It definately wasn’t a pretty game. Heck, the only touchdown for the two teams came just before halftime. For a team that has struggled mightily all year, however, this is one the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t mind winning ugly.

Donovan McNabb had another solid performance and the defense absolutely shut down the dynamic duo of Terrell Owens and Tony Romo to escape Dallas with a 10-6 victory. The Eagles now stand at 6-8 on the season.

McNabb continued to show that he is getting back into pre-injury form as he finished with 208 yards passing and 53 yards rushing. He connected with Reggie Brown on a one yard td pass and did not turn the ball over once.

His counterpart, on the other hand, had an absolutely miserable afternoon as he never seemed to get into any type of groove. The pretty-boy Romo finished just 13-of-26 passing for 214 yards, including three interceptions and numerous fumbles (that all were recovered).

After dropping the last three games by a combined 10 points, the Eagles showed that they are not a bad football team. Although, they are not mathematically out of the playoffs, they played with a type of pride that has been lacking for much of the season. Westbrook had another solid performance, finishing with 81 rushing yards and 63 receiving yards, but was also helped by numerous others that stepped up in a big way.

Kevin Curtis pulled in five catches for 40 yards, while tight end Brent Celek recorded 50 yards on three catches as well as the biggest play of the game. The rookied pulled in a huge grab on third down to help the Eagles to run out the clock at the end of the contest.

Philadelphia will look to carry over this momentum into its game against the New Orleans Saints next weekend.

With just a minute left on the clock and the Philadelphia Eagles trailing 16-13 against the New York Giants, the offense moved the ball well with Donovan McNabb leading the way. McNabb completed a few nice passes to move the ball from their own 11-yard line to the Giants 39. It seemed, though, that the Eagles would have no shot as their only chance would be a 56-yard field goal attempt by David Akers.

The ball was snapped and Akers got of a rocket of a kick. Would this be his career-high and send the Eagles into overtime. The line-drive kick spiraled high, this one definately had the distance. However, as has been the Eagles season, the kick was just not quite good enough. Akers’ blast hit the upright and bounced onto the field, thus sending the Eagles to 5-8 on the season.

 It really is difficult to explain why the Eagles lost this game. No one played spectacular, but no one seemed to play too poorly either.

McNabb had a solid performance as he finished the contest 20-of-30 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Numerous times he had to run for his life and seemed to look pretty good doing so.

Westbrook once again had a solid game as he racked up 116 yards on the ground and 38 yards on receptions. Reggie Brown also hauled in 71 yards on seven catches.

Following the squad’s lastest defeat, McNabb told Philadelphia reporters that, “”It’s really frustrating. “It’s a collection of things at the wrong time that keeps leading to us getting field goals instead of touchdowns.”

I feel that quote is one of the better ones that I have seen all season because McNabb is dead on. This has been a season of one bad play after another and I believe that it is time to look past the players. The players are playing hard, but they just aren’t quite good enought…and that falls on the coaches.

I am not calling for Andy Reid’s head. I feel that he is still a very good coach and can produce a winner in Philly. I do, though, think that it is time to break the mold a bit and get some more skill players in here instead of one lineman after another.

 This season is over, but there is always next year. No one knows that better than Philadelphia. The Eagles, though, can not put a poor team on the field next year or there will be some major changes coming.

As I stated last week, there is a reason that A.J. Feeley is a backup quarterback. While he has some skills and can do some good things, he is really not capable of singlehandedly carrying a team to a victory. In Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (which basically put an end to the Eagles’ season) Andy Reid tried to make him do that.

While Reid has done some amazing things for the organization, it is time for Reid to go. There is no excuse for the dumb calls that he makes week after week. Last week against the Patriots, Reid’s playcalling was excellent. That is, until, he had Feeley throw for the end zone when they were already in field goal range that would have tied the ball game.

Against the Seahawks, in very bad weather, Reid had Feeley throw the ball 42 times! 42 times! This happened despite Feeley completing just 19 passes all day and throwing four interceptions, including two in the first few minutes of the game. This also occurred with the Eagles in the game for the entire contest and Wesbrook and Correll Buckhalter running the ball well. Westbrook and Buckhalter combined for 130 yards rushing. However, they were handed the ball just 25 times between the two of them.

Again, I am not bashing Feeley. He is a backup quarterback. A backup is not supposed to win games for their teams, they are supposed to keep their teams in the games. ESPN.com writes that, “Feeley already has thrown two more interceptions than Donovan in just 2 1/2 games. His seventh pick came on his 93rd pass of the season. McNabb has been intercepted just six times in 326 attempts.” My point is that Feeley should not have been asked to throw the ball 93 times when Westbrook is in the backfield.

