Kicked Away

THE EAGLES' loss doesn't sting as much as it would have had I been fully immersed in the game. Instead, on Saturday night we were at a party, and not a football party. So there was a television on in the corner of the living room, but the sound was down and there was considerable socializing to be done in other rooms. I'd hunker down in front of the game in 10-minute stretches, then wander elsewhere, and so I didn't get that locked-in connection that blots out the rest of the world and renders wins and losses in far greater relief than they deserve. I didn't even see the late, fourth-quarter punt, which is probably a good thing, since a houseful of refined guests did not want to hear me raving about unnecessary caution and bad decisions.

There is disappointment, of course. New Orleans was hardly an unbeatable foe, and with just a bit of better execution, the Birds would have taken this one. But those mid-season plagues of poor tackling and damaging penalties returned Saturday, at least during those periods of the game that I saw. Credit the Saints, of course -- they played a better game, pure and simple. But the loss represents a missed opportunity, a chance to extend a special season for at least another week.