By The Beachwood Visiting Team Affairs Desk
“The philosophical way to look at what happened at Soldier Field yesterday is that the Eagles were playing the third installment of four games in 18 days, they were riding a three-game winning streak, all big, emotional clashes, and they were due for a stumble,” Les Bowen writes for the Philadelphia Daily News.
“Philosophers were in short supply in the visitors’ locker room, though. The Eagles were an angry team, a tone set by their coach. A red-faced Andy Reid met reporters after his team’s 31-26 loss to the Chicago Bears, and he wasn’t ruddy just from the breeze wafting through the windy city. Players said Reid was unusually terse in his postgame remarks to them.
“‘He’s mad, we’re all mad. That was a game we didn’t play well at all,’ said tight end Brent Celek, whose 30-yard touchdown catch in traffic set the final score, with a minute and 48 seconds left. ‘We feel like we really killed ourselves in this game.'”
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“Left tackle Jason Peters declared the 7-4 Eagles still a better team than the 8-3 Bears, which, frankly, was a hard view to get behind, on a day when the visitors trailed by 31-13 going into the fourth quarter.
“‘As bad as we played, we lost by five,’ Peters said. ‘They know we’re the better team and they got the victory. We let the game get away. Hopefully, we’ll see them again and battle from there.'”
Coach’s Corner
“Andy Reid was furious, which means one of two things,” Phil Sheridan writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Either he saw this messy loss to the Chicago Bears as a winnable game that got away from the Eagles, or he saw worrisome cracks in the foundation on which his team built its 7-4 record.”
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“From the outside, this 31-26 loss was hardly a shock. Even in their best seasons under Reid, the Eagles have a game or two like this, usually on the road. The year they went to the Super Bowl, there was that 27-3 aberration in Pittsburgh. In 2002 and 2006, there were humiliating blowout losses in Indianapolis. It happens.”
DeSean The Decoy
“DeSean Jackson sat there in his locker, with his head buried in his hands, for about 10 or 15 minutes after reporters were allowed into the Eagles’ dressing room,” Rich Hoffman writes for the Philadelphia Daily News. “Every once in a while, a teammate would walk over and lean down and say something, but the pose remained fixed. Nearby, a club official stood watch.”
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“This was another day when the opposition played with two deep safeties – and in this one, the Bears’ safeties were sometimes playing just east of Skokie. It is nearly impossible for Jackson to run past people who play that deep – and running past people is what his game is all about. On days when Eagles quarterbacks – either Vick or Kevin Kolb – have been forced to work the underneath routes, Jackson’s frustration has been palpable.”
B Team
“Eagles cornerback Joselio Hanson, subbing for an injured Asante Samuel, struggled most of game and was burnt for two touchdowns,” the Burlington County Times writes.
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“It didn’t hurt that the Eagles were missing their top two cornerbacks after Pro Bowler Asante Samuel stayed home with a knee injury and Ellis Hobbs went on injured reserve during the week with a neck injury. Defensive end Juqua Parker also sat out with a hip flexor strain.”
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 29, 2010