On The Plus Side, At Least Winston Justice Played Well

You worry all week about the backup quarterback and a makeshift offensive line, and then those guys end up being fine, while the defense stinks and the special teams are worse.

(Good thing the starting defense kept that final touchdown off the board last week.  Hate to see it affect your stats, guys.)

People are sure to moan this week about Kevin Kolb.  That's what happens when you're the starting quarterback and the team doesn't win.  But 300+ yards, two touchdowns and just one non-garbage-time interception should be enough to win you most ballgames.  The real problem, as the Fox announcers ably (and repeatedly) pointed out during the telecast, is that very few other players stepped up. 

There will be a lot of folks with the heat on them this week.  We won't forget about that fumble, Ellis.  Nor your crappy first-half tackling, Asante.  And at this point, an injured Kevin Curtis is just taking snaps away from healthy other guys. 

But the two guys who should get the most scrutiny are defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and special teams coordinator Ted Daisher.  Your units were terrible, guys.  And for as much as the special teams kept putting the defense into holes, the defense did almost nothing to dig themselves out. 

Honestly, I just can't get over how passive that defensive  gameplan was.  We're going to keep the base defense on the field and just send four guys every play?  That's What Jim Johnson Would Do?  (Actually, historical note, anyone remember what JJ did in 2006 playoff loss?)

What happened to the creativity?  The pressure?  The "we've got more fronts than you know what to do with?" 

And as far as the big concern with the defense -- how McDermott would be able to adjust in the second halfs of games -- yeah, that didn't go so well. 

Leaving Donovan McNabb aside, at this point it's pretty clear the Eagles have some work to do.  Winning a laugher in week one ... tough to swallow loss in week two ... why do I feel like we've been here before?