So I guess it’ll be OK if Andy Reid and Donovan stick around after all.
The Eagles are now 6-1 since the benching of Donovan McNabb, and are going to their 5th NFC Championship game in the last 8 years. This game was especially sweet because it came against our hated rival Giants, and had several appearances of the ticked-off Tom Coughlin face and the bewildered Eli Manning face.
Let’s quick hit my thoughts and then you guys can chime in…
- As I said in my keys, the Eagles had to win the line of scrimmage battle and the turnover battle to win this game. They did, and they did.
- My MVP of the game was Broderick Bunkley. The Giants were unable to run in the middle of the field and got stuffed on several critical 3rd and 4th and short situations. We might be looking at a blossoming future Pro Bowl DT. There were several defensive players who had big games, but he was the most important.
- Other defensive studs included Pro Bowl snub Quentin Mikell, ball hawk Asante Samuel, the amazing flyin Brian Dawkins and Brandon Jacobs killer Chris Gocong. I would put Stewart Bradley in that group if he could cover TE’s a little better.
- Also deserving huge credit is Jim Johnson. I’m not sure there is a defensive coach in the league I would trust to come up with a better gameplan.
- The offensive line was fantastic in pass protection. McNabb did not get sacked once (or in any of the 3 games against the Giants). They didn’t run block particularly well, but got better as the game went on.
- Who wants Eli Manning over McNabb? Anyone? Manning was atrocious in this game, with most of his passes fluttering and sailing. He looked like the Eli Manning of 2-3 years ago, not the one from the playoffs last year. Had McNabb played like this, his head would be on a silver platter.
- On the other end, had Kevin Kolb come in and played like Donovan McNabb today, he would be anointed the second coming by the McNabb haters, but when McNabb plays this way, he’s more criticized for not doing it all the time, or some little comment he’ll make after the game. McNabb had several fantastic throws. He zipped 4-5 passes into tight coverage, threw 2 gorgeous deep balls (one of which hit Curtis in the face) and made play after play on 3 downs to keep drives alive. The 3rd and 20 play stands out as one that very few other QBs in the league could make. Both to stay in the pocket to find the open receiver and throw across his body with force. He spent the whole game with almost no production from Westbrook or Buckhalter. McNabb was the entire offense today.
- Honestly, it must be weird for all the people that hate McNabb to watch these games. You know there is part of them that is rooting against him to prove their point right. I mean, what went through their mind, for instance, when he threw that pass to DeSean Jackson? “Yeah, but he threw an interception in the Super Bowl 4 years ago…”or “yeah, but he whines sometimes…” We’ll talk when the next Eagles QB gets us to 5 NFC Championship games. Who cares what he says off the field? Watch a soap opera if that’s what you care about. I care about performance on the field. All that off the field stuff is just a product of the new 24/7 sports media that always needs a story. You can make any athlete look bad if you ask certain questions and take certain angles on stories.
- One last thing on McNabb and then I’m done. For those who question his heart, ask yourself why he didn’t quit after the Ravens game like all the fans (myself included) did.
- The Giants lost Tiki Barber, Michael Strahan, Osi Umanyura and Jeremy Shockey and just kept on going, but it seems like the loss to Plaxico Burress was one they just couldn’t overcome. It will be interesting to see what they do with him next year.
- The refs and the announcers took McNabb picking up the phone waaaayyyy too seriously. There was no unsportsmanlike insult to the Giants in there. He saw the phone and picked it up because he was giddy about another chance at the Super Bowl and he can be a goofball sometimes. In a game where the players were screaming and mixing it up after almost every play, I think there was a lot more unsportsmanlike stuff going on.
- Anyone who runs with “phone” story needs to go back to journalism school.
- As for our next opponent, not only did the Cardinals win over the Panthers give us a far easier opponent in the Championship game, it also improved our 2009 first round pick we are getting from the Panthers by about 4 spots.
- I will put a keys to the Cardinals game up later in the week.
