Checking back in after a few days off, letting some of the new writers we have around here 'cut their teeth,' so to speak, with writing post-game articles. I'm certain you all missed me terribly, the way you miss boils, lip cancer, and your cheating ex-wife.
We've had a few days now to get over the Eagles loss. However, if you stop and think about that game for a second, had Philly lost this game, it likely would have doomed their season. They were 4-3 coming in, and dropping two games behind the seemingly NFC elite Giants would have been a tough hurdle for that club to overcome. Also, seriously think about it from their POV: How could they lose at home after a bye week to a Colts team that is utterly decimated with injuries? Had they done so, I'd be screaming for Andy Reid's head on a plate if I were an Iggles fan.
The interesting element here is that the Eagles almost did gift-warp this game for the Colts. They committed 14 penalties for a staggering 125 yards. Penalties are always a reflection of discipline, and discipline is the responsibility of the head coach. Penalty-heavy teams are poorly coached teams, and this past Sunday the Eagles looked sloppy. Had they been sharp, they way post bye-week teams should be, they'd have blown the Colts out.
Credit should go to our Colts for fighting tough. At no point in the game was their toughness more evident than after the Austin Collie hit. Yes, the Eagles were classless to celebrate long after the kid from BYU is motionless on the ground. Reggie Wayne gave the bums a piece of his mind, and Eagles WRs better watch themselves going forward. Celebrating a player injury has a way of coming back around. Just sayin'.
Anyway, after the Collie hit and stoppage in play to immobilize him and get him off the field, the Colts offense needed only two plays after that emotional moment to score a TD; a six yard TD run by Javarris James, little cousin of former-Colts great Edgerrin James. Javarris had two TDs on the day, and ran the ball VERY well around the goal-line.
How cool is that to see Baby J developing into a football player! How awesome is it to see Peyton handing the ball off to another James?
Other positives are Jacob Tamme finally having a shot to at showing everyone how good he is. 11 catches. 108 yards. 1 TD. As we often say around here, the silver-lining of injuries is that it gives back-up players an opportunity to step up and prove they are worth a damn in this league. While grumpy schmucks like me vent frustration at players like Anthony Gonzalez and Bob Sanders, the positive is players like Tamme, Javarris, and rookie Blair White have used this opportunity to step up and make plays.
I chose to focus on this today because if I focus too much on the negative I'm going to get depressed. And trust me, you will certainly see more 'negative' articles from me later today, especially when I rant about how this defense seems to play like dog meat on the road. But, for now, the positive is seeing players like White, James, and Tamme step up and deliver. These were players we all followed closely during OTAs and training camp this past off-season. There's a reason we do that around here.
More often than not, the players who are catching meaningless passes in May often have a way of getting on the field and making plays for this team in November.