Questions For The Morning After

As the contact high from that compelling early season game begins to wear off, it's time to start sorting through the rubble of the loss to determine what we can blow off and what we should start worrying about.

Items for the first category:  quarterbacks botching handoffs, receivers flipping balls before they cross the goal line, PI penalties against cornerbacks in great coverage until the QB fires the ball well behind the receiver.

Items for the second category, somewhat more numerous:

The Eagles have five safeties on this roster, can we find two who can play? 

I don't want to bury Dawk based on a couple of plays, but the signs of his decline have been there now for awhile.  I went the "glass half full" route back in June (his 2006 season was pretty darn good), but another way to read those stats is to say he fell off a cliff in 2007.

Quintin Mikell might just be the best all-around safety on the roster at the moment, but what does it say that he's the guy who comes up to play "linebacker" when the Eagles go dime, with Considine and Dawkins staying back at safety?

Speaking of Considine, why is he on the field?  I've defended the guy in the past from what I think are unfair attacks based on a couple of missed tackles, but if you're in the game to provide help over the top on Terrell Owens then you cannot allow #81 to get behind you. 

I love J.R. Reed -- and all he seems to do is make plays -- but he must be doing something wrong in practice to continue to be behind Considine. 

And finally, Quintin Demps.  He spent time at both CB and safety this summer.  I doubt he's learned the whole defense.  He would probably give up some big plays until he does.  But given that he almost ran down Felix Jones on that kick return, I'd sure be tempted to start getting him some time. 

Is this among the worst defensive games Jim Johnson has ever called? 

It's always hard to tell in these situations how to parcel out blame.  The Cowboys' offense is really good.  The Eagles' secondary was blowing coverages left and right.  Even one or two plays could have made things look a lot different.

On first viewing, though, it sure looked like JJ lost his nerve in the second half.  The gameplan early seemed to be:  1) Stop Barber, 2) Cover in the back.  The first part worked out well, but not so much on the second.  So when it became clear the front four wasn't going to be able to pressure Romo -- particularly after they spent a lot of time on the field in the second half -- why didn't Johnson release the hounds?  I'm not saying it would definitely have worked, but sitting back and giving Romo time wasn't working either. 

Also, why did it take 30 minutes to get someone other than Sheldon Brown on Owens?  I'm not bagging on Sheldon -- TO is a tough cover for anyone -- but the Eagles have two guys on this roster who are better options there.  Did we need to go a whole half before we figured that out?  And why on Earth was Dawkins matched up one-on-one with Owens down by the goal line?

Lot of questionable defensive calls this game. 

Will one bad game mean that the braying pack will be out saying the "league has caught up to Jim Johnson!!!" again? 

Yes, yes it will.  Sigh. 

Would it have mattered if the Eagles had drafted Felix Jones this year the way I wanted them to? 

Yes and no.  On the one hand, maybe it saves us seven points last night.  On the other, can you imagine if the Cowboys had instead gone to a Plan B named "DeSean Jackson"?

Shudder.

The problem with the Eagles' special teams isn't the return men.  They're fine.  Maybe not quite as good as Jones, but more than adequate.  The problem is either the other 10 guys on the field or the one guy standing on the sidelines.  Still can't tell which.  Not sure how to tell, in fact.

Is this all there is from Brodrick Bunkley?

First of all, sorry for the embarrassing RDT/LDT screw-up yesterday.  It happens.

As for Bunk, this is the guy's third year in the league.  He's an absolute physical freak.  Big, quick and strong.  So why does his whole game seem to revolve around standing still?  As in, you won't be able to move me because I'm a total beast, but on the other hand I won't get around you either, so maybe we should just both agree to sit this play out.

I'll have to go back and look at the film to see what he was facing in terms of double teams, but right now, given where he was drafted and the obvious tools he seems to have, I'm a little perturbed by the lack of disruptive plays.

Did Sav do that on purpose?

And by "that" I mean those two weird, line drive, bouncing kicks that both ended up working out pretty well but sure looked ugly.  Especially because he sandwiched them around a 61-yard bomb that looked like it might briefly have passed through the hole in the top of the stadium. 

I hope we can take time out from the ritual press flaying of Segrest this week ("so, again, why do your special teams suck so much?") to ask one question re: what the heck Rocca is doing. 

Has the Eagles' offense minus Curtis and Brown been "figured out"?

Again, I'll have to look at this in the rewind to be sure, but it seemed on first viewing like the Cowboys really backed off the blitzing in the second half, preferring instead to play coverages and daring the Eagles' group of backup receivers to beat them straight up.  Is that the new gameplan?  Don't blitz McNabb because he's got his mobility back and will burn you, but instead sit back and bank on your secondary being able to contain a receiving corps missing its two starters.

I don't know, we'll see.  But one thing we can say for sure is that the new "throw it into tight spaces, don't hold the ball" McNabb didn't seem to catch the charter to Dallas. 

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That's all the time we have today, but I'm sure there are other questions.  Feel free to add yours to the comments.