Eagles Vs Bengals Review

One thing I have learned in the NFL season of 2008 is that nothing can be taken for granted, and nothing is ever perceived as certain. Reeling from a loss to the defending Superbowl Champion New York Giants and knowing that a pair of six win opponents await followed again by the Giants, many fans felt as if the Bengals game was a pushover. Many were looking forward to playing the Ravens and Cardinals instead of playing the team that lie right in front of them instead.

Therein was the biggest problem.

First, is was unbelievable that the Bengals would keep the game close with the Eagles. Then, it was unbelievable that the Bengals actually held a ten point lead in the third quarter. Then it was unbelievable that the game was actually going into overtime. Then finally, it was unbelievable that the two teams would actually not be able to decide a winner VIA overtime, as the game ended up tied 13-13. The tie effectively leaves the Eagles in the basement, as the Dallas Cowboys defeat of the Washington Redskins 14-10 pulls the teams into a 6-4 quandary, and the Giants smashing of our next opponent on Sunday, 30-10, moves them to 9-1.

Quarterbacks: Chopped into wood and thrown into the fire by his own head coach, Donovan McNabb looked like his usual unspectacular self to start the game, but unlike weeks past, he never seemed to find a consistent, white hot groove at any time. McNabb attempted a whopping 58 passes (and 60 when you include the two times he was sacked) and completed only 28 of them (48.3%) for 339 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions, a lost fumble, and a mere 50.9 QB rating. Now I know that McNabb is smart enough to realize that he can call an audible when he sees something he doesn’t like, but why would they keep giving him the pass when he was hit and lost a fumble and three interceptions on top of that?
McNabb Grade: C (75%)

Running and Full Backs: All I have to say about the lack of respect to your running game when the Bengals had the 22nd best run defense is this: 18 carries. That is all the more that we ran the ball all game, even with 33:46 of total possession INCLUDING overtime. Brian Westbrook had 14 carries for 60 yards and had three receptions for 11 yards, totaling 17 touches for 71 yards and no touchdowns. Correll Buckhalter had one carry for three yards but his lone reception was the 2nd longest play of the game at 44 yards, while McNabb had two yards rushing on a 4th and inches situation in the final quarter of regulation. In his hand off duty, DeSean Jackson had two carries for three yards and Dan Klecko had a catch for eight yards.
Unit Grade: B (85% due in large part to getting screwed in play calling)

Wide Receivers: It is hard to believe that McNabb missed 30 passes during the game, but some timely and costly mistakes came from this unit. Kevin Curtis led the team with seven catches for 64 yards but also tipped an interception and dropped two passes, while Jackson had four catches for 66 yards. Jason Avant had three catches for 32 yards while Hank “My new wife is a former girlfriend of Hugh Heffner’s” Baskett caught two passes for 74 yards, one of which went 57 yards and set up our only touchdown, while Reggie Brown caught the first completion of the game for a HUGE gain of zero yards! Something I find post-humorous is that Greg Lewis was listed as being subbed in, but he appeared nowhere to my knowledge.
Unit Grade: C (75%)

Tight End: Coming complete with his own cheering section (after all, he did go to school at Cincinnati) Brent Celek was ready to take on the Bengals and his own teammate LJ Smith. Both of them caught three passes while Celek had 25 yards to Smith’s 15, but LJ had the team’s only touchdown. That Smith actually got open in the end zone without finding a pitfall again is a minor victory in its own right.
Unit Grade: B- (80%)

Offensive line: When you do simple math, you can look at the fact that McNabb was sacked once for every 30 times he dropped back, which is pretty solid, but the numbers are deceiving. Despite only allowing two sacks, the line still allowed for three different linemen to knock down passes at the line of scrimmage and five quarterback hurries and four tackles for a loss on runs. However, the Eagles DID get Westbrook up at 4.3 yards a run and 3.8 as a team, and if they would have been released on the run, I think it would have been much better. But as it is, it was just another day for the big men up front with yet again NO penalties called on them, even though the consummate whole of the team got flagged eight times.
Unit Grade: B (85%)

Defensive Line: Another Cincinnati alumni came back to haunt the pro team in the city something terrible. Trent Cole was an absolute destructive force, pacing the team for one quarter of their eight sacks with two of them along with two hurries and two tackles for a loss combined with ten total tackles. Both Broderick Bunkley and Juqua Parker had six tackles each with Bunkley posting a sack, a tackle for a loss, a QB hurry, and a pass defense as well. Darren Howard again tightened his lead on the team’s sack race with two more, along with five tackles, three tackles for a loss, two QB hurries, and the games only turnover on a recovered fumble. Chris Clemons also chipped in a sack with a tackle for a loss and a QB hurry while Victor Abiamiri and Mike Patterson had two assisted tackles with Vic logging a pass defense, and Trevor Laws had one assist tackle. The guys up front made life for Ryan Fitzpatrick a living hell and were a BIG reason as to why the Bengals averaged 1.9 yards rushing as a team (30 carries for 56 yards).
Unit Grade: A+ (98%)

