"They did a couple of things we didn't go over in practice," echoed Justice's linemate, right guard Max Jean-Gilles.
After blitzing 45 times last week against the Bucs, the Eagles were supposed to be the ones with the attacking defense, the ones who would make JaMarcus Russell's life miserable.
Instead, it was the Raiders who went on the attack. After blitzing very little in their first five games, they went after quarterback Donovan McNabb with extra rushers early and often.
They also threw the Eagles a curve with their coverage. Normally a team that favors man-to-man coverage, they played a lot of zone, which took away the deep passes that the Eagles like to throw.
"Their defensive coordinator came up with a scheme which we hadn't seen," said McNabb, who was sacked six times and completed just 22 of 46 passes. "They dropped back in more zone than we've seen in early games. That allowed them to sit back and wait for our guys to catch the ball and then make the tackle."
The fact is, no matter what defensive surprises the Raiders threw at McNabb and the offense, it was no excuse for this embarrassing performance. It was no excuse for all the sacks and all the poor throws by the quarterback and all the drops by the receivers.
"Today wasn't about so much what they did," running back Brian Westbrook said. "It was about what we did. We didn't run our offense very well. We didn't run it the way we expect to run it. We didn't hold up our end of the bargain."
Coach Andy Reid reverted to his passaholic ways, having McNabb throw the ball nearly 50 times in a game the Eagles never were down by more than seven points, and having Westbrook and rookie running back LeSean McCoy carry the ball a total of 11 times the whole game.
