Eagles lock up LeSean McCoy for 5 more years

The Eagles have once again made it clear: if you are young and you perform, you are going to get paid.  LeSean McCoy got rich today, signing a 5 year, 45 million dollar contract that will keep him with the Eagles through 2017.  The deal includes 20.765 million dollars in guaranteed money and makes Shady one of the highest paid running backs in the league.

Given that McCoy could possibly be the best running back in the NFL, locking him up was a priority.  Though he still had another year on his rookie contract, the Eagles rewarded him for a strong 2011 season and have guaranteed that he won't hit the open market for several more years.

Despite the lofty figures in the contract, it's hard to complain about this deal.  The Eagles have plenty of cap space and they are giving a lot of money to an elite player that is still getting better.  Barring an injury, McCoy should more than earn his paycheck.

Eagles playoff hopes remain alive after downing Jets

Playoffs?  Playoffs??  Apparently the Eagles aren't ready to go away just yet this season, notching a solid win over the Jets, 45-19, to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.  Here are a few thoughts on the surprisingly solid win:

-The defense has turned from embarrassing to dominating in the last few weeks.  While the Jets offense isn't exactly lethal, the Birds defense swarmed Mark Sanchez all game long and created havoc in the form of 4 sacks, 2 fumbles, including one returned for a touchdown, and two interceptions.  Jason Babin led the charge, picking up 3 more sacks (giving him 18 on the year) as he abused Sanchez every chance he got.  While Juan Castillo does deserve some credit for turning things around, this is how this defense should have been playing from Week 1.

-Turnovers were the only reason the Jets even had a chance of making the game close.  The Eagles are still too careless with the ball and still prone to make boneheaded plays, especially on special teams.  Michael Vick was careful with ball, only throwing one interception on a desperation heave at the end of the first half.

-Speaking of Vick, he wasn't slowed by injuries at all this week, dancing around the pocket as he found open receivers all over the field.  While he still isn't sliding when he scrambles, Vick seemed much more mobile and much more like the quarterback that took the league by storm last season.

-Brent Celek has really turned his career around this season and now leads the Eagles in receptions.  He has overcome his case of the dropsies to become a reliable receiver and is no longer a complete afterthought in the Eagles offense.

-Congratulations to LeSean McCoy for setting the club record for touchdowns in a season.  He has proven time and again that he is the Eagles best offensive weapon and good things happen when he is fed the ball.

-Andy Reid won yet another challenge this week.  Say what you will about his coaching job this season, he has been killing it on challenges this season.

-With the Giants losing to the Redskins, the Eagles are still somehow alive for the NFC East division title.  All that has to happen is the Eagles have to win out, the Jets have to beat the Giants in Week 16 and the Giants have to beat the Cowboys in Week 17.  Doesn't seem too far-fetched but doesn't seem all that likely, either.  With the way the Eagles have been playing better the last few weeks, I don't think anyone in the NFC would want to play them in the playoffs.  At the very least, it will make for a fun last few weeks in a season that appeared a total loss.  Bring on the Cowboys next week!

Stick a fork in 'em: Eagles embarrassed by Patriots

What started off promising quickly turned ugly as the Eagles blew an early 10-0 lead and got blown out by the Patriots, 38-20.  Here are a few of my thoughts on yet another poorly played game by the Eagles:

-The Patriots have a world-class offense but the Eagles defense was nothing short of terrible today.  From botched coverage to bad play-calls to undisciplined penalties, the defense wasn't even close to slowing down the Patriots attack.  It all starts with Juan Castillo, who somehow forget to come up with a game plan to stop Wes Welker, or any other Pats receiver for that matter.  Castillo is in over his head and completely overmatched by opposing offensive minds and needs to be fired ASAP.  Who would have thought that an offensive line coach wouldn't make a good coordinator?

-On that note, it's beyond clear that Castillo never should have been moved to the defensive coordinator spot.  The man responsible for that hiring has to be held accountable, as well, so it's finally time for Andy Reid to go.  Reid might yet be a great coach again but this team needs a fresh voice in the locker room.  They also need someone who will make a better play call on a 4th and 1 at the goal line.

