The FuTuRe For Our BiRdS

Next week the Birds go into their 11th game of the season versus the Green Bay Packers. According to the rest of their games, this by far should be the easiest to overcome. If not, I can not see how they can even keep their heads high for the remainder of the season. Star quarterback Brett Farve of the Packers has yet to show his "star" qualities that he has shown in his previous seasons. His stats so far show that his 18 touchdown passes compared to his massive 17 interceptions leave him with his worst quarterback rating in his career with a 82.3%. This factor alone is something the Birds should take advantage of while at the same time stopping the running game of the powerful Ahmad Green. The Packers also have one of their worst starts of the year (even though the Eagles are on the same boat) with a record of 2-8, last in their division. Even with all these horrible stats, the team still scares me a little. In previous years, the Birds have always had a tough time playing this NFC team. As long as the offense can bring all they have to the table and the defense keep their game up to par, I think that this game should run quite smoothly. As for the remainder of the season, the Birds have a somewhat tight schedule as they contend against the Giants one more time along with the Redskins; the Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. Winning out the rest of the games may give them a playoff spot, but in my opinion I think the team and coaching staff should start working on game play regarding next season. Key pickups in the off-season; an offensive tackle, a back-up quarterback, the return of injuries such as Buckholter (RB) and please give us another receiver!

Do the Birds Have A Future?

Poor performance isn't the only thing that has brought the Eagles' season to a somewhat stop. Key injuries have impacted the team that could otherwise led the team to not only a winning record but also a playoff appearance. Donovan McNabb has struggled throughout the season with his sports hernia. His option of getting surgery was put off so he could try to complete the season, but after past two games, crucial hits from opposing defenses has given him no other option. Next week McNabb will undergo his surgery which will no doubt put him out for the remainder of the season. As a Pro-Bowl quarterback, the offense will see a major impact and loss for the rest of the season, unless new quarterback Mike Mcmahon can step it up and prove that he can fill the shoes of this star quarterback. McNabb is not the only one that the Birds will lose this season. Pro-Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard seems to be out for the remainder of the season with a severely sprained ankle. This occurred two weeks ago when he was trying to tackle a receiver and rolled his ankle in the process. And most importantly, the Eagles declared that star receiver Terrell Owens, on top of his four game suspension for down-talking the team and coaches, would be benched until the end of the season. Coach Andy Reid states "Terrell Owens would never return to the field as a Philadelphia Eagle." With these three losses, and a current record of 4-6, could the Birds return to the playoffs and capture the NFC championship for the 4th straight year? In my opinion, NO! Even if they win out the rest of their games (10-6), the Giants and the Cowboys still have a key advantage because of their dominant wins in the division. Hopefully with these two teams losing a majority of their remaining games, the Birds can pull off miracle. (For more details on the loss of these three players check this out)

Can We Get Our *$@! 2gether

Well Eagles' fans, I'm completely speechless. Super Bowl last year, dead last in our division this year. What the hell is wrong with us! The game Sunday against the Giants might have completely threw us out of any chances of making the playoffs. To begin with, the first half of play was one of the worst games I have watched all year. It wasn't the fact that they played the worst they have, it was the fact that it had no excitement and was very boring to watch. The Birds' went into the half with zero points and led up 10 points to New York. Thank God they stepped it up in the second half because I was on the verge of turning the game off all together. The main problem in my opinion is the fact that our offense and defense can not work together to win a game. It's either the defense plays a great game with the offense lacking in yards, or the offense stepping up their game with the defense letting up to many first downs. IN the case of this game, that is exactly how it worked out. The first half consisted of the defense stepping up and making some serious stops. Even though they led up 10 points, they prevented a 20 point lead instead of the 10. The second half, new quaterback Mike Mcmahon finally showed the team why he was in the starting position. He threw for almost 300 yards with 20 first downs under his belt. He also racked up a 1 yard touchdown run which put the Birds' 3 points behind the Giants. But once again, they could not seal the deal and led up another touchdown and a field goal to lose with a final score of 27-17. Now with a record of 4-6, they basically need to win out the rest of their games to even try to compete for a Wild Card appearance in the playoffs.

VERY Crucial Game

This weeks game is probably the Birds most important game of the year. Winning or losing this game could be their success or demise of their playoff appearance. The game will be watched by over 80,000 people and as it premieres on Monday on national television and viewed at their own stadium with maximum capacity (talk about pressure). But how sure are we that the Birds can come through? As a loyal Birds fan of 22 years....I just don't know. With the loss of Terrell Owens and the list of other injuries that have hurt the Eagles, they need to prove that hey are not going down the tubes. McNabb needs to find his groove by using his other receivers to complement their running game from Pro-bowl running back Brian Westbrook. In the two teams first appearance, the Cowboys dominated the Birds up and down the field for a 33-10 victory. They can not let this happen a second time. Last time, Dallas accounted for over 450 yards (290 in passing and 160 in rushing) against the Eagles' 130 total yards. One of the main problems their last game was containing the run. As one of the top defenses in the league, the Birds need to sustain the run game especially for their star running back Julius Jones returns from his injury. Another problem the Birds faced last game was time of possession. The Cowboys held onto the ball for almost 40 minutes (two-thirds of the game) the entire game. They need to have consistent first downs while minimizing mistakes and capitalizing on Dallas' fowl-ups. Losing this game will put a burden on the Birds, causing them to win the rest of their games just to grab onto Wild Card. But on the other hand, winning, puts them in a three way tie for second place. After the Redskins (5-4) and Giants (6-3) both lost on Sunday, the Birds grew new life and a chance to make up for their mishaps.....Game starts at 9 Birds fans!!!!!!!

