Philadelphia Eagles Squeeze Out a Penalty-Filled Win Over Detroit Lions

The Philadelphia Eagles are now 1-1 in the 2010 season after clinging to a 35-32 win over the Detroit Lions yesterday afternoon. It was a game of apparent repayments to Lions WR Calvin Johnson for a game winning TD that was called incomplete the week before. Home field advantage was in full force yesterday, but the Birds still came out on top!

Eagles backup QB Michael Vick was nontraditional in his approach to win the game, displaying more of a pocket passing QB rather than the scrambling playmaker who uses his legs to move the chains. Vick completed 21 of 34 passes for 284 yards (108.0 passer rating) while only gaining 37 yards rushing on seven attempts (5.3 average).

If you remember in the Week 1 matchup vs. the Green Bay Packers, Vick rushed for 103 yards, which was clearly the Vick that the Detroit Lions planned to see. It was a smart gamble to think Vick would continue to dazzle defenders with his legs but head coach Andy Reid was one step ahead.

Vick's most impressive play of the day was a 45-yard hook up to WR DeSean Jackson on a cross slant route before he turned on the turbo boost and tore away from the Lions defense. Even the players who thought they had good angles on him got lost in DeSean’s dust.

The one thing that has become noticeably obvious is Vick’s ability to get rid of the ball, even if he is in flight to be flat on his back.

Also a benefiting factor for him is the amount of NFL experience he has under his belt. He knows that at best he has a total of four seconds to check down all his options, find the most open player, and if no one is open, he knows it’s time to take off in an attempt to gain positive yards.

Through two games in the 2010 season, one of which he’s started, Michael Vick is showing every NFL team he is more than capable of being a starting QB in this league again. Regardless of what head coach Andy Reid says—Michael Vick might need to be the starting QB of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Still, I’m not ready to jump ship on QB Kevin Kolb just yet.

Even though Kolb looked lost and scared last week, and throughout the preseason, he still needs to be provided the time to showcase his talents as well. I still claim that most of Kolb’s problems are not with himself, but the offensive line.  That group looked a ton better than they did in Week 1, so let’s see what Kevin can do once he has protection.

Andy Reid has to be careful here, he wants to see exactly what he has in Kolb but at the same time if Kevin isn’t in fact the man for Philadelphia then Michael Vick needs to start, period.

So how much time should be alloted for Kolb to prove himself? That’s why Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles front office executives get paid the big bucks!

Another pleasant star for the Eagles yesterday was second year RB LeSean “Shady” McCoy.

After struggling for the better part of the preseason while trying to get into a niche, LeSean broke free yesterday recording his first 100-plus yard rushing game in the NFL and notched three TDs.

On 16 attempts, LeSean registered 120 yards rushing (7.5 YPC). His longest carry of the night came in the fourth quarter with 6:17 left on the clock. Shady burst through the left center of the line and his speed took care of the rest taking it to the house for six on a 46-yard rushing TD.

His other two TDs came in the second quarter on a 14 yard scramble, and his second of three touchdowns came in the third quarter on a goal line surge (4 yards).

Nobody in Philadelphia is ever going to forget about No. 36 Brian Westbrook, but if  McCoy is capable of reproducing these types of results more often than not—the pain of Westbrook’s departure will heal that much sooner.

Defensively, the birds got shredded by Lions rookie RB Jahvid Best. He had a field day as he contributed three TDs for his team. However, most of his success came in the first half.

I’m not sure what head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said in the locker room during half time but whatever was said it worked because Best really couldn’t get to much going once the second half began.

Yes, the Birds walked away victorious in Ford Field but it wasn’t the dominating performance I was anticipating. Maybe all the so-called penalties in the game is what made it so close, but let's be honest - some of the calls on the Birds yesterday even had the announcers baffled. Still, the Eagles committed a bunch and that needs to be shored up before next Sunday when the Eagles take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This article was also featured on Bleeding Eagle Green.