-DeSean Jackson played yet another terrible game, dropping at least two touchdowns and failing to make big plays in big spots.  Jackson has cost himself millions of dollars with his terrible play and has basically played his way out of town.  He simply doesn't do enough on the field to be worth the headache.

-Vince Young was actually pretty respectable, throwing 400 yards as the Eagles went into catch-up mode in the second half.  He did have a few bad throws and an interception but Young filled in admirably for Michael Vick.  There is definitely no quarterback controversy, however, as this is Vick's team when he is healthy.

-Only 14 touches for LeSean McCoy?  Come on, Andy!

-The season is now over for the Birds.  No miracle Wild Card birth.  No miracle playoff run.  It's time to face reality, this team needs to hit the reset button.

No 4th quarter collapse this time: Eagles knock off Giants

The Eagles unpredictable season continues.  Without Michael Vick at the helm, the Eagles went into the Meadowlands and knocked off the Giants, 17-10, and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the game:

-Vince Young was pretty much what we thought he would be tonight.  He wasn't terribly accurate, wasn't always in sync with his receivers and showed very little arm strength.  None of that mattered, though, as Young showed quite a bit of poise in the pocket and made the right decisions and the correct throws when it mattered the most.  He looked most impressive on the 18 play, 80 yard game-winning drive as he made several 3rd down conversions look easy.  While there certainly won't be a quarterback controversy when Michael Vick gets healthy, Young showed that 4th quarter poise he has been famous for his entire career.

-The defense finally made a big stop with the game on the line.  After the Eagles took the lead late in the 4th, everything looked set up for a back-breaking Eli Manning-led touchdown drive.  The defense made the big play, however, as Jason Babin strip-sacked Manning and the Eagles sealed their victory.  It's going to take a lot more than one good defensive performance to make me believe in Juan Castillo but allowing the Giants to only score 10 points is quite an accomplishment.

-What are the Eagles going to do with DeSean Jackson?  He went from a huge goat for his taunting to a hero for his big punt return.  The Eagles have quite a decision to make about Jackson when it comes to his contract.  Do you pay him and live with the boneheaded mistakes knowing that you will still get the home run plays?  My answer to this question literally changes from play to play.

-LeSean McCoy got 26 touches but didn't bust out until a 60 yard game-icing run late in the 4th.  He's still the Eagles best offensive weapon and kept the Giants defense honest throughout the game.

-Why can't anyone on the Eagles cover Victor Cruz?  Seriously, come on, Nnamdi.

-The Eagles have almost no chance of making the playoffs (they would basically have to run the table), but at least this win allowed us to keep dreaming about that possibility.  With the Patriots on tap next week, it will at least be fun to see the Eagles play spoiler against teams ahead of them in the standings.  If the defense plays like they did tonight, perhaps they can pull off a miracle...

Eagles falter once again, slip out of division picture

You can forget about all of that NFC East title talk, Birds fans.  The Eagles flaws all came to the forefront once again at they lost to the Bears, 30-24, and fell three games behind the Giants in the division.  Here are my thoughts on another tough loss for the Eagles:

-This game erased nearly all of the good feelings from the Cowboys win.  Bad turnovers, poor defense, dumb penalties and a ton of head-scratching plays.  The way their final drive ended, with Maclin falling down when he appeared to have a first down in his sights, completely sums up the Eagles season.  Despite all of the talent on the roster, they just aren't good enough to overcome their many, many mistakes.

-ZERO sacks by the Eagles vaunted pass rush?  ZERO?  Jay Cutler had all night to find open receivers thanks to the Eagles inability to put any pressure on him.  It's tough to win games when you can't pressure the quarterback and can't stop the run.

-Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is terrible.  When the Eagles acquired him from the Cardinals, I knew he had flaws but DRC hasn't added anything to the Eagles secondary.  He can't cover anyone, he can't tackle and he never looks like he knows what he's doing.  I'd just assume he take a few weeks off and figure this thing out.  Thank goodness the Eagles also got a second rounder from Arizona for Kevin Kolb.

-Speaking of the Eagles secondary, they sure did a great job making Earl Bennett, who hadn't played since Week 2, look like a Pro Bowler.  Much of the blame goes to DRC but Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha also had their chances and couldn't slow him down.  Bennett is apparently an Eagles killer as he had two TD's against them last season.

