbrook saw a rather enlarged role in the offense (running), perhaps getting the offense back towards the 50-50 run-pass ratio that everyone and their mother said they were committed to during the 2006 training camp.”

REALLY glad to see that we kept favoring the pass over the run with McNabb back (oh, forgive that nasty and biting sarcasm), and even then when Feeley started, we didn’t even change the plan THEN either. I’m so glad that Westbrook catches the football as much as he does, because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have ANYTHING on this team, and Correll Buckhalter: forget it!

4. Poorly timed reversals and trick plays
“Now in the Saints game back in week six, I know Reggie Brown took a pitch from McNabb for a touchdown, but the one that really sticks out in my mind was the Baskett pass in the Colts game which was intercepted when we were behind 21-7.”

Well, Brown took some pitches again this year for runs, and the flea flicker worked pretty well too, so it’s not like this hurt us at all this year.

5. The return game
“I know that Reno Mahe is an all-heart guy and someone who you want to make the team because he is a GREAT people’s player etc, but when was the last time he got a touchdown let alone a return past 55 yards?”

Never, and we got rid of Bethel Johnson AND Jeremy Bloom for Mahe on punts, and Buckhalter and JR Reed on kick returns, and with the latter two BOTH struggling on kicks, I have got to believe that kick coverage is the weak link, and something that, from Jim Harabaugh to Rory Seagrest, was NOT resolved either.

Grading ST And Coaching

After doing the Offense and Defense, it's now time to look at ST and Coaching. Added at the end are stats for the year.

Special teams: David Akers set the franchise mark for the most points scored and had another 100+ point season (110) but he accuracy is diminishing, as evidenced by his 1-of-6 from 40-49 yards and 1-of-4 from 50-yards plus but he finished 24 of 32 for the year. Sav Rocca, imported from Australia after many years of Aussie Rules Football, punted 73 times for an average of 42 yards a kick with 24 punts inside the 20, seven touch-backs, and a long of 65 yards. Kick and punt return coverage kind of sucked, so as a result, the returns kind of didn’t pan out, as Reed averaged 22.6 yards a kick return on 31 returns and Buckhalter averaged 21.6 yards a return on 31 kicks, while Mahe returned 31 punts for eight yards, while Westbrook had four punt returns, averaging 19.8 yards a return, including a 64-yard return which nearly won us the game against the Seahawks. Jon Dorenbos, who came on last year when Mike Bartrum got injured, proved his worth with a 5-year contract extension prior 
 to the final game of the year with spot proof long snapping.
GRADE-DORENBOS: A- (90%)
GRADE-AKERS: B- (81%)
GRADE-ROCCA: C+ (79)

Coaching: I never did a grade for coaching, but now that we are at the end of the season, I figured there is no reason not to do one so here we go: I think for the most part it sucks! Listen, not only did the percentage of pass-run plays suck (to my records, it was 60-40 pass-run) and not only did Correll and Brian NOT get enough carries (I thought anyway) but having McNabb pass as much as he did when he STILL wasn’t 100% was stupid. And don’t think for one minute that the defense is exempt from this: we need to quite blitzing all the time and we need to work some of that creative stuff that we illustrated just for New England, since they KNEW what we were going to do anyway. A couple of the board members here have talked about using a 3-4 because you can use many guys outside to linebackers (like Cole) or we could use many of our talented linebackers at once. Of course, this would be beyond the realms of reality and it would also make too much sense to pull off.
GRADE: D+ (69%)

Rankings-Offense:
-Points: 21 (17th)
-Yards: 358.1 (6th)
-Pass: 234.7 (10th)
-Rush: 123.4 (8th)

Rankings-Defense:
-Points: 18.8 (9th)
-Yards: 311.4 (10th)
-Pass: 215.6 (18th)
-Rush: 95.8 (7th)

Team Stats:
-Total first downs: 323
-First Downs: 118-186-19 (rush-pass-penalty)
-Third down: 97/229 (42.4%)
-Fourth down: 9/15 (60%)
-Total offensive yards: 5,729
-Total Rushing yards: 1,974
-Rushing: 421 Carries (4.7 a carry)
-Total passing yards: 3,755
-Passing: 350-577-15-6.9 (completions, attempts, interceptions, average per pass)
-Sacks: 37
-Touchdowns: 38
--12 rushing, 24 passing, 2 defensive
-Time of possession: 30:56-29:04 (Eagles-Opponents)
-Turnover ratio: minus-8

Who know what will happen in the off-season but I am pretty sure that a lot of people can agree on what is needed for the team. And some important decisions need made in personnel (such as to cut guys like Kearse and Jerome McDougle or to pick up Spikes’ contract for the final year) but this is going to be fun…

…I think.

