A group of Eagles bloggers decided the mid-point of this season, no matter how disappointing it's been, would be a good time to reflect on the team as a whole, and hand out some grades. I believe I'm the first to take the plunge, so check back in the coming days for links to the other blogs.
We'll go position by position:
QB - Donovan McNabb
Stats - 172 completions, 287 attempts, 59.9%, 9 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 2044 yards.
Behind the Numbers - I'd say McNabb has probably had the least impressive first half for a QB who's on pace to throw for 4,000 yards in the history of the league. He's only put the entire package together for one game, Detroit. His final line was good in a couple of other games, but the final line hasn't told the story. McNabb's accuracy has killed this team. He used to be able to make up for missed opportunities (bounced passes) by making something out of nothing with his legs. The legs aren't there anymore. Dropped passes haven't helped, but stripped of his amazing athleticism he's an easy target in the pocket, couple that with the aforementioned inaccuracy and you just don't have a franchise quarterback. Not any more.
Grade -
C (Only because I can't name 16 QBs who have played better than him. He's average.)
RB - Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Tony Hunt, Thomas Tapeh
Stats- Westbrook - 126 attempts, 601 yards, 6 TDs, 4.8 AVG. 49 catches, 435 yards, 2 TDs, 8.9 AVG.
- Buckhalter - 40 attempts, 193 yards, 1 TD, 4.8 AVG. 10 catches, 77 yards, 7.7 AVG.
- Hunt - 9 attempts, 14 yards, 1 TD, 1.6 AVG.
- Tapeh - 4 attempts, 18 yards, 4.5 AVG. 4 catches, 25 yards, 6.3 AVG.
Behind the Numbers - Forget about the other guys, Westbrook is really the only guy we need to talk about here. He's been, by far, the best Eagle for the past three seasons. This year, he's made the divide laughable. I truly feel sorry for him, because he's going to be the one that suffers the most from this dismal season. Take last week's disgusting loss to the Cowboys, Westbrook had 16 carries for 65 yards, and 14 catches for 90. 30 touches. We've all been screaming for Andy to get Westbrook more touches for as long as I can remember, but to do that to the guy in a game that was a blowout in the second quarter is just a disgrace. The Eagles entire offense in the second half was dumping the ball off to Westbrook and letting him kill himself for extra yards against a defense that was lying in wait. Reid should be ashamed of himself. Westbrook should be an All Pro, and probably have a statue somewhere in the near the Liberty Bell by the time all is said and done.
Grade -
A+WR/TE - Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, L.J. Smith, Brent Celek, Matt Schobel
Stats
- Curtis - 37 catches, 633 yards, 4 TDs, 17.1 AVG
- Brown - 27 catches, 374 yards, 2 TDs, 13.9 AVG
- Avant - 12 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD, 12.1 AVG
- Baskett - 8 catches, 83 yards, 1 TD, 10.4 AVG
- Greg Lewis - 3 catches, 65 yards, 21.7 AVG
- L.J. Smith - 7 catches, 68 yards, 9.7 AVG
- Schobel - 7 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD, 9.9 AVG
- Celek - 7 catches, 59 yards, 8.4 AVG
Behind the Numbers - This group is by far the most disappointing on the team. Curtis tallied most of his production in the Detroit game, Reggie Brown has come on as of late, but was invisible for the first 5 or 6 games. No one else has even come close to making any kind of an impact. I never thought I'd say this, but James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, FredEx and Torrance Small provided more playmaking at the WR position than this group. L.J. Smith's injury has kept him out and the backups absolutely did not make up for his missed production. The receivers can't get off the line, can't find holes in coverage and drop too many passes. That's a pretty awful combination, combine it with a QB who bounces one in five passes and, well, you've got a 3-5 team.
Grade - F
O-Line - William Thomas, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Shawn Andrews, Jon Runyan, Winston Justice
Stats - 30 sacks allowed for 153 yards (3.7 per game). 906 yards rushing on 180 attempts (not including QB scrambles), 4.7 average.
Behind the Numbers - As a group, you can hang one loss on the offensive line (Giants), but William Thomas was out and Winston Justice was left on an island and regularly abused. If you take those 12 sacks out of the equation, the o-line has done an excellent job of protecting a barely-mobile McNabb. They've also done a fine job of opening up holes for the running game. I think this group's performance is suffering from average QB play, poor WR play, and questionable play calling. They remain a strength of the team.
Grade - B+D-Line - Trent Cole, Jevon Kearse, Broderick Bunkley, Mike Patterson, Juqua Thomas, Darren Howard, Victor Abiamiri, Montae Reagor
Stats - Trent Cole - 42 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles.
- Jevon Kearse - 11 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss.
- Broderick Bunkley - 16 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss.
- Mike Patterson - 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss.
- Juqua Thomas - 12 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble.
- Darren Howad - 2 tackles.
- Victor Abiamiri - 1 tackle
- Montae Reagor - 2 tackles, 1 sack.
Behind the Numbers - This group was the one that worried me most coming into the season. I didn't think the Birds did enough up front to stop the run. I couldn't have been more wrong. Trent Cole, Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson have really anchored this line, and honestly the entire defense. Cole is a tenacious pass rusher, and he's holding his own against the run as well. Mid-way through the season, Cole deserves a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. He's been that good.
Grade - ALBs - Omar Gaither, Takeo Spikes, Chris Gocong, Stewart Bradley
Stats- Gaither - 49 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception
- Spikes - 45 tackles
- Gocong - 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss
- Bradley - 5 tackles
Behind the Numbers - The Eagles made the most drastic changes to this position in the offseason. The last-minute replacement of Trotter with Gaither was shocking (to me at least), but has really paid dividends. Gaither is all over the field, and he's an every-down backer who handles all of the defensive play calling. Takeo Spikes has brought some toughness to the group, and Gocong has played well. The only problem I have with this group is their lack of big plays. They haven't accounted for one sack at the mid-point of the season, haven't forced one fumble, and have only intercepted 1 pass. They do a great job against the run, but the lack of momentum-changing plays hinders their grade.
