Andy Reid and George Bush

Run Andy Run: Intellectual Eagles Commentary

On Wednesday, Andy Reid continued his sly demeanor by dodging questions regarding the health of his players. This time the target of inquiry is kicker David Akers, who is rumored to be sidelined for 10 weeks, although the Eagles have refused comment. Here’s a graph from today’s Philly Inquirer:

"We'll see how it all works out," he began his third we'll-see statement. "We are going to take it week-by-week and see how he does here. Everyone is different with how they heal, and I'm not going to sit here and throw times at you."

Were Reid a national figure, the Daily Show would piggyback his “we’ll see” sound bites and blast him for ambiguity.

Reid is a good coach, but this posting is dedicated to anyone who cannot grasp my hatred for him.

Why doesn’t Reid inform his fan base, the same fan base he methodically praise as a 12th man after each press conference, the status of an injured all-pro kicker?

Secrecy and deceit lie at the core to this organizations relationship with media, and therefore, with its community. The Eagles are steered by a bunch of Fascists and they run the team no different than how the Bush administration runs the United States.

In developed nations like the United States, nearly every medical conditional is diagnosed, especially when patients visit esteemed medical professionals atop their field. With a diagnosis comes a timetable for recovery and an estimated return to sport. Indeed, sometimes that can change, but there are windows of expectations. If Akers was in Sierra Leone, and he couldn’t find a doctor there to properly diagnosis him, I might be more sympathetic. But this is America, and it’s now 10 days since Akers was injured. The Eagles SURELY have a diagnosis, but they choose to be purposefully vague. It’s only natural to assume Reid is concealing bad news.

What’s his incentive to withhold information? The Eagles already sell out every game. They destroyed the Phillies last Sunday in the TV ratings, despite playing a regular season game against an AFC team, while the Phillies were fighting for a playoff bid in their regular season finale. Are the Eagles afraid that if opponents learn the truth on Akers, perhaps it can backfire on the field? Akers is great, but he’s a kicker. Teams cannot possibly alter their game plan depending on Akers’ status.

The irony is that if Akers is indeed out 10 weeks, it really doesn’t matter. It’s no different than our plea for McNabb to have surgery so he will return at 100 percent for the playoffs. The Eagles may lose a game or two without Akers (probably three without McNabb) but they will make the playoffs regardless. The only goal is to enter the playoffs healthy. Even the fight for “home field advantage” is a staged battle. Just see NFC title losses at home vs. TB 2002 and CAR 2003.

This is hardly the first time Reid has deceived fans. After the Eagles loss to Carolina in the NFC title game two years ago, in which the WRs were hideous, Reid was asked to assess his WRs. He vehemently defend Stinktson(Todd Pinkston) and Trash (James Thrash)—as he had the previous two years. “We are fine at WR.” The only dose of blame was on himself “I need to take a look at things,” —his most common retort. Months later, he’s engaged in a bitter fight to woo TO, and upon signing TO, he cuts Trash. So much for the WRs being sufficient.

I don’t have enough time to cite supporting examples regarding Bush, but here is a recent one: FEMA and Michael Brown. For days after the hurricane, Bush defended the rescue operation, and only later, after firing Brown, did he put the blame on himself.

Here's one more: This week Bush said the number of fully-trained Iraq units has increased, but last week two military authorities testified that the number has decreased from five to one.

Both Bush and Reid aren’t candid with their customers, be it taxpayers, or season-ticket holders. Bush, as a federal authority, is more obligated to be candid and to inform citizens about his actions. It must be noted that Reid runs a private organization and has no legal obligation to even speak to the press. But sport is more akin to governance than most private businesses (hence, they take our money for stadiums that put money back into their pocket), and the Eagles are insanely foolish for not being more forthright about their thoughts, moves, etc. I’m not calling for them to reveal their draft aspirations in March (that would clearly threaten “national security”) but it would be warming if Reid could be more frank regarding injuries and other matters, like assessing positions at season’s end.

To legitimize this ostensibly absurd analogy, allow me to remind you about how the Eagles banned fans from hanging signs in the Linc (as a kid, I remember entering the Vet and immediately asking my dad for binoculars so I could read the creative signs draped over the end zone wall). This is a free speech issue, hardly Bush’s claim to fame. And don’t forget the Eagles even tried to ban fans from bringing Hoagies to the stadium, until public outrage forced them to be more democratic.

When Jim Johnson retires, maybe our next defensive coordinator will be Donald Rumsfeld.