It's swell to dream.....say Reid gets canned....

[phillymic2000]

Until the Eagles get a meaningful win - and Cincinnati, Baltimore and Arizona don't count - I'm not buying any of it. Show me, don't tell me. If you can't do that, don't bother with anything else.

At this point I really don't see how we beat baltimore or Arizona

[rjs246]

That's a good thing. Better draft pick. Less excuses for Reid to keep his job.

[SD_Eagle5]

I'm content (for now) with the Phils parade so I don't agree with this article that Philly fans are addicted after having a taste of glory, but the rest of the article is again spot on:

The Gold Standard?

When the Phillies won the World Series, the Eagles may have believed they'd get a break. Now that the city had its first championship in 100 seasons, the Birds may have concluded Philly fans would ease up on the criticism.

But if they thought that, they didn't understand Philadelphia.

Things are now significantly tougher for Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb in Philly. And if they don't get a grasp on this new environment quickly, they may both be gone sooner than they expect.

Now that the City of Brotherly Love has had a taste of glory, it's addicted. It's not willing to wait around for a mediocre team to try to mediocre its way into the playoffs.

Which is exactly what the post-T.O. Eagles have tried to do year after year.

Philly was never OK with the "Gold Standard" plan of Jeffrey Lurie, Joe Banner, and Reid. The "Thrifty Threesome" (trademark Russakoff Rules Inc.) always felt that they could stay away from the big risk and remain above-average, and one of these years things would break their way.

That "make-sure-you're-good-but-don't-dare-to-be-great" philosophy never sat well with Philadelphians. But we bought into it anyway.

We were desperate. We wanted a championship. We needed a championship.

So Philly put up with the underwhelming player moves, the maddening timeouts, and the frustrating play-calling, because the Birds gave the city its best hope at a ring...or so we thought.

But then the ColeTrain (trademark Russakoff Rules) beat Reidonomics to the punch, and everything changed.

Hamels and the Phillies showed the city what a winner looks like...what a winner feels like. They showed the town how winners talk and act off the field and how they play on it. And now, when the Phaithful watch the Eagles, we can't help but notice the stark contrast between our world-bleeping-champion Phillies and our last-place Eagles.

Philly is done waiting around for Andy and Donovan. Especially, when things are steadily getting worse.

Together, Reid and Donovan have been at this for 10 years. So why does it feel like every two-minute drill is still their first? Why does it seem like they are still making it up as they go along on every third-and-short? Why, when they need a big play in close games, do they always go with the most predictable one in their 227,856-page playbook?

Ray Didinger (a.k.a. Ray Diddy, a.k.a. Nauga, a.k.a. The Professor, a.k.a. R. Dadunkadunk) cited some incredible stats on Comcast Sportsnet's after Sunday night's game:

Since the Eagles loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, Andy Reid's teams are 7-19 in close games (those decided by less than six points).

Think that's bad? The Eagles are 1-10 in their last 11 close games.

1-10!

That's staggeringly pathetic. But not surprising considering the Eagles' biggest struggles over the past few years. The Birds have been terrible in the red zone, terrible in short yardage situations, and terrible with clock management. It's tough to win tight games when you're 0-for-3 in those categories.

And the blame for all three shortcomings has to fall squarely on the shoulders of the team's decision-makers: Reid and McNabb.

Reid is this team's "Executive VP of Football Operations." Which means he is the de facto GM. He chooses the players (sorry, Tom Heckert), he calls the plays (well, he and Marty Mornhinweg), and he makes the decisions on challenges/timeouts.

What Reid controls from the sidelines, Donovan controls on the field. McNabb is responsible for executing the plays, for audibling, for spiking the ball in the right spot, and for not letting valuable time run off the clock at the end of games.

Whenever the game has been on the line, both Reid and McNabb have grossly underperformed in these areas. Whenever a clutch spot comes up in a game, both invariably clam up.

Compare the Eagles' close-game futility with the Phillies' 89-0 record taking a lead into the ninth...or Brad Lidge's perfect 48-for-48 in save attempts.

In both baseball and football, when games come down to the end, when a play or two separates victory from defeat, playmakers make plays. Champions make plays.

Whenever the Phillies got into a tight spot in '08, there were players up and down the lineup that knew they were going to win the game for them.

The citizens of Philadelphia saw that. And we're looking for the same winning players on this Eagles roster.