Grading The Defense

After seeing the Offense graded, it is now time to take a look at the Defense.
Defensive line: this year, the defense finished 7th against the run as opposed to 26th against the run last year, and a BIG (no pun intended) reason was because of the NEW #97 Broderick Bunkley: Bunkley got mean in the off-season, converting from #78 to the number Darwin Walker had before he was traded to Buffalo and collected 31 total tackles (24 solo) and three sacks, and Trent Cole had a HUGE season, and one that should have had him considered for the pro bowl as he finished with 70 total tackle to lead the line and finished with 12.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Mike Patterson continued to build off of a solid rookie season and a better sophomore season, as he picked up 67 total tackles, including a line high 50 solo, and 4.5 sacks with one forced fumble. The fourth spot up front was manned early in the season by Jevon Kearse who started off strong enough with 12 tackles and four sacks, but he became so invisible that the team de-activated him, which should be a telling sign of where he is next year, coupled with the fact that Juqua Thomas took his starting job: Thomas had 39 tackles, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. Montae Reagor, the first man off the bench at tackle, started off very strong with a pair of tackles and a sack in the first few games, but then disappeared, as did LaJuan Ramsey (one tackle) and Kimo Von Olhoffen (two tackles) while Ian Scott never got to make an impact. At end, Darren Howard concluded his second season as an Eagle with eight tackles and a sack while Victor Abiamiri had three tackles but was pretty much not seen or heard from.

GRADE-COLE: A (96%)
GRADE-PATTERSON AND BUNKLEY: A (93%)
GRADE-THOMAS: A- (90%)
GRADE-KEARSE: D+ (68%)

Linebackers: questions flew after the release of the “Axe-Man” Jeremiah Trotter as to who would replace him: when the name Omar Gaither came up, many questioned how a guy that only started six games in 2006 at WILL linebacker could replace JT. Well, you CAN’T replace him, but I hope he has at least answered the question as to if he is capable of playing in the middle or not: Gaither led the team with 102 total tackles (69 solo and 33 assist) and while he didn’t have a sack, he collected an interception and could have had another if he hadn’t dropped it against the Seahawks. Chris Gocong, who had his rookie campaign wiped out in 2006, started at SAM linebacker in week one and went on to collect 66 tackles to place 5th on the team and he also collected a sack, which doesn’t take into account his pass rushing skills. Takeo Spikes, who was acquired for the crying Walker in March, didn’t play like he did back when he first left Cincinnati for Buffalo, but he did much better then a
ny other linebacker we have had at WILL in a VERY LONG time as he posted 86 tackles (64 solo and 22 assist) recorded one sack, and had at LEAST two sure fire interceptions that he dropped. Stewart Bradley, who was the team’s 2B pick in the 3rd round this year and the main competition for Gocong at SAM, really came to play in week 16 and earned some time in week 17, posting 18 tackles, a sack, and a diving interception for the year, and Akeem Jordan, who started in the final game of the year with Spikes out, collected 20 tackles: Pago Togafau, who was claimed off of waivers from Arizona before the season opener, collected six tackles, most of them if not all of them were on special teams.
GRADE-GAITHER: A- (90%)
GRADE-SPIKES: B+ (88%)
GRADE-GOCONG: B- (80%)
GRADE-BRADLEY & JORDAN: C+ (78%)

Secondary: Sheldon Brown came up with quite possibly a pro bowl season but no credit for it (what a surprise) as he led the secondary with 68 tackles (an impressive 61 of them solo) and had a recovered and forced fumble and also led the team with three interceptions. His roommate and buddy Lito Sheppard missed a few games due to injury and even when he got back in he wasn’t his usual self as he collected 51 tackles and two interceptions: Joselio Hanson improved from dime to the nickel roll and collected a career best 52 tackles and a sack against the Jets in week six, William James, the biggest joke this side of Philly, collected 31 tackles and an interception while Nick Graham had 11 tackles. Quintin Mikell, who stepped in and played both free safety during the injury to Brian Dawkins and strong safety when Sean Considine went on the IR, led safeties with 74 tackles (52 solo and 22 assist) and had a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception: Dawkins, who really never got ov
er his various injuries to his usual self, had 37 tackles and an interception at the Cowboys in week 15, while Considine had 35 tackles and a pick before his shoulder injury ended his season, and JR Reed, another Mikell who played both spots, collected 31 hits, most of them also like Mikell hard and bone crushing (see week 17 on the Bills’ Lee Evans).
GRADE-BROWN: A (95%)
GRADE-MIKELL: A- (90%)
GRADE-SHEPPARD & REED: B (85%)
GRADE-HANSON: B- (80%)
GRADE-DAWKINS: C+ (79%)
GRADE-CONSIDINE: C (76%)
GRADE-JAMES: D- (60%)

