Thoughts and Feelings now that the loss to Dallas has digested
It has been over 24 hours now since the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys. The more time goes by, the harder I am taking this loss. After the game was over, I felt a disappointment just because how it ended. Now, I feel more than disappointment. Its not anger but its definitely something worthy of feeling like I got kicked in the you know what.
With a few minutes left in the game and the Eagles Offense being led onto the field, I had a false sense of hope and promise where I envisioned Donovan McNabb marching the offense down the field as John Elway has done so many times for the Broncos in his career. I could see it right then and there; with McNabb running the 2-minute drill and leading the Eagles to victory over the hated Cowboys and making the 70,000 plus fans go home with their hearts in their hands. It never happened, obviously. Instead, a different Donovan McNabb led the team to failed attempts to bring our team back.
The first three quarters and #5 was his old self. Moving around in the pocket, throwing tight rope passes to his receivers down field, spreading it around with no bias. McNabb was successful during the first three quarters without his two top receivers and with someone that was trying to impersonate franchise Tight End, L.J. Smith. McNabb was the smiling, happy McNabb. The quarterback playing for the Eagles Monday night during the first three quarters was the same quarterback who lead our beloved team to the Super Bowl just a few years ago.
The fourth quarter was a different story. McNabb looked distant, almost confused at times. The quarterback out there sporting #5 in green had trouble handing off the ball in the most crucial times. He missed a wide open Brian Westbrook on a huge third down play that might have changed the outcome of the game if the ball was thrown correctly. This quarterback, playing for the Eagles in the fourth quarter against Dallas took sacks that our offense could not afford to let happen.
After the game, McNabb took it like a man and took full responsibility for the cause of the turnover late in the game when he mishandled a simple handoff on a fake reverse. “My bad” with the pat to his chest is what I pictured when hearing him talk after the game. I don’t know what happened to him as I am guessing he was flat out exhausted and ran out of juice. The Eagles loss was not his fault. The defense gave up huge plays at the most inopportune times. LB Stewart Bradley was toasted for a TD reception by RB Marion Barber. Safety Brian Dawkins was out of place at times. Why Safety Sean Considine is on the field is beyond me. Special Teams was almost putrid at times including giving up a touchdown to rookie RB Felix Jones. L.J. Smith disappeared last night. (Can we go back to the draft and take Cowboys TE Jason Witten and let Dallas draft L.J. Smith?). WR Greg Lewis didn’t come up with a sideline pass where it was a catch he had to make. No one with any football understanding can solely pin last night’s loss on McNabb.
McNabb is a good quarterback. It was a moment like Monday night where he could have showed the national audience that he wants to be a great quarterback. He can make plays that very few others can make. He is greatly appreciated here by this blogger and I will miss him tremendously when his days run out as a member of the Eagles. I just wonder what it will take to get him over the hump and catapult him into the next echelon of quarterbacks.
With that said, “E-A-G-L-E-S!! EAGLES!!”
September 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
“Why Safety Sean Considine is on the field is beyond me.”
^^^This
September 17th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Maybe McNabb got tired. How else could he have missed a wide open Westbrook *and* muffed that handoff. He was either tired, or he was having a senior moment.
You know…what no one is saying is that it was McNabb’s ego that ran T.O. out of town. McNabb was a bit taken aback by all the hysteria that swept the town for T.O. It must be said that T.O. put the wheels on the bus that go round and round in Philly. When T.O. went down, McNabb took an opportunity to tell everyone that *he* was still in charge and the team would be fine…even without T.O.
Well, you mix that spark with the fuel of emotional immaturity of a T.O. and BOOM!
All McNabb had to do, even after the initial explosion, was admit openly through the press and all, that T.O. was his right arm; that T.O. made him a better quarterback. That’s all he had to say. And, if he had done that, the Eagles would have won a Super Bowl by now.
But, McNabb was and is so insistent on proving that he can win without T.O. And you know, the Eagles management is going to make him prove it to.
Note to Desean Jackson: You’re being made out to be a joke right now, but hold your head up, learn from your mistakes, and be proud. You’re in the NFL. And at the end of the day, how many can say that.
September 17th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
It hurts… yes we live and die by McNabb… I love it when he takes us down the field like he did… I love it that he knows this offense like Andy Reid they could do it in their sleep…. but when you have pressure / injury / fatigue the situation asks for the extra-ordinary and McNabb does it sometimes… but when we need him the most - he comes up short… Believe me as a season ticket holder for over 25 years I have enjoyed the last 10 years more than the first 15…. but come on now dig down deep and give us what we need man! I’m sick of seeing him huffin and puffin when we need him to settle the team and get it done… NFC Championship at the VET, NFC Championship at the new Linc… Superbowl …. now the Dallas game felt allot like those games - shoulda coulda woulda….. LET GO DONOVAN ! GET IT THE HECK DONE for us for you ! …whew I feel a little better…. Flipp
September 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
[...] to have perfected the skill of the ‘let down.’ I read a great post and comment on the Die Hard Eagles blog that essentially confirmed my assumption about what all Eagle fans feel. Flipp says: It [...]