Eagles Open Camp

The Philadelphia Eagles opened camp today as all rookies, and selected veterans reported to Lehigh University to begin another grueling few weeks in the heat.

Neither 1st round pick Brandon Graham or 2nd round pick Nate Allen are signed as of yet. According to Andy Reid at his press conference, the team is fairly close to signing Nate Allen, but not necessarily Brandon Graham. Only 1 first round pick is currently signed, and it is Dallas Cowboy, Dez Bryant.

Normally it wouldn't be a big deal for any rookie to miss some time at camp, especially these first few days, but both Allen and Graham could be starting for this team this season from the start. With the injury to Marlin Jackson, Nate Allen is currently penciled in as the starting free safety. And with the free safety play the Eagles got last season after the departure of Brian Dawkins, Nate Allen will need to get in all the work and practices possible.

Graham fills another position that the Eagles have not gotten much out of in recent years; the left defensive end spot, opposite Trent Cole. Even though there are a lot of candidates to fill this spot, Graham could see a lot of time this season, and thus like Allen, would benefit from being at camp as soon as possible.

Other than that, no practices actually took place today, just Michael Vick and Andy Reid at the podium. Reid didn't give anybody any information, and was annoyed by all the Michael Vick questions, and let it be known, as is usually the case since he is a pompous ass. One possible piece of good news coming out of Reid's press conference was a softball lobbed to him by Merrill Reese. Does this possibly mean that kiss ass Dave Spadaro was not present? If this is true, this is obviously a good thing... for everyone. The less Dave Spadaro this season, the better.

Camp stories will be a little more interesting starting later in the week when they roll out the red carpet for all the rest of the players to arrive.

Eagles Draft Brandon Graham

The Eagles made some noise in the first round of the NFL Draft last night by trading up to the #13 spot to select defensive end out of Michigan, Brandon Graham. By moving up to the #13 spot, the Eagles gave up their own first round pick, and also their 2 third round picks. They still have 2 second round picks for tonight.

Brandon Graham is one of those guys who has played both outside linebacker and defensive end, but projects as a DE for the Eagles. He is undersized as a defensive end, listed a little bit over 6'1" and 270 pounds. Graham describes himself as fast, relentless, and a guy with a high motor. I'm not sure if Graham will start right away, but he does project as a left defensive end, to go opposite Trent Cole. This is a position that we needed, as Trent Cole has really been the only effective defensive end during his time in Philly. Juqua Parker is effective in small doses, but is older now. Victor Abiamiri is always injured, and even when he isn't, has not been very effective. If Graham can be a solid player, he will be the long term starter at the left defensive end position.

The Brandon Graham pick has been praised by some of the so-called experts in Jon Gruden, and Todd McShay. Graham appears to be a DE who can use his speed to beat offensive lineman to the outside, but also has a jab step and is able to fake like he is going outside, and cut back inside on an offensive tackle. Being as small as he is however, you have to imagine he will get pushed around at times by some of the bigger, dominant offensive tackles.

It is hard to say at this point whether the Eagles made the right move or not with Graham, but Reid and Roseman both wanted Graham, so at least they got the guy that they wanted.

Eagles Trade Brown and Gocong

The Eagles have made a huge trade today. And it doesn't involve Donovan McNabb, or any of the 50 QB's the Eagles have on the roster. I guess Andy Reid wants to hang onto the QB's as long as possible so he can continue to tell us all how amazing the Eagles are for having 3 quarterbacks that could start. But I digress...

We have lost one of the members of our Wolfpack today... and not because the Eagles no longer have Chris Gocong. The Eagles also traded Sheldon Brown to the Cleveland Browns, and in exchange receive the Browns 4th round pick and 5th round pick in this year's draft, and linebacker Alex Hall. The Browns picks that the Eagles receive are the 105th and 137th overall picks in the draft. Linebacker Alex Hall was a 7th round pick in 2008, and is a former Division 2 All-American at St. Augustine's. Not surprising that the Eagles wanted Hall, as Reid loves former Division 2 and Division 3 guys who dominate in college... yet they usually aren't very good in the pros. Reid goes after D-2 and D-3 guys almost as much as he goes after Mormons. The 4th round and 5th round picks are decent, but I don't have too much confidence that the Eagles will turn these into solid players, especially like Sheldon Brown was.

Chris Gocong was below average in my opinion, and was on the field way too much. He can't tackle, he can't cover. The only thing Gocong is supposed to be good at doing is rushing the passer from the outside. Unfortunately, even though this was the report on Gocong on draft day, the Eagles still picked him, and did not use him properly. So if Chris Gocong does have any skill, which I don't think he does, we wouldn't even know because he is not used to his strength. Gocong could end having success in a 3-4 defense where he can play the outside linebacker spot and rush the passer.

Sheldon Brown on the other hand is a great player, and has been so ever since the Eagles drafted him. Brown was one of the longest tenured Eagles, and was definitely a fan favorite. He is probably the hardest hitting cornerback in a league full of cornerbacks who don't even like contact, including the Eagles own Asante Samuel. Brown thrived with his physical play. Everyone remembers the famous Sheldon Brown hit on Reggie Bush on one of the first plays of the game to start a divisional playoff game. Sheldon Brown not ever being a pro-bowler so far in his NFL career is an absolute joke. Eagles fans know that Brown has been playing at a pro bowl level for a while now, and he does not get the national attention that he deserves. Brown epitomizes what Philadelphia loves in their athletes. He plays injured, he plays his hardest on every play, and one time, he came out with a Jason mask on. Even though Brown is getting older, and is probably past his prime, he is still very effective, and is better than Ellis Hobbs any day of the week. Brown will definitely be missed.

