Turnovers, Ineptitude Doom Eagles

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Where to begin? Do we start with Michael Vick's four interceptions, or do we point the finger at Jason Avant for his lack of ball security? Should we blame Vick, Andy Reid, or the time keeper for leaving three points on the field at the end of the first half? Were Jarrad Page and his comedy of missed tackles the most crippling defensive breakdowns, or should we jump all over Juqua Parker for committing a neutral zone infraction that kept the Bills' offense on the field -- a fitting way for the game to come to a close.

If you are like me and still searching for answers, Sunday's 31-24 loss in Buffalo did not provide any relief. It was just more of the same, this Eagles team contradicting itself over the course of 60 minutes, at times showing flashes of the Dream, but all too often reminding us why their record has now dropped to 1-4.

Vick threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, and added 90 yards on the ground to top Randall Cunningham as the NFL's all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards. As usual, he made several stellar plays, and he helped give this team life after they had fallen behind by as many as 21 points in the third quarter.

His four interceptions were backbreakers though. You could give the quarterback a break on one or two, but he held the ball entirely too long and was hit as he was throwing the ball on one, and another he dumped right to LB Nick Barnett, who returned it 31 yards for a score.

However, the final pick wasn't Vick's fault at all. Jason Avant had a career day, hauling in nine passes for 139 yards, but he had two killer mistakes. First, he fumbled as the Eagles were finally showing signs of attempting a comeback, that error resulting in three points for the Bills. Then, as the offense was driving toward a potential tie, Vick's pass was in Avant's hands, but the wide receiver had it ripped out, bounce off his foot, and again into Barnett's waiting hands.

Does this club come up small in big situations, or what?

It was a similar story on defense, who were not wholly awful as you would expect. The Bills only scored 24 points on offense -- three on the short field after Avant's fumble -- and while RB Fred Jackson had a huge day with close to 200 total yards from scrimmage, the Buffalo passing game was held in check. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had 197 yards passing, and was intercepted by Jamar Chaney.

But as we have sadly become programmed to expect, they missed far too many opportunities to erase a big play or stop a drive in its tracks. Page whiffed on one tackle after another, and while he certainly was not alone, his inability to get ball carriers to the ground was the most noticeable. He was eventually benched for Kurt Coleman, who was previously benched himself over spotty tackling.

Page failed to contain the edge on Jackson' five-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter, the running back dancing untouched into the end zone. In all, the red zone woes continued, as the Eagles have now allowed their opponent to come away with at least three points in 51 consecutive trips inside the 20 yard line.

And then of course there was Parker's offsides on 4th and 1 with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter. There is a good chance the Bills never intended to snap the ball, would have taken a timeout, and punted it away. Even if they would have run the play, to gift wrap a first down that effectively ended the game, well, that's about as perfect a picture as you could get of this team through five weeks.

Does this club come up small in big situations, or what?

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