-The one positive on the night was the continuing dominance by LeSean McCoy, who continues to make things happen with the ball in his hand.  It's too bad the rest of the Eagles are wasting his talents.

-Besides the worst punt return I've ever seen and one nice catch along the sidelines, DeSean Jackson was completely invisible tonight.   You have to wonder how much money he has left on the table with his mediocre play this season.

-Asante Samuel had a lacerated groin in the first half.  It hurts just typing that.

Eagles embarrass Cowboys on Sunday Night

There is nothing like the Eagles crushing the Cowboys, especially when it is on national television for all the country to see.  The Eagles basically played a perfect game in downing Dallas, 34-7, and are now 3-4 and find themselves right back in the thick of the division.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

-LeSean McCoy was clearly the best player on the field.  McCoy juked, jived and motored all over the Dallas defense, rushing for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.  McCoy seems to be getting better an better every week and is turning the Eagles into a run-first team, quite an accomplishment with Andy Reid at the helm.  I'm not sure there is a better running back in the NFL.  To think, this is just his third year in the league and he could get even better.

-Michael Vick played a nearly flawless game, completing 21 of 28 passes for two touchdowns while rushing for 50 yards.  While he nearly had a fumble in the third quarter, Vick didn't turn the ball over and didn't make a bad pass all game long.  When Vick has plenty of time and makes quick decisions to either throw the ball or tuck it and run, he is at his most dangerous.  This was probably his best game since the Monday Night massacre against the Redskins.

-The Eagles first 6 possessions all ended with a score touchdown or a field goal.  Zero punts until the 4th quarter.  Remarkable.

-Take out the long touchdown by the Cowboys in the 4th quarter and the Eagles defense also played a nearly flawless game.  A lot was made of how the Wide 9 wasn't working but the adjustments Juan Castillo and the defense made all seemed to work perfectly.  While DeMarco Murray did have success on the ground, any time Tony Romo dropped back to pass, Trent Cole and Jason Babin were both bearing down on him.  Combine a potent pass-rush with great coverage and you have an unbeatable combination.

-Dez Bryant and Miles Austin combined for just six catches, with most of them coming in garbage time.  Much of the credit goes to the Eagles pass rush not giving Romo enough time but the All-Star secondary certainly played up to expectations.

-Andy Reid had TWO correct challenges in the game.  Has that ever happened before?

-Speaking of Reid, his perfect record after a bye continues.  With all the negatives against the Reid, give this man time to prepare and he makes the necessary adjustments to get his troops ready.

Your Eagles are now tied for second place in the NFC East with a 3-4 record.  With the Giants facing a brutal November schedule, the division race is far from over.  Bring on the Bears!
(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Eagles get back in the win column against the Skins

That was much more of what we expected from the Eagles.  Just like they did against the Niners, the Eagles had a 20-3 lead at halftime and allowed their opponent to crawl back; this time, however, they didn't let their inferior opponent come all the way back as they held on to win, 20-13.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

-That is the defense we thought the Eagles had.  They made strong tackles, forced turnovers, stopped the run, shut down the Redskins wide receivers and put pressure on the Redskins QB's throughout the game.  Sure, they were still unable to cover the tight end but you can't expect them to fix everything in one week.  While the Redskins offense isn't exactly a juggernaut, holding your opponent to just 13 points is an impressive feat in the NFL.

-The Eagles safeties came to play today.  While the safety position has been a revolving door of mediocrity for the Eagles this season, Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen both had big games for the Birds.  Coleman especially had a career day, picking off Rex Grossman three times.  If the Eagles can get play like this from their safeties, their defense will continue to shine.

-I've been calling for it every week and the Eagles finally listened: LeSean McCoy got a boatload of touches (28 carries and 2 catches) and proved once against that he is a beast.  Good things happen when they give Shady the ball so I can never understand why he ever has fewer than 20 touches in a game.  He is the most consistent weapon the Eagles have and the offense needs to be run through him at all times.  Plus, he hilariously popped Andy Reid in the gut near the end of the game.