The trade overall is a bad one in my opinion. If the goal is to get rid of an older player in Brown, and an ineffective player in Gocong, then they accomplished that. But the trade makes the Eagles a much worse team. Andy Reid loves his late round draft picks, and loves to try to have the most picks of any team in the NFL every year. This doesn't seem to translate into solid draft picks, however. If the Eagles plan is to rebuild, they need to do it right - get rid of the older guys, which unfortunately includes McNabb, and spend the next year improving the defense, to hopefully go along with the young offensive playmakers this team has in a season or two.

Eagles' Management: The KGB of the NFL?

With the elevation of Howie Roseman to GM of the Birds, the Eagles' brain trust has openly (though inadvertently) revealed itself as the NFL's version of Russia's KGB-dominated dictatorship. The similarities are simply mind-boggling. First, though, a brief Russian history recap: Russia's leadership consists of a President, who has traditionally been the head of government, and a Prime Minister, who was usually a figure-head administrator of the Communist Party. Vladimir Putin, a long-time official of Russia's infamously brutal spy organization the KGB, was "elected" President in 2000 and served the requisite two 4-year terms ending in 2008. To retain absolute power and control after his presidency, Putin in 2008 appointed himself (through his minions) Prime Minister, and ensured that his hand-picked puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was "elected" President. In this way, Putin shifted dictatorial authority from the Presidency to the Prime Minister, thereby retaining absolute power over the government. Now, substitute the Eagles' Coach/General Manager for the Russian President/Prime Minister, and we can clearly see the self-serving, manipulative dishonesty of this GM appointment, not to mention the petty dictatorial mindset of the Lurie/Banner/Reid cabal. Rather than consider an independent football outsider who can train a fresh eye on the perennial meltdowns of this perennially underachieving organization, the insecure tyrants of NovaCare appoint an inexperienced bean-counting lackey in Roseman who will in no way challenge the status quo. In this way, Reid -- the Vladimir Putin control freak of Eagledom -- retains absolute power and authority over all personnel decisions, despite no longer carrying the titular GM designation in combination with Head Coach. Reid, with the backing of the clueless Lurie & Banner bean-counting sisters, further consolidates his control over this sorry organization, ensuring there will be no internal whispers of dissent to challenge his arrogant, myopic decisions. And, unfortunately for the fans, the endless term of Comrade Reid, like that of Putin, is destined to produce nothing but more helpless misery for the general public. Once again, the Eagles' brass proves its incompetency and, even worse, its timidity.

Philadelphia Eagles All-Decade Team

Our Eagles all-decade team was the hardest to come up with of all the Philadelphia teams, mostly because there are more players. We decided to go with 2 running backs, since no fullback is worth being on the all-decade team. This isn’t to say that we didn’t like Cecil Martin, or Jon Ritchie, because we did, and obviously we love Leonard Weaver right now, but the contributions of the 2nd running back were much greater than any fullback in this offense this decade. The 2nd running back was a close decision between Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter. Ultimately, we went with Buckhalter for his overall body of work, although Staley was a great player.

Another tough call was the 2nd receiver. Terrell Owens gets the #1 receiver slot. Even though he had a short body of work this decade with the Eagles, we all know the Eagles receivers weren’t exactly the greatest this decade. The 2nd receiver came down to Todd Pinkston, and current beast DeSean Jackson. This was the biggest argument we had of any of the players on any team. It is a good argument – Pinkston was on the team longer and thus accrued more numbers, but Jackson is the better player. We decided on DeSean Jackson.

On the defensive side of the ball, there were discussions about the defensive tackles, between Corey Simon, Hollis Thomas, and current tackles Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. We ultimately went with Patterson and Simon. Donovan McNabb gets the team MVP honors.

Check out our full Philadelphia Eagles all-decade team--

Offense
QB: Donovan McNabb
RB: Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Terrell Owens, DeSean Jackson
TE: Chad Lewis
OL: Jon Runyan, Shawn Andrews, Jamaal Jackson, Jermaine Mayberry, Tra Thomas

Defense

DL: Trent Cole, Mike Patterson, Corey Simon, Hugh Douglas
LB: Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons, Stewart Bradley
CB: Sheldon Brown, Troy Vincent
S: Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis

Specialists

K: David Akers
P: Sean Landeta
Special Teams: Ike Reese
KR: Brian Mitchell
PR: Brian Westbrook

MVP: Donovan McNabb

Coach: Andy Reid

Close Calls: Hank Fraley, Duce Staley, Todd Pinkston, Hollis Thomas, Broderick Bunkley, Bobby Taylor, Lito Sheppard, Quintin Mikell

Eagles Win 4th Straight

The Eagles closed out their time in Giants stadium most likely, putting on an offensive show, and winning the game 45-38, in a much needed divisional matchup. The Eagles now sit alone atop the NFC East with a record of 9-4.

