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%)