-Michael Vick played a better game this week, making only one truly terrible pass that was picked off.  Much had been made about how the offensive line was going to struggle to hold up against the Redskins pass rush but Vick has just enough time to make plays with his arm and his feet.  Of course, he did get knocked out of the game briefly with what looked like a possible concussion, but he thankfully turned out okay.

-The Vince Young era started out brutally with a lame duck interception on his first pass.  For the guy that coined the "dream team" moniker, Young looks like a nightmare.  Pray for good health for Mike Vick.

-The bye week comes next for the Eagles, who can rest up, get their offensive line healthy and prepare for three very winnable games against the Cowboys, Bears and Cardinals.  Looking further down the schedule, the Eagles really only play two "good" teams, the Patriots and the Jets.  A playoff run isn't that ridiculous of a notion.  Yeah, I got sucked back in already.

Eagles look broken in loss to Giants

Well, that was embarrassing.  Here are some of my thoughts on the Eagles terrible performance against the Giants:

-The offense wasn't pretty but the defense deserves most of the blame for this loss.  The Giants are not a good offensive team and they were playing with a makeshift wide receiver group and they still managed to put up 29 points. Not all of the blame goes to the linebackers, either, as top players like Nnamdi Asomugha got uncharacteristically burned.  While the defensive line is still creating a lot of pressure, the rest of the D is broken.  Juan Castillo may be in over his head.

-Even before he hurt his hand, Michael Vick did not look right.  It's hard to blame him with the way he was getting hit early and often.  It will be a miracle if he makes it through this season without a serious injury.  He broke his non-throwing hand so I would have to guess he will be able to make the start next week.

-Mike Kafka did not look good this time around, throwing a pair of picks.  Should Vick not be able to go, we could see our first Vince Young start.

-LeSean McCoy is an absolute beast.  Just when the offense looked lost, McCoy took the rock and carried the team on his back and got the Eagles back in the game.  His 128 yards on the ground were the lone bright spot for the Birds.

-Casey Matthews and Kurt Coleman both made terrible plays that led to long Giants touchdowns in the first half.  Coleman was benched for his missed tackle in favor of Nate Allen, who quickly got abused by Ahmad Bradshaw.  Matthews should have also been benched for completely biting on a play fake and letting Brandon Jacobs rumble down the sideline.  Perhaps the Eagles will shake up the linebackers yet again next week or perhaps they will finally sit the rookie down.

-Playcalling is always an issue with Andy Reid but I'm still trying to figure out why Owen Schmitt got a pair of goalline carries.  The Giants couldn't stop McCoy so they give the ball to the fullback twice in a must-score situation?  Doesn't make any sense.

-Steve Smith has to be pissed for how he played against his former team.  That gift interception and only two catches better leave a sour taste in his mouth.

The Eagles really aren't a good football team right now.  They get a weak Niners team next week and if they don't show some life, you can probably already kiss the playoffs goodbye.

Eagles start slow, finish strong to beat Rams

It started ominously, with the Eagles failing on their first offensive drive and the Rams scoring on their first play of the game, but the better team eventually prevailed as the Birds won, 31-13.

The offensive line struggled early, clearly having issues with the volume of the St. Louis crowd as Michael Vick didn't have enough time to find open receivers.  They seemed to settle down after the first series, however, and Vick was able to make plays with his arm as well as his feet.  On the day, Vick had 187 yards passing and two touchdowns as well as 98 yards rushing.  LeSean McCoy also had a strong game on the ground, racking up 122 yards rushing and 15 receiving with two touchdowns.  Most of his damage was done in the 4th quarter when the Eagles had a big lead and were salting the game away.  The weapons were in full force for the Eagles as DeSean Jackson also had 100 yards receiving.  If the offensive line can hold up, the Eagles offense is just going to overwhelm teams.

After allowing Steven Jackson to score on a 47 yard run on the Rams first offensive play, the Eagles defense stiffened and didn't allow another touchdown the entire game.  While they were aided by a few drops by the Rams receivers, the Eagles D looked strong as it pressured Rams QB Sam Bradford, hitting him early and often.  Three members of the Eagles starting D-line, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin, all had sacks, with Babin picking up two.  Juqua Parker also got in on the action, picking up a Bradford fumble and taking it to the house.  The secondary was also solid as a whole, never really getting burned deep though they did have some issues with the underneath routes.