This loss is on Reid and this terrible season should also fall on Reid’s shoulders. Someone that never is mentioned is Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. Well, it is time for people to start questioning what he is going to do to help the future of this squad.

7-4 Seattle visits the friendly confines of the Linc tomorrow afternoon to take on the 5-6 Eagles. One key to this game - the Eagles must score more points than they allow in order to keep pace in the wild card chase. Dallas has almost wrapped up the NFC East, and there is no chance Philly will catch them this year. That said, the Iggles are only one game out of a wild card spot. With games coming up the next two weeks against the Giants and Cowboys, Philly better win this one and at least one of those if they hope to make the playoffs. Seattle is 2-3 on the road this year, and looked very beatable against St. Louis last week. The Seahawks needed the Rams’ ineptitude to escape with a five point win. Horse toothed RB Shaun Alexander is most likely going to start this week, so the Eagles need to contain him and his brittle body. Alexander hopes to break a couple five-yard runs to boost  his 3.3 yard-per-carry average. Look for him to not be an impact at all. Eagles CBs Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard need to shut down Hasselbeck’s receivers, and Brian Westbrook must put this team on his back once again.

A.J. Feeley and the Philadelphia Eagles came within one late mistake of defeating the undefeated, and one of the best teams in recent history, New England Patriots on Sunday night. Feeley completed 27-of-42 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns to help the Eagles go blow-for-blow with the bigger-than-the-sport Pats.

They are nice stats and it was an amazing game, but that does not mean that Feeley should be the starter against Seattle if Donovan McNabb is healthy and able to go.

Feeley is a great guy and has played very well when given the chance this year. He is, though, a backup quarterback. Remember when the Dolphins gave him a chance as a starter? He played in 11 games in 2004 for Miami and completed just 53.7 percent of him passes and threw 15 interceptions compared to just 11 touchdowns. He also has a total of 31 rushing yards…in 22 total games. These are not numbers of an individual that should be started ahead of an individual that has been in the Pro Bowl.

McNabb is the franchise quarter; he is the number 1 guy and would be on nearly every team in the league. Also, news flash everyone, McNabb’s numbers this season are pretty darn good considering his lack of quality receivers and the fact that he is still recovering from a major surgery. #5 has completed 60 percent of his passes this season and has thrown 13 touchdowns compared to just 6 interceptions. The Eagles, a team that has had little trouble moving the ball until it reaches the opponent’s red zone, have also been without L.J. Smith for most of the season. Smith has long been McNabb’s main target inside the 20-yard line.

Now if Andy Reid does decide to go with Feeley, I wouldn’t be too angry. It really is a tough situation for the head coach if McNabb is healthy. Does he feel that the team rallied around Feeley and that they could carry that over into this week’s game? Does he think that Feeley and his more accurate but less-powerful arm fit into the offense that they are trying to run?

If it were my call, I would go with McNabb. I am darn happy that it isn’t my decision though. I feel that a healthy- I repeat healthy- McNabb, gives the Eagles the best chance to win on Sundays.

 It’s do-or-die time for the Eagles. They no longer have any room for error. Last year, they won five straight to end the season and capture a playoff berth. Let’s see if they can do it again.

