Positives amidst all the negativity

[mpmcgraw]

Dawkins is not great anymore and Sheldon has been kind of mediocre so far this year. 

[The BIGSTUD]

Dawk is still great. I don't know what you've been watching, but I wouldn't expect you to understand what you were watching anyway.

[TexasEagle]

The defense (outside of "TD Lewis") doesn't stink. They just play too soft in coverage coming off the LOS and the blitzes have gone from exotic to predictable. They give too big a cushion on the short routes and Lewis is invisible on long routes. The D can play well (we've seen it and they've shown it) they're just wildly inconsistent at the moment.

[Geowhizzer]

Dawkins is great, Sheldon and Lito are somewhere between good and very good, Lewis sucks.

The DBs aren't mediocre.

Right now, the Eagles are 27th in passing yards allowed per game.

You're right.  They're not mediocre right now.  They're worse.

[mpmcgraw]

I am not saying Dawk is not still a very good player, but if you think he is as good as he was a few years ago you are just kidding yourself. 

I am still worried about the way Deuce ran over the defense.  We did pretty good stopping Bush on running plays, but who doesnt?

[The BIGSTUD]

Dawkins is great, Sheldon and Lito are somewhere between good and very good, Lewis sucks.

The DBs aren't mediocre.

Right now, the Eagles are 27th in passing yards allowed per game.

You're right.  They're not mediocre right now.  They're worse.

You are mixing apples and oranges. If you think the quality of the DBs somehow is a direct result of our ranked pass defense, you are kidding yourself. There are plenty of other variables involved. Stats don't explain the entire situation.

[Geowhizzer]

Dawkins is great, Sheldon and Lito are somewhere between good and very good, Lewis sucks.

The DBs aren't mediocre.

Right now, the Eagles are 27th in passing yards allowed per game.

You're right.  They're not mediocre right now.  They're worse.

You are mixing apples and oranges. If you think the quality of the DBs somehow is a direct result of our ranked pass defense, you are kidding yourself. There are plenty of other variables involved. Stats don't explain the entire situation.

How am I mixing apples and oranges by judging the defensive backs by the one stat for which they are primarily responsible?

The quality of the DBs are mediocre.  Period.

Explain how the aren't.  Prove to me that the tandem of Dawkins-Lewis-Brown-Sheppard are somehow good-to-great, and yet the Eagles are barely beating the dregs of the NFL in passing defense.

Dawkins is still good.  Not great like he was, but good.

Lewis can't cover a quadruple-amputee at this point.

Brown is OK at covering, and has been thdreadful at tackling.

Sheppard makes the flashy plays, but gets burned too often.

Rod Hood is out - Lord knows when he'll be ready to play again.  Next week?  November?  2052?

Joselio Hanson is getting meaningful minuted on defense.   

Can they play better than they have?  Perhaps.  But, to this point, they haven't.

[mpmcgraw]

Dawkins is still good.  Not great like he was, but good.

I dont know what you are watching, but you dont understand what you were watching.

[troyhstewart]

do you have stats for total plays on offense/defense???  i'd like to see where the eagles rank.

the defense has been on the field for 433 plays, most in the nfl...dead last.

the offense has been on the field for 367 plays, 8th most.

That offense stat has to be looked at more closely, considering only 14 (give or take 2) teams have played 6 games.

There have been times when WRs or TEs have been wide open downfield, you obviously can't ignore that.  Other times, it has taken an almost perfect throw from McNabb to even have a chance of being completed, while other receivers were wide open underneath.  The players are there on offense to take a 5-10 yard pass for extra YAC, McNabb needs to just hit the open man.

The defense is a little complicated. I hate zone, JJ seems to be calling it more and more. Their CBs need to be in press man coverage. Everybody knows Lewis has been horrible in pass coverage. There is no way a LB is going to consistently cover a WR like Horn.

[The BIGSTUD]

Dawkins - I don't get this good but not great stuff anymore. He is playing as good this year as he has EVER played. People who say that are goig strictly by last season. He is at the absolute peak of his game right now.

Brown - Has been great at covering this year, but yes, has been poor at tackling. This has never been a problem for Brown in his career. He has always been a very good tackler. So going by 4 years of football before this season, I'd have to say he is just in a funk and will come out of it. You don't play 4 years of football as a good tackler and suddenly lose it when you are as young as he is.

Sheppard - Got burnt last year. Hasn't this year. Has played great this season. As long as he continues playing this way, he is pro bowl caliber this season.

Lewis - has been awful. Considine will probably be starting. We'll see how he does.

Hood - Best nickel corner in football. Has been hurt, but you can't include him because he hasn't been playing. When he does play he is arguably our best corner.

Hanson - After the bad start against the Giants, has played very very well. Is physical and is in the top 10 in passes defended. Played a great game against the Cowboys. Has been a solid corner for us.


