If you ask me, there is no problem.
We are a game out of first place, and very much in contention to make the playoffs with a winning record. If you follow the Andy Reid formula a slow start at this point should be something we have all grown used to, after all, it isnt how you start, but how you end the season. If you dont believe our own past, just ask the 2008 Arizona Cardinals or the 2007 NY Giants.
But lets get to the root of this negativity, outside of the 4 losses this season of course, as that is far too obvious of a reason. It is my belief that the negativity towards the Eagles and veterens like Donovan McNabb this season is more directly related to the success it has acheived in this decade. Our standards have become so high, and our expectations of what we deserve as Philly fans, especially with our cross the parking lot baseball successes, have maybe ruined our good sense of success and failure.
I am convinced a lot of this is just due to short-sightedness, lest we forget the vast majority of the 90s? How many of these current Eagles fans do not? Well with the success and even more so, the flair of the McNabbs, Westbrooks, and dare we not mention TO's, I suspect a fair amount of fans jumped on board in the early 2000s, or atleast only started paying them mind. I know a handful just myself.
How about this whole generation that doesnt even remember the 90s? Assuming your average fan doesnt really become phanatical about the NFL till about the age 8 or 9, your average 18 year old Eagles fan right now started really watching in 2000, the same year of the Eagles so called resurgance with Donovans first full season at the helm, and their first trip into the playoffs under Andy Reid. This accounts for not just a chunk of fans, but an entire GENERATION of birds fans who will forever have inflated expectations of what the Eagles year to year should achieve.
If you are my age, can you imagine not having experienced all the pain and frustration of losing seasons after losing season!?
I actually usually assume immediately upon meeting an Eagles fan the more extreme and over reactionary of a fan, the more likely he has not been watching the Birds for too long. Sentiments like; "Get rid of Donovan" or "Fire Andy Reid now" not only seem misguided, but down right insane when thinking about the alternatives!
Do I always agree with Andy Reid... not even close! Does he always make the best decisions... far from it! Can the man make an in game adjustment to say his life... NEVER! But what he does do, is he wins more than he loses, bottomline. And honestly, in the ever changing NFL, you can not ask for anything more. Just ask the once heralded coaches Romeo Crenell (Lifetime coaching record 24-40), Herm Edwards (54-74), or Eric Mangini (24-33). Havent quite lived up to the hype yet, have they?
At 102-66-1 Andy Reid is basically averaging a 10-6 record since 1999, how do you justify even talk of firing a coach like this when coaches like Tom Cable, Jim Zorn or even Dick Juaron still roam the sidelines of the NFL. Is this really what we want to end up with?
Or how about the name I hear most loosely tossed out in the air as if he would leave the comfort of the cushy job he currently has on National TV to come back and babysit these Giant ego's once again, and probably for less money, Jon Gruden. Once an assistant with the Eagles, his name has been mentioned at local watering holes time and time again as the replacement for Reid. After all, Gruden is 95-81 all time, with a 5-4 record in the post season. Oh wait, thats not better than 102-66-1 with a 10-7 postseason record? My bad, my math must be off.
87-49-1... This if you dont know is the record with Donovan McNabb as the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Raise your hand if you remember Brad Goebel, how about Bubby Brister? Rodney Peete or Ty Detmer anyone? How about Bobby Hoying? Even more recently Doug Peterson? Well guess what, they made up the better part of the 90's outside of the Cunningham years, not too many great memories huh? A decade of pain and dreaming of an arm and mind like D Macs. Really anxious to get back to that?
In case you cannot do the math, that makes the Eagles 15-17 without Donovan in that same period, thats appealling.
But lets look outside the organization at the possibility of rebuilding starting with a franchise QB. After all, if we did get rid of McNabb, all we would have to do is draft a QB in the 1st round, correct? They would be a sure thing. Just like JeMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn, who wouldnt want them as a franchise QB at this point in time? Vince Young, Matt Leinart, or Jay Cutler? Down right mediocre or not even starting as in Leinarts case at this point.
But then theres the matter of age. McNabb is old, and he isnt getting any younger. This is something I have heard time and time again. But wait, why do I hear this about McNabb who is 33, and not about Peyton Manning (33) or Tom Brady (32). Oh I know, it must be because McNabb is injury prone. After all, he has only started 111 games since 2001 and Tom Brady has started... er...uh... 111 games since 2001. Wow, so Brady has missed the same amount of time as McNabb? How can that be since he is so ageless and perfect?
So lets talk about what IS actually wrong with the Philadelphia Eagles;
It has been well documented that championships are won and lost on the offensive line, the 2007 Giants won with their lines ability to man handle the opposition at the point of attack, and control the clock by pounding the ball with three different running backs. To the Eagles credit they addressed this issue in the off season so what with the acquisitions of Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews, however, Peters has gotten dinged up throughout the season, and Andrews has been inconsistant, but has atleast played, unlike his brother who is once again AWOL. All of this has lead to a total lack of pass protection for number 5 once again, and a complete inability to run the ball. Now, note what I said there, not an unwillingness to run the ball, though it may appear that way, THEY ARE INCAPABLE of adequatly running the ball...FACT. And it has nothing to do with Westbrook, or McCoy or Weaver. You can not run where there are no holes!
To me, despite the shoddy coach of late, and questionable playcalls, bad clock management, and poor choices for reviews, the blame for the most part falls on the front office. Much like when they made the smart and appropriate move of bringing in Will Witherspoon when depleted in the LB core, where is our front office week after week after week as we watch our joke of an O line poorly pass protect and not open any holes for our running backs? Winston Justice is a D+ offensive tackle at best, Stacey Andrews has been an F for sure, Jamall Jackson is a C-, the fact we have not heard much from Nick Cole is probably a good thing and a testiment to the fact he has played well, and Herremans when healthy has been a bright spot overall. That is not to mention that Peters has been somewhat of a disappointment in comparison to what we heard about him coming in. Turns out he is a little slow, over penalized, and just a little less dominant that what we had previous thought.
In conclusion, our special teams has been horrendous at best, and the preverbial icing is the inconsistent punting of one Sav Rocca. For every great punt in meaningless situations, he kicks TWO awful punts in crucial situations. He has been a liability and I trust him about as much as I would trust myself to punt for the Eagles, and you dont want that. Match that with clipping and blocking in the back penalties over and over again, along with young punt returners catching punts inside the ten yard line for no apparent reason, atleast we have not been fumbling on special teams at least, about the only thing we have done right. With the loss of Ellis Hobbs for the season, our kick return team is pretty much a question mark from here on out.
If these have not been enough reasons to take some of the unnecessary heat off of Reid and McNabb, then I guess we are just different types of Eagles fans, but remember this. It can always get worse, and one day, hopefully in the not too recent future we will be in the same situation as the Detriot Lions or the Cleveland Browns. As this makes me sad, it is a vicious cycle, remember once the Patriots were the goats of the league, but it only helps me appreciate what we do have now. A competetive NFL football team with a chance at once again making the playoffs. We will just see what happens to all the haters in 3 weeks when we are 8-4 and tied for first in the NFC East. Till then, Ill be watching from a Birds eye view.
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