It's been a few weeks, life for this Eagles' Chick has been literally crazy!
However, when I find something that just makes me go YAY! I have to share it with y'all!
All I have to say, is I'm soooooooooooooo thankful that the Giants beat the Patriots! HeeHee - they say Karma's a beautiful thing!
Enjoy the video!
Another hat tip to Enrico over at The700Level, for finding this little bit of fun. I had to share it, just in case you don't get over to Enrico's blog.
Brian Westbrook is always the gentleman and great all around nice guy. He can't even be mean to a moron!
Watched a nice video this afternoon of Donovan McNabb talking with Scott Hanson (who is also a Syracuse Alumni) about not just what to expect of the upcoming game between the Giants and the Patriots, but he did address some of the issues that arose during the season. The video itself is a pretty long one, but it's definitely worth the watch.
Donovan comes off very sincere when he speaks of his desire to retire as an Eagle. He also shows a little bit of "fire" (not in a mean way) about wanting to go out and get play makers for the 2008 season. He speaks honestly about how he's feeling physically and that everyone wants to see him running like he was 22 again, at 32 we all know that just doesn't happen!
Overall it's a really nice interview, Donovan always presents well in front of a camera, I think that that is in part due to his journalism degree from Syracuse. They do joke in the video about if he does too good of a job the NFL Network might throw some money his way to be an analyst. He definitely has the eloquence and knowledge to do it!
I just want D-Mac to stick around, the Eagles to get some play makers. Maybe that will finally make some of those boo-birds shut up and stop squawking, but we all know ..... it'll be a frozen day in hell before that happens!
Hat tip to Enrico over at The700Level for the link to the video. Just wish the NFL Network let you embed videos in blog posts.... grrr!
It has been a bit since I've been able to actually break free enough to write about my beloved Eagles. The season was a big disappointment. However, we all can take great joy that it isn't the Dallas Cowboys in the SuperBowl, right? Daaaaaaaayum right we can!
You know what else we can take delight in?
T.O. has to pay back his sign on bonus to the Eagles.
According to the Associated Press & the Philadelphia Inquirer, the overbearing, self inflated, ego maniacal idiot that wears #81 and now makes Jessica Simpson cry (warning - that site is hideous and plays a really annoying rap song 'I'm back"), has been ordered to repay the Philadelphia Eagles $769,120. That was the remaining amount left from him paying back $2.3 million from his signing bonus he received when he signed that infamous 7 year deal that brought him to Philly to begin with.
Funny, there's not a mention of that on his site anywhere *snort*.
And imagine this, his agent - Drew "I WANT YOUR MONEY" Rosenhaus - has yet to return calls for comment on T.O.'s arbitration loss.
I wonder - does that come out of Drew's stipend? I mean he cried and wined when he didn't get part of T.O.'s original deal when T.O. came to the Eagles, so much that he nudged T.O. into asking for more money. So does he help T.O. pay back the Eagles?
Yeah... I didn't think so either. Poor T.O.
*giggles insanely*
Fox Sports' Pam Oliver had some interesting feedback from Donovan. Basically it boils down to Donovan being disappointed with the Eagles front office distancing themselves from Donovan because of the negative fan reaction. She also alluded to Donovan saying it could be his last season with the Eagles.
*Giant Sigh*
Yes, that's a giant sigh.
Dear Eagle Front Office:
When was the last time you let the Eagles fans decide who your players were? If you did, Jeremiah Trotter would be in Eagles Green, not Tampa Bay Red & Black. For the love of great philly cheesesteaks - please get a clue, Eagles fans, as passionate as they are - THEY BOO SANTA. Eagles fans have packed snowballs with batteries and throw them at opposing players, and you even have a special "suite" in both the Vet and the Linc for a judge to hold hearings for overly rowdy fans. They booed the selection of Donovan McNabb at the draft, the only other QB to take the Eagles to the SuperBowl other than Ron Jawroski. Doesn't that tell you something?
