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| LINKS | Philadelphia Story In the not-so-distant past (last season's NFC Championship game), the Philadelphia Eagles ended the first half leading the favored St. Louis Rams 17-13, and were a scant 30 minutes from destiny in the Super Bowl. Inexplicably, and maybe by design, the Eagles failed to run the football in the second half, even though backs Staley and Buckhalter had ripped into and through the Rams for big gains in the first half.
Failure to run the ball when the flow of the game dictated it was the Eagles' undoing. In the NFL, bad play calling results in losing football games every time. This was no exception. With a four point lead the Eagles failed to manage the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of the NFL's most prolific offense. Philadelphia didn't score a single point in the second half until there were just under three minutes left in the game, while the Rams had put up 16 more and taken a commanding lead. The game ended 29-24 Rams, though in reality it wasn't even that close. The Eagles players, coaches and fans left the game with a feeling that they had let it slip away. Now it's a new season. The memories and heartbreaks of 2001 are behind them, but that game will stick in the minds of the Eagles' brass and players throughout 2002. Judging by the draft, the Eagles may have been mulling it over in the offseason. While in the first three rounds they took defensive backs (apparently, they're not content with a secondary that allowed the second-lowest passing yards per game in 2001 - only Miami was better); in the fourth round they picked a running back from Villanova named Brian Westbrook, who has explosive speed, nifty moves, good hands and will likely play a key role in the offense. Duce Staley will get most of the carries and if he returns to his 2000 form, the Eagles have a very good chance of completing what they set out to accomplish last season. Quarterback Donovan McNabb will vie for player of the year honors. This being his 4th year in the league, McNabb now has the maturity and poise of a veteran. He is no longer confused by defenses and even though he has the ability to take over games with his running and scrambling, he more frequently relies on his teammates to make plays. McNabb's leadership, contributions from Staley, Westbrook and tight end Chad Lewis, along with slightly better production from wideouts Todd Pinkston and James Thrash will make for an offense that can dominate with a balanced attack. Defensively, the Eagles are among the top three or four units in the league. Not many teams can pass effectively against them and the run defense is more than adequate. They are big and physical up front, the linebackers pursue and play with discipline and the secondary features four legitimate pro bowl candidates. What really separates the Eagles from the competition are the special teams and intangibles. David Akers is a world class placekicker, accurate from anywhere inside 50 yards. Sean Landeta has punted in the NFL for total of nearly 30 miles, and Brian Mitchell will make the Hall of Fame just for his punt and kickoff returns. The intangibles include McNabb's burning desire to win every game, Coach Andy Reid's calculating game decisions, the intensity of defensive lineman Hugh Douglas and maybe a trade or two during the season. The Eagles, in addition to those three top draft picks for the secondary (the first was Florida CB Lido Sheppard), the Eagles also picked up Blaine Bishop from the Titans and Al Harris from the Bears. Remember, they already have Troy Vincent, Brian Dawkins and Bobby Taylor. Do they need all those DBs? Maybe, if they plan on facing the Rams in the Championship again. Then again, owner Jeff Lurie may be looking to snag another running back or offensive lineman by week 7 or 8. Barring key injuries, the Eagles will click like a well-oiled machine and nothing will stop them on their march to the Super Bowl. They've won 11 games in each of the past two regular seasons and are the ultimate road warriors, posting a remarkable 7-1 record in away games in 2001. Their offensive versatility, desire, and defense make them the team to beat in 2002. Best of the Rest Make no doubt about it, the St. Louis Rams have the best offense in football. And a pretty good defense. Problem is, the Rams aren't going to surprise anybody any more. In fact, their opponents will probably pull off most of the surprises with new defenses designed to chip receivers off their routes, pester Kurt Warner in the pocket and shadow Marshall Faulk all over the field. While some of these schemes will fail, some will work and the better defensive teams will give the Rams a hard time. 2/3rds of the world population seems to think that the Rams deserve to win the Super Bowl every year. Truth is, since Warner, Faulk and Mike Martz came on the scene, they've only won it once (Martz was an assistant coach and the Titans came within a yard of scoring the game winning TD when time ran out) in two tries. Sure, they lost in overtime to the Patriots, but the Patriots actually OUTPLAYED THEM. Write it down. Last year was not a fluke. The New England Patriots have a legitimate shot at repeating as the AFC champions. Who is going to beat them? Miami? Needs a quarterback. Pittsburgh? That's CHUMP not CHAMP etched in Kordell Stewart's hair. The West is a mess, so the likely competition will come from either the Jets or the Titans. Forget Indianapolis. There's more whining on that team than in an ugly girl dormitory on prom night. But the Patriots are the real deal. Make no doubt about this team's ability to take over games with special teams and defense. The offense may actually be better than it was last year - an added bonus. Back over in the NFC, forget the Giants, Cowboys, Panthers, Seahawks, and Saints. YEAH! The SAINTS! They suck. No discipline. No Rickey Williams to carry the load and take the blame. Go get drunk at Mardi Gras, Saints. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to hear about Jim Haslett. He proved last season that he has no control over his own team. Atlanta will be the most improved team in the NFC and the Redskins will have an excellent season and probably make the playoffs. Everybody will hate Steve Spurrier and he'll love it. Green Bay? Still living on Brett Favre's arm and this season he doesn't have any receivers. The Bears are a great team to watch. They could win it all, but they'll need more breaks than last season - and they had a ton of them last year - and it would be nice if they beat the Packers sometime within the next decade. The team to watch is Tampa Bay. They got Jon Gruden away from the Raiders, and he'll be a big improvement over Tony Dungy, who went to Indy, himself a big improvement over Jim Mora, who never improved anything. Heck, the Rams are boring. Who wants to see Isaac Bruce streaking down the field when you can see Brian Urlacher crunching some running back into thinking about a career in, um, maybe insurance or computers, something safe, with weekends off. This is football. Those fast, skinny guys get creamed sooner or later. Fearless Rick - August 26, 2002 |
The Eagles stubbornly went to the pass in the second half, virtually ignoring the run, especially on first down. As the game wore on, they continued to face second and third downs in long yardage situations against an alert, inspired Rams defense who sensed that across the line was a desperate offense.