SB Nation User Blog: number5

After the Mick Vick running TD, I saw the green guy (it's always sunny in philadelphia).

number5 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:40:04 -0000

After the Mick Vick running TD, I saw the green guy (it's always sunny in philadelphia).

Bust out your asprin....

number5 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:29:26 -0000

Good win against the Redskins. The Redskins did not look like a 3-7 team coming in to this game. What really urks me are two things. One, the Thrid Quarter WAS WASTED BY THE EAGLES OFFENSE. It was sad. Second, more injuries :(

DeSean Jackson

Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson suffered a concussion against Washington, the second offensive starter to get a serious head injury against the Redskins this season.

Jackson left the game after he was hit on a catch late in the third quarter. The Eagles originally said Jackson suffered head and neck injuries.

"It wasn't quite like that one where (Westbrook) was knocked out like that. We'll just have to see how he does here. We'll do the test on him and evaluate him."

Our best WR just has to get hurt. Hopefully he checks out a-ok but it is easy to foresee him missing a week of action. What is very conserning is that we only have 3 active WR's now: Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, and Reggie Brown....This would be a perfect tiem for the return of Kevin Curtis. Who knows, maybe Vick might be running a few slants and curls.

Brent Celek

Brent is one of our emerging weapons and I think our second best (DeSean first!). He is very good in the passing game and decent in the run. And I am happy we got him long term. But I was peeved at him last week. He dropped 3 first downs and basically killed the third quarter for our offense. If you have a sprained thumb, instead of being tough and playing thru but killing our offense. I would rather have Alex Smith be in and actually get us the first. I like him, but if he cannot perform, take yourself out instead of hurting us. Hopefully he's back soon catching TD's. (Also the penalty in the endzone peeved me off too.)

DT Brodrick Bunkley

Bunkley and Patterson are like our "Williams Wall of Minnesota." They give us a incredible inside presure. But late in the game Bunkley twisted his ankle. I am not sure how extensive it is but this is another major loss from a already frail defense.

Others already out

Akeem Jordan-knee

Brian Westbrook-head

Kevin Curtis-knee

If all these guys were out for next week against ATL, do you feel confident winning. I say yes b/c two of their best offensive players are out (Tuner, Ryan)

Eagles Off-Season Anaylsis

number5 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:22:49 -0000

The beginnign of this season took forever and it seems like it was week 3 last week. That being said I remember all the talk was our off season moves were going to help us get to our first Superbowl title. Well with the season halfway over we can begin asses the sucess of the off season.

FB Leonard Weaver

The signing of the talented Fullback gave many fans the sweet sweet dream of a slightly more balanced offense. An Eagles team free of the infamous "3rd/4th and short." Well...The FB has been explosive when majorly incorporated. But Andy barley gets him in. I think we should to the Westbrook screens and underneath stuff to him instead of McCoy and have Weaver run in goal line more. With what he has shown us , it can be easliy seen that he needs a new contract.

Grade: B/B+

G Stacy Andrews

"The Andrews Wall." More like "Winston Justice and who ever is healthy this week." This guy was supposed to solidify our O-Line and help be a major piece in becoming one of the best O-Lines in th NFL. Sadly we had only the best O-Line on paper. I think there is time to turn his fortunes around for himself (cant say for his sister number 73). But he needs to start wearing pads.

Grade: D

T Jason Peters

One of the bright spots on our new line, LT Jason Peters has been extraordinary and well worth the 1st round pick. He is one of our best linemen if not the best. Hard to find a guy of his calibur.

Grade: A

Micahel Vick

He has been more of an experiment. Last week I finally saw some production from him. I think we should use him regularly in 3rd and short. Like some more passes or seeing him as a receiver. Heck, maybe a running back in shot gun formation. There is a lot of optimism with him.

Grade: C/C+

Eldra Buckley

Not much to say. Hopefully can see some more of him w/ Westbrook out.

Grade: D

Jason Babin

Basicly the longshot during training camp b/c of the abundance of DE's. But this guy executed and is now in the starting roation at LE. He alrteady has 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Grade: B-

Overall, Andy did his research and it has paid off.

Poll

Was the off season a sucess?

Yes

87 votes

No

6 votes

93 votes | Poll has closed

Why the Eagles are post season worthy...

number5 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:43:56 -0000

This weekend and last weekend was a huge disappointment. The Eagles are in a slump right now, but things will change very soon.

