Under Review: Eagles made it easy for Fitz

Share

Larry Fitzgerald had his biggest game of the year Sunday against the Eagles. It was also his easiest.

Fitzgerald is one of the best receivers in the NFL, yet it was as if the Eagles' coaching staff did not get the memo. Hey, guys, that No. 11 is pretty good. You might want to cover him. Instead, they let him run wild.

Fitzgerald finished with seven catches for 146 yards, a season high. He scored two touchdowns for the first time this year and his over-the-shoulder catch in the closing minutes set up the winning score in a 21-17 Arizona victory.

He did all that and hardly broke a sweat. The combination of a bad game plan and lousy execution made it ridiculously easy for the Pro Bowl receiver.

And it could have been worse.

On the play before the big catch, the Eagles left Fitzgerald wide open on a slant, but quarterback John Skelton never saw him. Skelton was locked in on another receiver, Chansi Stuckey, on the other side. The pass fell incomplete and Fitzgerald looked around in disbelief that, a) he was so open and b) Skelton didnt notice.

The question you have to ask is: How does a team not account for its opponents No. 1 offensive option when it is trying to protect a three-point lead in the final three minutes of a game? It is those inexcusable lapses that have resulted in the Eagles blowing five fourth-quarter leads this season.

If thats Eli Manning at quarterback, or Tom Brady, thats a touchdown, said NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, breaking down the tape. They dont miss that throw. And those are the quarterbacks the Eagles face the next two weeks.

That would have been Fitzgeralds third touchdown because he had a clear lane to the end zone. Skelton came right back to Fitzgerald on the next play and thats when he made his Willie Mays, over-the-shoulder grab behind rookie safety Jaiquawn Jarrett to set up the winning score.

Jarrett was beaten on the play, but he was only partly to blame. It was a poor coverage call to begin with and it appears cornerback Asante Samuel, as he often does, decided to do his own thing and left the rookie hanging.

Here is how the play unfolded

Arizona puts Early Doucet in motion, left to right. Slot defender Joselio Hanson moves across the formation with him in man coverage. Hanson points to Jarrett and Samuel signaling, Ive got him, youve got Fitzgerald, who was lined up on that side.

Doucet runs a pivot route and Hanson is on him. Fitzgerald starts up field. It looks like the Eagles have bracket coverage on Fitzgerald with Samuel inside and Jarrett over the top. But Samuel jumped a route and intercepted a pass for a touchdown earlier in the game and it appears he decides to gamble again.

Samuel does not stay with Fitzgerald. Instead, he keeps watching the pivot route, hoping for a bad pass or a tipped ball or something he can turn into a big play. Jarrett is left alone on Fitzgerald. The rookie is a step slow in reacting as Fitzgerald turns on the jets. He has no chance to catch up once the ball is in the air.

Yeah, thats a good plan, Baldinger said, shaking his head. Heres one of the best receivers in the NFL and well put a rookie safety and a soft corner on him. That is just sinful.

After the loss, which dropped the Eagles' record to 3-6, even casual fans were asking why the Eagles did not have cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha covering Fitzgerald all day? It is a good question. Im sure Asomugha is wondering the same thing. Isnt this why the Eagles signed him, to shut down the other teams best receiver?

The puzzling part is the Eagles did have Asomugha on Fitzgerald at times and he played him well. He had press coverage on Fitzgerald in the first quarter, jammed him at the line and was right on his hip when Skelton threw to him the first time. The pass was high and incomplete and watching it you thought, OK, this looks like a plan.

But for some reason, defensive coordinator Juan Castillo got away from it. He went to more zone coverage and as Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt began to move Fitzgerald around, Castillo was unable to counter. Most of the day, Asomugha was on one side of the field and Fitzgerald on the other.

Pro football is a game of matchups. Games are won by moving your pieces around in such a way that you have your best players matched up against the other teams lesser players. It really is a chess game and week after week Castillo, the rookie coordinator, loses. It happened again Sunday.

Take the first Arizona touchdown

The Cardinals have the ball at the Eagles' 10-yard line. They line up in a slot formation with Fitzgerald split to the right. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is the corner to that side and he gives a big cushion. No one lays a hand on Fitzgerald. No one bumps him or redirects him. He runs a flanker drive and is wide open to catch the pass and blow past rookie linebacker Brian Rolle for the touchdown.

Meanwhile, Asomugha is on the other side of the field covering the tight end Jim Dray, who has a career total of five receptions. Oh, thats a good design. That could be why the Eagles rank dead last in red zone defense.

It was the same thing in the fourth quarter when Skelton hit Fitzgerald with his second touchdown pass, a seven-yard toss to the right, with Samuel giving way too much cushion.

There is an old saying, The ground you give (in coverage) is the ground he takes' and Asante gives ground all the time, Baldinger said. A guy like Larry Fitzgerald will take all of that and more.

And look at the way he flips the ball to the official. Its like hes saying, Is this how you are gonna cover me? Really?
NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger and Ray Didinger break down every Eagles game on Under Review each Thursday, Friday and Saturday on Sports Nite and Sports Rise on Comcast SportsNet.
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net

Contact Us