CHIRPING BIRDS-WEEK 5

Welcome to my weekly column on the Eagles and all football..These are my opinions and viewpoints from week 5 of the NFL season.....

Eagles gave the game away to the Lions yesterday..too many penalties..The game should never have come down to late in the 4th quarter to matter..

Give Detriot credit for hanging in there..Can"t blame Carson Wentz for the interception which sealed the loss..I like his aggressiveness..even though I thought the Birds should have worked their way down the field for a game-winning field goal..Even with no time-outs they had plenty of time-1:28 to go the 30 or so yards needed for the FG..Ryan Matthews screwed-up with the disastrous fumble late in the game near mid-field, however I didn"t like the play call. Too many things could go wrong with a pitch-out. The Eagles needed 2 yards..what is wrong with straight ahead, smash-mouth football at that point? Don"t get cute..pick up the fist down and leave Detriot 4-0

Why not have Wentz roll out on that play?? He has the option to throw or run..Doug Peterson has been doing a good job play-calling this year, but he seemed to have a brain-freeze late in the game..Too many FGs and not enough TDs..

They could have ixed the game by picking up a first down on the series where Matthews fumbled the ball. The Lions had no timeouts left and the Eagles simply needed to run the clock out . So, not getting that big first down was also key.

No matter how much they denied it, the team looked sluggish after the bye week..no where near as sharp early in the game as they had been..I still say our receivers aren"t good enough..They lack breakaway speed, can"t get separation and are prone to drop balls. A stud wide receiver should be on Howie  Roseman"s wishlist for next season..DeSean Jackson is a free agent after this season..He is still fast..would the Eagles bring him back?

Eagles need to win next week in Washington( and I think they will win). I still don"t think the Redskins are all that, after narrowly beating the awful Browns and the over-rated Ravens. Beating Washington on the road would make up for the Lion loss and put the Birds at 4-1 going into the big game vs undefeated Minnesota the following week.

What hurts about the loss to Detriot is that the schedule doesn"t get any easier. The rough stretch vs Seattle, Green Bay and Cincinnati looms later, as well as all division games vs the NFC East..But the schedule has a way of evening out with time..A now tough Atlanta Falcons team may not be as tough a month from now. Same with a  struggling Bengals squad.

What killed the Eagles yesterday was turnovers-something they had not done all year.Goes to show ya what a difference it is to play a clean game and give the ball away...Plus, in the first 3 games the Birds controlled the ball with their run game. Yesterday the defense was on the field alot more because early on, the offense could not sustain long drives.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Playoffs should be fun this year, as there is parody all over the NFL..Will there be a clear favorite to win the Super Bowl? Denver finally loses at home..Green Bay and Seattle aren"y juggernauts this year.. Please, not New England again???.Much has been made about TV ratings being down this year. Too much football on..games aren"t as good..too many penalties  too many commercial breaks..the games drag on..Plus, Red Zone on NFL network..you get the highlights without the commercials..

I'm still alive in the WIP pool..5 weeks down.