Backups/Players have been emerging to help provide the Eagles with rhythm and some sort of stability

1. WR: Jason Avant

This guy is having a Miles Austin performance, coming out of nowhere and performing. Last week against the Chargers he had a career day w/ 8 grabs for 156 yards. That's averaging 19.5 yards per catch. In the last three games he has averaged 16.0 yards or more per grab. I see more reads to him from now on and surely against Bears weakened LB's and poor DB's.

2. WR: Jeremy Maclin

Very few Eagles fans saw Maclin getting the starting job this early. But with the Kevin Curtis on the sidelines, Maclin has stepped up to be a legitimate number two receiver. Vs Chargers he had 6 grabs for 76 yards and a late TD. With the disappearance of Jackson, the rookie is producing well and should continue to do so against the Bears.

3. S: Sean Jones

During the preseason many thought the talented safety would start at the beginning of the year. This guy was a leader of INT's for the past few years. Now, he is a reliable tackler and I feel comfortable with his coverage skills.

Honorable Mention: Jason Babin

Weapons that need to be utilized

1. RB/FB Leonard Weaver: Even before Westbrook's injury, we needed to share the load with him, he needs to be the 3rd/4th and short. And especially in the redzone. I see him getting at least one TD.

2. RB Eldra Buckley : With Westbrook's uncertainty, he needs to show us why we cut Lorenzo Booker.

Players faltering

1. WR Desean Jackson

I don't know if its double teams or not giving it to him deep or many times, but without Desean producing, it has been tough to constantly move down the field. In three of the four games he has scored a TD we have won. He need to get the deep balls.

2. HB LeSean McCoy/Brian Westbrook

Let me start of withWestbrook. I hope he doesn't retire, but I think with all the wear and tear of these 8 years it sounds like the plausible/smart thing to do. I don't knowmaybe if the concussion doesn't look to serious we could get him back right before the end of the season. The problem is for years and still now with all the new weapons. The Eagles offense is like a puzzle board. There are only two pieces, #5 and #36. Without one piece, it very difficult to win againstgood/great opponents. The key is right now is can LeSean McCoy be the fitting piece. He has been good, but on the ground not that impressive. Sometimes he tries to get 50 yards when the easy 3 is right in front of him, giving us the easy 1st. If he can hit the whole better I think he can be a much better back.

3. G Stacy Andrews

This is the only respectable Andrews left on the team. I still have faith in him, he is a little slow of the ball b/c of his knee. But we need holes for the running game badly.

Reinforcements

Two starters are expected to play against the Bears this weekend. LT Jason Peters and WLB Akeem Jordan. Jason has been huge for us in the passing game, but it also lets starting OL Todd Heremanns to return to LG, where he is needed. It is also reported by philadelphiaeagles.com that starting CB Sheldon Brown is questionable for this weeks game.

Andy Reid

I'll make this very brief. He has been very good for us for the past decade, getting us to the post season quiet often. I think he will stop going for field goals as often. I think he will incorporate more Weaver. I think he stop running in the Chargers game b/c Westbrook went down.

Schedule

I see the rest of the season playing out as so.

@ Chicago	Sun 11/22	8:20 PM EST W
Washington	Sun 11/29	1:00 PM EST W
@ Atlanta	Sun 12/06	1:00 PM EST L
@ New York Giants	Sun 12/13	8:20 PM EST W
San Francisco	Sun 12/20	1:00 PM EST W
Denver	Sun 12/27	1:00 PM EST W
@ Dallas	Sun 01/03	1:00 PM EST W

There 11-5 and wining the divison.

Week 7: Eagle vs Redskins

number5 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:48:45 -0000

It's time. The annual Eagles vs Redskins this Monday night. It is a crucial game for both teams. The Eagles need to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Raiders. While the Redskins need to save their season and their head coach, Jim Zorn. It's no doubt that the Redskins have had a poor season, playing six win less teams this season and losing to three. So here are some questions I have for you.

1. Who do you feel more comfortable with? Todd Collins or Jason Campbell vs Eagles?

2. What improvements do you have to make on both sides of the ball?

3. Which player do you guys NEED to shut-down?

4. Who will win?

Here are my answers from an Eagle's point of view for you guys.

