It's time to face the facts: As it is, this is not a very good team
Everything you needed to know about the Eagles’ season was contained in their first offensive “possession,” if you can call it that:
Play 1: Unprepared, the Eagles are confused, especially McNabb who panics and throws the ball 5 feet in front of Owens.
Play 2: The O-Line can’t hold off and all-out blitz, McNabb forced to throw it away.
Play 3: Confused and hesitant, Reid can’t get the play in on time and the Eagles have to waste a timeout on their third play.
Three plays, three incompletions, three examples of the utter incompetence of the quarterback and the coach.
Let’s be direct. The Eagles are not a good team. That they are 4-3 has much more to do with luck than with skill. Through seven games they have played well for about three halves. That is it. This team, unless it undergoes a drastic and all-too-unlikely transformation, will not make the playoffs. And really, it shouldn’t.
Why are the Eagles so poor this year? There is plenty of blame to go around.
Both of their lines are below average – the defensive line does not get enough pressure on the opponents’ QB and the offensive line is both totally unable to open holes in the run game and has not consistently provided time for Donovan McNabb to throw the football.
Brian Westbrook is not a good runner. He is an excellent weapon out of the backfield, but he doesn’t see and hit holes quickly and will never cause opposing defenses to fear the Eagles’ running game.
After Terrell Owens, the Eagles have no adequate wide receiver. As much as many Eagles fans (including my compatriot Ellick) like to deride Todd “Stinkston,” losing him in the preseason has hurt the Eagles’ offense. Greg Lewis is simply not an NFL caliber #2 WR and Reggie Brown hasn’t shown much of anything this year.
Josh Parry and Steven Spach are wastes of roster spaces. No, FB and the #2 TE are not critical positions on this or any NFL team, but having simply adequate players at those positions would make a difference.
All of these flaws are problems, significant ones. But really, they are not at the heart of this disastrous season. There are only two men to blame for this fiasco: Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid.
First McNabb, the lesser of the two evils: Right now, McNabb is a bad quarterback. Not merely good, not average, but BAD. All of those negative traits that seemed to fade to the background last year are back with a vengeance, but they are no long balanced out by McNabb’s latent athleticism and talent. McNabb’s accuracy has always been inconsistent. This year, it is flat out poor. His pocket presence and awareness has always been questionable, this year it is non-existent. His happy feet are back. When he is under any pressure, he panics. He repeatedly makes bad decisions, leading to sacks and turnovers. He has trouble reading defenses and fails to recognize wide-open receivers. Because of the injury, he cannot throw a good deep ball, or get the zip on the 15-25 yard throws he used to be to adept at. Between the injury and his own stubbornness he is no longer a threat to run the ball; that threat was always the x-factor that made McNabb one of the league’s better QBs. Add all of that up and you have a quarterback who just can’t get the job done.
0-12 to start a game is almost unprecedented in the annals of poor NFL QB performances. And while McNabb turned his play around in the 3rd quarter, it was also his poor play on the potential game-tying drive that killed the comeback. On that drive he missed TO for a deep touchdown that would have tied the game when TO had beaten rookie CB Dominique Foxworth by two steps. He did not see an LJ open Smith on the 2nd down play where he instead tried to force the ball to TO on the sidelines (a play TO should have made, no doubt). Most infuriating, he didn’t see a WIDE OPEN Lamar Gordon for a sure 15-20 yard gain on 3rd down and instead tried to force a pass to rookie Reggie Brown that was, of course, intercepted.
Could Mike McMahon or Koy Detmer do any better? In terms of talent, probably not – but if Reid had to go to war with a backup perhaps he’d finally decide to run the ball, so the Eagles might actually be better with McMahon or Detmer. Regardless, at this point hasn’t it become obvious that McNabb needs to recognize reality and have his sports hernia fixed? It’s probably too late now to save the season – had he and Andy Reid decided to fix the problem weeks ago, as we suggested, it might not have been – but there is not other choice at this point. I don’t know if this seemingly miraculous German surgery with a two-week recovery period is for real, but the Eagles should be finding out. Even if it’s not, the traditional surgery has a recovery period of six to eight weeks; there are still nine weeks left in the season. Perhaps the Eagles can struggle to a Wild Card berth with McMahon at the helm and then get a healthy McNabb back for the playoffs. It’s worth a shot.