After so many "experts" predicted them to lose to the Rams, it was nice to see the Eagles win pretty convincingly.  While they still have plenty of things to work on, like their offensive line and stopping the run, the Eagles are loaded with talent and should be competitive week in and week out.  Encouraging start for the Eagles, now let's see how they do against a solid Falcons team next week in Atlanta.

The positives and negatives from the Eagles third preseason game

Now that's more like it. A week after looking lackluster, the Eagles bounced back in their third preseason game, beating the Browns 24-14. I don't have time to get too in depth on the game but here are some of the positives and negatives I noticed:



Positives:



Secondary: Yeah, these guys are pretty good. From Asante Samuel's pick to DRC's blocked field goal to Nnamdi covering like glue and drawing a penalty, is there nothing they can't do?



Special Teams: Two fumble recoveries on punts and a blocked field goal, their second of the preseason, means Bobby April has plenty to smile about tonight.



Running backs: This group is stacked. With LeSean McCoy catching everything in sight, Ronnie Brown looking like the best backup in the league and Dion Lewis looking like a dynamic threat, the Eagles have a ton of weapons in the backfield. Heck, even the quarterbacks are good running backs on this team.



Kurt Coleman: A great game and a big hit mean he could be targeted to start at safety in Week 1.



Negatives:



The offensive line: Rookies Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce were a nightmare from the start, letting the Browns D-line have free shots at Michael Vick. They shaped up as the game went on but the Eagles, and Vick specifically, will be in serious trouble if they don't improve quickly. I think its time to give Jamaal Jackson his job back.



Wide Receivers: The running game was working and so were the dump-offs to McCoy so the receivers were a complete non-entity tonight, with none picking up more than 2 catches. This group really just needs to get healthy and the line needs to give Vick more time to look downfield.

The positives and negatives from the Eagles preseason game against the Steelers

What a difference a week makes. Last week, the Eagles first teamers seemed to do everything right as they worked over the Ravens in limited work. This week, the Steelers dominated on both sides of the ball from the start, stomping the Eagles, 24-14. Here are some of the positives and negatives that I noticed from the Eagles second preseason game:



Positives:



LeSean McCoy: The lone bright spot of the first team offense, McCoy picked up 37 total yards on 5 touches. Shady looked to be in regular season form as gashed the Steelers defense. Maybe the Eagles will run the ball more this year? Yeah, maybe not.



Dion Lewis: He had the one big play for the Eagles offense, picking up 40 yards on a catch and run. He almost made up for his earlier fumble with how good he looked on the play.



Mike Kafka: Andy Reid really has a magic touch when it comes to developing quarterbacks. Kafka was easily the best quarterback for the Eagles tonight, slicing up the Steelers 4th defense by completing 14 of 19 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will make some great trade bait down the road.



Vick's tackle of Polamalu: After Troy Polamalu picked him off, Michael Vick made a solid tackle to stop him from returning it for a pick six. If that sounds like a reach for a positive because very little went right for the Eagles, that's because it is.



Negatives:



First team defense: They were overaggressive from the start and Ben Roethlisberger took advantage, slicing them up for 125 yards and two touchdowns on a pair of drives. It's really hard to put much blame on the Eagles d-line as they got to Big Ben a handful of times but he was able to move around and buy himself enough time to find the weak spots in the Eagles secondary. No matter how many Pro Bowlers you have, no secondary in the league can cover everyone forever. There is still plenty of time for things to come together but there is too much talent in this group to accept a performance like that. Juan Castillo has work to do.



Linebackers: Surprise, the one part of the team they didn't bother to upgrade this offseason is the weak link of the defense! With all the great players around them, it might help if this group was occasionally in the right position to make a tackle. Casey Matthews doesn't look like a starting middle linebacker yet and I'm not sure two more weeks of preseason football will be enough to turn him into an effective player. Maybe the shoddy performance by this group will force the Eagles to address a position they don't seem to care about.



First team offense: Things didn't go much better for the offensive starters, who failed to come close to registering a point and looked completely out of sync. The Steelers defense is no joke but there is no bright side to an offense that punts and has three turnovers in their four possessions. Its hard to get too upset about the offense when there clearly is no game plan or strategy to be seen so all we can do is hope that once everyone is healthy and all of the weapons are accounted for, damage will be done.



