What the Chicago Bears will study about the Eagles from the game tape of the Birds’ 34-7 masterpiece against Dallas will no doubt require adjustments by both teams.
That’s the funny thing, once you have that evolutionary great “eureka” game— when an offensive line is clicking and a QB seems to “get it” and the play-calls, audibles and the check-downs are…well, brilliant…and the defense makes all the right tweaks and finally syncs up into the vision of the team you always envisioned back in August…it goes on tape and your next opponent gets a chance to break it all down, and create adjustments that are designed to cause your guys to hesitate next time out.
Take the offensive line play Sunday night… How is it possible Jason Peters and company were opening up such huge lanes so consistently? Certainly the tape will reveal the movement, and provide the key to Vick’s timing with his linemen and tight ends that allowed the orchestration of a balanced offense to flow with unmatched grace and effectiveness.
Now the trick is to anticpate Chicago’s adjustments against the symphonic juggernaut the Eagles revealed Sunday night.
I don’t have the answers…I just throw it out to the Bored as a topic that invites ideas and theory as to what happens next.
It was a beautiful performance by the Big Uglies—the Eagles offensive linemen were pushing some pretty good opponent athletes around, more by choreography and leverage than mere brute strength.
New offensive line coach Howard Mudd’s group was never more cohesive during the first-half clinic in which the Eagles compiled 20 first downs and averaged 8.5 yards per play.
On their first touchdown, a perfectly executed bubble screen to Jeremy Maclin that went for 12 yards, the left side kicked out as escorts that allowed him to get to the end zone untouched. Left tackle Jason Peters was especially devastating on that play, obliterating right cornerback Mike Jenkins.
All of that is on tape now, so the Chicago Bears have roughly three days of practice to decide if the Eagles O-Line has finally mastered Howard Mudd’s zone-blocking scheme with the help of intelligent coordination by Vick and Mornhinweg— or if it is still a work in progress subject to being confused and countered by the Bears defensive brain trust.
All I know for sure is the Eagles went up against a very talented Dallas front seven on Sunday night—and they dominated. Maybe it’s as much about the learning curve for the QB and the OC as it is for the syncopation of the line itself. That would make it a “team” thing. Any adjustments attempted by Chicago to disrupt the new rhythm of the Eagles offensive line will have to be aimed at Vick, too. For the first time I can remember, Vick drove his new car with masterful precision and play deception. He even got “sacked” with intelligent grace.
This team is getting better…and smarter. Stay within themselves, know their limitations (which were revealed in harsh abundance during the 4-game losing streak)…and the sky’s the limit.
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