“They were who we thought they were!”
Well, unfortunately for The Philadelphia Eagles, The Washington Redskins were exactly who the Die Hard Redskins Fans bloggers thought they were; and that is a tough, physical team that plays as one, making smart decisions and not turning over the ball.
Yesterday’s loss to the Redskins was painful and frustrating. It was frustrating because I know how The Redskins needed to be us. I hinted at it during last week’s blog posts. On Offense, the Redskins were more physical than we were. They took the ball and kept it, ramming it down our throats with RBs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. They moved the ball in the air with clean, careful, and short passes, mostly to TE Chris Cooley. As I had warned last week and throughout the first 5 weeks of this season; one of the Eagles’ biggest weaknesses is covering the opponent’s Tight End. Yesterday was a clear example of that as Cooley rumbled through the Eagles defense for 109 yards and 1 TD. QB Jason Campbell continues his most impressive journey to mastering Head Coach Zorn’s offense. Despite dropped balls by WR Randle El and a disappearing act by WR Santana Moss, Campbell was steady and careful with the ball and went yet another game in this season with no turnovers. He pulled the ball down and ran or threw the ball away when something wasn’t there. He didn’t force things and kept his offense on the field and worse, kept the Eagles defense there with him. By being successful at that game plan, it kept #5 QB Donovan McNabb and his offense watching like me, from afar.
This game hurts. It was at Lincoln Financial Field. We let the Washington Redskins walk into our home, be down by 14 points, and then walk out with our hearts squashed in their hands. At this point, everyone and everything has to be questioned. Can this team execute well enough to win big games? Can this coaching staff adapt and adjust during the games? Many questions loom and by the time we have our answers, it may be too late. The competive nature of the NFC East doesn’t allow for teams and coaches to perform this way. It is only week 5 and the NFL season has a long way to go, but one cannot help feeling a sense of doubt. Here’s hoping the ship can get turned around this week…
With that said, “E-A-G-L-E-S!! EAGLES!!”
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