Michael Vick: Rough, rough night for Vick, who continually threw into coverage and seemed to make bad decisions on every play. His goal early on was simply to get the ball to DeSean Jackson as much as possible but he had trouble finding anyone else open. It's only preseason but three picks is still unacceptable for a supposedly elite quarterback. At least he made that nice tackle on Troy Polamalu!



Asante Samuel: He got burned by a Roethlisberger fake that led to a Steelers touchdown. That won't help his trade value!



Eagles backup offense: While the defense seemed to stiffen at times in the second half, the second team offense was pretty abysmal. Sure, there were decent plays here and there, but an interception by Vince Young pretty much negated any positives. I think it all starts with the offensive line, which is completely in flux due to injuries and new signings.

(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

DeSean's huge night leads Eagles over Cowboys

The Eagles will put up with DeSean Jackson's post-touchdown celebrations as long as he keeps making big plays. Behind a career night from Jackson, the Eagles edged the Cowboys, 30-27, to remain atop the NFC East.

It was all about the big play for the Eagles, as DeSean Jackson needed just 4 catches to amass 210 yards, the third most in one game in Eagles history. His two biggest plays were the first and the last time Jackson touched the ball, as he caught a 60 yard pass on the first play of the game and had a dynamic 91 yard catch and run touchdown in the 4th quarter that proved to be the game winning score. Sure, Jackson drew a stupid penalty for falling into the end zone backwards on his 91 yard score, but it's something we have all grown to live with (and love) from number 10. Remember when Jackson had trouble doing anything against the Cowboys last year? Yeah, neither do I.

The rest of the Eagles offense did work in this one, too. Despite throwing a pair of interceptions that weren't his fault, Michael Vick put together another solid performance, throwing for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 16 yards and another touchdown. He didn't always make the perfect play and he took a ton of hits but Vick continues to evolve into one of the most reliable QB's in the game. Also having a great game was LeSean McCoy, who ran roughshod over the Cowboys in the 4th quarter to rack up a career high 149 yards on just 16 carries for a ridiculous 9.3 yards per carry average. With the way the Eagles continue to set up the run with their tremendous passing game, expect McCoy to have a lot more games like this in the coming weeks and years.

Without Asante Samuel, the Eagles defense continues to look weak. While the Cowboys do have a respectable offense, there is no excuse for the defense to get shredded by a mediocre quarterback like Jon Kitna. Samuel can't return to the Birds fast enough but I'm not sure his presence will eliminate all of the blown assignments and missed tackles that plagued the Eagles defense.

In other injury news, it sounds like Stewart Bradley will be out for at least a few weeks after a nasty injury caused him to dislocate his elbow. While Bradley hasn't had a stellar season, the Eagles need all the help they can get on that side of the ball and will miss their defensive leader.

The win over the Cowboys keeps the Eagles in the drivers seat in the NFC East with a showdown against the Giants looming next week. While the Eagles are fortunate enough to catch a break with the Giants getting a shorter week because of their game being moved to Monday, the Birds will need to be at the top of their game with the division on the line. While we can be sure the offense will produce their fair share of big plays, let's hope Asante Samuel finds his way back to the field and gives the defense the boost it sorely needs. With another game against a Manning on the schedule, I'm sure Asante has a few more interceptions in him.

Offense carries Eagles past Texans

With an offense like this, who needs defense? Apparently, that's been the motto for the Eagles the last two weeks as their defense has put up little resistance and has been forced to rely on the offense to keep them in the game. Fortunately, the Eagles offense is pretty damn good and it was on full display on Thursday night in a 34-24 win over the Texans.

We'll start with the good things in the game for the Eagles, which begins and ends with the offense. Despite throwing his second interception of the season, Michael Vick was his usual explosive self, throwing for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 48 yards and another touchdown. While Vick wasn't perfect, his decision-making was mostly solid as he carved up the weak Texans secondary.