A quarterback is only as good as his supporting cast. Right now, beyond Brian Westbrook, the Eagles really have no supporting cast. There are occasional glimpses of hope, Reggie Brown, Curtis and Avant shine occasionally, but nothing as spectacular as when we had T.O., or even as nice when we had Dante Stallworth.
Quit being cheap bastards and invest in a decent wide receiver or two. And stand behind your quarterback, the guy is one of the best in the business, and without the weapons on offense he needs, you - the front office, make it look like like he's a lousy quarterback.
Sincerely,
The Eagles Chick
Every team has its ups and downs, it's just that this year, we're on a down after 5 years of GREAT football. Sure it's frustrating. Sure it sucks. Sure it's heartbreaking loosing the last three games by only 10 points. That doesn't mean we stink like the Dolphins. It just means that the other teams were better, and possibly wanted it a little more.
The Eagles are a good team, proof goes to the 7-3 lead in the first half of this game, and keeping Romo to a 8.9% QB rating in that half. Proof goes to the Eagles giving the NFL the blueprint to giving the Patriots a real headache.
More, after the game.
We here at EaglesChick.com (that'd be MarySue and I), have a passion for the Eagles, and we also have taken a shine to a few players. For myself, Akers, Buckhalter, Dawkins, and Baskett put a sparkle in my eye. MarySue tends to lean Westbrook and Dawkins. However, both of us like big Jon Runyan - even if he does need a haircut right now.
So we'd like to institute the "Are You Tough Enough - Jon Runyan Style" series, where, each edition we highlight 5 reasons Jon Runyan is tough enough.
Short but sweet, and not to mention entirely fun & silly. Are we "Chest Bump Worthy"? Maybe, stay tuned, next week will ad 5 more "Are You Tough Enough" reasons Jon Runyan is tough enough.
Let's ask ourselves where would the Eagles be if God forbid something were to happen to Brian Westbrook. Could they make it without him? I am honestly starting to think that they wouldn't. It is quite obvious that they are dependent on him, I believe I had read somewhere that they feel the need to keep him as "fresh" as possible if they want to have a chance to make it into the post season. Now if that is not showing dependency then i don't know what is!
Brian Westbrook had his career high game last night against Miami he rushed for 148 yards on 32 carries! With his previous high being 141 in the wild card round against the Giants last season. With this yet another awesome game for Westbrook he is well on his way in his march towards the greatest season for a running back in Eagles history. So far this season he has 849 rushing yards, 55 catches all adding up to his 518 yards on the season. I would say he is well on his way!
Not only is Westbrook a heck of a football player but I think we all have to agree that he is definitely a "team" player and does not take anything for granted. He might be having an awesome season but he is not afraid to give credit to his fellow teammates. He can be quoted as saying......
"It feels good," ... "The team fought. We didn't play a perfect football game, but we continued to fight. When the team plays together, even when they are playing a team that is 0-9, we played a great game. When you have an offensive line, fullback, tight ends and receivers blocking for you the way I did, you are going to have some success and we did that today."when the team fights like that and stays together, we will have an opportunity to win the game and we did."
Athough Correll Buckhalter, is a comparable back up with his good combination of size and speed, he jus
t doesn't have the patience or experience that Westbrook does, and Tony Hunt with his powerful running style is only really good on those short yardage gains.
With this said I guess we all need to hope for the best and keep our fingers crossed that nothing happens to Westbrook not only for his sake but for the sake of the team!
Please allow me a few moments to stop and savor that right now, we no longer have a loosing record and we're finally at 500. As optimistic as I tend to be, realism does set in, and I realize this moment will be shortly lived likely coming to an end after next Sunday night. This Thanksgiving, I'll be thankful that these "Birds" are 5-5 rather than 4-6 or 3-7, and look like they might have some feathers left to try and fly.
