Philadelphia Eagles Week Five Report Card

(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

There was a lot working in favor of the Eagles today.

First off, Andy Reid and his teams do not lose after the bye week; coming into this game, they were 10-0 coming off the bye. Add that to the fact that they were playing the lowly Bucs, Reid was going for his 100th win, and Donovan McNabb was making his return, and you have a fairly obvious outcome.

33-14 gave the Eagles a 19-point, and seemingly decisive, victory. However, the fact of the matter is that this game could have been a whole lot closer than what the score would indicate.

Quarterback | Grade: A

Donovan McNabb could not have been more perfect in his first game back since breaking a rib in Week One. Well, he could have been a little bit better judging by his 157.2 quarterback rating. One or two more completions and he probably would have had it.

Anyway, quarterback rating aside, McNabb looked absolutely phenomenal. It didn't take him real long to get going, either. A nice long run on his first play back, then a 51-yard strike to Jeremy Maclin is how his day got started, and it didn't end real shabby, either.

16-for-21 for 264 yards and three touchdowns compared to zero interceptions was the end result as he picked apart a patchwork Tampa Bay defense.

Michael Vick threw the ball three times, completing one for one yard, so not a whole lot to discuss there. He did toss one deep intended for Maclin that was a bit underthrown, but it was a nice show of arm strength as he tossed the ball downfield with that signature flick of the wrist.

Isn't it sad that Vick gets discussed for a 1-for-3 day as much as McNabb gets discussed for throwing three touchdowns? It's the world we live in, God help us all.

Running Backs | Grade: Incomplete

I'm going to do my rant about the play-calling when I grade the coaches, so I'll try to leave that aspect of it out for the moment.

The fact is that there just was not a body of work for the running backs to really give an accurate grade. 12 carries total by Westbrook and McCoy is just not enough to see what kind of day they had. Westbrook averaged three yards per carry, and McCoy averaged a little over two yards per carry, but it was the play-calling more than bad execution.

See, I couldn't help myself. The playcalling was just putrid.

So the grade stays as an incomplete until Andy Reid and Mary Mornhinweg can call some running plays and let us see what a Westbrook-McCoy combination could do.

Receivers/Tight Ends | Grade: B+

As much as I want to give them an "A" just because of the outstanding day that Jeremy Maclin had, it's tough to do so when the only other catches made by receivers was one catch for 12 yards by Jason Avant, and one catch for one yard by DeSean Jackson.

Brent Celek had four catches for 58 yards, which ends his 100-plus-yard receiving games streak at two, but he has been so impressive this season, and Maclin was so dominate all day, it's tough to give him a lower grade because he just wasn't targeted as much as he was while Kolb was playing in Weeks Two and Three.

And wasn't that leap just incredible? Wow.

DeSean Jackson, while accounting for only one yard today, actually had a good game beyond the stats. His play this season and the way he gives 100 percent on every play is a big reason why Maclin was able to succeed.

The Bucs respected Jackson to the point that they were double-teaming him, which allowed man coverage on Maclin. Then Jackson, unlike most receivers who get double-covered, ran his routes every single play expecting to get the ball. That drew even more attention to himself, and even less from Maclin.

The Maclin-Jackson combination is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Brian Westbrook

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