SB Nation - David Akers

San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles: A Prospector's Guide

Fooch — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:00:18 -0000

vs.

The 49ers remain on the periphery of the playoff race (I will most definitely NOT say in the thick of it at this point for karma purposes). They find themselves heading into Philadelphia badly in a need of a win in a game that most people don't give them much of a chance in. We've moved past moral victories, so while I won't be stunned by a loss, keeping it close in Philly won't exactly make me happy as a clam.

The 49ers travel to Philadelphia in what will be the 29th meeting between the two teams, with San Francisco holding a 17-10-1 advantage in the series. The 49ers and Eagles have matched up six times this decade, but this week’s game will mark the first in Philadelphia since 2005.

San Francisco enters the upcoming game following a 24-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. In that game, the 49ers defense created 7 turnovers, while RB Frank Gore rushed for 167 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. TE Vernon Davis leads all NFL receivers with 11 touchdown receptions after registering a 5-yard score from QB Alex Smith against Arizona and is only the 9th tight end in NFL history to record at least 11 touchdown receptions in a season. The NFL record is 13, held by TE Antonio Gates (2004).

Last week’s contest marked the third week in a row that the 49ers defense had posted at least 4 sacks in a game. San Francisco now ranks tied for 7th in the NFL with 34 sacks and a +6 turnover ratio. The 49ers 18 forced fumbles rank tied for 1st in the NFL in 2009 and are tied for the most by the team in a single season (1996 - 18), dating back to 1992.

49ers-Eagles Connections
Coaching Connections
• Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhingweg was the 49ers offensive coordinator and QBs coach from 1997-2000. In 1998, the 49ers became the first team since the 1941 Chicago Bears to lead the league in gross passing and rushing yards thanks in large part to Mornhinweg’s guidance. Mornhinweg attended Oak Grove HS in San Jose, where he was the Northern California POY and an all-state performer.
• 49ers secondary coach Johnnie Lynn and Eagles WRs coach David Culley coached together with the Tampa Bay Bucs from 1994-95.

FORMER EAGLES - Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was on the Eagles roster in 1969 ... Pass rush specialist coach Al Harris played with the Eagles for two seasons (1989-90) ... SS Michael Lewis was drafted by the Eagles in the 2nd round in 2002 and played in Philadelphia for 5 years. He earned a Pro Bowl invitation in 2004 ... LB Takeo Spikes spent the 2007 season with the Eagles, starting 14 games ... Strength and conditioning coach Duane Carlisle served as the Philadelphia Eagles speed development consultant from 2000-04. Carlisle also coached at
Penn State from 1989-92 ... Director of pro personnel Tom Gamble entered the NFL as an assistant for the Eagles player personnel department in 1996. He is the son of former Eagles president Harry Gamble and was born in Cherry Hill, NJ ... Area scout Todd Brunner first joined the Eagles as a scouting intern in 1992 and worked as a scouting assistant in 1993.

FORMER 49ERS - CB Joselio Hanson, a native of Playa del Rey, CA, was originally signed by the 49ers as a rookie free agent in 2003 and appeared in 13 games for the 49ers.

49ERS PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTIONS - RB Michael Robinson played collegiate football at Penn State ... CB Shawntae Spencer is from Rankin, PA ... Rookie LB Scott McKillop hails from Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

EAGLES NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS - Head Coach Andy Reid spent time as the offensive coordinator at San Francisco State from 1983-85 ...TE coach Tom Melvin is a native of Redwood City, CA, and began his coaching career at San Francisco State from 1982-85 and attended Cubberley HS in Palo Alto ... Special assistant/defense Brian Stewart served as defensive backs coach at San Jose State (1997-98) ... WR DeSean Jackson played at Cal and is a native of Long Beach, CA ... TE Alex Smith lettered at Stanford from 2001-04.

PLAYER CONNECTIONS
• 49ers DT Justin Smith and Eagles G/T Stacy Andrews were teammates with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2004-07.
• 49ers DT Demetric Evans was a teammate of Eagles DE Chris Clemons and LB Jeremiah Trotter for the Redskins (2004-05).
• 49ers LB Parys Haralson and Eagles LB Omar Gaither were teammates at Tennessee from 2002-05.
• 49ers G Chilo Rachal played at USC with Eagles DT Mike Patterson and T Winston Justice.