The Eagles came out of the gates strong, took the opening kickoff, and marched right downfield and scored a touchdown, and made it look easy. The Giants first possession didn't go so well for them, as Sheldon Brown scooped up a Brandon Jacobs fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles were up 14-0 five minutes into the game. From that point on, it would be an offensive shootout for both teams. The Giants got the game to 14-10, and the Eagles then pushed it to 24-10. The Giants responded with a touchdown, and then the Eagles marched down the field right before halftime to score another touchdown, but missed the extra point to take a 30-17 lead.

In the 2nd half, the Giants continued to play strong on offense, and took a 31-30 lead in the 3rd quarter. It didn't last long, because literally the very next offensive play, McNabb found DeSean Jackson for a 60 yard touchdown. The Eagles then went on a very successful, long 91 yard drive throughout most of the 4th quarter, capped off by a 1 yard Leonard Weaver touchdown run to put the game away.

The Eagles offense played very well. McNabb continues his strong play, and ended the game 17-26 for 275 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. McNabb threw a couple very nice deep balls, bought some time on some other plays, and hit his check downs well. Mike Vick also continued his strong recent play, and threw a 32 yard dart to DeSean Jackson on the first drive, which set up the first touchdown of the game. Vick also ran the ball 3 times for 11 yards, including a touchdown. Not only does Vick look like he is getting better every week, the play calling that involves Vick has been a lot better. I will give credit to the Reid-Mornhinweg play calling combo when Vick has been in the game lately. By letter Vick throw a couple passes each game, it doesn't allow the defense to stack the box when Vick is in the game. Also, I like the use of the trick plays they have tried when Vick has been in there. 2 trick plays were used. The first one being a reverse to Vick in which he almost threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Brown. The 2nd one was a Vick handoff to McCoy, who pitched to McNabb, who looked to go deep back to Vick. Even though he didn't have anything deep, McNabb made the right read and dumped it short to Celek. So, not only is Vick getting better and better each week, and becoming more a weapon in the rushing and passing game, the play calling has made more sense as of late.

Donovan McNabb led 4 very important drives in this game. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field the score, which was very important to get a 7-0 lead. Then, right before halftime, the Eagles marched down the field and scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half, which was also very important. Sometimes McNabb often gets criticized for is not playing well with 2 minutes and under in the half or game. The Eagles came into this game 2nd in the NFL in scoring with under 2 minutes left in the half and end of the game, and they continued to add to that total. The 3rd drive was the 1 play drive, which was the 60 yard pass to Jackson. The Giants had just taken a 31-30 lead and had all the momentum at that point. And the final and most important drive was a 91-yard drive which took up most of the 4th quarter, and was eventually the game winning drive.

The rushing attack wasn't as successful as it has been recently, but McCoy and Weaver both got their share of carries, and Weaver and Vick both has a touchdown run. The story on offense however was DeSean Jackson. Without Jackson's return from his concussion, the Eagles do not win that game. Jackson had 6 receptions for 178 yards, and a touchdown. He also had a huge 72 yard punt return for a touchdown. You see people who are fast, but Jackson is ridiculously fast. Brent Celek also played well and ended with 64 receiving yards and a touchdown.

However, I am not so optimistic as some other people are going forward... mostly now because of the defense. I hear people talking today about how they are now starting to get this feeling with this Eagles team that we could go far into the playoffs, and into the Super Bowl. Well, I think that if that Eagles team from yesterday played the Saints, the Saints would have scored 60+ points. The Eagles defense was horrible. It was one of the worst defensive performances I've ever seen to be honest. Sheldon Brown, Quintin Mikell, Sean Jones - all guys who I like and have praised, played horribly. Too many missed tackles, too many penalties still, too many blown coverages, and not enough pressure on Eli. The Giants put up 512 yards of total offense in the game. They ran the ball and threw the ball effectively.

I do think the Eagles defense is a proud defense, and Sean McDermott and the players on the defense will not be happy with this victory. I think they will treat this week of practice like they really almost lost this game for the team, and bounce back. However, if the defense continues to play the way they played on Sunday, this team is not going to the Super Bowl.

Andy Reid Is Not Irreplaceable

Eagles coach Andy Reid is flat out no longer a very good coach. His pass happy offense now gets the Eagles into more trouble than it does well. There have been multiple times in Reid’s tenure with the Eagles, and multiple times just this season when the Eagles would be smart to just run the ball, but have not chosen to do so.

I’m not exactly sure who is calling the plays at the point, or who does what with the offense between Reid and Mornhinweg, but it makes no difference, because Mornhinweg just does whatever Andy Reid tells him to do. Andy Reid’s coaching style and attitude towards the fans and media is just getting old. It’s actually been old for a while, but I figured I would write another article stating my belief of wanting Andy Reid out of town.

Reid passes the ball way too much, doesn’t make adjustments during the game, doesn’t take advantage of other team’s weaknesses, can’t put together a successful game plan, is way too arrogant, doesn’t answer any questions during press conferences, treats the media like crap, and treats the fans like crap.

