Yikes.
Stud of the week: Uh...Alex Henery? Hey, at least he made both field goals and provided all the points the Eagles were able to muster. So yeah, I guess Henery wins by default. Chaz Henry had a pretty good day of punting, too. On the other hand, he was getting plenty of practice.
Given the problematic wins of the past two weeks, we all had to figure that things were going to go awry sooner or later. But I don't know that anyone expected them to go so spectacularly awry, and against the Cardinals.
Where to start? There's plenty of blame to go around.
Michael Vick. Yes, there were O-line problems with two new guys out there. And I'm guessing his receivers weren't getting open downfield. But he is holding the ball WAY too long. No one doubts his toughness, but he's not going to make it to the bye week at this point. And he constantly seems to run into the pressure rather than staying calm and, I don't know, maybe stepping up in the pocket. Is there going to be a QB controversy? After some of Andy Reid's remarks today, one might think so, but since I don't see any way Vick holds up with the pounding he's taking, it very well might end up as a forced option.
The O-line. See above. Y'all have 5 days to get better, because if you play like that during the game where the Eagles retire Wolverine's number, you're going to need to hire police protection to leave The Linc.
DeSean Jackson. Here's a tip: DO NOT get stopped on the two when your team is down by 17. NO MATTER WHAT. Also, here's another tip: it's a lot easier to make the argument that you were interfered with when you don't quit on the route and start waving your arms at the refs while the ball is still in the air, donkey.
The defense did OK - other than having no answer to Larry Fitzgerald, boneheading some penalties (what else is new?), and, of course, giving up 27 points. Then again, they played about 58 of the 60 minutes and were in some very tough field position situations, so I'm guessing they were mentally and physically tired.
And Andy Reid.
How do you not have a better game plan to cover Larry Fitzgerald? I mean, he's only one of the best receivers in the entire league. It's not like you didn't know what was coming.
How do you, once again, run the ball pretty much not at all when your QB is struggling and no one is getting open downfield? Shouldn't that, by process of elimination, mean there's some room to run? And then they get to the 4th quarter, down by 21 points and decide to...start running the ball. Seriously. Little late, yo.
How do you burn a timeout at the beginning of the second quarter? How? Just how? If you recall, the Birds really needed that timeout at the end of the half...right before Vick was stripped of the ball and the Cardinals went ahead 24-0, instead of going into the locker room at 17-7.
It was actually at that point that I suggested to Chef Spouse that we might want to start watching a game that was actually, you know, good.
(Of course, some of the head-scratching moves weren't entirely Andy's fault).
(Also, Kevin Kolb is a game manager as a QB. The Cardinals, given what I've seen the past two weeks, may be a strong enough team outside the QB position that that's all they need.)
Jeff Lurie has basically put it out there that the Eagles make a deep playoff run this year or it's curtains for Big Red. I've been a huge supporter over the years, and if the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, I'll gladly eat crow (I hear it will go well with the celebratory champagne), but maybe it's time for Andy to go.
Around the rest of the NFL:
If they don't get the real refs back soon, the 2012 season won't finish in time for the 2013 season to start. I'm not saying the games took too long, I'm just saying Chef Spouse had an 8 am meeting today in the Philly area (2 1/2 hour drive), and he drove there straight from the end of SNF and barely made it. Look, if you have to have a 10 minute conference after every single play in order to figure out where to spot the ball and what down it is, that's not good.
Giants over Panthers: OK, so I was a little wrong about my upset pick. The Giants dominated the Panthers as thoroughly as the Cardinals dominated the Birds, if not more so. That's saying something.
Bears over Rams: Even with Jay Cutler's emotional problems, the Rams weren't up to the challenge. Sam Bradford was brought back down to earth.
Bills over Browns: Did you notice that the Bills are tied with the Jets for first place in the division? OK, OK, it's only week 3, but still.
Cowboys over Buccaneers: The Cowboys won their home opener, but they did not exactly look dominant against the team that many of expected to be the dregs of the NFC South this year. Well, at least until the Saints fell apart.
Jaguars over Colts: What?!? Well, I'm sure that's what the Colts must've been saying after they went ahead with under a minute left, and lost anyway. Big day from MJD, too.
Jets over Dolphins: Who would've expected this game to go to OT? Of course, losing Revis Island didn't help the Jets. Also, could we please stop with the dumb timeouts trying to ice the kicker? All it does is give him a do-over. Thanks.
Vikings over 49ers: This is totally what I meant to make my upset pick! Can *I* get a do-over? Sorry, but this one is just shocking.
Chiefs over Saints: Hey Eagles fans, it could be worse. I'm having to talk my Saints friends down off the ledge at this point. This is shaping up to be one heavy-drinking season for members of the Who Dat Nation. Fortunately, New Orleanians' livers are up the challenge. Unlike their team.
Titans over Lions: Another shocking outcome. Did I mention that week 3 was also disastrous for my picks?
Bengals over Redskins: The Skins lose RGIII's home opener. And it wasn't his fault - he had a good game. Who manages to climb back from leading 24-7 and then giving it up? Right - Andy Dalton. And did you see Shanny get all up in the ref's face? And then he thinks he shouldn't be fined? Right. Hey, at least DC has the Nats.
Falcons over Chargers: I had called the Chargers, but admitted I could see this one going either way. In actuality, the Falcons kicked the crap out of the Chargers, which I didn't expect.
Texans over Broncos: As I expected. Now that Peyton doesn't enjoy a rock solid O-line anymore, funny how he looks mortal.
Raiders over Steelers: No wait! THIS is what I meant to make my upset pick! Really! On a serious note, how does Steeler Ryan Mundy get away with hitting Darrius Heyward-Bey so hard he knocks him out and sends him to the hospital with a neck injury and no penalty is even called?
Ravens over Patriots: There were some egregiously bad calls in this game, too, as Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels kept reminding us, maybe even some that would've turned the game, but I can't complain about the Ravens getting a win against the Pats, who knocked them out in the AFC Championship game last year, and on a night when Torrey Smith was playing in memory of his brother, Tevin, who'd been killed in a motorcycle accident only that morning. Also, maybe now the Ravens will quit whining about how they didn't like the playcalling against the Birds last week.
The Seahawks are currently beating the Packers. What is going on with the NFC West these days? All these guys started eating their Wheaties or something?
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