Eagles 9, Raiders, Pigeon, And Refs 13

That. Was. Embarrassing.

Several things. First of all, what the hell kind of performance was that? You come into Oakland and you lay that kind of a turd??? Seriously? Where was the effort? Where was the passion? Where was the heart? The answer: there was none. The Eagles showed up expecting to walk all over the Raiders and that's the kind of team that showed up. They expected to win without trying. JaMarcus Russell even threw them 2 INTs and they still could not win.

Where was the wildcat this game? The Eagles' wildcat offense, when used, has been semi-effective and I have a feeling it would have worked in this game. McNabb had an off game and threw it on practically every play and even when it had gotten to the point that it was clearly visible that McNabb was struggling, Reid kept having him throw the ball. No wildcat, no change of pace, no Micheal Vick. I'm not saying it would have changed anything, but with the Raider D-line dominating like they were, it damn sure would not have hurt to try to change things up a bit.

But through it all, the Eagles really should have won that game. Even though Russell did make some plays (more so than normal at least) and Fargas was decently effective, the Raiders are a horrible football team and played like that horrible football team. David Akers missed 2 40+ yard field goals. That should have been a gimme. Make those 2 FGs then bam, the Eagles win.

And then there were the officials. Look, I can't blame the pigeon for one, that was just a freak occurance which would have been a little more mildly amusing had the game not been what it was, but the officials were in the back pocket of the Raiders or something because that was an abortion. Take for instance one of Akers' 5 FGs attempted. HE WAS BODYSLAMMED INTO THE GROUND!!!!!!! People have gotten penalized for innocently pushing the kicker. Akers gets bodyslammed, and there was NO FLAG! And maybe there was a running into the kicker, I did not see that, but the bottom line is is that when your kicker is fucking bodyslammed, that's a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down!!!!!!!! And chances are, a few plays later, your game-tying touchdown is scored and it's a brand new ball game. Complete incompetence on the part of Morelli and I would not mind the Eagles saying a few things that get themselves a $25,000 fine.

However, it should not have come to that. The Eagles should not have been so overly confident, Reid should not have gotten all pass heavy, and despite the injury to Peters, the Eagles should not have allowed 6 sacks to the Raiders. If the Eagles play like they can play, they win that game and they win it big. The defense was not great, but the bottom line is is that they held them to 13 points. If you can't score 13 points on the Raiders, then I guess despite all of the missed calls, you deserve to lose.

Update: To add salt to the wounds of the Eagles, the Phillies actually managed to outscore them tonight. Yep, the Phillies outscored a football team playing the Oakland Raiders. Phillies 11, Eagles 9.

And thanks to the Phillies, this night has been salvaged after all. What a win and what a performance by Clifton Phifer Lee on the mound. 11-0 Phillies won Game 2 and they now lead the NLCS 2-1.