Eagles vs. Packers: Where Do Philadelphia Eagles Go After Playoff Loss?

The Philadelphia Eagles' storybook season came to an end today at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Michael Vick couldn't conjure any magic like the New Miracle at the Meadowlands, as the Packers six-man blitzed the Eagles into submission.

In reality, the Eagles' season ended four weeks ago in Dallas. We just couldn't remove the Vick blinders and admit the team's glaring problems ever since.

When the Cowboys knocked out Stewart Bradley (dislocated elbow) and Brandon Graham (torn ACL) for the rest of the season, the Eagles suddenly lost their lead defensive signal caller and lacked toughness in the middle of their backfield.  

In that game, Jon Kitna and the 'Boys lit the Eagles' defense up for 349 yards and 27 points at home, but Vick and the Eagles' offense managed to out-duel them in a 30-27 win.   

The next week, the Eagles ventured to the Meadowlands. While the game will go down in the history books for the 28-point, 8-minute comeback and DeSean Jackson's electrifying walk-off punt return TD, remember: The Eagles were only in the position for such a thrilling comeback because Eli Manning absolutely torched the Eagles' D for the first 52 minutes of the game. 

Eli Manning passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns (Giants had 364 total yards of offense), leading the Giants to a 31-10 advantage halfway through the fourth quarter. Then, the unforgettable Michael Vick show began, and when the smoke had cleared, the Eagles had all but locked up the NFC East.

The next week, the good feelings along the Eagles' sideline subsided. After a blizzard delayed their Sunday Night Football showdown with the Minnesota Vikings by two days, rookie Joe Webb came out in his first NFL start and simply embarrassed the Eagles' defense.

The Eagles choked on a chance to obtain the No. 2 seed in the NFC (which would have delayed a matchup with those pesky Packers by a week) as Webb guided the Vikings to 337 total yards of offense in a 24-14 victory. 

Now, what about these numbers suggested that all was sunny in Philadelphia on the defensive side of the football?

Without Graham and Bradley manning the middle of the backfield, running backs like James Starks started busting out 100-yard days against the Eagles D. In the Eagles' Week 17 game against the Cowboys, Felix Jones averaged 7.4 YPC with 81 yards on 11 touches.  

Throw in the fact that the Eagles were the proud owners of the the worst red zone defense in the NFL (33 of 43 opponents' trips ended in TDs), and it was plenty apparent that the Eagles needed to survive a shootout with the Packers to move onto the next round.

Going to a Shootout Without Your Best Gun

Once DeSean Jackson got rolled up under a LeSean McCoy rush early in the first quarter, the Eagles' offense couldn't hold up their end of the bargain.  Vick could only do so much with Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin, leading the Eagles to only three points by halftime.

While the Eagles' offense managed to rally in the second half with Jackson back on the field (including a wide-open grab by Jackson with a minute left that had all of Philadelphia holding its collective breath), 16 points couldn't cut it against Green Bay's high-powered offense.

David Akers, the Eagles' field goal kicker who missed a 41- and 34-yarder in this game, will undoubtedly catch most of the media heat in Philly for blowing this game.  

But to only blame Akers would simply be blowing over the issues that have plagued the Eagles not just in the playoff loss to the Packers, but for the past few years.

This won't be a diatribe about why Andy Reid and Marty Morninwheg need to learn how to call more rushes. To expect different results after watching the same thing happen over and over again...that's simply the definition of insanity. 

For better or worse, Reid has hitched his wagon to a pass-run ratio that's heavily weighted towards the pass. On days like Sunday, where the Eagles were facing a defense that gave up an average of nearly 120 rushing yards per game, you'd think Reid would hand the ball to McCoy more than 12 times. Then again...how long have Eagles fans been saying that (except replace "McCoy" with "Westbrook" or "Staley")?

Instead, it's a focus on the Eagles' decision to play more of a finesse game on defense than a power game, personified by no one more than Asante Samuel, the Eagles' Pro Bowl cornerback.

Samuel made his name (and his fortunes) by being a ball hawk (seven INTs this year alone), but for the life of me, I can't remember ever seeing a football player more averse to tackling.  Samuel's even taken the Deion Sanders approach with his tackling allergies, being completely up front and open about the fact that he's making his money pulling down interceptions, not laying big hits.

That's great and all, but James Jones caught the Packers' second touchdown in the front corner of the end zone as you were trailing three yards behind him, Asante. In fact, you and the rest of the Eagles' defense didn't force Rodgers into one INT all day. (Only Darryl Tapp forced a Rodgers fumble.)

Fact is, the Packers had their way with the Eagles on both offense and defense in this wild card matchup. The Packers were the ones dictating the pace for most of the game, not the Eagles. 

The Packers simply overpowered the Eagles, and the Eagles couldn't muster an answer.

What's Next for Philly?

First thing's first: The Eagles must do whatever it takes to re-sign Michael Vick to an extension. ESPN reports that sources have said the Eagles will place the franchise tag on Vick (assuming it exists in the next CBA) if they can't reach a long-term deal with him in the offseason.

Then, the Eagles must turn their attention to the draft. And for them to have any chance at surviving a wild card weekend for the first time in three years in 2011, the Eagles must build up their lines and their defense.

Reid and the Eagles have compiled a versatile swath of offensive skill players—with explosive WRs in Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, a great possession receiver in Jason Avant, a blossoming large-bodied red zone threat in Riley Cooper, and the Westbrook-clone McCoy in the backfield, the Eagles are set at skill positions.  (That's not even to mention TE Brent Celek, who had a down year by his standards, or the injured Pro Bowl FB Leonard Weaver.)

Instead, the Eagles need to find size on defense, and fast.

For two years running, the Eagles' defense has suffered considerably once Bradley went out with an injury. While there's no questioning Bradley's talents when healthy, the Eagles need a contingency plan for Bradley in case injuries strike in threes for him.

The Philly defensive line ranked 8th in run-blocking and 5th in pass protection in 2010 according to Football Outsiders, but that's just about where the good news ends for Philly defensively.

Plain and simple, they haven't found a long term solution to the hole at safety that opened when the Birds released Brian Dawkins. Macho Harris, the 2009 version of the solution, couldn't even make the Eagles' 53-man roster in 2010; 2010's solution, second-round pick Nate Allen, ruptured his patellar tendon late in the season and was placed on IR. 

Again, the Eagles seemed to have little to no contingency plan. Dmitri Patterson earned a spot in the starting defensive lineup despite having scorchmarks on him from how many times he'd been burned in the past four weeks.

The Eagles have the offensive weapons to get to the Super Bowl next year, so long as Vick is captaining the ship on offense.

It's time for Reid and the Eagles' front office to give Vick the defensive support he and the rest of the Eagles offense need to get back to the Super Bowl.