Andy Reid has been directly responsible for losses on the schedule. Take the game this season against the Oakland Raiders. This is a game that the Eagles should not and cannot lose. The Raiders are one the worst teams in the NFL against the run, and aren’t bad against the pass. Donovan McNabb was coming back from an injury, and wasn’t real sharp. This usually means to run the ball to help McNabb out. Instead, the Eagles passed the ball 46 times, and ran the ball 12, which does not include 2 McNabb runs. The Eagles were never down by more than 7 points in this game, so there was no reason to throw the ball. Reid’s play calling was directly responsible for a loss on the schedule that just can’t happen. To make matters worse, the following week the Raiders played the Jets, and the Jets ran the ball 54 times for 316 yards, and only threw 15 passes, and blew the Raiders out 38-0. Imagine that.

This notion that Andy Reid is the only person who can coach the Eagles, or that we won’t be able to find anybody else to coach the team successfully is a joke. Some people seem to think that Reid is a Joe Pa figure and can coach the Eagles for as long as he wants. That is ridiculous. Reid has had a great run as head coach of the Eagles; I am not trying to discredit that, and I am not trying to say he hasn’t done a solid coaching job here, because overall he has. But this team is going nowhere under Reid, and I believe that we can find someone better.

Unfortunately, Reid is loved by the organization, and I have a very bad feeling that a Reid extension is right around the corner, no matter how the Eagles do this season.

Vick Press Conference

Just watched the Michael Vick press conference. Nothing interesting or new really came out of it, besides Jeffrey Lurie spending 15 minutes ripping into Vick and his actions basically. Andy Reid spoke for a minute, and said what you would expect. He then turned it over to Tony Dungy, who spoke a little longer, and talked about how he was happy that Vick is getting a 2nd chance. Vick then spoke, and spoke well, and expressed remorse for his past actions, and thanked a lot of people who helped make this comeback possible. Vick then answered a lot of questions, basically about what he will do with the community going forward, and all that good stuff. Lurie then spoke about 15 minutes later, and made it fairly clear that he really was not in favor of this move to begin with, and basically had to be talked into it by Andy Reid, Tony Dungy, and Roger Goodell.

To be honest, all the off the field stuff is not very interesting anymore. Whether he believes it or not, and I think he does, Vick is saying all the right things, and will continue to do so. What I am interested in is how the Eagles are going to utilize Vick on the football field. I can't imagine they are bringing him in to run 2 plays a game in the shotgun, and maybe take off running. Vick is a very impressive talent when he is running with the football, and when he gets out in the open field. The Eagles obviously know this, and should be able to use Vick is a bunch of different situations. The Eagles have some very impressive athletes on the offensive side of the ball this season, and it will be interesting to see how they are used, especially Vick.

Reid: Here We Go Again

Amid all the Madness of March, Eagles' head coach and arrogant apologist Andy Reid (AKA The Mormon Mound), offered some pearls of wisdom during a closed conversation with an unnamed "Eagles employee" (Suck-Up Spadaro). The comments were quietly posted on the team's web site, and the Inquirer's requests to follow up on these brilliant insights with Reid himself were flatly denied. Distracted as we all are by bracketology these days, Kotite's Corner as a public service would like to drag Reid's remarks out of the shadows and give them the wider attention they so richly deserve. Here, then, is the wit and wisdom of Philly's best stand-up comedian, Andy Reid:

Asked about the team's underwhelming free agent moves: "You can take the team we have today and go compete for a championship in the National Football League. Now, you may have to move some people around to do some things there, and we have to get a little more depth at some positions, but with the people we have, we know we can compete for a championship."

(Great start, Andy -- you have the audience in stitches right from the opening monologue. Leno and Letterman would be envious!)

Pressed on why the Eagles have taken a "conservative approach" to free agency when they have enormous salary-cap room: "You can say it's a conservative approach, or you can just say it's smart."

(All righty, then...Please stop, Andy, we just can't take anymore -- we're laughing so hard that it hurts)

Asked if the current receiving corps is good enough to win a Super Bowl: "I think it is as you compare it to other teams, the teams that went to the Super Bowl."

(No more, Andy, no more...You have Yuengling coming out of our noses!)

Uh, what about that guy Fitzgerald, Andy?: "Now, you've got Larry Fitzgerald, who is the elite of the elite, and to compare him to our guys -- I think Larry is probably the finest receiver in the game right now. But I'll put our group up against other receiving groups in this league..."

(Um, like Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and that other guy, Hines Ward? Stop, Andy, stop -- you're killing us!)

And, finally, asked about his approach to coaching, which Tra Thomas suggested was a bit on the passive (clueless) side: "I am who I am. I do what I do."

(What a clever finish -- repeating an obscure quote from Kramer in one of the Seinfeld episodes, thereby subtly comparing himself to a doofus for anyone aware of the character -- Andy is clearly a master of cerebral comedy as well as slapstick!)

So there you have it, Eagles' fans -- deja vu all over again! As long as the Reid/Banner/Lurie gang is in charge, we're condemned to live every day like characters in Groundhog Day....Let's go Phils!!

Eagles Need Win... And Help

The Eagles will play their 16th game of the season this Sunday, and the playoffs are on the line for both the Eagles, and their hated opponent, the Cowboys. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they not only need to win this game, they need help from some other teams. Here is what needs to happen to see the Eagles playing football in January--

1. The Eagles need to beat the Cowboys
2. The Raiders need to beat the Buccaneers
3. The Giants need to beat the Vikings OR the Texans need to beat the Bears

Seems unlikely, but hey, that's why they play the games. To win the game at hand, the Eagles will need a team effort from the offense, defense, and ohh yeah, the play calling. If the play calling is poor, the Eagles really do not have a chance to win this game. However, if Andy Reid actually calls a normal pass-run ratio, the Eagles will have a good chance to win this game. The Eagles defense has been great all season, however, the Cowboys were one of the few teams to put up a lot of points on this defense. If the Eagles can stop the run like they have been able to do lately, they should be able to get pressure on Romo, and hopefully force some turnovers.

