Everybody is wiping the egg yolk off their eyebrows, right down to me, your loudmouthed radio buddy. (The Eagles suck! Johnny College coach! Fragile Vick!)
From the RG3 hagiography (sponsored by Gatorade!), to the 4-0 pre-season, with a dash of arrogance (let's carry 4 QBs, when we had to start a converted CB E.J. Biggers at safety!) it was all steering us toward a debacle like that.
It was 33-7, and it really should have been 33-0 (I thought Vick threw a 1/2 yard forward pass, but concede that two separate replays directly contradicted the other one).
That's when Kelly and Co. shut off the engines, and before you had your milk and cookies before bedtime, a live ball on an onside kick was loose for a split second. Six point game, a full 1:14 left, I swear it was looking like the Ravens miracle all over again.
I don't know how long college games go, but somebody should explain to Kelly the 60 minutes concept here in the pros.
Which, in a roundabout way is why I am still suspect about the long term prospects of Kelly's admittedly intriquing new scheme. How do you close out games with a sizeable lead? At Oregon, the answer was "just score 60, and give up 40."
In the NFL, that's not gonna happen.
That said, W-O-W. What the Eagles did early was truly pulse-chargingly different, and kinda fun (if it wasn't your team they were doing it against). The Skins defense - despite what I am sure was a week of hard prep for the up-tempo stuff - was utterly scared and confused.
This is going to be a challenge for teams playing the Eagles this year.
You put out a confusing spread scheme, run it full throttle, and have terrorizing speed and shiftiness in the form of DeSean Jacksona and Shady McCoy, and holy shit. Look out.
Vick is stil incredibly dangerous a-foot, and can break your back with 3rd down scrambles to move the chains.
Still, he takes way too many shots, wants to get out and block on slow developing runs and reverses, and has no concept on how to slide, or when to slide.
He is going to get hurt again. This is not even up for debate.
Now, the elephant in the room: RG3 and his rusty scupper.
(NOTE: There was a seafood restaurant in Tyson's Corner, VA when I was growing up by this name, and it's always stuck with me. In fact, every time I hear the word "rusty" I think "scupper." Not even sure if a "scupper" is something on a boat anyway. But I digress...)
Yes, RG3 looked out of sync. Yes, his footwork was tenative and resulted in weak or inaccurate throws.
And he took a heck of a pounding once again.
He is going to get hurt again. I wish this was somewhat debatable, but I am starting to have my doubts.
After the game, RG3 did what he always does. Show class, be calm, and exude leadership. Took responsibility for everything that went wrong, and pointed no fingers.
God, I love the guy. He'll have better nights.
He tried to spin it that they "played better in the 2nd half" but really, who's buying that? When Philly goes into a basic rush-4 shell, with soft cover 2's and 3's, it's easy to play pitch and catch.
They played HARD in the second half, and to that end, I give the team credit. But don't read much into anything after it was 33-7.
NOTES:
DeAngelo Hall's night included...
1. Getting beat badly on a TD, then blaming the safety (although Trevor Matich said the blame goes on Baccari Rambo, so, yeah, whatever...)
2. Showboating on a play where he did nothing more than pick up a ball and run unapposed into the endzone.
3. Commit a senseless frustration foul that led to a 15 yard penalty.
This is what you have to put up with, when you are in the DeAngelo Hall business. At times, he's a great cover corner. The rest of the time, well, he's THAT...
When you begin a game with...
1. Fumble
2. INT into triple-coverage
3. Toss-fumble-safety
... it's hard to play much worse.
This is actually the most ENCOURAGING thing about Monday night. They are not this sloppy.
Finally, there's this. 0-2 teams make the playoffs about 13% of the time since 1990. However, this is a flawed number. It includes a vast number of clearly shitty teams, that start 0-2 for a damn good reason. That said, you can now feel the urgency of somehow scratching out a Week 2 win at Lambeau Field against a pretty pissed off Packer team that felt they had the NFC Champs pinned last week on the road.
Let's just say the Pack avoid the 0-2 curse, and hang it instead on the Skins.
The Detroit Lions come to FedEx Field in Week 3. They look like they might have a team this year.
The Lions have NEVER won in Washington. NEVAH. I still won't feel too good about that, staring 0-and-THREE in the face.
0-3 teams historically: about 3% make the playoffs.
Need alot of focus this week fellas. Lotta focus...
Everyone wonders if the Eagles have the stamina to run 30% more plays per game. The real question is whether they can take 30% more hits per game over the course of a season. Magic Eight Ball says, “Very Doubtful”.
ReplyDeleteThe Ginger Hammer took glee in RG3’s rusty play. Preseason games have just been validated.
I work next to the building that used to have the Rusty Scupper (“Hey, how ‘bout that”). Is now an Olive Garden but I always think of it as where the Rusty Scupper used to be. A scupper is an opening in a wall or on a deck that allows rain or ocean water to drain.