The Philadelphia Eagles once a trendy choice to win the NFC title instead are a team in danger of dropping out of playoff contention. Sunday they’ll look to jump start a season on the brink when they host the Arizona Cardinals.
The Eagles suffered their fourth loss in
five games dropping a 30-24 decision to the Bears on Monday night. Philadelphia
(3-5 SU & ATS) blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season
and was held scoreless in the fourth quarter as Chicago scored the final 10
points of the game.
Michael Vick suffered through another sub-par night
throwing for 213 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Leading rusher
LeSean McCoy was held to 71 yards but did mange his 11th touchdown
of the season. It was another frustrating night for Andy Reid’s birds who
despite boasting some impressive numbers; first in rushing, third in total
yards and ninth in passing, keep coming up short in crunch time.
Dramatic victory
On the same weekend that his alma mater
won its “Game of the Century” former LSU Tiger Patrick Peterson returned a
punt 99 yards for a touchdown in overtime to give the Cardinals a stunning
19-13 victory over the Rams helping Arizona snap a six-game losing
streak. The Cardinals are now 2-6 SU & 4-4 ATS.
Patrick Peterson became the first player in NFL
history to have three punt returns for scores in his first eight games. His
latest was the second in NFL history to come in overtime. Arizona QB John
Skelton also wrote his name in the record books albeit one he’d like to forget.
Skelton became just the second player in league history to suffer safeties on
consecutive plays.
Slipping away
The Eagles are slowly fading in the NFC
East. Monday night’s loss dropped Philadelphia to 3-5 and three games behind
the first-place Giants who are 6-2. Granted there’s half a season remaining and
a season but the Eagles don’t look like a team capable of playing well for long
periods of time. In fact it’s hard to remember a game this season in
which they’ve been able to sustain a 60 minute effort.
Vince Young’s proclamation that the
Eagles were a “Dream Team” was laughable then and even more so now. The latest
loss by Andy Reid’s team has raised questions about the wisdom of some of the
off-season moves made by the organization. What once was a whisper is now
a full-fledged roar. The Eagles are a major, overrated disappointment.
They have a golden opportunity to right
the ship against an Arizona team ranks near the bottom in nearly all offensive
and defensive categories. The Cards are 28th in total yards allowed
(389.8), 29th in passing yards allowed (272.0) and 23rd
in points surrendered per game (24.5).
The numbers aren’t much better on
offense where they sit 25th in total yards (312.5), 26th
in rushing (95.9) and 20th in passing (216.6). Not surprisingly,
Arizona is averaging just over 20 points per game.
Buyer’s remorse
How’s that Kevin Kolb trade working out?
If you’re the Cardinals the answer would be not very well. Arizona gave up
defensive back Antonio Cromartie-Rodgers to Philadelphia to get Kolb, and then
signed him to a huge contract. It’s a deal that gets worse by the week. Kolb
has thrown for 1706 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
His
passer rating of 77.8 is among the lowest in the NFL as is his completion rate
of 56.8 percent. Someone will have to answer for that amazingly bad deal and my
guess is the fall guy will be head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Even though he didn’t
orchestrate the trade, he’ll take the hit at the end of the season.
P.S. Kolb didn’t play in Week 9 against
the Rams due to a bone bruise in his foot and a case of turf toe, an injury he
suffered in Week 8 against the Ravens. He remains questionable for Sunday's
game against the Eagles.
At the moment NFL betting lines have not yet been released by the sportsbooks, but check back to our betting odds page for the latest odds and lines.
Trends
Arizona is 0-4 on the road this season
SU and 2-2 ATS. The Cardinals are also 3-1 to the ‘under’.
Philadelphia is just 1-3 SU at home and
2-2 ATS.