Grade - B
DBs - Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Brian Dawkins, Sean Considine, William James, Quintin Mikkel, Joselio Hanson, J.R. Reed
Stats- Brown - 35 tackles, 2 interceptions, 9 PDs
- Sheppard - 16 tackles, 1 interception, 2 PDs
- Dawkins - 9 tackles, 2 PDs
- Considine - 36 tackles, 1 interception, 3 PDs
- James - 27 tackles, 1 interception, 3 PDs
- Mikkel - 44 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PDs
- Hanson - 25 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD
- J.R. Reed - 6 tackles
Behind the Numbers - With the exception of last week's game vs. Dallas, and one drive in the Chicago game, this unit has been solid. Solid, not great for one reason. They aren't causing turnovers. In fact, that's a recurring theme with this defense. 5 interceptions through 8 games is not enough, especially with the talent the Eagles have in the defensive backfield. Injuries to Lito and Weapon X have definitely contributed to this problem. Considine is done for the year, so we're going to get a good look at Mikkel a strong safety.
Grade - B-Special Teams - David Akers, Sav Rocca, Reno Mahe, Correll Buckhalter, J.R. Reed
Stats- Akers - 17/21 FGs, 15/15 XPAs
- Rocca - 36 punts, 42 yd AVG, 38.3 net AVG, 10 inside the 20, 3 touchbacks
- Buckhalter - 27 kick returns, 559 yards, 20.7 AVG
- Reed - 7 kick returns, 164 yards, 23.4 AVG, 2 punt returns, 8 yards, 4 yd AVG, 1 fumble.
- Reno Mahe - 15 punt returns, 155 yards, 10.3 AVG
Behind the Numbers - Rocca and Akers are going to take a hit here. Akers is horrible in the Meadowlands, but he's been perfect elsewhere. Rocca has boomed a couple, and showed a nice touch on punts inside the 20. None of that matters for this group. The punt returners cost the Eagels a game. When you lose because of your special teams, that unit has failed.
Grade - FOverall Grades
Offense - D+
Defense - B-
Coaching Staff - D
Team - D+
A group of Eagles bloggers decided the mid-point of this season, no matter how disappointing it's been, would be a good time to reflect on the team as a whole, and hand out some grades. I believe I'm the first to take the plunge, so check back in the coming days for links to the other blogs.
Does Reed still have a roster spot on this team? I don't recall seeing him last week.
Agreed that the most disappointing group is the WR/TE, but the QB has to be able to get the ball into their hands, too. McNabb is just ineffective. I'm not one of those folks calling for Kolb, but from what I've seen, McNabb will never be a Superbowl caliber QB after his injury. I wonder if he would do better in Chicago playing in his hometown, as Philly sure isn't showing him the brotherly love. But he isn't to blame for dropped passes and failing to shake defenders. I was really hoping Celek would get more of a chance and show up something. Lewis is just a wasted roster spot.
On the TE question, if you are Eagle brass, do you sign LJ Smith? (I don't think they will).
I'm proud of the D Line and the O Line. McNabb's troubles, for the most part, is not due to poor protection. And the Linebacking corps was my biggest concern before Game one, but they've held their own. As you said, no big plays, but solid.
But this team just lacks punch and explosiveness, aside from Westbrook. Take out the Detroit game and you are left with a really flat team. Andy just doesn't seem to have it in him to motivate them. I live in Montgomery county where his adult sons were sentenced... maybe the judge is right. Maybe he should be spending more time watching his kids. He can't seem to motivate the kids that play for him on Sunday. This team just looks.....
DISTRACTED.
I'd agree with you about the linebackers except that on Monday one Steelers player had more production in terms of sacks, forced fumbles and interceptions than the entire Eagles corp has through eight games. They've not been as bad as we thought. But they certainly don't make plays.
JJ,
L.J. Smith hasn't proved he can stay healthy. I don't think there's anyway the Eagles give him a long-term deal with the type of signing bonus he's looking for at this point. The question is whether they'll have to do that to keep him. I'm not sure what the market will be for him, especially if he doesn't perform the rest of the season.
Reid's off-the-field problems may just be leaking onto the field. It's hard to quantify the effect of a distracted head coach, but they sure don't look ready or motivated out there.
Boss,
I think my grade of the LBs was probably skewed by the group I'm comparing them to (last year's team). I really like Gaither, but you're absolutely right, they need to make some game-changing plays. That can be said for pretty much the entire defense. They never force turnovers.
Are the receivers this bad or is McNabb just not hitting them? If it's McNabb, will he get more accurate has his knee heals? (If not, then it's time to panic because we're reaching the end of the McNabb era).
I think Curtis and Brown would be fine if there was a real speedster (like say, Donte Stallworth) to stretch the coverage. It worries me how Reggie Brown seemed to better w/Garcia...I don't buy that he's got a "feud" w/McNabb (a rumor on the message boards), but is Donovan locking onto 1 guy too much? (TO, Stallworth, Curtis?)
I'm depressed, too.
McNabb's always had a tendency to bounce passes, the difference between then and now is that he doesn't do the other things (escape from the pocket to buy time, scramble and keep defenses honest) that even things out.
Curtis and Brown seem to legitimately have problems getting off the line, and the deep ball has pretty much disappeared from the playbook this season.
There's just so many things going wrong right now. It's hard to point just one finger.