As for the rest of the offense, all of the weapons were in full force, led by LeSean McCoy, who had 130 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. McCoy seems to be getting better and better this season and has forced defenses to respect the run which just opens things up even further for the passing game. The weapons in the passing game all contributed as well with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin combining for 152 yards receiving and even Brent Celek getting in on the act with several big catches. The Eagles embarrassment of riches even trickled down to Owen Schmitt, who had a touchdown reception, and Jerome Harrison, who averaged 6.7 yards per carry on three carries.

The Eagles defense was an entirely different story. While they did force two big turnovers, the defense looked a lot like they did last week against the Bears when they gave up huge chunks of yards on seemingly every play. I'm not sure what magic wand Asante Samuel waves when he's on the field, but the Eagles D looks completely lost without him. While it's understandable that the secondary, which has several rookies still learning their roles, is giving up big plays, it's hard to figure out why the loss of Samuel causes the Eagles to not be able to stop the run or make tackles. You'd think that not having their worst tackler would actually help them wrap guys up.

While we rightly should be disappointed by the defense, the Eagles are still exactly where they want to be coming down the home stretch of the season. At 8-4 and in first place in the NFC East and facing a 10 day layoff until their game against the Cowboys, the Eagles are positioned to close in on a playoff spot and a possible first round bye. While the defense is worrisome, at least Asante Samuel should be back after the long break and hopefully that is the magic fix for all that ails the Birds. With the offense looking unstoppable, it would be a shame if the defense couldn't hold up their end of the bargain.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Eagles take over first place with win over Giants

It wasn't nearly as pretty as last week but the Eagles will take it just the same. In a classic, back-and-forth NFC East showdown, the Eagles edged the Giants, 27-17, and took over first place in the division.

The Eagles were certainly the better team in this one but had to fight tooth and nail to the finish after they settled for field goals in the first half and committed a number of bad penalties throughout the game. Michael Vick wasn't nearly as good as he was last week but he was certainly good enough to win, eluding the Giants pass rush to the tune of 258 yards passing and 34 yards rushing. Vick did commit his first turnover of the season when he had a costly fumble in the 4th quarter but still has yet to throw an interception on the season.

Speaking of turnovers, Eli Manning was a turnover machine for the Giants, throwing three interceptions and fumbling the ball away at the end of the game. While the Eagles didn't manage to sack Eli in the game, they did force Manning to make quite a few questionable throws. His biggest mistake of the game proved to be a fumble while diving head first on a crucial 4th and 6 instead of sliding and giving the Giants a huge first down.

Another big play in the game happened as the Eagles trailed by 1 and were faced with a 4th and 1 at the 50 yard line. After a poor play call on 3rd and 1, Andy Reid made the perfect playcall as Vick pitched the ball to LeSean McCoy who burst to the outside for a 50 yard touchdown. Though Vick bobbled the ball on the snap, it was the perfect play at the perfect time.

It wasn't anything like the destruction of the Redskins last week but the Eagles are exactly where they want to be, positioned atop the NFC East with a favorable schedule down the stretch. They proved tonight that they can win games pretty or they can win games ugly, a true sign of a good team. With another big game against the Bears coming next week and another showdown with the Giants looming in the coming weeks, the Eagles may have to win a few more ugly ones if they want to make the playoffs.

Eagles edge Niners in sloppy Sunday night game

It wasn't pretty, but I'm pretty sure the Eagles will take a win any way they can get it. In a sloppy Sunday Night game, the Eagles barely edged the Niners, 27-24, in a game filled with turnovers and mental mistakes.

Kevin Kolb had a strong first half for the Eagles, completing nearly all of his passes as he led the Eagles on three scoring drives. In the second half, things didn't quite go as smoothly, as Kolb was erratic and the Eagles offense failed to score a touchdown. While he didn't have any interceptions, Kolb did force a few passes into coverage and was still reluctant to look more than a few yards downfield even when he had time to make a throw. It's safe to say, while he did have his moments, Kolb didn't do enough to earn back the starting job from Michael Vick.

Of course, the glue that's holding the Eagles offense together right now is LeSean McCoy, who, broken ribs and all, rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown and added 46 yards receiving. For most of the night, McCoy was the best player on the field, darting through whatever small holes the line created and often picking up an extra yard or two after contact. While he did make a mental error late in the game, falling down before picking up a critical 1st down, McCoy gets a pass because of how dynamic he was throughout the night.

