Packers at Eagles today!!! ...predictions, analysis, babble

"YEEE-HAHH!!!" Any day the Philadelphia Eagles are playing in the post-season is a great day! Here's what else I'm thinking...

In one respect, the Philadelphia Eagles dug their own grave by flat-out choking against the Vikings two weeks ago. Instead of resting this weekend w/ a BYE, hosting the Bears next weekend, then needing just one more win to punch their ticket to the SBowl, they now have to win this weekend's very tough game at home vs. Green Bay, travel to Chicago and beat the Bears, then beat Atlanta to make the SBowl; their current scenario made at least two to three times more difficult by getting run over by the Vikings.

But here is the other view: well before the season started, the entire city was collectively resigned to an 8 or 9-win season, and a "let Kolb take his lumps year." Look what actually happened: Kolb goes out w/ a concussion in week #1, and Michael Vick, now the every week starting QB for the first time out of prison, undeniably kicks ass the entire season. Just kills it. I like Kolb; both as a person and as a QB (although I still can't tell how good he's going to be), but he's no Mike Vick, and it's safe to say we wouldn't have a post-season game if Kolb was our starting QB all year. Mike Vick was on fire this season, and has carried this team all year. So in a way, we’re playing with “house money.” This team exceeded every expectation this year ALREADY; will it even hurt if we lose today?

Oh, side note: spare me the "Tom Brady is the MVP" assertions. While Tom Brady - and Brian Bellicheck for that matter - is again (sigh), having a phenomenal and a "just another day at the office" year, Michael Vick is the MVP of this league. The only thing that might stop the various writers/judges/voters of the multiple MVP awards given out each year from awarding Vick those accolades, is the fact he's a recent convicted felon, guilty of extremely despicable and depraved acts. But on the field, he truly has done more for his team than any one person in the NFL has, including Tom Brady.

But I digress...

Let it be said, I do find this weekend's game against Green Bay the Bird's biggest obstacle to the Superbowl. For various reasons - that I can hopefully think about more on Monday - I don't see any other matchups on their path to the Big Game being as difficult as this one. At absolute best, I see this game as a coin flip, with the most realistic, best-case scenario for the Eagles, being a last minute field goal or game-winning TD, perhaps on an interception return to seal the deal as time runs out. Andy Reid, Vick, McDermott, and the rest of the Eagles need to do everything right to win this game. If they don't do everything right, they need to get one or two big breaks that go their way, similar to the ones they got vs. the Giants a couple weeks ago (Giants punting to D. Jax, getting the onsides kick, an INT at the right time, a Special Teams TD, etc). Conversely, I don't think Green Bay needs to do 'everything right' or 'catch a break or two' to win. They just need to keep playing the way they've been playing. If Eagles do that, they'll lose. Let's not forget, for 52 minutes of that last Giants game, the Eagles were outplayed on every side of the ball, and our coaches were taken to school. It wasn't even close. Green Bay are definitely better than the Giants (they beat them soundly, 45-17, the day after Christmas). But I don't see a Green Bay blowout by any stretch; In No-Limit Hold 'em terms, I'd say Birds have about "9-outs, twice," or a 36% chance of winning.

Why not more of a chance? well, let's see...

Green Bay has been playing better than us, plain and simple. They've won 7 of their last 10 games, and the last two they lost were because Aaron Rodgers was on the sidelines w/ a concussion. If he was in, they’d have won 9 of their last 10 (and finished the season w/ a record of 12 -4). Even w/ their back up in, a few weeks ago, they gave the Pats a run for their money in New England, losing to them just 31-27 (that’s a win if Rodgers played). The Eagles have won 6 of their last 10 (though I’m sure they would’ve beaten the cowpatties last week if their starters played), but have given up 24 points and more in 7 of them. They beat Dallas by only 3 in week #14; with the exception of the ‘almost-miracle’ 8 minutes of play at the meadowlands, they looked terrible; and against the Vikings (a bad Dome team) at home 2 weeks ago, they played their worst game of the season (perhaps the last couple of seasons). This is to say nothing of Andy Reid/Morningwheig forgetting how to coach/adjust/call plays the entire game.

I looked at team stats, rankings, etc; generally speaking, the teams are evenly matched. Birds are 2nd & 3rd in yards per game and points per game, respectively. Green Bay’s defense is 5th in points against per game, and 2nd in points against per game. Something obviously will give there… However, the Eagles defense has been inconsistent all season, and after 16 games is 21st in the league in giving up points. Packers are 9th in scoring, averaging 24 points a game (Birds are averaging 27). Packers defense is 5th against the pass, Eagles are 14th against the pass. Both of these teams pass all the time. But the Eagles defense, and especially their secondary has looked downright abysmal the last several games: Sean McDermott (defensive coordinator) has not been able to call a good game, and the secondary players have looked slow and out of position at every turn.

The key question for our defense is whether or not the Eagles can get to Aaron Rodgers. And they need to do it w/ their front 4, or maybe a 5th rusher. All-out blitzes are out of the question, because Rodgers is one of the best QB’s in football (I’d put him 4th, in a tie w/ Phillip Rivers, after Manning, Brady & Brees), and combined with their super-deep & talented WR/TE corps, our secondary is nowhere near good enough to handle them on their own (man to man). If we can rush, put pressure on Rodgers, and at the same time cover all their pass-catchers effectively, we can win (we need to double-team Greg Jennings most of the time). The good thing is, we don’t need to be that concerned w/ their run game; it’s not that good. They can run, they just don’t usually need to.

There are two concerns I have with our offense (versus their defense). The first, is the same issue I’ve had w/ Reid since I’ve first heard of him: will we run the ball enough? For all intents and purposes, the answer is always ‘no.’ Somehow we’re 5th in the league in yards rushing per game, which is awesome, but we still don’t run enough. That ranking is due primarily to LeSean McCoy’s talent, and rushing attempts when we’ve already had a lead, I’m sure of it (I can’t remember if we’re even in the top half of the league, in rushing attempts).

Now look, Green Bay’s defense is 5th in the NFL against the pass. They’re 19th against the run. We’re 5th in the league in rushing, and for the first time in Andy’s career, his dream of passing to set up the run is actually running! What would YOU do, pass or run against them? Exactly. We need to RUN against them in this game; early and often, even if it’s not working right away! Run, run, and run some more. THEN, try killing them w/ the pass. But Andy Reid TRULY does hate running the football. He doesn’t see the value in it, and he doesn’t commit to it. I’d say he’s actually committed to running the football somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 6 games, in his 12-years here. Anyone remember a time when the Eagles ran three running plays in a row? Me neither. Running makes Andy Reid sick to his stomach. But he needs to be comfortable with being sick in this game.

The second concern I have is whether our coaching staff can do it’s job and find out a good enough way to a) keep Vick from getting pummeled like he has been as of late and b) give him enough time to throw. The aforementioned running will help out a lot. How about having a bunch of screens ready to go, like they did not do during the Vikings matchup? How about two-tight end sets, or an extra blocker?

I am confident the Eagles will pass with some degree of proficiency/success, perhaps with a lot of success. I am confident Vick will have a very good day running/scrambling/passing; I expect him to have a great game. I expect the crowd to be insane. But that won’t be enough to win.

