The Worst Part Of That Game IS....

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Why does it have to be the "same" thing?

[PhillyPhreak54]

Sure I can. They fought back from a big deficit and had the lead. To start off slow and to fight back was good. If the defense stops them, the Eagles get the ball back and go into clock control and win.

I do not have a list of have and have not's in my memory, BB. But I do think the "fact" put out there is nothing more than an exaggeration.

[MDS]

phreak is a mcnabb apologist

the guy will get you scores like the jackson one. but he will never lead that drive. he blew it against st lou, tampa, new england and now zona. 4 chances to do it and he failed.

the worst part is mcnabb convinced himself that if he got a lead that was it. so when the defense gave it back he basically said "thats not part of the deal," like he was being asked to do too much to lead another drive. most qbs simply pick up their helmet, head to the field and say ok were gonna answer back. but donovan did so with his eyes rolled, acting like too much was being asked of him.

yes talent wise he is one of the 10 best qbs in the nfl but mentally he is weaker than a 13 year long island jew girl. he will never happy here and he will never win here. farg him.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

yes talent wise he is one of the 10 best qbs in the nfl but mentally he is weaker than a 13 year long island jew girl. he will never happy here and he will never win here.

Not sure I can disagree with this.  Although, I know precisely zero 13-year-old LI Jew girls... I'll just have to take your word on that one.

[ice grillin you]

his game winning drive days ended when he stopped running...hes not clutch or accurate enough to lead a drive like kurt warner did the other day

when he ran that would bail him out a lot...now that that threat is gone and he has to rely on his arm he cant do it

[MDS]

he still can run. not as well as he used to, but he is so out to prove thats hes a good qb that he doesnt want to run. and when you care more about proving people wrong than winning games you are donovan mcnabb.

[JackStraw]

The reason they lost this game is because Tampa Bay choked on Oakland. They lost this game because Plaxico was out. They lost because of a poor Vikings team, which a better team would have blown-out. The reasons why they didn't belong in this game were exactly the reasons it was lost.

They were clearly ill-prepared for this game. Out coached, and possibly just plain tired. Talent issues exposed once again.

They are not, and have never been, known as a late game comeback group. Overcoming an early mistake or even two, maybe, but not the magnitude they biffed it early on Sunday. Downhill is their best mode of winning. They got jumped-on big time and never recovered - temporary later lead notwithstanding.

Finally, as well mentioned, plenty of blame to go around. But as importantly, no one, absolutely no one, had the leadership desire, skill or sense of the moment to take over the game and ensure the late win.

And that is precisely the "Cap'n Andy" problem - his self-love of his precious system over securing the right players.

[NC_Eagle]

A receiver like Larry Fitzgerald comes around maybe twice a decade.

Warner outplayed McNabb, but the difference in the game was that the players and the scheme were not prepared for Fitzgerald.

True,  I remember hearing after the game that Fitzgerald already broke Jerry Rice's postseason yardage record, and they haven't played the Super Bowl yet.

Rare company there.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Rice probably didn't have to play in the Wild Card round, but still...

After watching the Carolina/Arizona game, I thought it would be easy to stop the Cardinals.  All they had to do was triple Fitzgerald.  It turns out that the Cardinals ran the ball and protected Warner well enough to force the Eagles to keep people closer to the line, and we all saw the result.  Except Dio.

[Don Ho]

Is there anyone anywhere who thought for a single second that McNabb had the intestinal fortitude to lead a last-minute game-typing drive? Everyone knew the game was over as soon as they scored.

Absolutely.  Even if they (Cards) had made a go ahead field goal I had even less faith in Akers.

[Cerevant]

It was the Defense - no question about it.  You can argue whether it was the players or the scheme, but...
- Eagles O had no 3 and outs (one if you count the INT) in the first half - the D wasn't tired
- Eagles D had one 3 and out in the first half, and gave up points on the other 4 drives (3 TD, 1 FG).
- Eagles O put up more than 21 points
- Eagles D gave up more than 20

JJ himself has said that the Defense's job is to keep the other team below 20 points.  His target is 17 ppg.  Like it or not, McNabb and Reid are not going to get you a last minute win - they did their job against the Cards, but the D didn't close the deal.

This season:
Opp <= 20 points: 10-1-1
Opp > 20 points: 1-6

Not all of those loses are on the D - sometimes the O couldn't keep the D off the field, but that is about as strong a trend as you can find.

[ice grillin you]

cardinals were the third highest scoring team in the nfl...did you really think this defense was gonna shut them down...and even at that the eagles defense was better in every category except pts...basically what it came down to was the eagles inability to get in the end zone in the first half and come up with the last score...team that scored last was gonna win that game...and as usual on the biggest stages the qb the eagles are playing gets the job done while their qb doesnt

[Magical_Retard]

No not shut them down but 32 pts? Are you kidding me? And not even off of turnovers like they did against the Panthers. I dont even think they put up that much against the Falcons defense.

If you told me going into the game that the Eagles offense would score 2 FGs and 3TDS...meaning 27 pts I would have told you that the game would have been easily won by the Eagles. I did not expect the defense to hold them to say 10-14 pts but not 32. Some of those drives were not even quick strikes. In fact they used basically only one trick play on that 2nd score. All other scoring drives were slow methodical drives which kept the D on the field for 6-8 minutes. Even when the Eagles D would get them into a 3rd and long they would convert.

Eagles D was, or supposedly was, the best D they had faced so far in the playoffs yet it played the worst out of all the defenses they played so far.

Even then after the Eagles got the lead I just expected the defense to force a punt or turnover.

Oh and lets not forget the running game they gave up. So many missed tackles on runs that should have been no gains or 2 yr gains and ended up being 5-6 yd gains. The defense really failed in all phases. Zero turnoevrs, couldnt stop the run, couldnt stop the pass, and could not pressure the QB.

[ice grillin you]

cardinals had 100 yards rushing eagles had 97

and the eagles supposedly had one of the best d's in the league but the cardinals supposedly had one of the best offenses in the league...what makes you think the eagles defense was so great but the cardinals offense wasnt

going into the game is was pretty obvious this was a 35-28 or 34-31 game...i didnt really hear anyone not think lots of pts were going up...and in games like that its usually the last team to score wins and its almost always the better qb that wins

im certainly not putting it all on mcnabb...i dont discount the fact that the cardinals have two number one wr's and the eagles have none...but in the end the both teams had the ball where they should want it...in their respective qb's hands to win the game...one guy drove down the field and scored and the other guy didnt...and really thats the game in a nutshell and unless youre a mcnabb fan boy i dont really see how you can view it any other way

[Cerevant]

going into the game is was pretty obvious this was a 35-28 or 34-31 game...i didnt really hear anyone not think lots of pts were going up...and in games like that its usually the last team to score wins and its almost always the better qb that wins

the cardinals are worse than minnesota in 04...there isnt even a small chance the eagles lose next week...the nfl sucks the nfc sucks and the farging arizona cardinals suck

So, the Cards suck and there was no chance they would win a shootout with a MOV of one score?  Convenient you didn't pick a score for this mortal lock.

Quite simply, they Eagles are not designed to win a shootout.  The numbers show it - they are designed to put up ~25 points and hold the other team to ~20.  We all know that Reid is not a brilliant in-game strategist, and that McNabb isn't going to march the team down the field for a last second victory.  If that makes the Cards the better team, so be it.