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| Andrew Perna. 8th November, 2011 - 7:05 pm
 You can simply file the 2011 edition of the Philadelphia Eagles under looked good on paper.
At the midpoint of their season, they are a disappointing 3-5 following a loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night. It was their third loss in four home games and yet another defeat after they held a lead in the fourth quarter.
Sitting two games under .500 is bad enough, but the first half success of the rival New York Giants has squashed the dim playoff hopes of the Eagles after their slow start. After soundly beating the Rams in Week 1, the Eagles dropped four straight. Despite that, wins over the Redskins and Cowboys put them a victory away from drawing even and remaining in the playoff race.
Jay Cutler and Matt Forte made sure that did not happen.
Andy Reid and Co. have gone from a Super Bowl contender to potentially finishing with a losing record for the first time 2005 and just the second time under Reid (13 seasons).
Can They Turn It Around?
The Eagles have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, but they have faltered as a team this season. The playmakers they feature on both sides of the ball make them a threat to beat anyone, but their remaining eight games are no cakewalk.
Much has been made of the rough schedule the Giants are in the midst of, but the Eagles still have the Patriots, Jets and each of their NFC East rivals remaining on the schedule. They also have road games against Seattle and Miami.
Of the three teams Philadelphia has beaten, none are currently above and have a combined 8-16 this season). Their final eight opponents are a combined 26-36, but 17 of those losses come from Arizona, Seattle and Miami.
Remember, they have to win five of their final eight to avoid a losing record and could conceivably be 4-7 following Week 12 and back-to-back games against the Giants and Patriots. My prediction? They finish 9-7 after dropping one of the three "sure-fire" wins (Cardinals, Seahawks or Dolphins) and beating the Cowboys and Redskins in the final two weeks of the season.
Unless they get extremely lucky, the Eagles will sit out the playoffs for just the fourth time since Reid took over in 1999.
The Infamous Fake Punt
Reid fooled everyone, perhaps even Chas Henry and Colt Anderson, when he called for a fake punt on fourth-and-six at the Chicago 42-yard line with just under ten minutes left in the fourth quarter on Monday night. The play was ballsy and actually worked to perfection except for a lack of execution on the part of Henry and Anderson.
I do not understand the criticism Reid has taken for the call, which would have been hailed as brilliant had Henry not underthrown the football and Anderson not gone down in a slide even though the Bears were completely fooled.
A completed pass would have put Philadelphia in field goal range immediately, allowing them to at least tie the game, instead of allowing the Bears to march 53 yards down the field in more than five minutes for a 22-yard field goal. That forced Michael Vick and the offense to aim for the end zone on their final drive.
If I was Reid, I would go for the fake punt again in that situation. Why not?
Letting Their Flags Fly
The Eagles and Bears were each whistled for six penalties and Chicago was charged more yardage, but Philadelphia committed infractions at vital times.
There was Darryl Tapp and his unnecessary roughness penalty early in the fourth period on a tackle of Devin Hester, setting the Bears up deeper in the red zone on first down. Two plays later, Earl Bennett caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Cutler. More on that play later.
On the drive following the fake punt, which eventually led to Chicago field goal, Nnamdi Asomugha was flagged for pass interference while defending Johnny Knox. The penalty came on third-and-eleven and gave the Bears a first down on the Philadelphia seven-yard line. Asomugha was physical with Knox, but the pass was overthrown a bit out of bounds. More passive coverage would still have led to an incompletion.
The penalty did not cost the Eagles, as Robbie Gould probably would have hit the 39-yarder he would have faced without the flag, but the error by the elite cornerback is a perfect example of how Philadelphia has played this season.
Another costly penalty came late in the second quarter when Jason Babin appeared to hit Cutler late on third-and-four at the Philadelphia four-yard line. Babin was flagged for roughing the passer on a questionable call and Marion Barber ran two yards for a touchdown on the next play.
The play allowed the Bears to take a 17-10 lead into halftime rather than a 13-10 advantage.
Corner Issues
While their run defense has received a majority of the criticism, the trio of elite cornerbacks the Eagles employ have been largely disappointing this season. They are allowing just 212 passing yards per game (ninth in the NFL), but they give up 7.3 yards per attempt (16th) and have surrendered 14 touchdowns through the air (only six teams have given up more).
In addition, opposing quarterbacks have a 86.3 rating against Philadelphia this season, which ranks 21st.
They allowed 31 passing touchdowns last season (second to last), but that was before Asomugha signed and they acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Arizona Cardinals. Passing against the Eagles was supposed to be one of the hardest things to do in the NFL this fall. Instead, it has been fairly easy.
Against Chicago alone, all three premier cornerbacks were exposed at one point or another.
Asomugha
In addition to his pass interference call against Bennett in the fourth quarter, Asomugha got crossed up while covering Bennett early in the first quarter. As Bennett crossed routes with another receiver, he shook free of Asomugha and caught a 14-yard reception. It came on third down and led to a Chicago touchdown. Whether or not the play came in zone coverage, an elite cornerback should have recognized the routes and made his own call.
Rodgers-Cromartie
DRC appeared to give up completely on a play in the fourth quarter on another Bennett catch, this one over the middle. When he did not break up the pass, it looked like he stopped before the whistle and left his safeties to make the tackle.
Rodgers-Cromartie was seen ranting on the sidelines in that quarter and had to be calmed down by Asomugha and Reid after a heated conversation with defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.
While not a starter, he has just four pass deflections and no interceptions in eight games.
Asante Samuel
Like Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie, Samuel was victimized by Bennett, who caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Cutler early in the fourth quarter. It turned out to be the game-winning score.
Samuel was playing shallow, perhaps looking for an interception on an underthrown ball, on Bennett, who leaped up to catch the ball near the corner of the end zone.
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While the Eagles are all but out of the playoff race, they can still restore some respectability to their 2011 season. It will take a lot of discipline and improvement on both sides of the ball -- more LeSean McCoy, please -- but a second-place finish in the division is not out of the question. |