In closing, we need to score a lot of points, somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 to 30, to win. If our defense can keep the Packers to 25 points, I think we’ll win. The way to do it, against this Green Bay Packers team, is to get pressure on Rodgers rushing only 4 or 5 players; run the football with some consistency EARLY in the game, and protect Vick, giving him enough time to throw and work his magic.

Then the road to the Superbowl begins in earnest.

If you want it this way…
Pack O vs Birds D: edge to Pack.
Birds O vs Pack D: even
Coaching: even.
Special Teams: even.
Home field, crowd noise & “Mojo”: edge to Birds

Final score prediction:
Packers 34
Eagles 26

...oh, and the over/under on Morningwheig/Reid passing on 2nd and short (1 or 2 yds to go) or 3rd and short, when they should be running, is 4.5; a hair lower than usual.

"Say it ain't so, Sal!"

Sal Paolantonio is dead to me. he should be dead to anyone who considers themselves a philadelphia sports fan. not that he was ever great at reporting on, writing about, or analyzing philly sports, but now he's just embarrassing us. it's not that he just willfully misreported the truth (to the rest of the country), rather he did it just to make headlines on ESPN. in my neighborhood that's called a sellout.

I had to rewind my shitty comcast HD box (my 4th one in the last calendar year - HOLLA!), to make sure I really heard Sal say what I thought I heard him say on ESPN earlier tonight (I'm not paraphrasing, these were his precise words): "The Eagles offensive MVP this year is not Michael Vick. It's LeSean McCoy," as he led into a story about the Birds/Packers matchup later on Sunday.

Wow. He is either dumber than Howard Eskin and Tony Bruno combined, or he hasn't watched the Philadelphia Eagles this season. I've met the guy and talked to him before. I liked him. Now, I think he sucks ass. Sorry, it's just I expect a tad bit of objectivity when it comes to my sports consumption, especially coming from Philadelphia reporters who are from here.

Donovan McNabb: "I'd like to thank the ungrateful, over-expecting, oftentimes-racist fans of philadelphia"

this is from the onion. a classic from them, containing truths (both real and hidden), fun. I will be posting upwards of 10 rants (in the next few days) I've made on various sites, boards & blogs, from the last week. We in Philly will most definitely miss Donovan, however, not as much as we would've NOT missed Coach Andy Reid, if he was fired like he shoul've been. - sj

Sports News In Brief
Donovan McNabb: "I'd like to thank the ungrateful, over-expecting, oftentimes-racist fans of philadelphia"
April 10, 2100 - the Onion

WASHINGTON—During an emotionally charged press conference Monday, newly minted Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb expressed gratitude to the unappreciative, abusive, and intolerant fans of the Philadelphia Eagles for their total lack of support over the years. "I'd like to thank all the Eagles fans who were always there to demand the whole world from me every week, who expected me to do everything with almost nothing, and who blamed me for the team's every failure," said the six-time Pro Bowler, who also apologized for his failure to shore up the Eagles defense and his inability to keep Brian Westbrook healthy while leading the team to five NFC championship games. "I can't thank them enough for the constant insults or tell you what their lack of support meant to me when Rush Limbaugh made racist comments about me. My only regret, besides every fucking awful moment of the past 11 years, is that I couldn't give these people what they wanted most: drafting Ricky Williams back in 1999. No fans deserved it more." McNabb then wished probable Eagles starting QB Kevin Kolb luck winning the next 25 Super Bowls "because nothing else will be enough," gave all Philly fans the finger "because I can't give them all cancer," sighed with pleasure, and went to turn in his Eagles playbook to the Redskins' defensive coordinators.

NFL wild card playoff predictions...

Dallas 25
Eagles 23...this score is very close to my score prediction a week ago, I realize. But for today's game I am much more confident this game will be much closer, perhaps a nail-biter. Last weekend I spoke about how neither team had superior match-ups or players than the other, and how coaching wasn't better one way or the other. The difference in predicting a Dallas win last weekend I discussed, was desire, confidence, revenge, cohesion, and those sort of things. And as you saw, that was the difference-maker (although they surely looked like they had better players and coaches on the field!): there was no way Dallas was losing last weekend. They took it to the Birds in every aspect, and won the game in the first quarter. They were on fire. Birds were, "eh."

I do not expect that this weekend. I expect the Eagles to come out tonight and come close - if not equalling - in matching the cowpatties in heart, motiviation and fire. That alone will make the game closer. What I don't expect, however, is for Eagles to do everything they need to do win. I fully expect Reid to not commit to the run enough, which we all know by now is a 'must' to truly put this team's players in the best postition to succeed. And it's difficult to expect that both the offense, defense, and individual players (McNabb, DeSean Jackson, etc) will all play great. Because Dallas is playing very well now, and the game/refs are in Dallas, I do think the Eagles need to have a perfect game to win. That's asking a lot, which is why I think Dallas wins. If Eagles can put together a perfect game, or the defense can figure out everything they did wrong last weekend (which was the main reason we lost) and get 2 or 3 turnovers, then we can win w/out being perfect. But one thing I KNOW we have to do to stand a chance, is double-team Austin Miles. He commands it, and he must be taken out of the game w/ Asante Samuel and either one of our safeties or a thirs CB. Secondly, we need to blitz and get crazy pressure on Romo - in a timely fashion. I don't know if Sean McDermott (D. Coord) and our front 7 are capable of this but they have to try this weekend. They surely didn't last weekend. An Eagles win today, however, would be GI-GANTIC, and even the possibility of a win, has already made my day.

Other games:
Packers beat Arizona in a barnburner. No A. Boldin seals the deal for me on this one.
Bengals beat Jets, because let's face it: the Jets aren't that good.
Patriots beat the Ravens because of better coaching and Tom Brady.

a brief review of 2009 Eagles predictions made back in Sept 08

To view the original blogpost with all predictions/thoughts I made back in Sept. click here

Prediction: Birds would be 10 & 6, based on their light schedule, and that "they may squeak in as a wild card (like they did in the 2007 season), but will exit playoffs in first or second round."
Reality: they went 11 & 5, winning one more game than I thought they would, and have in fact made it to the post-season as the 6th and final seed.

Prediction: they'd go 3 & 3 in division.
Reality: they went 4 & 2, sweeping 'skind and giants, losing both games to Dallas. Again, slightly better than I thought they'd do.

Prediction: They'd lose the first two games, and win the next four, settling in at 4 & 2 after their first 6 games.
Reality: They went 1 & 1, then 3 & 1; they were 4 & 2 after 6, just not exactly like I thought.

Prediction: I called it even money, as to whether Reid would employ Vick properly. I didn't know what he was thinking, but surely didn't think it likely for him Vick like other top coaches around the league would have see orig post for more on this).
Reality: only flashes of him using Vick properly; Reid most def failed in this regard.

Prediction: "Reid will continue to undervalue the running game and not run as much as he should, like he has his previous 10 years here."
Reality: Sure, he undervalued the running game, did not run enough, and failed miserably at committing to running (and he has the losses to prove it), HOWEVER, during the 6-winning streak (winter stretch), he DID actually preside over the longest, consecutive game stretch, with a balanced offensive attack in his 11-years here! TOTAL SHOCK! His previous record before reverting back to his unbalanced, cumbersome, not-ideal, "pass early, often, always," offensive scheme, was two games; he TRIPLED that during the 6-game win streak! Why? THAT is the question no writers, or media personnel have asked Reid yet; and seemingly never will. Perhaps I'll go knock on his door one of these days and ask him!