Series Highlights
Matchups: 28
Series Record: 49ers lead series 17-10-1
49ers Away Record vs. Eagles: 49ers Lead Series 9-3-1
First Meeting: 10/6/51, Eagles win, 21-14, at Philadelphia
Last Meeting: 10/12/08, Eagles win, 40-26, at San Francisco
Current Streak: Lost 3
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 5 (9/23/84 - 11/29/92)
Longest Eagles Win Streak: 3 (9/18/05 - Present)
Most 49ers Points: 38 (Two Times), Last: 38-28, at ~~San Francisco~~ Philadelphia
Most Eagles Points: 42 (9/18/05), 42-3, at San Francisco
49ers Shutouts: 1 (12/29/96), 49ers win 14-0, at San Francisco
Eagles Shutouts: None

PHILADELPHIA 40, SAN FRANCISCO 26
At ~~Glendale, AZ~~ Philadelphia, PA, October 20, 2008

The Philadelphia Eagles forced 3 turnovers during a 23-point 4th quarter of a 40-26 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. CB Donald Strickland returned a blocked FG 41 yards for aTD on the final play of the 1st half and the momentum carried into the 3rd quarter when the 49ers scored 10 points to take a 26-17 lead.

After the Eagles rallied back to take a 27-26 lead with 7:38 left to play, the 49ers next three drives ended in turnovers that set up scores for Philadelphia. S Quintin Mikell intercepted a QB J.T. O’Sullivan pass and returned it to the San Francisco 7-yard line to set up a short FG. On the next series, Eagles DE Trent Cole forced a fumble on a sack of O’Sullivan, allowing Philadelphia to recover at the San Francisco 20-yard line to set up another short FG for a 33-26 lead with 1:10 left. San Francisco got past midfield on the next drive when O’Sullivan connected with WR Josh Morgan on a 25-yard gain, but two plays later with 48 seconds to play, O’Sullivan was picked off by DE Juqua Parker, who returned it 55 yards for a score to seal the 40-26 win.

Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb threw for 280 yards and 2 TDs while RB Correll Buckhalter, playing in place of an injured Brian Westbrook, had 93 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving. Philadelphia took a 7-6 1st quarter lead and then added 10 points in the 2nd quarter for a 17-6 lead. PK Joe Nedney hit a 53-yard FG with 34 seconds to play, but Philadelphia moved to the San Francisco 36-yard line with one second remaining on the clock before halftime. The Eagles sent PK David Akers on to the field to attempt a 54-yard FG DE Ray McDonald blocked the kick, and Strickland scooped up the loose ball and ran 41 yards for the score to make it a 17-16 game at the half. RB Frank Gore had his second 100-yard game of the year with 101 yards on 19 attempts.

2009 Statistics

49ERS (rank)		EAGLES (rank)
6-7 (2nd NFCW)	Record	9-4 (1st NFCE)
20.7 (18th)	Points per game	28.6 (3rd)
288.6 (27th)	Total Offense	360.2 (11th)
98.8 (24th)	Rushing Offense	106.1 (19th)
189.8 (22nd)	Passing Offense	254.1 (10th)
29:31 (16th)	Possession Avg	28:30 (25th)
18.6 (8th)	Points allowed/gm	21.0 (t-16th)
338.6 (18th)	Total Defense	320.1 (10th)
95.0 (5th)	Rushing Defense	101.5 (10th)
243.6 (27th)	Passing Defense	218.6 (18th)
34 (t-7th)	Sacks	36 (t-4th)
47.8 (2nd)	Punting Avg (Gross)	41.7 (27th)
+6 (t-7th)	Turnover Differential	+15 (3rd)

Giants vs. Eagles: 'Kudos & Wet Willies' preview

Ed Valentine — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:00:16 -0000

Our New York Giants look to turn the tables tonight on the Philadelphia Eagles, who have beaten them three straight times. A victory would stamp the Giants as a legitimate NFC playoff threat. A loss, and the playoffs will be possible but unlikely.

Here is a tradtional 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style preview of the keys to the game.

There will be lots of 'Kudos' Monday if ...

The big plays belong to the Giants. The Eagles live for the big play offensively. There's no grind-it-out and worry about the time of possession attitude in Andy Reid's offense. It's create a mismatch and go for the big play as often as you can. The Giants have given up too many of those types of plays this season, and they can't afford that tonight. Offensively, opportunities will be there if the Giants can block the blitz-happy Eagles defense. Gotta hit a couple of 'em, running or passing.

The Giants win the turnover battle. This is always true, but against the Eagles of late the Giants seem to have committed more than their share of silly turnovers. Obviously, you can't gift-wrap opportunities for good teams, and the Eagles are a good team.

The defensive resurgence continues. The Giants defense played its best game in about two months Sunday against Dallas. They played with energy, throttled Dallas' running game and despite giving up tons of passing yardage didn't blow assignments on deep balls and did not miss tackles. They need that same effort tonight.

There will be lots of 'Wet Willies' Monday if ...