Next up is Special Teams and Coaching.

Grading The Offense

In the veins of keeping up with my usual weekly retrospective, the following will be a review by position with individual grades for the biggest players at each position.

Quarterbacks: Enduring the ups-and-downs of the Philadelphia sports culture have been nothing new for McNabb, who had missed the final six games of both 2005 and 2006 with a sports hernia the former year and a torn ACL the latter year, but this year the fans wanted other options when McNabb, who struggled in spots early and then suffered a bum toe and a broken thumb, missed two games again. But as usual, the temperament should be careful what they wish for, as AJ Feeley, having been signed to a 2-year contract extension which saw the end of Jeff Garcia’s 1-year tenure as an Eagle, made the play of injured McNabb look like the play of a usual Tom Brady outing. In two and a half games, Feeley managed to throw more interceptions (eight) in two and a half games then McNabb did (seven) in 13 and a half games, and the completion percentages weren’t even close (61.5% for McNabb and 57.3% for Feeley). Despite the early season struggles, McNabb still threw for 3,324 yards and 19 touch
down passes, with a season QB rating of 89.9 while Feeley posted 681 yards, five touchdowns, and a 61.2 QB rating. I think the most telling story was the 473 pass attempts by McNabb in 14 starts despite the fact that he wasn’t 100% recovered from his ACL injury.
GRADE-MCNABB: B (85%)
GRADE-FEELEY: D+ 69%)

Running backs & Full backs: There really isn’t nothing you can say about the absolutely phenomenal season that Brian Westbrook had other then to recite his stats for the year, so I will: 278 carries for 1,333 yards and seven touchdowns, 90 receptions for 771 yards and five touchdowns, totaling 368 total touches for 2,104 yards and 12 touchdowns. And all the while, Westbrook broke two team records with receptions in a season (breaking the 1998 mark set by Irving Fryar who had 88 receptions) and the total yards from scrimmage record (breaking the 1980 mark set by Wilbert Montgomery who had 2,004 yards from scrimmage) and proved to be durable once again, missing only one game this season and starting the other 15. And Correll Buckhalter, completing the entire 2007 season and 2006 season after missing both 2004 and 2005 due to injury, ran for 104 yards in the game that Westbrook didn’t take part in, and finished with 313 yards for the season because, you know, we ran SO MUCH (ple
ase forgive the sarcasm) that there was hardly enough carries for Westbrook let alone Buck. McNabb got back to scrambling later on the season, and his 236 yards rushing for the season was highlighted by a great 40-yard scamper against the Saints in week 16, while Tony Hunt, our “power runner” and “future #2” got a lousy 16 yards on ten carries and one touchdown in the blowout win over the Detroit Lions in week three.
GRADE-WESTBROOK: A+ (100%)
GRADE-BUCKHALTER: B (83%)

