The observation thread

[Diomedes]

It was beyond aggressive.  It was a stupid play call.  Westbrook had been all but abandoned by that point in the game..Reid should have gone to him or stuck with what had actually been working...middle of the feild intermediate routes at longest.  He had a goddamned win in his hands if he didn't get carried away with himself.

[Father Demon]

MMH and QBEagles both make very good points I hadn't thought of.

[MadMarchHare]

It was beyond aggressive.  It was a stupid play call.  Westbrook had been all but abandoned by that point in the game..Reid should have gone to him or stuck with what had actually been working...middle of the feild intermediate routes at longest.  He had a goddamned win in his hands if he didn't get carried away with himself.

Yeah, but the game was winnable because they were dangerously aggressive the whole game.  The onside kick.  Fleaflicker.  Option pass to Avant.  The 3-3-5 defense that high schools use when they're understaffed.  Staying aggressive with 3 mins left says farg you, we belong, and we WILL kick your ass.  I believe the call is fine, but Feeley didn't execute.

Calling a timeout on Gaffney's catch was a huge missed opportunity.  But it's not like the Pats rushed to get the extra point off.  It is inexcusable that the refs didn't review a play that was clearly close.  You can bust Reid's balls on it if you want.  But I LOVED the play-calling.  It was balls to the wall for 60 mins.  Leave nothing on the field.  This is our super bowl.  And it was a great divergence from their typical tapioca bullshtein.  I hope to see 5 more games of it.

[Sgt PSN]

I didn't read through everyone's comments about the game so I'm sure a lot of what I've got to say has already been said, but oh well.  

I thought the coaches all did a pretty good job getting this team ready to play this week.  The offensive and defensive game plans were pretty solid.  

Offensively, AJ did a great job sans the first possession and the final two possessions.  His throws were strong and accurate.  

The oline was great in protection.  

Westy was held in check for the most part.  He didn't get much production carrying the ball but it was nice to see Reid feed him throughout the game.  Would have liked to see a little Buck up the middle though.  Pats are fast sideline to sideline.  If you're going to run on them, it's probably going to be up the middle.  

The recievers all did a damn good job.  They got open and they actually caught the ball.  Greg Lewis = Pats killa?  I think he quadropled his stat line for the year in one game.  

The defensive game plan was good.  Running a 3-4 seemed to confuse the Pats a little and I thought Cogong did a nice job pressuring Brady.  Moss and Stallworth were held in check but the Eagles had no one who could cover Welker.  I don't know if Rod Hood would have made a difference or not but I'd like to think that he would have done a better job than Will James or Wang Hansen.  Welker was the real difference maker in this game imo and the main reason the Pats won.  The other reason being that even with a pretty solid defensive game plan, the Eagles were still unable to create any turnovers.  

I thought Reed did a nice job filling in for Mikell.  

I really can't find a lot of fault in the planning/strategy for this game.  Reid had the right plan and I thought he called a pretty solid game over all.  It was just a lack of execution in key situations that really did them in.....the final 2 int's obviously, but the Eagles also had a golden opportunity with the onsides kick and they went 3 and out.  To come away from that without a fg at the very least was huge.  

And did I actually see Reid showing some emotion on the sideline?  Where the farg has that been for the last 9 years?  

I'm not happy with the loss because it was a game that they had within their reach.  I am happy with the effort though.  They showed up and went blow for blow against what could be the greatest team ever put together.  And they even did it after spotting them 7 points in the first 90 seconds.  

[QB Eagles]

The Eagles are the only team in the NFL with no defensive or special teams touchdowns.

The team is also last place in turnovers generated and they are ranked 29th in both kick returns and punt returns.

[Sgt PSN]

The Eagles are the only team in the NFL with no defensive or special teams touchdowns.

WTF are you talking about?  I specifically remember the Eagles special teams scoring a touchdown.........for Green Bay. 

[MadMarchHare]

I also just noticed they are the 32nd defense (by cost) in the salary cap league on Yahoo.  Ouch.

[QB Eagles]

I also just noticed they are the 32nd defense (by cost) in the salary cap league on Yahoo.  Ouch.

And really, Kearse's salary shouldn't even count for that...

[Magical_Retard]

so how long before the FO looks around the league and realize "hey special teams can help out from time to time" and try to upgrade the return game?

i wanna see the same aggresive blitz/defensive schemes the rest of the way. nothing to lose at all. 3-3-5 or 3-4 or whatever is needed. blitz every play.

[rjs246]

It was an an aggressive playcall. Everyone was expecting us to grind it out and go short.

Hahahahaahahahahahahahaha. What right-thinking person would ever think that Andy Reid would do that? No one, anywhere, ever will ever expect Andy Reid to grind anything out. Ever. Why the farg do you think the safety was practically lined up at the goal line? He was five yards deeper than Curtis and Curtis was in the goddamned endzone! Everyone on Earth knew that Andy Reid was going to 'try to take a shot'. Terrible playcall.

[Magical_Retard]

well cant be sure if reid told him to take that shot or if feeley decided on his own. its was just a bad play all around.

i blame feeley for actually pulling the trigger and not checking down to LJ streaking across.

i blame reid for not using westbrook more by running the ball there to keep the clock running.

[ice grillin you]

well cant be sure if reid told him to take that shot or if feeley decided on his own. its was just a bad play all around.

coaches dont tell the qb where to throw it...the coach makes a play call and the qb is supposed to throw it where the defense allows...this is where aj takes some of the fault...not checking down...but reid shouldnt have called a play where the first option was that throw...we arent talking about tom brady here...we are talking about a back up qb that had already made one horrendous mistake in the game...not to mention even if they hit that play brady comes right back down the field and wins the game...so not only was it a questionable play call but it was terrible clock management

[MadMarchHare]

You guys are all farging hypocrites.  You're bashing Reid for being aggressive, after spending the last 5 years ripping him for playing conservative.

Fine with the call, AJ has to check down there.  And he knew it the second he threw the ball.

[rjs246]

The bashing isn't based on him being aggressive. Being aggressive is fine. It's good. The problem is that he doesn't have any farging clue how to change gears. None. This game was more fun to watch than usual, but in the end his inability to recognize the game's situation was the team's undoing.

[SD_Eagle5]

this is where aj takes some of the fault...not checking down...

Feeley said he was just trying to throw it away but didn't get enough air under it. Which begs the question why not just throw it out on the sideline?