taterskins @ Eagles Game Thread

[phattymatty]

These guys have to win next week if they want home field advantage in the playoffs

probably the best thing i've ever read on here.

[MDS]

farg everything and every single one of you and anything ever.  none of you have any ides the shtein that i have to go through this week.

enough with you and igys woe is moe i live in dc and have to put up with stupid racists fans whiny bullshtein. man up and punch them in the face for christs sakes.

[QB Eagles]

From Brookover's article:

"The distances are there," Akers said. "It would just be nice to hit them between [the goalposts] once in a while. I go out, try my best, and I'm coming up right apparently. Is it frustrating? Yeah. Do I feel like I'm letting my teammates down? Absolutely."

Since the start of the 2005 season, Akers has hit just 6 of 20 attempts from 45 yards or beyond. He also has missed nine straight from beyond that distance. His last field goal from beyond 45 yards was on opening day last season, when he hit a 47-yarder at Green Bay.

To make matters worse for Akers, he had to watch the second-quarter work of taterskins kicker Shaun Suisham, who connected on attempts of 41, 48 and 50 yards.

"Fifty-yarders are long kicks," Akers said. "But obviously, Shaun went out there and hit 48 and 50 as well today. That made the difference."

Akers said he is not worried about his teammates and coaches losing confidence in him.

"I can't control that," he said. "All I can control is going out there and doing what I do. I pulled the one a little bit today. I wish I had about three feet for three kicks, and that would be about the difference. But I don't, and I can't take it back. I let the guys and the organization down again."

Reid insisted he is still confident in Akers.

"David is going to make a lot more of those than he is going to miss," he said. "Down the stretch here, he'll be fine. Absolutely, I'm confident."

Apparently Andy doesn't know the stats if he thinks Akers is going to make more of those than he misses.

[ice grillin you]

or he thinks hes getting younger

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Andy probably thinks his kids will "just say no" more than not also.

[Feva]

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/COLUMNISTS14/810060351/1015

Eagles tell you they're good, but are they?
CourierPOstOnline.com • October 6, 2008

PHILADELPHIA — The two truest statements to come out of the Eagles locker room were these: "At some point, we have to stop saying we're a good team, and actually go out there and win," Omar Gaither said.

Then Reggie Brown was trying to explain what went wrong with the Eagles, a team that thinks it's good but keeps losing games it should win, and why they lost to the taterskins at home Sunday, when he finally threw up his hands and said: "I'm sorry. I wish I had answers for you guys. I just don't."

There are no answers now. This is what the Eagles are. They act like they're good, but they're sitting in last place in the NFC East. It was comical at one point, when Donovan McNabb kept insisting the Eagles were the better team, even though they. . . .you know. . . .lost the game.

"There is no way this team is better than us," McNabb said.

Uh, Donovan? They scored more points than you.

"It doesn't make a difference," McNabb said. "Does that mean they're better than us? I don't see it that way."

OK, then.

Eagles head coach Andy Reid was at a loss to explain this debacle, in which the taterskins rumbled for 203 yards against the league's best run defense and the Eagles offense completely disappeared after the first seven minutes. His answers were as clipped and terse as the players' answers were vague and searching.

Reid trotted out the usual standards: "We have to keep working," "I have to put them in the right position," and of course the biggie: "That's my responsibility."

This really is Reid's responsibility. It's not just the gameday coaching, which we can argue about for hours. It's the makeup of the roster. The Eagles just aren't that good, and they got this way on purpose.

The Eagles are weirdly less than the sum of their parts. Statistically, on paper, the Eagles look OK. But they don't win enough games. They're short in a lot of key places -- and not by accident. They've deliberately put themselves at a disadvantage almost everywhere you look.

It's hard to tell where things went wrong Sunday. The Eagles let Washington hang around, doing nothing for two solid quarters (49 total yards in the second and third quarters, just 16 plays run on five possessions). They put together a horrendous two-minute drill at the end of the first half. They can't cover the tight end to save their lives. They couldn't stop the run at all.

But let's look at the Eagles' only real drive of the second half, when they marched to the Washington 2-yard line with 9:08 left. On third and one, the Eagles came out of the huddle with a running play designed to go up the middle, with zone blocking, out of a formation with the tight end lined up right, and Dan Klecko lined up at fullback.

Klecko is not a fullback. He is a defensive tackle. But the Eagles don't have a true fullback, because they love doing goofy stuff like this. McNabb changed the play to a run to the left. On the play McNabb called, the proper formation is with the tight end to the left. So the veteran quarterback called a play that didn't really fit the way Eagles were lined up. And to top it off, once the ball was snapped, the defensive tackle who was playing fullback didn't know which way to go.

Klecko didn't block anybody, and Westbrook was tossed for a three-yard loss. Afterward, Reid said: "It was a miscommunication." McNabb echoed: "Miscommunication." And, well -- no. It was a bad plan, it was poorly executed, and it had the wrong personnel on the field.

That's the story of these 2-3 Eagles. They talk like they're good, but they're not. They've deliberately put themselves at a disadvantage with poor personnel decisions up and down the roster. They've got a bad plan, it's being poorly executed by players that aren't that good, and the Eagles keep losing games they should win.

Add it all up, and yes -- that really is the head coach's responsibility.
Reach Kevin Roberts at kroberts@courierpostonline.com

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Don't forget that they have Gary Anderson at kicker, but they think he can still hit from long range.

[mussa]

eagles 18 total rushes....29 total passes.

taterskins had 44 rushes...30 passes.

this is a problem.

[MDS]

why the farg is akers still on this team

[ice grillin you]

why is he still being asked to kick 50 yarders

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

because Andy thinks he still makes more of those than he misses

[reese125]

because Reid coaches on faith...and faith alone

faith that Akers will come out of his slump right then and there when called to do so

faith that McNabb will consistently throw for over 300 yds every game

faith that his receivers are bound to succeed because of his system

faith that Mormons make the best foot ball players

Reids faith farging blows.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Reid PR gems:

Some reporter asked this, which I thought was great: "You always say you need to put the players in better positions, after ten years, why is it so hard?"

Reid: "It's a challenge every week. That's what makes it so much fun"


Reporter: "You went in with Tony Hunt as your fullback, but for short yardarge he isn't in. Klecko got blown-up on that play near the endzone. Will you maybe bring in a true blocking fullback?"

Reid: Klecko got surpirsed by that guy, wasn't the guy he was supposed to block. We'll see what happens."

Reporter: Will close loses shake the team's confidence?

Reid: We have the leadership to avoid that.

Reporter: Akers has been bad for awhile, any thoughts of changing anything?

Reid: He's in a slump. He'll pull out of it, he'll be fine.

[mussa]

 

how much longer can this go on 

[Wingspan]

In the last calendar year, Pat Burrell has hit more post season home runs, than david akers has made 40+ FGs

lol

He's fine.