He admitted as much when somebody asked him about the Eagles' inability to get pressure on Jay Cutler in the 30-24 loss to the Bears. The Eagles failed to register a sack for the first time since Week 11 of the 2010 season.
"What they did,'' Reid said of the Bears, "was they held seven people in to protect just about every play and turned it into a three-man game on the outside. And so, whether you're blitzing or four-man rushing, it's tough to get there when they're holding all those people in. So you've got to really make sure that your coverage patterns are taken care of.''
Far too often, they weren't. With Asomugha, Samuel and Rodgers-Cromartie, no team in the league should be better equipped to play a three-man game on the outside than the Eagles. Yet the three of them came up very small Monday night.
The Bears, who entered the game ranked 29th in the league in third-down efficiency, converted seven of 14 third-down opportunities. And we're not talking third-and-shorts. We're talking a third-and-6 and two third-and-7s and a third-and-8 and even a third-and-16.
In the Eagles' first seven games, their opponents managed to convert just 9 of 52 third downs of 6 yards or more. On Monday night, the Bears converted 5 of 8. Quarterback Jay Cutler completed 7 of 11 third-down pass attempts for 114 of his 208 passing yards and six first downs.
Rodgers-Cromartie continued to look like a little boy lost in his role as the slot corner. He is a second late and step slow on just about everything he does. Receivers were effectively pushing off of him. He quit on at least one tackle. And he blew at least one coverage.
Samuel, who has just one interception this season, played like a guy who knows his days in Eagle green are numbered. Among other things, he got beat by Earl Bennett for a 5-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown that gave the Bears the lead for good.
Asomugha, playing the press coverage that is supposed to be his forte on a third-and-11 play on the Bears' final scoring drive, was flagged for pass interference against Johnny Knox, giving the Bears a first down at the Philadelphia 7-yard line.
Disappearance of DeSean
DeSean Jackson had just two catches for 16 yards against the Bears. If you're counting - and Joe Banner surely is - Jackson's got just eight receptions for 93 yards and no touchdowns in the last three games. Yes, he continues to be the main coverage focus for opposing defenses. And yes, the attention he draws opens things up for the rest of the team's receiving corps.
But it's not like Mike Vick is ignoring him. Jackson was targeted eight times Monday.
