Things We Now Know

So the Eagles went 0-2 in the Feeley games, but at least we now know some things about this team that we didn't know before.  That's something, right? 

Right? 

Sigh.

1.  Andy Reid doesn't treat Donovan McNabb differently when he game plans.

Two straight games with A.J. Feeley and in both cases Reid (/ Marty) stuck with the same pass-heavy scheme they run with McNabb.  The key seems to be that if McNabb gets hurt during a game, the coaches are willing to protect the backup who didn't get the same number of reps in practice that week.  But once that guy's getting the #1 reps in practice, it's sink or swim time, buddy.

2.  Reggie Brown doesn't always magically reappear when McNabb goes to the bench.

In 2.5 games with Feeley, Brown caught nine passes for 89 yards and one touchdown.  Yippee. 

(Meanwhile, Kevin Curtis continues to say "Who's just an intermediate threat at receiver?" with a 16.1 yard-per-catch average.  His 904 yards receiving are good for 11th best in the league.  I never said he was bad, just not Stallworth-fast...)

3.  The breakdowns in pass protection this year are not the fault of the offensive line.

One of the storylines from last year was how the Eagles' offensive line really "came together" at the end of the season, protecting Jeff Garcia and becoming a dominant force in the run game.  Garcia was sacked only six times after taking over for McNabb. 

Fast forward a year and you have McNabb being sacked 30 times during the first 9.5 games, but Feeley only going down three times in the next two-and-a-half.  It ain't the line, folks.

4.  McNabb isn't missing wide open Eagles' wide receivers during his progressions.

Against the Patriots, Feeley played the game of his life, threading impossible throws into super-tight coverage (his three interceptions were poor decisions, not bad throws.)  Against the Seahawks, Feeley again tried to squeeze the ball into tiny openings, but by then he'd come back down to Earth and things didn't work out (not just the INTs, but also the tough throws that weren't quite on the money, as with the third-and-one ball to LJ).

The common theme?  The windows weren't that big.

5.  Finally, Jim Johnson is still the same great defensive mind who can cook up an exotic, game-changing blitz package any time he wants to. 

It's just that sometimes I guess he doesn't want to...

Comments

[George]

Don't you think you have to take the Giants game out of that sack stat? I think you can make a case that the protection in the Giants game WAS the problem. If it is 18 sacks in 8.5 games, then the difference isn't nearly as much. So you're getting one more sack per game with Donovan. Sure, he should throw it away more, but the sack is better than the INT.