This game is big for both teams… I don’t want to trivialize it based upon the Giants and the Cowboys winning yesterday, but the Eagles really need to hold serve here at home and come out of this thing at 4-4…
Nick Fierro of the Allentown Morning Call agrees with me on this point….while not mathematically a “must win”, it kinda is….
Nick says it’s about time the Eagles figure out what the Bears have been doing to them over the last half-decade…
Everyone who pays attention couldn’t help but notice the evolution over the years of the Eagles’ West Coast offense into a vertical attack that loves to take shots over the top, to score in four plays instead of 14. Everyone who’s paid attention to the Eagles-Bears matchups in each of the past five years also knows how the Bears’ style of defense takes that dimension away. Their base Cover 2 scheme, which they soften even more when going against the likes of speedy wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, gives up all kinds of yardage underneath as a trade-off.
“They kind of wait for you to make a mistake,” Eagles tight end Clay Harbor said. “I think that’s the biggest thing there.”
No matter how you frame it, the Eagles’ offense, which is on pace to set a league record for yards in a season, is in for a grind against a defense that specializes in wearing opponents down. Yards don’t necessarily translate well into points against the Bears.
“They rely on a run for zero, or they get a tip, or they hurry the quarterback,” Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said, “and all of the sudden, they’ve got you in a third and long. They’re very good at reading, and then when you drop it in underneath, they’re so fast that they get to that ball and prevent you from getting that extra yardage. So they’ve always been very good at that.”
All of this conspires to place a premium on protecting the football and getting crucial yards after the catch. “Yards after the catch is always a big statistic,” Harbor said. “But yeah, they do play soft at certain times, so it’s probably bigger in this game.”
With all that in mind, “field-goal team, get ready” could be the most uttered chant on the Eagles sideline throughout this game.
At least the Eagles should be at full strength on offense. That was in doubt as recently as Thursday, when running back LeSean McCoy was sent home with the flu. But he returned the next day and wasn’t even listed on the team’s final injury report on Saturday. McCoy is having a monster season, with 754 rushing yards on 135 carries and at least one touchdown in each game. McCoy simply continues to credit all the weapons around and in front of him for allowing him this success. And when mentioned in the same breath now with the top backs in the league, which include Bears counterpart Matt Forte, McCoy spreads the praise.
“No disrespect to Forte,” he said, “but I’m sure he’d love to have a Michael Vick, a DeSean Jackson, Maclin, them guys, on the same side of the huddle. It takes a lot of pressure off you. So I don’t get too carried away. I’m just happy to have those guys on my side.”
As we saw last year, the Bears also can inflict damage with their offense behind quarterback Jay Cutler… and kick returner Devin Hester, maybe the most electrifying of all time in this league.
Cutler, like almost all quarterbacks, is at his best when the team is not forced to pass. That’s the singular goal of the defense, and it means stopping Forte, who’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry. How do the players get it done?
“Tackling and pursuit,” defensive end Jason Babin said. “I mean, he’s a powerful runner and he’s got some nice wiggle to him. So we really need to pursue the ball because there’s going to be missed tackles, he’s going to make some guys miss. But as long as we’re all running and hunting we’ll be there to take care of each other and have each other’s backs.”
However the Eagles get it done, they know they basically have no more margin for error in at attempt to save their season, which was in danger of collapsing after a 1-4 start. “We see things coming together,” Vick said, “and that’s what it’s all about. Sometimes it takes teams a while to gel and obviously we had a lot of new pieces put into place with a lot of moving parts. For the most part, guys have been getting comfortable and getting settled into their roles.
“It would be great to get back to being even. Right now, this is third game of our new season, and I keep referring to it like that. We just need to take it one game at a time.”
More importantly against the Bears, one play at a time.
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