There’s going to be a lot of pressure on Michael Vick and the Eagles this Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. They’ve got to find a way to get their offense going and avoid turnovers against a tough Giants defense. It could get really ugly over there if the Birds don’t play well.
The Eagles will need to start off strong in order to get the crowd on their side, but they won’t have a long time to get things going positively. One of the keys will be their balance. They will have no chance against the Giants if they come out, throw the ball every play and refuse to run the ball.
Yesterday I asked Vick about the Birds having balance with their offense.
“Obviously it’s important to balance everything out”, Vick said. “That’s something that we’re going to try to work on. It’s at the coaches’ discretion. We just have to continue to go out and do what we’re asked to do as a team and make the most out of our opportunities right now.”
Reid was also asked about the importance of having some balance.
“Listen, you’re seeing it with some of the good throwing teams in this league”, Reid said. “Balance, you’ve got to have some sort of balance, whether that’s 60-40, 70-30. You’ve got to be able to, obviously, keep defenses off balance and, at the same time, get yourself in a rhythm as an offense.”
It’s not enough to talk about balance, they must run the football on Sunday night or run the risk of getting blown out and losing the confidence of their fans. They’ve got some question marks on their offensive line and there’s no way the Birds will have a chance against New York’s defensive front, if they don’t make them stay honest. If the Eagles start throwing the ball every play, the Giants defensive line will start anticipating the snap count, exploding off the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball, getting into the backfield and pounding Vick.
Reid and Marty Mornhinweg must run the football even if they’re not having any success gaining many yards. It’s not just about gaining yards, it’s about keeping that defensive line honest. They should tell both LeSean McCoy and rookie Bryce Brown, to get ready to carry the football.
The Eagles had wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper were back on the practice field yesterday. The Birds could have used Maclin and his size in the game against the Arizona Cardinals. He could be a factor in the Giants game, but there are two big question marks for the Birds, one is the ability of Michael Vick to stay away from turning the ball over and the other concerns the offensive line.
I don’t know how Vick or any Eagles fans can be sleeping well this week when they think about the matchup of Demetress Bell versus Jason Pierre-Paul. Not only are the Eagles going to need to put tight end Brent Celek over their, they’re going to need a Marine battalion to stop the defensive end from going by Bell, who at times looks like he doesn’t belong in the league.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle will rotating in at the WILL position with Akeem Jordan sidelined.
Long snapper Jon Dorenbos has a high ankle sprain, so there’s a good chance that the recently signed long snapper Kyle Nelson will get the chance to play versus the Giants.
You can say good-bye to the NFL Replacement Refs and that’s a good thing. The NFL which is bringing in more than $9 billion dollars a year, should have never let replacement refs do regular season games. Thankfully that’s the last we’ll see of them.
Reid said. “Balance, you’ve got to have some sort of balance, whether that’s 60-40, 70-30. You’ve got to be able to, obviously, keep defenses off balance and, at the same time, get yourself in a rhythm as an offense.”
I hope that I am not the only one that doesn’t think that 60-40 or 70-30 is balance. Maybe the problem is that Big Red and MM are just bad at math.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!! Best post of the month!
Andy Reid is holding onto his job by a thread
In 2012 there were 7 new head football coaches & 10 new starting QBs
In 2011 there were 6 new head football coaches & 11 new starting QBs
The only 3 dingbats that think the Eagles don’t touch these new hire lists in 2013 are Realtalk, Lionsden, and Navy
@Mhenski, is too boring, chased me away ( peace out ) Goodbye All! – yea I think so, because they wont have to. unlike you, I know that football is a team sport and that there is room for growth…That teams that make a dent in the playoffs are teams that hit their peek in the 2nd half of the season. I’m not one of you dumb asses, that is ready to throw the coach under the bus and write this season off, after week 3. sincerely, real talk!
This game will make or break the 2012 Season
If Eagles can somehow play a solid,clean game and take advantage of their opportunities and get a W , then maybe their confidence and rhythm as a Team and coaching staff can return. Another poor performance by Vick, the OL and the game plan/play calling then the Eagle will finish as a mediocre team with more questions about the future of Vick, Coach AR and the future of the Franchie in General. To me this is a must win at home versus an NFC East rival and will set the tone for the remainder of the Season
There are no more excuses for Coach AR and Vick,Asmo and the rest of the ‘Stars and leaders of this Team’
With Celek forced to help Bell there goes a potent weapon
Hey Bugsy
Check out how many times Green Bay Threw the ball it the first half Monday night
Right and that worked out really well for them. What was it 8 sacks in the first half?