- My playoff “beard” (which I am growing, but probably shouldn’t) is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better.
this game and this Eagles season in general is the reason why I love sports
Amen to that Stu.
The Eagles are last year’s Giants, is that fair to say?
No disrespect Rob but..the heck with last years Giants, were this years eagles and Arizona can have their newly found running game all they want. I have confidence in our db’s that we’ll play well enough to win against bolden and fitz.
The cards led the league in runs under 2 yards this season, and with our run D playing the way it is i’m not scared.
I have learned this year not to take any win for granted especially with this Eagle team, Redskins game anyone? With that said the Eagles have to be favored to win against the Cards. This was a great and exciting game this team is full of heart and great personalities. I would love for this team to get to the Super Bowl and win against the Ravens and come full circle from the Mcnabb benching. This has been a great year to be a Phila Sports fan.
Couple things, I knew things were looking good right in the first quarter the Giants kept whining about stuff like a perfectly legal hit on Derrick Ward by BDawk. He got up complaining, grow a pair u wuss. The Eagles D right from the jump looked ready to play hard. The Giants never matched our intensity. .
The Curtis drop was terrible and I was flipping out but boy did he redeem himself which was great to see. Just a great and gutty team win there are too many MVP’s to name
Lets get another championship!
Eagles posted as a 3 1/2 point favorite on one gambling site vs. Az.
Wow! I’m kind of numb about this whole eerie playoff/championship thing. First Phillies. Now an Eagles run. Seems like it took the Eagles time to accept the whole Philly/Phillies thing but they’ve really come around. Being a somewhat older fan I don’t get quite enthused as I had in my younger days. Don’t quite understand this whole thing. Seems like the universe got turned upside down. I’m gonna ride the wave and be rooting again next week. Let’s get to the Superbowl again and win it this time!
only 3 1/2? I’m not a betting man, but I’d take the Eagles and lose the points.
What a year in Philadelphia sports (this Eagles season counts as 2008 for me at least). Flyers go from last in the NHL to the Conference Finals. Phillies come from behind to overtake the choking Mets, again, and end the 25 year drought to win the World Series. Now the Eagles have somehow come from a 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals and two terrible defeats against Baltimore and Washington, to head to another conference championship game. I can only imagine what 1980 was like when all four sports teams made it to the championship for their respective sport. Wow, just wow.
Oh man I love me some Donovan McNabb, way to go #5, way to scramble, way to pick up a few key yards running, fantastic passing & decision making. We are going to the SuperBowl.
All that man love aside, this is the best Eagles D I can ever recall. I wasn’t here for the Buddy Ryan years, but of the last 10 years, this Defense is as dominate as any other, and it is our Defense that is carrying our team to victory after victory, two more fellas !
Great win against the Giants. The Eagles have a chance but must not take anything for granted. How many times has this team fallen short and crushed their fans hopes. Too many. The Eagles are 2-1 against the remaining teams so they can believe that they can win if they execute.
Great Philly D. They are bringing back memories of the Jerome Brown & Reggie White era. Great D usually beats great offense.
And to add to my awesome year of sports, Penn State won the Big Ten Championship, knocked off Michigan for the first time this century, beat Ohio State at Ohio State, and went to the Rose Bowl. I may never have another year like this again.
Nice post…I’m linking to it on my site today…keep up the gr8 work!
ESPN created the Eagles-Cardinals page. According to the AccuProject, we are favored to win next Sunday. And a possible Keystone State matchup is on the horizon!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs2008/series?series=phiari2008
Hopefully, the warm weather is all McNabb needs to get Westbrook going. He nearly caught that ball had it not been for the wind yesterday!
Great game out of our boys in green. Just proved who the tougher team is when they go blow for blow. 2 stops on forth and short was a perfect example of how this defense is hard nosed and non-stop. I had given up before the snap both times figuring that there was no way Manning couldn’t lean behind that O-line for a few inches…and he didn’t. And then I figured there is no way Jacobs couldn’t get 2 yards at this point in the game behind that O-line…and he didn’t.