Are We Giving Up?

Well Eagles' fans, don't you think this is getting pretty old? C'mon now, we are a Super Bowl contender and yet we can not even win division games. Going into the game the Birds were 4-3, needing a win to stay out of last place in the NFC East. This would also be the first game without their star Terrell Owens. McNabb had to prove to not only its fans, but his offense that they could still win and produce with the help from other receivers besides T.O.. With all this said and done, yet another lose was recorded for the Eagles' with the score of 17-10. This lose put them in last place of their division for the first time in 6 years. As I watched the game, I could not tell which way it was going to end by the constant switching of momentum. The Birds' started off with a bang when McNabb threw a 65 yard touchdown pass to upcoming rookie Reggie Brown, who hopefully will step up and take the spot of Owens. After this score, the Birds could not respond again until the third quarter with only a field goal. The Redskins were able to capitalize on 10 points ( a touchdown and a field goal) in the first half to grab the led over the Eagles, which they would hold for the remainder of the game. It actually came down to the Birds' last drive in which they drove 84 yards down the field. With a minute left and in scoring range, McNabb winded back and threw his dreaded 8th interception(equivalent to 1 interception per game) this year to end the game. Although we led in total yards and total passing yards, 336 compared to 291, the Birds could not finish with the bang they started with. Hopefully we can put this game behind us and get back on track next week for a must win situation versus their rivals the Dallas Cowboys with a record of 5-3.

If anybody watched the Eagles' game this past week, I think we can all say two words that describes what was seen; just awful. It disappoints me to see them play like that. We have the potential and skills as a team to be the number one contender in the league, but yet this year has seemed like the motivation level has been cut in half. We have one of the top defenses in the league and some how the Birds' have the most passing yards in the NFL, but yet our performance is half-assed. McNabb's first 12 passing attempts were incomplete, which definitely doesn't create sparks for offense. The problem, in my opinion, is that if there isn't a big play to start with or some kind of change in momentum in the offense, the team will not produce the numbers that they should be showing. On the other hand, the defense itself crumbled after an impressive showing last week. They were able to stop the leading rusher in the entire NFL for negative yards, but yet give up 171 rushing yards to running back that isn't even in the top 5 leading rushers. Something needs to be done to motivate and get this team back into shape. Since McNabb's injury, the team hasn't stepped up and proven that this is not a one-man team. And if coach, Andy Reid, lets this go much farther, we could just end up being a wild-card for the playoffs. So far, the NFC East, the Birds' division, is the top division in the NFL and the more losses we rack up, they have seemed to pick up. Lets get our acts together fellas and win these next couple of games; proving we aren't going down the drain and hope is still alive. Next week they have a division game versus the 4-3 Washington Redskins. For a game preview, check this out

Would the Bye Week Help the Birds?

After a week off, the Birds came back to Philly from a much rested and well-practiced time off. This week wasn't going to be a easy task, since they were hosting the vicious San Diego Chargers with a record of 3-3. L.T., considered one of the best rushing backs in the league, would be coming to the stadium with the highest rushing yards among all leaders. Our defense would need to step up and put a stop to this, and that's exactly what they did. L.T. Has scored a touchdown in every game for the last 20 straight appearances. Not only did the Eagles' defense prevent a 21st straight touchdown, but they held the Pro-Bowl running back to negative yards the entire game; an accomplishment never thought possible. Even though their defense played one of the best games this season, the slow start of their offense was not providing a sufficient amount of 1st downs and yards to win the battle. After a Terrell Owens touchdown and two field goals from new kicker Todd France, the Birds were down 17-13 late in the forth quarter. As the chargers drove down the field, the defense was able to stop them to a field goal attempt that could possible put them an entire touchdown ahead. As the kick was up in the air, a defensiveman on the Eagles got into the backfield and miraculously blocked the field goal. Back-up return man Matt Ware recovered the block and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown putting the Eagles up 20-17 with less than a minute left to eventually win the game for the Birds. Even though it was a close win and the offensive was still not performing at their normal levels, I'll take the win with a tie for number one in the division with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Next week they face the 5-2 Denver Broncos.

McNabb in the Dumps?

