Eagles - Redskins Takeawawys

The NFL's Leading Rusher

> Washing- ton Fan knew, from just about the first play, that this wasn't going to be a lot of fun for them

> Eagles HC Chip Kelly got immediate love from Eagle Fan by going for it on fourth and 1 from the Washington 21, showing no doubt, and just playing smash mouth football against an undersized and tired defense

> If you are wondering how enthused QB Mike Vick is to be in this offense, look at the charge and block he tries to throw to get RB LeSean McCoy into the end zone on that first drive, when Shady had a ridiculously good run to get them to first and goal

> Backwards passes, or anything close to a backwards pass, should never happen. Ever. I don't care what your offense does, or what is involved, they should never happen. Because what happened just three minutes into the game, with everything going the Eagles way and Kelly's offense giving us all more happiness than anything in years, can and do happen

> Chip, seriously. If it means the bubble screen isn't a part of the offense, we're all OK with that. Seriously. Never let that happen again, please

> If you'd like to bury Vick for that, I get it. I really do. After a fantastic drive, with McCoy just looking like the best player in the league, to be down 7-0 after three minutes is just inexcusable. And why the hell are you throwing it in the red zone there, anyway?

> As electric as the Eagles looked early, Vick wasn't nearly as sharp as he could have been, which is why it was close for so long

> TE Zach Ertz dropped a ball, and Kelly compounded the error with a blown challenge

> At least K Alex Henery erased that problem with a double make on the figgie

> If you want to tell the story of Same Old Eagles moving the ball, but not being able to convert in the red zone, I can't tell you different

> For fans who don't go back more than a few years, the defense forcing a fumble and recovering the ball is allowed and encouraged

> The first half hour of this game was about anything but Bob Griffin

> You've never seen a more exhausted defensive line, six minutes into a game, as Washington looked on the easy as pie Vick to DeSean Jackson throw. 10-7 in six minutes of game time. Anyone miss Andy Reid?

> In six minutes of game time, 19 plays to Washington's one. I've had worse times

> Griffin's pick by CB Brandon Boykin was exactly what the Redskins did not need, but you can see why the pace of the Eagle offense, along with the rust and feel that the game is going by way too fast, contributed to it. Third turnover in 8 minutes of game play, and the second for Washington in four. Yeesh.

> There is a direct corollary to the speed in which the play is snapped, and the success of the play, for the Eagle offense

> RB Alfred Morris is going to take the blame for the safety, but that's a bad pitch from Griffin, and a bad call from your own 3-yard line. 12-7 Eagles, getting the ball back, and we're still just 10 minutes into this game.

> Vick escapes and converts a third and nine that they absolutely had no business converting, and that's why he won the job over Nick Foles

> For as many plays as the Eagle offense has run, with two Washington turnovers and a safety... a five point lead really isn't enough

> The report of Trent Cole's demise, at least for one quarter, were greatly exaggerated

> If you don't stop the Kelly Blur offense on the first series, before they get the initial first down, it seems to be rear guard all the way down the field

> DJ was *born* to play WR in this offense

> It was fun to hear the on-field mics catching various Eagles yelling "He's Faking!" as Washington defenders developed strategic cramping

> Finally, after 20 minutes of game time, Shanahan puts Griffin in motion, and he throws his best ball of the night. Funny, that.

> The holding call on Evan Mathis was first-class bullsquat, and further evidence that Washington's best defense in this game involves thespianism

> CB DeAngelo Hall's 15 yard flag on Jackson was an ejectable offense and appeared to be intent to injure, which is why the refs didn't flag DJ back for retaliation

> Vick to TE Brent Celek was a thing of beauty, and a very nice throw from Vick, so maybe this isn't an offense you can just thug around anymore

> CB Cary Williams got a sack on a CB blitz that was almost pornish

> Third and two, give it to your best player, and he converts. Anyone miss Reid?

> Vick's keeper for the score made it 26-7, and but for one mistake, it's 28 or 32 to zero

> LB Mychal Kendricks got to Griffin with a quickness, forcing a grounding penalty and making the QB look gimpy

> Washington's final drive of the first half, with Shanahan taking consecutive ten second run offs, made me giggle like a madman

> Before we get too far into how the Eagles played in the second half, remember: 322 to 75 on yards, 53 to 21 plays in the first half

> Williams with the full extension pick to take down a quail by Griffin was CB1ish

> When McCoy scored on a 34-yard scamper through a massive hole, it looked like a rout, but these are the Eagles, after all

> Shady now leads the NFL in rushing, and by more than a little

> This is the best game of Kendricks' NFL career, not that this is a huge set to choose from

> Helu converted on a third and one, and the defense finally shows some of the missed tackling that we expected

> Griffin takes a nice hit from Garcon, on his own sideline. That will get played out of context just a few times

> DeMecco Ryans blitzed and threw Griffin around like a rag doll, which I can assure you, never happened under Reid

> K Kai Forbath just barely missing from 40, and that kind of mattered later

> The Eagles really need to work on snapping plays where they aren't at breakneck speed, because that killed a lot of their momentum

> Celek had a very special Holding For 10, Then Arguing For 15 play

> Lost in the whirlwind tonight was the work of P Donnie Jones, who was awesome, and so were the coverage units

> What Kendricks did to Griffin at the tail end of the third quarter was also wildly porny

> Morris scored before the end of the third quarter to get his fantasy owners off the ledge, and to remind Eagles Fans that the defense isn't exactly, you know, good

> Damaris Johnson continued the bad trend of running it out of the deep end zone; had he just ran around for an extra two seconds, they could have taken another minute off the clock, which mattered later

> As much as I like Vick playing with enthusiasm, I'm not sure I need to see him throwing blocks, and he needs to knock it off before meathead analysts praise him to the skies for it, leading to injury

> WR Jason Avant with the crushing mistake after a nice catch, and that's why Riley Cooper is still on the team, folks -- he's better than Avant

> WR Leonard Hankerson's touchdown was just awful coverage and worse tackling from rookie CB Jordan Poyner, who should be renting

> Vick made the Washington secondary look silly before possibly pulling something

> C Jason Kelce's holding penalty costs the team a chance at a long field goal, which would have made it a 16-point game, and that really could have mattered, too

> On have to stop third and 2, WR Santana Moss owns Poyer, who is not exactly covering himself in glory tonight

> On have to stop third and 10, Hankerson drops a ball that would have been absolutely huge

> On possible game-ending fourth and 10, Washington nearly takes a delay penalty, and does take a motion flag, because they are here to refuse gifts tonight

> On possible game-ending fourth and 15, Williams makes another huge play, and earns free sconces for a week

> The Eagles took an unbelievable delay of game on third and 2 with a possible kill shot moment, and timeouts just sitting in their freaking pocket

> Avant partially redeemed his terrible mistake with a sellout dive for the first, and more time off the clock

> Vick with a reasonable decision to scramble and fall to kill more clock with four minutes left

> DT Fletcher Cox and Cole got to Griffin for a big clock-killing sack

> WR Joshua Morgan seems unaware of the rule that getting out of bounds stops the clock

> Game-ending fourth and four doesn't happen, as Griffin converts, but Shanahan's Reid-esque clock management is making me wonder if I'm just being paranoid at this point

> And then Hankerson got open on consecutive ridiculous secondary mistakes, and no, my paranoia is not misplaced

> S Patrick Chung did an amazing Kurt Coleman impersonation on that last play

> As terrible as that onsides kick defense was, Washington was wildly offsides and Avant's near-miss recovery wouldn't have been fatal

> If the remaining 15 games are like this one, Kelly is going to kill off a lot of unhealthy people