I do beleive Eagles will lose for the third time versus Dallas this weekend, and exit in the first round, but more on this prediction later in week, perhaps.

Question: has anyone heard about the date/time for the Parade we get for being the "Gold Standard" in the league (for which all other NFL teams shall be measured by), as per Owner Jeff Lurie's assessment a couple of years ago?

"Stakes is High" - Birds thoughts & prediction on today's BIG Eagles-Cowpatties game

NFL games in the regular season don't get any bigger than this. The winner of today's Eagles/Cowboys game (in Dallas, 4:15PM) will win the NFC East and host their first playoff game. If the Eagles win, they get a first round bye. I think some other things have to happen for Cowboys to get a first round bye (if they can at all); not sure. While still in holidaze-recovery mode, I haven't been able to stay up on every detail.

Additional stakes? Momentum, "peaking at the right time," confidence, and more. Both teams are playing well. Eagles have won six straight games, and Dallas, after having lost 3 straight thru mid-Dec, have won their last two games, both on the road, including the upset of the year in beating the Saints (and ending their undefeated season), and last weekend shutting out Redskins.

In the Eagles 6-game stretch (and it must be stated, all these games were against average or below average teams, none, I think are going to the post-season), something unprecedented has taken place: after 11 years as Head Coach/King of the Empire, Andy Reid (or is it really someone else?) has engineered the most balanced offense this Eagles team has ever executed. 53% passing, 47% running (see more on these details and Hall-of-Fame writer Ray Didinger's analysis here). And our offense has NEVER looked so good, and run so smoothly. Now for those friends of mine, and followers of this blog who have paid attention, you know, this has ALWAYS been Reid's biggest weakness, and my biggest frustration with him: he outright fails to see what is working and what isn't as a head coach. That's precisely why I've wanted him fired for years now. The most he has ever committed to the run and this type of balanced attack, until this point, in his decade(+) as Head Coach here has been two games. Two.

For whatever reason, we're going on 6 straight games now. The reason it's so tough to predict Eagles games and Eagles seasons, is not because of the teams we're scheduled to play, or match-ups and everything else, it's because you never know when Reid is going to pay the fuck attention and do what he always talks about doing but almost never does: putting his players in the best position to succeed. There is absolutely no method to his madness at all. It's what frustrates Eagles fans so much.

Eagles fans/amateur football analysts: don't chalk this "run-heavy" offense up to having the lead, and killing the clock. For one, Reid kills the clock with PASSING. Seriously. Last weekend's Denver game is the most recent example of this. He almost never runs to kill the clock. Secondly If you've ever watched an Eagles game where Reid actually does commit and stay w/ running, even when it's not highly effective, it's WAY obvious to see him doing it. It happens from the get-go, early in the game and the offensive linemen are smiling. You are seeing things he almost never does in this case: calling two running plays in a row; running on 2nd and short and (gasp!) 3rd and short; handing the ball off to the full back (gasp again!), and sometimes, when the planets are aligned, he decides to run THREE TIMES IN A ROW!

I could go on about Reid's highly-dysfunctional, moderately successful, and yet, quite honestly, still underachieving career here (1 win, 4 losses in conference-championship games), but there's only so much I can take during the holiday season. I WANT Reid to prove me wrong. I WANT Reid to prove to me he has what it takes to get a team to the SuperBowl and win. So far he hasn't, and his own deficiencies are the reason. He's a really good coach. And he's responsible for all the success this team has had in his 11 years here. He's also responsible for all of the team's shortcomings.

Prediction on today's game:

I wouldn't bet on this game if you gave me money. It should be very close and no team winning it is a big surprise, although I'd be more surprised if Eagles won. On paper, all the match-ups are even enough, to discard them. Players on both sides of the ball, for both teams, have roughly the same amount of strengths and weaknesses. Game-day coaching is even (really, though, does anyone think Andy Reid could've gone down to New Orleans two weeks again and engineer a win like Wade Phillips mustered?). Look, If Reid can continue the balanced offense, and "run-committing" that he has the last 6 weeks, I think we will win. 26 called rushing attempts or more, I would say. I think today is the day he moves on from this winning philosophy. We'll see.

The" intangibles" are what stick out to me a little more in this game, and will make the difference I think. Dallas already beat us this year, here in Philly. Today, they're playing at home. I DEF consider this an advantage for them, and you can count on seeing at least one BIG call going their way (undeservedly) from the Refs today. Revenge: last year, we beat them 44-6 in Philly, if memory serves (also the last regular season game), and knocked them out of the playoffs. I am confident this will translate to them being more aggressive on both sides of the ball than us, and give them a little more explosiveness/incentive. Their confidence is high. When you beat the Saints like they did, followed by a shutout last week - as putrid as the Redskins are - you are confident you can do anything. This will no doubt be the toughest team the Eagles played in almost two months.

I think Dallas wins today. But like I often say, "I hope I'm wrong." I hope Eagles CRUSH them by 30 points. Or even beat them by one point. I just don't see it happening today.

Dallas 27, Eagles 25.

wrap-up, etc from yesterday's cra-zee...

-so the reason there weren't more posts from both games yeterday, is because there were 60,000 people in the same location trying to use their network services: everythign was jammed, most of the day.

-NY Smackdown, Act II: Yankmees took it to us again last night, and quite simply, they're beating the Phillies in every facet of the game. Sucks, but it's the truth. I have more disdain for Yankmee fans than I ever have, after having to put up with their arrogant, elitist, fairweathdom, in person, at last night's game. If I could punch people in the face and get away with it, I'd have done it at least 4 times last night. Yanks are the easiest team in the history of sports to like and follow, because for better or worse, they win all the time. I can understand why so many people like them. I also understand that their fans - by and large, not all of them! - are weak people, and not able to like a team that actually struggles from time to time, because they are simply to fragile to deal. Yes, I'm stating most Yanks fans are front-runners.

-Eagles smackdown of Giants was quite impressive (40-17), but let's not lose sight of why they won: Andy Reid decided yesterday he wanted to run the football. Our offensive play calling was split, exactly 50%/50%, between running and passing. That's precisely why we won, period. Reid will do this once or twice a year, and it's so successful, that he goes back to passing 65% of the time, by the very next game, and gets right back on the "struggle-train," resulting in the losses and failures we're more used to seeing. Like I've been saying for years now: "Fuck Andy Reid. Now, more than ever." The guy sees what leads us to success. And then proceeds to not do it; cosistently. It's more than annoying to witness, but more than that, it's just terribly bad coaching. And it's ruining our beloved Eagles. Year in, year out, Reid undoes the moderate success he's brought to the team, with his insolence. And unfortunately, we have an Owner in Jeff Lurie, who simply doesn't care enough about winning to fire Reid's sorry ass. Fun stuff!

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live posting/pic alert: Philly vs NY x2 this Sunday, Nov. 1!