The Giants can't, or won't, run the football. The December weather could turn ugly in East Rutherford tonight. I guess we could call this the Kevin Gilbride factor. The offensive coordinator has often been criticized for poor play-calling in bad weather. He knows it could be a factor tonight. Giants fans everywhere will be watching to see how he, and quarterback Eli Manning, handle the conditions.

Donovan McNabb is comfortable. McNabb has mostly been comfortable in the pocket against the Giants the past several seasons. I don't care how they do it, but the Giants have got to frustrate him, hit him, make him move. If they give him the opportunity, the streaky McNabb will eventually start ripping off completions for huge chunks of yardage. So, the Giants must do the thing they have largely been unable to do in recent years. Get to McNabb.

The Giants get whipped on special teams. Coughlin fears DeSean Jackson as a punt returner. And David Akers always seems to factor into Giants-Eagles matchups. The Giants have been spotty on special teams all season, and they need to at least get a draw with Philly in that department.

Bolts & Dolts: Chargers at Browns

John (obviousman) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

14 days ago: San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) breaks the tackle of Cleveland Browns safety Abram Elam in the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, in Cleveland. Gates made eight catches for 167 yards in San Diego's 30-23 win. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Has everyone calmed down from yesterday? Is everyone willing to admit that maybe that soft zone defense we saw in the fourth quarter, and on the Browns' first drive, was done as a way to manage the game instead of dominating it? That's what I believe anyways.

For anyone who thinks the Chargers "played down" to their opponents, there's this. The Chargers scored 27 unanswered points. That's more points than Cleveland scored all game. If you take the score of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the score is 17-0 Chargers. If you take the score of the first 3 quarters, it's 27-7.

My philosophy is this. That first drive was a test. Kindof a "Let's see if they can throw on this" and they could. Then it was scrapped and the defense started stopping the Browns on every drive, and the offense started putting up points. With a 20 point lead heading into the fourth quarter, as many backups as possible came in and the message became "Avoid Injury". Coach Rivera figured that even if he played zone, avoiding giving up big plays and allowing short passes underneath, the Browns would take so much time that they'd never be able to catch up. And he was right.

Onto Bolts and Dolts.

Bolts

Offense

Antonio Gates - 8 catches, 167 yds. Gatesy goes first, even before the QB, because that was the best game I've ever seen from him. Outside of the game where Kellen Winslow took over the world, I think that's the best game I've ever seen from a TE ever. Not only was he everywhere, catching everything and making the Browns look foolish, but he also bailed out Philip Rivers (who threw to him in double-coverage a couple of times) with some amazing catches that just shouldn't have happened.

Philip Rivers - 18/25, 373 yds, 2 TD. Finishing the game with a QB rating over 140 will get you a Bolt every time. This wasn't the easy game for him that everybody thought it would be either. Cleveland brought pressure, even sacking him once, and seemed to play very well on his star WRs. Finding the mismatches with Gates, Darren Sproles and Mike Tolbert was the work of a smart, veteran QB.

LaDainian Tomlinson - 20 carries, 64 rush yds, 1 rush TD, 1 catch, 21 rec yds. Somebody said that LT didn't even get 3 yards per carry in this game, but they're mistaken. 3.2 yards per carry as a matter of fact. Here's what I saw from LT yesterday: smart, patient running mixed with good pass-blocking. That play at the end of the first half, where he could've went upfield but instead stepped out of bounds to stop the clock and give the offense another shot at the endzone, showed no ego and was a play that a younger RB probably doesn't make.

Anyways, all of those things above make LT an "Almost Bolt". Saluting Jim Brown, after the things Brown said about LT in his preseason interview with Adrian Peterson, makes him incredibly classy and gets him a Bolt. Also, standing on the sidelines next to Norv and talking about the offense helps his standing as well.

Legedu Naanee/Mike Tolbert. In my Larry English rant earlier this week, I was saying that playoff and Super Bowl teams need to get contributions from their rookies. Well, getting contributions from their young projects is just as good.

Naanee didn't get many chances to catch the ball in Cleveland, no chances at all actually. However, when his number was called to catch the ball and then throw a spiral downfield to a wide open Tomlinson he did so and made it look very easy. A key play, because you could argue that Nate Kaeding wouldn't have hit the end-of-the-half FG without it.

Mike Tolbert's play was great. His speed, with his body size, is just so unexpected. He was the check-down receiver and got the ball because Cleveland brought a bunch of blitzers. Luckily, he also had a bunch of blockers in front of him (including Vincent Jackson, who almost killed somebody on the play). That had nothing to do with the right playcall, and everything to do with the Chargers players making plays.

