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Undertoad · 01-12-2003, 11:57 PM

When you watch the Eagles offense:

It's usually all about Donovan McNabb. Number 5. A special talent. He's re-defining the role of the quarterback with his remarkable talents, his intelligence, his dedication and hard work.

When it isn't about McNabb, it's because the team has gone into a game plan mode where they believe, for some reason, that they can win if they relentlessly run, run, run the ball. This happened during the last game, which made the birds' offense seem a little boring and unproductive.

The running game doesn't have to be boring, though, because it's headed by Duce Staley. Number 22. He patiently paid his dues while running behind Charlie Garner; he tried to hold the team by himself when things were bad; he didn't get respect when he was injured; now that he's back, he's a top-10 running back. The fans admire this and you'll hear the chant of "Duuuuuce" when he's got the ball.

McNabb splits his passes amongst the whole team. On short passes you see workhorse TE Chad Lewis #89. One big play receiver is Todd Pinkston #87. He's fun to watch, partly because he's about 6-foot-4 and and about 145 pounds in weight. No, I don't know what his actual weight is, but you just look for the guy who looks impossibly skinny, and that's him.

The Eagles will run "trick" plays including reverses, double reverses, flea flickers, and unexpected onside kicks. People theorize that Coach Reid does this so that other teams have to practice for them. He has guys who specifically run the reverse, so Reid is really playing chess with his opposition coaches: is it a trick play now?

When you watch the Eagles defense:

Good lord, don't miss the Eagles defense.

There's a special secret about this defense, which is this: they will give up yardage. Oh yes, they may give up yard after yard after yard, and the other side may march right down the field. But during that time, three things will happen:

1. Havoc will be wreaked. The Eagles defense is all about speed. They do things no other defense would ever consider. They might send any player in on a blitz, rushing the quarterback, because the entire defense is so fast. All this leads to interceptions, sacks, botched plays.

2. Time will be used. There will be no big plays that move the team downfield in a hurry. Passes will complete towards the middle of the field, where a receiver can't run out-of-bounds and stop the clock. The opposition takes all day on a drive and only finds that...

3. No touchdown will result. Any drive ends with the Eagles' great "red-zone" defense. Once a team reaches the 20-yard-line, the Eagles stop them cold.

So who's fun to watch. Two guys in particular. Safety Brian Dawkins #20 is one guy who leads in havoc production. He doesn't play dirty, he just hits, and when he hits you, you stay hit. Sack leader is defensive end Hugh Douglas #53, who has remarkable agility and speed despite being 280 pounds and regularly having to push 300-pound guys around for a living. These two guys hot-dog it a lot out there, but they back it all up.

The Eagles defense is simply excellent in that they play basic football well. There are few missed tackles; everybody tackles well. There are few missed blocking assignments. Few outright mistakes. Extremely well-coached.

And then you watch the special teams:

No great team can neglect its special teams. The Eagles feature kick/punt returner Brian Mitchell, who in his 13th year in the league (making him ancient), may well be the finest returner ever to return kicks and punts. And kicker David Akers is quite reliable, but also a phenom; he can really kick and so the Eagles may on occasion go for a longer field goal. Akers will practice a 60 yarder before the game. Combine Mitchell and Akers, and no team can feel safe with a small lead; a Mitchell kick return may give the Eagles the field position for Akers to kick a long field goal.

01-12-2003, 11:57 PM	#10
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	3 pm Sunday When you watch the Eagles offense: It's usually all about Donovan McNabb. Number 5. A special talent. He's re-defining the role of the quarterback with his remarkable talents, his intelligence, his dedication and hard work. When it isn't about McNabb, it's because the team has gone into a game plan mode where they believe, for some reason, that they can win if they relentlessly run, run, run the ball. This happened during the last game, which made the birds' offense seem a little boring and unproductive. The running game doesn't have to be boring, though, because it's headed by Duce Staley. Number 22. He patiently paid his dues while running behind Charlie Garner; he tried to hold the team by himself when things were bad; he didn't get respect when he was injured; now that he's back, he's a top-10 running back. The fans admire this and you'll hear the chant of "Duuuuuce" when he's got the ball. McNabb splits his passes amongst the whole team. On short passes you see workhorse TE Chad Lewis #89. One big play receiver is Todd Pinkston #87. He's fun to watch, partly because he's about 6-foot-4 and and about 145 pounds in weight. No, I don't know what his actual weight is, but you just look for the guy who looks impossibly skinny, and that's him. The Eagles will run "trick" plays including reverses, double reverses, flea flickers, and unexpected onside kicks. People theorize that Coach Reid does this so that other teams have to practice for them. He has guys who specifically run the reverse, so Reid is really playing chess with his opposition coaches: is it a trick play now? When you watch the Eagles defense: Good lord, don't miss the Eagles defense. There's a special secret about this defense, which is this: they will give up yardage. Oh yes, they may give up yard after yard after yard, and the other side may march right down the field. But during that time, three things will happen: 1. Havoc will be wreaked. The Eagles defense is all about speed. They do things no other defense would ever consider. They might send any player in on a blitz, rushing the quarterback, because the entire defense is so fast. All this leads to interceptions, sacks, botched plays. 2. Time will be used. There will be no big plays that move the team downfield in a hurry. Passes will complete towards the middle of the field, where a receiver can't run out-of-bounds and stop the clock. The opposition takes all day on a drive and only finds that... 3. No touchdown will result. Any drive ends with the Eagles' great "red-zone" defense. Once a team reaches the 20-yard-line, the Eagles stop them cold. So who's fun to watch. Two guys in particular. Safety Brian Dawkins #20 is one guy who leads in havoc production. He doesn't play dirty, he just hits, and when he hits you, you stay hit. Sack leader is defensive end Hugh Douglas #53, who has remarkable agility and speed despite being 280 pounds and regularly having to push 300-pound guys around for a living. These two guys hot-dog it a lot out there, but they back it all up. The Eagles defense is simply excellent in that they play basic football well. There are few missed tackles; everybody tackles well. There are few missed blocking assignments. Few outright mistakes. Extremely well-coached. And then you watch the special teams: No great team can neglect its special teams. The Eagles feature kick/punt returner Brian Mitchell, who in his 13th year in the league (making him ancient), may well be the finest returner ever to return kicks and punts. And kicker David Akers is quite reliable, but also a phenom; he can really kick and so the Eagles may on occasion go for a longer field goal. Akers will practice a 60 yarder before the game. Combine Mitchell and Akers, and no team can feel safe with a small lead; a Mitchell kick return may give the Eagles the field position for Akers to kick a long field goal.