The real Shady stands up
The 2011 Philadelphia Eagles may not have lived up to the hype as the Dream Team, but that hasn’t stopped running back LeSean McCoy and defensive end Jason Babin from having dream seasons.
McCoy and Babin put on a show Dec. 18 at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, leading the Eagles (6-8) to maybe their most impressive win of the season, 45-19 against the visiting New York Jets.
McCoy scored three touchdowns, breaking Steve Van Buren’s club record for touchdowns in a season, finishing with 102 yards on 18 carries.
“I guess it just tells you that I am a pretty good back who has an outstanding offensive line. Those guys showed a lot of effort and made a lot of great blocks. It’s definitely a team thing. No back is going to score a lot of touchdowns unless his line is blocking and his teammates are blocking downfield,” McCoy said.
“I appreciate the energy he brings to our offense,” said head coach Andy Reid of McCoy. “He’s an all-around good football player.”
Babin put himself within striking distance of the NFL’s single-season sack record by holding his own personal grudge match against Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Babin recorded three sacks to bring his season total to 18, five sacks away from breaking Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5, with two games to play. Babin has recorded back-to-back three-sack games.
“We’re an attack defense. That’s our mind-set whoever we play. When you got guys doing the right thing in the right place, good things happen,” Babin said.
“I’m happy for Jason. It’s a tribute to him. You can’t really single in on one guy on our defensive line. You got some people there you have to keep an eye on, so it allows him to get some good, solid, one-on-one matchups,” Reid said of Babin.
“They’ve been pretty solid throughout the year,” cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said of Babin and McCoy. “It’s good to see them breaking records, and for it to be coming at this time of year I think is great, because we’re ending on a higher note than we started.”
It was a turnover-filled game, eight in total, but the Eagles converted their four turnovers into three touchdowns. Philadelphia got off to a fast start after Santonio Holmes' fumble was recovered by Juqua Parker, who rumbled down the sideline 47 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
The Jets (8-6) appeared to be in position to tie the game after T.J. Conley’s punt hit the arm of Philadelphia's Curtis Marsh, setting up New York outside the Eagles red zone.
But Holmes let a Sanchez pass go right through his hands and into the waiting arms of Asante Samuel. On the ensuing Eagles drive, quarterback Michael Vick fired a laser over the middle that tight end Brent Celek stabbed with one hand, before bowling over two Jets defenders for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Eagles onslaught continued in the second quarter as vintage, “Madden ‘04” Vick showed up, scrambling to his left and diving into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.
On the next Jets possession, Sanchez was stripped of the ball by Mike Patterson. Cornerback Joselio Hanson pounced on the loose ball and two plays later, McCoy was in the end zone with a nine-yard touchdown run.
The Jets forced their way back into the game with 13 straight points, taking advantage of a fumbled kickoff by Dion Lewis to get a Sanchez-to-Holmes touchdown.
But Vick snuffed out any New York momentum early in the second half, connecting with Celek for a 73-yard catch-and-run to set up McCoy’s second touchdown and a 35-19 lead. It was an efficient day for Vick, completing 15 of 22 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown.
“Anytime you have turnovers and you have good field position, that’s the time you want to take control of the game, because those are times you can take advantage of the scoreboard. It happens at inopportune times, but when you get it, you have to capitalize on it. You have to stay aggressive,” Vick said.
The coup de grace was an outstanding piece of running by McCoy, who started to his left before reversing field, gaining the corner and outrunning the Jets' defense for his third touchdown, a 33-yarder.
The man known as Shady said about the team single-season touchdown record, "Coming into the game, I knew I had one touchdown to go. But it’s tough to pay attention to those things. Once I saw the video with the Eminem song ("The Real Slim Shady"), I knew I had the record.”
In a season that started with high expectations and went sour with the taste of losing, the Eagles still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, despite being able to finish no better than 8-8. Philadelphia needs to win out and get a ton of help to make it, but Asomugha says the locker room crew believes it can get it done.
“We still have a chance. That belief thing is really going around this locker room right now,” he said.
