Turns out Eagles WR supreme Jeremy Maclin was playing with a sprained shoulder and strained hamstring. No wonder he did not look like himself against the Cardinals. We also find out Michael Vick was gaming on two broken ribs—whaaaa? (insert Chris Berman scream there). It happened on the second play of the game, apparently, but Vick insisted on playing through it… I admire his guts and courage to go on like that, but it became pretty clear Vick was so off in his passing accuracy it was self-destructive for the team to have him in there. Why didn’t the Eagles pull Vick, not just for his own protection but for the good of the team offense?
Also, DRC was pulling up lame on pursuit of receivers and runners for a reason: he was actually lame— with a high-ankle sprain and torn ligaments which he tried to play through. DRC was forced to leave the game in the second half, and is in a walking boot today. I’m guessing 3-4 weeks rest is the way this will go.
Jeremy Maclin had a horrible day with very few catches for very few yards—and multiple drops and whiffs like above—but now we know why—he was banged up real good and paid a price just to be out there…
Putting these now-known injuries into context and perspective of the egg laid Sunday at the Linc, I refuse to throw fuel on the current funeral pyre.
Like me, Jonathan Tamari of Philly.com is also taking the high road. Tamari is Jeff McLanes’ sidekick over at the Inquirer’s “Birds Eye View” blog, which started up about a year later than our own little Eagles Eye strip club did back in 2007. Tamari began covering the Eagles in April 2010. He previously covered New Jersey state government and politics, reporting and writing about elections, policy debates and the many personalities that drive the Garden State, from three recent governors to the many musicians bidding to write the state song. He has been at the Inquirer since June 2008. Follow him on Twitter at @JonathanTamari.
Anyhow, with consideration for the injuries we now know played a huge hand in the Eagles’ loss to the Cardinals, here’s Tamari’s own version of Brizer’s Bocce Balls “awards”— as well as a few notes of praise for some of the good performances we may have missed:
Best performance in a losing cause: Akeem Jordan had three special teams tackles, helping limit dangerous return man Patrick Peterson.
Worst supporting cast: When a star is out, the rest of the team just steps up, right? Well, Steve Smith, making roughly four times as much money this year as DeSean Jackson, had five catches for 47 yards and on one critical third down seemed to simply fall down short of the sticks. Jason Avant, Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin combined for three catches and eight yards.
Least significant homecomings: Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb didn’t get on the field due to turf toe, and linebacker Stewart Bradley played but didn’t make the stat sheet. Still, the two ex-Eagles now have as many wins in Philly as the Eagles do.
Worst matchup: When Fitzgerald scored his first touchdown, he somehow had five-foot-8 linebacker Brian Rolle in coverage. Even an offensive line coach could tell you that’s a mismatch.
Most appropriate celebration: After the Cardinals picked off a Vick pass to seal the game, Eagles fans headed en masse toward the exits. Peterson came off the field and waved. Good bye. See you on the golf course when the playoffs start.
Worst penalty: The Eagles were up by seven with just over 11 minutes to play, when Skelton threw an incomplete pass that should have ended another Cardinals drive. But Nnamdi Asomugha had lined up offsides (he was surprised by the call, saying it was a “new one”), giving the Cardinals new life. Next play Skelton completes a 10 yard pass and Arizona goes on to score and tie the game.
Worst pass: The Eagles practice the play all the time: roll out Vick, and release Brent Celek deep on the backside of the play. On Sunday, Celek was even more open against the Cardinals than he is against the Eagles scout team, and Vick missed a sure touchdown by a mile. The Eagles punted.
Best performance by a video board: After Vick appeared to throw an interception in the fourth quarter, the Eagles giant video screen posted a freeze frame of cornerback Richard Marshall dropping the ball. Andy Reid promptly challenged and reversed the call.
Player of the game: Larry Fitzgerald showed what a true superstar does, making tough catches even when the Eagles put multiple defenders on him, including a game-changing, lunging 37-yard grab on third-and-10 to set up the winning score. He was the difference.
Thanks, Jonathan… Tamari calls these notables his “Inkys”…. He tore Vick a new one for one of the worst passing performances ever by an Eagle in the 4th quarter… but that was before he knew about the broken ribs. So that “Inky” was deleted from the list above.
Speaking of giving a guy a little credit, I thought DRC was having a pretty good game until he got hurt and stayed in a few plays too long.
Rodgers-Cromartie injured his ankle returning the second-half kickoff. It was his second of the game and only second of his career, too. The Eagles decided last week to replace Dion Lewis, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, because they thought Rodgers-Cromartie could break one against the Cardinals. He managed two returns of 29 and 23 yards and one sprained ankle. Lewis wound up returning two kickoffs for 55 yards. Up until his injury, Rodgers-Cromartie seemed to be playing his best game of the season, which isn’t necessarily saying much. But when Joselio Hanson replaced him as the nickel cornerback there seemed to be confusion in the secondary.
A number of defenders said after the game that the Cardinals’ game-winning touchdown, a 5-yard pass from John Skelton to Early Doucet, was something the team had practiced against. But the Eagles had to use a different set because they were down a corner.
But in the end, it comes down to Brizer’s Bocce Balls to decorate a loss: There’s no getting around pain, suffering and injury in this game and in this world, and Brizer pulls no punches:
Brizer’s “BOCCE BALLS” w/o commentary,..(too painful to rehash):
1. Vick
2. Stevo Smiffy
3. Riley Crookster
4. JMac
5. Avant
6. Some O-lineman
7. All the LBs
8. Babin
9. Fat Pat
10. DRC
11. Bof safeties
12. All Coaches,..although enuff decent plays were there if executed properly…as per usual.
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