For a week, Eagles fans heard the same things over and over again. They heard that the Saints had never won a road playoff game, that Drew Brees wasn't the same quarterback on the road, that the Saints had limped into the playoffs and that the Eagles were the hot team. Well, as of about 11:20 on Saturday night, the Saints had won a road playoff game, and while Brees was not his best, he did just enough to get New Orleans past the Eagles and into the next round of the playoffs.
Just like that, the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles season is over.
Yes, it hurts. I'd be lying to you if I said it didn't. It always hurts when a team's season comes to an end, especially in the playoffs, and even more so on a last second field goal. Those sting really, really badly. There's plenty to look at from this game, and I'm going to get to that in a second. Before we go there, though, can we just take a minute and smile about one of the most successful Eagles seasons since the 2004 season when this team went to the Super Bowl?
Are we smiling now? If you're not, I don't know why.
Anyway, when you look back at this game, there are a few things that stand out. First of all, Nick Foles had another solid game. If there is anyone out there that thinks someone else should be the starting quarterback of the Eagles come Week 1 of next season, please go find another team to root for. We don't need you here. Foles threw for two touchdowns and completed almost 70% of his throws tonight. He still needs to work on the proper way to throw the ball away, as he was called for another intentional grounding penalty tonight, and when to take a sack, but it was another good showing from a quarterback who had many of them this season. Expecting another 27 touchdown, two interception season might be a little too much, but Foles is certainly the quarterback of the future.
Aside from Foles, the rest of the offense was average at best tonight. LeSean McCoy averaged under four yards a carry, and even though the Saints clearly focused their defensive plan around him, he needed to do more with the carries that he had. Riley Cooper had six catches and a touchdown, but dropped a key pass on a third down and four that would have gone for at least another 20 to 30 yards if he had held on to it. DeSean Jackson had just three catches, but did draw a big pass interference call on the last Eagles drive of the game.
On the defensive side of the ball, there were a few glaring issues. First, and most damaging was the run defense. The Eagles came into the game having allowed just over 100 yards on the ground per game during the regular season, which was tenth in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Saints had averaged just over 92 rushing yards per game, well below the NFL average. Tonight, Mark Ingram rushed for 97 yards by himself, and the Saints rushed for 185 yards as a team. The 185 yards allowed by the Eagles on the ground is the most they had given up since allowing 191 yards to the Redskins in their second meeting, and it was also the first time since the game against Washington that they had allowed over 100 yards rushing to any team.
The run defense brings me to my next issue with the defense tonight, and it's a problem that they had tried to deal with all season long. On third down attempts tonight, the Saints went 7/13. For a team with as good of an offense as New Orleans, giving them extra chances with the ball is just asking for trouble. Two of those third down conversions came on the last New Orleans possession of the game, when just one stop would have given the Eagles a chance to at least get the ball back. Instead, Drew Brees had back to back quarterback sneaks on third downs, and the Saints ran the clock down to nothing, and well, you know the rest. Of all the games for the run defense to play badly, this was the worst possible one.
The less said about Patrick Chung, the better. I'll be getting into needs for next year in a minute.
There's no real way to look at Alex Henery tonight other than to say he had an average game, at best. He missed a 48 yard field goal and left several kicks short of the end zone. While the field goal wasn't necessarily his fault, Henery has had problems kicking the ball out of the end zone all season, and on his last kickoff of the year, it came back to bite the Eagles in a big way. Should Henery have made the field goal that he missed? Sure, but it was a 48 yard kick that was almost 20 yards longer than it should have been thanks to a poor first down play and a sack on second down. I will not give him a pass for the kickoffs though, especially the last one to Darren Sproles that was returned to midfield. If he kicks that ball out of the end zone, there's no telling how the game ends. However, to blame the missed field goal as for why the Eagles lost this game is absurd. The run defense, lack of a defensive presence on third down and poor offensive running game were much bigger reasons as to why the Eagles could not put the Saints away tonight.
The Eagles had their chances, too. They intercepted Drew Brees twice in the first half and had other opportunities to score points, and they couldn't get it done. If you have a plus 2 turnover differential in a playoff game, at home, you should have enough chances to win. The Eagles did, but they didn't take advantage of enough of them, and when they finally got things clicking at the end of the game, they left way too much time on the clock for the Saints. That's something that Chip Kelly will grasp more next season.
Even though it seems like I'm coming down hard on the Eagles tonight, I am more pleased with this season than I have been for any Eagles season since the year they went to the Super Bowl. This was a team that many people, myself included, thought would only win six or seven games and had made a mistake hiring Chip Kelly as their new head coach. A year after Kelly was hired, I am more than happy to say that I was wrong in thinking the Eagles had made a mistake.
Chip turned the Eagles around faster than anyone thought was possible. He made a 4-12 team into a 10-6 team that won the NFC East this year. Nick Foles emerged as a young quarterback of the future. LeSean McCoy became the best running back in the NFL and set the single season franchise record for rushing yards. The offensive line was one of the best in the NFL The defense has solid pieces in place, with Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, Connor Barwin, Mychal Kendricks and others as a foundation. With Jerry Jones running the Cowboys and Dan Snyder in charge of the Redskins, the Eagles should only have the Giants to worry about in the NFC East, and the Giants are getting old quickly. Hopefully, the Eagles will be on top of the NFC East for at least the next four or five years.
There are still some improvements that need to be made, though. The secondary must improve. I'm not talking about just one piece here. I'm talking about replacing both Nate Allen and Patrick Chung at the safety positions. Earl Wolff is a nice player, but if there is a better option out there, you go and find it. I don't want Chung anywhere near this team come training camp, and if he is, there are going to be some major problems. Cornerback is another position of need. Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams are ok, and Brandon Boykin is a young defensive star in the making, but Williams can be spotty, as can Fletcher. Another good, young playmaking corner would be ideal.
The Eagles also need to be able to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Trent Cole came on at the end of the season, but there was a disturbing lack of pressure on both Drew Brees and Kyle Orton that allowed both quarterbacks to make big plays when they needed to. A lot of those third down conversions don't happen if the Eagles can get a better rush on opposing quarterbacks.
Jeremy Maclin will be back with the team if the price is right, and that will address a need at wide receiver for a taller target for Nick Foles to pass to. Riley Cooper took some serious steps forward this year, and Zach Ertz also made positive strides as the season went along.
I know it's a lot to take in, especially tonight as the season has just ended, but the future for the Eagles is very, very bright. I would have been happy with 10-6 next year, and they did it this season. Improvements will be made, and this team will compete for the NFC title next year. If everything stays the way that it could, there is a very good chance that a Super Bowl trip will happen in the next few years.
So even though the Eagles lost tonight, don't be too sad, Eagles fans. Keep looking towards the future. Chip Kelly has this team going the right way, and football is fun again in Philadelphia. That's about all I really could have wanted out of this year, and I got it. The next few years are going to be fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment