Winner and Losers - @Philadelphia Eagles

[Pugger]

The way ESPN and every other media outlet is talking about Vick, it feels as though the Eagles won the game by 21. I feel like we're 0-1.

Let them crow about Vick and let us fly under the radar.

[gbgary]

IMO, we caught a break when Vick pulled a braincramp when he could have run the ball in, instead of throwing into double coverage in the endzone.

i said this in the game thread. had an easy td and tossed it away. he said he did it because he's "not a selfish player." don't know what he was thinking but i bet that never entered his head.

The way ESPN and every other media outlet is talking about Vick, it feels as though the Eagles won the game by 21. I feel like we're 0-1.

Let them crow about Vick and let us fly under the radar.

we were the darlings of preseason and now on everyones short list of superbowl winners..."under the radar" ain't happenin'.

[HarveyWallbangers]

After rewatching the game, I'd go with:

WINNERS

WR Greg Jennings

DE Cullen Jenkins - Warrior

DT B.J. Raji - Played much better than in the preseason

DE Ryan Pickett - He actually gets off blocks and makes some plays down the line.

LB Clay Matthews - Lights out

CB Tramon Williams - he had an exceptional game

CB Charles Woodson

K Mason Crosby - the team record FG before the half was HUGE.

KR Jordy Nelson - huge momentum swings on his returns.

LOSERS

QB Aaron Rodgers - I didn't really want to put him on here because he made enough plays for the offense to score 27 points against what I think will be a good defense in a hostile environment with poor protection. However, he missed several throws that he usually makes

OT Chad Clifton - it was mostly a couple of bad plays

OT Mark Tauscher - he was worse than Clifton. He had a horrible game. He gave up sacks and tons of pressures.

GAME BALLS

Offense - Greg Jennings.
Defense - Clay Matthews.
Special Teams - Mason Crosby.

OTHER NOTES

Josh Sitton almost made the winners list. The way Ryan Grant was starting to run the ball, we might have been able to run it down their throats when we got the big lead. Brandon Chillar was active. He almost made the winners list. I thought Sam Shields held up pretty well. Morgan Burnett almost made the losers list because of his tackling, but did well in coverage. I couldn't judge Colledge and Wells too much. Colledge made a couple of mistakes and there was some pressure up the middle, but he made some good plays too. Tim Masthay almost made the winners list, but blew his final punt.

[pbmax]

Brandon Jackson. Was he a winner or loser? Personally, even though he had some nice runs, I was disappointed. Looked like the Brandon Jackson of old. I thought he looked better in the preseason, and I was hoping he had improved. I think he is what he is. That's not bad. He's a good all around player--considering his ability to block and catch. He has good balance and can break one on one tackles, but he lacks vision and dances too much. Polar opposite of Grant. Grant has vision and hits holes like a runaway train, but has a hard time breaking tackles. I think Grant is more the RB that this offense needs. Too bad you can't combine the two. You'd have a hell of back. That being said, I don't think we are in terrible shape with Jackson instead of Grant. Just hope Grant isn't out for long.

Given that we have seen him do better in preseason, I think he is likely to become more decisive as he gets to see starting defenses more and more. He clearly can make those decisions and has the physical ability to hit the hole hard. My best guess for the difference between BJack preseason and yesterday is that yesterday looked a whole lot less clean, in terms of picking a hole.

He had, what, less than six starts in his rookie campaign and since then has been on 3rd down duty. He won't be the same back as Grant, but I expect his decision making speed to improve.

I am a B-Jack fan and agree with the geezer that he'll get better as he gets more starts and gets a better feel. He needs a bit of time to get more comfortable in the new role.

Geezer?! I only play one on the internet.

[Iron Mike]

Who was the Eagles player who ran into Tramon Williams after he signaled for a fair catch?? Dude belongs on the loser list.

[RashanGary]

Thanks for the write ups guys. . . .


Now we have 5 more weeks to get the rookies trained before Harris and Bigby come back. I have a feeling both Shields and Burnett will be replaced. But, the bright side is the experience they get over the first 6 weeks of the season is going to be valuable later in the season of we have injuries in the secondary. Both guys are rookies, but I don't get the feeling yet that either of them just can't play.

[Tarlam!]

I'd love to go back to JSO archives and find out what we were writing about Nick Collins' beginnings in the NFL. Even vets get burned. I'll never forget TO lighting Harris up against Dallas or Plax lighting him up in the NFCCG. It happens.

The Packers did enough to win. Sure the injuries are worrying. But I remember in my own business career that I had to step up one day - I passed with flying colours. So, now others will have to step up - including Wynn.

If Slocum has turned the STs around, I guess anythiing is possible.

My concern is that A-Rod loses his nerves if the OL is porous. Now, that worries me.

[vince]

Brandon Jackson. Was he a winner or loser? Personally, even though he had some nice runs, I was disappointed. Looked like the Brandon Jackson of old. I thought he looked better in the preseason, and I was hoping he had improved. I think he is what he is. That's not bad. He's a good all around player--considering his ability to block and catch. He has good balance and can break one on one tackles, but he lacks vision and dances too much. Polar opposite of Grant. Grant has vision and hits holes like a runaway train, but has a hard time breaking tackles. I think Grant is more the RB that this offense needs. Too bad you can't combine the two. You'd have a hell of back. That being said, I don't think we are in terrible shape with Jackson instead of Grant. Just hope Grant isn't out for long.

Ditto. Jackson has a little bit of shake, runs hard once he hits a hole, and is solid in 3rd down situations, Yeah he tiptoes around too much when he doesn't find a hole, so you can question his vision and decisiveness. Some people commented that this could improve with a game or two playing and practicing a lot more as the feature guy. That's conceivable. He's serviceable through the next few weeks IMO. We need Grant for the tough stretch run.

I can't find anything to argue with on your winners and losers either. Kuhn certainly ran hard when given the ball. He also had huge holes to run through the line and build up a head of steam on both of his runs, which is awfully helpful for a guy with no elusiveness.

[Smidgeon]

IMO, we caught a break when Vick pulled a braincramp when he could have run the ball in, instead of throwing into double coverage in the endzone.

i said this in the game thread. had an easy td and tossed it away. he said he did it because he's "not a selfish player." don't know what he was thinking but i bet that never entered his head.

My best guess: he still hears people in his head saying he's not a good passing QB. So he still takes these chances on occasion to try to prove he can do what everyone else can do instead of focusing on what he's good at: killing opponents with his feet.

[vince]

A largely overlooked point about Sunday's game (I think JH mentioned it here.) were the penalties.

The Packers had 2 for 15 yards, while the Eagles had a previously-Packer-like 10 for 80 yards. While his play-calling and personnel can be debated, if it was McCarthy's fault for the team's penalties in years past, you have to credit McCarthy for getting that cleaned up.