A few more nuggets from Wednesday's conference call with ESPN "Monday Night Football" analyst Ron Jaworski:
1) On the Patriots' defense and how the Eagles had success throwing to the inside part of the field against the secondary. "If there was a vulnerable area, it was inside. When you have an Ellis Hobbs and an Asante Samuel, you have two outstanding cover corners. It looks like, for the most part, what the Patriots like to do is funnel things back to the inside. But what the Eagles were successful with is spreading the field out. They were able to get some matchups with wide receivers on their safeties and they were effective doing that. And I also felt -- if there is a weakness that you can attack -- it's the linebacker corps in the passing game. They are very stout against the run -- the front seven, the three down linemen and four linebackers. But if you can get some isolation routes on them in pass coverage, I think you can take advantage of it. If the quarterback reads that coverage quickly, [which is hard] because they do a great job disguising what they want to do, you have the opportunity for some big plays."
2) On Patriots running back Laurence Maroney and the Patriots' rushing attack. "I thought early in the season he was not running very well, as far as the style, the downhill, hit-the-hole-and-go. I think he has a tendency to always look for the big, explosive play, even when it's not there. I like guys that are bounce runners that do look for that big play, but you have to have a feeling, an intuition that if nothing is there, lower your head down and sometimes a good play is getting two or three yards. I thought early in the season, he was a little too often looking for that big play. When Sammy Morris came in, I thought Sammy, from a style of running -- he is certainly not the overall capability and quality of a runner as a Laurence Maroney -- but he gave them that kind of downhill style that seemed to fit what they were trying to do in the running game. Don't forget, they were still spreading the field out. They were a downhill, one-cut, trap-draw kind of team. That was Sammy Morris' style. I think possibly -- when Laurence was watching Sammy -- he was [saying] 'hey, maybe that's the style they want, maybe that's what fits with our style of blocking.' Now maybe he did adapt."
3) On the Eagles' aggressive approach is what he would endorse against the Patriots. "I believe that's the approach you have to take. Quite honestly, this is the best offense I have ever seen. The best. They are going to score points. They only had eight possessions against Philadelphia and ran 73 plays. Every time they came on the field, they ran nine plays. So this is an offense that is going to move the football. They believe in being aggressive. ... As an offense, if you're playing against the Patriots, you can't say 'let's run the ball, let's slow down the game, let's limit their possessions.' Look at what the Eagles did. They did about everything right and still lost the ballgame."
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Mike, what is your take on the Moss slacking situation? I have been a Moss fan since his days at Marshall, and I completely agree with Jaws. While he is the most explosive player in the game, he is still taking plays off. I'm sure BB had to have gotten on him for that. It's alarming that triats of the "former Moss" are beginning to surface, especially in a game like the Eagles game, because that had to have been the most frustrating game of the season. If we can't count on Moss to be in the game when the going gets tough, then maybe I have been wrong about him all along. But also, I think this could have been a one-time thing. Like I said, BB probably got on him about it and hopefully the situation is resolved...What do you think about all this? Thanks.
Wow, I think Jaws is being a bit too harsh. Does he watch every player with the same scrutiny, or does he keep one eye peeled just for this particular transgression against Moss?
This is the same trap that the refs fell into during the Pats-Eagles game, stripping Moss of his touchdown with that bogus offensive interference call. (Reggie Wayne mauled Ellis Hobbs worse than that during the Pats-Colts game and the penalty was still called on Hobbs!) The refs were already pre-disposed to calling Moss, and had the whistle half blown while Brady’s pass was still in the air.
Randy Moss is a phenomenal talent, with football instincts and athletic ability above and beyond the rest of the NFL, but he shouldn’t be held to a higher standard of criticism because of it.
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