I’ll be the first to admit I abandoned McNabb after Cincy/Balt and guess what….I’m back baby!!!! McNabb is proving himself to all the haters that he is truely the franchise quarterback we can’t live without.
Still can’t get my head around the pass interference call that was overturned on us. If you see something illegal and throw the flag, how can you be talked out of what you saw? Did you all of a sudden not see the defender get to the receiver before the ball got there??
Really impressed by how our defense seems to come together with B Dawk steering the ship. First posession when Jacobs pushed Dawkins after the tackle and like 3 Eagles got all up in his face. Just great energy and a hall of fame leader we have there in #20.
Just an awesome display of how good this team can be when all cylinders are moving together. And for the record, 2 Noonans were utilized yerterday during the game viewing, and both resulted in missed field goals by the Giants. So use them up but just remember, 1 Noonan per person, per game.
Pete – I decided on Friday that I would attempt to grow the playoff beard. Keep in mind that I did not expect the Birds to win and toss in the fact that I’m Irish and German. My facial hair looks like 6th grade pubes. But I have no problem with looking awful for another 3 weeks.
Pete- You’re right on about McNabb. Both defenses did a great job at taking away the running attack in this game. Each team put the offense on the shoulders of their QB and Donovan played better than Eli- plain and simple. His stats didn’t look great but he managed the game by converting 3rd downs and not making critical mistakes. Yes he had 2 Ints but the one at the end of the half wasn’t a terrible mistake. It was 3rd down and he was under extreme pressure- the result was he tried to give his receiver a shot but the throw was effectively a punt. They were out of FG range with that wind and the Giants got the ball on their own 20- same as a touchback. The other pick could have been worse but it wasn’t his fault it got tipped at the line. My key stat in this game was the 44 pass attempts by #5 and no sacks. He managed the game and took care of the football, which is all he needs to do with the way our D is playing right now. Our Defense played one helluva game and is the best Eagles D I’ve ever seen. We’ve seen the difference in having a reliable vet like McNabb at QB when compared to Tavarais Jackson and Eli the last 2 games. As long as he keeps his reliable play up (none of his 3 Int performances in big games) there’s no reason why we can’t beat Arizona with the way Jim Johnson has our D playing.
By the way- McNabb’s phone call was hilarious and I’m glad he did it. Everyone overreacted about it- the Giants were dead at that point and I’m glad he rubbed it in against NY.
@Pete: ‘Eli Manning is playing like Eli of 2-3yrs ago’ – still think thats just what you get from Manning the 2nd. he’s not bad when there are open receivers. even with the super bowl run, i still wasnt converted. call me a simpleton but i havent seen any throws that get me excited. buress out must have taken the reliable jump-ball option away.
(forgive the absence of my euphoria): 4-5 step quarterback drop into the end zone on a 3rd down play??? Tuck or the other DE was on him before he could even plant his foot! what was Andy Reid thinking? the resulting safety should have reminded him that his O-line or his QB, which ever one, is not invincible.
eagles D is on cloud nine right now. when we face the Ravens in the Super Bowl (Yes I did), they’ll take it toe-to-toe wit em. and maybe, then some!
bball: dead on. the INTs and completion rate fool you; I thought he had his BEST game of the season. considering they shut injured Westbrook down, the 2 INTs werent really his fault (Jackson beat by CB and batted down pass) and shaky field position early on.
\threadjack
Braves close to signing Lowe, 4 years, $60 million…so much for that 3 year, $36 million deal from the Mets…Are you still angry Pete?? Looks like the Phils were smart to lock up Ibanez instead of getting into a bidding war and signing a killer contract…Of course Lowe was going to be thrown a 4th year and another $14 million by a desperate team…
/threadjack
sorry, $24 MILLION EXTRA, my math was fuzzy because I couldn’t believe that increase in dollars!