1. While Jason Campbell has a tendency to turn it over, his athleticism is definitely needed against a quick blitzing Eagles defense.

2. We NEED TO RUN THE BALL. Show some balance of offense. Last week Westbrook: 6 attempts for 50 yards. On Defense, we need to cover the TE and properly tackle.

3. We need to shut down Chris Cooley, we cant let him have a monster game.

4. Eagles, srry but blow out.

Bonus Question:

How do you guys feel with Zorn not calling plays? And do you feel with reason "rumors" saying he might resign?

Thanks

Philip Rivers and Brian Dawkins

number5 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:54:42 -0000

(What the f@***! is Brian Dawkins and Brett Favre on !?!? They are like immortal and are playing in there prime!)

Wow he sucks! He did horrible...he was completely flat and it hindered his teams ability to comeback against the broncos. He DIDN"T LEAD A RECEIVER. He sucks they should have his backup Billy Volek who threw for 300 yards in two games! (ok maybe not...) It was definatley not this recievers dropping the ball on their last possesion or his O-Line giving up 5 sacks, oh no...it's because he just kills that team....

WHAT THE...

number5 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:02:26 -0000

9-13. As sad as this is, it's sadder to see some of our members act so childish. I'll try to analyze this game.

First, yeah the offense was stagnant but some arguments are that McNabb has returned to his inconsistency.

"Why are we still so in love with McNabb? I love him too....but ....his inconsitency is killing me, us (the fanbase) , us (the team). Yes I really think the Time for Kolb to be put in is here. We have plenty of young, fresh , TALENTED new weapons for Kolb to develop with. kolb has shown He CAN be an excellent QB, But if we dont let him get some steady consistent playing time ...hes gonna end up another Jason Campbell. A really talented QB who never got to develop to his full potential." - by northern eagle on Oct 18, 2009 4:32 PM PDT

"Hear me out on McNabb. He's always super inconsistent. Even in the championship game when he had 3 quarters of good play that 1st quarter of horrible play left a LOT of points on the board. Not to mention the other CG and SB that he played horribly in (3 or 4 turnovers in the SB). Oh, his inability to lead a WR on a simple slant, his over thrown balls, his balls thrown behind open WRs just boils my skin. Even when he did have time today WRs were getting open and he threw some of the worst balls I've ever seen. I'm sorry, he's not a GREAT Qb... Good, sure, great, no and I don't feel confident about him leading our offense, especially a WC one." - by Joe_D on Oct 18, 2009 4:39 PM PDT

The "haters" leave out a important stat. 6 sacks in today's game. Now I'm gonna throw out some numbers

Completions 21, Attempts

39,

% 53.8,

Yards 261,

Avg. 6.7,

TD's 1,

INT 0,

Sacks 6,

Sack Yards 39,

Rating 83.4

Now who would like Aaron Rodgers? Cannon arm, youth, lots of potential, and a top 15 QB. Guess what...those are his numbers against the Bengals. Probably one of the most raved QB's this off season. A lot of people were saying Tom Brady wasn't the same QB b/c of the pressure and fear of re injuring the leg. My point is you can't expect a QB to perform without help. Receivers droppedthe ball today when we need them to continue drives. Joe_D, if you want a QB that can scramble for his life, throw of his back foot and bullet it so that he can still lead his receiver (that not supposed to be a list, that is an action in order. I dunno it sounded like it could be a list) then you should follow Greg Lewis to the Vikes. Farve is the only guy that can do that period.

Second, yes we need to run the ball more but it isn't Andy's fault.

" AM PHYSICALLY SICK OF THIS IDIOT RUNNING MY TEAM HOW MUCH EVIDENCE DO WE NEED ...ENOUGH.... WHEN TAMPA REALIZED DUNGY COULDN`T GET IT DONE THEY BROUGHT IN A SMART NASTY MF THAT KNEW HOW TO WILL A GOOD TEAM TO VICTORY THE PIECES ARE IN PLACE IT`S TIME FOR HIM TO GO NOW! GRUDEN IS STILL OUT THERE I GUARANTEE YOU HE WON`T GIVE US GAMES LIKE THIS .LURIE PLEASE I`M BEGGING YOU GET RID OF HIM TODAY PROVED THAT HE IS NOT GOING TO GET IT DONE ,HOW CAN U LOSE TO THE WORST TEAM IN FOOTBALL AN AL DAVIS TEAM IN A GAME WHERE UR QB CALLS TO AND U DON`T HAVE ANY DID YOU HEAR THE UPROAR OF LAUGHTER AROUND THE LEAGUE ON THAT ONE GET RID OF THAT FAT F++K!!!"- hiimcarlg on Oct 18, 2009 7:38 PM PDT

