Is this the 'test' that NE has been waiting on all season? Moot point, but could Philly have beaten NE tonite if McNabb had played? *doubtful*
Just as with Garcia last year, they had a better shot without McNabb. Last year and this, Philly would be much better off trading McNabb soon for lots of picks, and going in another direction. BTW Rush Limbaugh was right about McNabb, despite all the bad press.
NE's a very good but not great team, at least not yet. Philly, Colts & Dallas have each exploited various weaknesses with the Pats, but didn't do quite enough to take full advantage. Colts & Dallas still have viable shots at knocking NE off and might have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes later.
Fox Sports
Here's how you beat the Patriots Yes, the Eagles almost won. Yes, they became the first big underdog to cover the Vegas spread. But the bottom line remains that New England is still unbeaten and even on one of their worst nights defensively, the Patriots still won. They are a remarkable team although Sunday night they did appear vulnerable to Philadelphia's aggressive tactics.
Here are five things the rest of the NFL can take from the Eagles' "almost" win:1. Teams must be physical with Randy Moss and the other New England receivers.
Philadelphia's cornerbacks jammed Moss as much as possible at the line of scrimmage and always made sure to bump him within the allowable five yards. Tom Brady still fired 12 passes toward Moss, but he managed only five catches for 43 yards. It was only the second time this season Moss went without a touchdown catch (the Browns allowed him only three receptions in Week 5). Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson designed a defense hoping to negate the big, over-the-top receptions to Moss and it worked.
However, while limiting Moss, it opened up the shorter passing lanes for Wes Welker, who had a career game with 13 catches for 149 yards. Welker was elusive after the catch although he also failed to score a touchdown. So while the strategy worked in slowing down Moss, the Patriots flipped over to Welker and also hit Donte Stallworth for a 31-yard gain. Once again, the Patriots proved they may have too many athletes on offense to ever be totally shut down.
2 You must vary your blitzes on Tom Brady.
The Eagles did a tremendous job in this area while sacking Brady three times. Afterward, Brady admitted he took some of the most physical hits all season in this game. Are we sensing a trend here? Defenses must sell out coverage at times in order to be physical with Brady, Moss and Co. But what helped the Eagles with this game plan was that New England opened in a spread formation and in shotgun. The Patriots passed 25 times and called only two runs in the first half. It's this unbalanced offensive approach that may eventually be New England's undoing.
With Brady working from the shotgun, it helped Philadelphia's pressure because they could time the snap count better. Cadence is an important part of slowing down the rush and Brady could have altered his counts had he been over center. So, essentially, the Patriots played into the Eagles' game plan a little here. Johnson also devised a significant wrinkle to his scheme by using linebacker Chris Gocong as a linebacker/defensive end. Johnson brought an extra blitzer on 50 percent of Brady's 57 pass plays and Gocong fit into that role nicely. It confused Brady at times, leading to sacks and also his season-high 20 incompletions.
3. You must gamble and go deeper with your passing game.
Whether or not you believe A.J. Feeley should be starting over Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, the important aspect of this game was Andy Reid's belief that the Patriots could be beaten on deep posts and slants. Feeley also played the game with a gunslinger's mentality and that's why he felt he lost the game with his two fourth-quarter interceptions. But up until those late miscues, the Eagles were brazen with their attack and it almost worked.
Without question, Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel is one of the game's best. He proved that with a game-opening touchdown return of an interception. His second interception also sealed the precarious win for the Patriots. But the rest of the New England secondary is not great. Safety Rodney Harrison is better near the line of scrimmage and right cornerback Ellis Hobbs can be beaten. The Eagles consistently found open receivers when New England was using six defensive backs. Now, coach Bill Belichick seemed to think that some of his players were out of position on a couple Philadelphia touchdowns based on his animated sideline behavior.
And, like Jimmy Johnson said on the Fox pregame show, you also have to gamble with onside kicks and on fourth-down possessions. The Eagles did both and were successful. The only way to beat New England is to keep the ball away from Brady ... and if you've got to gamble to do that, then so be it.
4. You must be able to pass block on the edges.
We all thought that New England had a better pass rush than the one they showed against Philadelphia. But the Eagles made sure to protect Feeley, who basically remained steady in the pocket. Yes, he was dropped twice but for only nine yards in losses. Feeley rushed a few throws, but basically the Eagles handled New England's pressure. Outside linebacker Mike Vrabel wasn't causing any havoc and that was a testament to Philadelphia's offensive linemen.
You didn't see Patriot defenders running free at Feeley and knocking him to the ground. He had time to throw. This is a basic premise of pro football and Philadelphia handled New England's front seven better than anyone has all season. And this wasn't some unconventional scheme; the Eagles simply sucked it up and old-timers like Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan played excellent games. Ditto for guard Shawn Andrews. When Feeley ran a quarterback sneak on fourth down, he ran right behind Andrews and converted the first down easily.
5. You need a versatile running back.
I was chastised in some circles for putting Brian Westbrook (and Adrian Peterson) on my midseason All-Pro team, but Westbrook's versatility was critical to Philadelphia's game plan. Westbrook has tremendous explosion, but he's also invaluable in the team concept. He picked up pass rushers when he was supposed to and he didn't whiff on any blocks. Now, Westbrook's overall numbers weren't awesome (92 yards on 24 touches), but he did score a touchdown and kept many a drive alive with a gutsy run or pass reception. And, as usual, Westbrook didn't fumble.
