Raiders 13, Phillies 11, Eagles 9

By all appearances, the Eagles got caught looking past the woeful Oakland Raiders, and could never gather themselves to avoid a painful 13-9 loss.  And, to add insult to injury, when Shane Victorino tacked on a late game field goal, the Eagles found themselves outscored by their baseball playing brothers across the street. Of course, the Phillies big victory deflected a great deal of scrutiny off the Eagles lackluster performance and eased the pain of Philadelphia sports fans.

Although no one can really say for sure, Sunday looked like a case of a strong team taking a struggling team too lightly. The Eagles quickly fell behind and could never find their rhythm on offense to put a touchdown drive together. And, the defense could not come up with crucial stops in the fourth quarter to get the ball back into their hands of the offense.

Somehow, some way, the Eagles found a way to lose a game where they had no turnovers, collected two interceptions and held their opponent to 13 points. The biggest culprit was the offensive line's ability to pick up Raiders blitzes and provide protection for Donovan McNabb. This was further exacerbated by the great imbalance in play selection as the Eagles ran the ball on only 14 of 66 plays. This allowed the Raiders to keep McNabb under constant pressure, limit him to less than 50% completion percentage, while getting sacked 6 times.

With the Eagles coming off consecutive high margin victories, and the Raiders coming off 3 straight large margin defeats, the prospects of the Eagles losing this game seemed highly unlikely. Of course, this is the NFL, and "on any given Sunday...." Unfortunately for the Eagles, this was either one of those given Sunday's or the team feared the Raiders so little that they fooled themselves into thinking it would be a "cake walk." I am not sure exactly what type of walk that represents, but lets just say the Eagles players left the field with batter all over their uniforms.

Conversely, the Raiders showed up motivated to save face with an aggressive, attacking game plan. Their defense took a page out of the Eagles book, deploying a blitzing defense all day to limit McNabb's time and harass him into erratic passing. The formula worked, and by the time the Eagles seemed to get a sense of urgency, they could not sufficiently "turn things on" to overcome the deficit.

As it has from day 1 of training camp, the offensive line continues to present questions and concerns. It has played well at times, but it has never been settled. With Peters going down with an injury, the line played most of the day without its top four players as projected prior to the season. Shawn Andrews is on IR, Stacy Andrews is being limited in playing time, Todd Herremans is still fighting back from injury and Peters has a sprained knee. In order for the Eagles to establish themselves as legitimate contenders, they will need to get some order in terms of the players and their roles on the offensive line.

No matter how good, due to the competitiveness of the NFL and simple human nature, most teams experience an unpredictable upset along the way. Lets hope that yesterday was an aberration and the experience awakened a sense of urgency to avoid a similar scenario down the road. A couple small silver linings are that the NFC Eastern Division leading New York Giants also lost and the Raiders are a non-conference team. Beyond that, Sunday and the ensuing dust trail gloomily hang over head. The Eagles would be wise to learn from their red pinstriped brethren, and simply put this one behind them to place their undivided attention on the opponents ahead.

Many Unanswered Questions on the Eagles Remain

As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for their third pre-season game tomorrow night against the Jacksonville Jaguars, many questions still linger regarding the team and how they will fare in the upcoming season. By most accounts, the team had a very productive off season after a run to the NFC Championship Game in January, so on paper, the Eagles appeared to be a Super Bowl contender before training camp opened.

Now that a few weeks have passed, that assessment seems a bit more tenuous as several question marks still persist, while others have arisen. The biggest concerns surround the health of the team's offensive line. After all, as the NFL coaching fraternity tends to say, everything starts up front- and this is particularly true with the pass heavy Eagles offensive approach.

Concerns are not limited to the front line, though. Obviously, several emanate from a recent team addition as an hour does not pass without a TV or news blurb on the topic. Depending on how these lingering issues unfold, the fate of the team could vary widely. As testimony to the high competitive balance in the NFL, the Eagles season could range from disappointing to conceivably competing for the Super Bowl title.

Here are some, but surely not all, of the questions surrounding the 2009-2010 edition of the Eagles:

▪ Can Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters fulfill their advance billing and measure up to the team's commitment to them? At this point, even more pressing is whether they will see the field?
▪ Will Shawn Andrews find his way back onto the field on a regular basis? If so, will he return to the Pro Bowl form of the past?
▪ Can rookies Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy make the adjustment to the NFL well enough to contribute similarly to DeSean Jackson last season? Both show flashes of wonderful potential that needs to be consistently present as the team is probably relying on their contributions more than any rookies in previous seasons in the Andy Reid era.
▪ Will Bryan Westbrook come close to the form that he showed in the 2007-2008 season, or will he be last season's part-time, limited performer?
▪ Will Michael Vick add enough to the offense to compensate for the distractions and make his signing worthwhile? On a more basic level, will he fulfill his commitment to the team in regard to conduct and behavior?
▪ Can Donovan McNabb continue where he left off in January? Will he prosper or falter through the almost inevitable quarterback controversies that will ensue?
▪ Can Joe Mays or Omar Gaither step up to fill the big hole created by MLB Stewart Bradley's season ending injury?
▪ Will a true leader emerge on the defense to fill the vacated shoes of the former Eagles icon Brian Dawkins?
▪ Will the players and coaches respond well to the Michael Vick experiment by not allowing the distractions to disrupt team chemistry or game preparation?
▪ Can the secondary come together to once again become a team strength needed to make their defensive scheme work?
▪ Can Sean McDermott come close to replacing one the NFL's best and most beloved defensive coordinators, Jim Johnson?

Tomorrow night, Reid and his coaching staff hope to gain some valuable insight and possibly gather some answers. Certainly, other questions will remain that will only be answered under the spotlight of the network cameras, when the games count in the regular season. All teams have question marks as they head into each campaign, but this Eagles team would seem to have more than its fair share, particularly considering that they are widely viewed as Super Bowl contenders.

Eagles Should Re-sign Jon Runyan Now

Watching the Eagles game Thursday night, you didn't need to see anything beyond the graphics displayed during the the team's opening offensive series to know that they have a problem. Only one member of their starting offensive line was in uniform. Missing were Todd Herremans and all three of their high profile lineman, namely Jason Peters, Shawn Andrews and Stacy Andrews.

To say that this trio is instrumental to their plans for and success in 2009 is a large understatement at best. The Eagles offense under Andy Reid has always been built on the foundation of a strong front wall that enables an unbalanced pass to run ratio. As witnessed last night, the whole offensive scheme breaks down if the QB does not have time to throw.

This leads me to my point. The Eagles need to sign Jon Runyan right now before he gets scooped up by another team. At the minimum, he would provide important insurance. Judging by the current state and previous history, though, it is likely that he would be taking a lot of snaps throughout the season.

Runyan knows the system like the back of his hand. He also lives in the Philadelphia area and would seem more inclined to consider remaining with the home town team despite not being guaranteed a starting role. Of course, he can also see the same things we do to project a great deal of playing time.

On paper, the Eagles starting offensive line has the potential to be one of their best ever as well as a top unit in the league. Unfortunately, the only thing that counts is how they actually do on the field. Getting them onto to the field is one challenge. Having them play to their potential when they get there is another. Although players tend not to highlight it, lingering injuries keep them from peak performance. Additionally, limited practice time together keeps the players from jelling as a unit, which is essential for them to function well in the complex world of the NFL.

Sign Jon Runyan before it is too late. If the Eagles need to free up some salary space to make that happen, I could make some suggestions there, too.