The flashes of brilliance exhibited by the Birds on Sunday brought back such memories of joy and pride. Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Brian Dawkins, and even Duce Staley helped stir up the nostalgia Sunday against the Giants in what would ultimately decide the fate of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ offensive prowess displayed on their first drive was quickly eliminated by Steve Spagnoulo’s defense, poor execution by the offense, self-destruction with penalties, and the questionable calls of a very suspicious officiating crew. David Akers had a chance to send this game to OT on a 57-yarder in the last minute of play but hit the goalpost. The Eagles lost 16-13 and dropped to 5-8. Perhaps this Eagles’ season has driven me to paranoia, but for the first time ever, I’ve been left wondering if my team got the short end of the stick in regards to the policing of this game.
Brian Westbrook had a huge day for the Birds. It wasn't enough though as the team's missed opportunities and refs' questionable calls and non-calls led to a 16-13 Giants victory.
Watching this game was difficult due to the barrage of mixed emotions thrown my way. Forget chips and beer – I needed to be throwing down the Prozac during this affair. There actually were a lot of things to be happy about. Let’s start with Brian Dawkins. Weapon X finally started resembling the beast of a player whom I’ve had a man-crush on for practically a decade. Whether he was hitting guys in the backfield or breaking up plays in coverage, B-Dawk looked alive and well.
And how about Trent Cole and the rest of the D-line? Trent had two sacks on Manning the Lesser today, giving him 11.5 for the season. Man knows how to play football. So does the rest of the line. They manhandled Brandon Jacobs all day long stopping him behind the line of scrimmage several times. Jacobs, pulling a Shawn Bradley, proved once again that bigger isn’t always better. Or any good for that matter. The unit also had a very impressive goal-line stand early in the second quarter. I wonder if they used the momentum in their favor.
Naturally, Brian Westbrook was a bright spot. He finished with 154 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. His nickname should be The Butcher considering all he does is cut and carve up defenses. Not only that, but I think 253-pound Kawika Mitchell is still trying to gather his senses after B-West stoned him into the ground while coming on a blitz. He’s the best pass-blocking back in the league.
The Birds also had some moments in other aspects of the game. The two touchdown saving tackles by Brian Dawkins and Juqua Thomas were the epitome of hustle plays. Thomas is a defensive end that is running downfield to make a tackle to save the season while also forcing a fumble. It’s almost as if they want me to like them. Players like Thomas and Dawkins have these magnifying qualities that force me to root in their favor. Damn them. Even Sav Rocca had a decent game. Yeah, I notice the punter. And the aggressive play-calling should be applauded. They even converted two fourth-and-ones via quarterback sneaks. It’s nice to see them utilize the size of the O-line and McNabb instead of throwing a bomb when all you need is inches. What a concept.
Sadly, all those positives were not enough to squeeze out a win. Like what was Greg Lewis thinking when he threw that pass into triple coverage during a first-quarter trick play? Even AJ Feeley thought that was a bad decision. Another question I have is how can a team that wasn’t even penalized once last week have seven penalties the following week? They didn’t just shoot themselves in the foot; they mortared their entire bodies. Donovan continued with his usual sacks that could have been avoided had he thrown the ball away. Then the unthinkable happened; Brian Westbrook fumbled. He hadn’t fumbled in his previous 557 carries until that point. Basically, the Birds did everything they could to allow the Giants to stay in this game. What they couldn’t, the officials made up for.
Very rarely do I complain about officiating being a chief component in the outcome of a game. Yet, Sunday’s game seemed to have so much prejudice, I can’t help but feel slighted. Some of the calls were debatable. For instance, Sheldon Brown crushed Amani Toomer for a three-yard loss, but it was negated by an encroachment by Trent Cole. I didn’t see it, and I doubt anyone else did. Another controversial call was when an Eagle jumped off sides, but managed to get back before the right tackle even moved before the snap. Encroachment was called. Even Moose Johnston acknowledged the muffed call. Though both were close, either one could have and probably should have been called in Philadelphia’s favor.
However, those aren’t the calls that really have me fuming. The 15-yard personal foul on Lito Sheppard was as bogus a call as any I’ve seen. Sinorice Moss was clearly still in bounds when Lito slammed him to the grass. I understand Moss still looks like he should be in peewee, but he isn’t. Don’t coddle the little man. Having said that, that play didn’t make or break the game. What was in fact a game changer was the ridiculous miss by the officials on Amani Toomer’s fumble. The ball had plainly started to come loose before he hit the ground. What’s worse is that it was reviewed. That missed call resulted in a Plaxico Burress touchdown that put the G-Boys up 13-10. Pathetic. Yet the two most glaring miscues by the officials were both missed calls. The lack of a flag on the fourth-and-six plainly visible pass interference by Antonio Pierce was appalling. Almost as appalling as the non-call on Sam Madison when he was obviously holding Westbrook back from getting up to the line of scrimmage on the Eagles’ last drive. A few more yards or a few more seconds could have been the difference. Either way, something smelled a little fishy at the Linc on Sunday and it wasn’t just Tony Siragusa’s breath.
The biggest thing that’s bothering me is the lack of a motive. What reasons do the officials have to be so blatantly bias? Could it be driven by money? Stupidity? What? Sad to say, we Birds fans will have to sit on this tough loss feeling very hollow. We’ll never know why our team got the shaft. Maybe I’m wrong. It’s possibly all in my head. Ugh, I need some more Prozac.
Game Notes
-Anyone else notice Daryl Johnston’s suit jacket looked like a picnic table?
-Reggie Brown seems to be turning into nothing more than a number two possession receiver. He needs to run north and south, not laterally.
-After the Amani Toomer fumble was called down by contact, Big Red threw his challenge flag with more enthusiasm than he’s exhibited all season.
-Plaxico Burress protects the ball as well as Shaq shoots foul shots. Leon Lett displays more security while running with the football.
-How perfect a punt did Jeff Feagles get off to Brian Westbrook in the fourth quarter? Perfect.
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