NFL Film Room: 71-yard Screen Pass

The Eagles were clinging to a scant 2-point lead against the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. Brian Westbrook had been bottled up all game and the Vikings defensive line, lead by Jared Allen and reserve lineman Brian Robison were getting great pressure on McNabb.

The Eagles step to the line on first down with a bit under 7-minutes left in the game and bust out this play:

Sorry for the poor video quality. It's the best I could do.

Why was this play so successful?

1. It starts with the Vikings game plan. The Vikings had been very aggressive up to this point and they didn't disappoint on this play. Eagles' RG Nick Cole and C Jamal Jackson pass block for about one second and then slip out into the flat to block, followed closely by LG Todd Heremans. The Tackles, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan remain in to pass block. The D-line bites and they all rush the QB leaving a lot of room for Westbrook and his blockers.

2. Meanwhile, Vikings LB Ben Leber has the best shot at blowing this screen up, but he is taken out of the play by Correl Buckhalter. Buckhalter is lined up as the FB thanks to injury. When McNabb drops back and fakes a hand-off Leber steps up, but when he realizes it's a pass he backs into coverage, covering Buckhalter. Buckhalter knows it's a screen, so he charges Leber and takes him out of the play.

3. McNabb drops back and releases the pass to Westbrook. The play almost falls apart here as RG Nick Cole hasn't gotten out in front yet. In fact, he almost runs into Westbrook as he's catching the pass. Westbrook, though, has the presence to wait for his lineman to get in position. Jamal Jackson throws a block knocking his man back, and Cole picks up that man, taking him out and sealing the sideline. Westbrook takes it, and before you know it he's 20 yards downfield with the linemen still opening holes for him.

4. The Wide Receivers are what turns this from a 20-yard gain into a touchdown. DeSean Jackson blocks his man on the right side, but has the presence of mind to release him when his man turns (so as to avoid a holding penalty or an illegal block in the back.) Westbrook runs bye, but Jackson's not done yet, he sprints ahead of his man and screens him from making a play on Westbrook as the running back crosses the goal line. Meanwhile, Kevin Curtis makes one of the biggest blocks on the play, knocking the Viking's last line of defense to the turf and allowing Westbrook to run in for the score. Props to Avant for blocking well, too.

This was the perfect play, called at the perfect time. The Eagles have used the short screen almost as a running play for years now, and this was no different. Westbrook had been bottled up all game, but they gave him the ball in space, with blockers out front. He followed his linemen and receivers, slipped a couple tackles and it was all gravy after that.

The eagles took advantage of the aggressiveness of the Viking's d-line and also the fact that they had to treat Buckhalter as a legitimate receiving threat, so Ben Leber couldn't abandon him and blow up the screen.

The offensive linemen did a good job turning this into a 20-yard play, but the blocking downfield by receivers turned into a gamebreaking TD.

Every player on this offense executed it to perfection, and that's why it turned out so well.

NFL Awards

MVP: Peyton Manning
Manning was the trendy pick for this award. He was red-hot through the last nine games of the season, but this is the weakest of his three MVP campaigns. Still, in the absence of a clear-cut MVP voters went with the safe, comfortable pick.

Biggest Snubs:
Michael Turner was the motor to Atlanta's offense and he made things a whole lot easier on Matt Ryan. A good running back can make any QB look good.

Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees had outstanding seasons, but the fact that their teams' underperformed really hurt their stock.

Offensive Rookie: Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan had a season for the ages, posting one of the best campaigns for a rookie QB. Ever. This kid has the skills to pay the bills and is going to be a perennial Pro Bowler if he can doesn't spiral out of control. Rookie QBs like Ryan, Flacco and Roethlisberger are putting a lot of pressure on any players that follow in their tracks. Coaches, GMs, owners and fans are going to be (unfairly) expecting immediate returns.

Biggest Snubs:
There are a lot of rookie running backs that got the shaft this year. Steve Slaton, Matt Forte and Chris Johnson all topped 1,200 yards and each had at least 8 TDs. Any one of those guys could have gotten serious consideration.

Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both came up huge for their teams, but a receiver's never going to win this award.

Defensive Rookie: Jerod Mayo
It's easy to measure an offensive player's production in yards and touchdowns, but it's much harder to quantify defensive statistics. 128 tackles, 1 FF and 1 FR are outstanding wether you're a rookie or a veteran player, though. The Pats linebacking corps needed a youth transfusion and they got it.

Biggest Snub:
No one else really deserves the award over Mayo, but the Redskins' Chris Horton comes close. He had 76 tackles 3 INTs and a FR from the strong safety possition. That's an outstanding season.

Comeback Player: Chad Pennington
Pennington was unceremoniously dumped when the Jets picked up Favre, but he was quickly snapped up by Bill Parcells to Quarterback division rival Miami. There are a lot of knocks on Pennington, namely his arm strength and mobility (or lack thereof), but I think his pros outweigh his cons. Simply put this guy is one of the most accurate QBs in the league. I'd take him over at least half the starting QBs, including Favre. Pennington deserved this award.

Biggest Snubs:
Nobody's rise from the ashes was as big as Pennington's but Antonio Bryant's resurgance comes close. Bryant was basically ran himself out of the league with his bad attitude, but has returned, presumably humbled and become a top-tier receiver in Tampa. Remember that one-handed touchdown catch? Outstanding.

Kerry Collins should get a nod here too. He took over for Vince Young in Tennessee and quietly led an outstanding team into the playoffs. Critics claimed that the Titans couldn't win with Collins if you could shut down their ground game and he answered them in week 10 and 11 tossing for 519 yards and 5 TDs in those two weeks, both victories.

Coach of the Year: Mike Smith
No team was in as much turmoil last season as the Atlanta Falcons. Abandoned by Head Coach Bobby Petrino, star Quarterback (read vastly overrated coach-killer) on his way to federal prison for heinous crimes. The team just fell apart. Boy what a difference a year makes. Owner Arthur Blank and management made all the right moves. Hire a high-character coach, sign the best running back available and draft a franchise QB. This team had great success in just one season, but is built for the future.

Biggest Snubs:
Two other rookie head coaches also turned their franchises from doormats to contenders. The Dolphins went from 1-15 to the top team in the AFC East thanks in equal parts to Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells.

The Ravens struggled last year, but Harbaugh managed to turn them around into a playoff team. His feat isn't as impressive, though, since the Ravens were a vastly superior to the Falcons and Dolphins talent-wise.

Hawk to Migrate to Mike

The Packers lost middle linebacker Nick Barnett to a season ending knee injury last week against the Vikings, leaving a gaping hole in the center of their defense. Their solution is to move former number five pick A.J. Hawk inside from his Will spot and insert Brandon Chillar to replace Hawk.

The middle backer position is one of the most important positions for a defense, considering their generally called upon in most defensive schemes to provide a majority of the tackles in run support. The job of an outside linebackers is to seal off the edge of an outside run to either make the tackle themselves, or funnel the runners back towards the middle. Obviously you need a large, physical, sure-tackler in the middle of your defense. Barnett led the team with 49 tackles, but Hawk was a close second with 41.

Hawk has spent his entire Collegiate and Professional career playing the weak side, but he has the size and physical skills to perform well at the position. What I would be most concerned about is the mental aspect. While some people might think "linebackers are linebackers" there is a big difference in responsibilities depending on which of the three spots you play. If Hawk doesn't keep his head in the game he might find himself accidentally reverting back to Will assignments the first week or two he's in there. To complicate matters Hawk is also taking over the role of defensive playcaller, meaning he gets to wear the radio helmet.

While it might not be a flawless transition, from what I hear Hawk's a pretty bright guy and I think he'll pick it up quickly. The Packers are in a tough spot, trailing Minnesota and Chicago by one game in the NFC North. With a record of 4-5 it's more likely they'll get into the playoffs as division champions than as an NFC wildcard team, so every remaining division game is vital.