Defense

Shaun Phillips - 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 defended pass. The boy from Philly has been playing out of his mind lately. This game was no exception. I love that his new move, when he gets to the QB, is to grab their throwing arm while hitting them. It's caused so many fumbles, and they're all game-changers. He probably has no chance of getting there, but Shaun deserves a Pro Bowl nod this season.

Special Teams

Nate Kaeding - 3/3 FGs, 3/3 XPs. The only kicker that's having a year as good or better than Nate's this season is David Akers in Philadelphia. Those should be your Pro Bowl starters, without any question. Nate has become automatic from about 48 yards and in this season.

Dolts

Offense

There were no offensive Dolts this week.

Defense

There were no defensive Dolts this week.

Almost Bolts

Darren Sproles - Sproles played a very good game on offense, running the ball effectively and making the most of his screen passes. That would've been enough for a Bolt, but again we have the same issues as weeks past. I know Darren is a bright guy, but it seems like when the ball is in the air on kickoff or punts he becomes an idiot.

First, there was the kickoff return where he grabbed the ball and jumped out of bounds. I don't know why he felt the need to grab the ball and jump out of bounds, instead of simply letting the ball go out of bounds and taking the field at the 40, but he did. I guess you could argue he wanted to make sure the Browns didn't get to it, but it really didn't seem like any of them were near the ball to me. Just a dumb play.

Second, and stop me if this sounds familiar, another play where Sproles refuses to call fair-catch and gets absolutely hammered by Josh Cribbs the second he touches the ball. I'll give him credit, he seems to do a good job of holding onto the ball in this situation, but one of these days he's going to fumble it in a big spot or get injured that way. FAIR CATCH THE BALL. We would much rather have a safe catch than a 1 yard loss and a heart attack.

At this point, if Sproles was taken off returns for a while, I would be happy about it.

Brandon Siler - He was strong against the run and effective against the pass as well. If Stephen Cooper wasn't the captain and wasn't calling the plays, he would've lost his job to Siler by now.

Vincent Jackson - Made a big catch with guys draped all over him. Made a big block to spring Tolbert's TD. The defense is sending more and more coverage at him, and it's just making him work harder. That's a great sign.

Almost Dolts

Kevin Ellison - The leading tackler for the Chargers was also the guy who couldn't cover Evan Moore at all. Every time Brady Quinn saw that matchup, he attacked.

David Akers named NFC special teams player of the month

JasonB — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:37:14 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

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One of the unsung stories of this Eagles season has been the re-emergence of kicker David Akers. For the past few seasons we've all seen him go through inconsistent patches and struggle with kicks beyond 40 yards. But this year, he's really regained his form.

Placekicker David Akers has been named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month for November after he connected on all 13 of his field goal attempts and 11 of 12 extra points. Akers currently leads the NFL with 101 points scored and in total field goals (24), ranks tied for first in the league with 11 field goals of 40-plus yards and is fifth in the league with a field goal percentage of 88.9 (24 of 27 field goals made).

Akers is just one FG away from his own team record 17 straight. He's also the second Eagle to win special teams player of the month, the first being Desean Jackson in September

Former Cards blow up in Week 12

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:54:34 -0000

Literally. It was really disturbing.

--Chris Redman stepped in for an injured Matt Ryan and completed 23-of-41 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Atlanta Falcons to a come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay. He'll make his first start since 2007 this Sunday against Philadelphia.

--Elvis Dumervil notched two more sacks to extend his league-leading total to 14. He has nine sacks on 3rd down, which is already the sixth-best single-season mark in NFL history. The record is 11.

--David Akers drilled a 32-yard game-winner to lift the Eagles over the Washington Redskins. The made field goal was his 16th straight.

--Kerry Rhodes responded to being demoted from starting lineup for the first time in five years by notching a pair of interceptions in the New York Jets' 17-6 win over Carolina.

"I got the message," Rhodes said, standing on a chair so he could be heard by the throng of media. "The message was sent. Now, I am moving on and you're going to see Kerry Rhodes. The message was sent to me by Coach [Rex Ryan] and now I'm moving on. That's all it takes. You saw Kerry today and that's what you'll see."

--Former Cardinal linebacker/quote machine Brandon Johnson continued to fill in nicely for an injured Keith Rivers by recording eight tackles in Cincinnati's win over Cleveland He became a starter last year during week 7 and finished the year 112 tackles, second best on the team. Bengals blog Cincy Jungle says that Johnson's play makes Rivers's absence unnoticeable.

