Eagles-Niners Aftermath

Just a lovely day here in Eagle Fanland, even though the game didn't really compete with the day's most exciting contests (since, well, five of them ended in the final 9 seconds or less today). A neighbor and site reader came by with his kid, so the Shooter Kids were occupied and entertained. The weather was great, the kids behaved, and after some terrible special teams (never has a field goal kicker had a worse 4-for-5 performance than David Akers today), Order Was Restored with the defense getting pressure, the offense moving the chains, and most importantly of all, the Cowboys losing in Arizona and the Redskins losing at home to the Rams (!)... well, 3-3 and into the bye suddenly seems a lot less doom-tastic. Here's some points from the wackiness...

> Coreell Buckhalter really was the hero today. His 19 for 97 and a touchdown day on the ground spoke to the Eagles not being patient enough there (yet again), but the 7 catches for 89 yards also made him the second highest receiver, as the offense had the screen game going. He's not Brian Westbrook, but he's not Lorenzo Booker either (thank the Lord).

> On the off chance that you were wondering why this blog thinks so highly of Donovan McNabb when the numbers aren't necessarily there... well, the Eagles lead the NFL in drops this year. This comes as no surprise to those of us who watch them play...

> For people who think too much about coordinators, this game had a fascinating one in the Niners' Mike Martz against the Eagles' Jim Johnson. For a long time, it looked like Martz was going to get the better of things, as his hot read calls to inexperienced QB JT O'Sullivan produced big plays despite not really having control of the line of scrimmage, and once those were softened up, Frank Gore did damage with a 19 for 99 and a touchdown day on the ground. But eventually, and especially in the fourth quarter, the defense got the better of things with two sacks, a fumble recovery, and two picks, one of which was returned for the sealing score.

> Once again, the opposing tight end had a huge day, with Vernon Davis leading the Niners with 5 catches for 78 yards, including a monster 52-yard play in the third. The announcers liked to talk about how much this means that the Eagles LBs are inexperienced and erratic, and they are, of course. But all I know is that they never had these problems when Brian Dawkins was alive.

> For the Niners, you can see why they really aren't a contender, even in the watered-down NFC West. Coach Hitler (no, Mike Nolan, I have not forgotten what Kevan Barlow said) might be even worse at replay challenges than Andy Reid, and that's saying something. Trying to review the call on a made field goal is just something special. Besides, they employ Takeo Spikes, and since he and the playoffs are a mutually exclusive set, there's nothing more to see here. Move along.

> Here's a small but telling way to know that a home team isn't exactly dealing with confidence on offense -- false start penalties. The Niners had a bunch today en route to 10 flags, while the Eagles only had two callas for 10 yards all day.

> I'm not sure I've ever seen a game where one team runs off 20 unanswered points, (the Niners, in coming back from down 17-6 to get to 26-17 at the end of the third), then give up 23 unanswered (to get to the 40-26 final). But that's the NFL right now. Not only can we not figure out who the best teams are week to week, we can't even find out who they are from quarter to quarter.

The Eagles hit the bye at 3-3, last in the division... but only one game out of second, and just a Browns' upset on MNF away from having the best possible weekend that didn't involve a Phillies sweep over the Dodgers. There are worse things.