I loved the offensive game plan. The coaches focused on plays that would move the chains. It just so happened that some of these plays turned into long touchdowns. You never want to get too conservative with a big lead, but the offense flows so much better when there is a good run/pass balance and a mixture of quick passes and downfield throws. Donovan McNabb ran the offense brilliantly. He made accurate throws and good decisions. He was aggressive with some throws, but didn't take many risks.
And how about the touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin? That play showed me a lot about both he and McNabb. Maclin was lined up wide left. He took a step to the outside at the snap. That got the defender to move outside. Then Maclin went back inside. At that point, he'd won the battle. Maclin had inside position. He went down the field and started to look back for the ball. McNabb read the play correctly. He saw that his receiver had inside position and that was the place to go with the ball. McNabb saw some defenders in the underneath area and knew that he needed to put the ball up high. He did that and Maclin aggressively went up to make the catch. He had a defender coming over his back, but Maclin managed to bring the ball into his body and hold on for the score. That is a high-quality, NFL receiver kind of play. Rookies normally don't make plays like that.
-- Posted by Tommy Lawlor, 9:50 a.m., November 3