I don't know how you can say this secondary has been mediocre as a unit. One player has been completely awful(Lewis) one has been bad at tackling, but great at everything else(Brown) and everyone else has been perfectly fine. The only player we see get burnt in this secondary week to week is Lewis. When have we seen Dawk, Sheldon or Lito get burnt? Last time was week 2 against the Giants where Sheldon got beat by Plaxico.

Blame the linebackers for the underneath stuff that we are giving up, because fopr the most part our down the field defense has been fine except for Lewis. Trotter can't pass defend and neither can Dhani. McCoy has been banged up for 2 weeks now so it's hard to grade him thus far.

[Geowhizzer]

Only two teams have given up more passing plays of 20+ yards than the Eagles (21):  Washington (25) and Green Bay (28).  San Fran and the J-E-T-S have given up as many (21)

Only three teams have given up more first downs passing than the Eagles:  Jets, San Francisco and Detroit.

Are these just on the DBs?  No.  But they haven't been a part of the solution thus far, either.

[Quasimoto]

I'm just getting tired of the same problems year in and out for this team.  It's the small things like clock management, not getting plays in fast enough, blown timeouts (which is my biggest problem right now) that have not changed since Andy got here.

I guess one positive is that we have some WRs that can actually play other than that we probably lead the league in drops (I'm not sure if we do but it wouldn't surprise me.) 

I guess as long as we have #5 we have a chance to win.  But, IMO, we will win because of him.  Not because of Andy.

[Zanshin]

Dawkins - I don't get this good but not great stuff anymore. He is playing as good this year as he has EVER played. People who say that are goig strictly by last season. He is at the absolute peak of his game right now.

Brown - Has been great at covering this year, but yes, has been poor at tackling. This has never been a problem for Brown in his career. He has always been a very good tackler. So going by 4 years of football before this season, I'd have to say he is just in a funk and will come out of it. You don't play 4 years of football as a good tackler and suddenly lose it when you are as young as he is.

Sheppard - Got burnt last year. Hasn't this year. Has played great this season. As long as he continues playing this way, he is pro bowl caliber this season.

Lewis - has been awful. Considine will probably be starting. We'll see how he does.

Hood - Best nickel corner in football. Has been hurt, but you can't include him because he hasn't been playing. When he does play he is arguably our best corner.

Hanson - After the bad start against the Giants, has played very very well. Is physical and is in the top 10 in passes defended. Played a great game against the Cowboys. Has been a solid corner for us.


I don't know how you can say this secondary has been mediocre as a unit. One player has been completely awful(Lewis) one has been bad at tackling, but great at everything else(Brown) and everyone else has been perfectly fine. The only player we see get burnt in this secondary week to week is Lewis. When have we seen Dawk, Sheldon or Lito get burnt? Last time was week 2 against the Giants where Sheldon got beat by Plaxico.

Blame the linebackers for the underneath stuff that we are giving up, because fopr the most part our down the field defense has been fine except for Lewis. Trotter can't pass defend and neither can Dhani. McCoy has been banged up for 2 weeks now so it's hard to grade him thus far.

You're out of your mind.

Dawkins-- Still good, but peak of his game?  Come on.  He used to be a guy you could line up at either S spot or CB.  He's much more limited these days.

Lewis-- Has been horrendous.

Brown-- The fact that he hasn't had problems tackling in the past doesn't mean shtein when you're talking about his year.  And he's had his problems.

Sheppard-- He hasn't been burnt this year.  Hey, that's awesome.  You know what, I sat out a bunch of games this year, and I wasn't burnt either.  I rock.

Hood-- Banged up, and even when healthy, I don't think he's the best nickle corner in the league.

Hanson-- Come on.  You really have a ton of faith in this guy at this point.  He's still a project.  I think he's done alright, but c'mon.

The secondary has been okay at best, particularly when you factor in injury.

[The BIGSTUD]

Agree to disagree about Hood and Dawk. I think Hood is by far the best nickel in the league and one of the best corners in the league period. Hood is a stud who would be a pro bowl corner if the Eagles didn't already lock up Lito and Sheldon for long term deals.

Dawk has been doing it all this year. I don't see him being a step slow at all. He is covering, hitting, flat out doing it all this season. Has been a monster in the red zone and goal line situations. Last year he had a down year, but I think he's playing as well as he's ever played this season.

[Munson]

I hate to agree with Bunkley here about anything, but I agree with what he's saying about Dawkins, for the most part. Last year (or maybe it was 2004) was Dawkins' best statistical year in his last 3, and this year he's been doing great as well. I think everyone's problem is once we figured out that Dawk was the best FS in the game at one point, we've held him to this high standard where he must make every play he's in the area of. Even the best don't do that, but he's been damn close. He might be a tad slower, but other then that I havn't seen much decline in his game. And even if his play HAS declined, his leadership and the heart he plays the game with are unmatched.