by Kevin Katz

Created on: January 31, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

As I walked out of the bar down-trodden, sullen and sad after the Eagles playoff loss to New Orleans, I couldn't help but think of what could have been. You think of all the plays, all the mistakes and miscues and all the coulda, woulda, shouldas that migh have turned the game around.

The obvious one to look at is the 4th and 15. Should we have gone for it? We made a valiant effort on 4th and 10, succesfully completing pass which was negated by a false start penalty. Typical, considering the Eagles led the entire NFL in penalties with 983 offensive penalty yards on offense during the regular season. But we should have never been in that situation.

Despite the Eagles' playoff magic several years ago with Freddie Mitchell and the 4th and 26 miracle, a 4th and 15 should not be that difficult right? Wrong. There were 19 times in the NFL this year where teams had a 4th and 15 or more yards, and only one was converted. That's 5%. The Eagles would have a better chance at stopping Deuce and Reggie on 3 plays. Plain and simple.

That said, here is where I think we lost the game.
Situation #1

With about 5:00 minutes left in the 1st quarter we were driving and failed to convert on a set of downs... here is the situation.

On 3rd and 3 from our own 38 yard line, Garcia was flushed out of the pocket and rolled left. His throw was too long for Brown. But Garcia was penalized 5 yards for passing the line of scrimmage. Remember this! Remember yelling at the TV and getting excited that we had a first down, and then being confused that he threw the ball? That is what I remember.

On 3rd and 3, if you're flushed out of the pocket and running towards the sideline, you have to know where that marker is. Why throw the ball? Tuck it and run. We ended up punting the ball. Had we gotten this first down, with a fresh set of downs you have to assume we get at least a field goal from first down at midfield, right? Who knows... but this sticks out in my mind.
Here is Situation #2 - the more upsetting of the two...

At the end of the 3rd quarter, after the Saints took the lead 27-21, the Eagles did us proud by marching down the field on the very next possession. Here is how it went:

Mahe returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards and the offense took over at its 30.
Garcia threw incomplete on first down but came back with a 15-yard completion to
Smith. He followed that with a quick pass to Stallworth which netted 13 yards. (end of 3rd quarter)

(start of 4th quarter) From the Saints' 42, Garcia picked up 20 yards

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