Philadelphia Eagles' Weaknesses Exposed in Loss to New York Giants

Before the NFL season started, I wrote an article listing five reasons why the Eagles were not a Dream Team. I took a lot of grief from fellow Eagles fans that I was being too pessimistic since they all thought that this Eagles team was the best that had been assembled in some time. I insisted then that I was right, and now with the evidence of a few games, I feel even more strongly about this.

When you have been following a team as long as I have, you notice certain trends that develop, and you understand the key factors in winning and losing.

So let's take a look at how some of those five reasons contributed to this week's loss. I'll use direct quotes from the article.

"Third down and one remains the Eagles' Achilles' heel."

Could that have been any clearer today? It's great when you have all these speedy, skill players. But if you can't make one or two yards when you need it, you can't score and win when it's crunch time. The Eagles had first and goal on the Giants' three-yard line in the second quarter and then first and goal from the two-yard line in the third quarter. In both cases, three straight-ahead rushing attempts could not get the ball into the end zone. No play action, no quarterback roll out, just straight ahead power attempts, and they all failed.  Then there was the questionable attempt on fourth down and early in the fourth quarter that failed and gave the Giants the ball in great field position to stage their comeback.

"The linebacker corps remains sup-par. A continuing problem seems to be that they are too often in the wrong place to make the play."

Could that have been any clearer today?  The Giants first touchdown came on a play cleverly designed to take advantage of Casey Matthews' tendency to run around to try to make big plays. With almost all of the defenders on the opposite side of the field to cover the heavy load of receivers there, Matthews ran inside and bit on the play action fake to Brandon Jacobs, who ran outside to take a pass from Eli Manning and scored easily.  This situation has plagued the Eagles for several years. Some of the linebackers are fast, but are too often in the wrong spot. And others are too slow to cover tight ends or backs coming over the middle. Instead of obtaining three All-Star corner backs, the team would have been better served getting an experienced capable linebacker.

 "The offensive line is an area of concern for team management."

There is no push back of the defensive line when a yard or two is needed. The quarterback is getting pounded frequently. What more can I say on this topic?

Teams that get to the Super Bowl are strong up the middle with:

• Interior lineman that can move the pack when needed and protect the quarterback.

• Disciplined linebackers that protect their gaps

• A Dawkins-like safety that can both stuff the run and put on a devastating blitz

• A fullback that can get one yard when needed

These items are particularly important if you play in the Northeast without a dome stadium. Late season and playoff games can have weather that favors teams strong up the middle.

The Eagles can have the fastest wide receivers, the best set of cover corner backs, dynamic quarterbacks, and a running back as good as McCoy.

But without strength up the middle, they aren't going to the Super Bowl any time soon.