Eagles 15 - Steelers 6 - Monday, September 22, 2008
208 Views :: 0 Comments ::  :: Team - Eagles, Joe DeCamara It was certainly not a pretty game, but the Eagles did something I did not pick them to do: defeat the Steelers. I knew it would be tough and tight either way, but it struck me as the type of game the Eagles would lose to a quality AFC team. Thankfully I was wrong, and the Eagles get to march on having proved their metal with strong performances these past two weeks, even if one of them was a loss. Now to the random thoughts on the game ....... - I'll start with the Steelers. As much as the Eagles showed a LOT defensively, it's hard for me to think of Pittsburgh right now in the same terms I thought of them just a few hours ago prior to the game starting. Sure teams can get beat and look bad in the process. The Eagles lopsided loss in 2004 to the Steelers is a prime example. Obviously the 2004 Eagles weren't that bad. Matter of fact the Eagles were excellent that year. But as I now evaluate this 2008 Steelers team it's hard for me to imagine Pittsburgh doing too much of note deep in the playoffs this season with their offensive line. Sure they may make the playoffs in a weak division, but where do they go from there. The performance of their offensive line today was truly one of the worst I have EVER seen by a unit in an NFL game. Simply deplorable. - Of course the Eagles d-line and the various blitzers that came with them forced the issue, and for that the players and Jim Johnson deserve a lot of credit. It was a tremendous defensive performance for a group that has now thoroughly dominated 2 of the 3 contests they've been in this year. - Sav Rocca was awesome. It seems he has found consistency and touch to go with that booming leg. Gotta give the Eagles brass a ton of credit for finding this guy two off-season's ago. People don't normally realize how key the punting game can be. While everyone talked about the Giants pass rush and Eli Manning's strong finish in the Super Bowl versus New England I was quick to point out to all that Jeff Feagles' punting was an ENORMOUS factor in that game. They would not have won the Super Bowl without Jeff Feagles' punting. I'm certainly not saying that Sav Rocca is anywhere close to that level, but it is good to realize that the Birds may have a potential punting difference-maker in Rocca. Now he’s got to continue to prove it. - I saw Brian Westbrook in the Eagles locker room after the game. From the non-trained medical perspective that I have I must say that I'll be very surprised if B-West plays next Sunday and I really expect him to be out probably for a bit beyond that as well. Again, that's purely speculative, but seeing him on crutches in the manner that he used them and having seen the video of the injury ......... #36 is probably going to be out. - Which brings me to the Eagles backfield. I continue to sing the praises of Correll Buckhalter and wonder how no team has come along to snatch him away from the Eagles in past years. He's a very quality running back. He's never had under a 4 yards per carry average in the NFL. He's a good guy that says all the right things. But somehow the Eagles have been able to hold onto Buck because no team has ever really come after him. Amazes me. The Eagles are lucky to have him. You've got to give the Eagles credit for sticking by him during his not 1, not 2 but 3 seasons of inactivity due to injury. - As it is I hope Tony Hunt is back next week because I don't like Buckhalter lining up as fullback. If Westbrook is out I want Buckhalter running the ball. I thought the Eagles made a mistake in the 3rd and 4th quarter by using Buckhalter at FB with Lorenzo Booker at RB as much as they did. It put Buck too close to the line of scrimmage. I would have much preferred to see Buckhalter in one-back sets with double tight ends. If Hunt does miss next week's game (which I don't expect him to) then the Eagles must find a way to use Buckhalter as a tailback because he'll be the best running back they'll have (without Westbrook in there). - Sean Considine? Hello?????? Did anyone see him today? Perhaps the Eagles heard my calls for Considine to be cut. It's never fun calling for someone's job, but the reality is that I just don't think he's good enough to play pass defense in the NFL. Will be interesting to see where this goes over the next few days / weeks because Jim Johnson's lack of use of Considine today surely signals that the team may be ready to move on. - This Shawn Andrews injury for whatever length he is out is significant. Far too many times fans just say: "well, he's just an offensive lineman. Just throw someone else in there." It doesn't work that way. The success that the Eagles have had through the years should have taught all of us that by now. Not playing with one of the very best in the sport is a big-time blow to an offense. All you have to do is see how beat up Big Ben was today to realize the critical nature of the play with the guys up front. It's good to get a win without the Big Kid because he's easily one of the 5 most important players on the team. - I’m going to continue to track this developing record all season long …… the NFC East is now 8 – 0 outside of the division. It just doesn’t get better than this in all of sports. Sure the Giants almost slipped up today … but they didn’t. And the Redskins game was tough … but they won. We know about the Eagles. And the Cowboys just finished off an impressive road win. Three teams in the playoffs from the same division with this playoff format is very, very hard. But this looks like it may be the year. The problem for the Eagles is that as they win outside the division so too are the other teams. It looks like 10 wins is a must and that may not even get it done for the Wild Card. It might take 11. - I stood near Jamal Jackson post-game in the locker room as he answered questions about his brother's death and having gotten ready for today's game coming straight from his brother's funeral yesterday. The whole situation just made me uncomfortable and really sad for Jamal Jackson. I personally couldn't imagine answering questions from reporters about the death of a brother and playing in a football game. I'm not saying that the reporters were wrong to ask him questions. I saw and heard a lot of compassion from the reporters and it seemed like Jackson wanted to speak to continue to move on with his life. But just seeing the whole thing really stunk because when you strip away the glory and criticism that comes with being an NFL player these guys are just regular dudes like you and I, and it's just awful to realize what Jamal Jackson and his family are going through dealing with the senseless death of his brother at the hand's of a drunk driver. Sorry to end on a down note, but I had to get that in there. Check back this week as I'll look toward the Bears game. And hey, the Phils are still making it happen, the Flyers have started camp and the Elton Brand era is close to beginning with the 76ers so we'll have a lot to discuss as the weeks roll on. Joe DeCamara hosts the 950 ESPN Eagles Pre-Game Show in addition to being the Assistant Program Director and a Sports Update Anchor for the radio station. You can read Joe’s blogs as he’ll be posting a post-game entry weekly from now on and writing other blogs during the week. |