Well, as you Eagles' fans might have noticed, this past week has proven that star quarterback Donovan McNabb is not playing up to potential. A couple weeks ago McNabb had to leave the game after a crucial hit from a middle-linebacker. Back-up quarterback Koy Detmer replaced him only for the remaining of the quarter until McNabb impressively returned to the game. At this point, we all thought, including myself, that the injury was small and nothing long-term. At least that's what we all thought. After the game, it was reported that McNabb was suffering from a so called "sports hernia." This was located in the center of his rib cage was the hit impacted the most. Doctors gave McNabb a choice on which he would either receive surgery which would put him out until the last two games of the season, or he could play the rest of the season and get the surgery after the season was complete. The one drawback to this is that if he re-injured this hernia, it could become much worse and could lead to other problems within his chest. Our strong-willed quarterback decided to dig it out and play the remainder of the season so he would not let the team down. Trainers developed a "rib-protection" pad that actually covers his entire chest which can help prevent further damage to that area. Even with this pad in place, do you think this is the best idea? His stats have been half out what he has produced in the last 4 games and he seems that he struggles throwing off his back foot and on the run...I hope he has made the right decision and can lead our Birds back to the Super Bowl...For more details on his injury, check this out.

Its Been Awhile

Sorry Eagles fans I haven't been around in the last three weeks to report any of the current highlights and stats for the team. I had somewhat of a family emergency, but from this point on I will be up to date on our beloved EAGLES. I'll start from two weeks ago when the Birds played the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium, I'm my opinion their number one rival in the entire league. For some odd reason, the Birds did not come out to play that afternoon. Our defense is one of the best in the leagues, yet we allowed over 160 yards rushing and over 280 yards in receiving. There was a total of 456 total yards that Dallas' offense gained off our 5-man Pro-Bowl team. That was just plain ridiculous. Not only that, but their offense had an overwhelming 28 first downs in the game compared to Philly's six. This leads me into their piss-poor offense that seemed to leave their skills and performance back in Philadelphia. The offense had an awful game, racking up only 129 yards total! McNabb alone usually throws for double this amount in a single game. Come on fellas! With only 110 passing yards and 16 rushing, there's no way we are going to be able to beat any team in the NFL. Now I can understand certain circumstances that could of affected this game. One McNabb's injury has shown to be an affect on how accurate and deep his passes has been (I'll get into that next post). Also, Terrell Owens only received the ball 5 times for a total of 50 yards. This is your best receiver, one of the top receivers in the league. You need to get this man the ball more in the game. For some criticism on the game, visit this site

CLOSE CALL

Like I predicted last week, the Eagles game on this past Sunday was quite a challenge. The Oakland Raiders came into the Eagles' stadium with a 0-2 record. Even though that seems like an easy victory for the birds, leading receiver in the league Randy Moss along with the entire offense was dying for their first win. After going down 10-6 in the first half, the Eagles needed something big to come back on their driving offense. But only worse matters came along. Pro-bowl kicker David Akers (Eagles) pulled his right hamstring. Usually this type of injury can be shaken off, but in Akers case it was much worse. This caused third-string tight end, Mike Bartrum, to come in as his replacement. Finally, in the third quarter, the Eagles' offense stepped it up and scored 14 points to go up 20-10 going into the fourth quarter. In response, the Raiders came back with a touchdown and a following field goal to tie the game. With only minutes left in the game, the Birds' offense drove down the field but were stopped short of a touchdown. David Akers, despite his injury, came in and miraculously made a 23 yard field goal, falling to the ground in pain after his kick. The final score was 23-20, with the Eagles having a total of 448 yards versus the Raiders 365. For complete stats of the Eagles offensive and defense, check this out. Next week, they will be taking on the 2-1 Kansas City Chiefs away at 4:15.

Finally came to play!

Despite the Eagles' last week loss, the Birds really showed that they are a contestant for this years' Super Bowl. With an 0-1 record, the Birds faced the 1-0 confronting 49ers on Sunday. Now even though the 49ers are not a promising team, no one expected such an extreme blow out. Donovan McNabb started the game with a bang and continued until the third quarter when he was taken out. Within those three quarters, he managed to have magnificent stats; 23-29 passing with 342 yards and 5 passing touchdowns. These stats help push him to number three in the NFL standings behind Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals and Trent Dilfer of the Cleveland Browns. Also there star receiver, Terrell Owens, had a great game with five receptions for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. As of now, he is ranked number two in the NFL behind Randy Moss of the Oakland Raiders. The combination of this quarterback/receiver is considered to be the best in the NFL. The big surprise of the game came from tight end, L.J. Smith. He had a career high 9 receptions, 119 yards and one touchdown catch. Besides these two receivers, McNabb managed to reach nine other receivers in the game that contributed to his impressive statistics. Running back Brian Westbrook also helped out with his 15 carries for 89 yards. Yet another surprise that caught the fans attention was the third and fourth quarter performance of back up quarterback Koy Detmer. He went nine for nine with 98 yards. Just in case, no curses hopefully, if something happened to McNabb, we look like we could be in good shape. All in all, the Birds had a great game and are currently preparing themselves for their next game versus the threatening Oakland Raiders.