- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Being a fellow die hard Eagles fan this has been my official statement on all the boards I visit with threads like this:
The Eagles' win was stolen from them by... You guessed it... The Eagles. Three keys to a loss by the Eagles:
1. Mark Simaneau stayed on the field and as a result was eaten up by screen passes all day. Keith Adams was on the field less and had three more tackles (5 to Simaneau's 2)
2. Freddie Mitchel stayed on the field and as a result (despite an amazing pick to allow Owens to break for some decent YAC) failed to get open (as usual) and caught one pass.
3. Clock management. I've seen pee-wee football teams that manage the clock better with eight minutes to go. Coaching tip for Andy Reid: Down by two scores, you must have the two minute warning on your second touchdown.
4. Missmanaged time outs. Due to defensive confusion, the Eagles were forced to burn a time out in the third quarter. As a result they have less than a minute on the clock and are forced to kick an onside kick losing valuable field position after the punt (Akers is accurate from outside of 40 yards with light wind).
If two of those four things did not happen, the Eagles win that game. I give the Patriots a huge amount of credit ofr their win and they played an outstanding football game but should not have won it.
Things to watch for out of the Eagles next year:
1. Look for Keith Adams to focus on the pass defense in the offseason and allow an Adams/Wayne rotation to replace Simaneau at OLB. Although even an Adams/Simaneau rotation would be more favorable as long as it mimics the Trotter/Reese substitutions.
2. The long overdue parting of ways between Freddie Mitchell (or Fred-Ex, or The People's Champ, or First Down Freddie or whatever the hell he wants to call himself... Seriously, what football player gives themselves nicknames?) and the Philadelphia Ealges which paves the way for one of the most lethal recieving corps in the entire league: Terrel Owens, Todd Pinkston, Greg Lewis, and Brian Westbrook.
3. A healthy Correl Buckhalter. Dorsey Levens played a great year and was a decent compliment to Brian Westbrook but the fact is... He's getting old. With a fit and healthy Buckhalter the Eagles return with a ground threat to compliment their deep attack.
Congratulations New England, you had a hell of a year and deserve your title and claim to a football dynasty. The clean game they played got them another close game superbowl victory to achieve their three in four.
Unfortunately, with the loss of their offensive and defensive coordinators they will suffer their first post season loss of the Brady era to the Pittsburgh Steelers next year in the second round or third round (depending on how much better the Colts' defense gets) of the playoffs.
Rediculously early superbowl prediction for 2006: The Eagles beat the Steelers by 10 points.
Oh yeah, I forgot: E ... A ... G ... L ... E ... S EAGLES!!!
[Edited on 2/7/2005 7:19:49 AM]