Now, the greater of the two evils: Andy Reid. Where to begin? His performance this year has been bad enough to deserve comparison to Mike Tice. Let’s take a look at his performance in five vital areas.
Game Preparation: Very poor. The Eagles have come out ready to play only once all season – against the woeful 49ers. In every other game this year, they have come out flat and unprepared, even against the Chargers, after their bye. Reid simply does not know how to get his players up for the game. No NFL team can consistently spot the opposition two or more TDs and hope to win.
Game Planning: Very poor. This is related to the previous point, of course, but it deserves a separate category. Aside from not getting his players ready, Reid has had no clue how to deal with opponents’ offenses or defenses. His “scripts” for the first 8-12 plays should simply be thrown in the trash – they obviously never work. He has not been able to identify and attack opponents’ weaknesses – instead, the Eagles are always reacting to the opposition. Reid had no answer for the Bronco’s all out blitz. He and McNabb were both utterly confused and couldn’t adjust until the game was already lost. And why did it take two and a half quarter for the Eagles to go after Champ Bailey and his injured hamstring? Going into this game the Broncos CB situation looked like this: #1 CB was hampered by an injured hamstring, #2 CB was a rookie, #3 CB was out, #4 CB was a rookie. Shouldn’t an offensive “genius” like Reid be able to create and exploit one-on-one match-ups with the Bronco’s depleted CBs?
Play Calling: Atrocious. Yes, the utter and incomprehensible refusal to run is a large part of this. One run in the first 12 plays, when 10 of those end up as incompletions, is laughable. But it’s more than this. Reid’s play calling has become entirely predictable and lacks any creativity. He does now know how to call a series of plays to set the opposition up for a change of pace or to keep them off-balance. He does not utilize his weapons for maximum performance – why do Josh Parry and Steven Spach ever have their numbers called? Where are running plays for Ryan Moats or Lamar Gordon? Gordon had two carried for 16 yards yesterday. He is a good inside runner. Why can he not get five carries a game? His calls at import points of the game - 4th and 1 against the Chargers for instance - make no sense.
Time Management: Terrible. The debacle at the end of the first half last week is only a symptom of a larger problem. Reid is simply hesitant and unsure of himself on the sideline. He takes forever to get his plays into McNabb, resulting in the Eagles wasting their timeouts early almost every half – this happened on the third play of the game this week, for goodness sake.
Mid-Game Adjustments: Poor. This was actually the first time I can remember seeing the Eagles come out after the half and make needed adjustments. After the first possession of the 3rd quarter Reid called nine effective runs and 10 passes and focused on exploiting TO’s one-on-one match-ups against Denver’s depleted cornerbacks. Not surprisingly, the Eagles finally had success – scoring 14 points and getting the team briefly back into the game. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Reid said, “I did a better job on that, I need to get to that earlier.” You think Andy?
Reid turned the fortunes of this franchise around. But it is looking more and more like they peaked last year and Reid with them. No matter how poorly the Eagles play, no matter how much the fans, media or players complain, Reid refuses to change his ways for the better. He is stubborn and arrogant. Thus success he’s had the past four years, it seems, has ruined him. He does not realize that what worked then might not work now. In fact, it almost seems like Reid would rather lose his way than win anyone else’s way.
As hard as it is for Eagles fans too admit, and no one will for at least a couple more years, if Reid cannot adjust his tactics and fix this team, the Eagles need to consider moving beyond the Andy Reid era. He is no longer getting it done as a game day coach. And his poor work this offseason, especially in a draft in which the Eagles had multiple extra picks, will not make up for his coaching deficiencies.
As long as this coach and this quarterback continue to coach and play as they are, this team will struggle to stay above .500. Changes must be made. I don’t think they will be.