So - how about them Eagles Defensive Linemen?! Let me tell you, they rock! You guys and goal lines stands, just really impressed me yet again this week. You guys give the fans the hope that there still really is life in the football team in green. I actually jumped up and cheered after each stop, and I haven't done that much at all this year, so thank you!
Takeo Spikes and Brian Dawkins certainly have lead some kind of rallying cry for this part of the team. These guys have in two weeks managed to change the entire "feel" of a game. Last week's amazing 7 or 8 play stand against the Redskins was amazing, and to turn around and be able to do it for a 4 play stand this week again, was just awesome. When our defense "clicks" it really can be a force to be reckoned with.
And how about "B-West"? Brian Westbrook had a career high game, and looked just about damn near unstoppable. On the ground it was tough for the Dolphins to stop Westbrook once he got moving. He had 132 yards rushing on 32 carries - both are career highs. It was something amazing to watch, and likely not something we're going to see again this season. The Dolphins, lets just say, are a team in a bad situation (one worse than the Eagles, and even Ricky Williams can't help them with that!), and that just left it open for Westbrook to pick away and exploit everything that was wrong with the Dolphins' defense.
Donovan McNabb went out of the game with a sprained ankle in the first half. Prior to that, he had been picked off for two interceptions both in the red zones - both at points where it was almost certain the Eagles were going to score. I think it's really sad when Philadlephia fans were cheering when he went limping off the field and into the locker room. Some of Eagles fans are just so fickle, there's a reason why the fans have been nick named the "boo birds", and unfortunately that kind of display of "eagle fandemonium" is what makes the rest of America think there's no intelligent life in the stands of the Linc or in Philly.
AJ Feeley came in and replaced D-Mac, but he wasn't much better. Picked off again down in the red zone, just as they were about to score, Feeley made me through my hands up in disgust. Then they came back out after the half, and it seemed like a different team. However, they obviously decided to go with what works, their running game with Westbrook. Hand off after hand off from Feeley to Westbrook kept chipping away the yards and the time. Westbrook got the Eagles into the red zone, and Jason Avant topped off the drive with a 9 yard reception in the end zone.
I think the fact that Feeley seemed to have just as much difficulty getting a passing game going as DMac has, goes to show, the Eagles desperately need someone to step up and be "THE" receiver, you know like that overbearing, self inflated, ego maniacal idiot that use to play for the Eagles? The fact Feeley had to turn to Westbrook again and again, keeps going back to how one dimensional we are right now. Unfortunately that will just make it all the more tough to beat the Patriots and the Cowboys. So for this week, I'll savor the non-loosing record, and enjoy a 2 week winning streak.
"Just 1 More Stop"
Those words from the Eagles' Jon Runyan to Takeo Spikes were enough to rouse the Eagles defense into a awe inspiring 7 play goal line stand that limited the Redskins to just a field goal - despite a penalty that gave the Redskins an additional set of downs. What a powerful display of defense it was. It was like someone woke up the defense and told them the game was going on.
Up until that goal line stand, I kept wondering where in the hell the defense was. The Redskins were just controlling the field and blowing by the Eagles left, right and center. Then it was like waking a sleeping giant, and if Johnson put caffine in the Gatorade for his players, I'm thankful, and if it was Runyan's words - Jon Runyan, you rock (even if you do need a hair cut).
The 4th quarter was the best playing I've seen of the Eagles in a few games. It was encouraging to see LJ Smith and Reggie Brown doing great. It was even more awesome to see the offensive line make some spectacular blocks to free Brian Westbrook right up to go for a touchdown. Shawn Andrews and Jon Runyan made two amazing blocks on that play, and seeing the brief replay on it, it just made everyone here watching the game with me go "WHOA!"
"He's really tough if you let him in the open field, and we did, " was London Fletcher's response when asked about blocking and covering Brian Westbrook. Westbrook, once again carried the offensive. We as Eagles fans cheer for his 5 catches for 83 yards and his 20 carries for 100 yards and hoot and holler for those 3 touchdowns he made. His playing is just awesome, and without him the Eagles wouldn't have won.