Eagles fall to Cowboys 20-16

JasonB — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:08:45 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Asante Samuel attempting a "tackle"

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The Eagles' performance tonight did little to silence the critics who call the Eagles offense an "all or nothing" unit. Last week, they hit their big plays against the Giants and won in blowout fashion. Tonight, the big plays weren't there and they lose a slow, grinding game to the Cowboys by 4. The defense wasn't great by any means(particularly the tackling), but the story of this game is once again the inconsistency of the Eagles defense. There were dropped passes, poor throws from McNabb, inconsistency up front, inability to convert short yardage... It was many of the same problems we saw in the loss to Oakland. I'm not exactly sure what to do with this offense other than just pray the good Eagles show up on a given week.

That said, we've seen this script before. The Eagles drop the early game to Dallas and then beat them in December when the pressure is on. How many Decembers in a row have we seen this? Hopefully the Cowboys enjoy their midseason win while they can. Round one to you guys, the decisive round comes in week 17.

The Eagles don't have any time to dwell on this one. A very tough game is looming against San Diego. That's a cross country trip against a decent out of conference opponent. Those aren't games the visitors win very often. Unless it's against the Giants I guess...

I've got a few more thoughts after the jump

Peters shows his worth

Gotta give credit to Jason Peters who absolutely owned DeMarcus Ware tonight. Ware made a few plays when Peters was off the field, but when he came back Ware disappeared. It got so bad that Dallas actually started lining up Ware on the other side to get him away from Peters. Solid job tonight by the $60 million man. I also have to give him credit for coming back after what looked like a very nasty play. A defender rolled up on his leg from behind, which we've seen led to torn ACLs all too often. Peters missed a few series, came back, and dominated.

What is the point of replay?

No one should take this as me blaming the refs. No doubt the Eagles had plenty of opportunities to win this game and have only themselves to blame. But how on earth did the refs see nothing on that McNabb sneak play? The camera angle was clear as day, the ball was clearly ahead of where they marked it... and yet the ruling on the field stands? What didn't they see? I'd love to hear an explanation of exactly why they felt that ball was spotted correctly.

David Akers came to play

If you were going to point out a positive tonight, one easy one would be David Akers who surprised just about everyone in the game thread by kicking FGs of 45, 48, and 52. Akers has been very hit or miss from beyond 40 for a while now, but for tonight at least he was back to his old self.

Can the Eagles ever get a big play at the end of a game?

Maybe it's late and I'm just not remembering correctly, but does it seem like the Eagles never make a big play at the end of a game? It just seems like every time the offense needs to make a drive or the defense needs to get a stop, they just fall short. The defense needed to stop the Cowboys once at the end of this game to give the offense a shot and couldn't do it. Now, I do give the defense some leeway considering they played decent overall and were without all 3 of the LBs they were supposed to start the year with. After Akeem Jordan was injured on the previous kickoff the only starter in the LB corps was Will Witherspoon, who only joined the team a couple weeks ago. It left them pretty exposed to the run and short pass, which is exactly what Dallas did to get the couple first downs they needed.

Every Eagles win this year has come pretty much in blowout fashion. This was the first really close game they've played all year. Last year, they won exactly one game where the final score was within at least a TD. That was the 20-14 win over the Giants which was only within one score was because the Giants scored a TD with under 2 minutes left. The Eagles lost 6 of their 7 games that were within one score last year. This year, they're 0-2 in games decided by one score. In 2007, they were 4-7 in close games. There definitely seems to be an issue there.

Some timeouts at the end would have been nice

As the previous paragraph said, it probably wouldn't have mattered that much if the Eagles could have stopped the clock at the end of the game... but still, their margin for error was very small with no timeouts. I suppose whether you're upset about this depends on how you felt about the challenges. Reid lost both and used another timeout somewhere than I don't even remember. I thought the first challenge was pointless, but I would have thrown the flag on the second one myself.

FANTASY WEEKEND REPORT by Craig T

Niko Houllis — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:20 -0000

Craig T's FFH (we lied about the year established. Stolen via Google search. How's that for honesty.

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Our good buddy Craig T has his internet down, let me guess, Brighthouse? Remember when Brighthouse tried to make everyone think the NFL Network was the bad guy? Now BH is the only one that Doesnt have it. Heck, I get NFL Network on a sprint phone for goodness sake!! " You carry 8 shopping channels, but no NFL Network!!!"

Anyways..This message brought to you by Verizon's Fios. JK, ....

Take it away Craig T...

Welcome, BucEm fans, to what will be our weekly look at some fantasy football help some of you might be musing over. With 8 weeks down and 5 to go, many of you are likely jockeying for playoff berths, so let's get down to it...

