Eagles VS Ravens Review

The possibility of losing, with teams ahead of them in the wildcard race and in tow beside or behind them, was one that the Philadelphia Eagles could not possibly stand to face. Heading into enemy territory to face the Baltimore Ravens, a team with an inside track on the wildcard picture in the AFC, the Eagles needed to beat the team that their former special team’s coach and secondary coach for a year had went to fill a head coaching vacancy. And like with Steve Spaguolo, who went to the New York Giants as a defensive coordinator, John Harabaugh has a one up knowing what to expect from the ever predictable Andy Reid.

It comes as no surprise, then, the end result of it all.

In one of the most lopsided and absurd losses this side of 2005, the Eagles managed to lose the football game in every possible facet. The Ravens defense scored more points then the Eagles offense did (7-0) the Eagles suffered their first blocked punt of the year, and again the defense was put on the spot, allowing three touchdowns on the game, two of them well earned and another not so much. The end result was a score of 36-7 Ravens and a further burial in the basement of the NFC East with every rival of ours winning on Sunday. And while the Eagles mathematically remain alive for the division title, the Giants at 10-1 would have to drop all five and we would have to win all five and finish up 10-5-1. Worse yet, ahead of the Eagles in the 5th spot is Tampa Bay at 8-3, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington are all 7-4 in the 6th spot, Minnesota is now 6-5 with Chicago, and tomorrow night, Green Bay and New Orleans, both 5-5 teams, will play each other.

Quarterbacks: For the first time in his career, Donovan McNabb was pulled from the game and benched after the half. Yes, you heard me right, the coaching half of the “10-Year Odd Couple” pairing put the quarterback half on the bench for Kevin Kolb in the final 30 minutes. But a number to know here is 12.5, and that is the average of the two and their QB rating COMBINED. Kolb had a slight lead in the rating department for his half, completing 10 of 23 passes (43.5%) for 73 yards and two interceptions, including one in the end zone which Ravens safety Ed Reed took 108-yards for a touchdown, for a 15.3 QB rating. McNabb completed eight of 18 passes (44.4%) for 59 yards with two interceptions, a fumble, and was sacked twice with a 13.2 QB rating. Neither quarterback was impressive, and if the season is shot as I have it figured as, the question is who starts from here out then?
Unit Grade: F (50%)

Running & Full Backs: Well, the good news is that the team averaged over four yards a carry as a team running the ball, but the bad news is that we STILL only ran the ball 21 times (as opposed to 43 pass attempts). But I guess with the way Brian Westbrook was running the ball when he was in there, I can understand why. Westbrook, having claimed to be banged up yet again and questionable, ran the ball 14 times for 39 yards and caught two passes for minus five yards, totaling only 16 touches for 34 yards. It might just be my opinion, but either the injuries are taking a toll because he is shy about hitting the holes, or he is really missing Shawn Andrews THAT much. But with Correll Buckhalter averaging eight yards a carry (two for 16 yards on the game) it leads me to believe it is the former for Westbrook. Kolb ran the ball three times for 12 yards, DeSean Jackson had one direct snap for 12 yards, and McNabb had one roll out for seven yards. And everyone’s favorite tackle-turned-fullback Dan Klecko had two catches for 18 yards, which I am sure is a career high for offensive output for him. I am still strongly of the belief that if the injuries are bothering Westbrook so much, then on such a short week, he should sit out the Thursday game, we activate Lorenzo Booker, and him and Buckhalter do the running (when we do it of course).
Unit Grade: B- (80%)

Wide-outs & Tight Ends: Both of these are back together after the lack of production on the game. Jackson led the unit with five receptions for 47 yards and was also the fault of McNabb’s first interception while Brent Celek pulled in three catches for 26 yards, most of them from Kolb. Both Jason Avant and Kevin Curtis had two receptions each while our two tallest targets, LJ Smith and Hank Baskett, had one reception each. To me, the interception by McNabb to Fabian Washington is the only one a receiver can be blamed for (Jackson).
Unit Grade: C- (70%)

Offensive Line: Truly a mixed bag for this unit today. While they helped to average over four yards a carry rushing, they also allowed five tackles for a loss on backs as well, gave up five QB hurries and two sacks, 1.5 of them to linebacker Jarrett Johnson and a half to Trevor Pryce. And in rare fashion, every offensive lineman was tagged with at least ONE penalty EXCEPT for Todd Herremans: Jon Runyan was called for a hold (extremely questionable) and unnecessary roughness, Jamaal Jackson and Tra Thomas for holding, and Max Jean-Gilles for a false start. Like with the quarterbacks and offense as a whole, not very disciplined.
Unit Grade: C+ (78%)

Defensive Line: You would be hard pressed to find another unit on this team that, no matter what the situation is or what the score is, will continue to play regardless and play well. Trent Cole led the unit and finished second on the team with eight tackles with a sack worth 13 yards, a tackle for a loss, and a QB hurry while his bookend in crime Juqua Parker had six tackles and one for a loss. Mike Patterson had five tackles and one for a loss while Darren Howard provided three tackles and two QB hurries off the bench while Broderick Bunkley, who got injured and returned, had three tackles and so did Victor Abiamiri, alongside a sack, a QB hurry, and a tackle for a loss. Trevor Laws, our top pick in the 2008 draft, saw his most extensive action this year with Bunkley down, logging one tackle for a loss.
Unit Grade: A (93%)

