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It's official: The Dream Team is done.
Moral of the story: You can't buy titles.
The Philadelphia Eagles always have stuck to their guns in building a football team, which is to build through the draft and be selective on how much to spend and who to target in free agency.
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Clark JudgeOnly salvation for the Eagles: There is still no favorite in the NFC East. Which means I don't buy Washington. Week 5 Judgements >> 
Will BrinsonSo, after that Tim Tebow showing, um, we have a quarterback controversy in Denver, right? Sorting the Sunday Pile >> |
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That changed this spring. They must have thought they were close, the dangling piece of fruit in front of them too good to pass up.
They choked on their first few bites.
The Eagles are 1-4 after Week 5, losing to the Buffalo Bills 31-24 on Sunday in a game that wasn't that close most of the way.
It has been less than two months since Vince Young uttered those now-infamous "Dream Team" words to describe the Eagles. It must seem like years, which is why the Eagles deserve an F to top our CBSSports.com Weekly Grades.
The reality is the Eagles spent money to land key players like Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin, but they forget to work on improving their linebackers and, most importantly, their offensive line.
Michael Vick can run -- and we're seeing him do a lot of it just to save his life.
The Eagles' line is terrible.
The Eagles' defense isn't much better.
What the Eagles have is a long list of skill people that would make most teams slobber. But they lack many of the other essentials.
The pressure in Vick's face -- and there has been tons of it -- has turned him into a much different player. He is making a ton of mistakes, including four interceptions against the Bills on Sunday.
The heat on Andy Reid's ample behind is rising by the week. He has done a great job over the years in Philadelphia, but this could be the end for him because of the venom coming from fans. This is his worst start since 1999, his first season.
The Eagles will have to go 8-3 the rest of the way just to have a chance to make the playoffs, and maybe even 9-2.
The way they are playing you can forget about that.
This is what happens when a franchise doesn't stick to what they normally do.
The dream becomes a nightmare.
| Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Buffalo Bills 31, Philadelphia Eagles 24 |
 | B | 3.06 | Bills: The Bills made it hard on themselves, jumping out to an early lead and then allowing a furious comeback. Their defense was gashed in the second half and struggled with Philadelphia's speed, but some timely turnovers helped turn the tide in the end. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.68 | Eagles: It was a tale of two halves for the Eagles, who couldn't do much of anything right in the first half but staged an impressive second-half rally. Defensive miscues were their downfall -- fittingly, the Eagles' frantic comeback came to an end on a neutral zone infraction. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | New Orleans Saints 30, Carolina Panthers 27 |
 | B+ | 3.12 | Saints: Drew Brees was fantastic again, passing for 359 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Jimmy Graham was a dominant force for the Saints, catching eight balls for 129 yards. The defense struggled, allowing the Panthers to score three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions. -- Steve Reed, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B- | 2.66 | Panthers: It was another tough loss for the Panthers. Cam Newton threw for 224 yards and combined for three touchdowns in the loss. Carolina's defense struggled to get off the field, allowing the Saints to convert 12 of 17 third downs while holding nearly a 10-minute edge in time of possession. -- Steve Reed, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Oakland Raiders 25, Houston Texans 20 |
 | C- | 2.68 | Raiders: Despite being outgained 473-278, the Raiders refused to lose, honoring late owner Al Davis with a gritty performance. They overcame penalties (11) and mental errors to escape with victory. Special teams kept the team in the game, allowing Jason Campbell to make just enough plays to pull it out. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.54 | Texans: Texans played scared after building 14-6 lead and allowed QB Matt Schaub to get battered throughout the afternoon. One week after showing heart with an inspirational win over the Steelers, they reverted to past meltdown mode across the board and gave away a win to Raiders team that had no business gaining one. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Kansas City Chiefs 28, Indianapolis Colts 24 |
 | B+ | 1.74 | Chiefs: After falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter, the Chiefs rallied with a strong second half. QB Matt Cassel got untracked and found WRs Steve Breaston and Dwayne Bowe open in the Indy secondary. The Kansas City running game got untracked and provided a big boost. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 1.80 | Colts: The Colts had a great start but couldn't finish. Indy blew an early lead and allowed the Chiefs to get back into contention in the second half. The run defense disappeared at key moments, especially in the fourth quarter. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Cincinnati Bengals 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 20 |
 | B | 2.46 | Bengals: QB Andy Dalton played consistently throughout, overcoming a first-half INT with a pair of touchdown passes. The Bengals' defense shut the Jaguars out in the second half with the exception of a 74-yard touchdown pass by Blaine Gabbert to Jason Hill. Cincinnati benefited greatly from several critical fourth-quarter mistakes by the Jaguars. -- John Oehser, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 2.02 | Jaguars: Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert made a few big throws, with his biggest play a 74-yard touchdown pass to Jason Hill in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars' overall grade of 'B' is heavily influenced by very good grade for the Jaguars' defense, which allowed just one touchdown drive in the second half -- that one coming on a 23-yard drive. Overall, too many mistakes and critical times. -- John Oehser, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Minnesota Vikings 34, Arizona Cardinals 10 |