QBs TO START (excluding weekly automatic starts P. Manning, Brady, Roethlisberger, Brees, B. Favre, A. Rodgers, and K. Warner)

1. Tony Romo @ PHI. 8 TDs, 0 INTs in last 3 and seeing field as well as anyone.

2. Matt Hasselbeck vs DET. Weak SEA running game + weak DET defense = big bounceback game for Hasselbeck.

3. Donovan McNabb vs. DAL. Like Romo, also seeing field well in what should be a game filled w points.

4. Philip Rivers @ NYG. Clicking V-Jack lately and has passed for not less than 249 yds this season. NYG defense still not right.

5. Matt Schaub @ IND. First time he and Andre Johnson have been on the field together vs IND since 2007.

Sleeper: Jason Campbell @ ATL. Yes, ugh, I know, but WAS is coming off a bye and ATL can't stop anybody through the air. Look for a solid, if not great, game from Campbell Sunday.

QBs TO SIT

1. Eli Manning vs SD. He's just not trustworthy since injuring his heel.

2. Matt Ryan vs WAS. Roddy White is iffy for the game and WAS pass defense has been solid this season. If you have a 2nd option, consider it.

3. Jake Delhomme @ NO. If you were considering Jake as a bye-week replacement, dig deeper for an option, such as Alex Smith or Campbell. Delhomme vs a turnover-minded defense like NO is a nightmare.

4. Jay Cutler vs ARI. Has hit 3 PaTDs only once since week one.

5. Kyle Orton vs PIT. Steeler D boosted by return of Polamalu.

RBs TO START (excluding C. Johnson, Gore, MJ-D, Turner, LT, SJax, AP, Forte, Ronnie Brown, B. Jacobs)

1. Ryan Grant @ TB. Duh.

2. Joseph Addai vs. HOU. Comeback player of year candidate has scored in 4 straight.

3. Ray Rice @ CIN. Now the guy in BAL, should be key piece of offense in a close game.

4. Marion Barber @ PHI. With trio of RBs, no longer an auto start, but still gets majority of carries and goalline touches and should be started when DAL offense is clicking like it is.

5. Pierre Thomas vs. CAR. Still the main guy in the backfield of the most explosive offense in football.

Sleeper: Jamaal Charles @ JAX. Did you see what Johnson and Titans did to this run defense last week? Charles will get majority of carries and should have a good chance to score.

RBs TO SIT

1. LeSean McCoy vs DAL. Westbrook back and Cowboys have been strong against the run.

2. Laurence Maroney vs MIA. Sammy Morris' return clouds backfield picture and MIA also solid vs run.

3. Cadillac Williams vs GB. GB ranks near the top of the NFL in rushing YPGA. Certainly you've got a better option.

4. Rashard Mendenhall @ DEN.

Denver ranks 3rd against run and Willie Parker to get some work as well.

5. Beanie Wells @ CHI. Still splitting 50/50 w/Hightower, and appears not to be getting majority of goalline carries. Maybe a flex play, but not RB2 material.

WRs TO START (excluding R. Wayne, A. Johnson, L. Fitzgerald, M. Colston, R. Moss, W. Welker, Desean Jackson, R. White, Calvin Johnson, H. Ward, Vincent Jackson, D. Bowe, B. Marshall, Ochocinco)

1. Santana Moss @ ATL. Falcons giving up yards in droves to opposing number 1 WRs. Moss on Grimes' backup should be a mismatch.

2. Miles Austin @ PHI. Ride him til he bucks ya.

3. Nate Burleson vs DET. Hasselbeck's main target should cash in Sunday.

4. Donald Driver @ TB. Bucs' secondary will get a stiff test Sunday, and Driver has been Rodgers' go to guy. Jennings also a solid play.

5. Kevin Walter @ IND. Should have more one on one matchups than Johnson and targets should increase with loss of Owen Daniels.

Sleeper: Steve Breaston @ CHI. In line for solid number of targets with Boldin re-aggravating his ankle.

WRs TO SIT

1. Ted Ginn, Jr @ NE. Don't be fooled by his 2 KRTD performance against NYJ... He still hasn't earned his starting WR spot back yet from Hartline/Bess.

2. Roy E. Williams @ PHI. I don't care that he scored last week. He stinks and doesn't have trust of his QB.

3. Eddie Royal vs PIT. Only receiver worth trusting right now is B. Marshall. Gaffney stealing some of Royal's targets.

4. Lance Moore vs CAR. Gimpy, may be a GTD. With Meachem and Henderson likely to get targets, consider better alternatives over Moore if you can.

5. Mario Manningham vs. SD. Manning spreading around the targets and is having a tough time throwing an accurate deep ball, which hurts a big play WR like double M.

TEs TO START (excluding Witten, Gates, Clark, V. Davis, Shockey, T. Gonzalez)

1. Brent Celek vs DAL. Even though DAL has been great at holding down opposing TEs, he's too valuable to this offense lately to sit.