Since it’s kind of a slow sports day, I’ll pass along a topic I heard on the radio that I want your opinions on. Last week before the Eagles/Giants game I heard a host on WIP (sorry I forget who it was) say that if McNabb and the Eagles won that #5 would be a sure Hall of Famer. His reasoning was that despite no Super Bowl win, 5 NFC championship appearances and 1 SB appearance is rare. I’m not sure what other QBs have acheived this but I would think Tom Brady, Montana, Steve Young, Aikman, Bradshaw are some of the ones who are right around 5 Championship game apperances though I think some of them might have been to only 4. Either way that’s a pretty good group to be included in. I think considering his success in the league and especially his playoff success (at least in the wildcard and divisional round) he has earned the right to be in the HOF. If they win this sunday and he gets to a 2nd Super Bowl I think it’s a lock that he makes the HOF.
What do you guys think about this? Is he in or out?
You know what I really hate reading about, the fact hat Arizona got blown out by the Eagles on 3 days rest. I forgot that only Arizona had 3 days rest. The Eagles were fully rested so they had a major advantage. Oh wait, that’s not right. There are no excuses for why Arizona played so poorly that night. Granted, I don’t think its fair to say that based on that result the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. But I also don’t think its fair to say that game has no bearing. I trust Jim Johnson more than any other coach on the Eagles staff and with the statute that is Kurt Warner back there, I feel pretty good about our chances.
Boldin and Fitzgerald were both healthy in that game, right? That’s scary to have to cover both of them. And Breaston for that matter. But there is a reason we signed Asante Samuel in the off-season and if there is a time to have four great cornerbacks, well this is it.
And one more thing, I think Lito deserves some respect for how he has handled things this season. Maybe the contract situation has affected his game. But he has taken his position as a man. He has not sulked about Hanson getting more playing time. As I read articles, all I read is how happy Lito is with how the team is playing. He is cheering them on and in no way (or at least not showing the media) is unhappiness with the current situation. Granted I did read a few weeks back that he was referring to the defense as “them” since he is barely playing, but at least he is still happy with how they are playing and not mad that he is not a part of it.
With Stephen Spach down, we are now looking at only Rod Hood and Matt Ware as the former Eagles scrubs playing in this game for the red team.
i think this is correct….. best winning % of playoff QBs (with at least 10 playoff starts)….. AVERT YOUR EYES HATERS! Note the lack of Peyton Manning, who is now 7-8.
Tom Brady 14-3 .824
Terry Bradshaw 14-5 .737
Troy Aikman 11-4 .733
Joe Montana 16-7 .696
John Elway 14-7 .667
Roger Staubach 11-6 .647
Phil Simms 6-4 .600
Ken Stabler 7-5 .583
Steve Young 8-6 .571
Brett Favre 12-10 .545
wow Tom Brady is Mr. Golden Boy!!
I don’t know what kind of metrics are used by Aaron Schatz and his brethren at Football Outsiders, and while I can’t find the list I want on his website, if you listened to Bill Simmons’ podcast this week, Schatz said that the Eagles were ranked as the number one team in football for the season. Therefore, he has been picking the Eagles and is the one person, including those in Philadelphia, who expected the Eagles to get this far. This just goes to show the difference between watching games and the stats that come out of them. We all know the Eagles should have had a better record than they did, but some of those games were so pitiful it is amazing to believe they could be ranked the best team in the league.
One last thing, is there any credence to McNabb playing better because he no longer had his wife’s pregnancy with twins hanging over his head? On Simmons’ podcast and in other outlets, they question how McNabb could just flip the switch and begin playing so well again. No one outside Philly seems to know about the twins angle. Anyone actually believe this is a realistic reason, or a partial reason?
Adam – He uses an extremely advanced efficiency metric called DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average). Here is the detailed explanation of it. I read a lot about it last year.
The rankings he was likely using to state the Eagles are #1 is the overall team efficiency ranking that use offensive, defensive and special teams DVOA. HERE IS THE LIST.