Is the Eagles’ best offense really their defense?

By Lou DiPietro  |   Friday, September 26, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Remember what I said two weeks ago about the Eagles needing a big 'D' in Big D? Well, it showed up in spades this past Sunday, as a national audience and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found out during a long afternoon in Philadelphia. And the way it stands now, the Eagles' defense is going to need to keep performing brilliantly before the team's Week 7 bye.

That’s not to say that the defense didn’t show up in Dallas during the Eagles' 41-37 loss in Week 2; two big turnovers, a touchdown and a pair of huge late-game stands speak to that point. But what defensive coordinator Jim Johnson threw at the Steelers was about as close to perfection as you can get. Nine sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and a safety? That’s a good month for some defenses.

The Steelers may not be the offensive juggernaut that Dallas has continued to prove to be, but they’re not bad. However, the Eagles had a perfect game plan - attack their foe's biggest weakness (a slow, plodding offensive line) and put pressure on an injured and immobile quarterback. In turn, the Eagles stuffed the running game - of course, an injury to Willie Parker late in the game didn’t hurt - and left the Steelers baffled on offense, only able to post two Jeff Reed field goals.

What’s most important about the defense’s huge comeback, however, is that it mitigated what happened on the other side of the ball. In a word, the Eagles' offense was flat. Yes, Tony Hunt was hurt on the first drive and Brian Westbrook left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle that only sidelined him for the remainder of the game but may hinder him for a few weeks. And, yes, Donovan McNabb suffered a chest contusion that caused him to miss a series - one in which backup Kevin Kolb threw an interception that left the Eagles’ defense in a tough spot.

Still, injuries and absences happen - just ask the Steelers about Parker - and you have to get past them. The Patriots have already been able to win two games without Tom Brady, the Panthers were 2-0 without suspended receiver Steve Smith and the Michael Strahan- and Osi Umenyiora-less Giants are 3-0.

And without Westbrook back there, McNabb and the gang looked out of sync. The Steelers did take away tight end L.J. Smith, who stood to gain a lot of underneath action, but the fact of the matter is that the Eagles were lucky enough to not need much offense. Correll Buckhalter’s touchdown would have won the game by itself, and that culminated the only big march the Eagles had - both of their field goal drives started in Pittsburgh territory.

All that said, the Eagles are 2-1 and could very easily be 3-0. What's more, they might be 5-1 heading into their bye; the Bears are a tough home team, the 49ers are playing well and the Redskins are a divisional opponent, but they all have glaring offensive weaknesses that the Eagles can exploit.

Perhaps the Dallas game was an aberration. Perhaps what the pundits say is true - the three best teams in the NFC are all in the East. If the Eagles are to make a deep playoff run and potentially win the NFC, their defense and offense are going to have to pick each other up now and then.

The offense had no problem doing that in Dallas during a contest in which the Cowboys couldn’t be stopped, and the defense had no difficulty doing that when Pittsburgh made it tough to move the ball. And, as troubled as the Bears are offensively, their defense can certainly step it up a notch; thus, the Sunday night showdown in Chicago may be a second straight showcase for Johnson’s stop unit.

With Westbrook playing hobbled, McNabb not 100 percent and receiver Kevin Curtis still out, that may need to be the case for the next few weeks.
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About Lou DiPietro

Lou DiPietro is an accomplished freelance writer who is fascinated with all things sports. In addition to his duties at RealFootball365.com, Lou contributes to TheBleacherReport.com and Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, and has been featured on "The Sports Buffet with Matt West" on 1080-AM ESPN...
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No.1
RedskinFan21ST		12:12 PM
09/26/2008
I don't know if it was more of the Steelers offense not being up to par or the Eagles D. Let's remember this Eagle team just let...
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No.2
Lou DiPietro		02:56 PM
09/26/2008
The Steelers/Browns game was also played in conditions that would most kindly described as "horrible," and that's also where Big...
No.3
05:57 PM
09/26/2008
I mean the eagles D is solid but teams liek dallas give them a hard time so I still am not to sure how good it really is.
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