Eagles, Vick, Return with a win

Vick was sharp in his return

The Eagles returned to action after the bye week yesterday with a 26-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.  It was Michael Vick's first start since sustaining a rib injury against the Washington Redskins in Week 4.  Receiver DeSean Jackson also returned from a concussion, and immediately resumed his exciting connection with Vick.  Vick threw for 218 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another touchdown, while Jackson had receiving yards.

The controversial hit

Credit must also be given to oft-maligned defensive coordinator Sean Mcdermott, who had an effective game plan to contain Peyton Manning which was well executed by the defense.  Cornerback Dmitri Patterson made his first career start replacing the ineffective Ellis Hobbs, and did a commendable job covering Reggie Wayne.  Unfortunately, the most talked about play on the defensive side was the hit by rookie safety Kurt Coleman that resulted in a concussion for the Colts' Austin Collie.  A penalty was assessed on the play, and Coleman potentially faces a fine under the NFL's new rules to eliminate hits to the head.  While it is certainly regrettable that Collie was injured, the officials clearly reacted to the result of the play rather than the intent, and made a horrendous call.  It is clear while watching replays of the hit that Collie was pushed into Coleman, who made no attempts to hit or injure him, any contact to the head was purely accidental.  What should have been a fumble with an Eagles' recovery turned into a penalty which ultimately resulted in a Colts' scoring drive.  This was a potentially game changing call by referees far too anxious to enforce the league's controversial new rules.

Following this win, the Eagles are now 5-3, with key divisional matchups against the Redskins and Giants the next two weeks.

 In other news, the Dallas Cowboys were humiliated by the Green Bay Packers on national television by a score of.  The loss drops the Cowboys' record to 1-7, and reports indicate that Wade Phillips will be fired as head coach.  

Election Update: Congrats Jon Runyan

I'm not one to interject politics into a sports blog, but I must congratulate one of my alltime favorite Eagles, Jon Runyan on being elected as the U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 3rd District.  Runyan anchored the Eagles' offensive line from 2000-2008.  His presence in the huddle will be missed, but his presence in Congress is probably for the greater good.  With the retirement of former Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning from the Senate, it is now up to Runyan to represent Philly sports on Capitol Hill.

Bye week review

As the Eagles go into the bye week at 4-3, it is still difficult to know what to think of this team.  My preseason prediction was that they would finish 8-8, which is still certainly possible.  However, with the lack of dominant teams in the NFC this season, the wide open playoff race can give Eagles fans reason to hope.

The most noteworthy story thus far is clearly the quarterback situation.  After Kevin Kolb was named the starter in the offseason, Michael Vick took over following Kolb's injury in the season opener.  After Vick played very well for two and a half games, he was injured himself, ceding the job back to Kolb.  Following the bye week, Vick is expected to start the next game against Indianapolis.  Kolb was considered the franchise's QB of the future and remains so, but Vick, with his form so far this year, gives the team a better chance to win right now.  With the wide open NFC, the Eagles cannot afford to not take a shot at the playoffs this year.

Celek has not met expectations

As for the rest of the offense, the wide receivers have performed as expected, but DeSean Jackson suffered memory loss and a concussion due to a hit during the week 6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.  LeSean McCoy has performed well at running back, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and scoring 5 touchdowns, although the Eagles continue to be a pass first team.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment on the offensive end is that the expected breakout season from Tight End Brett Celek never materialized, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners everywhere.  Also, the Eagles offensive line, though finally free of the overpaid "Andrews Sisters" Shawn and Stacy, has struggled immensely.  This is another factor in favor of Vick starting; with his mobility he is less affected by the poor pass protection than a conventional pocket passer like Kolb.

Stewart Bradley

Meanwhile, the Eagles defense has welcomed back middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, who missed last season with an ACL tear.   Bradley's bolstered a shaky group of linebackers, but the defense has still had its struggles.  The biggest concern appears to be the secondary.  Corner back Assante Samuel continues to be provide sound coverage but poor tacking, but fellow cornerback Ellis Hobbs may be the weakest link of the defense.  Hobbs was exposed against the Tennessee Titans last week, allowing Kenny Britt to reach 255 receiving yards and score 3 touchdowns. Perhaps most worryingly, the defense lacks a killer instinct, always seeming to allow opposing teams to come back late in games.  It is for this reason mostly that speculation is rife over the job security of second year defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

As for special teams, David Akers, aside from one poor performance against Atlanta, has been his old reliable self.  Punter Sav Rocca has been solid, averaging 47.1 yards per punt.

Updated prediction: Based on what we have seen so far, it is very difficult to determine just how good this team really is.  With several difficult games coming up after the bye week, we may soon find out.  For now, I stand by my original prediction of 8-8.