NFL Week 13 Live Blog

If tonight goes I think tonight is going to go, this is going to be one fucked up night of sports.

I Push My Fingers Into My Eyes

NFL Week 13 Live Blog

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2010 NFL Season Week 13 Live Blog

Eagles Week 13 Recap: Cheek-y

Big win for the Eagles, now on to the bullets!

• On a key 3rd down with the Keagles up by 3 in the 3rd quarter, Vick found Brent Celek on a pass with Celek 5 yards short of the marker.  However, how he was being brought to the ground, he rolled over the defender, reached out, and by the time his left butt cheek hit the ground, he had gotten a first down.  Joe Theismann, in his infinite wisdom, encouraged to us to watch Brent Celek's left cheek (even though it is where the ball is when Celek's cheek hits the ground that counts; another thing: unless it is Riley Cooper and his infinite dreaminess we are talking about, I'd rather not watch a football player's butt cheeks).  Matt Millen then retorted by calling it a "one cheek sneak."  If you combine the 2 idiots' comments, a left cheek sneak set up the Eagles game-clinching touchdown, a short pass to Owen Schmitt.
• Brent Celek had a very interesting game today.  The left cheek sneak may have been the biggest play in the game, but Celek dropped a sure-fire touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter in addition to committing a key penalty.  That being said, at least Celek is making some plays now, something he had not been doing earlier in the season.  Unfortunately for Celek, is blocking is very suspect, so when he is not making plays in the receiving game, he is pretty much useless.  2009 was a great year for Celek.  2010....not so much.
• There is no way around it, the Eagles defense was terrible tonight.  The scoreboard says only 24 points, but it felt so much worse.  In part, that may be because the Texans had 2 long sustained drives for touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take a 24-20 lead over the Eagles after the Eagles jumped out 17-3 early in the game.  But regardless, the Texans offense seemed to have their way with the Eagles secondary.  Dimitri Patterson who had been solid the past few games did not have one of his better performances.  The combination of Joselio Hanson and Trevard Lindley on the other side was once again gruesome to watch.  Asante Samuel can't return soon enough.  The good news is that despite not playing tonight, he did practice a bit this week, so December 12 at Dallas looks like a good possibility for Samuel to play.
• The bright spot for the Eagles defense is that Arian Foster, who averages 5.1 yards a carry was held to 3.9 yards a carry this game.  Stewart Bradley was one of the few bright spots for the Eagles defensively in his tackling of Foster.
• Opposing QBs have a QB rating of under 30 when throwing to a receiver that Asante Samuel is covering.  Think I am over-exaggerating the impact Samuel has on this Eagles secondary?  Think again.
• The Eagles just finished a stretch of 4 games in 17 days, a stretch of games where they went 3-1.  Given that their opponents during said stretch was the Redskins, Giants, Bears, and Texans, 3-1 is quite good.
• Michael Vick is a freakin' warrior.  He took shot after shot after shot after shot in this game, often coming up slowly or limping, and still hung in there and made plays.  The guy is good, the guy is tough, and the guy is a changed man, both on the field and off the field.  
• It seems like every week some network has an "exclusive" interview with Michael Vick.  At what point are these interviews no longer exclusive, and just flat out redundant? 
• Michael Vick on the set of NFL Network after the game:  "Coming to Philly has changed my entire life. I hate to even think about leaving here. Hopefully things will get worked out. When time is right hopefully I stay here."  At the very least, it seems like almost a sure thing that the Eagles will give him the franchise tag, if not a long-term deal.  The Kevin Kolb era will have to commence elsewhere.  Minnesota or Arizona, maybe?  Both will need a QB.  Badly.
• Kevin Kolb is under contract for next season, so if he goes anywhere, it will have to be via trade.  That being said, Michael Vick is injury prone just by the way he plays the game and having Kolb on the sidelines is good re-assurance in case something happens.  That being said, I am not sure if that is the ideal situation for Kolb, a guy who seems ready to be a starting QB in this league.  As valuable as he can be to the Eagles as a back-up, I think they might be able to capitalize on a desperate team and get a 2nd rounder or even a 1st rounder for Kolb.  I'd approve of that deal in a heartbeat.
• LeSean McCoy had a hell of a game.  12 rushes for 44 yards, but more importantly, 8 catches for 86 yards.  The Texans tried to employ a similar scheme to what the Bears ran last week by keeping their safeties deep.  One difference:  The Bears have the talent to be able to effectively employ that scheme.  The Texans do not.  The Eagles knew that coming in, and screened the high hell out of the Texans with McCoy being the big recipient of those screens.
• For reasons I will never understand, the Eagles lined up Chad Hall, a wide receiver out of the Air Force, a running back in the 1st quarter for a play and in the wildcat down at the goalline in the 1st quarter.  For the first one, I am yet to figure out what Chad Hall brings to the table that Jerome Harrison and Eldra Buckley do not, you know, the 2nd and 3rd string running backs for the Eagles.  Secondly, the wildcat?  Hasn't that been ineffective enough for Reid the past year and a half?  Unsurprisingly, that Chad Hall wildcat play ran deep in the redzone on 2nd and goal did not pan out and Hall, who took the ball up the middle, was stopped short of the goalline.
• The Eagles will have 9 days to rest up and prepare for their Sunday Night Football meeting at Dallas.  Despite its apparent lob-sidedness, NBC and the NFL sees the Eagles against their biggest rival, and in turn, sees ratings.  Look at the highest rated games this season.  5 of the top 15 highest rated games on all networks are Eagles games, with #1 being last Sunday's Eagles-Bears game.  It's not 13-1 vs. 2-12.  NBC and the NFL sees Eagles vs. Cowboys, the Eagles good ratings this year, and are sticking with the tentatively scheduled game of Eagles vs. Cowboys.
• Lastly, the win probability graph. (advancednflstats.com)

NFL Week 13 Schedule

Theismann and Millen are coming to Philadelphia. Can't you tell that I am giddy beyond belief about this? (note: Author is not giddy beyond belief about this; he would prefer to be hunted by a wildebeest than have to endure the torture his ears will be forced to endure this Thursday). (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Thursday Night Football

Houston Texans vs. Philadelphia Eagles 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa, Matt Millen, and Joe Theismann)

Map of who gets what CBS game.

