Game 3............Sept 28th
Wagons Ho...Jules Pilla Sept 28th
Hitch'em up. We are ready to go again. You know what I'm talking about. The Band Wagon is taking riders again.
It has been a tough couple of weeks for us Eagle fans. Two losses that had us questioning everything from Donovan's skills to Andy Reid's competence. With the nice 23-13 win over the Buffalo Bills, we should be feeling a whole lot better. This week will have us walking around with a smile on our faces.
Both the offense and defense set the tone when they took the field. The defense started with a Corey Simon sack and the offense started with a first down pass to Pinky and an impressive drive. Donovan was back to being Donovan. He had a very good game. He was 18-29 fro 172 yards. He showed his leadership on the field and his confidence appeared to be back.
Here is key stat...34-30. That is 34 running plans and 30 passing plays. Much more balanced than the first two weeks when they had 80 pass plays to 20 runs. Westbrook ran 11 times for 96 yards. Buckhalter ran 11 for 25 and Donovan ran 9 times for 47 yards.
The defensive back field had a terrific game filling in for the 3 missing Pro Bowl players. Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Rod Hood, Clinton Hart and Michael Lewis all played well. The defensive line deserves credit too and had all kinds of pressure on Bledsoe. Don't forget to give Jim Johnson credit. He blitzed and showed aggresiveness even though they were missing their starters.
It felt good to see a win again. It seemed like an eternity. Enjoy it and stay on the wagon this time. This is a good team and they will be in the hunt. We just never saw Donovan in a slump before. It was not a pretty site. So hitch'em up and Wagons Ho...
A Tale of Two Seasons...Ian Poush ----Sept 29th
This seemed to be the game many were saying would make or break the Eagles season. A win and they were on the right track, a loss and they were hopeless. Well, the Eagles chose option number one and in the process may have possibly made the 03-04 run a tale of two seasons.
It didn't take long for Donovan and company to show the sellout crown in Orchard Park that this was not the same Eagle offense from weeks one and two. On the first play from scrimmage McNabb hit wide receiver Todd Pinkston with an immaculate pass for 29 yards, two plays later McNabb himself rushed for a 25 yard gain. Then it happened, something the Eagle faithful had not seen all season, the Eagle QB flashed his pearly whites with that trademark smile of his the Eagle offense was on its way. The drive culminated with a 2 yard td run by Correll Buckhalter. The next test came in the form of another dreaded defensive injury, this time it was all-pro corner Troy Vincent being sidelined with a hamstring injury, he would not return. In the face of adversity one more time, the Eagle defense stood strong, stifling the Buffalo offense and allowing only negative three yards and adding in a sack on there first time on the field.
Despite having a stellar first drive the Eagles offense seemed to sputter a bit during the middle sections of the game only scoring three field goals in the next seven drives. Meanwhile, the Eagle's D seemed to shutdown Drew Bledsoe for three quarters, and forcing a fumble and sacking the Buffalo QB twice. In the fourth however, the Bills seemed to get it going, Bledsoe took advantage of the depleted Philadelphia secondary with a touchdown pass to wide out Bobby Shaw. Bledsoe struck again, this time himself with a 1 yard touchdown run following a drive comprised of twelve plays which were all in the air gaining a total of 69 yards. The score was 16-13 Eagles with only 2:49 left in the game, it was gut check time.
The Bills seemed to be coming alive now, and the Eagle defense seemed to be getting tired, the offense needed to come up big….and they did just that. The Eagles came to the line on third and seven from they're own 23, when McNabb hit James Thrash for a gain of 14 and the first down that that they so desperately needed. Following a 1 yard run by Buckhalter, and a Buffalo time out, McNabb handed the ball off the RB Brian Westbrook, who ran off right guard for 62 yards and his first touchdown of the season effectively shutting the door for a Bills comeback. The Eagles would win the game 23-13 for they're first win of the season.
Will this first win turn the Eagles season around? Only time will tell. The next challenge waits in the form of The Division rival Washington Redskins. The good news however is the probable return of cornerbacks Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent as well as lineman Jerome McDougle.
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