Let’s start with the fact that I attended the Eagles-Bears game in Philly courtesy of my buddy Long Legs, who hooked us up with some sweet seats. We had such a good view that I could see first-hand just how mediocre the Eagles receivers really are. Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis both dropped balls, Brown’s a sure touchdown that could have rendered Chicago’s 97-yard game-winning drive irrelevant. As it is, the Birds are 2-4, head to Minnesota this weekend, then host Dallas the following Sunday.
In case you couldn’t already tell, the sky is falling in Philadelphia.
During the post-mortem that was the Monday flight home, I read an interesting stat in the Philadelphia Daily News regarding the Eagles’ sudden red zone ineptitude. Excluding the demolition of the Lions in Week 3, the offense has entered the red zone 15 times and come away with exactly two touchdowns. And field goals do not typically pave the way to victory.
So what can the Eagles do to salvage their season? For one thing, the solution isn’t to bench Donovan McNabb in favor of Kevin Kolb, as one genius in the section over from me suggested. (And, no, it wasn’t Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell).
The fix for the Eagles is actually quite simple: Be better.
Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg need to be better at red-zone play-calling, which includes keeping Brian Westbrook heavily involved via the run. Donovan McNabb needs to be better at putting the football in places where his guys can catch it. And, perhaps most importantly, the receivers have to actually hold on to the ball. The defense could also be better at pressuring the quarterback, especially in a prevent situation. The special teams could certainly be better at establishing field position.
I may be in the minority, but I think the Eagles can still turn this thing around. And even if this season goes by the boards, their proverbial window of opportunity can be extended. How, you ask?
Trade for Ocho Cinco.
I know, I know, we’ve been down the road of the Prima Donna wide receiver before, and it didn’t end well. But it sure started well. See, there’s one huge difference between OC and TO. OC may be loud and brash and egotistical. OC has never been divisive, despite his end-zone and sideline antics.
There are a lot of factors that would have to fall into place. The rumor is that the Bengals will try to trade OC, but it’s purely conjecture at this point. Assuming they do try and trade him, they’ll probably demand a king’s ransom. Is he worth a mid-to-late first round pick? Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie would also have to buy in to the whole thing, and he was burned badly by TO. What I’m saying is, there’s an 85% chance it won’t happen.
But imagine if it did…
For the record, last week also represented my best gambling week of the season. Not sure what’s worse – the fact that 8-6 is my high water mark for the year, or the fact that it took me seven weeks to get there. Come to think of it, let’s just move on.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Match-up: Detroit (+5.0) @ Chicago
The Skinny: So will Brian Griese play like Peyton Manning as he did in orchestrating the two-minute offense to perfection in the comeback win at Philly? Or will he regress and play like, well, like Brian Griese?
Straight Up: Chicago
Against the Spread: Chicago
The Match-up: Pittsburgh (-3.5) @ Cincinnati
The Skinny: No way Omar Epps lets the Steelers lapse in consecutive weeks. Losing in Denver is unconscionable. Losing in Cincinnati would be unforgivable.
Straight Up: Pittsburgh
Against the Spread: Pittsburgh
The Match-up: Indianapolis (-6.5) @ Carolina
The Skinny: This would be a potential trap game for the Colts if they weren’t facing a team quarterbacked by 71-year old Vinny Testaverde.
Straight Up: Indianapolis
Against the Spread: Indianapolis
The Match-up: Oakland (+7.5) @ Tennessee
The Skinny: Admit it – you saw Tennessee put up 38 points last week and thought for sure Vince Young went off. No, that would have been Rod Bironas setting an NFL record by booting eight field goals last week.
Straight Up: Tennessee
Against the Spread: Oakland
The Match-up: Cleveland (-3.0) @ St. Louis
The Skinny: Steven Jackson is back and imploring fans to start him on their fantasy teams this week. Seeing as I traded for Jackson a couple of weeks ago, I’ll oblige.
Straight Up: St. Louis
Against the Spread: St. Louis
The Match-up: New York Giants (-9.5) @ Scottish Claymores (er, the Miami Dolphins)
The Skinny: Actually the Claymores, nee of the NFL Europe league, might give the Giants a better game. Why is the NFL trying to promote its game via the Miami Dolphins? Are they that internationally recognizable?
Straight Up: New York Giants
Against the Spread: New York Giants
The Match-up: Philadelphia (-1.0) @ Minnesota
The Skinny: If you’re Brad Childress, why aren’t you giving the ball to Adrian Peterson 25 times a game? AD only carried it 12 times last week in Dallas. He should be a workhorse…starting next week.
Straight Up: Philadelphia
Against the Spread: Philadelphia
The Match-up: Buffalo (+3.0) @ New York Jets
The Skinny: Somehow, someway, the 1-6 Jets are favored over the juggernaut 2-4 Bills. That tells me a lot about Buffalo’s chances.
Straight Up: New York Jets
Against the Spread: New York Jets
The Match-up: Houston (NL) @ San Diego
The Skinny: The league has yet to determine if, when, or where this game will be played. I’m sure those details are the least concerns of the people of San Diego.
Straight Up: San Diego
Against the Spread: San Diego
The Match-up: Jacksonville (+4.0) @ Tampa Bay
The Skinny: The Jaguars are down to essentially their third string quarterback, a guy named Quinn Gray who wears a heavily-tinted visor a la LaDanian Tomlinson. The NFL is so upside down this year that this is the kind of game Jacksonville will win.
Straight Up: Tampa Bay
Against the Spread: Jacksonville
The Match-up: New Orleans (-3.0) @ San Francisco
The Skinny: The 49ers welcome back quarterback Alex Smith, who will likely hand the ball to Frank Gore early and often. The Saints appear to have been revived and believe it or not can still challenge for the NFC South title.
Straight Up: New Orleans
Against the Spread: New Orleans
The Match-up: Washington (+16.5) @ New England
The Skinny: Like the Colts, the Patriots face what could be viewed as a trap game. But this Pats team is playing with such an attitude; they’ll probably beat up on the Redskins as if they’ve seen them on video.
Straight Up: New England
Against the Spread: New England
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Match-up: Green Bay (+3.0) @ Denver
The Skinny: If the Red Sox sweep Colorado (which looks entirely possible at this point), there won’t be a conflict between the Broncos game and Game 5 of the World Series. Want to have some fun? Find a Sox fan and tell them that their team has morphed into the Yankees. They love that.
Straight Up: Green Bay
Against the Spread: Green Bay
Bye: Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle
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Week 7: 9-5 straight up; 8-6 against the spread
Season: 60-43; 42-53-8
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