For anyone who cares, is interested, or just plain bored to fucking tears...I will be posting some pics & thoughts on what I'm seeing, feeling, and thinking, this Sunday, Nov. 1st, directly from the South Philly sports complex, where I am lucky enough to be attending both the Eagles/Giants game in the AM, and also game #4 of the Phillies/Yankmees world series, in the PM. Tailgate for the football game begins prompty at 9:45AM. First post approximately 10:00AM. I'm planning on about one very small post per hour. Who knows what will actually happen. Happy Halloween All!

some Birds predictions for the 2009 season...

some quick predictions/observations, for the record:

-Eagles will lose today to Panthers, and next week to Saints; but then they'll whip off 4 wins in a row (playing some scrub teams).
-Eagles will go 10 & 6 this year, at the most. another 9-win season would not surprise me.
-They may squeak in as a wild card (like last year), but will exit playoffs in first or second round.
-Giants will win the division.
-Birds will go 3 & 3 vs. Division.
-Not sure where Cowpatties will end up; I'm guessing 10 & 6 also.
-Reid will continue to undervalue the running game and not run as much as he should, like he has his previous 10 years here.
-it's a toss-up whether Reid will employ Vick to the best of his ability and in the best way to help help the team win. If he does, Vick will help us win. Coaches like Belicheck and Jeff Fisher would use Vick to return kicks/punts (occasionally), in the WR positon, RB, out there w/ McNabb, etc. You get the point. Not sure Reid's creative/smart enough to do this.
-Reid will return next year (and McNabb as well most likely), after another disappointing Eagles season.
-Reid's legacy remains: 1 win and 4 losses in conference championship games.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Nicole Pagonis who won the random drawing and pair of tickets to the Eagles/Jag-wires game at the Linc this Thursday night!

thanks everyone for following me/and entering. maybe do something else like it in the future!

win a free pair of Eagles/Jaguar tix for next week's game!

Who wants to be entered in a very-winnable drawing for a free pair of Eagles/Jag-wire tix for Thurs. 8/27 (M. Vick's debut)?! Simply be 'following' me on my blog (see 'follow my blog' on left sidebar), or twitter (also on left sidebar, see 'follow me on twitter, at bottom of twit-log), by 11:59PM this Sat (drawing at midnight)! You don't need to live in region: tix will be mailed Monday morning to anyone/any address you dictate! Only new followers from this week eligble!

Good luck!

my initial take on the Vick signing

My initial take on the Vick signing…

Let me offer an olive branch, and a potential silver lining, with regards to Vick's reputation, the animal abuses, and the social/cultural implications of the whole mess that he was responsible for.

We don't need to go through the felonies Vick was charged with, pleaded to, and convicted for, and we don't need to have a lick of a debate on how brutally disgusting his offenses were, and how all animal abuses of this nature are. If you're reading this, I am confident we're all in agreement on that subject. If you're not aware of how sick, criminal, and brutal the type of animal abuses are that Vick was involved in and punished for, then you are ignorant, and have a lot to learn.

Is it possible, in this vein, that Michael Vick can actually help, moving forward, with educating people who are truly ignorant about this; people who are dumb enough - like he was - to think there isn’t much wrong with raising, breeding, housing and pitting dogs against each other in fatal contests, and killing/torturing them along the way?

I don't know what type, if any, community service he had to partake in (his prison term was 18 months, before being released to house arrest); I heard mixed things, but with no researching, I can't say for sure. If I were him, or his agent, PETA, another animal rights group (or heck, Andy Reid, or any other concerned citizen for that matter), I would demand he take this opportunity, moving forward, to talk about what he's learned, to the kids in the communities throughout this country, who don't view his crimes as 'real' crimes. I can assure you, that while there may be plenty of kids in deep corners of various big cities and regions throughout the country who know that dogfighting and Vick-like operations, are crimes, many don't know how cruel, despicable, bad, and unacceptable that conduct really is. And none of them know what the consequences are of those decisions and that lifestyle, like Vick does. (If anyone knows anything about Vick already heading down this road, or has already done community service of this nature, please enlighten me).

There are a millions of kids who grow up not knowing what's really right from what's really wrong in this country. Millions who grew up without parents or role models to speak of. People just like Vick. He learned. Maybe he can enlighten these folks, like lots of other role models have, who fell from grace in not-to-dissimilar horrific or criminal ways; I don't know - trying to find something good in all this.

If nothing else, Vick's high profile case shined a light on a sub-culture that is more widespread than most people realized, and brought much-needed attention to it. I have heard that since the crimes were exposed, several states and jurisdictions have looked at their animal abuse statutes and sentencing guidelines (and the related organized crimes that go with them), and increased both their enforcement, as well as their resources, to both prosecute and investigate these crimes. I would be willing to bet there are less of these types of abuses taking place nationwide now, than there were before Vick's ring was exposed. If Vick could go the extra mile with his efforts to make kids in inner-cities/backwoods/wherever, aware of the ethical and moral implications with this criminal behavior, he would not only start to genuinely undo the damage he has done, but continue to keep these abuses in the spotlight, thereby making the fight to end this bullshit a lot easier.

Regarding his on the field implications, signing, etc....I'm not sure what the Eagles have in mind for him, where he'll fit in with the team, or if I even like the pick-up from a pure football perspective, But I do know this.

Vick is a great football player. The last time he played - 2006 - he rushed for 1,039 yards, and he passed for 2,474 yards. That's 3,513 yards total, along with 22 TD's. On a team with a below average WR corps, and a system that didn't play to his abilities as much as it could have.

If Vick is gonna be our 2nd string/back up QB, we could do a lot worse. But he's not gonna be. He's potentially suspended for the first six games of the season (as per the NFL commissioner, who hasn’t decided yet, whether to let him play week #1 or not), and he doesn't have a clue about how our mutated, bastardized version of a west coast offense, and unnecessarily-complex "offensive scheme" works. AJ Feely, our current third-string QB, will move into second (w/ Kevin Kolb's injury), and will be a more than adequate backup if needed. This would make Vick our third string. Without question, he's the best 3rd string QB in the league.

Here's how he'll be used. Wait, let me rephrase that. Here’s how he SHOULD be used: In any combination of the following, trick plays, decoys, kick returns, one-and-done-until-following-quarter quarterbacking, punt returns, running back, WR, unique formations, etc. In THIS vein, he can be phenomenal, because he is terribly fast, and an incredible, pure athlete (If he didn’t lose too much, the last few years, not playing).

We got him for peanuts. As I understand it, it's a 2-year deal, w/ $1.6mil the first year, and an option for $5.2mil the second year. I don't know this to be true, but the option on the second deal is entirely up to the Birds. The $1.6mil he's getting for the first year isn't much more than the league minimum can be these days. We may end up just paying the league minimum for a year. Peanuts.

If I HAD to predict if this signing helps or hurts the Eagles, I would guess it helps more than it hurts. But if it ends up hurting the team, whatev. Nothing compares to the hurt Andy Reid himself inflicts on this team, with his all-too-frequent poor coaching and GM decisions (although he did engineer his best off-season in 11 years this past off-season).

just another day in Eagles land...

