In case we didn't already know the answer, we now know what it takes to leave me anxious and slightly melancholy the morning after the Eagles win a game 38-10: injuries to Donovan McNabb.
While we're not panicked at the level of a knee/ ankle/ shoulder problem, anything that sidelines McNabb for a few weeks is cause for concern. And it almost ruined (and certainly continues to overshadow) what was otherwise a spectacularly entertaining debut for the 2009 Eagles. The second quarter had a certain 44-6 feel for a bit, and I was pretty giddy at halftime. But once McNabb went down, I couldn't even enjoy watching the Eagles work their way through the Panthers' QB depth chart. What a buzzkill.
Further observations from the game:
The pact is in effect. If nothing else, McNabb's injury offers a grand opportunity for Andy Reid and the local press to test their recently revealed secret pact regarding the disclosure of information related to player injuries. Woe be unto Dunavin should he choose to take his message to the Yardbarker. Woe!
Sean McDermott shows up for work. While Jake Delhomme appears to be one of the more favorable fellows to open against (as PFT noted yesterday, he has now thrown nine (9) picks in his last 51 pass attempts), McDermott's defense was fast and clever all day. Steve Smith wasn't a factor at all, and they were able to get to the quarterback throughout the afternoon. Certainly Sean Payton and Drew Brees present a more formidable challenge next Sunday, but we couldn't really ask for more in a debut. We expect we'll be swooning about the "Trent Cole rushing up the middle from the MLB spot" for weeks.
Silly me for worrying about the Panthers' running game. I thought the defensive line looked great and owned the line of scrimmage, which was certainly a good sign against a power running team. Bunkley and Patterson are still getting better, aren't they.
They definitely outsvelted us. And here we thought that Andy Reid had the market cornered on offseason weight loss. But no! That John Fox was positively slim! I actually didn't even recognize him over there on the sideline. Good for them both. Though I might say that this additional weight loss is something of a cautionary tale for Andy Reid -- got to be careful not to lose too much weight, lest you diminish your magic coaching powers (see also 2005).
Sheldon Brown gets a presser. It's a shame that it took a two-interception performance not far from his hometown to do it, but it was obviously a treat to see Sheldon Brown at the post-game podium. It's also worth noting that Brown was the defensive captain. I especially liked hearing the reporters lob softball questions to Brown about how his contract dispute hasn't seemed to impact his play (which was what they predicted all spring) -- nothing wrong with patting themselves on their collective back as they confirmed that they were right all along.
So it's 29 after all for Shady? I thought McCoy had changed his number to 25? That's at least what the Birds' site said mid-week. Huh?
Offensive tackle angst. So I guess we don't have to be quite so worried about young Winston Justice. He seemed to play a good game and certainly has a lot to be proud of this morning. As for Jason Peters, wow. Quite a talent when you see it live. One of course wasn't thrilled with his early pair of false-start penalties (which fit into the "Jason Peters showed up out of shape and missed too much of camp because he just signed a big contract and is known to be somewhat less than dedicated" meme), but this guy is a specimen. Perhaps the Birds really are going to run the 1987 Oklahoma Sooners offense.
And we didn't even see much of the offense in the second half. Part of what's nice about cruising to a victory on defense and special teams is that we didn't actually have to/ get to see much of the offensive playbook. Westbrook got to continue his preseason for most of the second half, even. Not so bad. And it leaves some additional anticipation for next week.
Yeah, it looked half a second late. The freakin' Panthers broke our quarterback's ribs again? Jerks. Should have know not to trust these guys. And yes, it did look a little late, but it's tough to make that call. Still, that looks like the sort of thing we can sign up a certain #7 for in the future (wild dives into the end zone).
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