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends: Much was speculated during the off-season when the Eagles let Donte Stallworth go after one season who the team was going to pull in for the speed receiver roll on the team, and a few days late, Ex-Rams receiver Kevin Curtis signed a 5-year 30-million dollar deal with the Eagles. He made his impact right away, starting with the week three contest with the Lions when he grabbed three touchdown passes and 212 yards: his totals for the year read 77 receptions for 1,110 yards at 14.4 yards a reception, and seven touchdowns: these numbers don’t even reflect his uncanny ability to play a vacuum cleaner in the end zone either, as he picked up a McNabb fumble in week 16 for a touchdown in the end zone and in week 17 against the Bills he picked up a Reggie Brown fumble for a touchdown. Speaking of Brown, he made strides in the reception category, and his improvement was most noted when McNabb finally started getting back to full strength: for the year he p
osted 61 receptions for 780 yards and four touchdown catches. Jason Avant, who had eight receptions his rookie year in 2006, had nine receptions and a touchdown in the first two games of the season, and concluded his sophomore campaign with 23 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns, while the production of Hank Baskett rolled back with 16 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown, but most disappointing was the face that his longest reception was for only 25-yards. Greg Lewis, our Mr. Everything, had 13 receptions and three touchdowns, while Buck had 12, Thomas Tapeh had five, and Reno Mahe had a BIG one catch! At tight end, the season was often spent juggling between the three strings, as LJ Smith missed early in the year, leaving Matt Schobel as the starter, but when he got injured, Brent Celek, the team’s 5th round pick, stepped in: Smith had 23 receptions for 236 yards and a touchdown, posting numbers that are going to be hard for him to find that big money he wants,
 while Celek had 16 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown!
, while
Schobel collected 11 for 108 yards and a touchdown. If the team cannot come to a deal with Smith to retain him, I would not be upset with Celek as the starter: he catches the ball as well as he blocks.
GRADE-CURTIS: B+ (88%)
GRADE-BROWN: B- (80%)
GRADE-AVANT: C+ (78%)
GRADE-SMITH: C- (70%)
GRADE-CELEK: B (84%)

Offensive line: The line, which allowed only 28 sacks last year and was comprised of elements not only surprising but also out of the ordinary, didn’t gel as well as I personally thought they were going to this year, instead turning into a mess pass blocking, and the future tackle was less then stellar too. Shawn Andrews made the pro bowl and rightfully so, making few mistakes and looking very sharp after having a very uncertain future back in the pre-season after having ankle problems, and Jon Runyan kept his iron man streak going, starting all 16 games but he did get knocked out in the final game with a concussion. The rest of the line however fell into injury problems or inconsistency as Todd Herremans and William Thomas both missed time due to injuries, and Jamaal Jackson struggled in his second year as the starter. But NO ONE struggled like Winston Justice, who was placed in the Giants game in week four and was the most picked on culprit in a 12-sack massacre courtesy of
 the Giants defense. Max Jean-Gilles, our 4th round pick in 2006 who was supposed to be a 2nd round pick, played well in relief of an injured Andrews against the Cowboys in week 15 and started in week 16: MJG I thought was outstanding in his place and he could present a problem for Herremans in 2008. Some changes need to be made because this line really was bad in pass protection this year.
GRADE-ANDREWS: A (98%)
GRADE-RUNYAN: A (95%)
GRADE-THOMAS AND HERREMANS: B- (80%)
GRADE-JACKSON: C+ (78%)
GRADE-JEAN-GILLES: B (87%)
GRADE-JUSTICE: C- (70%)

The Eagles Season in Review

When a season ends like the way it did for the Philadelphia Eagles, the feelings can go from one extreme to the next: the Eagles ended the 2007 football season with a record of 8-8 and on a 3-game winning streak after winning a grudge match over the Dallas Cowboys IN Dallas none the less, and continued on to wins over the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills, but that came only after the conclusion of a 3-game losing streak to the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and a SECOND loss to the New York Giants, the last of which effectively ended the Eagles’ post-season hopes and in one quick motion, sent them from first to worst in the division that they had owned for many years.

So what was the biggest reason that the team didn’t get it done and continue to build on a strong finish to the 2006? Many reasons depending upon who you ask and talk to: some people will point to the fact that the Eagles offense, which managed only two touchdowns in week one, two, four, and six of the season, couldn’t get it done early in the season, costing us some pivotal games which effectively cut us off late in the season. Some people will point to the fact that the play calling of Andy Reid was too lenient towards the pass, which coupled with the recovery of Donovan McNabb from an ACL injury, didn’t help matters at all when he couldn’t run away from defenders like he used to (this was evident in the week four loss to the Giants at the Meadowlands). Of course, the apologists of the offense will also point to the fact that the Eagles secondary did not grab interceptions like they were capable of, and fumble recoveries were scarce as well.

No matter the biggest culprit or circumstances, the bottom line is that, for the 2nd time in three years, the Eagles are out of the playoff picture and again finished in last place in the NFC East. The nice thing about the 3-game winning streak however is that the Eagles have found some solace in the fact that some things picked up during the stretch run in December but the question is just how much can this team take with them into the month of September: their active football quest has ended for nearly nine months.

Coming soon. A position breakdown including grades.