Linebackers: In extremely odd fashion, Reid decided to bench Omar Gaither and start Akeem Jordan at WILL, citing the speed of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee for such a change. And from a statistical stand point it looked alright, but it did nothing from a playmaking stand point, as Jordan led the team with nine tackles and also had two tackles for a loss. Chris Gocong posted six tackles, instrumental vs. the run as well while Stewart Bradley had three tackles and a pass defense. And as far as I could tell, even with Jordan in at D and Tracy White and Tank Daniels getting numbers on teams, Gaither was nowhere to be found period.
Unit Grade: B- (80%)

Secondary: The Ravens managed 110 yards on the ground on 40 carries, limiting their pass attempts to only 26 (I know, the polar opposite of the Eagles) so not a lot was made of back here, except for one freak touchdown pass. Sheldon Brown led the unit with seven tackles and had a pass defense while Quintin Mikell had six tackles, a sack, a tackle for a loss, and a forced fumble which, by the time it was all said and done, cost the Ravens 23 yards since they picked it back up. Brian Dawkins had two tackles while Joselio Hanson had one tackle, a QB hurry, and a pass defense. Asante Samuel, despite getting injured twice and coming back once, had one tackle and did pretty well on Derrick Mason, but Lito Sheppard got burned alive by Mark Clayton on a 53-yard touchdown pass, and Sean Considine was had by Daniel Wilcox on a 1-yard touchdown pass.
Unit Grade - All not named Lito or Sean: B (85%)
Unit Grade - Lito and Sean: C- (70%)

Special Teams: Talk about a terrible time to have your first blocked punt of the season, how about being down 13-7 at your own four yard line? That’s what happened to Sav Rocca thanks to blown coverage by Gocong and Considine, he averaged 48.5 a boot (41.6 with the block counted) with two inside the twenty and one touchback, while David Akers only got to hit an extra point. In somewhat of a joyous and celebratory occasion, a very rare kick return touchdown was posted by Quintin Demps, as he kept us from being shutout in this game with a 100-yard return just short of the half, and averaged 44.3 yards a return on four, and the team averaged 29.3 with short returns by Avant, Klecko, and Abiamiri. Jackson averaged six yards a punt return, and the Eagles held Yamon Figurs to 7.5 yards a punt return and the Ravens to 19.5 yards a kick return as a whole unit. And after seeing yet another dumb penalty by Greg Lewis (like one previous when he ran over a return man against the Giants) I question his existence in life, let alone on this team.
Unit Grade - Kick return and coverage: A+ (100%)
Unit Grade - Punt return and coverage: B (85%)
Unit Grade - Rocca: C (75%)
Unit Grade - Punt blocking: D (65%)

Coaching: Again another game where the defense is left out to dry…why am I not surprised by this revelation? The punt block was bad, and punting overall wasn’t that stellar (again) but coverage for kicks was very good and our kick returns were excellent for a change. But about Andy Reid and Marty Moron, I think my accompanying video review of the game in the smack shake part of the site best speaks to the way I feel about them two and Andy’s bone headed calls, including benching Donovan in a must have game and not allowing him to find his bearing once again. I said a week ago that I was plain out pissed with him, and while that might still be the case, I am ready to mark him off as perhaps the most senile and predictable point in his career and is obviously becoming a joke of a coach. And considering we’ve seen the likes of Rich Kotite and Ray Rhodes lately, that is saying a hell of a lot. Furthermore, Marty Moron is no Brad Childress, and is only proving that with his lack of input and inept attitude.
Unit Grade - Defense: A (93%)
Unit Grade - Special Teams: B (85%)
Unit Grade - Offense: F (55%)
Unit Grade - Head Coach: F- (35%)

Ripper’s Three Game Balls:
3. Trent Cole: A sack and seven tackles on the game: non-stop motor and effort.
2. Quintin Mikell: Six tackles and the forced fumble on a sack.
1. Quintin Demps: Saved us from being shutout with his 100-yard kick return for a touchdown, and provided a wallop of a tackle on a Yamon punt return.

Numbers and Stats of Interest:
-Heading into the game, the Ravens were one of two teams the Eagles were undefeated against, going 1-0-1 against them: obviously now we are 1-1-1.
-In the last two games, McNabb has incurred seven turnovers (five interceptions and two fumbles) the most over any two game stretch in his career.
-The 30 minutes Kolb was in for surpassed his previous outings combined.
-Again, on third down the team only managed to go 3-of-13 for 23% while missing their one and only red zone chance due to a Kolb interception.

Well, many have been telling us that this loss to Baltimore broke our playoff hopes in half, and while we still are mathematically alive, I cannot see the team digging out of this hole, not with three division games left and an 0-3 mark in it this year. Another loss, and I will officially be looking to the off-season.