I wish I had some magical theory about why the Eagles lost to one of the worst teams in football. I’m literally at a loss for words right now. Prior to today I would have been willing to spot the Raiders 21 points and I still would have expected us to win by at least 20. Now I’m not sure what to think.
First, to all you morons who want to pin this loss on McNabb…go jump off the Ben Franklin Bridge. Go ahead, I’ll wait till you’re gone…
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Ok, now that the irrational imbeciles are off the site let’s look at this from a rational perspective. Did Donovan play one of his best games? No, but he rarely had the time he needed to throw the ball effectively. Had Vick started he probably would have done a lot worse. The offensive line turned in a miserable performance and failed to adjust to the Raiders rush at any point in the afternoon. Losing Jason Peters to an injury obviously devastated the unit, and while X-rays were negative keep your fingers crossed that he is ok and ready to go next Monday Night.
The referees certainly didn’t help the Eagles’ cause, but I expect to see poor officiating in the NFL from Week to Week. It’s just something we have to deal with. That being said, the Eagles lost this game on their own. There is no reason they shouldn’t have put 40+ on the board against one of the biggest joke franchises in the league.
We can’t really blame the defense either. They held the Raiders offense scoreless in the second half and while they couldn’t get a stop on Oakland’s last drive they did more than enough to win this game.
Who DO we blame then? Obviously the O-line is culprit #1, but I think Andy Reid is very much at fault for this loss. He made no attempt to run a balanced offense (46 passes to just 14 rushes) despite the fact that the Eagles were averaging a respectable 4.8 ypc. Hard to establish any momentum on the ground when you never actually try to run. Aside from the unbalanced offense, it’s up to Reid and his staff to have this team up to play each week and they were not ready today, period. Yes that falls on the players, but the coach should take some heat too. I really hope the Birds wait on extending Reid’s contract until AFTER we see how the rest of this season plays out.
Not so “Green” Akers
Another individual at fault for the loss? David Akers. He missed two very makeable field goals, and it may be time to start looking at him as a liability.
One Positive From a Very Negative Game
Sav Rocca was a busy man today. He punted 8 times, averaging nearly 43 yards on each one and pinning the Raiders inside their own 20 three times.
Never Would I Ever…
…have imagined the Eagles would lose to the Raiders when they didn’t turn the ball over on offense (but picked off two passes on D.) Even more shocking? The Birds only committed four penalties for 38 yards.
Key Stats
- The Eagles were 2-16 on third downs on the day.
- The Raiders had fewer punts than their opponent for only the second time this season. The last time this happened? Week 1 when the Chargers punted 5 times to the Raiders 4.
- The Chiefs are one of the worst teams in football, yet they still managed 126 more yards and 1 more point in a matchup with Oakland earlier this season.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.
