Ruminations about the Eagles Defense
Recently there have been several notes about the Eagles Defense. Mark Eckel wrote this weekend about the linebacking corps, Igglesblog had an interesting take about the defense's supposed speed and Tommy Lawlor had a nice homage to Buddy's 46.
I personally find it easier to come up with defensible things to say about the offense because that is the side of the ball which gets emphasized during network broadcasts. Prior to the snap the camera is focused on the offense and afterward it follows the ball. It's only during shows like NFL Matchup where we get to see any coaches tape showing the whole field.
NFL Network recently rebroadcast last year's Cowboys victory and I rewatched their highlight reel a couple of times. Several plays stuck out. Three of the Eagles eleven interceptions on the season came in that game. Unfortunately one of them resulted in an immediate turnover (screw on your head before buttoning your chinstrap Quintin), the second, Lito Shepard's pick before halftime, led to the games only TD, and and the last, which turned into Brian Westbrook's infamous knee, was Dawkins' only pick of the year. Certainly you can't generalize based upon a sample size of one, but this example sure seems to say something about turnovers.
These plays were great, but one play - a 9 yard pass reception by Jason Witten - was the one that really got me thinking.
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Eagles players dreading Lehigh
I happened to catch a few quotes that I found pretty funny in a recent article about a charity golf outing Brian Dawkins put on. As it turned out, Dawkins scheduled the outing at the Saucon Valley Country Club which is too close to Lehigh for some players...
''On the way up [from South Jersey], I was like 'This is a bad drive. I remember this road,''' safety J.R. Reed said.
''I wasn't even there last year because I didn't sign with them until later, but I remember it from the year before. It's a gloomy ride. But you're excited when that time [to report to camp] comes.''
''No -- I don't want to see those fields for a while,'' safety Quintin Mikell said. ''If I could get away with not coming up for camp, I would. But it is a necessary evil.''
I gotta say, I was sweaty and tired after a day just watching practice up there... So I can understand why some of these guys are dreading it.
That said, it can't come soon enough!
For more info on Brian Dawkins' work with the Burn Prevention Foundation, check out their site.
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