Quick, let me hop back on that bandwagon before it leaves town – the Eagles rocked Buffalo yesterday after alienating most of their fans during their first 2 games. No, I’m not hoping right back on the whole support ship, but they’ve gone a long way to show they actually care. They blew it big time during the NFC Championship game last season and this was the first time I’ve truly seen them play passionately since then. I think they took those boos to heart and realized that they do owe their fans some honest effort for this season. I look forward to next week against the ‘Skins. Peter King say you’re crazy if you don’t think the Eagles are playoff bound, and I agree if they continue this style of playing and get back some starters. Meanwhile, Pete Prisco continues his assinine writing with his entire take on the game being that the Bills shouldn’t have gone for the two-point conversion. Yeah, that’s what killed them. Anywho, here are some highlights of the game:
- D-Mac ran with conviction. He ran when it was necessary and when he saw the openings. Best move of the entire game was his 25 yard run when he tossed that DB out of bounds – beautiful.
- Donovan also threw a lot better. Yes, he missed some wide open shots, but he also nailed some nice quick-outs that he would have missed last year.
- Staley is still a great option (particularly for pass plays and short yardage), but Buckhalter and Westbrook look like they are poised to take the rushing game to new levels.
- Thank god Andy started to call better plays. He’s a great coach, but their failures of late have largely been due to his inept playcalling. I blame the conservative calls at the end on their shortage of guys in the secondary, but overall a much better selection this week.
- Corey Simon shut up all detractors this week with a very dominating performance (including a sack on the Bills’ very first offensive play). Now, if only McDougle would get back from his injury…
And I guess there should be a few observations around the league:
- Jacksonville is 0-4 and Hugh Douglas has 1 sack so far. Gee, the Eagles really miss you.
- The Vikings look like the real thing this year. The 49ers, however, do not.
- The reason I’ve counted the Rams out for so long is their dependence on Kurt Warner. Now that they’ve decided to stick with Bulger… thank god, the Eagles don’t play them this year.
- Aside from the Eagles, the NFC East has benefitted from easy scheduling early on including wins against each other. The Giants got to play the Rams at their worst, the Redskins have played 2 teams (Jets and Falcons) without their starting QB, and the Cowboys also got to beat up on the Jets for their only non-division win.
- Manning is a much better QB than I ever give him credit for – his performance last night will shut me up for good. If he can finally step up in the playoffs, this could be their year. I can’t wait to see what he can do against the Bucs.
- Maybe Plummer actually is a better QB than his days with the Cards showed. Next week is the big challenge against the Chiefs and thir mighty revamped defense.
- Amazing how quickly pre-season predictions go down the drain – I’m certainly more scared of the Eagles facing the Panthers than I am of them facing the 49ers or Giants.
- Go McNair! You were my pick for MVP last year – take them to the big show this time and everybody will be forced to agree.
- Sorry Raiders, but an overtime victory against the winless Bolts does nothing to make me think that this team hasn’t finally hit the wall.
- Does anybody care about the Packers-Bears game tonight? Personally, I would just like the Bears to stay under 13 points so the Eagles offense is no longer last.
Uh, peace out for now…