On offense, as usual, Brian Westbrook will need to have a huge game, and he is the only consistent play maker. If McNabb throws 50 passes this game, they Eagles have no chance to win. Not only is that bad play calling, the Eagles do not have the personnel at wide receivers to get it done consistently in the passing game.

It is a shame for all us Eagles fans that the Eagles season has come down to this - a must-win game, and needing help.

Reid's Only Friend?

You know you’re in trouble when your only supporter is Howard Eskin. We’re sure that Howard will spend the week re-educating the legion of nitwits like ourselves who believe that a 26% to 74% run to pass play ratio is a recipe for disaster, especially in windy conditions. But Andy and Howard always know better because…well, just because! The real question is whether Banner and Lurie still believe they know better too. The answer may well determine whether the Eagles will ever get a peek at playoff football for the next decade.

Just a Yard Short

Honestly, what can really be said after a loss like that that hasn’t already been said? We try to find the words. Although the Eagles only came up a yard short of tying the game at the end, there was a lot wrong with the way this game played out from the Eagles standpoint.

We should win if our running back plays well. We should win if our defense can shut down the opposing QB. We should win if our QB plays well. These are statements that are made from fans of all teams from all over every football Sunday. Unfortunately, with this Eagles team, we have to go into every game wondering if the play calling by Andy Reid will even allow us to win the game. We have an asterisk next to every statement like that above that we make. We should win….. if the play calling is good. Unfortunately for us, the play calling was not good, and has not been good all season.

The Eagles called 14 running plays, which doesn’t include the runs by McNabb. Two of those runs were on the final drive of the first half, in which they just ran twice, and let the time run out; so those don’t really count. 46 passes. It’s insulting to us die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fans to have the play calling not even give us a chance to win the game. As fans, we complain a lot about the Eagles’ shortcomings, as we should. But when you throw the ball 50 times a game, the receivers are going to drop a lot of balls, McNabb is going to throw some bad passes…. that’s what happens when you throw the ball so much. When you run, you get to control the game. You control the line of scrimmage, you control the clock, and thus control the pace of the game. Apparently, Andy Reid doesn’t realize that any of this is important to the game. He still feels as if throwing the ball every play will result in 50 points a game. This has not proven to be the case, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The Eagles have the most success when running the football. This Eagles team is 7-0 this season when they run the football more than their opponent. They are 1-6-1 when they have fewer carries than their opponent. Another frustrating thing is that in the game, the Eagles were never down by more than one possession, yet if you look at the play calling, you would have thought that the Eagles were down by 20 and trying desperately to get back into the game. The game at hand did not dictate so many passes to be called.

I’d like to continue the Andy Reid bashing by mentioning a post-game comment in which Andy Reid stated that the defense “started slowly.” That’s funny, since it was 0-0 after the 1st quarter, 3-0 at halftime. That is starting slowly? The only Redskins touchdown drive came on an 18-yard drive after a turnover in the 3rd quarter. The defense was the only reason we were even in that game until the end. In fact, the defense has been stellar all season long for the most part, especially as of late.

As for the game itself, it was not pretty. The Eagles were without their incredible wide receivers, Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett. Two players who would barely be missed on any other team, were greatly missed for the Eagles on Sunday. Reggie Brown was forced into the lineup, and Greg Lewis had his role increased. The only problem with that is they both suck. L.J. Smith, the Samuel Dalembert of the Eagles, continues to dissappoint on the field, missing key blocks in big situations, and dropping a couple passes. DeSean Jackson, while still an impressive rookie, dropped a few passes including a long pass on the final drive which fell right through his hands.

Many negatives, mostly on offense and the coaching, and not a lot of positives coming out of the game resulted in a crushing loss for the Eagles, who may have ruined their playoff chances. The Eagles now need the Bucs to lose to the Raiders no matter what, also need the Bears to lose one of their last two games, or the Vikings to lose their final game. Ohh yeah, they also need to beat the Cowboys the final game of the season. I guess if the Eagles don’t get in, it would be nice to beat the Cowgirls the final day of the season.

Eagles Need Victory to Stay Alive

The Eagles will travel to DC to play their division rival Washington Redskins on Sunday. One again, as it has been for the past few weeks, the Eagles need to win, and need some help from around the league. Either the Falcons or Bucs need to lose a game for the Eagles to jump in front of them. The Cowboys also need to lose, but the Eagles can handle that themselves the final weekend of the season.

The Eagles cannot afford to look past this game, as the Redskins are a good team, and proved that already when they came up to Lincoln Financial Field earlier in the season and beat the Eagles. The Redskins controlled the game by running the ball all over the Eagles, especially in the 2nd half. The Eagles defense will need to do a better job stopping the run this game, which they have been able to do most of the season. The Redskins offense has not been good as of late, but if the Redskins are able to run the ball effectively, it will open up a lot of things for them, and make for a long day for the Eagles on defense.