"As long as the fat man stubbornly continues his over-reliance on this vertical variant of the west coast offense, ignoring all reason and refusing to take what the defense gives us from time to time, we will never have an offense that can consistently come through in the clutch." - Eagles need to run on Oct 18, 2009 9:00 PM PDT

Shut up, Dungy built that Bucs team and Dungy won a superbowl with a Colts that are still successful today. Where is Gruden? In the booth commentating. Also, yes he runs the ball to rarely, but shut up. If you look at the way our team is built, we are built to throw. Plus McCoy has had a fumble problem recently. I love McCoy but I can't risk giving him more chances to fumble every game. No hommo. We just need to give Westbrook and Weaver more plays.

But they were also right on some points

1. O-Line was crap (I think we jinxed ourselfs, the projected starters of that group haven't been together)

2. The LB's covering TE's and backs (FB and RB)

3. Time-out ussage

Last thing...Is Stacy Andrews injured? If so how long b/c I think we need to stop this rotation thing b/c it will give our O-Line some stabliltiy and also we paid him big money to start and I feel comfortable with him. Max and Cole blew it.

Congrats Kolb!

number5 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:54:15 -0000

A lot of Eagles fans hate this dude, some on this blog love him still. So riddle me this. Isn't being a pro about making big plays on short notice? Or what about being called on in difficult situations? Johnny Unitas played off the bench in Superbowl III for Earl Morrall and won. Sure he would be better if he practiced a full week with the starters. I bet that would have helped out the other two Panther quarterbacks. But that's when as a back up you should be paying attention to everything the starters do so when something like this happens, you won't drag down your team. Honestly, I see him as a bust, and I think the Eagles signed Vick to add something now and after McNabb. That's right I'm saying Vick is our guy after McNabb retires. But Kolb has another opportunity to prove the haters wrong. Seriously, I WANT TO BE WRONG. We'll see how effective Kolb is against a poor defense.

Congrats Kolb, you have proved the haters wrong. Yeah that was the last words I had on the subject from "Oh, when the Saints,come marchin' in." In fact after the Saints game I was going to rant on Kolb again, but he didn't do a bad job except for the inablitly to keep a drive going in the second half of the Saints game. So I gave him a oppurtiny before I made a fool out of myself calling him a bust after a impressive Cheifs game and two consecutive 300+ passing yards, which is a NFL first. So good job Kolb, I feel much better with the future of the team in your hands. But, I would still like if he could improved accuracy. It was still kinda poor, but hey, it was your second start and the only way you work on that is in the game.

Poll

Do you like Kolb to be "the guy" after McNabb? (That will be a sad day.)

Yes

90 votes

No

12 votes

102 votes | Poll has closed

Let's Not Be Picky Now...

number5 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:55:46 -0000

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Eagles worked out free agent Jeremiah Trotter on Thursday.

Right now this a good sign to improving the LB's. He was probably one of our best defensive players in this decade. Yeah we cut him two years because he was on the down side of his career. And he played reserve for the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. But hold on now. Before the end of the 08 season. The Bucs had a very good defense with talented LB's. Derrick Brooks, who Tampa Bay let go this season because he was on the downside of his career. We shouldn't complain about the Eagles working him out and signing him (maybe).

First, he's only 32, he can still (slightly) improve his fitness. There are guys older than him that still have impacts. Second, the average career in the NFL is 3.5 years. Anyone who lasts longer has accomplished a feet that wasn't a high draft pick. They have to be decent to play 10 years, which is how long he has played. Third, he has always been a play-maker in this defense. From 2001-06, just with the Eagles, he has had 415 tackles. Each one of those seasons he had over 100 tackles. From '98 he has had 11 sacks just with the Eagles, may not be that impressive. 6 FF and 9 INT's plus 2 TD's of turnovers. He is a beast. Fourth, our current LB's....

