Eagles Lose to Falcons; Vick Hurt
Fears about Michael Vick not
making it through the season healthy have already been realized for the Eagles.
The quarterback went out with a concussion in the second half last night, and
the team eventually dropped a 10-point lead and lost to the Falcons, 34-31.
The fact
is that the defense came up small in the end. When Vick went down, Mike Kafka
came in and the Eagles finished off a scoring drive with a LeSean McCoy
touchdown run to go ahead 31-21 with just under 2 minutes left in the third
quarter. The defense had to step up and finish off the win at that point, and
they simply failed despite looking dominant at times in the game.
As usual,
the Eagles offense was a little too cute for me at times. Their second play
from scrimmage was a “wildcat” that essentially put another hit on Vick. It
didn’t help that DeSean Jackson looked like he gave up on the play almost
instantly, but I just don’t understand calling plays that expose Vick even more
than he already is on most plays.
The
Falcons ended up with good field position, and had the type of drive I thought
would be on display all night. They pounded the ball with their running game,
sprinkling in short passes in the middle of the field. Michael Turner and Tony
Gonzalez exposed the Eagles linebackers. Roddy White capped off the drive with
a short touchdown over the middle.
The broadcast
showed Jaun Castillo talking to Andy Reid, and Al Michaels of NBC joked that he
was saying, “It’s gonna be ok, it’s gonna be ok.” In the end, it wasn’t ok.
Eagles
started the next drive with a nice pass to Jeremy Maclin only to get tricky
with a double reverse that failed on the next play. Again, it’s fair to wonder
about the play calling. Ronnie Brown and McCoy bailed them out with a couple of
nice runs, and Vick took them down the field on a solid drive. Jackson
eventually dropped a touchdown pass, but an offside penalty kept the drive
alive. Maclin was open two plays later for a touchdown.
The defense
held on the next drive highlighted by a successful replay challenge by Reid
that never should have been required. The ball obviously hit the ground on the “catch”
that was rightly over turned.
The next
drive featured a long pass to Jason Avant to the 12-yard line of the Falcons
but the Eagles only came away with a field goal. Some have questioned the play
calling here, but I wasn’t bothered by it.
After the “D”
forced a three-and-out, the game took what would have been a critical turn before
the half on most nights.
Despite starting
the drive – it really is mind boggling that this happens so much – with a false
start followed immediately by a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty, the
Eagles drove to the Falcons 4-yard line. Again, Andy Reid got cute. Instead of
just pounding the ball in, Vick faked a pitch one way and tried to come back
for a handoff to McCoy on the other side. By then the defense got through the
line, forced a fumble, and set-up a touchdown by the offense to Gonzalez. The
score went from potentially 17-7 in the Eagles favor to a 14-10 deficit.
The half
ended with a Vick fumble followed by a Nnamdi Asomugha interception to keep the
game close.
The Eagles
defense actually looked great in the third quarter. They forced a three-and-out
and the defensive line was getting after Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. At one
point in the quarter the broadcasters actually wondered how long he would stay
in the game.
Vick started
the half with another turnover on the Eagles very first offensive play. Replay
eventually showed that the ball hit the ground before the catch, but it came
too late for a challenge by Reid. Today the coach revealed that he actually
received an apology via e-mail from NBC for the lack of replays.
However,
Avant instantly motioned that it was not a catch and it was clearly
questionable on the live play. Reid likely should have thrown the challenge
flag.
Instead,
the Falcons quickly capitalized, scoring two plays later after Turner gashed
the defense with a long run after a short catch. Gonzalez hauled in a touchdown
on the next play.
Yet, the
Eagles responded with a nice drive themselves. A long run by McCoy started the
drive, and Maclin finished it off with his own run after the catch for a
touchdown.
Asante
Samuel did what he does on the next play, grabbing an interception while
essentially playing off the receiver. Again, the Eagles responded with a drive
that featured a good run by Vick. McCoy finished it off with a TD.
The defense
continued to dominate, especially Trent Cole. They forced another
three-and-out.
In the
next drive Dunta Robinson, the same guy that put DeSean Jackson out with a
concussion, went head hunting against Maclin. I still don’t understand why he
wasn’t ejected. A drop by Avant ended the drive.
Another stop
by the defense and a terrible punt put the Eagles on the Falcons’ 20. Vick went
out with his own concussion on a fluke play where he went head-to-head with his
own lineman as he was tackled. Mike Kafka replaced him and the McCoy touchdown
put the Eagles ahead 31-21.
Then the Eagles
defense simply didn’t get it done. The Falcons came back with a drive where Ryan
dinked and dunked the Falcons down the field along with a great catch by Jones.
After a
decent drive the Eagles were forced to punt. A long run by Turner on 3rd-and-17
after a penalty had backed up the Falcons to their own 13 put them over
midfield. From there Turner eventually put them ahead with a touchdown, 35-31.
A good
return on the ensuing kickoff was nullified by a holding penalty. Yet, Kafka got
off a big play to Maclin, and he actually engineered a decent drive to the
Falcons’ 22. But Maclin spoiled his big night when he flat out dropped a fourth
down pass that would have kept the drive going. It was Kafka’s only
incompletion of the night.
The
Falcons had to punt with 15 seconds left in the game, but there was no magic
punt return from Jackson to save the day.
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