As for the Eagles defense, they did an excellent job shutting down Frank Gore, who managed only 52 yards on 18 carries, but they gave up way too many yards in the passing game and made Niners quarterback Alex Smith actually look competent. Clearly the Birds were missing Asante Samuel because whenever Smith had time to throw, he picked the Eagles secondary apart. Although the Eagles did manage to pick him off twice, if Smith was anything better than just a below-average quarterback, the Eagles would have been in serious trouble.

The win puts the Eagles at 3-2 as they head back home to take on a good Atlanta team. If they want to beat the Falcons, they are going to have to play much better than they did on Sunday night. With the schedule that gets incredibly difficult after their Week 7 bye, the Eagles are going to have to be better on both sides of the ball if they want to stay competitive.
(AP PHOTO)

Vick, McCoy suffer rib injuries

A day later, the Michael Vick injury is still a bit puzzling. According to the Eagles, Vick has no broken bones from the hit that knocked him out of the game against the Redskins, but he does have a cartilage injury in his ribs. How long he will be out is a mystery at this point, with Andy Reid saying that Vick is "day to day, week to week", which really doesn't tell us anything. Reid did say Vick was sore but he wouldn't rule him out for the Week 5 game against the Niners. Of course, I'm not sure we can believe anything Reid says at this point.

While Vick didn't break any bones, running back LeSean McCoy did, as he fractured a rib against the Redskins. McCoy played through the pain on Sunday so he's likely a good bet to play against the Niners.

Also suffering injuries on Sunday were Asante Samuel and Riley Cooper, who both had minor concussions.

Vick, McCoy help Eagles edge Lions

A win is a win, even when it has an ugly finish. In a game that shouldn't have been close, the Eagles were guided by strong efforts by Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy as they just barely edged the Lions, 35-32. The final score is a bit misleading in this one, however, as the Eagles were leading 35-17 before they went into cruise control mode just a bit too early.

The story of the game and for the next week will be whether Michael Vick did enough to earn the starting quarterback job for the Eagles. Vick certainly played well, evading pass-rushers left and right to complete 21 of 34 passes for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns and also added 37 yards rushing. Given how poorly the Eagles offensive line blocked, Vick had to do a lot of dancing in the pocket but still couldn't avoid getting sacked five times. If the Eagles line doesn't start blocking better, the Eagles may be forced to start Vick due to his scrambling ability.

Of course, in my opinion, there isn't a quarterback controversy for the Eagles until Kevin Kolb plays at least a full game of football. Given that he was cleared to practice for the week, barring a setback, Kolb will be the starting quarterback next week against the Jaguars. I'm sure there will be plenty of fans calling for Vick to start but Kolb has to be given a chance to prove himself.

Vick wasn't the only standout Eagle, though: LeSean McCoy also had a great game, rushing for a career-high 120 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. While it was hard to tell if he was that good or the Lions are just awful against the run, McCoy looked like he was running on another level as he averaged 7.5 yards per carry. No, McCoy is never going to get 20+ carries a game and be a chain-moving running back but his big-play ability makes him a tremendous weapon for the Eagles.

Defensively, the Eagles had some major issues with the ground game against the Lions, especially on a first quarter touchdown drive where the Lions ran for 76 yards on 6 carries. While Lions rookie Jahvid Best has some serious speed, the Eagles looked completely inept without Stewart Bradley manning the middle of the defense. Luckily, Bradley will be back next week against the Jaguars strong running game but it would be nice if someone else stepped up should he miss more time down the road.

The early issues stopping the Lions ground game gave way to 4th quarter issues with stopping the Lions passing game. I know the Eagles went into prevent mode after they got a big lead but there is no excuse for letting backup quarterback Shaun Hill pass for 335 yards. It's hard to say who deserves the blame for letting up all the yards; it's likely a combination of not getting enough pressure on the quarterback and a few blown assignments in the secondary.

Expect all the talk for the next week to be about who should start at quarterback for the Eagles. Last time I checked, though, neither Vick nor Kolb played defense, so I'm not sure either of them will help with the Eagles biggest problem right now. The offense has proven it can score points; it's on the defense to prove they can make plays, too.