"Eagles Front Office Sure Do Put The Fun In Dysfunction!"

so for a number of reasons I haven't been following the daily drama and heartbreak of the Philadelphia Eagles off-season, like I usually have. well about 4 hours ago I'm on an errand run and I hear a plethora of Eagles news items on 950AM, which is local sports some of the day, and nationally syndicated espn radio other part of the day (as far as I can tell). I don't listen to 610WIP during the 3pm-6pm time frame because a living abortion named Howard Eskin is on at that time, and not only is he an Andy Reid apologist/lapdog, and CLUELESS about actual sports, but he's a magnanimous fucking asshole. So here's what I hear, coming through & being reported off on as either news, rumors, fact or speculation, much of it centered around the free agency period that I believe started this week:

Correll Buckhalter (our #2 RB) is now a Denver Bronco.
Brian Dawkins (our starting Safety for most of his 12 or 13 years here, and probable Hall-of-Famer) is a Denver Bronco.
L.J. Smith (TE) is an Atlanta Falcon.
Lito Sheppard (CB) is being trade to the Jets.
Stacy Andrews (OT) is now an Eagle.

Lots of news/rumors for me to hear at one time, for the first time!

Well, here are my immediate thoughts on this stuff (and we'll see what actually happened or not in the days to come).

Brian Dawkins: The guy is a flat-out stud, he's been one of the leaders on this team forever, he's a straight-up guy that usually always tells it like it is, he's a HUGE fan favorite, he's WAY into being an Eagle, he's probably going to the Hall of Fame, he's a brutally-physical player, and he has always stated, he doesn't want to go anywhere else, and that he wants to retire as an Eagle. So, why is he going to Denver? The short answer is because we have a dysfunctional team of half-wits who run this team: Joe Banner, Jeff Lurie, and Andy Reid, to be specific. Our VP, Owner, and Head Coach/General Manager, respectively. Here's how the meeting might have gone down...

Dawkins: "So guys, can you give me 5 or 6 million for the next two years? I can play in relief, teach the new guys (Q. Demps, to name his replacement), continue to be the leaders, start if need be, continue my community work, what do you say?" (by the way, we're ALWAYS under the cap and this figure that I'm guessing is just a guess, but they SURELY have the money to this, even with everything else they could possibly get done this off-season).

Banner: "Nah. You know by now we don't play players for what they've done, and only pay for them for what they're gonna do."

Lurie: "How about the league minimum, 1.5 Million for two years?"

Reid: "Whaddaya say, Dawk, we'd love to keep you!?"

Dawkins is all too familiar with the way this front office of Lunatics operates. I'm sure it wasn't even a surprise to him. So he went elsewhere. Who can blame him? This front office has sucked in these types of dealings through the years. We'll miss you Brian. On the field and off. Good luck dude. You did the right thing.

Correll Buckhalter: I always liked the guy's abilities and I was glad Reid never got rid of him, even though he sure could have, during the 5-year stretch where he incurred season-ending injuries in THREE of those years. He wasn't a great RB, but he was always solid and consistent and good, whenever we actually decided to run the stinking ball. It sucks to see him go, if for nothing else, we don't actually have another running back to back up Brian Westbrook at this moment in time. Reid, did you hear that? We don't have a back up running back! HELLOoooooo! Well, he'll be a great addition to the Broncos and I hope he kicks ass out there.

LJ Smith: A dollop of GOOD NEWS! He shoud've been cut during training camp two years ago, when it was Brent Celek was better than him. LJ Smith has been a below average Tight End in this league his ENTIRE career here. MAYBE he had one year he was above average, stats-wise, but I'm not positive about that. One of Reid's MANY deficiencies is seeing talent where none exists (and conversely, not recognizing talent), and LJ Smith is a perfect example. Praise Jesus this dreadful chapter is over. And By the way, no one - I repeat, NO ONE - has been a bigger fan of Brent Celek than me, since he first put on an Eagles Jersey. We don't need to get a TE. We've HAD one for two years now. Brent Celek is ALREADY better than LJ is, already a top 10 TE in the league (okay, so he's 10th), and has a chance to be great. And spare me the, "but he's not that good of a blocker" horseshit. You can learn to block. And he's plenty big enough to be successful at it.

Lito Sheppard: he's a really good Cornerback, sometimes he's great. We'll miss him a little if he goes, but we do have two starters that are better than him. I heard we're trading him to the Jets. Sure hope we're getting something good for him, and not a couple draft picks Reid will have no clue what to do with.

Stacy Andrews: We'll now have bookend bros on the Offensive Line, as Stacy Andrews is the brother of Shawn Andrews, our lineman we've had here for a few years, and while he's yet to show the consistency needed at that position, he is a VERY good linemen, and will probably be great for years to come. And please, people, stop with, the take that his bro was brought in to babysit him, due to his depression problems, or 'heavy issues' he had last season that kept him out of games for several weeks: 1) nobody knows what he went through, for one. And if some of it was too heavy, then why not have your brother around for inspirations, support, etc? and 2) we NEED another offensive linemen, as some of ours are getting old! I don't know much about Stacy, but he's big, and I'm guessing he'll be taking Runyan's spot, who can't go for much longer.

...at least maybe we won't have to botch a couple draft picks, taking a lineman in the first round this year, perhaps. Not that Reid won't botch picks, but perhaps we can botch them on some other positions. Oh wait, we did that with our QB of the future pick a couple years ago, Tony Hunt, RB a year ago, and...aw don't even get me started.

So, in summary:
Fuck Reid, Fuck Lurie, Fuck Banner.
Now, more than ever.

tough one...

