About that game last night:
The most discouraging play, not surprisingly, resulted in the half's only touchdown.
On a first-down play at the Eagles' 18, Steelers running back Willie Parker took a handoff and ran through the middle. Right tackle Max Starks - a 6-foot-8, 337-pound behemoth - fired out and locked up Gaither. Starks not only took the middle linebacker out of the play, he pushed Gaither into Brian Dawkins, who reeled as Parker ran by.
Parker scored on a play that looked distressingly familiar to anyone who watched the 2006 Eagles defense.
Parker ran into the end zone upright and untouched, I might add. They couldn't stop the run, and every pass over the middle seemed to be completed. Hey, I don't want to make Gaither the goat, but if all that's required for his job is to get pushed out of the way and trip Brian Dawkins, I'll take the position for half the salary.
No, Gaither's not the whole problem on defense. I know Dawkins himself is sacrosanct in Philly, but you know what? He wasn't exactly flying around out there. And the rest of the Eagles secondary made big plays ... for Pittsburgh. Yes, they did knock down a couple of passes ... that were very poorly thrown. Sheldon Brown, listen: When the ball is thrown directly into your hands, you catch it. I'm dreading what will happen when opposing offenses have their routes and timing down. And the Eagles blitz is so easy to read, they might as well announce it over the P.A.: "Your attention, please. On the next play, Considine will stunt inside left tackle." The defensive line's pass rush looked good, though. It's just that they also got sucked in so the screen worked three times for 30 yards a pop.
And offense. Hey, I am glad Donovan is upright. I like the guy, he cleans up well. But he looked stiff, and he looked tentative at times. He got sacked twice and I didn't notice even a flicker of an attempt to run. Why? And maybe I'm just being hypercritical, but a couple of his passes wobbled in a very un-McNabb like way. It wasn't as bad as the dying quail bomb last week, but ... if your knee if bothering you, then maybe you can't plant and push off the way you need to when you throw. That could be a concern. And everybody in the bar held their breath every time he got hit, something which will make exciting lunch room conversation for as long as his season lasts. "He's done by game four." "No way! He'll last six or seven, easy."
On the other hand, Buckhalter ran well and we all know what Westbrook can do when he gets more than one touch. Rookie Tony Hunt looks very promising, both running and catching. And rookie Brent Celek continues to show he knows how to get open, although I haven't been paying close enough attention to his blocking to make an overall judgment. And while it will take years for him to grow into the job, Kevin Kolb looks like a smart bet.
First round of cuts probably come today.
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