2. Kevin Boss vs SD. Great underneath option for Manning, who's struggling to step up and make deep throws.

3. Fred Davis @ ATL. TE is a big part of WAS passing game, and Davis has the athletic ability of a WR.

4. Donald Lee vs. TB. Rodgers looks at TE in red zone often and matchup problems exist for Buccaneers. Sub in Jermichael Finley here if he's cleared to play.

5. Heath Miller @ DEN. With Denver's defense so tough against the run and in the red zone, Big Ben's go to guy in the red zone should get some scoring looks.

Sleeper: Ben Watson vs MIA. Scored in 2 of last 3 games.

TEs TO SIT

1. Brandon Pettigrew @ SEA. If you're looking for a bye-week filler, look elsewhere. Without Stafford healthy, Pettigrew is a forgotten part of the offense.

2. Kellen Winslow vs TB. Yea yea, Freeman's gotta throw it to somebody, but who can really tell who he'll connect with? If you've got another solid option, consider it until we see how he connects with K2.

3. Bo Scaife @ SF. Niners 3-4 defense matches up their athletic LBs very well with opposing TEs.

4. Todd Heap @ CIN. Good for 3 catches, 40-50 yds, and that is all.

5. Tony Scheffler vs PIT. Except for his big game against SD a few weeks ago, has done nothing this year.

5 KICKERS TO START:

1. Shaun Suisham @ ATL

2. David Akers @ DAL

3. Nate Kaeding @ NYG

4. Kris Brown @ IND

5. Shayne Graham vs BAL

5 KICKERS TO SIT:

1. Dan Carpenter @ NE

2. Jason Elam vs WAS

3. Olindo Mare vs DET

4. Robbie Gould vs ARI

5. John Kasay @ NO

5 DEFENSES WITH GOOD MATCHUPS:

1. PIT @ DEN

2. SEA vs DET

3. NO vs CAR

4. JAX vs KC

5. SF vs TEN

5 DEFENSES WITH TOUGH MATCHUPS:

1. DAL @ PHI

2. NYG vs SD

3. PHI vs DAL

4. MIA @ NE

5. ATL vs WAS

Eagles Red Zone Report: Week 6

JasonB — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:00:24 -0000

This look at the Eagles' Red Zone performance is brought to you by Comcast and the new NFL Red Zone channel

Although I'm loathed to look back at last week's debacle at all, it's time we take a look at the Eagles' red zone performance. Like, everything they did last week it was pretty terrible. The Eagles reached the red zone just once in the ENTIRE game. Once!

The first play from inside the red zone was a 3rd and 3 from the Oakland 19. A quick 4 yard pass to Desean Jackson resulted in a first down at the 15. Then it went downhill... The Eagles were flagged for a 5 yard penalty the next play which backed them up to the Oakland 20, where McNabb was then sacked on the ensuing play. One incompletion later and David Akers kicked a 43 yard FG.

So one trip to the red zone resulted in 3 points. Dismal.

Quick story about the awesomeness of the NFL Redzone channel on Comcast.As you may know NFL Red Zone lets you follow all the red zone action on NFL Sunday as it happens. When a team gets inside the twenty, the network cuts to that game live.

So last weekend the national game in the Philly area was Vikings vs Ravens, a good game in it's own right. But no doubt, the game we all probably wanted watch was Giants vs Saints. Every time the score scrolled by it seemed like the Saints were scoring again. How awesome would have been to revel in the Giants misery as they scored on again and again and again... Well, anyone who had NFL Red Zone on Comcast did get that sweet schadenfreude. Every time the Saints got inside the Giants' twenty, Red Zone would cut to the game for inevitable Saints' TD.

Watching your rivals lose is almost as fun as watching your team win. Yet another reason why NFL Red Zone on comcast is cool...

Eagles lose to Raiders 13-9

JasonB — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:29:39 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

2 months ago: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, center, (5) is sacked by Oakland Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis, left, in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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It seems to happen every year. The Eagles lose a game they were supposed to win and it seems to happen in the same way. This loss was eerily reminiscent of last year's tie in Cincinnati. A road game against an inferior non-conference opponent where the offense was totally out of sorts, the QB was terrible, and injuries seemed to stack up.

Call it a trap game, blame it on a west coast trip, say they overlooked Oakland... Whatever the excuse... it was ugly.

The lines were bad, Donovan McNabb was bad, Andy Reid was bad, & David Akers didn't do his job. We'll break all that down after the jump. For now, we'll just say that this was a pretty embarrassing loss but it's the kind of loss we've seen them bounce back from before. With the Giants losing, they didn't lose any ground in the division and there's still plenty of time to turn this around. That said, when you turn in that kind of performance against one of the truly bad teams in the NFL it's hard to be confident in them doing that. We'll see on national TV next Monday night.