I will just re-post my thoughts on the Packers offense vs the Eagles offense.
There a number of reasons why the Pack offense is built around the pass. 1) They have one of the accurate passers in the league. 2) They have a mixture of excellent athletic WRs. 3) They have a dominant (although he has a case of the drops) TE in Finley. 4) They don’t try to get the ball deep on every play instead Rodgers spreads the ball around in a lot of short routes letting the WRs work. 5) They don’t have LeSean McCoy.
The Eagles don’t have one of the most accurate passers in the league. They don’t have nearly the talent in their WRs and they don’t seem to have any plan on offense except trying to get the ball to DeSean deep,
@Bugs – agreed! 100%!
It is week 4 Right ?
Remember that sprint draw play off LT that was soo successful, i understand that it wont work as well, but what about off RT? What happened to draw plays on general, or the screen pass? What about the slant? All things that help vick and the oline, all things genius reid thinks is irrelevant. Get him out, hes a dunce, u coach with what u have, u dont shoehorn players into an offense.
Vick isnt a precision control passer, so u mix it up, run the ball and call playaction. Brees, brady, rodgers can pass30 times a half n b successful, not vick.
This is how clueless reid is, HE CALLS MORE PLAYACTION PASSES THAN RUNNING PLAYS PER GAME!!!!!
Look at the article in PFT about MM saying Vick has to move more. Then he goes on to say how they would run it 5o times if they thought that that would win the game. (when did that ever happen) He goes on to say that he thinks that it should be 60-40 or even 65-35 over the whole season. Based on his comments over the last couple of weeks, he is definitely a huge part of the problem. You don’t have to be 50-50, but you have to establish some type of running game.
@bugsy – I’m happy to hear MM say something like that, instead of saying all is good..but maybe if he has more time, to throw, that could be an option…although sometimes, I’m sure there are scenarios where he could move more….but I dont have the game tape, so I’ll leave that up to the “know it all’s” who are VIP, with the newest TV technology, that hasn’t been released to the rest of the world yet…
But on thing that could help him move more, is moving the pocket…I’ve been expecting the Eagles to move the pocket a bit more than I’ve seen thus far this season. The screen game has to be more effective…I dont think we’ve gotten many positive yards on screen plays..screen plays good or bad, is a direct result of blocking
60 / 40 and 70 / 30 and even 80 / 20 with a win is a whole lot more possible if you have a QB that takes a 3 or even 5 step drop, immediately plants and releases the ball instead of scanning the field a couple times like he’s trying to figure out who he wants on his pick up team..
Reid still doesn’t have the right QB for the offense he wants to run and has always refused to adjust his game plann to suit the players he’s putting on the field. Square peg, round hole.
Realtalk, you just said, “but maybe if he has more time, to throw, that could be an option”
More time?!?!?! The guy currently takes more time to throw than any other QB in the league. The last thing he needs is to take more time.
Again, Vinnie…I ask you…how many options is Vick giving on the drop backs? I ask you this, because you “know everything”.. there are many times I don’t see a RB as a passing option, the RB is staying into block. The same as the TE. There aren’t many underneath options that I’ve seen on those plays, you say “Vick holds the ball too long” What about the screen game, Vinnie? How effective has that been? Eagles can’t even execute the screen play, that’s Vick’s fault too?
On Sept 9, 2012 Brandon Wheedon (rookie) and Mike Vick (veteran) met and put on one of the worst QBing displays of all time.
Vick vomited out 29 of 56 for 317 with a god-awful 4 ints and 2 fumbles. QB rating of 55
Wheedon was worse producing a wretched 12 of 35 for 118 and 4 ints. His QB rating of 5.1 was so low, it prompted internet buzz with people submitting “things that are lower than Brandon Wheedon’s QB rating”
Since that time….
One QB has gone (3 games):
79 of 132 (60%) for 875 3td 3int 0 fumbles
The other QB has gone (2 games)
40 of 69 (58%) for 588 1td 2 ints 3 fumbles
Guess which one is the rookie.
did you see how many options Weeden had on many play calls last night? There were 3WRS at times with split back formations. Did you notice how many times he completed a short pass due to having those options, and his receivers getting YAC….Did you also notice how well his line help up through out the course of the game? sacked 1 time! Flacco sacked 4 times? he’s holding the ball too long too? what about Brady against AZ, he was sacked 4 times too right? holding the ball too long?
Vinnie still waiting for you to answer my question? how many options does Vick have on the routes, you say he’s holding the ball too long? Where are his RB and TE?
