My Trial By Erosion Of Words

Philadelphia Eagles- 16
Green Bay Packers- 21

And just like that, it’s over.

I didn’t expect the Eagles to win today. It was hard to find reasons that the Eagles could legitimately beat the Packers. The Packers are a better team, maybe even the best in the NFC (guess we’ll find that out next week).

That still doesn’t mean that this loss doesn’t hurt.

I should be used to the Eagles losing in the playoffs. Hell it happens every year. But that doesn’t mean it is easy to accept.

I mentioned last night that no matter what happened, I can say that it has been fun watching this team. I still believe that. I’m probably more sad that the ride is over, more so than I am that the Eagles lost this particular game.

No Eagles fan can tell you that they honestly thought this was a team that could contend for the Super Bowl. After last season, there were simply too many flaws on this team. No way free agency and the draft could have fixed that in one year, especially the defense.

Someone compared this loss to the loss to the Rams in the 2002 NFC Championship Game by saying that, while this loss hurts, the future is bright. Well, I can sort of agree with it. The window of opportunity is still open, but not as much as it was after that particular loss. This is a young team, they’ll only get better.

So here are some actual thoughts on the game/season:

• The defense was bad today. Really, really bad. Yeah, the Packers only got 21 points, but the defense couldn’t get off the field when they needed to. The third down defense was atrocious as it usually is. The run defense isn’t usually this bad, but the Packers surprised them by giving it to some guy named James Starks who had the game of his career. Again, the defense was just really, REALLY bad.
• I was excited when the Eagles traded for Ernie Sims. I thought he’d provide that edge that the Eagles were missing from their linebackers in 09. I was wrong. Sims was simply fast and that’s about it. He missed too many tackles and by the end of the season, was taken out in third down passing situations.  The Eagles need to revamp their linebacking core. Jamar Chaney has potential and Stewart Bradley provides solid play when he is healthy. But other than that they are expendable.
• Not going to say a bad word about David Akers. If anyone does they are simply either some sort of fanboy/fangirl or just don’t know anything about the Eagles. Akers is probably the second best kicker from the current era behind Adam Vinateri. It’s a contract year for Akers and I pray like hell that once an agreement on the CBA is reached that the Eagles re-sign him.
• Not going to blame Michael Vick either. Without him, the Eagles aren’t in the playoffs. The guy deserves a long term extension.
• I actually thought that for the most part, the Eagles handled the blitz well. Vick had time to throw, but give credit to the Packers defensive backs for not allowing the Eagles wide receivers to get behind them.
• Yet again, the Eagles couldn’t get pressure on the QB. The Eagles need Brandon Graham to recover from his ACL tear and become more consistent when it comes to getting to the pass rusher. Trent Cole is one of the best defensive ends in the league, but without a true pass-rushing threat on the other side, he’s going to see double and triple teams all the time. 

Maybe I’ll give you some thoughts as to what the Eagles need to do to improve. Maybe. The only thing I can say right now is sign Nnamdi Asomugha.

One last time: Fly Eagles Fly

(Photo Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)