More after the jump.

Let's look at the major factors here.

The lines

The Eagles were absolutely worked on both sides of the line. The offensive was dreadful. An early injury that forced out Jason Peters gave way to King Dunlap getting absolutely abused for the better part of 3 quarters. Donovan McNabb was sacked 6 times and under a heavy rush all day. The worst seemed to come on the many third longs the Eagles were forced into. Max Jean Gilles was benched at one point in the game, but his replacement Stacey Andrews didn't appear to stop the bleeding. Everyone better cross their fingers that Peters can play next week and that Herremans can come back strong. That line out there today was ugly and will be be ugly if they're forced to trot it out again.

The defense generally did it's job and the play of the at unit combined with the play of Jamarcus Russell was probably the only things that kept us in the game... but the fact was that they really struggled to stop the run. The Raiders racked up 116 yards on the ground and continually went back to Justin Fargas off tackle when they really needed a play.

They were also bailed out by the poor play of Russell a few times. His second pick was an absolutely dreadful pass, he missed a wide open Louis Murphy on a play in the second half that very well may have resulted in a TD. He missed Zach Miller wide open a number of times... Had he been able to make a few decent throws and be smarter with the ball the Eagles likely could have been blown out today.

Andy Reid

48 called pass plays(incl 2 scrambles) and 12 called run plays(incl a -4 play to Vick). This was in a game that was within one score nearly the entire time. In a game where your QB was under siege thanks to a porous line and could barely hit an open WR when he did have time. What's worse, Brian Westbrook averaged over 8 yards a carry... Inexcusable.

Another thing I'm going to put on Andy Reid is the play of Jeremiah Trotter. I can't criticize Trotter for the way he played today. He gave everything he had and played the limits of his athleticism. He can't run any faster. He is who is... The fault is on Reid for putting him out there. I hate to say "I told you so" but when he was signed I said that I was afraid of exactly what happened today. The only TD of the game came on a play where Trotter was painfully too slow to catch up with a TE not known for his speed in Zach Miller. The quick dump to the back which sealed the game for Oakland came on a play we saw far too many times the last stint Trotter had here. Roll out the QB, isolate the back on Trotter and let him win a foot race to the first down marker. Trotter never had a shot. That's 100% on Reid.

Donovan McNabb

McNabb was out of sorts today. There's absolutely no denying that. Clearly, his offensive line did him no favors and he was getting hit quite a bit today... but the fact is that he missed open WRs and made poor throws all day. There was at least 3 plays where Maclin had a DB beat deep and McNabb overthrew him. If balls weren't sailing long they were being thrown in the dirt. It was the quintessential bad McNabb game. He has one or two of these every year. He's always been able to bounce back, but that doesn't make it ok. Even with everything that went wrong today, he could have salvaged this win by hitting a few open receivers.

David Akers

AKers was only 2 of 4 today. Missing two 40+ yard FGs that could have been the difference. The Eagles only lost by 4, so those 6 points would have won the game. He was terrible and unfortunately this isn't the first time his missed FGs have been the difference between a win and a loss.

The Linc - Can you help Randall Cunningham into the hall of fame?

JasonB — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:52:20 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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Van Heusen Fan's Choice- Home
The NFL and JCPenney are allowing fans to vote on the next members of the hall of fame. Former Eagle Randall Cunnigham is on the list of eligible candidates.

Inqlings: For Akers, a cause with a catch | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/04/2009
Eagles kicker David Akers can probably knock an extra point through the uprights blindfolded. As for the quality of his throwing arm, we'll find out Tuesday when Akers plays catch blindfolded with Voorhees Middle School students wearing simulation glasses to experience being visually impaired.

Fan-Demonium: The Best Of Jim Johnson - Philadelphia Eagles
Jim Johnson passed away this summer when the Eagles were in training camp and all kinds of different news items were happening each day. I wrote about Johnson at the time, but there was so much going on with the team that I didn't get a chance to write everything I wanted. Now that the bye week is here I want to take a final look back and talk about the most memorable games and matchups from Johnson's time as our defensive coordinator.

Books on sports big with local authors | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/02/2009
Folks from the Philadelphia area have long loved to talk sports. More than ever, they seem to be writing books about sports, too.

Eagles file suit against West A.C. radio station - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Life
The Philadelphia Eagles want to sack a radio station's practice of giving away tickets to the team's football games.

Tim Tebow would soar with the Philadelphia Eagles | Philly2Philly.com
Uhhhh....