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ESPN has made a great addition to its Monday Night Football programming this year, airing a “mic’d up” segment produced by the great crew at NFL Films during halftime.
It’s a two-minute clip with sounds from a few of Sunday’s matchups. And this week, once, again, the Eagles were featured. Among the highlights: DeMeco Ryans advising Mychal Kendricks, Michael Vick apologizing to his offensive line, Jason Kelce re-assuring his quarterback and Ted Williams coaching up LeSean McCoy.
Check out the video right here.
In case you missed our show Monday night on 97.5 The Fanatic, the podcast is now available.
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Tim and I will be talking Eagles every Monday night live from 360 at Parx Casino in Bensalem from 6 to 7 p.m.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane today, shall we?
Before Sunday, the last time the Eagles faced the Ravens was on Nov. 23, 2008.
The game is less remembered for its result – a 36-7 Baltimore victory – than what happened when Andy Reid’s offense took the field in the second half.
Donovan McNabb was in his 10th season with the Eagles, ninth as a full-time starter. From the moment he took over as a rookie until that day at M&T Bank Stadium, he had never been pulled because of performance. But with the Eagles trailing 10-7 at halftime and McNabb struggling (8-for-18 for 59 yards and a pair of interceptions), Reid decided to go with Kevin Kolb.
With Jason Kelce sidelined, the Eagles are likely to sign veteran center Steve Vallos Tuesday.
The Eagles had not been in contact with Jamaal Jackson as of Monday morning. Here’s a look at some possible candidates to add depth to the center position:
As cut-down day was approaching, Dallas Reynolds‘ goal was simple: to not get a phone call.
Every year since 2009, as the team was shaping their roster, he was left on the cutting-room floor. For three seasons he was relegated to the practice squad. His practice squad eligibility now up, it was make the 53 or bust. Fast forward a couple weeks, and the 28-year-old is not just on the team, but starting under center in front of Michael Vick for the 2-0 Eagles.
“I’ve been looking to this moment for a long time,” said Reynolds. “A few years on the practice squad and now to be active and have a chance to play and start, I’m excited for the opportunity.”
It should not be understated how important of a role the BYU product is now filling.
Jason Kelce has a partially torn ACL and a completely torn MCL in his right knee, Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said today.
Burkholder explained that the first thing to do is let the MCL heal, which will take four-to-six weeks. From there, Kelce has two options: Have surgery on the ACL, which would mean Kelce would be out for the season. Or don’t fix it, which would mean he could possibly return later this season.
After blowing a 17-7 halftime lead, the Ravens were not a very happy group following Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Eagles.
And at least part of their anger was directed at the replacement officials.
A couple plays, in particular, frustrated Ravens players. The first was the Michael Vick fumble that was overturned on the Eagles’ game-winning drive. It seemed that Vick’s arm was going forward as he tried to throw the ball away, but Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis didn’t see it that way.
One of the things you’ll hear when analysts discuss Mychal Kendricks is how the game “isn’t too big for him,” that he seems to be comfortable at the professional level even though he is just a baby at this stage.
His read on the 4th-and-2 pass intended for Ray Rice that fell incomplete and sealed the win for the Eagles is a good example of what they’re talking about.
When observers discussed the difference in the 2010 and 2011 versions of Michael Vick all offseason, the conversations almost always focused on turnovers.
But there was another difference: his performance in the fourth quarter.
In 2010, Vick threw six touchdowns and no interceptions in the final 15 minutes of games. He led four fourth-quarter comebacks and engineered three game-winning drives. Last season, however, was a different story. Vick threw three touchdowns and three interceptions in the fourth. He led zero fourth-quarter comebacks and zero game-winning drives.
We’re only two games into the 2012 season, but so far, the results from Vick in crunch time are encouraging.
Last season, Frank Gore accused the Eagles of folding when the 49ers got physical with them.
“I think playing that second half and the way we came out, the Eagles didn’t want to play no more,” said Gore. “We just kept pounding and kept pounding and making plays and we kind of knocked the fight out of them.”
Their will power was further put into question as a result of blowing five fourth-quarter leads in 2011.
Sunday’s game against the Ravens was a step in the right direction away from that reputation. Not only did the Eagles win in come-from-behind fashion for the second straight week, but did so while playing a nasty brand of ball.
“They wanted to come out and push us around but we weren’t having that,” said DeMeco Ryans. “We had to fight back, bring the intensity and bring the fight to them.”
With 1:55 on the clock, Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ offense took over from their own 20-yard-line.
Down 24-23, all they needed was a field goal. Their kicker, Justin Tucker, had already nailed a 48-yarder, a 51-yarder and a 56-yarder earlier in the game.
Many of the players who took the field for the Eagles’ defense were familiar with this situation. Last season, in five of the team’s eight losses, the Eagles had the lead going into the fourth quarter. And in the final 15 minutes of those games, they were outscored, 60-3.
But one of the players who wasn’t in Philadelphia last year is DeMeco Ryans. And while there are many reasons why the defense has come through at the end of the team’s final two games, the stability provided by the middle linebacker is certainly one of them.
Jason Kelce rested on a set of high-tech crutches as he fielded questions about his right knee injury at his locker following the game Sunday. He wore a sleeve that ran from his toes up his legs, and brace on top of that surrounding the knee area. When asked about his previous injury history when it came to his knees, Kelce said the following, which everyone with interest in the organization is hoping wasn’t a Freudian slip.
“I have never had a knee injury, never tore a ligament in my life. So this is my first,” said Kelce, who quickly reeled it back in. “Or, er, maybe.”
The tone from both the center and the head coach could be interpreted as ominous. An MRI Monday morning will bring the official diagnosis, but there seems to be reason for concern.