A Very Brief Review of the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles

I think we can all agree that when we look back on the 2007 Eagles season, all we'll be able to think is "If only this..." or "We should have that..." It was 4 months filled with heartbreak, disappointment and a lot of underachieving. And not even a 3-game winning streak to finish the year could make up for any of it. I bet at the beginning of the season if I were to tell you the Eagles would win at Dallas, at New Orleans and vs. Buffalo to finish the season, you would think they were a shoo-in for at least a playoff berth. I mean, the rest of the schedule wasn't that bad. But lo, for the second time in three years, the players will be watching the playoffs instead of partcipating.

The tone for the dismal season was set right away in the form of an UGLY 16-13 loss to Green Bay. Two muffed punts of all things did us in. And that's exactly how the rest of the season would go. Little things like that would continue to plague us until it was too late to recover. So here is my very brief season review. Hope it brings back good/bad memories.

THREE BEST GAMES OF THE SEASON:

3) November 11 - Eagles 33, Redskins 25
The Eagles sat at 3-5 halfway through the season, desperately needing a strong start to the second half of the season to keep their playoff hopes afloat. And thanks to a great performance by Donovan McNabb, they did just that. Despite falling behind 25-20 with just 4 minutes to play in regulation, McNabb found Brian Westbrook in the flat on the ensuing drive, and Westbrook broke it for a 57-yard touchdown to put Philly up 26-25. The Eagles got the ball back and scored again to seal a 33-25 victory. McNabb went 20/28 for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns with zero INTs. The comeback win put the Eagles at 4-5, only a game behind Washington and in the thick of the playoff hunt.

2) September 23 - Eagles 56, Lions 21
After dropping their first two games, the Eagles assured the fans they still had the offensive firepower to compete. McNabb threw 4 TD passes in the first half en route to a perfect QB rating for the game. Westbrook ran for 110 yards and 2 TDs. But the real story was the emergence of Kevin Curtis, who exploded for 11 catches, 221 yards and 3 TD receptions. The Eagles led 42-21 at halftime and didn't allow the Lions to come back in the second half. Philly got its first win of the season.

1) December 16 - Eagles 10, Cowboys 6
Of course this is the best win from 2007. Anytime you pull off an upset of the best team in the conference, let alone the Cowboys, it's pretty damn good. At 5-8 and with almost no shot at a postseason berth, the Eagles came out and derailed Dallas's plans to gain home-field advantage through the playoffs. A 7-3 lead at halftime never got bigger, but Dallas never regained the lead in the second half, and Westbrook's brilliant maneuver at the goal line just before the two minute warning sealed the most satisfying win of the season.

THREE WORST GAMES OF THE SEASON (this was not easy to wittle down)

3) October 21 - Bears 19, Eagles 16
This wasn't bad as so much the Eagles didn't play well, but instead they completely blew a hard-earned victory in the end. With a chance to get to 3-3, the Eagles trailed Chicago 12-9 late in the 4th quarter. Unable to reach the endzone all day, McNabb orchestrated a final drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Matt Schobel with just under 5 minutes remaining. The Eagles took a 16-12 lead over the defending NFC champions. The Bears started last drive with 1:57 to play on their own 3-yard line with a chance to win the game. And despite their offensive struggles in this game and all season, Brian Griese led the team 97 yards on the Philly defense, culminating in a TD pass with 9 seconds to play. Eagles drop to 2-4.

2) December 2 - Seahawks 28, Eagles 24
Bottom line, the Eagles should have had this one. And this was despite A.J. Feeley's absolutely horrendous performance. The Eagles let a 24-21 slip away, but found themselves in a position to win with under a minute to play. The Eagles drove the field on their final drive, getting the ball deep into the Seattle redzone with just a minute remaining. But Feeley threw his 4th interception when Lofa Tatupu picked him off at the 4-yard line, ending any Eagles chance at a win. The loss cost Philly another shot at .500, as they dropped to 5-7.

1) September 30 - Giants 16, Eagles 3
Most Philadelphia sports fans remember this as the day the Phillies triumphantly clinched the NL East for the first time in 14 years. However, later that night, there would be an equally disgraceful performance. McNabb was sacked 12 times, six times by Osi Umenyiora. The Eagles generated nothing on offense all game, settling for a field goal in the 4th quarter to avoid being shut out. To put things in perspective, Correll Buckhalter was the leading rusher AND receiver in this one. This certainly made everyone forget about the 56-point outburst the week before.

