Last year it was the punt returner. This year, it is the fullback.
Yep, it finally happened. Success merged with futility and produced an ugly, kissing your sister, 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. And the architect? The coach and pro temp General Manager Andy Reid.
The Eagles' defense played fine. Bengals linebacker and former Eagle Dhanti Jones also played well. And even Donavan McNabb could not give himself a passing grade, pardon the pun, with three interceptions. The last time the Eagles QB threw three interceptions was when the Bucs Matt Bryan kicked a 62-yard field goal in a familiar painful loss about two or three years ago.
Why do I point to Reid? To my memory, the Eagles faced three 3rd-and-1 situations and all three times passed the ball resulting in an incompletion. The Eagles and McNabb did convert on a 4th-and-1 on their way to the game-tieing field goal by David Akers in the fourth quarter.
And why didn't the Eagles make those 3rd-and-1 situations? Execution? Wrong scheme? Bull bananas and I am sick and tired of those "we are dumber than monkeys" day after press conferences by Reid. It is because they don't have a fullback or a tight end, for that matter, who can make a hole big enough to get Brian Westbrook or Correll Buckholder through for one stinkin' yard. Chicago, Washington, New York and now Cincinnati. How sad is that? Pathetic.
You know: I gave Reid a break last year with all that went on with his sons. I thought a healthy McNabb and Westbrook and the addition of Asante Samuel would make a difference.
I was wrong.
It is because Andy Reid is bullheaded and the Philadelphia media and fans are football morons who don't understand football.
Come on Andy: Call this a stinking ugly game. 'Cause it was.
When Donavan, post press conference, said he could understand that fans could not understand what the Eagles were trying to accomplish, I took him for face value.
Like Donavan or not, he sometimes skirts around a question, but when it really matters, he tells it straight.
Remember the black on black crime he said that Terrell Owens pulled on him? I understand it. Yep, this is not the hood. But where in the hood do you have 300 pound men who can run a 4.8, 40-yard dash and deliver twice their weight in force to a quarterback? That's how I understood McNabb's statement. Owen did not have his back late in his Eagles career. Think I am whining about old times? Put a mic in TO's face after a Dallas loss.
And right now McNabb knows that this team ain't as good as one of his momma's home made biscuits. That is one thing he won't say, because he has to believe in the team.
But how many people believe what Reid is trotting out there anymore?
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about 1 month ago
Yep, and Cincinnatti did what every NFC East team has done this year to shut down the Eagles. Stop Westbrook. But Andy is like a guy banging his head against a brick wall-eventually the wall is going to collapse, and as long as it does, cranial injuries be damned.
And again with the clock and time out management. They are one in the same. When the Eagles were 4th and 1 in the beginning of the fourth quarter, Andy at first wanted to go for it and move the chains, then hesitated, and wound up using a time out to retrieve the offense back to the sidelines and send out the kicking team. Blech! One less time out to use in the final two minutes of the game, and that means wasting precious seconds and hurrying plays and running "no-huddle" plays that turn into 3 and outs.
This team was picked by talent alone at the beginning of the season to win the NFC East, now we are nothing but spoilers for any other team facing us the rest of the season who may have a playoff hope.
It's not the team, you may make an argument it's McNabb, but with me, it's the head coach.
about 1 month ago
Scott,
Agreed, it is Reid all the way. He talks to the media and fans like we are dopes. It is simple, run the *(*^*&%^)^&)^&) ball!!!!!
about 1 month ago
Great article... it's funny - Thursday's win: did it help or hurt?
from about 1 month ago
It helped the Eagles confidence and brought a few fans back, but Reid still isn't committed to the run. The sit down of Donavan might have helped; he has come back stronger than ever.
Unless this team runs the table, Thursday's win means little. It is the first step, however.
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