Many people now love their team again. Many people now fear the Eagles again. But, before we delve in further, we must remember this was a Redskins team with an average at best defense and a crippled quarterback who had a knee surgery mid-game.
The good: Do I need to state the obvious? It was the little things that you could only see on TV. The closeups of the Redskins defenders huffing and puffing or eyes wide open. The mouth-closedness of Mike Shanahan. That dude never opens his mouth. He probably eats with a feeding tube. The offense was unbelievable. That is a fact. The announcers fawned and hemmed and hawed at the Eagles' drive and ability to run 4 plays in less than a minute. I am very grateful we had Mike Turico and John Gruden on the call. If it was Berman and his other emotionless counterpart I would have sued ESPN. They are awful. As the game went on, the defense and both the offense looked unstoppable. But then they let the foot off the gas. The one unit that played non-stop all game was special teams, and that was the most unbelievable part of the game to me.
Seriously, Chris Polk got down on a kick-off I think and tackled the Redskin player out of his shoe. How many times did the Eagles allow much yardage on a return? I didn't see it. And with Desean Jackson returning punts, the Redskins kicked it out of bounds several times. Also, Carey Williams looked incredible, along with Trent Cole and Mychal Kendricks. Connor Barwin ran down RGIII, and when RGIII went out of bounds on a play Casey Mathews actually stopped him, albeit from the sideline.
The Bad: Letting the foot off the gas on defense. I get it on offense. But when the defense let up there was no excuse for it. It almost became a tale of two games. The Eagles blitzed a ton, but it was all the same type of blitz. The defense is still a liability along with the way that Vick was limping by the third quarter. I admire Vick's toughness and tenacity, but that type of play will hurt the team in the end. You don't have to redeem yourself anymore, dude. People will hate you for the right reasons, and people will love you for the right reasons. I know people can say that RGIII is a remarkable awesome ungodly player, but the Eagles had his number. Even as the defense that swarmed all first half began to relax, they still made key stops. They should have made more stops. They allowed 20 points to the division winner's offense, but that was too much for the way they started in the beginning. They have to finish games as Monday Night Football almost featured two remarkable come from behind wins.
What was so fascinating about the game last night was that 90,000+ screaming fans could not panic the once paniced Eagles offense. Lesean McCoy was the leading rusher in the NFL by the third quarter, and by the end of the game he outscored Miami's starting running back Lamar Miller by 6,133 percent. Think I made that number up? Nope. Desean Jackson almost had to pull both feet out of his mouth as DeAngelo Hall clearly had an agenda to get him ejected from the game. Just shut up and play. His play was already speaking volumes.
So, what happens next? According to Vick, the Eagles showed less than half of their formations and plays. Perhaps that is why the foot was let off the gas. BUT the team showed a killer instinct and didn't seem to get down when they gave up point after point in the second half. I watched the game, exhausted by half time. The Redskins' charge in the late third and fourth quarters did not worry me. Even if they recovered the onside kick it would have felt like nothing to worry about. If the Redskins did recover and scored to win the game, the tone of this article would have been much different. Now, with a couple hours sleep under my belt and waiting to start work, I realize that problems will only just begin.
Philip Rivers launched 4 touchdowns on the vaunted Texans Defense. He gave up a pick six that shifted that whole outcome, but if he is what everybody else on the planet says he is, well, the Eagles could possibly get picked apart this weekend. I think it would be safe for the Eagles to take the foot off the gas after 60 full minutes. I get running down the play clock and the time, but it was only the third quarter when they started that. I know Chip Kelly doesn't want to put his players at too much risk and make his players targets for those tired defenders, so it is a catch 22. Do I keep my team in a position to kill the opponent and risk an outburst that could take a crucial player out or do I try to keep it fair? This is the NFL, where Greg Schiano tries to tackle on a kneel down and one brother dicked over another to win a Super Bowl. The first moment that backfires these fans and this city will devour you.
Overall, yes, Chip Kelly will revolutionize the NFL. I hope that it takes two years to do so. The no panic he exhibited plus the smiles from the players even when the Redskins tried to march back showed a swagger missing for a couple years. Yeah they had some swagger last year but it felt fake after barely beating the Browns, Ravens, and Giants. That was explosive last night, and potential is through the roof.
Coming up, I am going to opening weekend on Sunday. First home game of the year. I don't know what to expect. I bet the crowd is too jacked to stay quiet for the offense. But if they step it up and the defense continues to swarm, it may be the best time at a game since 2010.
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