2009 Week 10 Recap

Eagles at Chargers, Sunday, November 15, 2009

In attendance: Chef Spouse, Shoegal, Fellow Eagles Maniac, Limin' ABD, and two nOObs - The Illustrated Geek and Prototypical Eagles Fan.

Menu: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, French green beans, glazed carrots. The oven conked out about 1 hour into the chicken, so we had to finish it on the grill, but it all worked out fine. Go, Chef Spouse! Prototypical Eagles Fan brought prosecco and a yummy chocolate tart, and Fellow Eagles Maniac brought some wine.

Stud: CLEARLY Jason Avant, who had a career day with 8 catches for 156 yards. Including the BEAUTIFUL catch in the photo to the right.

OK, I did call us to lose the game. But why do the Eagles have to torture me with ALMOST COMEBACKS? Do or do not - there is no try.

We did see more of why DMac has the best TD/INT ratio in NFL history. He had several almost picks various Chargers couldn't hang on to. Speaking of Chargers receptions, their receivers made plays. Ours, with the exception of Avant, didn't. In his 11th season, it probably ain't gonna happen, but maybe McNabb could take a little of the heat off? Just a thought.

Speaking of long careers, the smart money says that, after two concussions in 4 weeks and continuing problems with his ankle, Westy is done - not just this season, and not just as an Eagle. He's in his 8th season, he's a running back, he's been one of the keys to our offense since 2003, and he's just not that big. It's been a GREAT ride, man, and Philly will always be grateful.

At one point during the game, I was like, "Why is Macho Harris returning kicks?" Oh, that's right - season-ending neck injury for Ellis Hobbs. "Where is Joselio Hanson?" BS 4 game suspension. "Where's Jason Peters?" Oh - that ankle injury he sustained against the Cowboys was more serious than Big Red let on.

Speaking of Jason Peters, did you notice that we couldn't punch it in from the 1? That's on the O-line.

Also, why can't Asante Samuel tackle? Shouldn't they be able to hire a guy to show him how? Like maybe Curtis Lofton? And did you notice that he seems afraid of contact? Shades of Todd Pinkston?

Actually, there were few big plays from D all day, especially in the last 5 minutes. It was critical to stop the Chargers in a place where we'd get good offensive field position. Instead, the Chargers waltzed on down the field, scored another 3 (just to be on the safe side) and left our offense with about 30 seconds. You know when we win games? When the D comes up big with picks, fumbles, some points. You know when we lose games? When the D is quiet. Like the last two weeks. 31 points? Really?

And why didn't we run the ball at all? Oh right - those O-line problems. So of course Big 5 had a huge day - we had no other options than throw-throw-throw. 55 attempts and 450 yards? That is not good.

And the FREAKIN' PENALTIES! Apparently we're the 5th most penalized team in football. Now, we do have a lot of young guys, so some penalties are to be expected, but 5th most? That's just a lack of discipline. Not Raiders level lack of discipline. Not Rams level lack of discipline. No Chiefs level lack of discipline. But not good.

And what's Vick doing, other than standing around holding a clip board? I have a new theory - we plan to trade him for draft picks to some crap team that desperately needs a QB (see above RE: Raiders, Rams, Chiefs). Which is actually a really smart strategy, come to think of it.

But did we stick close to a 50/50 run/pass game? No. Did our D force turnovers? No. And we lost the game. Told you so.

Around the rest of the NFL...

49rs over Bears. Did I mention I called this? Did I mention that I REALLY want us to beat the Bears in prime time next Sunday? Did I mention that we don't do well in Chicago? Sigh.

Panthers over Falcons. Huh. Maybe Jake Delhomme *isn't* done after all.

Dolphins over Bucs. It looked like the Bucs were going to pick up another win, particularly after Ronnie Brown went out. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Speaking of Ronnie Brown and the wildcat...Dear NFL Coaches. Look around. Do you see Ronnie Brown in your locker room? No? Then drop the freakin' wildcat. Not gonna work for you.

Vikings over Lions. Well, sure.

Jags over Jets. Wow. How fast did the Jets drop from "sexy pick" to "sad pick"? Fast. Sometimes there's new coach and rookie QB magic (Harbaugh/Flacco, Smith/Ryan), and sometimes there's just not.

Bengals over Steelers. Told you. Limin' ABD reminded me of the old saw "2/3 of the world is covered by water - the rest is covered by Troy Polamalu." Not anymore. He tweaked that same knee again in the first series, went out, and the Steelers are in trouble. The only bummer? No Ochocinco TDs, which means no wacky celebration. Damn. Also, anyone for a Bengals/Saints Super Bowl? Speaking of the Saints...

Saints over Rams. The only shocker is that the Rams were even in it in the first place. Go, Spags!

Titans over Bills. 41-17. That's more the score I was expecting to see from Saints/Rams. Speaking of teams that need a new QB, wonder when Dick Jauron will be calling Big Red about Michael Vick?

Redskins over Broncos. This is the upset of the week. Big time. Great. Just as we start - uncharacteristically - struggling in the second half of the season, the Redskins start doing well. Or is this just the annual Broncos collapse, Wolverine be damned? What do you think, football fans?

Chiefs over Raiders. Whatever.

Cards over Seahawks. The Seahawks made it a game - for a while - but in the end, the Cardinals were just too good. Did I mention that Fitz is my secret NFC receiver boyfriend? Are you surprised? Have you SEEN his ass?

Packers over Cowboys. Yeah, BOYEE! Shoegal reminded me that I haven't called Roethlisberger "Groceries" in a while, and he's definitely been sacked plenty this season. You know who else has been sacked a lot? Aaron Rodgers. It's good to be young - he had enough left in the tank to beat the Cowboys even though he's spent more time on his ass on the ground than he has on his ass on the bench this season. Although, honestly, it was the Packers D who won that game. Go, Charles Woodson!

Colts over Pats. The game hype was all "rivalry of the decade." I disagree - I think the rivalry of the decade is the Eagles versus the entire NFC. How many different teams have we faced in the NFC Championship Game? Anyway, who would've figured Bill Belichick to have an Andy Reid-level mental meltdown in the last two minutes? Must've missed his latest payment of babies/kittens to Satan.

Is it worth holding the recap to talk about Ravens/Browns? Um, no. There is NO way the Ravens lose this game.

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