Memo to Spags in St. Louis: if they fire you after losing to the Ravens, please apply within for potential opening in Philadelphia Eagles defensive coaching department…
Brizer warned us about that potential Cruz missile, too… so Bri, please address your application to “defensive secondary coaching department”….
It hurts a little to have been outsmarted by Coughlin, Fewell and Gilbride… the football legal team known better for injury and malpractice specialty…
But the worst part was the tackling by the Eagles…or lack thereof. Many years ago, Stan White (former NFL linebacker for the Colts and the Lions) once told me: “Tackling is not a natural instinct… after every offseason, you basically have to re-learn how to tackle all over again…”
Apparently this lesson was lost in the lockout-shortened reformation of the Eagles defense… missed and blown tackles killed us against the Giants.
Mike Vick was pressured into questionable decisions all day long by the Giants’ defensive game plan…and he absorbed massive body blows and a broken right hand because of it…
Costly mistakes by the Eagles on offense and defense led to a 29-16 loss to the New York Giants (2-1) Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles (1-2) dropped to 4-9 in home openers under coach Andy Reid and saw their six-game winning streak against the Giants come to an end.
Quarterback Michael Vick suffered a broken right hand and left the game early in the fourth quarter. Because Vick is left-handed, there is a possibility he could play next week against San Francisco.
The Giants took the lead for good in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning to wide receiver Victor Cruz. Manning threw four TD passes, including two to Cruz, a graduate of now-defunct Paterson Catholic High School in North Jersey. Somehow, our own GK Brizer saw that coming in a classic pre-game premonition…
The Eagles’ offense bogged down twice inside the Giants’ 5-yard line, forcing them to settle for field goals. The play-calls sent in by coordinator Marty Mornhinweg in goal-to-go were completely without imagination or effect… just a shame… the game was there to be taken despite the overall suckitude of the Eagles’ execution in most phases of the game.
Vick blasted the officials after a hard hit from Chris Canty left him with a broken right hand. Vick’s status for next week’s game against San Francisco is uncertain. He started against the Giants despite suffering a borderline concussion in a loss to Atlanta last Sunday.
The Pro Bowl quarterback was injured on a 23-yard completion to Jeremy Maclin in the third quarter. “I felt I got hit late. No flag,” Vick said. “At some point something catastrophic is gonna happen. Not to blame the refs, but more precautions should be taken. I’m on the ground all the time in the pocket.”
It appeared on replays that Canty hit Vick in the facemask with his helmet. Vick sat on the ground, lifted his helmet off slightly before getting helped up by a teammate and an official. “Every time I throw the ball, I’m on the ground,” Vick said. “I get hit in the head. I don’t know why I don’t get the 15-yard flag like everybody else does. I’m not trying to blame the refs. I just want them to take notice.”
Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes, including two to Victor Cruz, and the Giants (2-1) snapped a six-game losing streak against their NFC East rival.
Vick had helped the Eagles overcome a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to take a 16-14 lead. But even with Vick in there, the Eagles looked slow and lost in several scoring opportunity situations…except for the overall effort of LeSean McCoy, who almost did just enough to get the Birds over the hump.
There weren’t many memorable plays in this one.
“It seems the offense never really got in a rhythm,” center Jason Kelce said. “The last two weeks have been frustrating.”
Manning threw for 254 yards, and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 86 and had 53 more receiving, including a TD. Filling in for injured receivers Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon, Cruz had three catches for 110 yards and his first two career scores.
LeSean McCoy had 128 yards rushing and one TD for Philadelphia, which has blown two fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.
After McCoy was stopped for a 3-yard loss by Michael Boley on fourth-and-1 from the Giants 43, Manning drove New York in for the go-ahead score. He tossed a 28-yard TD pass to a well-covered Cruz to put the Giants up 20-16. Jacobs ran in for the 2-point conversion to make it 22-16.
Mike Kafka replaced Vick on the ensuing possession and Aaron Ross intercepted his first pass. Manning connected with Bradshaw for an 18-yard TD pass to put the game away. And wouldn’t you know it— we managed to make Aaron Ross look like an All-Pro corner…
Vick finished 16 of 23 for 176 yards and one interception. He ran for 31 yards.
The Eagles dominated time of possession by a nearly 3-1 margin throughout the first three quarters, but didn’t take the lead until the final minute of the third when Alex Henery kicked a 21-yard field goal. It was a disappointing end to a drive that began at the 10 and stalled at the Giants 1. The Eagles had a first down at the 2 and failed on four runs to get it in. McCoy didn’t get any of those carries at the goal line.
“I thought I would get it,” McCoy said. Apparently offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had a better play to call… result: epic fail…
Vick left the game for X-rays on his right hand after that drive and was temporarily replaced by Kafka. But he returned during a time out while Kafka was in the huddle and played one more drive before going to the bench.
Steve Smith made a crucial mistake on the first ball that came his away against his former team. Smith left the Giants for Philadelphia and returned ahead of schedule from knee surgery to be ready for Week 1. Vick’s third-down pass on Philadelphia’s first drive hit Smith in the hands and bounced in the air to Ross, who caught it at the Giants 8. Ross returned the interception 19 yards, and Manning needed six plays to lead New York into the end zone.
The bad news all started when rookie linebacker Casey Matthews, who was moved from the middle to the weakside spot earlier in the week, bit badly on a play-fake that allowed Jacobs to get wide open. Manning’s perfect throw hit him in stride and the Giants went up 7-0.
Manning connected with Cruz late in the first to give New York a 14-0 lead. Cruz caught a short pass at the Giants 34, but broke Kurt Coleman’s tackle and sprinted down the sideline. Cruz again got away from Coleman, when he collided with Asomugha at the Eagles 46, and the second-year pro cruised into the end zone for his first career score.
After the Giants turned it over on downs at the Eagles 29, Vick got going. He had completions of 13 and 17 yards on a drive that was finished off by McCoy’s nifty 11-yard TD run. McCoy broke a tackle, cut outside and ran into the end zone to get the Eagles within 14-10.
Eli Manning delivered the knockout blow after Michael Vick got knocked out of another game.
It’s uncertain how long Vick will be out. He’ll have a CT scan Monday. “I don’t know anything right now except my hand is broken,” Vick said.
Vick finished 16 of 23 for 176 yards and one interception. He ran for 31 yards. Vick looked shaky early, made some terrible decisions under pressure, but made a few nice throws before leaving.
He didn’t seem all that happy after the Eagles kicked a field goal to pull within 14-13 at halftime. Vick looked angry as he walked off the field, waving his arms and pointing. Jackson tried to calm him down, but Vick didn’t seem interested in listening.
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