Reid the fans’ lips: Is it time to shake up the Eagles’ nest?

By Lou DiPietro  |   Wednesday, November 12, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Sometimes it’s really great when a plan doesn’t come to fruition. Thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles’ dismal performance last Sunday night, you’re about to read why.

The yearly Eagles-Giants games are the two weeks every football season where this writer trades in his press hat for a game ticket. Instead of meticulously watching the game and then re-watching the tape to find a story angle, I can spend the day tailgating, eating more than any human should be allowed to and enjoying the game as a fan - of course, still watching it meticulously when there isn’t a fight in the stands.

And I was all set to do that again this past weekend. A Sunday night game meant I could just DVR NBC‘s broadcast, and I had a column idea all set to go about how the quarterback position in the NFL is turning into a triage unit and somehow Donovan McNabb isn’t a part of that.

That’s where the plan not coming to fruition comes into play.

If you saw the game on Sunday night (and because it was national, chances are you did), you know what I’m talking about. If not, well … it was utter domination by the Giants, who certainly look like the best team in the NFL. The Eagles’ running game looked like a peewee squad, the G-Men’s trio of “Earth, Wind and Fire” danced all over the defense to the tune of over 200 yards rushing and the game was nowhere near as close as the 36-31 final indicated. In fact, as bad as the 'D' played, it was a pair of big first-half defensive plays that gave Philly its first two touchdowns and prevented the final score from reflecting the blowout this truly was.

The fans in section 222 were not happy, to say the least - well, except for the two Giants loyalists I brought with me. But after listening to their diatribe for three hours -- including the capstone comment about how any idiot who has ever played as the Eagles in Madden would know not to run Brian Westbrook up the middle on fourth-and-1 -- I was less than shocked at what I would hear on WIP 610-AM radio on the way home.

RF365.com colleague John McMullen posited last week that thanks to the Phillies’ World Series victory, the Eagles have become second-class citizens in Philadelphia. Well, thanks to another Andy Reid classic, it took all of 10 days for the city’s biggest high to come crashing back to earth.

Garry Cobb’s post-game show on WIP featured numerous callers, whose comments all landed in one of three categories: “Andy Reid needs to go,” “Donovan McNabb needs to go,” or, in true fan fashion, “Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb both need to go.”

If there’s one thing that can unite Eagles fans (and Philadelphians in general), it’s disgust in their team. Passionate disgust, granted, but no one does negativity like Philly. G-Cobb, a former Eagles linebacker, couldn’t help but agree, and even the most passionate fan has to be ready to give up on the Reid/McNabb era.

I won’t jump on that bandwagon -- that would be too easy. It’s hard to forget what that duo has done for Eagles football after the Ray Rhodes era ended in dismal failure. But it’s clear that something has to change.

The fans in Lincoln Financial Field could see it Sunday night, the callers on WIP have seen it all season and again, even the most ardent fan will see it eventually. Whether it be Reid’s issues at home, too much job responsibility - Reid seemingly has more job duties than the president of the United States - or just plain lack of execution, he doesn’t seem to have it anymore.

In Cobb’s take on the recent Eagles’ misfortune, he said that part of the problem is, in fact, McNabb and Westbrook. In the former’s case, he’s turned into Scottie Pippen -- a player who will put up good stats and be productive, but he can’t carry a game by himself. The Eagles’ offense is one-and-a-half dimensional -- and thanks to injuries and advancing age (which is a scary thought at 31), McNabb is no longer capable of turning his half-dimension into success when the running game isn’t functioning.

All year, he’s seemed hesitant at times, not to mention a step slow. On one of his three carries on Sunday night, it looked like he was running underwater. This is no longer the quarterback who is one of only six in NFL history to pass for 25,000 yards and run for 3,000, or even seemingly the guy who holds nearly 20 team quarterbacking records.

As for Westbrook’s case, it’s simply a matter of going to the well once too often. Yes, he’s a top five running back in the league -- no one will deny that. But there’s a reason why every Clinton Portis has a Ladell Betts and every Warrick Dunn needs a Mike Alstott. The Eagles don’t have a big back on their roster, yet on the their biggest play of the year, the smallest of the bunch got a carry he flat-out couldn’t execute all night.

Westbrook is listed at 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, both of which are likely a little generous. He was stuffed all night in every direction, only accumulating 26 yards. Heck, he was out-rushed by McNabb, whose three scrambles produced a team-high 35 yards -- a total that was eclipsed by the Giants’ No. 3 back, Ahmad Bradshaw.

So what was he doing running the ball twice with 3 yards to go inside the two-minute warning?

If anything, Correll Buckhalter or even Kyle Eckel should have been in there to run the ball straight up the gut -- at least on one of the downs. Instead, it was Westbrook, the scat back, who got clobbered twice and cemented another heartbreaking loss. Why not pass? Why not use a bigger back? More tight ends? Anything?

Just another boneheaded call by Reid, who seems to be making an art form of that trait this year. If anything, he’s turning into George Costanza in that one episode of Seinfeld, and should probably do the opposite of what his instinct tells him to do -- and a good start to that would be letting the offensive coordinator actually, you know, coordinate the offense.

Of course, after the game, the media were treated to Reid’s usual barrage of vague excuses. My personal favorite is “we were trying to exploit a weakness in the Giants‘ defense,” which is what he said about the final two plays. Reid apparently only watched about a dozen plays, because Brandon Jacobs out-gained the Birds by himself and the biggest weakness was actually the Giants‘ secondary. Of course, that gem was nicely garnished with “we just didn’t execute well enough on either side of the ball” and “we have to work harder.”

For all that’s worth, Reid might as well send in a talking bobble-head doll to his losing press conferences. Unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and even though they haven’t yet lost a game by more than six points, the Eagles are 5-4. Talk is cheap, the truth hurts … name your cliché, but the bottom line is that it’s getting late early.

This past January, Reid was interviewed by Philadelphia magazine about his off-field family issues. When asked about his future, he said that “as long as (owner) Jeffrey Lurie will have me, and as long as I can do my job to the best of my ability, I would love to be an Eagle.”

Just over halfway through the 2008 season, it appears as if the middle portion of that statement is no longer true. The way the fans are talking, and the way his team is performing, it may be only a matter of time before the first portion is no longer relevant either.

So much for not jumping on the bandwagon.
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About Lou DiPietro

Lou DiPietro is an accomplished freelance writer who is fascinated with all things sports. In addition to his duties at RealFootball365.com, Lou contributes to TheBleacherReport.com and Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, and has been featured on "The Sports Buffet with Matt West" on 1080-AM ESPN ...
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