Play 1: Unprepared, the Eagles are confused, especially McNabb who panics and throws the ball 5 feet in front of Owens.
Play 2: The O-Line can’t hold off and all-out blitz, McNabb forced to throw it away.
Play 3: Confused and hesitant, Reid can’t get the play in on time and the Eagles have to waste a timeout on their third play.
Three plays, three incompletions, three examples of the utter incompetence of the quarterback and the coach.
Let’s be direct. The Eagles are not a good team. That they are 4-3 has much more to do with luck than with skill. Through seven games they have played well for about three halves. That is it. This team, unless it undergoes a drastic and all-too-unlikely transformation, will not make the playoffs. And really, it shouldn’t.
Why are the Eagles so poor this year? There is plenty of blame to go around.
Both of their lines are below average – the defensive line does not get enough pressure on the opponents’ QB and the offensive line is both totally unable to open holes in the run game and has not consistently provided time for Donovan McNabb to throw the football.
Brian Westbrook is not a good runner. He is an excellent weapon out of the backfield, but he doesn’t see and hit holes quickly and will never cause opposing defenses to fear the Eagles’ running game.
After Terrell Owens, the Eagles have no adequate wide receiver. As much as many Eagles fans (including my compatriot Ellick) like to deride Todd “Stinkston,” losing him in the preseason has hurt the Eagles’ offense. Greg Lewis is simply not an NFL caliber #2 WR and Reggie Brown hasn’t shown much of anything this year.
Josh Parry and Steven Spach are wastes of roster spaces. No, FB and the #2 TE are not critical positions on this or any NFL team, but having simply adequate players at those positions would make a difference.
All of these flaws are problems, significant ones. But really, they are not at the heart of this disastrous season. There are only two men to blame for this fiasco: Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid.
First McNabb, the lesser of the two evils: Right now, McNabb is a bad quarterback. Not merely good, not average, but BAD. All of those negative traits that seemed to fade to the background last year are back with a vengeance, but they are no long balanced out by McNabb’s latent athleticism and talent. McNabb’s accuracy has always been inconsistent. This year, it is flat out poor. His pocket presence and awareness has always been questionable, this year it is non-existent. His happy feet are back. When he is under any pressure, he panics. He repeatedly makes bad decisions, leading to sacks and turnovers. He has trouble reading defenses and fails to recognize wide-open receivers. Because of the injury, he cannot throw a good deep ball, or get the zip on the 15-25 yard throws he used to be to adept at. Between the injury and his own stubbornness he is no longer a threat to run the ball; that threat was always the x-factor that made McNabb one of the league’s better QBs. Add all of that up and you have a quarterback who just can’t get the job done.
0-12 to start a game is almost unprecedented in the annals of poor NFL QB performances. And while McNabb turned his play around in the 3rd quarter, it was also his poor play on the potential game-tying drive that killed the comeback. On that drive he missed TO for a deep touchdown that would have tied the game when TO had beaten rookie CB Dominique Foxworth by two steps. He did not see an LJ open Smith on the 2nd down play where he instead tried to force the ball to TO on the sidelines (a play TO should have made, no doubt). Most infuriating, he didn’t see a WIDE OPEN Lamar Gordon for a sure 15-20 yard gain on 3rd down and instead tried to force a pass to rookie Reggie Brown that was, of course, intercepted.
Could Mike McMahon or Koy Detmer do any better? In terms of talent, probably not – but if Reid had to go to war with a backup perhaps he’d finally decide to run the ball, so the Eagles might actually be better with McMahon or Detmer. Regardless, at this point hasn’t it become obvious that McNabb needs to recognize reality and have his sports hernia fixed? It’s probably too late now to save the season – had he and Andy Reid decided to fix the problem weeks ago, as we suggested, it might not have been – but there is not other choice at this point. I don’t know if this seemingly miraculous German surgery with a two-week recovery period is for real, but the Eagles should be finding out. Even if it’s not, the traditional surgery has a recovery period of six to eight weeks; there are still nine weeks left in the season. Perhaps the Eagles can struggle to a Wild Card berth with McMahon at the helm and then get a healthy McNabb back for the playoffs. It’s worth a shot.
