My thoughts Eagles/Bears

This is from my weekly roundup of the Philadelphia Eagles game on GCobb.com:

Finally, a close game against the Bears and the Eagles come out on the winning end. The defense blew it in 2007 on a long drive with little time and no timeouts for a Bears win. Last year, the Eagles (again) couldn’t get a yard when they needed it. Sunday night, they overcame some relatively poor play and found a way to win.

So, let’s look at the game:

What I liked…

-Donovan was very sharp when he had time. 23/32 for 244 yards, 2 TD’s and a pick. Just thought this would be a good time to bring this up. There were several people in the media that suggested the Eagles should be calling Denver to inquire about Cutler when all that noise was going down out there. I don’t think Cutler is as bad as he played last night, but I’ve never been real high on him. I think his stats were misleading in Denver (awful defense, always in shootouts or playing from behind) and he seems like a terrible leader. He always has that stupid, dufus look on his face and he likes to yell at people when he’s the one that just threw his 10th pick of the game. Just saying. People need to realize that finding a franchise QB ain’t easy and Donovan has been wonderful. Perfect? Of course not. But would you be happy if you were Lovie Smith right now and you had to sit and watch your two first-round picks overthrow receiver after receiver because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll probably throw 5 INT’s? I wouldn’t.

-Good job, Andy Reid. If we rag on you for not running the ball and wasting timeouts, I should at least acknowledge when you don’t (then again, this could be rewarding someone for doing what they are supposed to do. Like Chris Rock said of people who brag about paying their bills. “You’re supposed to!”). In a tight game, it was nice to see that Reid had his timeouts saved up in case they needed them. 32 passes and 30 runs? That’s more like it.

-Brent Celek is so reliable. And did you see?! That was an Eagles tight end actually blocking on McCoy’s game-winning TD run!

-Jason Avant continues to impress. Could you imagine if he could actually run? He’d be an elite receiver in the league.

-I complained about Maclin earlier this season. I said that I just had not seen anything. No flashes of this or that. It concerned me. But he just gets better every week. He looks more and more comfortable out there and Donovan’s confidence in him grows. The Eagles have a sweet pair of starting WR’s….for once.

-I’ve been a Peanut Tillman fan for years. He’s big, he’s physical. Anyone remember him ripping that ball out of Randy Moss’s hands in the end zone several years ago while Moss was with Minnesota? If he was around the ball carrier last night, look out. He was knocking it all over the field.

-DeSean is DeSean. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I am blown away by the lack of effort with which he runs. He has the calm of someone sitting on their couch as he blazes by defenders. Knock on wood, but I am also impressed that he stays on the field. Many thought he’d be a walking injury report because of his small size.

-Winston Justice does a pretty nice job. Turns out he’s not the complete waste of space that everyone thought.

-Huge play from Tracy White. Well done.

-You too, Antonio Dixon. You were very Dikembe Mutombo-esque in showing Robbie Gould what you thought of his kick.

-I have to give a nod to Sheldon Brown. Playing a speed position with a partially torn hamstring is not easy. And then Samuel went out and Brown became that much more important. These corners are decimated.

…and not so much…

-I don’t care about the praise for Jason Peters playing injured. If you aren’t healthy enough to handle Alex Brown, then please let someone else do it. I saw him get abused quite a bit last night. This guy just doesn’t impress me.

-It’s not just Peters. This offensive line is not good enough right now. Did anyone else notice how skittish McNabb was last week against the Chargers? Even when he had time he couldn’t wait to get rid of the ball. I don’t think he trusts the guys up front. A big part of the problem is they are still getting continuity. I understand that, but until then, they are giving up jailbreaks.

-Are we close to being done with Sav Rocca? He’s not hitting the ball well and his painfully slow release makes him a threat to be blocked. Surprised more teams don’t sell out and go after him.

-I know I’m done with Chris Gocong as a linebacker. And I’m not blaming him, it’s not his position. He can’t cover. I know I’m not the only one who notices this. Let him put his hand down and rush the passer. That’s why you drafted him!

-Yes, the Eagles won and that’s very important for this young team. But man, they have a ways to go. Still some poor football being played.

-I love how McCoy committs what could have been a very costly fumble, and then a couple series later he’s holding the ball out again. Someone needs to call Tom Coughlin and teach this kid how to hold the ball. Two things keep young running backs off the field. Missing blitz pickup and fumbling. He’s kind of struggling with both. He’ll learn, but the Eagles don’t really have much choice with him right now. He’s made some nice plays so far, but he needs to tuck the rock away.

-Good news, Eagles Fans! Michael Vick can’t run anymore. Big play or not, he clearly does not have the speed or the moves that he once had.

-Matt Forte is not right. He looks like a shell of the 2008 version.

-I’m not a fan of Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner at all. But it’s tough to hang this one on him when Cutler was so awful. If Cutler doesn’t get it together, this is a mistake that will set the Bears back at least three years.

Washington is next. The Birds have to take care of business with what looks like an awful Redskins team. They will be without Portis and Betts too. Rock Cartwright will probably get the start. They were dreadful in Dallas yesterday (and the Cowboys shouldn’t be doing any bragging either). This is a very winnable division, but the Eagles are going to have to tighten up their play big time.