Chris Gocong (left), Omar Gaither (middle), and Akeem Jordan (right). This group is the worst on our Defense and probably we have had in while. Chis Gocong or Omar Gaither can't play the run, and Akeem Jordan is very inconsistent. In two games, Chirs Gocong- 5 tackles, 5 solo, 0.0 sacks, and 1 PDef. Sad. Omar Gaither- 9 tackles, 7 solo, 7 assists, 0.5 sacks, 0PDef. Akeem Jordan- 14 tackles, 12 solo, 2 assists, 1.0 sacks, 2 INT. Good, but the game play isn't as good as it sounds. 07 Trotter played 3 games and only started, 13 tackles, 9 solo, 4 assists, 0.0 sacks, 2PDef. A little less than Jordan, but Jordan started 2 games. Trotter can definitely contribute.

But I will agree, he is not the same "Axe". And he doesn't have to be. But he can have an impact like Denver is receiving from Brian Dawkins, leadership and tackles up the wazoo. Yeah he isnt very agile, but he can be situational. He can be on for 1-2 downs and put Gaither back on 3rd for coverage. We can be picky judging with what we already have, he is probably one of the greatest* Eagles ever.

*= he had a short but impact full career with the Eagles (Brian Dawkins is the greatest)

Discuss

Poll

With what we have currently, who you like the addition of the "Axe"?

Yes

78 votes

No

32 votes

110 votes | Poll has closed

Oh, when the Saints, come marchin' in

number5 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:32:22 -0000

The Eagles looked very impressive this first game, against a team that made it to the playoffs. We should be very content with the win except for the outcome for our franchise QB Donovan McNabb. So here's some key matchups for week 2, and this is the scenario if McNabb DOESN'T play. Enjoy!

Matchup 1

Kevin Kolb vs Saints Defense

A lot of Eagles fans hate this dude, some on this blog love him still. So riddle me this. Isn't being a pro about making big plays on short notice? Or what about being called on in difficult situations? Johnny Unitas played off the bench in Superbowl III for Earl Morrall and won. Sure he would be better if he practiced a full week with the starters. I bet that would have helped out the other two Panther quarterbacks. But that's when as a back up you should be paying attention to everything the starters do so when something like this happens, you won't drag down your team. Honestly, I see him as a bust, and I think the Eagles signed Vick to add something now and after McNabb. That's right I'm saying Vick is our guy after McNabb retires. But Kolb has another opportunity to prove the haters wrong. Seriously, I WANT TO BE WRONG. We'll see how effective Kolb is against a poor defense.

Matchup 2

Brian Westbrookvs Saints Defense (LB's and DL)

And Reid wont admit he feels unconformable with Kolb. But I think he acknowledges that he may need to run a different style of attack for this week against the Saints. I am predicting and saying the smartest way to win this game is to let Brian Westbrook attempt to run for 30 times or more. Yeah Andy might not like it but Kolb doesn't have the same vertical game as McNabb and we can win like the Vikings did against the Browns. Let the running backs carry the load and let Kolb make the 3rd and 5's passes. Brian Westbrook can pull record breaking performance against this poor defense.

Matchup 3

Reggie Bush vs Eagles Defense and Special Teams

Reggie isnt the normal up their middle running back. Thats why he's good and why also he isn't starting. Every play he is a potential threat. We need to purse to the football every play otherwise he's gonna break it deep. I'm watching Sheldon Brownthis game (hehehe).

Matchup 4

Drew Breesvs Secondary and Pass Rush

Yead it was the Lions, but he threw 6 TD's (and 1 INT). It was the first time a QB threw 6 TD's in week 1. He should have split the MVP title last year and broke Dan Marino's record. This year he'll be on a vengeance. It will be more important the DB's can hold against this machine than Kolb scoring. Hopefully we can hold our own.

EXTRA: FANTASY STARTS AND SITS

START'EM

Drew Brees- He'll rack up the stats, hopefully not the win.

Eagles D- They got me 23 points last game, (yahoo) they will get some turnovers to help out the offense.

Brian Westbrook- The D will get worked, he got me 12 points last week aganist a ok Defense. Plus I see a ground game this week to replace the production of a pass attack.

SIT'EM

Reggie Bush- If the Eagles can stop Deangleo Williams, then they can stop this guy

ANY EAGLES WR's- If Donovan doesn't play, I see less TD's plus more of a ground game without McNabb