While I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the charter member of the Donovan McNabb fan club; I also didn’t boo him on draft day, something which all critics of Eagles fans and our attitude reference to show how terrible we are. I have watched him skeptically for the entirety of his career. He showed a lot of promise coming out of ‘Cuse, but certainly had his limitations. McNabb had never been an accurate passer in the short to mid ranges and he made up for that with his legs in college.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              When he was drafted by Andy Reid and the Eagles, he was forced to use his legs as a weapon less and become more of a pocket passer. While his natural athletic ability has allowed him to succeed admirably in the league for many years, he was never able to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning a World Championship. I won’t get into the painful performance he posted against the Pats in XXXIX.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      McNabb was at his finest when he had a stud receiver catching the ball. Having a viable all-around receiving threat doesn’t eliminate your run game the way that having a trio of 3s does when you routinely throw 65%+ of your plays. You’ve either got to exploit your studly combinations when they exist or balance your offense to best utilize all of the weapons you have.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Problem is, Andy doesn’t see it that way. Donovan routinely drops back with the highest frequency among all quarterbacks in the league regardless of whoever else he has around him. As a consequence, Brian Westbrook doesn’t get the opportunity to actualize his potential.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We’ve seen it time and again: D-Mac goes down and the backup steps up to the plate and competently, albeit shakily, manages the game (because we only retain backups with 4+years experience in Old Andy’s system). The coaches have to balance the play calling because apparently only Donovan hangs a Superman cape in his closet,  which keeps defenses on their toes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        A competent and comfortable passer with decent receiving threats and an electrifying all purpose back such as B-West gives the offense fewer blitz looks and allows them to develop their own rhythm while keeping the defense off guard. This is common knowledge to all, apparently, except the Birds’ head men. Utilizing that style of play, the Birds typically rally the troops (esp. w/ a man down) and play some pretty nice football.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The Eagles consistently play better football with number 5 on the sidelines because the game plan changes and the coaches are forced to make adjustments…They aren’t relying on the (sorry, kids..) perpetually disappointing McNabb to take control; they have to use some cleverness and innovation in their play calls and they turn into a gritty ballsy team that’s fun to watch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Seriously, really watch how the line plays when 5 starts. It just looks like this season, they’re giving him less support. They don’t look like they’re behind him, and, for that matter, haven’t for a while. Let’s not forget, we had a team not-so-evenly divided during the battle of the egos w/ T.O.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It looks a touch like this football team is just as over Donovan as most Eagles fans…The question is whether or not the same is true of their brass. The truth of the matter is that McNabb was shafted with this system that he didn’t quite fit into; he had to give up the combination of skills that made him a more promising quarterback; he was still passable  because of his natural ability and certainly smart enough to manage it. He is and has been an excellent athlete, but his body is on the downside and that’s becoming apparent. That’s partly the result of the wear and tear he’s taken from so many years of getting sacked, banged around and injured. I also think it has something to do with his insistence that he play hurt. I understand that as a pro, you always want to be out there, but when you’re the cornerstone of an offense, I think you do a disservice to all invovled parties when you’re taking away from your team by playing at less than 100%, which has been a reason for his inefficiency of late; now it looks like similar such injuries will be the death of his career a la Daunte Culpepper.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             This era, however, has likely come to an end, given our aging stars and the shaky depth chart. The management threw away the chance for a lot more success by releasing, not re-signing and otherwise refusing to negotiate with pretty reliable players for a bevy of questionable reasons who are now excelling with other teams (Owens, Stallworth, etc). Alot of things have been going wrong in Philly the last couple years, but the biggest mistake would be keeping 5 around much longer. 

Defense will be the key

For the 5-5 Philadelphia Eagles to have any chance in Sunday night’s contest against undefeated New England, the Birds are going to have to get to Tom Brady early and often. Plain and simple. Brady does not like getting hit and his numbers are much lower when he is on the move.

The problem, however, is that the Eagles have not been able to get to any quarterback lately. Last week against a rookie on a winless Dolphins’ team, the Eagles recorded…wait for it…wait for it…zero sacks. Take away Trent Cole, who leads the Eagles with nine sacks, the Philadelphia defense has 15 sacks. How will they fair against a team that seems to be putting up nearly 50 points each game?

An injured McNabb or a healthy Feeley?

I am one of the few individuals that still feel that Donovan McNabb can be an elite quarterback in the NFL. His number have not been that bad, especially considering that the Eagles wide receivers are slightly better than a high school squad and the coaching staff makes him toss the ball 35-plus times a game.

With all that being sad, A.J. Feeley should start this weekend regardless of if McNabb can go or not. With Feeley in the lineup, the game will be slowed down and the Eagles will run the ball much more. With the Patriots being so good at the quick strike on offense, you want to keep them off the field as much as possible. The Eagles can do that if Brian Westbrook gets his carries and Feeley drops back and throws one short pass after another.

Prediction

Randy Moss, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, the Patriots just have too many weapons for the Eagles to have any chance of competing in this game. I hope that I am wrong, but I think this one is over midway through the second quarter. New England 42, Philadelphia 17

Thank goodness for Brian Westbrook. It seems like Eagles fans say that just about every weekend anymore. In Sunday’s brutally ugly 17-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Westbrook rushed for a career-high 148 yards on 32 carries and singlehandedly carried the Eagles to the victory and a 5-5 record.

Donovan McNabb completed just 3-of-11 passes and threw two interceptions in the game before leaving with a sprained ankle. Despite the terrible stats, it was not all #5’s fault. McNabb connected on a big touchdown to Reggie Brown off a flea-clicker only to have it called back thanks to a boneheaded holding penalty on L.J. Smith. (This is something Smith has been doing more and more lately…one dumb penatly after another). Later in the drive, McNabb threw an interception, that upon closer reveiw, was a mistake on Kevin Curtis’ side.

