Eagles 23 Bucs 21: Eagles Game Review

Finally, a game review Eagles fans will want to read about. The Philadelphia Eagles ended their 8 game losing streak and showed flashes of greatness in the fourth quarter in their 23-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Eagles took a 10-0 lead into halftime, then gave up 21 unanswered points before scoring 13 unanswered points of their own. The Eagles may have won the game and beat a team right in the thick of the wildcard race, in their house, but the Eagles were far from perfect. As usual the offensive line was up and down, but there was an improvement without the defensive line and the secondary didn’t part like the Red Sea. Nick Foles When judging and critiquing Nick Foles, it’s important to remember he was a third round draft pick a few months ago and was seen as a project player, not an immediate starter. He has far surpassed everyone’s expectations. Right now he has very little pass protection, no DeSean Jackson or LeSean McCoy and is playing for a coaching staff that is all but assured of getting the axe. I didn’t think he could win a game this season with all of those circumstances along with the fumbles from Bryce Brown and that dreadful defense that always seems to collapse in the fourth quarter. When the Eagles got the ball, down 21-10, I thought to myself that if Foles can pull this one out, then no one should question him as the future starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Foles called the final walk-off touchdown play and he drew up the play before that when he connected to Jason Avant on a 4th and long. Foles final stat line was: 32/51, 380 yards, 2 TDs and 0 Ints. His accuracy on the short throws and the deeper balls was impressive considering the pass protection. He completed 17 out of 20 passes under five yards for 140 yards. That means two things. One, he can complete a five yard pass, but the second and more important factor is that he is leading his receivers on the shorter routes. Most of those shorts passes had at least two or three yards after the catch on each pass. That may not wow you, but it adds up. A 1 yard pass that turns into a 4 yard pass changes a 2nd and 9 to a 2nd and 6. Anytime you have a down with 6 yards or less, just about the entire playbook is in play. What also impressed me was Foles movement in the pocket. I’m not talking about the slowest 10 yard touchdown in NFL history. I’m talking about his lateral movement in the pocket to give him that extra second in the face of the pass rush. Drew Brees might be the best at this in the NFL. Foles is no Drew Brees, but he did break all his high school records. Michael Vick is a special athlete, but he doesn’t move well in the pocket. It’s not about speed, it’s about pocket awareness and footwork. Foles has both, which is rare for a rookie. I’m not ready to use that “E” word (elite) for Foles just yet, but I already feel confident in his ability to be the Eagles starting quarterback heading into the 2013 season. The Offensive Line Bryce Brown couldn’t get it going against Tampa Bay. Some of that had to do with the number one run defense, some of it was Brown still being a really raw back, but most of it had to do with the offensive line. The Eagles running game relies on the tackles to get out stay in front of their man to create that outside running lane for the back. The Eagles are playing with two backup tackles for the remainder of the season. Both King Dunlap and Dennis Kelly have been horribly inconsistent. Dunlap made some nice blocks, but got burned by a couple stunts early in the first half. Dennis Kelly probably wishes he played inconsistent. There wasn’t much to like about his performance on Sunday. He failed to create running lanes all game long and give up several tackles for loss. It’s hard to be too critical on either player. Kelly was a fifth round draft pick who wasn’t a lock to make the roster. Dunlap is a career backup who was a free agent this season before Peters suffered his season ending Achilles injury. If he was a starting caliber tackle, somebody would have scooped him up while the Eagles showed little interest in bringing him back. The interior line play was only slightly better than the tackles. Evan Mathis is the sole reason for that. Because of the poor line play all season long Evan Mathis has no shot at making the Pro Bowl. It’s a shame because he really deserves it. He has blossomed into one of the five best guards in the NFL. The other two interior linemen didn’t play as well. Jake Scott was signed off the street a couple weeks ago and the Eagles starting center, Dallas Reynolds, isn’t a starting caliber center at this point in his career. Center might be the hardest position to replace in the middle of the season. There is already a shortage of talented centers in the NFL, replacing your starting center might be the toughest thing to do in the NFL. One bad snap and one bad line call can be the difference between winning and losing. Reynolds isn’t a starting caliber center. He struggles with picking up the blitz and getting the push on inside runs. I don’t know where this offensive line would be without Evan Mathis. Would they be anything less than a disaster without Howard Mudd? The Defense This was the first week that an Eagles current employee wasn’t the talk of the defense, in a bad way. No, this week it was all about the different without defensive line coach Jim Washburn and his wide-9 scheme. The safeties played well for the first time all season. They were in a no win situation in the wide-9 scheme. They were always concerned with the run game because they had to be. Now they can better trust the front seven to handle the run and stop looking back at the line of scrimmage so much. Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were both in danger of getting bench and rightfully so. They responded like professionals this week. They didn’t look as soft as they have in past weeks. Vincent Jackson had a big game to the tune of 6 catches for 131 yards, but the rest of Tampa Bay’s wide outs and tight ends were held to just 5 catches for 54 yards. The secondary finally held the passing game in check. Josh Freeman completed just 14 out of 34 passes for 189 yards. Mychal Kendricks had his best game of the season. It was also his first start as a weakside linebacker. He responded with 5 solo tackles, 7 total tackles and 2 near interceptions. He played his best game against the run and the pass. It’s safe to say he will stay at weakside linebacker for the rest of the season. Final Thoughts Alex Henery missed two field goals after making his last 21. The first kick was a 58 yard attempt that hit the top fo the cross bar. That kick might have been good from 68 yards had it been on target. You can never blame a kicker for missing a 58 yard field goal. The second miss appeared to be a shaky hold by Mat McBriar. He was more comfortable last season with Chas Henry as the holder last season. The next Eagles punter has to be someone that Alex Henery feels comfortable with as the holder. Nick Foles got the most out of Jason Avant last week. Avant isn’t a big receiver and he isn’t a speed demon either, but he is an excellent route runner with great hands. Foles took advantage of that and connected with him 7 times for 133 yards. There are quarterbacks who thrive with great receivers and there are great quarterbacks who thrive with decent receivers. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl with a very limited receiving core. I noticed that Foles likes to throw a lot of jump ball type passes. He has good accuracy on these throws already. He would really benefit from a receiver that can leap over defenders. If there was any chance the Arizona Cardinals would trade Larry Fitzgerald, I would say go for it. Go all out and make it happen. Whether it costs DeSean Jackson and several first round picks. Larry Fitzgeralds don’t grow on trees. The Eagles may have spoiled Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes. They are now 2 games out of the final wildcard spot with three games to go. The Eagles play the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. The Bengals are 7-6 and tied for the final playoff spot in the AFC with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They could easily spoil the Bengals playoff chances just like they did to the Bucs. After that the Eagles play the 7-6 Washington Redskins and the 8-5 New York Giants. The Eagles won’t make the playoffs this season, but they will have a big say in who earns the final wildcard spot in the AFC and who wins the NFC East.