On offense, the Eagles need to continue doing exactly what they have been doing in the past three weeks. It starts with the play calling. Andy Reid got away from the run a little bit in the Browns game, which didn't matter, since the Browns are so bad. The Eagles need to run the ball in this game to maximize their offense, and use both Westbrook and Buckhalter in the rushing attack. If the Eagles can do this, it should not put too much pressure on Donovan McNabb, and he can make the passes he needs to make.

Bottom line, the Eagles should win this game, which is why they are favored on the road to a team they already lost to earlier in the season. However, this game could be easily overlooked, and that would be a mistake. Any divisional game is tough, especially a game on the road. The Eagles and Redskins face off Sunday at 4:00.

RE: Fans are Back to Drinking the Kool-Aid

To Whomever finds pleasure in ripping Philly fans,

I, for one, and sick and tired of being bashed and deemed a "fair-weather fan" when, in reality, you could not find a more passionate yet knowledgeable group of fans than you can find here in Philly. Fair-weather? Nonsense! The only "problem" with Philly fans is that we have a unique blend of obnoxiousness and smarts. It isn't supposed to be like that; fans are supposed to be obnoxiously dumb or smart but classy. Yes, the Philly fans ripped the Birds for all of the awful performances they have had so far this year. But it was well deserved. We weren't just booing for the sake of booing a losing team. We know football, and we see the potential of our team. To see that potential unfulfilled because a coach can't control a family let alone a football team is heartbreaking. All we want is to see the best effort put forth on the field. When you are playing for a Philadelphia team, we will cheer when you dive out of bounds to try to save an errant pass, or when you hit a ground ball to second base with nobody out to move a runner to third. However, we will also let you have it when you call a bootleg toss to an incumbent Tight End on 4th and 1. Nobody is drinking any cool-aid. Nobody all of the sudden supports Andy Reid or thinks that McNabb has a few more years left in him. If anything, a lot of the city is a little bit weary that this late season success is going to give the organization an excuse to hold on to this has been quarterback and ass of a coach when we know that neither of them is the long term answer.

Philly fans are not fair-weathered. We do demand 100% effort every time, and when that effort is put forth, we will support you like none other. Just ask the Phillies. But when a "playoff-caliber" team ties one of the biggest jokes in the NFL, yes we are going to get frustrated. And when we beat the defending Super Bowl champs on the road, then we are going to be happy. That's not being a fair-weather fan, that's being human. What did you want us to say after the bad games "Yeah, we know that Andy Reid blew this game for the team and for the city, but we still love you Eagles!" That couldn't be expected of any fan of any team. I am proud to be a Philly fan. You can say what you want about the boos and the cursing and the attitude, but the biggest keys to being a fan are passion and knowledge, and Philly is filled with fans who possess tons of both.

- Hollywood

Fans are back to drinking the Kool-Aid

The Eagles won on Monday night, and now all of you fair-weather fans are back to drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid. Do not get me wrong, I obviously like the Eagles winning, but give me a break; how much of a hypocrite, fair-weather fan can you be? Everyone reading this including us was calling for Andy Reid's head on a silver platter. Most of you would have traded McNabb for a bag of peanuts. And now what? They win a few games and all is forgotten. Now it comes down to a game against the TO-ified Cowgirls for a wild card spot. Awesome - congratulations front-running, bandwagon jumping fans who are blinded by a playoff birth, now we can have two first round picks in the twenties and have both McNabb and Reid for another year of mediocrity, a 75-25 pass/run ratio and maybe a possibility of a playoff birth. This same thing happened when McNabb went down and Garcia came in. We made a run to the playoff, because Reid decided to play call like a normal, intelligent coach. If this same organization is back here in tact next season, the first game next year we will be back to all of this nonsense again. I am a McNabb fan; the Eagles management has short-changed him with playmakers every year of his career except for the TO year. If the Eagles do make the playoffs, all of you fair-weather fans will bring up the Giants of last year, and how any team can win. This is true, but realistically, c'mon, we will be luc ky to get out of the Wild Card round. The one positive I see with this playoff run is that McNabb's value is higher than it will be for the rest of his career. I admit it will be tough next year when Childress, McNabb, and Peterson make it to the NFC championship; but then McNabb will choke and we will smile. I know Reid will not be gone next year, but I am calling all of you chumps out, that you have no right to complain next year. Hope the kool-aid tastes good.

Eagles Carve Up the Cardinals

The Eagles provided everyone watching in the Philadelphia area a Happy Thanksgiving by handing the Arizona Cardinals a lopsided 48-20 loss. I hate to say this is a case of the fans knowing what to do better than the coaches, but what did the Eagles do to win this game... established the running game. Imagine that.

The Eagles received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field to score a touchdown capped off by a McNabb to Westbrook shovel pass. The Eagles fan the ball 7 times on the opening drive, including runs by McNabb, Eckel, and Jackson, to only 4 passes. By running the ball, the Eagles controlled the clock, controlled the line of scrimmage, and when they did pass, it gave McNabb the time to complete short passes to move down the field. Also, the Eagles found a way to convert short yardage situations with running. That came in the form of Kyle Eckel, who was activated for the first time this season as an Eagle. The Eagles ran the ball for 185 yards on 40 carries. Westbrook went over 100, and had 4 total TD's. Kyle Eckel, Lorenzo Booker, and even McNabb also contributed to the rushing attack, all having over 20 yards rushing. McNabb ended the day with 260 yards passing, 4 TD's, and 0 INT's.

