Wow. Lots to look at in this game. I’ll need to come back and review when I have more time. A few quick reactions:
- Game-changing and game-winning game by Lofa. The announcers can say all they want about Feeley screwing up, but those first two picks were great reads by Tatupu, and he didn’t have to catch any of the three. Who knows what happens if he drops that last one? How many Eagles defenders and receivers on both teams drop balls? Great to see that from Lofa.
- Eagles game plan was weird. Westbrook did not seem to be featured. You got the feeling they could pound the ball, but they kept trying to get something deep (see a 5.0 YPC).
- I want to officially stop all this talk I’ve seen on the Frank Hughes TNT blog about Plackameier having a great year. They guy has been shanking left and right and almost lost this game for us. He was twice the punter last season.
- It’s hard to be too tough on the Hawks offense in the 2nd half as the conditions looked miserable. The Eagles offense struggled just as much. Their only score was off of our opening series turnover.
- I thought we’d see more Morris today. He was the better back. He did not seem injured on his long run.
- Not a lot of pressure on their QB for most of the day. We sent almost no blitzes, but when we started doing it in the 2nd half, we saw some pressure and some mistakes. The Feeley pick on 3rd down in the 3rd qtr, his inability to step into the throw on 4th down in the 4th qtr were all about pressure.
- This might be the best 24-point game our defense has played. They had to hold the line all day, and they setup the offense multiple times. It is incredibly hard to do that away from home. It would have been tragic to lose on that return, but that stand made their game even more impressive. Don’t forget that goal line stand in the first half. Awesome stuff.
- Deion Grant had a nice game. He was in good position on multiple plays downfield and supported against the run as well.
- The offense did not have the same attacking mentality they’ve had in recent weeks. It really looked like they went back to the old style of mixing the pass and run. Quick check shows 34 throws and 29 runs.
- First game we’ve won in recent memory when we’ve gotten very little pressure on the QB
- Announcers sure seemed biased today. I guess I know a lot more about their thoughts on the Eagles now since they told me about them for 3 hours.
More later if time permits…