Unfortunately though, the Eagles rely way too much on Westbrook. As great as he is, right now the Eagles offensive is one dimensional - the Westbrook dimension. No one wide receiver is stepping up to help out. Sure today we saw a lot more of Hank Baskett (this chick likes that!), finally LJ Smith is really back, and Greg Lewis even shined a bit. But no "one" is standing out and taking some of that weight off of Westbrooks shoulders. With 7 more games to go, it's difficult to see how the Eagles can win on just Westbrook.
The defensive had some impressive numbers - Takeo Spikes had 12 tackles, 9 of those unassisted. Brian Dawkins had 9 tackles. Then just looking at their 4th quarter, it was like night and day, compared to the rest of the game. Great job to the defense, it was like you woke up the entire team - kudos!
Kudos to Donovan McNabb as well with a 138.5% QB rating on the day, despite his fumble, Donovan looked good. Connecting on passes, scrambling and being patient - at least this game he didn't eat as much grass. He looked good - much better than last week. I'm not of the opinion that "McNabb needs to go" - unlike the other Eagles fans who are screaming for his head. Personally I think, he needs 2 things 1) more weapons beyond Westbrook and 2) more time to heal that injury.
Can this win, turn into a streak? So far this year, that hasn't happened, but we are playing Miami next week and they haven't won a game yet in 2007. That could be either a blessing ... in the form of an easy win, or a curse in the form of the Eagles being their first win that they've been trying desperately to get. I think the Eagles might just have turned a corner, hopefully we'll be on a two game winning streak next week and improve to 500, that'd be really nice, wouldn't it? :)
Jon Runyan - thanks for kicking the team into gear, us Eagles fans really appreciate it!
After last weekend's severe pummeling given to the Eagles (and us fans) by the Dallas Cowboys, the thought on every Eagles fan's mind, along with all the sports analysts on FOX, CBS, NBS, ESPN and the NFL channel, is are the Eagles going to show up to play? Has the team's "ass", so to speak, be thoroughly kicked into alignment that they finally realize the season is half way through and they look like a team from pre-Andy Reid days, not a football team that's played in this new millennium?
Last night I checked out the injury report for the Eagles vs. Redskins game. While the Eagles' offense seems a bit banged up with 4 wide receivers having some kind of injury - Reggie Brown (neck), Jason Avant (groin), Kevin Curtis (knee), Greg Lewis (chest), along with Westbrook being listed with a shoulder injury, Jon Runyan with a glute injury and LJ Smith with a back injury - but all are playing, one might be wondering if the Eagles are going to be able to show up and catch balls for Donovan McNabb. Looking at the other side of the ball the Redskins are out three major weapons. Santana Moss is out with an injury to his heel, Cornelius Griffin is out with a back injury and Antwaan Randle El is listed with a hamstring injury is out as well.
With the Redskins missing at least 2 major weapons on offense, Eagles fans might be breathing a little easier. I know this chick looked at the injury report and thought - "well the Eagles might have a chance to win". However, for the Eagles to win, the rest of the team has to show up and Donovan needs to be "on target" today. No more of the 40% QB rating crap. Although Donovan cannot be blamed for all the current "whoas" of the Eagles, he does carry some of that weight and he needs to improve and get the ball away a lot quicker instead of constantly being sacked. 
I don't think Donovan has eaten as much grass in any year prior to 2007 - but then again, prior to that he had a great offensive line that included Jeremiah Trotter.
I have a feeling today's game might be a nail biter, but certainly hope the outcome is one we'll be cheering about. We so need to cheer about something, a win over an NFC rival would be great. If we can't get that - then maybe the Giants with pummel the Cowboys? I know, we're not suppose to like the Giants either, but on game days, I root for 2 teams, the Eagles and who ever is playing against the Cowboys!
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