A.J. Feeley played a decent game after replacing McNabb. Despite throwing an interception in his first drive, Feeley finished the day with 116 yards on 13-of-19 passing, including a touchdown pass to Jason Avant.

Against the winless Dolphins, the Birds defense played a solid game. Although they were unable to get to rookie John Beck much, the BYU-grad was held to just 9-of-22 passing for 109 yards. In all, the Eagles allowed just 186 total yards of offense.

The Eagles will now prepare for the polar opposite of the winless Dolphins as the undefeated New England Patriots are next on the schedule. According to Andy Reid following the game, McNabb will be the starter if he is healthy.

“If Donovan’s healthy, he’s the quarterback,” Reid said to reporters following the game.

When the hapless Miami Dolphins visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 1 p.m., the Philadelphia Eagles will look to do two things they have failed to do thus far this season. With a victory, the Eagles can improve to .500 on the season (currently sitting at 4-5) and win consecutive games. As of Saturday morning, it was unclear as to whether Andy Reid and company would have their best weapon on offense. Brian Westbrook is battling through some injuries, but it seems like he always is. Westbrook missed one game earlier in the year with an abdominal injury, and seems to always play despite missing practice. He ranks eighth in the NFL with 701 yards rushing, and second among running backs and ninth overall with 54 catches for 518 yards. He has nine touchdowns total, and is coming off a three-touchdown performance in a 33-25 win at Washington last Sunday. “I think he’ll be ready to go,” coach Andy Reid said to reporters on Friday. “It’s not bad. There’s a little swelling.” While the Eagles seem to slowly be improving, thanks in large part to Donovan McNabb seemingly getting healthier by the week, the 0-9 Dolphins are dealing with injury after injury. They will be without linebacker Zach Thomas and defensive end Matt Roth. This is just the latest of a brash of injury that rookie head coach Cam Cameron has had to deal with. Cameron has also made the decision to go with rookie quarterback John Beck. The 26-year-old player from BYU was a second-round draft pick and will become the 12th quarterback to start for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired. Beck will have his hands full with an Eagles’ defense that will likely be blitz happy. A squad that has struggled of late has also made changes, as Jevon Kearse will no longer be in the starting role for Jim Johnson’s defense. Kearse has been a major disappointment since arriving in Philly and will be replaced by Juqua Thomas. Prediction: There is no way that the Eagles will lose this one. I am not saying that the Eagles are just that good; I am saying that the Dolphins are just that bad. With a losing record, the Eagles won’t be looking ahead to the Patriots and will take care of business on Sunday. Philadelphia 37, Miami 16

Don’t put a fork in Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) just yet. Not if they can carry over the type of play they displayed in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 33-25 victory over the Washington Redskins at Fedex Field. McNabb, who was once again the target of the media this past week, proved that he is still worthy of possessing the starting job in Philly. The Eagles quarterback, who finished with 251 yards and four touchdown tosses on 20-of-28 passing, scrambled numerous times and even added 37 yards rushing. McNabb and the Eagles racked up 379 yards of total offense and were able to score 20 points in the final quarter to escape with the win. This was just the second time this season Philadelphia has put up more than 24 in a game. After fumbling the ball on the ensuing drive, McNabb and the Eagles’ offense took over with just under four minutes remaining in the game and trailing by five. McNabb found Brian Westbrook on a short pass and the crafty running back did the rest. Westbrook raced 57 yards down the field, making numerous defensive players miss, to give the Eagles a one-point lead. After a failed two-point conversion, it was the Eagles defense that then came up with the big plays. They forced Washington quarterback Jason Campbell to fumble the ball on fourth-and-long to give the ball back to the offense. Westbrook added a 10-yard touchdown run with 2:18 to play that gave Philly an eight-point lead. The Philly defense was able to stop the Redskins last-ditch efforts to tie the game up to escape with the ‘W’. As has been the case most of the season, Westbrook had a stellar performance. He finished with 20 carries for 100 yards, including a touchdown on the ground. He also added five receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns through the air. With the Birds trailing by nine with 10:35 remaining, it was wide receiver Reggie Brown who got his team back into this one. Having a subpar season, Brown made an acrobatic 45-yard touchdown pass to bring the Eagles to within one score. On a ball that was thrown behind him, Brown spun around and came down with the grab despite two Redskins in the area. McNabb and company will now have a chance to reach the .500 mark and capture back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they welcome the winless Miami Dolphins to Philly.