Agree with your critique of the playcalling.
First off, let's give credit where it's due. The Saints were able to run McAllister at the Eagles all day and they could not stop them.
The Saints were also able to stop Westbrook (for the most part), but that TD run was really nice.
The game came out differently than I expected in that I thought the Eagles would be able to run and use ball control. Instead, their scoring drives were very quick, a few plays and bam. That put the defense in the postion to get tired, especially when the Saints were going to run at them most of the time.
At half time, I felt very good about the Eagles, going down and scoring a TD, and I felt even better when they went up by 8 on their opening drive in the second half.
When the Saints scored, and the Eagles failed to respond I got worried - THE PLAY CALLING WAS PATHETIC. Where were their sweep plays, or screen passes, they kept trying to go up the middle and kept getting stuffed- STUPID>
With all that, the refs cost them the game. There were 3 critical 3rd down conversion plays, 2 involved the Eagles and 3 and longs where they converted and the play was called back because of a penalty. (The fouls were very minor and had no actual impact on the play's success.)
The final series where the Eagles got the turnover at the end: This was what I was waiting for and expecting. The Eagles have the ball with time to go down and win the game. This was on of those 3rd and longs. They made the play, and they called a penalty. Getting the turnover should have given the Eagles victory
The drive that ended in a field goal was moronic. In that situation you pound the ball. You do it on 4th down when your within the 5 yard line. If you can't score a TD than your not good enough. When the Eagles stuffed the Saints on a goal line stand, I thought that was huge.
Which bring us to the worst call of the game: The Saints were stopped on a third and long, and Brees was sacked, after the Saints had been marching down the field. But there was a call for Illegal Contact!? That kept the Saints drive alive and led to McAllister carrying a few Birds into the end zone.
So, IMO, the Zebras cost the Eagles the game with those 3 calls. Any one of them goes the other way or isn't called and the Eagles win. There were a number of infractions that they didn't call on the Saints, but chose not too. An even game and the Eagles win, end of story.
With better playcalling they could have overcome the refs. There's no way you can let the Saints keep pounding the ball and win. You have to keep the ball out of their hands, and that was a big failure for the Eagles.
I thought this was going to be Jeff Garcia's magical moment, lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl and win. But Jeff looked pretty bad on that last series after the Eagles got the turnover, it should never have come down to a third and long.
The Saints were also robbed of a touchdown just at halftime. One of the Saints caught that pass and landed on his back in the endzone. Unfortunately the ball came out, but the ground can't cause a fumble.
It is overcast and raining in Philly, a perfect backdrop for the feelings I have about the Eagles season. There was so much that was positive, loosing Jevon Kearse and Donovan McNabb, and then winning 5 in a row, including 3 away games against division rivals to end the season. Jeff Garcia showing everyone that he can really play like an all-pro, the re-emergence of the defense. But it all came to an end a bit too soon.
