Yeah, that game was ridiculous. I was ready to cry when Tynes kicked the second fg after Reid "iced" him. Off of his foot, it looked perfect.
How nice was it to see Marty/Andy commit to running the rock? I thought for sure that after McCoy struggled in the 1st half, they'd drop Vick back another 30 times. But, to they're credit, they didn't do that. And...despite what the last 14 years would have us believe....they ADJUSTED after 1/2 time, particularly in their protection schemes.
Chipping the ends with Havili, Celek, and McCoy at times worked like a charm. I know chipping isn't exactly a revolutionary concept or anything, but to see the Birds line up in bunch trips, 2 back sets (even in Shotgun) and have skill players tee off initially and allow Dunlap and Herremans to get set and into good position before engaging was a beautiful thing. Basically, after half-time, the Giants front 4 was totally stymied. Granted, they threw a db blitz up the middle (ala JJ) that should've gotten to Vick had the db not tripped over Dunlap's foot....haha. Vick just looked more poised and in control, and overall more decisive. He left the pocket and scrambled for some decent yards when necessary, threw the ball away, and only forced one, maybe two, throws that could've been picked. Definitely progress there, and maybe there's something to the fact that the guy in essence didn't have a preseason.
It wasn't always pretty, but hey....a win against the G-Men is as sweet as a 28-pt. blowout in my eyes. Like you noted, I was pretty baffled by the Gmen's approach down the stretch. I was pretty surprised that after Reid called the timeout that they didn't run another play and try and get in better range. I understand there was the dager of being tackled in bounds, but you have to trust a 2-time SB champ to make a good decision and throw it away if need be. Also, holy shit...the refs made their presence known on that last drive. That PI on Nnamdi was a fucking joke, definitely a clean jam. The definition of ticky tack. Then, fucking Collinsworth had the gull to call the offensive PI a "makeup call" which is ridiculous seeing as how Barton (I think?) fucking tackled Nnamdi from behind. But hey, it worked out, and the reffing was pretty good overall in my eyes, i.e. they didn't slow the game down, and they just let them play.
Last thing....I loved seeing the Eagles run an almost text book WC offense. In the last few years there's been so much emphasis towards the big play and double moves and stretching the field vertically that they've gotten away from it. Vick got rid of the football on average what felt like a solid 1-2 seconds sooner than he had all year. Those quick hitters and little crossing routes and checkdowns to the backs were perfect and clearly left the Giants D gassed. Special shoutout to Havili (and the playcalling) that led to him getting a few carries on those wonky fb trapthingies.
Like was said last night, when the Birds don't turn the ball over (duh....but after a historical pace of TO's through week 3, it was a relief) and strive for more balance offensively, they're a damn good football team.