Now, the greater of the two evils: Andy Reid. Where to begin? His performance this year has been bad enough to deserve comparison to Mike Tice. Let’s take a look at his performance in five vital areas.
Game Preparation: Very poor. The Eagles have come out ready to play only once all season – against the woeful 49ers. In every other game this year, they have come out flat and unprepared, even against the Chargers, after their bye. Reid simply does not know how to get his players up for the game. No NFL team can consistently spot the opposition two or more TDs and hope to win.
Game Planning: Very poor. This is related to the previous point, of course, but it deserves a separate category. Aside from not getting his players ready, Reid has had no clue how to deal with opponents’ offenses or defenses. His “scripts” for the first 8-12 plays should simply be thrown in the trash – they obviously never work. He has not been able to identify and attack opponents’ weaknesses – instead, the Eagles are always reacting to the opposition. Reid had no answer for the Bronco’s all out blitz. He and McNabb were both utterly confused and couldn’t adjust until the game was already lost. And why did it take two and a half quarter for the Eagles to go after Champ Bailey and his injured hamstring? Going into this game the Broncos CB situation looked like this: #1 CB was hampered by an injured hamstring, #2 CB was a rookie, #3 CB was out, #4 CB was a rookie. Shouldn’t an offensive “genius” like Reid be able to create and exploit one-on-one match-ups with the Bronco’s depleted CBs?
Play Calling: Atrocious. Yes, the utter and incomprehensible refusal to run is a large part of this. One run in the first 12 plays, when 10 of those end up as incompletions, is laughable. But it’s more than this. Reid’s play calling has become entirely predictable and lacks any creativity. He does now know how to call a series of plays to set the opposition up for a change of pace or to keep them off-balance. He does not utilize his weapons for maximum performance – why do Josh Parry and Steven Spach ever have their numbers called? Where are running plays for Ryan Moats or Lamar Gordon? Gordon had two carried for 16 yards yesterday. He is a good inside runner. Why can he not get five carries a game? His calls at import points of the game - 4th and 1 against the Chargers for instance - make no sense.
Time Management: Terrible. The debacle at the end of the first half last week is only a symptom of a larger problem. Reid is simply hesitant and unsure of himself on the sideline. He takes forever to get his plays into McNabb, resulting in the Eagles wasting their timeouts early almost every half – this happened on the third play of the game this week, for goodness sake.
Mid-Game Adjustments: Poor. This was actually the first time I can remember seeing the Eagles come out after the half and make needed adjustments. After the first possession of the 3rd quarter Reid called nine effective runs and 10 passes and focused on exploiting TO’s one-on-one match-ups against Denver’s depleted cornerbacks. Not surprisingly, the Eagles finally had success – scoring 14 points and getting the team briefly back into the game. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Reid said, “I did a better job on that, I need to get to that earlier.” You think Andy?
Reid turned the fortunes of this franchise around. But it is looking more and more like they peaked last year and Reid with them. No matter how poorly the Eagles play, no matter how much the fans, media or players complain, Reid refuses to change his ways for the better. He is stubborn and arrogant. Thus success he’s had the past four years, it seems, has ruined him. He does not realize that what worked then might not work now. In fact, it almost seems like Reid would rather lose his way than win anyone else’s way.
As hard as it is for Eagles fans too admit, and no one will for at least a couple more years, if Reid cannot adjust his tactics and fix this team, the Eagles need to consider moving beyond the Andy Reid era. He is no longer getting it done as a game day coach. And his poor work this offseason, especially in a draft in which the Eagles had multiple extra picks, will not make up for his coaching deficiencies.
As long as this coach and this quarterback continue to coach and play as they are, this team will struggle to stay above .500. Changes must be made. I don’t think they will be.
posted by ahb at 10:54 AM
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