Due to the lack of options and the pressure, is it possible a QB would force some throws? I don’t want to hear that Vick is too small to throw a pass over the middle either…Vick hit DJAX who is shorter than Vick with a pass near the goal line at the end of the 2nd quarter, and no that is not the only example, Celek, Avant, DJ(rookie)
Vick doesn’t complete short passes because he doesn’t throw them because he is short.
“His receivers getting YAC….” Are you trying to hint that the Brown’s WRs are better than ours? ‘Cause that’s not the case….perhaps they get YAC because they have a QB who actually hits them while they’re running instead of waiting untill they’re wide open and standing still. VS Balt I counted a measly 3x that Vick hit a WR “in stride” all the rest standing there.
“Flacco sacked 4 times? he’s holding the ball too long too?”
Actually, yes. On several occasions he had Rice alone in the flat and passed him up to wait for the longer pass to Smith or Boldin. I think this might come back to haunt him as the season moves along.
As for Brady’s sacks…those are mostly due to quick pressure. His line looks weaker than the Birds. I could only imagine Vick behind that line….yikes.
Of course I’m not hinting the Browns WR’s are better than ours, only you would take my comment and interpret it negatively.
I’m saying the Browns have so many options on the field that the field is spread, you hit the man underneath and he has the chance to get YAC…the more options, the defense has to account for. Which is a good possibility of a defensive breakdown. No one is going to leave 3 WR’s running down the field, and 2RB’s coming out of the back field. So in summary, its much more complex than you make it out to be.
Where has the screen game gone…who knows. I covered this the other day. Reid’s history suggests he loves screen plays. Now he’s not running them.
Why not?
Seems logical he doesn’t feel he has the personnel to run them.
RB – I think McCoy is a good receiver – so I doubt that’s it.
OL – This is where you see “weakness” and that may be the case
QB – I think this is the problem. I think Reid knows his QB is too short and when the oline let the DL thru, he can’t see over them to find the RB….rusulting in batted balls or slow lobs over top that take too long.
We’ll find out wheher its oline or QB when Foles gets in there week 6. If the screens return, we’ll know why he wasn’t calling them.
Vinnie you type all those words when you should simply type 2 Mike Vick
because it always comes back to him.
1. What kind of personnel is needed to run a screen ?
2. why glance over your 2. reason the O-Line ?…
3. Screens require a great deal of discipline and timing from the OL..Given the fact that the OL can’t even straight up pass protect I would think it’s safe to say that they can’t set up and execute screen plays.
4. Jason Peters is injured no atleticism on the OL now..think of how many times we saw JP kick the DE upfield and be out in front of the screen
5. Do you recall the screens that were called for Mccoy and What happened ?
hahaha @Gotta – Very good job! it is refreshing to see there are people who post on here who know the game!
I remember those screens called for McCoy and Vick got him the ball on most occasions, but McCoy had nowhere to go, because Vick didnt get up field and block! ha
The eagles receiver dont run short routes.. no shallow crosses or slants at all.. Vinnie doesnt no what the hell hes talking about.. Hes blinded by hate..
The havent even been running any screens..
Larrwd, you meathead.
We all agree they haven’t been running any screens. The question is why.
I think its because the QB is not suited for that. I think this because I am blinded by my hate of the guy.
Gotta Luv and Realtalk think we don’t run screens because the oline is not suited for it. They think this because they are blinded by hate for the oline.
Meanwhile, you Larrwd feel it is all the coaches and WRs fault for not calling/running the proper plays for Vick. You think this because you are blinded by hate towards Reid and Jeremy Maclin.
Do you see how stupid your puny, simple-minded “hate” arguements sound?
haha…that was pretty humorous! I’m not blinded with hate for the O line, I’ll give them their due when they do a good job. The O Line was terrible on every single drop back or run. But there were key critical moments when the communication of a patched up O Line was lacking.
meant O Line wasnt terrible on every single drop back or run
Vinnie people say you HATE because every post you type is about what the QB can’t do or won’t do…Hate, criticize, make aware , point out flaws etc…
is all Mike Vick with you…
An article is written stating that run D will be tested and you will post under that “It’s because Vicks is giving the ball away”
Mike Vick had 2 game winning drives and you couldn’t even MAN UP and say that shit was good…all you wrote was.. would have, could have..should have..and what if..
To not give a man his just due when it is obviously called for is HATE
I sinply stated that the screens are difficult to run with a 3rd string LT and practice squad C
Can we agree that JP is a better lineman/athlete than Bell ?
Can we agree that Kelce is a better athlete than Reynolds ?
