Kolb was very good, but he was let down by the team.


This game, depending upon your allegiance, was either very fun to watch or an absolute torture. At this point, again depending upon which flag you fly, you either feel very good about your team, or you're a bit worried about its direction.

It's not a difficult guess as to how Eagles fans are feeling right now, but I'm here to tell you it's not all that bad. This game, yes, was a pathetic defensive display that could have been outdone by a high school team, but in the context of an entire season it's nothing to be too worried about.

So let's hurry up and get this painful game out of the way.


Quarterback

First off, let me just say that Kevin Kolb was very, very good today. Looking at the stat line (31-51, 391 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) one may think he threw too many picks and made too many mistakes, but really he was very good with the football and made good decisions.

Well, for the most part.

There were certainly instances in which he got sloppy with the football. For instance, his first two interception were just bad. The first was supposed to be a comeback to DeSean Jackson, but Scott Shanle stepped in front and took the ball away. Kolb should have identified Shanle before the snap, but he didn't and he paid for it. Regardless of your number of starts, that's an easy read.

His second interception was bad, but not quite as bad. He threw it directly into Darren Sharper's chest, but only because the confusion and chaos around the offensive line blocked his view. He was unable to locate Sharper, thought he had Brent Celek open, and threw it into his chest. Sharper took the ball back for six, but not before being chased down and nearly caught by Kolb.

His third pick came during a heave at the end of the game, and really was no fault of his own.

Overall, he had a great first start, it's just a shame he could get no support from the other two phases of the game.

Grade: B-


Running Backs

I've been saying since the day he was drafted that LeSean McCoy was the better running back than Brian Westbrook at this point in his career, and it appears as though I was right.

Westbrook, no doubt, is an incredible talent and a fantastic asset to the offense. However when it comes down to simply being a running back, McCoy has him beat. His vision is already better than Westbrook's, and he already does a much better job of keeping his feet underneath him.

B-West has never been a great runner, but has always been able to cover it up because of his outstanding athleticism. Outside of 2007 where he seemed to be able to see the field very well, Westbrook has always just gone where he was supposed to go and if there was nothing there he would simply dive and get whatever he could.

He continued that today and if he keeps it up he will be losing more and more carries to McCoy.

Grade: C+


Receivers/Tight Ends

Apart from a drop or two by Kevin Curtis, the receivers did a fairly nice job of helping Kolb in his first career start. They got open, made a few difficult catches, and even did a decent job of blocking.

Brent Celek, however, saves this group. He was outstanding all game long and really was a security blanket for Kolb. His eight receptions and 104 yards was impressive to watch and should continue on into the rest of the season for McNabb.

Jeremy Maclin was even able to come up with his first career reception, although he continues to be very unimpressive on offense, and special teams.

Grade: B-


Offensive Line

With Stacy Andrews sitting for this game because of his grasp, or lack thereof, on the offense's scheme, Max Jean-Gilles got the start in what really looked like a patchwork offensive line.

Jason Peters and Jamaal Jackson were the only guys playing this Sunday who were slated in as starters early in the offseason with Nick Cole playing left guard, Jean-Gilles playing right guard, and Winston Justice playing right tackle.

Justice was impressive again today, picking up any outside blitz thrown his way. Cole had a false start penalty and the middle three were overall not very impressive in creating running lanes up the middle. Peters allowed a sack as he was late off the ball and got Kolb killed from his blindside.

This is not the way anyone envisioned the line, but in the coming weeks we should see the return of Todd Herremans and Stacy Andrews to the lineup, which will improve the running game dramatically. The pass protection was good with a patchwork line, but the run-blocking still needs some work.

Grade: C+


Defensive Line

The defensive line couldn't get any pressure all day. They were completely stonewalled by the Saints offensive line, and even blown off the ball at certain points on running plays.

The main concern with the line has to be the lack of pressure from the defensive ends, and Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson were pretty good at stuffing the run up the middle. But for the ends, they were simply outmatched. Jason Babin didn't see much time which was shocking because he was the best all preseason at getting pressure.

