Why Philly is doomed (or give Westbrook the freakin’ ball)

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, November 15, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Are those in Philadelphia Eagles land still thinking about Stephen Davis? (For those of you who have forgotten, Uncle Stephen was a member of the Eagles for about 15 minutes in August. Short Golden Age.) Sure, he's scrubbing behind Steven Jackson for the St. Louis Rams, but ... but ... oh, there's no point in trying to be coherent about it: Why won't the Eagles run the freaking ball?

Or better yet, why don't they bolster the running game?

You want to know why the Eagles under this game plan are doomed to failure despite one of the best quarterbacks in the game, one the best coaches in the game, the best receiver in the game (oops, that was back in 2005), the best stadium security guards in the game, etc., etc.? It's the same problem that's dogged them throughout this decade riddled with near-misses.

First, some numbers. In last year's disastrous season, the Eagles called a pass play on approximately 66.4 percent of all downs, "good" for the second most in the league. Naturally, a 6-10 oft-trailing team will do so, needing big gains in succession to catch up. But consider this ratio in the Eagles' winning seasons: in 2004, with Terrell Owens and Co. running up a 13-3 record on the way to the Super Bowl, over 65 percent of plays were calls for a pass. In 2003, a "mere" 57 percent of calls were pass plays, and just about 60 percent were in 2002.

This one-dimensionality on offense was no secret to anyone going into 2006. (Why else the play for Davis?) By the numbers of RealFootball365's Anthony Carroll back in April, "For the Philadelphia Eagles' offense, the 2006 season should end with numbers closer to 490 carries and 510 passes. So, subtract 110 pass attempts and add on an additional 125 runs. ... Then, hopefully the extra carries should help to bring about more of those 120-yard performances [by] Brian Westbrook..."

Except that the Eagles' ratio this year is exactly 59.38 percent, or just about four pass plays under an even 60. Except that Westbrook hasn't broken a 120-yard effort yet and has been given 20 carries once. Except that a pass is called on first down over 66 percent of the time by Andy Reid and Co. Meanwhile, in the first six games, the Eagles finished a quarter tied or leading 21 of 24 times and never played from more than eight points behind.

"What gives?" One may ask.

When the Eagles were flirting with Davis back in August, the team was saddled with a corps of backs that included Westbrook; Correll Buckhalter, who hadn't played a game in the two seasons previous; sophomore Ryan Moats, rumored to have been trade bait on Draft Day; special teams specialist and third-string halfback Reno Mahe; and fullback Thomas Tapeh, who sat out 2005 due to injury.

After deciding Davis was more wounded than even they were desperate enough to take a chance on, Philly brass kept the above five guys. Westbrook's second bananas have accounted for less than seven percent of total offense for the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is second highest in rushing yards on the team.

And hasn't Reid looked at the incredibly impressive slash could-be monstrous year Westbrook is apparently secretly having? His average yards per carry - despite two sub-40-yard games, mind you - is a crazy 5.2. (That's higher than Tiki Barber and, in fact, higher than anyone not named Michael Vick.) Even subtracting the 71-yard scamper he ran off against the San Francisco 49ers, that average is still a Willie Parker-level 4.6.

Westbrook is on pace for 1,000 yards. "Big deal," you say? Right. Except that Barber, with the comparable 5.1 yards per carry is already just 29 yards away from the milestone. Barber is on pace for 1,700-plus. Parker, playing for the 3-6 oft-trailing Pittsburgh Steelers, is looking at 1,500. Westbrook, meanwhile, has just 119 carries, exactly as many as Laurence Maroney, the New England Patriots' No. 2 option. Will the underuse go down as the biggest waste of a potential All-Pro season ever?

Of course, there is the possibility that Reid was watching Westbrook carry the ball 22 times for 113 yards in the dominant 27-3 victory over Washington. And that he was taking notes. And that it wasn't a one-off.

Maybe McNabb is a great QB, a Hall of Famer, the best in the NFC, playing the best ball of his life ... but the acquisition and departure of T.O. should have taught a few folks that the most high-powered passing game in the world isn't enough to win it all. Ask John Elway. Then ask Terrell Davis.

And then figure that, even should the Eagles sneak into the playoffs, their big-play dependent game plan will soon make them irrelevant again.

Keep on passin' with the Philadelphia Eagles on RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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