PCP Sports

How much longer can this marriage last?

By Mike Gill

As I decide on my feelings towards the football team in Philadelphia right now, so many things are running through my head. 

• Would the Eagles be better off with Donovan McNabb and a new coaching staff?  The thought of McNabb with a completely different philosophy is an interesting one.  If you think Donovan can still play, this is something you might consider.  While he did not play a good game at all on Sunday vs. the Bengals, I do think he can still play.  However, it is simply not fair to ask him to throw the ball 58 times with these wide-outs, the worst tight-end in football and no running game at all – simply not fair at all.

• Would the Eagles be better off with Andy Reid and a different QB? 

  This is another interesting question.  If you think the Eagles would have won the Bears, Cowboys, Redskins and Bengals games with a different QB, then obviously you think Reid can still coach and its the QB that is the main reason the Eagles lost these aforementioned four games.  While it is 100% indefensible to call 58 pass plays verses a mediocre at-best Bengals defense, one could argue that if McNabb played better they still could have won that game. 

• Should they blow it up and start over? This of course questions Reid’s job as GM more then his coaching ability.  Under Reid’s leadership, the Eagles have have mixed reviews with the draft (more on that later), but it my contention that they have struck-out big time in free agency/trades. 

• So are you willing to let Andy Reid coach someone Else’s players?  

  This would mean of course bringing in another GM, letting him pick the players and make all the draft/free agent/trades.  Reid has done a decent job of selecting offensive linemen, but his inability to find play-makers and hit a legitimate home run on the defensive front has hurt this team immensely.

• Are we making to big of a deal out of this?  Maybe the team is just having a bad stretch of games.  On November 18th 2001, the New England Patriots lost 24-17 to the St. Louis Rams and fell to 5-5.  Nine wins later they were Super Bowl Champs.  I have a better chance of living Hank Moody’s life from Californication (if you haven’t seen DO IT NOW), then this happening. 

I’m not really sure any of these things are correct or maybe they are.  But here are a few other things I thought about.

1. Do you think Andy Reid called 58 passes after running the ball on the final two plays verses the Giants to show the media and the fans that you in fact CAN’T put the ball in McNabb’s hands and expect to win?
2. Do you think McNabb admitted that he didn’t know the rules of NFL overtime to give the front office a reason to get him out of town this off-season?
3. Maybe Andy Reid was smiling on the sideline during the worst performance of his era because he knew that this would stir world War III and make people forget that…

THE PHILLIES WON THE WORLD SERIES!

Either way, the game was an absolute disgrace and changes need to be made.  The Phillies championship didn’t make us less jaded, it made the stakes higher and expectations higher. 

Before we just wanted a parade, now we demand championships. 

This Eagles regime in its current form is not equipped to give us that.