Cleveland Browns vs. Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Buffalo Bills vs. Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)

Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers 4:05 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Dan Fouts)

Map of who gets what Fox early game.

Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
New Orleans Saints vs. Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what Fox late game.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Indianapolis Colts 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4:15 (Fox - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, and Jim Mora, Jr.)
St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals 4:15 (Fox - Chris Myers and Kurt Warner)
Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (Fox - Chris Rose and Ross Tucker)

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

New York Jets vs. New England Patriots 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Your Week 13 NFL Schedule (UPDATED)

Editor's note: After hours of searching and inquiring, it does appear that no longer are Barry Tompkins and Eddie George doing a game thanks to the fact that a game that Fox had was flexed to SNF (Minny-Arizona). I had assumed that Brennaman and Billick were on the BCS Selection Show but after reading the press release on the show, no where were they mentioned, therefore, they must have been originally planned to do said Vikes-Cards game. While the initial release did not reflect these changes, they have now been made and as you'll see below, Pitts and Lynch have been moved from Lions-Bengals to Bucs-Panthers and Brennaman and Billick have since been added to Lions-Bengals.

It's Week 13 and you know what that means. If you were not sick of the playoff picture graphics and scenarios now, then you most certainly will be after this week as this is the time you will really see them continue to pop up. Transitioning to announcers, after only getting them once in the 1st 11 weeks, the Eagles once again will be paid by Kenny, Moose, and Goose. Are you ready? Here we go! (all times eastern; games I get are in bold)

Thursday Night Football
New York Jets @ Buffalo Toronto Bills 8:20 (NFL-Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

Map of who gets what CBS game

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Oakland Raiders @ Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)

San Diego Chargers @ Cleveland Browns 4:05 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Map of who gets what Fox early game

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
St. Louis Rams @ Chicago Bears 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Trent Green)
Detroit Lions @ Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what Fox late game

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (Fox - Chris Myers and Ross Tucker)

Sunday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings @ Arizona Cardinals 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Baltimore Ravens @ Green Bay Packers 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Ross Tucker of SI is doing an NFL game with Chris Myers. Those of you that watch RedZone or actually that game and then actually do the unthinkable and watch it will have to tell me how he is with Myers. And by that, I mean the stories of hilarious awfulness.

Week 13 Eagles Recap

The game was a blowout. The crowd left early. Donovan McNabb was benched. There was only one difference between this game and the clusterfuck last Sunday........It was the Eagles blowing out the Cardinals.

As far as excitement for the neutral fan, this game lacked it except for early in the 4th quarter when the Cards looked like they might make a comeback. However, an Anquan Boldin fumble followed up by a McNabb TD pass to DeSean Jackson quickly ended that.

For Eagles fans, this game was everything we wanted. Donovan McNabb wasn't the gunslinger QB he sometimes wants to be. Instead, he was the efficient QB who didn't make mistakes, completed short and underneath routes with high accuracy, and we even saw some old-school Donny Mac with his ability to use his legs to make plays.

So why were the Eagles so successful today yet so hideously atrocious in their past two games? They ran the football! And not only did they run the football, they ran the football successfully and Brian Westbrook was back on top of his game. In fact, Westbrook became the first player since Lydell Mitchell of the Baltimore Colts in 1975 to run for 100+ yards and score two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.

And while Anquan Boldin had a bad case of the drops for the Cards and that hindered them heavily, credit must not be taken away from the Eagles-D that forced Warner into 2 early interceptions and never allowing the dangerous QB to get into a rhythm.

The Eagles have salvaged their season......for now. The future is not pretty for the Eagles. If they make the playoffs this year, they will have indeed earned it as their last 4 games in order are at the New York Football Giants, home vs. Cleveland on Monday Night Football, at Washington, and finally home vs. those pesky Cowboys (a game which could end up either meaning everything or nothing, depending on how things go for both teams). It won't be an easy road. The Eagles will in all likelihood have to win out. But if they somehow, someway overcome the odds and make the playoffs, any sportswriter or skeptic that says that they did not deserve it is one that is surely high on crack.

Eagles Week 13 Preview

What: Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles
When: 8:30 on Turkey Day
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
Channel: NFL Network (6ABC in Philly if you don't get NFL-N, not sure about the Arizona station)
Announcers: Bob Papa and Cris Collinsworth
Talking Points of the Game: Is this the end of McNabb as an Eagle?

I have stuff to do so this will be quick and to the point. I look at the Cards as one of the best teams in the league and if the Eagles can't produce against the Ravens and Bengles, I do not see how we stand a shot against Arizona.
27-10 Cardinals over the Eagles.

Sadly, I read today that the Eagles organization still sees Reid as a quality coach. I think not. I wonder who will get more boos tomorrow night, McNabb or Reid?

There will be no live blog for tomorrow's game. Nobody wants to spend Thanksgiving with a computer on, do they?