Unprepared For The Big Stage
It’s “Over-reaction Tuesday” in the NFL, and certainly, just like after last year’s game at Washington, if I had decided to write this article after the game, I would have done so with vitriol, mostly pointed at Chip Kelly. I certainly didn’t take any stock in the pre-season. I’ll be honest, I was excited that they won. But, I have a very hard time taking the pre-season seriously, especially with any team that has Tim Tebow on its roster.
The Eagles got the ball first, and I thought that was a great sign; that the team would come out firing, and that DeMarco Murray would prove to be money well-spent. I thought Byron Maxwell would also be money well-spent. I got comfy on my sofa, note pad in hand, ready to see the Eagles take apart the Falcons. And then, the game actually started.
Offensively, the team could not get out of its own way. You all saw it. Sam Bradford would throw to one shoulder, and receivers would turn to the other side. Murray never got any traction. There were far too many penalties. Maxwell got smoked by Julio Jones, in the best imitation of Bradley Fletcher I’ve ever seen. Matt Ryan’s uniform will probably just be put back in his locker, since no one really got near him. Fletcher Cox got to him, but that was about it. In short, the team was absolutely unprepared to play.
Yet, somehow, despite the worst-case scenario of the turnover right before the half, and the Falcons turning it into points, the Eagles got back into the game. The screen game, with Darren Sproles, was running the Atlanta defense ragged. And, suddenly, there was a game at the Georgia Dome.
Back and forth, it went. Edge-of-your-seat action. I was all set to post threads about winning in Week 1. Then, late in the 4th, Ryan Mathews gets stuffed, bringing up a 4th-and-1 situation. With the way the screen game was going, I thought it was a no-brainer. Run Sproles or Mathews, and win the game. And then, the camera panned to Kelly. His expression was blank, and my hopes for a Week 1 win evaporated. In the confusion, we all saw the outcome. The snap was rushed, and Cody Parkey, not exactly clutch in pressure situations (see also: @ WAS, 2014 season) hooked it wide. I couldn’t even watch in real-time. I just listened to the call on TV, and was just sick.
But, wait just a minute, the team held on 3rd down, and forced the Falcons to punt. Again, here’s where I disagree with the calling. The punt was deep. Sproles, let it go in the end zone, please!! But, ok, the Eagles have the ball. Just go to work. The first play? A 2-yard out pattern. Not exactly giving anyone the “wow” factor, but, the team then dawdled back to the huddle as if they had plenty of time. I was losing my mind. Then, of course, Jordan Matthews suddenly develops a case of stone hands, the Falcons intercept, and the Eagles go home, at 0-1.
The larger takeaway from last night? Unpreparedness. The team should have been much more crisp to start the game. They weren’t. The defense should have been able to flatten the Falcon’s patchwork O-line. They couldn’t. 4th-and-1, there should have been multiple contingencies in place, so nobody looked at each other, as if they were looking for divine intervention. And, again, never, under any circumstances, place Parkey in a pressure situation. He’s not the guy for that.
Now, the team returns home for a must-win in Week 2. They simply cannot lose to Dallas, at home, minus Dez Bryant. To do so would only embolden the Cowboys, and send the Eagles into a tailspin. And, after the way Dallas won in Week 1, they certainly don’t need any more help, or any other reason to play that awful “We Dem Boyz” song everywhere.
Being an Air Force veteran, we were always told to approach every mission, using the Seven P’s :Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Maybe the team should take a page out of the Air Force playbook for Week 2.
Fly Eagles, Fly!!!!!
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Categorized:Eagles