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The Eagles had high hopes for DT Brodrick Bunkley when they drafted him in the first round in April. They had visions of him starting from day one, but he has been a huge disappointment. Bunkley has played in 11 games and only has 7 tackles on the season.
The Eagles looked good on Monday Night football in beating the Panthers 27-24. The Redskins have lost 3 of their last 4 games and blew a 14-point lead last week against the Falcons.
Look for the Eagles to throw the football frequently as the Redskins allow 221 net yards passing per game and have allowed 23 TD passes against only 5 pick-offs! Look for Brian Westbrook (907 yards rushing, 586 yards receiving) to be the focal point of the offense. Jeff Garcia should be able to pick apart the secondary of the Redskins with short stuff to LJ Smith and Westbrook. As soon as the safeties sneak up, look for Garcia to go over the top to Reggie Brown and Donte’ Stallworth.
The Redskins would be smart to keep the ball on the ground with LeDell Betts against the porous run defense of the Eagles that allows 136.8 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per rush so far this season. The Eagles love to blitz, so Jason Campbell will probably have to think fast and Chris Cooley could have a huge game because of that. If Campbell has time, Santana Moss is finally looking healthy and he could get deep.
The thought here is that the Eagles will punish the Redskins, just like the first time they played….a 27-3 beat-down in Philly.
The Eagles played a great game on offense, but it took a Lito Sheppard interception in the end zone with 28 seconds left to seal the victory.
Jeff Garcia looked like he turned back the clock to his San Francisco 49ers days. Garcia completed 21 of 39 passes for 312 yards with 3 TDs. Brian Westbrook was pretty busy with 16 carries for 68 yards (4.3 ypc) and he caught 6 passes for 56 yards and a TD. Correll Buckhalter carried the ball 3 times for 17 yards and caught 3 passes for 25 yards. Donte’ Stallworth had a good game with 4 receptions for 111 yards and a TD. Reggie Brown also had a solid game with 5 catches for 79 yards and a TD.
The defense didn’t play that well, as they were having big problems stopping DeAngelo Williams. The Panthers carried the ball 23 times for 108 yards (4.7 ypc). The Panthers completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 net yards passing.
The Eagles might have saved their season last night, as they improve to 6-6 on the season.
With all the talk about Donovan McNabb’s early season throwing heroics, Brian Westbrook has not been getting the recognition he deserves for the great season he is putting up. He’s been playing on an injured knee all season long and will probably need more surgery when the season is over. You would never know he has a bad wheel by watching him play as he has rushed for 839 yards and caught 60 passes for 530 more. Westbrook is the real offensive MVP of the Philadelphia Eagles.
These two teams have been disappointments so far this season. The Panthers are 6-5 on the season, but are only 2-3 the last five weeks. The Eagles are 5-6, and have lost 5 of their last 6 football games.
Look for the Panthers to attack the weakness of the Eagles defense with DeAngelo Williams running the football against them. The Eagles have allowed 139.5 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this season. Don’t think for a minute that the Panthers won’t be throwing bombs to Steve Smith (62 rec, 904 yards), it’s just a question of whether or not he will catch it.
The Eagles also might look to run the ball a little more this week with Brian Westbrook (839 yards rushing) an Correll Buckhalter. The Panthers run defense is allowing 109.2 yards rushing per game, so the Eagles should have some success on the ground. If the Eagles can keep Julius Peppers (11 sacks) away from Jeff Garcia, they could have success throwing the football.
Playing on a hunch, I would pick the Panthers to win this game. Remember though, they lost to the Redskins on the road last week….so I wouldn’t be that surprised if the Eagles won the game outright.