my initial thoughts on yesterday's game...A sign, for sure: 2 Cardinals, one male, one female, were sitting in a tree next to our driveway, when I pulled back in from taking the kids to school!...that was a terrific football game and what conference championship football games are all about; we got slightly beat by a slightly better football team; make no mistake: this game was TEAM LOSS for the Eagles, on both sides of the ball; everyone on the team wishes they could have a "do-over," or a play they made or didn't make, back. The Cardinals, on the other hand, WON as a TEAM; everyone made plays ....Jimmy Johnson was either out-coached by the Cards o-coord or he was thoroughly mistaken in his assessment that just one of his CB's could handle L. Fitz. And he was a day late and 3TD's short in fixing the problem....can't give up 32 points in a huge game like that and expect to win....Donovan played awesome, 90% of the the game (28 for 47, 375 yards, 3TD's and 1INT), including engineering 3 straight TD drives! He also improvised beautifully, keeping many plays alive when w/ other QB's, they would have died; 10% of the game, he made some atrociously horrible throws and bad decisions to even throw the ball (this, without question, has been his biggest weakness since he became an Eagle); if he had made just ONE of those throws he made poorly, outcome of the game may be different....some of the best throws Donovan made were dropped by his WR's. Holy mother of Jesus, did Greg Lewis drop a perfectly thrown 50-yarder that might have actually won the game for us; the receivers came up VERY small at times....the last play of the game WAS pass interference on Cardinals (no one will deny that) and the ref who saw it should be fired immediately for being a spineless loser and deciding not to make the appropriate call....look at Warner's numbers: 21 for 28, 279yds, 4TD's, 0INT's. SICK....look at Arizona's balanced attack: 28 pass attempts; 29 rushing attempts....there were lots of mistakes by the Eagles but if one is compelled to find a scapegoat for the loss, one need not look further than out defense and Jimmy Johnson. While they tightened it up in the second half (after spotting the Cards 24 points in the first), they gave up an 8-minute drive in the 4th quarter to the Cardinals, which gave them the go-ahead TD w/ just 3 minutes left...Quentin Demps had a nice first year I thought, but wow, did he look like a high school player out there yesterday. And I'm not even talking about the TD he gave up to LFitz in the first-half, where he literally spun around trying to defend LFitz and TRIPPED OVER HIMSELF (this was Coach Johnson's mistake ultimately, anyway: you can't put a rookie safety, who hasn't played that position all year on the best WR in football; it wasn't Q. Demp's fault he was the only one defending LFitz on that play!); the play I'm talking about is Cards final TD, where K. Warner made a little pass to Hightower, the RB, who ran hard the last couple yards to the goal line (it was third and goal): Q. Demps made the most half-hearted, weak-ass tackle attempt I might have ever seen in the NFL. He didn't open his arms to wrap him up at the two yard line: he just put a shoulder into him thinking it would knock him down, and he just bounced off him. He didn't even try. HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY! And instead of forcing Cards to kick a field goal there, they scored a TD. SOOooo incredibly weak....for the 19th game this season - all of them - the 21.5 rushing attempts per game stat has PERFECTLY dictated every win and every loss this season: when the Eagles call at least 22 rushing attempts per game, they've WON EVERY GAME. When 21 rushing attempts or less are called, they've LOST EVERY GAME.....my predicition (video, below a few posts) of an Eagles win, 26-24 was looking like Nostradmaus when the score was 25-24, Eagles, for a nice stretch in the 4th quarter. If our defense could have held (they got WAY outplayed on that last drive), That very likely would have been the final score!...one might say, 'there's always next year,' but not me. This team, under Reid (Coach and General Manager, all 10 years here), is not good enough to win the SuperBowl....Reid's legacy (besides not running nearly enough, and never really getting any playmakers at the WR or TE position on a disproportionate, pass-first offense), will be this: 1 win and 4 losses in conference championship games.

Birds/Cards prediction: a video (why not?!)

It's kind of lame, and I'll never be in movies, but if nothing else, I'm learning how to make, edit and post videos...
(click the play icon, left, underneath blank screen)

Didinger: Eagles Can't Take the Cards Lightly

If you don't know who Ray Didinger is, then get to knowing! He's a hall of fame sports writer, who primarily has written about and covered the Eagles for many years. He's an expert analyst, who breaks down film every week and knows the game as well as anyone. On top of that, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, as I've met him and had a chance to talk with him a few times.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com Contributor

Five things to ponder leading up to Sunday’s NFC Championship game between the Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals:

1. The Cardinals cannot be taken for granted.

It is rather alarming to hear Eagles fans already talking about the trip to Tampa. You would think most of them would make the connection between Tampa and title game overconfidence. Remember January 19, 2003? Remember Buccaneers 27, Eagles 10.

It seemed like there was no way the Eagles could lose that game. Frigid conditions. Final game at the Vet. An opponent the Eagles had already beaten during the regular season. A Duce Staley touchdown on the opening drive. And then… well, you know what happened.

The moral of the story is not to take any opponent lightly in a one-and-done scenario. It is hard to do considering how awful the Cardinals were at the Linc on Thanksgiving night. The Eagles crushed them 48-20 and it could have been worse. They coasted for most of the second half and still finished with 32 first downs (two short of the club record) and 437 yards in total offense.

The Cardinals took some hellacious beatings this season, including a 56-35 loss to the New York Jets and a 47-7 humiliation at the hands of the New England Patriots. They allowed the staggering total of 426 points so they hardly fit the description of a normal post-season team. But the fact is they’re still very much alive and feeding off the scorn of the critics. (Cris Collinsworth called them the worst playoff team in NFL history).

The Cardinals are a dangerous team at the moment. If I were Andy Reid, I wouldn’t even show my players the film of the Thanksgiving game. Instead, I’d keep re-running the tape of the Cardinals last two games: the 30-24 wild card win over Atlanta and Saturday’s 33-13 upset of Carolina. What the players will see is the Cardinals are a different team now.

After the last game, defensive end Antonio Smith said: "We ain’t no pushover. We ain’t going to take it from anybody.”

Are the Eagles listening?

2. How have the Cardinals improved?

Much like Reid, Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt has started to run the ball more and brought needed balance to the offense. During the regular season, the Cardinals ranked dead last in the league in rushing. When they lost to the Eagles at the Linc, they ran the ball just 10 times for 25 yards.

In their playoff wins, however, the Cardinals actually outrushed the Falcons and the Panthers, two of the league’s top rushing teams. Against Carolina, the Cardinals ran the ball 43 times for 145 yards. They dusted off Edgerrin James, who hardly played at all in the regular season, and he ran for 73 yards in the win over Atlanta. Rookie Tim Hightower had 76 yards on 17 carries, a 4.5 yard average, against Carolina.

The running game has brought another dimension to the Arizona offense and that’s the play-action pass. Quarterback Kurt Warner threw eight play-action passes against the Panthers and hit all eight of them. That’s what happens when you have the kind of balance – 20 rushes, 19 passes in the first half – that Arizona had in Carolina.

Defensively, the Cardinals are attacking the line of scrimmage and that aggressive approach seems to suit players such as Smith, linebacker Karlos Dansby and tackle Darnell Dockett. The key play in the win over Atlanta was Dockett’s strip of a Matt Ryan handoff which safety Antrel Rolle scooped up and returned for a touchdown.

3. The key to beating the Cardinals is…

Stay cool on offense, bring the heat on defense. The biggest danger for the Eagles is if the offense gets over-anxious or careless. The Arizona defense forced nine turnovers in the wins over Atlanta and Carolina. The Cardinals are 10-0 in games in which they finish on the plus side of the giveaway-takeaway battle.

So while the climate controlled conditions may tempt Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb to chuck the ball all over the lot on Sunday, they need to be smart and patient. They cannot force the ball into tight spots, especially around rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. He had four interceptions in the regular season (and returned them for a 32.3 yard average) and two more in the wins over Atlanta and Carolina.

On defense, the key is getting pressure on Warner. The Eagles did a good job when they faced him the last time. They only sacked Warner once, but they were in his face all night and forced him into three interceptions. Warner is a deadly accurate passer, but he cannot move at all. He’s a stationary target in the pocket so Jim Johnson can scheme his blitz packages accordingly.

It might be a little tougher this time around, however. The Cardinals pass protection has improved due in part to the running game. The play-action threat is something the Cardinals didn’t have in the regular season, but that – combined with Warner’s quick release – has kept the quarterback pretty clean (only one sack) in the two playoff wins.

4. Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football.

At 6-3, 220-pounds with the leaping ability of an Olympic high-jumper and the velvet-soft hands of a concert pianist, Fitzgerald is a unique weapon. He’s one of those receivers who is never really covered. Even if you have a defender – or two – in perfect position, Fitzgerald can jump right over them and rip the ball away.