On defense, the Eagles once again played very well. They did well controlling the line of scrimmage, holding the Cardinals to 25 rushing yards. By shutting down the run, the Eagles made the Cardinals one-dimensional, and were able to intercept Kurt Warner three times in the game. Even though Larry Fitzgerald scored 2 touchdowns, the Eagles did an excellent job overall on the Cardinals wide receivers. Boldin was short-arming passes all night, and fumbled twice. Brian Dawkins played a great game at safety, with multiple hard hits, and an interception. The interception by Dawkins was his 34th overall as an Eagle, tying him for the all-time lead in interceptions for this team with Eric Allen and Bill Bradley. Dawkins will most likely get another one to become the all-time leader, and he definitely deserves it.

The story of the game was not McNabb playing well. Any intelligent Philadelphia fan knows McNabb is capable of putting up the types of numbers he put up in this game. It wasn't surprising to see McNabb play well, the surprise was the play calling. Andy Reid or Marty Morningweg or whoever called the plays did a great job of mixing the run and pass effectively. The Eagles held the for 40 minutes this game. That's exactly what you need to do against an offense as good as the Cardinals. McNabb can still win games and put up big numbers, it is the coaches job to put him into the position to do so, and that wasn't happening in previous weeks. Hopefully the Eagles can build off of this big win, as they travel to the Meadowlands next weekend to play the hated Giants.

Reid Unraveling

Regardless of one’s opinions about Reid and McNabb, there is no pleasure in witnessing a full scale, public meltdown of the coach, his “franchise” QB, and the franchise itself. The unraveling of this team is a direct reflection of the unraveling of Reid, a process that started at least 3 years ago with the TO fiasco, and which has now acquired the furious speed of an avalanche. How else to explain inserting an untested, stone cold rookie QB into a must win 10-7 game against one of the premiere defenses in the league? How else to account for ducking the responsibility of directly informing the veteran QB that he’s being benched for the first time in his career? How else to explain ordering the rookie to throw into tight coverage in a constricted area of the field on 2nd and inches? These are the acts of a desperate man, frantically looking for cover as the avalanche thunders down. It is sad to watch, but sadder still that Reid chose to ignore the disaster as it was developing over the last few years, and we will now all pay the price for his arrogant blindness.

It's Not You, It's Me

The Eagles lost to Ravens 36-7 on Sunday, to move their record to 5-5-1. There was a lot that went wrong in this game, which featured a quarterback change, more horrendous play calling, and a 108-yard interception return for a touchdown. We aren’t going to re-hash the Eagles crappy display of football from Sunday against the Ravens, because what’s the point; we all watched it, we all are depressed. Instead, we are going to focus on one thing in particular and call out head coach Andy Reid for being a gutless chump.

After a dismal first half, McNabb was off to another bad start, which has become common place with this Eagles team this season. At some point during half-time, Reid decided that Kevin Kolb would start the 2nd half as the Eagles QB. The terrible thing about this was Reid was not man enough to break the news to McNabb. Instead, Reid delegated the responsibility of doing his dirty work to Pat Shurmur, Eagles QB coach.

Andy Reid drafted McNabb back in 1999, and since then, the two have been almost inseparable. Reid has always defended McNabb when McNabb played poorly, and McNabb always defended Reid when Reid’s coaching was poor. Being the starting quarterback of a team for 10 years warrants the respect of the head coach to come tell McNabb when he is going to bench him, especially when Reid has been McNabb’s head coach throughout his entire tenure here.

The benching of McNabb is Reid’s way of deflecting the blame away from himself, and throwing McNabb under the bus. There is no way in the game against the Ravens that Kevin Kolb coming into the 2nd half gives the Eagles a better chance to win that game. First off, it’s unfair to Kolb to come into a hostile environment, against a very good, aggressive defense and expect him to be successful. The move was only done for Reid to try to show that what has been going on with this team lately is not his fault, it’s McNabb’s. Reid still refuses to admit any wrongdoing on his part.

This is desperate, last minute effort to save his job. But is his job really in jeopardy? McNabb is probably gone after this season even before yesterday's game, and this benching only solidifies that. Now Reid has a do-over with Lurie to see how far he can take a Kolb-lead Eagles. Yet on top of all that, it wouldn’t have been so bad had Reid just taken 30 seconds to explain to McNabb that he was benched, and they could discuss it later after the game. That didn’t happen, because Reid is a coward. He should now go to McNabb and tell him, "It’s not you, it’s me.”

Fire Reid? We Have the Answer

The time has officially come when the Philadelphia Eagles need a coaching change. This is not going to be a “bash Andy Reid” article, as this has become all too popular right now, and extremely easy. Everywhere you look on the Internet, you can find people cursing, and insulting Andy Reid….. we are guilty of a little bit of that also.

Andy Reid is one of, if not the best coach in Philadelphia Eagles history. We have only ever been to two Super Bowls in franchise history, and Reid took us to one, and also guided us to four straight NFC championship games. Reid came into town after the failures of Rich Kotite (our namesake), and Ray Rhodes, and immediately turned the team around. His first six seasons here, there was a clear strategy in what Reid was trying to accomplish. The Eagles consistency got better each year under Reid, culminating in a trip to the Super Bowl, and a close loss to the New England Patriots.