 | B+ | 1.40 | Vikings: The Vikings put together their most productive quarter of the season, scoring 28 points in the first stanza. Lead by a defense that forced two turnovers in the quarter and gave the offense excellent field position often, the Vikings built a big enough lead to outlast the struggling Cardinals in the second half and hold on for their first win. -- Joe Oberle, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 1.26 | Cardinals: QB Kevin Kolb had three turnovers. The OL couldn't open holes for RB Beanie Wells or keep Minnesota's pass rushers at bay. The defense couldn't tackle, couldn't get off blocks, couldn't sustain pressure on QB Donovan McNabb. Arizona isn't progressing this season, it's regressing. -- Joe Oberle, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Seattle Seahawks 36, NY Giants 25 |
 | B | 2.06 | Seahawks: For everything that went wrong for Seattle, the Seahawks turned in a solid, four-quarter effort. The team had been starting slowly and had only two takeaways coming into Sunday, but scored 14 first-quarter points and came away with three interceptions and two forced fumbles. -- Alex Raskin, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 2.42 | Giants: The Giants were in position for a third straight fourth-quarter comeback win, but stupid penalties and turnovers ultimately cost them the game. WR Victor Cruz and TE Jake Ballard were exceptional. However the running game failed to produce again and the defense looked awful at times. -- Alex Raskin, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Tennessee Titans 17 |
 | A- | 2.74 | Steelers: The offense protected Ben Roethlisberger and moved the ball via the pass. Taking a lead allowed the defense to turn up the heat and secure only its second takeaway of the season. -- Chuck Finder, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.74 | Titans: With an ineffective pass rush against a Steelers' OL that allowed 14 sacks in the first four games, the Titans surrendered three TDs to Ben Roethlisberger in the first half. The Titans fell into a deep deficit that forced Matt Hasselbeck to run the two-minute offense for most of the second half. -- Matt Rybaltowski, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | San Francisco 49ers 48, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 |
 | A | 2.80 | 49ers: The 49ers dominated every phase of the game and had a blowout for the ages against the Buccaneers. They had over 400 yards of offense and more than 200 yards rushing. Alex Smith had three touchdowns and no INTs. The defense forced three turnovers, including a "pick-six" from CB Carlos Rogers. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 2.00 | Buccaneers: The Buccaneers didn't just lose. They had the most one-sided loss of the season. They clearly weren't ready to play and a pair of INTs from QB Josh Freeman put them into an early hole. They allowed over 200 rushing yards and 400 total yards of offense to the 49ers and had three turnovers. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | San Diego Chargers 29, Denver Broncos 24 |
 | B- | 2.20 | Chargers: Ryan Mathews churned out a career-best in rushing. A whopping time of possession kept the Chargers defense fresh. But a late Philip Rivers fumble and spotty play vs. the run kept it close, before SD beat the blitz and took advantage of a Denver personal foul on its final drive to survive. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.92 | Broncos: Denver was 7 of 16 for 34 yards and an INT passing through three quarters. The defense was gassed from all the Broncos' three and outs. But with Willis McGahee providing an inspired rushing performance, and the insertion of Tim Tebow at QB jazzing the home crowd, the Broncos had a chance to tie in the fourth before the Chargers sent Denver to the bye 1-4. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | New England Patriots 30, NY Jets 21 |
 | A- | 2.66 | Patriots: It wasn't a perfect win, but the Patriots made plays throwing the ball, running it, and on defense to deliver a fairly dominating victory over the rival Jets. A win over Dallas next week would send the Patriots to 5-1 heading into the bye week. -- Greg Bedard, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 1.86 | Jets: The Jets defense did a solid job against the Patriots until the final 13-play, 69-yard drive where the Patriots ran all over the Jets. The offense had too many drops, penalties and overall ineffectiveness as it struggles to find an identity. Time is running out. The Jets are now 2-3 and two games behind both the Patriots and Bills in the AFC East. -- Greg Bedard, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Green Bay Packers 25, Atlanta Falcons 14 |
 | A | 3.32 | Packers: After Atlanta came out and quickly put 14 points on the board without a peep from the Packers, Green Bay proceeded to pick apart the Falcons in every facet of the game. Green Bay's defense shut down Matt Ryan and any rushing attack imaginable. Aaron Rodgers threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. -- Knox Bardeen, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.68 | Falcons: Atlanta, both offensively and defensively, did everything right in the first quarter and a half, but lost its way after that. Once the wheels came off the bus, Atlanta's play got uncharacteristically sloppy and there was a level of malaise on the sideline that kept the team from any kind of comeback attempt. -- Knox Bardeen, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Monday, Oct. 10, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Detroit Lions 24, Chicago Bears 13 |
 | A- | 3.66 | Lions: Jahvid Best's career-high 163 rushing yards were the key to Detroit's most complete offensive performance this season. The presence of a legitimate ground game opened the entire playbook, and the resulting coverage gave Matthew Stafford and Detroit's receivers room to shine. The defense held Chicago in every key situation, and Detroit emerged from Monday's game a legitimate playoff contender. -- John Kreger, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 2.14 | Bears: QB Jay Cutler had the kind of game he usually had against Detroit, with a 99.6 passer rating, a TD pass and 249 yards, and Matt Forte did, as well, with 116 yards rushing. This one falls almost solely on a defense that bears no resemblance to the past Lovie Smith defenses. Viable NFL defenses do not allow a 73-yard TD pass and 88-yard TD run. -- Gene Chamberlain, RapidReports Correspondent |
| GPA Key (updated through season) | ||
| A = 4.0 | A- = 3.7 | B+ = 3.3 |
| B = 3.0 | B- = 2.7 | C+ = 2.3 |
| C = 2.0 | C- = 1.7 | D+ = 1.3 |
| D = 1.0 | D- = 0.7 | |
