Tale of the Tape: Eagles/Cards Rd. 1

I just watched the game between the Eagles and the Cardinals from Thanksgiving day. Here at my thoughts from the game:

Heading Into Game:

Coming into this game, the two teams were in two very different positions. The Cardinals were winners of 3 of their last 4. They were however, coming off of that loss, an 8 point defeat at the hands of the then impressive Giants. With a record of 7-4, the Cardinals already had the division all but wrapped up. They knew they were going to the playoffs, and to be honest, had very little to play for.

The Eagles, on the other hand, were coming off of the worst couple of games probably ever in the Andy Reid/ Donovan McNabb era. They were 5-5-1, and 0-2-1 in their last 3. McNabb was coming off the fiasco in Baltimore when he was benched, and for the first time every, McNabb knew coming into the game that his coach was on the sideline, ready to pull him at any given moment.

Not only was McNabb fighting for his career, the Eagles were fighting for their playoff lives. They knew that even if they won out, a playoff spot was unlikely. Still, going into the Thanksgiving day game, it was a must win for the Eagles.

What the Box Score Looked Like:

Quarterbacks: McNabb 27/39 260 yards 4 TD's.....Warner 21/39 235 yards 3 TD's 3 INT's

Running Backs: Westbrook 22 carriess 110 yds 2 TD's 2 cts 20 yds 2 TD's ....J. Arrington 2 carries 10yds

Receivers: D. Jackson 6 rec 76 yds 1 TD....L.Fitzgerald 5 rec 65 yds 2 TD

What the Numbers Tell Us:

From a statistical standpoint, the Eagles absolutely killed the Cardinals. They killed the Cardinals in every category. Here are some numbers that stood out:

1) They outscored them in every single quarter, and scored a touchdown in every single quarter.

2)The Eagles had over 7 times as many rushing yards as the Cardinals (25 to 181).

3) They dominated the time of possession, holding the ball almost twice as long as the Cardinals (39:33 to 20:27)

4) The Eagles ran 40 rushing plays, and were stopped behind the line on only 1 of them.

5) The Eagles were over twice as successful on 3rd Down Conversions (30% to 66%)

6) The Cardinals got more sacks then the Eagles (1-0)

What the Tape Tells Us:

After reviewing the game tape, here are some things that stood out to me:

1) On 2 of the 3 interceptions by Warner, he was pressured.

2) The Offensive Line manhandled the Cardinals defensive line. In the red zone, the Eagles got 3 of their touchdowns up the middle, whether it was by running it or by doing Andy Reid's famous shuffle pass. Either way, Westbrook almost walked into the end zone on all 3.

3) I wasn't impressed by the Cardinals linebackers. When they blitzed McNabb in the red zone, they completely lost track of Westbrook, and McNabb threw it for an easy touchdown. Also, Westbrook had a lot of success getting around the corner, which tells me he was beating the Arizona linebackers to the sideline consistently. The Eagles had a lot of success with Westbrook running it from the off-set position, or faking the reverse, which I also attribute to the linebackers.

4) Kurt Warner is dangerous when he has time. On all of the Cardinals big plays, there was no pressure in his face, and he had success throwing the ball.

5) The Eagles corners had trouble with the Cardinals receivers. When Anquan Boldin caught the ball in space, there were a few times it took almost 4 Eagles to bring him down.

6) Of the Cardinals big plays (the 3 touchdown passes, and the long ball to Larry Fitzgerald) Lito Sheppard was the cornerback beaten on all of them

7) The Cardinals were down 14, 12 minutes left in the 4th with the ball

8) Eagles receivers were wide open all day. There were numerous times they caught the ball running wide open, or caught it and were able to turn and run. \

9) The Cardinals dropped a lot of balls

Final Verdict

After breaking down the tape, here was what I was left thinking.

1) With Asante Samuel in there, and playing the best he has all season, the Eagles will be better against the pass, as Sheppard was picked apart in this game

2) I am glad the Eagles defense is playing so well right now, because the Cardinals offense looked good. Real good. And they will be even better at home.

3) Im not buying the whole "The Cardinals didn't give us there best shot, it was a short week" excuse. This was a semi-close game in the 4th, and the Eagles were playing with the same amount of rest. Also, everyone says the Cardinals were coming off a tough, physical loss to the Giants. Um, the Ealges were coming off a tough, humiliating, blow out loss where there franchise had to be benched. I would call that a little harder to come back from.

4) The Eagles are the better team