When Anquan Boldin (hamstring) was scratched last week, you would have expected the Panthers to load up their coverage on Fitzgerald – and they tried. However, offensive coordinator Todd Haley did a very nice job of moving Fitzgerald around, putting him in motion and sometimes lining him up in the slot which made it difficult for Carolina to key on him. The result: Fitzgerald had eight catches for 166 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown.

The Eagles pass defense has been very good (third in the NFL this season). The average quarterback rating for their opponents was 72.9 and their completion percentage was 54.1 which means every throw was a struggle. Eli Manning certainly felt that last Sunday. But Fitzgerald is a threat to break a game open on any play. He had two touchdowns on five receptions in the loss on Thanksgiving.

5. This week, the X-factor is…

Boldin’s hamstring. If he is able to play – and play full-speed – the Cardinals have enough firepower to move the ball even against the stout Eagles defense. Boldin had one of his worst games in the loss at the Linc. He had five catches, but he dropped at least three other balls that hit him right in the hands. For Boldin, that’s an aberration.

The 6-1, 217-pound Boldin is a perfect compliment to Fitzgerald, who is a classic down the field receiver. Boldin works the shorter routes and uses his strength and run-after-the-catch ability to turn five-yard passes into 30-yard gains.

Boldin is listed as questionable for Sunday, but it would be a shock if he didn’t play. After suffering through five thankless years of losing, he is not going to miss the chance to play in his first NFC championship game. The question is, how long will his hamstring hold up?

The Cardinals already suffered one loss: tight end Stephen Spach, a former Eagle, whose blocking was a big part of their rejuvenated running game, went down with a knee injury in Carolina and will be sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.

Reid, McNabb will shoot for history

Phil Sheridan is a very good local Eagles beat writer, who works for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Never shys away from calling things how they are or calling Reid on the carpet when he deserves it. I agree with almost everything the guy's ever wrote. Good article here...

Posted on Tue, Jan. 13, 2009

By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Sports Columnist

The resumes have begun to speak for themselves.

Andy Reid has been head coach of the Eagles for 10 seasons. He and his staff - most notably defensive coordinator Jim Johnson - have taken the team to the NFL's final four a total of five times.

Donovan McNabb has been the Eagles' full-time starting quarterback for nine seasons. In all but one of the seasons that he remained healthy for 16 games, he led the team to the playoffs. And five of those six playoff excursions lasted at least until the NFC championship game.

Before Dec. 28 - when a stunning series of events qualified the Eagles for the playoffs - Reid and McNabb's resumes were starting to yellow a bit. The 2004 season, when the Eagles were the class of the NFC and advanced to the Super Bowl, was receding behind a mounting pile of injuries, slumps, mystifying coaching and personnel decisions. It really was fair and reasonable to wonder if this coach/quarterback tandem had seen its best days.

Things have changed, and playoff victories in Minneapolis and East Rutherford changed them.

Reid and McNabb can be judged now, not just for having put together a solid run from 2000 to 2004, but for picking up that thread after years of disappointment and adversity. They earned the right to be evaluated for their entire body of work, not just for a 9-6-1 season in which each man appeared to have lost his grip at times.

After Sunday's game at the Meadowlands, arguably the most impressive playoff win of Reid's tenure here, McNabb alluded to the "trust and the coaching that we have with Andy."

Yesterday, Reid returned the favor.

"Donovan keeps getting better and better with age here," Reid said. "He's really doing a nice job. . . . He's upped his game, which you normally don't see this late in a player's career."

It's tempting to say that Reid and McNabb have bounced back in spite of their troubles during the regular season. But the reality is that they seem to have found this new level of rapport because of those troubles. There is something to the idea that McNabb has reacted to his Nov. 23 benching by playing with a renewed sense that he has something to prove.

But it also looks and feels as if Reid was affected just as deeply. When the coach felt he had to yank the single player most responsible for his success here, it must have forced a little soul-searching on Reid's part, too. Since then, the Eagles' offensive approach has been more balanced, the protection of the quarterback more of a priority than ever in Reid's tenure.

This is what Reid means when he talks about "putting players in position" to succeed. He and McNabb had let each other down in some ways. Now they have picked each other up again.

Along with the development of Johnson's defense into a truly dominant unit, that explains how the Eagles find themselves back in the final four after their season teetered on the brink of disaster just over three weeks ago at Washington.

And now that they're here, their resumes are much more relevant than 9-6-1 in evaluating their chances of finally winning a Lombardi Trophy. Of the four remaining coach/quarterback tandems, Reid and McNabb have the most impressive credentials. Throw in the estimable Johnson, and the Eagles are clearly in good position to seize the moment this time.

Arizona has Kurt Warner, who won a Super Bowl eight years ago with St. Louis. Thanks to a group of receivers that must make McNabb's eyelids twitch, Warner has returned to the top. He is still susceptible to pressure, however. Ken Whisenhunt, a former Bill Cowher assistant, is in just his second year as a head coach.

Pittsburgh won a Super Bowl a few years ago with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. Nobody confused the solid, unspectacular Roethlisberger with Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, however. Mike Tomlin is in his second season since replacing Cowher.

And then there is Baltimore, with rookies John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco in the two key jobs. Harbaugh is well-known and deservedly respected by Eagles fans. Flacco has been supernaturally cool in his first two playoff games.

The other three coaches, combined, have half as much NFL head coaching experience as Reid does. McNabb's combination of experience, skill and supporting cast give him every tool required to succeed in this unexpected trip to the brink of a title.

That's not a knock on the other coaches and quarterbacks in the final four. It's not the same as saying the Eagles are locks or even favorites. All it means is that the resumes of their head coach and quarterback speak for themselves. The resumes say the Eagles have every chance here.

Two more wins and those resumes will be complete.

Eagles at Vikings

thoughts/prediction on the Eagles/Vikings match-up this Sunday afternoon...

I like the Birds to beat MIN this weekend. I actually think they have a few matchups that are good. I think our special teams are better, as well as both kickers and both returners. I think our coaching is SLIGHTLY better, due to MorningWheig being in there an a bigger part of the playcalling lately (running more because of him I say), and perhaps it helps a little he used to be in that division, I don't know. MN's passing game is terrible. JJ MUST gameplan for their kickass run. He's been VERY weak at this this season (San Fran, Washignton, CHI? - there was another one); he can't have a weak outing like that. Plus, MIN passing game is so weak, he can afford to keep a safety, linebacker, etc up in the box to play the run. Seriously, this is perhaps our best matchup, allowing him to stack the box against the run. Of course, the biggest thing on our offense is ESTABLISHING THE RUN. It's fine with me if they go to pass, pass, pass, once they're up by two scores...but they HAVE to get up by two scores first in this case. And they have to run the ball to open up the passing game. I know this KILLS Reid, but he's been decent doing it as of late, and he HAS to do this early on. This will help us not turn the ball over, will rest our defense, give our O-Line the 'aggressive' position right off, control the clock, and put Donovan and others in the "best position to make plays," like reid talks about but rarely ever does.

I like us to beat the Vikings by about 10 or 11 points. I'll go with this:
Eagles 24
Vikings 13

Let me reiterate however: if Reid goes back to his usual ways (gets away from what actually works) and abandons the run completely, like he did in the Cincy game, then my prediction shall forever be rescinded.

