Here is my take on the season

[stalker]

The eagles as assembled by Andy Reid have had certain things they have done better than anyone else. Small things that differentiated them from the other teams.

Great FG kicker
Very consistent punter
Stingy (sp?) redzone D
Good to great kick and punt returners
Great coverage guys on ST's
Great TO ratio

These things add up to field position. Short fields for the O. Long fields for the D. We have consistently lost the Time of possession stat as a direct result of these issues. That has often been decried as a problem but never really was. If you look at any of these issues, we have been deficient in each one. Can they be addressed in a relatively low key, not game breaker acquisitions? I believe so.

[Wingspan]

thats a better point than i expected when i first clicked on this thread. 

[stalker]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!

No it's not!

Akers missed FG's vs Atlanta which would start us 1-0. Rhe other issues fell into line after that. If these probs are fixed. We are back to the top. Attention to detail has been Reid's strongpoint from the start. Injuries and economic exodus of key cogs in the overall wheel have been the problem this year.

If you add healthy fringe guys like:

Ike Reese
Dirk Johnson
David Akers
JR Reid

back into the mix, the results of this season would be drasticly different.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Remember "goeagles99"?  His latest blog entry pretty much sums up my current feelings about the season:

I am going to enjoy the rest of 2005.

We're 5-7. So what? Nothing I can do about that. Half the offense is new. Half the defense decided to take the year off.

We're on our 4th punter.

We've had 4 guys placekick for us this year.

We've played 10 LBs this year.

We have 3 QBs with at least 30 pass attempts.

We have 4 new OL starters.

We'll have a rookie WR and RB starting on Sunday.

This is just one of those years. Murphy's Law really came home to roost. It seems to have attached itself to us like the space creature to John Hurt's face in Alien.

We're technically still alive in the playoff hunt, but that's like saying that Angelina Jolie is still a marriage possibility for me. She hasn't said "No" yet.

If we pull off some miracle, great. I'm not holding my breath. That goes for the Eagles and Angelina.

So how do we enjoy a team in such an odd set of circumstances? Just watch the young guys play. Watch them get experience and learn. There will be some growing pains (broken eggs, remember?), but we'll also see glimpses of why these guys were picked.

We have already seen a lot from Trent Cole. Ryan Moats has shown flashes of his ability. Mike Patterson started the season really well. Reggie Brown has looked like a star in the making at times. All the young OL have stepped up and shown a lot of ability. Etc, etc, etc.

I'm really curious to see if Matt McCoy gets on the field more at WLB. I'd like to get a good look at Matt and see how he handles the NFL.

Remember the end of 1999? We were 3-11. The team got a little better each week and we won the last two games. That small streak helped us the following year. A nice finish would help the young guys a lot. It would give them some confidence. The vets know how to win and what it takes. They can talk to the young guys all they want, but until the kids see it for themselves and exeperience it, those lessons won't sink in.

We also have some "young veterans" with a lot to prove. Mike McMahon might be fighting to keep his career going. Same for Billy McMullen, Darnerian McCants, Lamar Gordon, Juqua Thomas, Keith Adams, Jack Brewer and Justin Ena. Those guys need to show someone...anyone...that they belong in the NFL.

I can live with losing (under these circumstances), but I need this team to play hard and show me some improvement. Winning 3 out of 4 and finishing 8-8 would be pretty nice as well. Draft position be damned.

Bring on the last 4 weeks.

[jeffreyjpa]

Pretty much reflects my outlook on the remainder of the season, as well...thanks for posting it, FF.

That being said, I'm hoping to sell our tickets to the game this Sunday, and watch the kids' potential from Dave and Busters, with a little extra virtual reality and billiards money in my pocket.  Monday night was enough humility for me for this week.  

[archer]

If you'd have only listened to me

http://www.concretefield.com/forum/index.php?topic=16088.msg304810#msg304810

[Geowhizzer]

If you'd have only listened to me

http://www.concretefield.com/forum/index.php?topic=16088.msg304810#msg304810

Ah, but Archie, it took more than one injury:

McNabb- Sports Hernia
Shepard- Broken ankle
T.O.- Brain damage
Akers- Hammy; Panties in a bunch
Westbrook- Foot
Reid- Chronic PASS-ive aggressive syndrome