The Day After: Eagles Beat Pack
One of the toughest things about being a beat writer must be coming up with new things to say about the same thing day after day. The day after the Eagles trounced the Packers, only a few new thoughts:
· A putrid first half left me wondering if Brian Westbrook is really that good. Seems like it, as the offense took forever to get going without him against a bad team.
· Donovan McNabb continues to bounce passes to open receivers, and looked atrocious in the 2-minute drill at the end of the half.
· The good side of Andy Reid’s “gambler” side: I’m guessing he sat Westbrook and Litto Sheppard figuring the Packers suck and he could rest their nagging injuries without getting burned.
· The bad side: A fake field goal at the end of the half in a still-tight game from way too far out with back-up tight ends being the only hope for a potential long TD pass from a punter or kicker. A first-down still ended the half.
· I’m going to puke the next time I hear about all the fun McNabb is having.
· Reid had a terrible replay challenge on an obvious catch by Green Bay in the third quarter. It wasn’t the only wasted timeout by a team that squanders them regularly.
· Fans showed their class by chanting “a—hole” throughout halftime at Michael Irvin on ESPN’s broadcast, and screaming at the ref for no reason as he watched the replay. The tough-guy Philly fan thing is gettin’ old.
· Ryan Howard showed actual class by going to the game after the Phillies came up short of the playoffs.
NFL stuff:
· Staying with last night’s game for a minute . . . why are the Packers still starting Brett Favre? We keep hearing he came back because he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than play quarterback in the NFL. Ok, fine. But that doesn’t mean the Packers should put the future on indefinite hold, and anyone that thinks Favre can still win is clueless.
· Every NFL “analyst” has shown their utter contempt for the Titans' Albert Haynesworth who kicked the face of the Cowboys' Andre Gurode. We get it fellas, you have morals. I’m not defending the guy, but we know what he did. It’s ridiculous to watch all the ex-players literally take turns pontificating on how this has no place in the game. Chris Collingsworth, the apparent self-appointed conscious of the NFL, couldn’t wait to blather on about this one in his typical high-and-mighty style. The NFL suspended Haynesworth; now the networks should suspend the next in-the-know analyst that states the obvious.
· Jets coach Eric Mangini “went for it” on a 4th down on the Colts 2 late in the third quarter. They not only failed, the Colts picked it off in the end zone, giving them much better field position. The Colts won by 3. D-U-M-B! Jets! Jets! Jets!
· Did you see Peyton Manning drive the length of the field not once but twice at the end of the game to give the Colts the win? Was there ever a doubt when the Jets returned the kickoff after the first TD to go back up, that Manning would lead another TD-winning drive? That confidence is something we’ll never have in McNabb.
· The Tennessee press kept the fact that Vince Young was starting all week. Hand in those press credentials, folks, you’re just PR staff now.
· Marvin Lewis sat Chris Henry, his second best wide receiver, to teach him a lesson about his attitude. The Bengals’ then got drubbed by a Patriots team that scored 7 points against Denver the week before. Nice try, Marv.
· A Jets fan chucked a beer bottle on to the field late in the game. Let’s get this straight: Eagles fans boo drunken Santa, never let it go; New Yorker throws bottle, hardly notice. Brilliant!
· A putrid first half left me wondering if Brian Westbrook is really that good. Seems like it, as the offense took forever to get going without him against a bad team.
· Donovan McNabb continues to bounce passes to open receivers, and looked atrocious in the 2-minute drill at the end of the half.
· The good side of Andy Reid’s “gambler” side: I’m guessing he sat Westbrook and Litto Sheppard figuring the Packers suck and he could rest their nagging injuries without getting burned.
· The bad side: A fake field goal at the end of the half in a still-tight game from way too far out with back-up tight ends being the only hope for a potential long TD pass from a punter or kicker. A first-down still ended the half.
· I’m going to puke the next time I hear about all the fun McNabb is having.
· Reid had a terrible replay challenge on an obvious catch by Green Bay in the third quarter. It wasn’t the only wasted timeout by a team that squanders them regularly.
· Fans showed their class by chanting “a—hole” throughout halftime at Michael Irvin on ESPN’s broadcast, and screaming at the ref for no reason as he watched the replay. The tough-guy Philly fan thing is gettin’ old.
· Ryan Howard showed actual class by going to the game after the Phillies came up short of the playoffs.
NFL stuff:
· Staying with last night’s game for a minute . . . why are the Packers still starting Brett Favre? We keep hearing he came back because he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than play quarterback in the NFL. Ok, fine. But that doesn’t mean the Packers should put the future on indefinite hold, and anyone that thinks Favre can still win is clueless.
· Every NFL “analyst” has shown their utter contempt for the Titans' Albert Haynesworth who kicked the face of the Cowboys' Andre Gurode. We get it fellas, you have morals. I’m not defending the guy, but we know what he did. It’s ridiculous to watch all the ex-players literally take turns pontificating on how this has no place in the game. Chris Collingsworth, the apparent self-appointed conscious of the NFL, couldn’t wait to blather on about this one in his typical high-and-mighty style. The NFL suspended Haynesworth; now the networks should suspend the next in-the-know analyst that states the obvious.
· Jets coach Eric Mangini “went for it” on a 4th down on the Colts 2 late in the third quarter. They not only failed, the Colts picked it off in the end zone, giving them much better field position. The Colts won by 3. D-U-M-B! Jets! Jets! Jets!
· Did you see Peyton Manning drive the length of the field not once but twice at the end of the game to give the Colts the win? Was there ever a doubt when the Jets returned the kickoff after the first TD to go back up, that Manning would lead another TD-winning drive? That confidence is something we’ll never have in McNabb.
· The Tennessee press kept the fact that Vince Young was starting all week. Hand in those press credentials, folks, you’re just PR staff now.
· Marvin Lewis sat Chris Henry, his second best wide receiver, to teach him a lesson about his attitude. The Bengals’ then got drubbed by a Patriots team that scored 7 points against Denver the week before. Nice try, Marv.
· A Jets fan chucked a beer bottle on to the field late in the game. Let’s get this straight: Eagles fans boo drunken Santa, never let it go; New Yorker throws bottle, hardly notice. Brilliant!
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