Giant Misunderstanding

by Lee Russakof

After playing their two best games in back-to-back must-wins, the Eagles’ bandwagon is filling up and the calls for Andy Reid’s head have been silenced.

Call me crazy, but I’m going against the tide (shocker) and saying this: The last two games shouldn’t save Reid’s job—they should be the final nails in his coffin.

The 7-5-1 Birds went up to New York and manhandled the best team in football. They treated the Giants like the Giants have treated the rest of the league.

The Eagles pounded the ball over and over again into the Giants’ line. They controlled the clock, kept third downs manageable, and tired out the G-Men’s defense. In short, they looked like the Giants.

It was everything every fan and writer in Philly has been asking Reid to do for 11 weeks—a grind ’em out, dominate-the-trenches-on-both-sides-of-the-ball strategy.

And it is inexcusable it took Reid this long to do it.

In a year as wide open as this one, any team that makes the playoffs has a legitimate shot at winning it all (aside from the Cardinals).

Sure, the elite teams—the Giants, Titans, and Steelers—are all very good. But they aren’t unbeatable. It’s not as if any of them has an exorbitant edge in talent. After all, the Eagles have already beaten two of the three.

What separates the three from the rest of the NFL is their coaches’ commitment to physicality. When you play any of those three teams, you know you are going to be sore Monday morning.

The Steelers proved that that’s how you win in the NFL back in ’06 when they won it all. The Giants reinforced it during last year’s run. Even the Colts, who won in ’07, did so behind 190 yards in the Super Bowl from Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai.

So why does it take Andy until December to realize the error of his pass-happy ways?

Better yet, why does it take him until December every year to figure it out?

During the last two games, the Eagles ran the ball more than they passed. They won both.

Last year, when the Eagles focused on a run-pass balance, they took the eventual-champion Giants to the wire and finished with three straight wins.

Two years ago, it took a Donovan McNabb injury to force Andy to even out his offense. That balance led to a five-game winning streak and a Jeff Garcia-led playoff berth.

How many times do we have to watch the same script play out?

Every time the Eagles dedicate themselves to running the football, they go on a run. And yet, it still seems the players have to
convince Andy Reid to pound the ball.

“The coaches stuck with it,” Tra Thomas said. “They didn’t get discouraged when there was a two-yard run.”

“Coach stayed with it,” Brian Westbrook added. “He was very committed to it. I give a lot of credit to him because usually we’re not that committed to it. But he saw we were getting it done.”

Daily News writer Les Bowen asked Andy Reid about why he was committed to running the ball Sunday despite only five yards on the first nine carries. Reid didn’t say, “Because I wanted to win,” or “Because I wanted to control the ball.”

He said, “the weather conditions were the biggest factor.”

Bowen quipped, “Do fans who want to see you run the ball more hope for really high winds the rest of the season?”

And yet Andy seemed to miss the joke. “I think the fans just want to win. They don’t care if we run it or pass it.”

That’s true Andy…we just want to win. But you win by running the football. Why is it you seem to be the only one in this city who still can’t see that?

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Over the past few years, Andy Reid has proven he falls under that
definition.

The sad thing is, those of us who keep expecting Andy to finally “get it,” are just as insane.

Eagles need action, not Reid's hollow words

Great assessment of Andy Reid by local sports journalist, from yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer....


By Ashley Fox

Inquirer NFL columnist

Until the Eagles actually score a go-ahead touchdown to win a close game in the final couple of minutes, I'm done believing anything Andy Reid has to say. It's all just meaningless words now, non-explanations, catchphrases, and taking responsibility for things that don't make any sense.
Apparently, after losing yet another NFC East game by single digits, Reid thinks the Eagles are just fine. He knows what he's got. There's plenty of time left. He's got the pieces he needs.

The only addendum to Reid's normal postmortem yesterday after a 36-31 loss to the New York Giants was this: "We all need to step it up here now another notch down the stretch."

Seems when you "lose three games by three feet," you have to make sure that you work things out and get that taken care of. At least that's what Reid said.

Whatever.

In the battle of potential vs. production, I'm taking production right now. And the Eagles' production is this: five wins, four losses, zero wins in the NFC East, resulting in a spot in the divisional cellar right next to the Dallas Cowboys.

That road to the NFC championship? It doesn't run through Philadelphia anymore. In case those inside the protective gates of the NovaCare Complex haven't realized it, that road hasn't run through here in a while.

While Reid chose to focus on how the coaches could do things "schematically" to put the players in better positions, the reality is not pretty.

The Eagles are 0-3 against their biggest rivals and 0-4 this season in close games. They can't gain 1 measly yard when they have to have it. They can't get a big stop when they need one. They can't stop the run. They're getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Their coach is calling desperate challenges.

And now, in the latest troubling trend that has developed over the last two weeks, the Eagles can't run the football. Brian Westbrook has had back-to-back insignificant performances. Blame the scheme, or blame the player, but the Eagles' most dangerous weapon has been a nonfactor two weeks in a row.

But everything is A-OK. Just listen to the head coach, who knows more than anyone else in town because, you know, he's the head coach and he's been the head coach for the last 10 years. It's going to be fine because Reid knows what he's got. It's no time to panic. There's plenty of time left.

"I know what I have as far as coaches and players, and I know what we have to do," Reid said yesterday. "And we're going to go do it."

Sure you are. Maybe against the 1-8 Cincinnati Bengals. But what about against the Giants again? Or the Redskins again? Or the Cowboys again?

The Eagles' five wins this season have been against teams that, as of Monday, were 18-26. Their four losses have been against teams that are 24-12. The meaning in that is simple: The Eagles can beat the less-competitive teams, but they're toast against the winners.

That means the Birds are in the middle of the pack, at best. And really, is that any better than being, say, St. Louis? Not here.

While he did make the players report for work yesterday - something that hasn't happened on a Monday in a while - Reid seemed to have determined, after what had to be a sleepless night in his office, that the Eagles' glass is half-full.

Pointing to the positives in the game, Reid said that he was happy that "when the Giants were in a passing situation" - and boy, they didn't need to be often - the Eagles' defense was "able to pressure Eli, hit Eli and sack Eli." The truth is, the Giants rumbled right over the Eagles, gaining 219 rushing yards so that Eli Manning didn't have to be perfect with the passing game. Sure, the Eagles pressured Manning from time to time, but he had plenty of time to step into his throws, and the reality is the Eagles sacked him once and he had 31 pass attempts.

Reid also said that the Eagles' offensive line did "an excellent job of protecting the quarterback." True enough. But where was the run blocking? Keeping the quarterback upright is great, but how about providing Westbrook a few holes? He gained 26 yards on 13 carries. And when the Eagles really needed 1 yard late in the game, Westbrook couldn't get it because he had nowhere to go.

But at least McNabb was on his feet.

Everything else Reid said was pretty much a blur about taking responsibility for this and putting guys in a better position to do that and some overused blather about doing something or other schematically. It's now the scheme, and the execution of the scheme. How insightful.

Until the Eagles get a meaningful win - and Cincinnati, Baltimore and Arizona don't count - I'm not buying any of it. Show me, don't tell me. If you can't do that, don't bother with anything else.