See for me I evaluate the team …I posted the other day that Shady sucks ast pass protection..Am I hating on #25 ? I love the dude but he isn’t a very good pass blocker
Somebody points out play-calling and Reid…You say everybody does it it’s the way it is
Well some say when you have a top RB and he’s the best player on the team…USE HIM
Sad thing is when/if this dude Foles get under center everyone will be saying we should be leaning on #25
I say FUCK NO run the same damn plays you ran for Vick and lets see if the kid Foles succeeds and flourishes..If He doesnt There won’t be any see ” I told ya so’s” from me..If He does guess what I’m still #WINNING
Andy says 70-30 is balance?
I got a deal for him.
Put Andy in some tights 150 feet in the air to walk a tight rope.
70 percent of the stick to his left and 30 percent to his right…….
Then walk to the other side.
I just thought about it.
Want to see Reid pass 90-100 percent of the time.
Go Andy!!!
Gotta Luv It,
Good stuff buddy; I agree 100%. This Vinniegina character is not a true eagles fan. He bashes Vick at every opportunity he gets. he’s just some garbage guy that has it out for Vick at any cost and this Eagles site gives him his outlet. Real team fans ride with whoever’s in the drivers seat win/lose or draw. The Guy’s a real turd.
Blow it out your ass Rocko….”not an Eagles fan”. FU. I’ll be drivin’ the 600 miles tomorrow to see the Birds this weekend like I have at least once a year every year since well before you were still a kid hangin’ the Falcon’s Vick posters on your bedroom wall (still there I bet)…..
What’s wrong with Vick” headlines go ahead. But like I knew Pat Ryan sucked, and Brad Goebbels sucked, and Rodney Pete sucked…so I know Mike Vick sucks.
SOrry to hurt your precious feelings pointing that out.
As for “why always the QB”….because the talent level between NFL teams is a lot closer than you clowns thing….and winning and losing in the NFL….its all about the QB.
Sure….bring up the “Trend Dilfer won a SB” BS all you want….but a) He’s the exception to the rule and b) he wasn’t spectacular….but he wasn;t incompetent.
And the guy we have under centre is incompetent.
So no twit…”real fans” do not ride with anyone who’s in the driver’s seat….(if that’s the case why do you and others slag the Oline, playcalling etc – shouldn’t we “ride with them” too???
Real fans recognise that this team has talent. This team is close to a championship team. This team has an awesome D and a good RB. This team will not win anything until MV7 is no longer the QB,.
Done and done.
Vinnie, why would you drive 600 miles to see the birds lose with Vick, you seriously need to get a life outside of Vick, there is a word outside of Vick, Vick himself would tell you if he knew how much you obsessed about him, he’d probably tell you the same thing, get a life, damn, it’s not that important, it’s a game, it’s entertainment, peace…
Giants 34 – Eagles 17 in a laugher
Giants jump out to. 31-7 lead early in the 3rd QuarterLing the final 20 minutest or e so as mop duty
What the hell do you mean Jakedog? Not drive down to witness the potential beginning of the Nick Foles era? That’s crazytalk.
Besides, I’ve been down to see Pat Ryan, and Hoying, and Peete, and Detmer, so what’s the difference?
Its what we do. There’s a nobility in it….at least I keep telling myself that.
Blaming Vick by some just shows either an agenda or pure ignorance. I love yhe holding the ball too long or can’t read defense excuse. I like the turnover snipes as well. It’s funny; I remember Eli looking like the shytiest Qb in the conference even after winning his first sb. Only just recently has there been this effort to anoint him a HOFamer. The primary reason it had to be debated was due to his bad regular season play. Not the playcalling; not the oline, but. Eli’s play. Remember all the multiple ints and fumbles? Hell, eli even looked like shyt last year. He lead a 9-7 team to a sb victory where the defense was respectable to dominant all year. And with a better coach. The problem is Reid. Not Vick.
And for the last time. Vick does not script/call the plays; appoint himself starter or pay himself $100 million. It’s REID’S JOB TO APPOINT THE QB THAT CAN DO WHAT VICK CAN’T!!!!!!! CONTINUALLY GROUPING VICK WITH REID LIKE PAULMAN; OR NOT MENTIONING REID AT ALL LIKE THIS VINNIE GUY; SHOWS EITHER AN AGENDA OR IGNORANCE.
The last crutch for the Vick supporters, which is valid, that the infamous quarterback coach, the fattest man in the nfl, Andy is the reason Vick is abysmal this year, there is a lot of credibility to this theory, but it doesn’t matter, clean house, Vick and Reid gone, the new era is finally upon eagles fans, hallelujah , hallelujah