Unfortunately, that Super Bowl loss was the pinnacle on Andy Reid’s career with the Eagles. Since then, it has been downhill. The Eagles have only gotten to the playoffs once in three seasons since, and currently sit at 5-4-1, and not looking like they are going to make the playoffs this season, much less make a serious push for the Super Bowl. That is unacceptable in this town, and with our Philadelphia Eagles.

All good things must come to an end. Sometimes change is good. Throw whatever cliche you want out there; Andy Reid clearly has been a successful coach with the Eagles, but his time is now up. Some say it’s easy to call for Reid to be fired, but where is the solution? We have the solution.

The solution is in the form of Steve Spagnuolo, New York Giants defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo is a product of the Jim Johnson defensive system, serving as a coach under Johnson from 1999-2006. Since he left Philly, his Giants defense has been dominant and was the anchor of the Giants team that swept through the playoff and a Super Bowl victory. The Giants defense, under Spagnuolo put up an unbelievable defensive effort against a better version of the Patriots team that beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl in 2005. The Patriots had entered the Super Bowl with the Giants with their offense being called unstoppable. Spagnuolo's defense not only won a Super Bowl for Giants, they also lost two starting all-pro defensive ends for this season, and he still has the Giants as one of the best defensive teams in football. The Giants also are among the lead leaders in sacks.



Steve Spagnuolo is the perfect fit, as the defense would remain the same hard hitting, attack the quarterback defense that we love here in Philadelphia. The next coach of the Eagles should be a defensive minded coach, and Spagnuolo fits the bill. Spagnuolo is already one of the hottest names in terms of future head coaches in the NFL, and the Eagles should not let the opportunity to get him slip away. He already knows the Eagles organization, and would be comfortable coming into this city and this team, as he already has been here. The defense will be similar to the one that Jim Johnson runs, it just seems that by watching the Giants, it may be a little more modern. If Spagnuolo were to be hired, an experienced offensive coordinator would be needed. An experienced offensive mind at offensive coordinator is a perfect fit here, as it will continue to do many of the great things that the Reid era set up, but will solve the issue of the stalemate we seem to be in since the season we got to the Super Bowl.

With Reid gone, the next question is, does Heckert leave also? We believe as do many that Heckert seems to be a puppet to Reid. Everyone knows Reid controls most player personnel decisions. There is also a belief that Heckert is hindered by Reid, and if given actual control of the team, he can succeed. Although we may regret the decision of Heckert and Jim Johnson leaving the organization, it is the price that must be paid to get Spagnuolo in here, and a new system in place.

If Reid is kept for next season, it is likely that Kevin Kolb will be the starter at QB. If Reid remains, he will get the leeway of seeing Kolb through his first few years, even if he, and the team struggle. All while this is going on, Spagnuolo will likely be hired as a head coach with another team, and have a lot of success. We do not want to let that opportunity pass.

Eagles Tie Bengals

The Eagles tied the Bengals 13-13 on Sunday. Unfortunately, there is no typo in that sentence. Exactly 11 years from the day the Eagles tied the Ravens 10-10, the Eagles came out and played horribly, and left Cincinnati with a tie. It's outrageous, embarrassing, and frustrating.

The Eagles continued to show the same problems that they have shown all season long. That begins with Andy Reid having no clue what he is doing, as it was difficult to tell if the Eagles had any type of game plan at all. The play calling was again horrendous, and was all over the place. The Eagles never looked like they had any type of consistent game plan. They could pick their plays out of a hat, and it probably wouldn't look any different.... in fact, it might improve the play calling.

Besides the poor play calling, Donovan McNabb played terribly. He clearly didn't have his best stuff all day long, and ended up tying a career high with 3 interceptions thrown, all while throwing a career high 58 passes. There wasn't much different in the play between McNabb, a 10 year veteran, and Fitzpatrick, who was making his 9th career start. Since McNabb was struggling, it makes no sense why the Eagles didn't try to run the ball, in a cold, windy atmosphere in Cincinnati. The Eagles called 17 running plays (this doesn't include a run by McNabb), on 18 offensive possessions. Really? 17 runs in 18 possessions against a Bengals defense which struggles to stop the run.

The defense was a bright spot, and kept the Eagles in the game as the Eagles offense was constantly turning it over, or Rocca was shanking punts. The Bengals, who actually ran the ball despite little success, couldn't do much on offense against the Eagles defense, who swarmed all over the ball wherever it went. The Eagles defense recorded 8 sacks, and held the Bengals to 56 rushing yards on 30 carries.

The Eagles as a team just have so many problems right now, it's hard not to look toward the future. The problems start with Andy Reid, who is too arrogant and stupid to admit when something isn't working. He can't call plays, and gets outcoached all the time. Because Donovan McNabb played poorly, the Eagles have little chance to win any game in which McNabb plays poorly, because Brian Westbrook does not get the ball enough to have an impact. The opposing defense can key on stopping Westbrook, because the Eagles have no one else on offense to even pay attention to. Against the Bengals, the receivers couldn't get open at all, and when they did, McNabb couldn't make the throw to them.

What does all of this mean? A tie against the previously 1-8 Bengals, which leaves the Eagles at 5-4-1 on the season, and their playoff chances getting slimmer and slimmer every day.