Linebackers: Fooled by a few miscues on pitches to halfbacks, the linebackers still did a very good job against the run and looked strong once again. Stewart Bradley, one week removed from a career high 14 tackles against the Giants, had 12 more against the Bengals (10 solo and 2 assist) with two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble while Omar Gaither came in with six tackles. Chris Gocong checked in with three tackles as well, while backups Akeem Jordan and Tracy White each had a tackle on special teams.
Unit Grade: A- (90%)

Secondary: It appeared that, no matter where he lined up, that TJ Houshmandzadeh proved an ethic mismatch for any corner, totaling 41% of his team’s receptions (12 catches) and 57% of their yards (149 yards) and their only touchdown of the game. Joselio Hanson had the most active game of anyone back there, whether for better or worse, as he led with six tackles, recorded a sack with a tackle for a loss and a QB hurry but was also the one who was lined up against “Who’s Your Daddy” on his touchdown catch. Sheldon Brown had five total tackles with two QB hurries, one of which led to a roughing the passer call, a tackle for a loss, and a sack while Quintin Mikell had five tackles (all assisted) with a pass defense. Asante Samuel had four solo tackles and a whopping FOUR pass defenses, two of which easily should have been picked off while both Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard have four tackles apiece, Dawkins with a tackle for a loss and Sheppard with a forced fumble. Allowing a mediocre quarterback like Fitzpatrick to pass for 261 yards is not good, but then again, TJ was the bigger detriment, considering Chris Henry had like 700 drops and Chad “Ocho Stinko” Johnson was quiet.
Unit Grade: B- (82%)

Special Teams: What a bad time for Sav Rocca to regress and show us his 2007 inconsistent side again. Rocca punted ten times but only averaged 36.2 yards a punt prior to his net, which was a woeful 31.1 yards a kick with none pinned in and one kick in the end zone. David Akers was solid again, hitting his two field goal tries and one extra point attempt, but once again, punt return blocking and kick blocking both were terrible. On four returns, Quintin Demps averaged a meager 17.5 yards a return, and Jackson averaged 7.2 yards on six punt returns, while coverage allowed Glenn Holt 24.3 yards a kick return and 7.8 yards a punt return between Antonio Chatman and TJ. Sean Considine led with four tackles, two assist and two solo.
Akers Grade: A- (90%)
Coverage Grade: B- (80%)
Returns Grade: C (75%)
Rocca Grade: C- (70%)

Coaching: First off start with some good: the defense, even though they gave up 261 yards passing but netted 226 after the eight sacks for 35 yards, giving up a total net of 282 yards despite being out there 41:44 of total game time is quite impressive. That said, the offense and special teams take a heavy hit in this game for the tie. And as you are about to see in my video about Andy and the offense exclusive to the “Smack Shack” forum of the site, I do not like the way things are going. Just when we thought that the days of 60-40 or even 65-35 pass-run ratios were gone, the ugliness only begins today: out of 78 total offensive plays, the team threw the ball 60 times, including sacks and ran the ball only 18 times! So, to save you the dividing as I have already done it, that is 77-23 pass-run. And this is remembering that Cincinnati had the 22nd WORST RUN DEFENSE in the NFL, NOT the pass defense. This is totally asinine and absurd and there is NO EXCUSE at all for this type of offensive play calling. This is something I would expect if Bozo and Doink the Clown family were calling the damn offense but…oh wait, you know what? That is pretty close to the case anyway, isn’t it?
Defense Grade: A (95%)
Special Teams Grade: C+ (78%)
Offense and Coach Grade: F- (40%)

Ripper’s Three Game Balls:
3. Stewart Bradley: Becoming the pulse and leader of the defense.
2. Darren Howard: Continues to impress off of the bench as #3 defensive end.
1. Trent Cole: Raised some almighty Cain returning to the city where he played college ball at.
Honorable Mention: Broderick Bunkley, Sheldon Brown, Asante Samuel, and Joselio Hanson (Heck, how about the whole D?)

Numbers and Stats of Interest:
-The last tie in NFL history came in 2002, the Eagles last tie came oddly enough 11 years ago to the day of the Bengals game. Even more odd was that we tied the team we are due to face next Sunday, the Ravens, 10-10.
-Due to a valiant goal line stand thanks to Donovan’s fumble, the defense stopped the Bengals lone red zone attempt, while the Eagles were 1-of-2 with a touchdown from 4-yards but one field goal. But once again, the 3rd down percentage was horrid, finishing up 3-of-18 for 17%.
-The Eagles were penalized eight times for 60 yards, the most amount of yellow flags thrown against the Eagles in one game this season.

I got one more thing to say before I sign off: as stated, McNabb missed 30 passes for the game, and 14 of these misses were pass defenses by the Bengals. And despite throwing three interceptions, against a more competent team like, say, the Ravens, we would be burned alive on the mistakes.

So then, have I told you how much Andy and Marty have pissed me?