 Defense, Defense, Defense (And A Punter)
The headline was the Eagles' formula for success today in a gutsy 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early in the 4th quarter Andy Reid came to the realization that as long as the Eagles offense didn't make a mistake, there was no way the defense would give up this game. They called plays accordingly. Usually, I hate this tactic. Today, it was the absolute right call. The offense was severely banged up and honestly, the Eagles all the points they could need. The strategy worked so well, in fact, that the defense was able to tack another five points on. Two came on a safety and the other three were set up Weapon X. On Roethlisberger's final play of the day, the Eagles blitzed and got immediate pressure on him. He shrugged off the first guy to get there, then Dawkins took flight, literally, in mid-air he swatted the ball out of Roethlisberger's hand, then landed on the ball to set up the final field goal. It was Dawk's second huge play of the quarter, the other coming on a stuffed run inside the five. The Eagles pass rush was relentless and they stymied the run. Actually, that last part is an understatement. The Steelers managed 33 yards on 19 carries. I'm not sure they've invented a word to describe that level of dominance yet. Sav Rocca came up with three huge punts which helped the defense immensely. With the Eagles pinned to their own goal line, he unleashed a 64-yarder which completely flipped the field-position battle. He followed that punt up with 2 more punts pinning the Steelers inside the 10. It wasn't all roses today. Tony Hunt went down early. Then the worst-case scenario happened, Brian Westbrook left with an injury. To add insult to injury, McNabb was late coming out of the locker room after the half and Kevin Kolb started under center. Luckily, McNabb wasn't out long. CBS did an atrocious job with this game. Phils Simms is a complete moron. After Westbrook went out in the first quarter they failed to give an update until the Eagles got the ball back in the third quarter. No mention of the injury on the halftime show either. I still don't really know what happened to him or how serious it is. Cross your fingers until we get official word. 2-1 at this point of the season isn't too shabby. More on this one tomorrow. Offensive Player of The Game: Hank Baskett, 8 catches, 85 yards Defensive Player of The Game: Dawkshow Special Teams Player of The Game: Sav Team Record: 2-1
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How in the world did that Dallas team score 41 points against this defense?!
The whole Defense really stepped up!!!!!Broderick Bunkley and Trent Coles were absolute beasts and PUNISHED Big Ben. B Dawk shut up critics claiming he lost a step. It concerned me that we didn't put more points on the board and thus let Pittsburgh hang around and I agree with you... I hate the strategy of playing to hold, even though it worked. It's nervewracking for fans!!!!!
Max Jean-Gilles deserves a mention for playing better than expected in place of Shawn Andrews. He doesn't have the athleticism and quickness of Andrews, but he did well. Jamaal Jackson also played well after missing the week's practice following the tragic death of his brother to a drunk driver. The O-line held up well vs. the 3-4, which used to give them fits.
This was a costly win, however. What was McNabb's injury, a chest injury or a shoulder? Idiot Simms thought it was his chest. All I heard on Westbrook was an ankle injury, did you hear anything else? And what about Hunt?
Agree also that Phil Simms is a complete moron... even worse than Joe Buck, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornball, and that's really saying something.
What a huge win, especially when you consider the injuries and the circumstances. Simms is a complete idiot. He says things so matter-of-fact that you sort of believe him, then he apologizes a minute later when it turns out he has no grasp of the rules. Idiot.
I still haven't heard anything about any of the injuries, hopefully we'll get good news in the morning. In the mean time, I picked up Buckhalter for my fantasy team.