Philadelphia Eagles: Week Eight Report Card

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In a game that could set the tempo for the rest of the season, the Eagles showed up with their A-game and took care of their hated rival, the New York Giants.

A beat-down to the tune of 40-17 is a great way to make a statement to not only to the rest of the league, but to themselves. They've shown the rest of the league that they can stick with the best that the NFC has to offer, and have instilled some confidence that they can carry with them for the rest of the season.

Well, it would appear as though the Giants may no longer be in the upper echelon of the NFC at this point in the season, but it's still a fantastic divisional win to put them in place for a push in the latter half of the year.

Enough jabbering, let's break it down.


Quarterbacks | A

Could McNabb have been better? Perhaps, but we're nitpicking at this point.

A few of his passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage, so obviously the trajectory of the passes were a bit off. However, it's also the fault of the offensive line who, while they were much better this week, still were allowing far too much of a push by the defensive line.

Either way, McNabb was on point all game long as he hit the open receivers, made good decisions, and even took off for a first down and added another 14 yards to his impressive career rushing total.

The Cowboys secondary is better than the Giants', there's no doubt about that, but if he can carry the momentum from this game into the Dallas game this Sunday, the Eagles should be able to grab their third straight divisional victory.


Running Backs | B+

With Brian Westbrook out of the game with a concussion, LeSean McCoy would have to step in and fill the shoes of a superstar here in Philly. It's a pretty big task for a rookie, but I was among the majority who thought he had it in him.

Well, 11 attempts for 82 yards and a touchdown, along with two receptions for 10 yards, is certainly good enough to make Eagles fans forget that Westbrook was watching his protege' from the sideline.

Add that onto the fact that Leonard Weaver beat the Giants defense for 75 yards on eight carries and you have a successful day on the ground. If Reid keeps this up when Westbrook is actually in the lineup, the Eagles could actually have a running game this season.


Receivers/Tight Ends | A

McNabb's top three targets, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brent Celek, were all able to haul in a touchdown reception, in addition to having at least 45 yards receiving.

Jackson hauled in three receptions for 78 yards, with his touchdown again coming from over 50 yards out. Celek had four receptions for 61 yards, and Maclin had four receptions of his own for 47 yards. Alex Smith and Jason Avant also chipped in with three receptions between them, McCoy had two catches, and even McNabb caught a pass.

He had one of his passes tipped up into the air, caught it, and promptly took off for a one-yard gain, moving his career receiving total to five receptions and -7 yards.


Offensive Line | Grade: B

While the pass blocking was much better this week, the run blocking was still only good enough to get the job done. They opened up a very nice hole for Leonard Weaver on his 41-yard run, and LeSean McCoy was able to get through the line untouched on his 66-yard romp.

However, outside of that, there were not many holes opening up. This line is still attempting to find itself as a unit, so that will take a few weeks, but until then it's important that Reid continues to run the ball so the line can acquire the mentality that running the ball takes.

Like I said, the pass blocking was very good as McNabb seemed to have all day to throw on most of his pass attempts, with the exception of Jason Peters' two, yes two, blown blocks that both led to sacks.

They need Peters, and Stacy Andrews, to come into their own if this line, and this team, expects to make any kind of push this season.


Defensive Line | C+

For every time that Trent Cole seemed to get into Eli's face, there were two plays that Eli had all the time in the world to stand in the pocket and do as he saw fit.

On the flipside of that, the line was stout against the run. Brandon Jacobs was still able to rack up some decent numbers on the ground, but that's to be expected from a 265 pound freight train running behind 325 pound mammoths.

McDermott felt the need to blitz because he didn't feel as though he could trust his front four to get pressure,

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