While driving across the city last night I was fortunate enough to catch the DeSean Jackson Radio show ‘LIVE from the Philadelphia airport’ for the first time ever. Interesting intro to say the least.
DeSean seemed to be in a decent mood after the Eagles sloppy and mind-boggling loss to the lowly Oakland Raiders Sunday evening. However he did have a few comments for his fellow teammates that I’m sure he hasn’t told them in person yet. When asked by Brian Seltzer about what happened at the end of the first half when Donovan used a timeout the Eagles didnt have, DeSean had this to say:
Donovan needs to be better aware of the clock in that situation and know where we stand as far as timeouts.
DeSean went on to explain that play call was for a wildcat formation and everyone was a little bit iffy as to who was supposed to be in and where. Michael Vick ended up going out in motion with DeSean in the slot and before McNabb knew it, the play clock was down to :01 and he just burned a timeout real fast out of pure instinct.
After explaining this play, Brian Seltzer poked a little bit deeper asking whats the deal with the wildcat and Michael Vick. Pointing out the fact that is doesnt seem to working and the wildcat has produced very few positive yardage plays so far this season. DeSean’s response:
Michael Vick needs to become more productive when he’s out there.
Now I understand the frustration from losing to the Oakland Raiders, but how does DeSean expect Vick to become productive if he can barely get into the game, coming in every 25 plays to act as a decoy once a drive and not see the field until the next quarter.
DeSean is definitely right when it comes to your veteran leader, and Pro Bowl Quarterback Donovan McNabb knowing where you are during the course of the game and how many timeouts his team has. However I disagree with DeSean’s points made about Michael Vick. I think the Birds need to get back to basics and utilize all their offensive weapons. Vick should definitely be seeing some more PT if the Eagles expect him to get acclimated back to the NFL and be a positive asset to this team moving forward.
Throughout the years, the Eagles have found a lot of success on offense by being able to spread the ball out get a number of different players involved. So far this year, I feel as though the Eagles are struggling to do this. Rather than a lot of different players getting the ball, it seems as though the offense is relying on one or two players to have big games. Below is a breakdown of how many players had more than two receptions each week:
Week One: 2
Week Two: 6
Week Three: 3
Week Four: BYE
Week Five: 2
Week Six: 3
Week Two was the only week where the Eagles spread the ball often to a variety of different players, but it came in a losing effort as the Eagles defense had their worst outing against a talented Saints offense. Despite the loss, the offense was able to put up over 450 yards on the day.
When the Eagles are spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved, it makes them very hard to game plan against. This season you have seen DeSean Jackson have a huge game, then come out and get shut down the next week. The same thing happened with Jeremy Maclin. Both of these guys should be having multiple receptions every game. Along with them, you have another receiver in Jason Avant who is an absolute monster on third downs, and with the way they couldn’t convert on third downs against Oakland should see more work. Factor in an extremely talented tight end and two running backs who can wreak havoc in the screen game and the possibilities are endless.
I don’t think these troubles are stemming from Donovan McNabb either. The game scheme and play calling has been completely too predictable. This team definitely has the talent on offensive to be absolutely unstoppable. They simply aren’t utilizing it all. I can only hope that Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg can come to realize this.
Well, the Rams love our buried on the depth chart wide receivers. Yesterday evening, at the 11th hour the Philadelphia Eagles shipped Brandon Gibson, who from all accounts is a superstar in the making (with patience) and a 5th round pick to the St. Louis Rams for LB Will Witherspoon.
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Witherspoon who was the Ram’s team MVP in 2007, played in all 16 games and recorded 117 tackles. Also off to another solid start in 2009, Witherspoon has tallied 33 tackles through Week 7 of the season.
The force behind this move is obvious, as the Eagles continue their search for an anchor in the middle of their Linebacking core. With Omar Gathier, for whatever reason, appearing to have just completely lost ability to play the position combined with nagging injuries, and Jeremiah Trotter looking like a 50 year old man out there, Witherspoon appears ready to step in and claim that spot in the middle for the foreseeable future. A quick, strong, reactionary 6-1 239 pounder with 4.6 forty speed, the Eagles appear to have their new MLB for the next couple of seasons.
Donnie F was back under center yesterday and looked pin point accurate, going 16 for 21, for 264 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, including a beautifully thrown 51 yards needle threader to rookie Jeremy Maclin in the first quarter, as the Eagles continued to dominate the league’s weak, cruising to a 33-14 victory at the Linc yesterday.
Jemery Maclin finally emerged and lived up to the first round pick, catching 6 passes for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, Brian Westbrook got into the end zone for the first time this year, as this one was never in doubt from the onset. This game was won more on the defense side. Constant pressure on quarterback Josh Johnson and forced him into three INT’s, giving the Eagles solid field position all day, which they took advantage of often.
The feast against the feeble continues next week as the Birds travel to Oakland to take on the winless Raiders at 4pm next Sunday.
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