Vick Disappears in the Second Half, But Eagles still Win

If the game was over at half-time, the Eagles would have won 24-7, and Vick would have graded out better. However, as most of you know, football is a game of two halves.I guess the Eagles offense didn’t get it, because they scored 2 total points in the second half. The two points came from a safety in the 4th Quarter, where Eagles DE Phillip Hunt sacked Dolphins QB JP Losman in the Dolphins  end zone.

The Eagles offense had no impact on the safety. Matt Moore and the Dolphins weren’t much better in general. They struggled to move the ball on the Eagles defense after their first drive . Also, it didn’t help that Matt Moore left the game in the third quarter with a head injury. Vick vs Moore was more of a tale of the first half, and that’s what I’m going to focus on.

Moore was  competent for a part of the game.He was 11-19 with 95 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception and a 66.8 rating.  Moore started with good field position on his first drive. This was a result of a blocked punt, and the Dolphins capitalized on it. Moore threw a rainbow-like pass to Brandon Marshall for the games first TD. In my eyes, this was Moore’s best throw of the day. He dropped back, read the defense, and threw the ball in the perfect spot for Marshall to catch it. Moore continued to look sharp after that, and made a couple of nice throws. However, the Eagles defensive line dominated in the trenches. The Dolphins didn’t move the ball much after their first TD Drive.

In the second quarter, while the Eagles were piling up points, the Dolphins had no answer. They couldn’t run the ball, and had to rely on Moore’s shoulders. This proved fatal to their chances of winning the game. Protection was bad, and Moore was off-target many times. This includes  a horrible interception in the second quarter that set up an Eagles TD. Moore was locked in on his WR, but threw it over has head, and  led to a bad interception. In the game, the Eagles scored 14 points off turnovers, which was the difference in the game.

Down 24-7 at half, the Dolphins came back out and just couldn’t move the ball. It also didn’t help that Jake Long, one of the best left tackle’s in football, was knocked out of the game. His replacement was much better. The Eagles had 9 sacks on the day. If losing Long was bad enough, Moore was also knocked out of the game. In came third string QB JP Losman, who didn’t do much better. The Dolphins didn’t score another TD.

Vick had a decent game. He finished 15-30 with 208 yards, one touchdown pass and one interception with a 69.9 QB rating.  The Eagles got off to a good start, and they got McCoy involved which helped their offense drive the ball down the field. They also used lots of passes to the sideline to help Vick get more comfortable. After they drove down the field, they gave the ball who ran it in for the TD and tied the game at 7-7.  The Eagles were helped by two turnovers the Dolphins. After Moore’s interception, Vick threw the ball away on first down and on second down Shady powered into the end zone. Then the Dolphins stalled on one drive, and then gave the ball back to the Eagles. This was followed by the Eagles and Vick’s best drive. He managed the game well, and then threw a beautiful deep pass to DeSean Jackson that put the game out of reach 24-7.

These points were unfortunately the last for the Eagles. They had their chances, and they just couldn’t move the ball in the second half. At the start of the third quarter,the Eagles moved the ball well and gave the ball to McCoy while they had a lead  (WHAT!?). However, the drive was killed when Vick scrambled and made a horrible decision that was intercepted. Vick was looking for Jason Avant, but he should have seen the defensive back breaking on the ball, who picked it off. That being said, the Eagles won 24-10. However, they scored ZERO offensive points in the second half, which is horrible.

The Eagles defense won the game, make no mistake about it.If your looking for who played better, Vick did, but he didn’t play great either. He still has his problems with recognizing the blitz, and holding onto the ball. He is going to get himself injured if doesn’t get the ball out of his hands faster. He also had his occasional tipped passes at the line, and was off-target at times. He got away with it today. The Eagles were playing a 4-8 team, and the Eagles jumped on them early. That being said, Vick ‘s play is still way too inconsistent to warrant the 5 year-80 million dollar contract that he was given in August. Vick has allot to prove to me and the Eagles coaches the next three weeks, including if they can count on him as the franchise QB past 2012.