The Best Win of the Season

I believe that we learned more about the 2010 Eagles (the Michael Vick version, not the Kevin Kolb one) from this game than from any previous one. Here are my thoughts.

This game cannot be labeled as the most electric win of the year (thanks Washington). Its was also not the prettyist game. But it was the best win. The Eagles’ 27-17 victory over the Giants last night was certainly a rollercoaster to watch. Initially, I wasn’t very impressed with the execution of the offense. Receivers were dropping balls all over the place and too many penalties were being called all round. Vick seemed to struggle a bit with the intermediate routes and his timing seemed to be off. At one stage just after halftime, I was pretty sure that this game was going to be a Titanslike meltdown. But we held on and made the plays when we had to make them, even though the importance of the Pierre-Paul penalty cannot be overemphasized.

This game showed me one important thing: the Eagles have the ability to win games even when the offense is not firing on all cylinders. Even when Vick gets held to 30 yards rushing, even when McCoy is held to a 1.5 yard average through the first three and a half quarters, even when the sure-handed Avant drops a TD and Jackson struggles with rhythm and catching – even then the team has enough firepower to pull it through against a quality opponent. There are two factors that account for this: the play of the defence and offensive playcalling.

The Eagles’ defense was outstanding last night against a very good opponent. Even though the Giants are turning the ball over too much, they still have a quality offense. The D completely shut down the running game. And even though the front four did not have there best game getting pressure, the stifling run defence and solid play from the linebackers and secondary was enough to allow only 17 points. I am extremely impressed with Dimitri Patterson, Antonio Dixon and Moise Fokou and the way these former backups have stepped up.

We all know that Andy Reid has frustrating shortcomings, especially when it comes to game management. But these last few weeks I have seen an overall management of the offense by him and Marty that I have not seen at such a consistent level before. The prime example of this is Michael Vick, and the way in which they have adjusted this offense to suit him. Joe Namath talked about it last week:

his depth varies when he goes back to pass. He's allowed to take a deeper drop. They want him back there so he can get out of trouble with his footwork, and he's got some big-play people to work with, too.

The playcalling has been very good, combining all sorts of illusions on play like reverses with quick release passes. The TD by McCoy in the fourth quarter really is a great example – everyone (including myself) expected a sneak there. Instead, the entire defence was fooled and we won the game.      

The conclusion that I drew from last night’s game is that even when the Michael Vick show is not going full steam, this team has more than enough other weapons to beat you. I think that Vick is clearly much better than Kolb at this point, and as long as we have him on the field, all of the other offensive weapons will operate at a higher level. On the defensive side, this unit is becoming extremely good. They are getting pressure, shutting down the run and creating turnovers. The Eagles may not be a complete team quite yet with all of the youth still around. But I am confident enough to challenge you to find any team in the NFL in 2010 that is more well rounded than this one.