Eagles feast as the Packers fall apart in the second half - 10/03/2006
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel They come from different strata of the National Football League food chain, the powerful Philadelphia Eagles and the lowly Green Bay Packers.
But for the first 30 minutes on a balmy Monday night, form didn't hold. For the second 30 minutes, it most assuredly did.
Thus did the Eagles dismiss the Packers, 31-9, before a crowd of 69,222 at Lincoln Financial Field.
An 11½-point underdog, the Packers played a solid, smart first half and left with a 9-7 lead. But in the second half they collapsed on both offense and defense, falling to 1-3 under rookie coach Mike McCarthy as the Eagles improved to 3-1.
The Packers' defense gave ground in the first half but hopped on two fumbles by Correll Buckhalter inside the Green Bay 5. Buckhalter started when coach Andy Reid, mindful of his club's showdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, elected to rest Brian Westbrook (knee), the electrifying fulcrum of the NFL's top-ranked passing game.
hiladelphia was a different team to open the third quarter, and Reid's decision to go with diminutive but quick Ryan Moats in place of Buckhalter paid major dividends. Moats carried six times for 21 yards in a 15-play, 57-yard drive culminated by David Akers' 40-yard field goal that gave the Eagles the lead for good, 10-9.
Favre left the game in the fourth quarter on a decision by McCarthy with what was described as a slight head injury.
In defeat, the Packers extended their record of futility to 0-9 in Philadelphia since their last victory in 1962. They are 24-24-1 on "Monday Night Football," including four losses in a row. Favre, who is 17-14 on Monday nights, is 4-8 overall against the Eagles, including 0-6 in Philadelphia. |
| |
Not the same hold story - 08/31/2006
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer FOR AN HOUR after practice, long snapper Mike Bartrum worked. His holder was new to the job and wanted to get as many reps and opportunities as he could to get things just right. Fantasy Impact: Any time you have a new holder, you have to worry about mishandled snaps leading to less FGs. Up the risk on Akers, at least until Johnson proves he can hold. |
| |
Akers puts best foot forward - 08/28/2006
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Like a lot of players on the Eagles' roster, David Akers is trying to rebound from the 2005 season. So far, it has all been good for the three-time Pro Bowl kicker. Fantasy Impact: Move Akers up, and he should be capable of fantasy numbers this year. |
| |
Eagles 16, Steelers 7 (AP) - 08/25/2006
Source: Yahoo! David Akers helped make Donovan McNabb's brief appearance a productive one. Akers kicked field goals of 40, 49 and 52 yards and Jeff Garcia connected with Greg Lewis on a 61-yard touchdown pass to lead the Philadelphia Eagles over the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-7 on Friday night. McNabb led the Eagles to a pair of field goals before going to the bench. Fantasy Impact: The Eagles first-team offense looked OK, though they didn't score any TDs. Akers looked great, so move him up a little. The first-team defense shut out the Steelers and picked off Roethlisberger, so move them up. |
| |
Eagles Daily Update - 07/31/2006
Source: Philadelphia Enquirer Eagles kicker David Akers tied an NFL record yesterday when he connected on a 63-yard field goal. All right, so training-camp kicks don't count and it wasn't even Akers' personal best on a practice field, but it was still an impressive launch and drew one of the loudest rounds of applause at Lehigh University. Fantasy Impact: Looks like Akers is completely back from his hamstring injury, and ready to reassume his role as one of the NFL's top kickers. |
| |
David Aldridge: Birds need Jim Johnson strong, too - 07/23/2006
Source: Philadelphia Enquirer Of equal import to the fortunes of the Birds this season are the return to functionality of many body parts: Donovan McNabb's groin, and Lito Sheppard's ankle, and David Akers' hamstring, and Todd Pinkston's Achilles tendon, and Sheldon Brown's shoulder. Fantasy Impact: The Eagles are coming off a lot of injuries, but if they are healthy they can be useful fantasy options. |