THE GOOD FROM 2007

Brian Westbrook - He continues to remind us why he's an elite running back even though people keep overlooking him. Rushed for 1333 yards and 7 TDs, and caught 90 balls for 771 yards and 5 TDs. His 2104 total yards from scrimmage is an Eagles franchise record. He was the lone consistent performer on this offense all season. Thankfully he was not passed on for a Pro Bowl spot.

Trent Cole - The Eagles have an emerging star in Cole. He led the team with 13 sacks, giving him 25.5 for his career in just three seasons with Philly. And he's only 25, meaning he could be doing this sort of thing for the next 5 to 7 years. He's a relentless pass rusher off the end and certainly everything we expected to get from Jevon Kearse when we signed him. The Eagles would be smart to hang on to him.

The Strong Finish - Don't try to tell me the Eagles didn't want to finish .500 for the season. Their performance in the final three games was exactly what we thought we were getting for the entire year. A great win at Dallas was followed up by delivering a shocking blow to the Saints' playoff hopes on the road. And then a final win at home against the Bills to finish at 8-8. Remember Andy Reid's first season in Philly, when the team was 3-11 and destined to finish with the same record as the year before? Well two surprising wins over the Patriots and eventual Super Bowl champion Rams gave the Eagles and upbeat finish to the season. And next year they carried that momentum to an 11-5 mark and a playoff win. Do I see a trend here? I certainly hope so.

THE BAD FROM 2007

Special Teams - Yes, we all know what happened in Week 1. But there was little improvement aside from actually catching punts. In a year where it seemed like every team was returning kicks and punts for TDs, the Eagles never once came close, except for the one Westbrook returned in the Seattle game. Truth is, if Westbrook isn't back there to return, there is no threat. Reno Mahe can catch, but he sure as hell can't break one loose. Is it because he's not good enough? Or is the coverage poor? Or maybe the reason is because John Harbaugh left his post as special teams coach. Whatever the reason, the Eagles have to find a weapon. Starting from your own 40 is much better than your own 25, but it was the latter for Philly throughout most of 2007.

Defensive Big Plays - Similar to the special teams problems. Not one TD was returned this season either via interception or fumble return. The Eagles were the only team in the league to accomplish that wonderful feat. Perhaps even worse was the complete lack of big-time plays from the defense. Jim Johnson's D is based on crazy blitz schemes that force the opponent into mistakes, which of course equal turnovers. Not this year. Only 19 takeaways all season for the Eagles, the least in the NFL. Only 11 interceptions. That element wasn't there for Philly this year, putting us at a significant disadvantage.

Jevon Kearse and L.J. Smith - Put a fork in these two. Kearse is old and presents nothing on defense. His 3.5 sacks is nothing compared to what he's getting paid. As for Smith, his once promising future is basically shot. He missed six games due to injury, but in the 10 games he actually did play in, he was ineffective. He caught one TD all year and never caught more than 4 passes in a game. Expect these two to be cut.

And that list could go on. Reggie Brown, Lito Sheppard and David Akers all had disappointing years. Home field advantage was non-existant. Brian Dawkins may be too old. Takeo Spikes wasn't exactly a big-time linebacker in the middle. But of course, the big issue is Donovan McNabb.

What do we make of McNabb's season? Well, here are his stats:
89.9 QB rating, 3324 yards, 61.5 comp pct, 19 TDs, 7 INTs, 14 games

Statistically speaking, McNabb had one of the best seasons of his career. And he completed over 60 percent of his passes for just the second time in his career. So how can the fans say he's done if those stats are true? To me it seems as if he can still throw the ball with a lot of efficiency. Sure, he had one or two HUGE games that kind of padded those numbers, but I'm pretty sure more than a handful of teams in this league would take that kind of production from their QB. And it looks like he can still move around. That run against New Orleans? Certainly looked like the McNabb of the early 00s out there. And what is there if there is no McNabb? Unproven Kevin Kolb? Feeley? Joe Banner/Jeff Lurie/Andy Reid would be wise to keep D5 in town for at least one more year. They insist the Eagles are just a couple of pieces from being a Super Bowl contender. How about give McNabb a big time receiver to complement Kevin Curtis and see where that takes us. 2007 was a disappointing season, but if the last three games are any indication, that proverbial window of opportunity is still open, albeit maybe just cracked.

-ajd