Kolb, Eagles take down Ryan, Falcons

Kevin Kolb came into Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons with something to prove. Boy did he prove it. Kolb went for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception in the Eagles 31-17 victory over the Falcons, by far his best performance of the season. On the receiving end, Jeremy Maclin had 159 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Desean Jackson had just 34 receiving yards but two touchdowns (1 rushing). Jackson exited the game early with an apparent head injury after a nasty hit by Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson. The Eagles defense played fairly well the entire game, intercepting Matt Ryan once and recovering a lost fumble late in the game. David Akers, however, had one of the worst games of his career, only making one out his four field goal attempts. Whether the cause was the wind or not remains to be seen. Overall, the Eagles (4-2) proved that they can hang with the big boys (Atlanta fell to 4-2), even without the presence of Michael Vick.

Grading:
Offense: B (Kolb's spectacular day was hampered by a lackluster rushing attack)
Defense: B (Solid outing by the defense, but nothing spectacular)
Special Team: D (1/4 field goals is never a good sign)
Overall: B (Eagles proved that they can beat good teams without the help of Vick)

Kolb proves he can play

If Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers taught us anything, it's that a) Kevin Kolb can clearly play in the NFL, and b) The Eagles defense needs some serious help. The Eagles slipped by San Francisco 27-24 in what was a 27-10 lead in the 4th quarter. Kolb went 21-31 with 253 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and a 103.3 quarterback rating. Lesean McCoy had an average day, rushing for 92 yards on 18 attempts and scoring a touchdown despite having a cracked rib. The defense, despite intercepting Alex Smith twice and recovering two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Quintin Mikell, allowed him to throw for three touchdowns, two of which were late in the game. The defense almost allowed San Francisco to pull out a victory on a day where the now 0-5 49ers shouldn't have even come close to success. The defense will need to step it up for the now 3-2 Eagles to have a chance to win the division.

Grading:
Offense: B (Kolb and McCoy had solid days, but they could have produced more)
Defense: D (almost blew the game with a late lead)
Special Teams: D (allowed 181 kickoff return yards on just 5 kickoffs)
Coaching: C (simply average, which is actually good for this coaching staff)

McNabb gets standing ovation, Eagles booed

Yesterday, the Washington Redskins, led by Donovan McNabb, came to Philadelphia and defeated the Eagles 17-12. McNabb, in his first game against the Eagles since he was traded to the Redskins in the offseason, had a average game, passing for 125 yards and a touchdown, including an interception. The Redskins, who had one of the worst running attacks coming into the game, ran all over the Eagles defense, going for 169 yards. The Eagles offense, on the other hand, could not run or pass the ball efficiently all game. Michael Vick went down in the first half, giving Kevin Kolb yet another opportunity to prove himself. He would go for 201 yards, a touchdown, and a late interception, and though he did not look as bad as he did in Week 1, he still did not look good. Kolb often checked down and went to the fullback or running back instead of looking deep for playmakers such as Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Though the extent of Vick's injury is not known, he will more likely than not be out for this week's game vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Kolb will have to step up and make the deep throws the Philly fans have become accustomed to with Michael Vick at the helm.

Grading:
Offense: C (could not make plays all game)
Defense: C (gave up a lot of rushing yards against a lackluster team, yet buckled down in the second half)
Special Teams: C (Akers had two nice field goals)
Coaching: F (terrible play calls and the missed touchdown opportunity at the end of the first half)
Overall: C (this team is capable of playing much much better football)