The one thing I noticed with the defensive tackles that did worry me a bit was the fact that Antonio Dixon seemed to get more time than Trevor Laws. Considering Dixon was a waiver-wire pickup and Laws was a second-round pick, this is a bit worrisome for the Eagles defense.

Grade: C-


Linebackers

Akeem Jordan had a spectacular interception, but other than that the linebackers got abused all game long. The Saints sent running backs and tight ends into the middle of the field right at the linebackers and simply picked them apart.

While the passing defense was bad, the run defense was even worse. Holes were opening up with no linebacker there to fill which led to big plays in the running game, and two touchdowns, one by Reggie Bush and one by Mike Bell.

The job of the linebackers is to prevent such big plays in the run first, and prevent big pass plays second. They did neither, and they weren't even able to make up for it by blitzing well, as they were inadequate in that area as well. If this defense wants to get better, the linebackers will have to play much better than they did today.

Grade: C-


Secondary

Asante Samuel had perhaps his worst game as an Eagle. He played scared, afraid of the Saints' receivers speed, which is uncharacteristic of Samuel, as he usually plays more aggressively against fast receivers in hopes of coming up with an interception.

Sheldon Brown had good coverage it seemed, but just couldn't get lucky enough to break up the passes. Drew Brees was on, and even when Brown had great coverage he was able to sneak the ball past him right into his receivers' chest.

Joselio Hanson and Ellis Hobbs were adequate, but just could not do a thing against Brees' perfectly placed passes (that peter piper picked?).

Macho Harris and Quintin Mikell were good in run support, but like the rest of the secondary, they fell prey to Brees' accurate arm and were unable to make a play. It's better than getting beat and having a bad game, but it's also not very encouraging that even while playing well Brees was able to pick this secondary apart.

Grade: C


Special Teams

David Akers was good, connecting on both of his field goal attempts and both extra points.

Now to everyone else.

Pathetic is the only word I have to describe the Eagles special teams today. Open up a thesarus and read any synonym of "pathetic" and you can bet it described the Eagles special teams on this Sunday afternoon.

Sav Rocca had one good punt of 61 yards, but other than that had the worst punts at the very worst times. He gave Brees & Co. incredibly short fields that they took advantage of every time. After this season, he will probably be shown the door if he doesn't rebound big time in these next 14 games.

The return teams were also incredibly bad.

DeSean Jackson was hit immediately on one punt return in which Hanson and Hobbs were unable to block one man. It was absolutely atrocious and difficult to watch. On another punt return, Jackson did what he will do from time to time and caught the ball inside the five yard line and took it all the way to the 30. However, not one, but two, blocks in the back brought the ball back inside the Eagles one-yard line.

Then there's Ellis Hobbs.

Realistically, he just might have been the one to cost the Eagles this game. When he fumbled that ball, the wheels started coming off. He gave the momentum to the Saints and they never let go of it. He had a good kick return later, but so far this year has been incredibly unimpressive.

If the Eagles want to win games, the special teams will have to step it up. It's completely unacceptable to lose a game on special teams, and you can bet Ted Daisher will let them hear it during practice this week.

Grade: D-


Coaching

It seemed like Sean McDermott, although his defense gave up 41 points (seven points came from an interception returned for a touchdown), put his defense in position to make a play, but they just could not execute.

Reid could have run the ball more, and may have gotten a bit too cute with his playcalling at times, but again it appeared as though it was more of the squad not executing than it was him calling the wrong play.

Overall, it was decent. McDermott and Reid could have adjusted better, but the overall gameplan was not bad. The players, however, were just unable to execute.

Grade: C-


Hopefully the Eagles are able to bounce back next week against an 0-2 Kansas City team in the middle of a rebuilding year. With Michael Vick returning next week, the game will get more national attention than usual, and we'll finally get to see how the "rhythm" of the offense will work. Let's just hope the grades are much better next week.