Where are the players on the Eagles that demand the ball? Where is the front office guy that's willing to put his neck on the line? Where is the coach who will make a gutsy non-generic, unpredictable call with the game in the balance?

The Eagles don't have players like that. They don't have executives like that. They don't have coaches like that.

And now that the Phillies have shown this town what a champion looks like, the reason the Eagles can't get over the hump has become painstakingly obvious:

There aren't enough winners on this team. And it's real tough to win without winners.


Will Andy and Donovan ever win the big one? Do the Eagles need to start over? Add your thoughts here.

[rjs246]

And now that the Phillies have shown this town what a champion looks like, the reason the Eagles can't get over the hump has become painstakingly obvious:

There aren't enough winners on this team. And it's real tough to win without winners.

Amen.

[Feva]

Whenever the game has been on the line, both Reid and McNabb have grossly underperformed in these areas. Whenever a clutch spot comes up in a game, both invariably clam up.

Compare the Eagles' close-game futility with the Phillies' 89-0 record taking a lead into the ninth...or Brad Lidge's perfect 48-for-48 in save attempts.

I can only really relate to that feeling from one side... but that's got to be maddening.

It's just pathetic how when watching the Eagles in a tight game, with the ball or without... we know that they're going to farg it up... we just don't know how.  On the flip side you have, say... Patriots, Colts or Giants fans who are actually surprised when their team doesn't come through in the clutch.  It pisses me off to the highest of pistivity that I can't have that confidence in my team to make a play when they have to have it.

I'm just sick and farging tired of being let down over stupid shtein.  It's not because a team just came in and played better or outworked them... it's that somebody, somewhere does some stupid shtein that will cost us the game.

[ice grillin you]

Until the Eagles get a meaningful win - and Cincinnati, Baltimore and Arizona don't count - I'm not buying any of it. Show me, don't tell me. If you can't do that, don't bother with anything else.

At this point I really don't see how we beat baltimore or Arizona

yeah what the hell is she talking about...the ravens are clearly better than the eagles and while they should beat artizona at home it still qualifys as a good win since the cardinals are as good as the eagles...how you put arz and balt in a group with the bengals is beyond me

[reese125]

I think she was referring more to anybody in the NFC where it counts the most

because honestly there will/should be no fist pumps after either of those wins listed regardless

[ice grillin you]

at baltimore would be a great win

at home against cardinals a good one

unless the eagles are out of it and they wont be youre an idiot if you wouldnt be very happy with either of those w's

[reese125]

at least I know now which one would be great and which one would be a good win

thank god youre here

[ice grillin you]

i gots to school you on the regular...one more time isnt gonna kill you...stick around

[Feva]

More cold hard truths...

Defeat says a lot about Eagles

CourierPOstOnline.com • November 11, 2008

It was a statement game, all right, just like they said it would be.

The Eagles' 36-31 loss to the Giants that put their season on the brink made a heck of a statement, and it was this: The Eagles are not good enough. And worse, it might be something bigger than coaching, than talent, than play calling. The Eagles have become a team that shrinks in the big game and stumbles in the big moment.

"When you play championship football, you find a way to finish," Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said. "When you don't find a way to finish, you're not playing championship football.

"There's no use talking about how good you are. You are what your record is. It's discouraging."

The Eagles, once again, are weirdly less than the sum of their parts. Last year, the Eagles were the only NFL team to rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense to not make the playoffs. They were better on paper than on the field.

This year the Eagles are fourth in the league in scoring. They've scored 71 more points than they've allowed -- the second-best point differential in the NFC and third in the entire NFL. But when they play a tight game against a good team?

The Eagles can't get there.

They are 0-4 this season in games decided by six points or less. Dating to last season, the Eagles are 1-10 in games decided by six points or less -- the lone win a 10-6 victory Dec. 6 over Dallas. That's a big enough sample size to mean something.

"We'll get one here," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said. "It will happen."

Good to know. Asked why the Eagles can't win close games, Donovan McNabb said: "If I knew the answer to that, it wouldn't be happening."

Some of this is philosophy, the way the Eagles are built. Everyone else in the NFC East is getting bigger and stronger. Nobody else is playing a backup defensive tackle at fullback.

The taterskins, Giants and Cowboys all have developed power running games, although Dallas has an arguably weaker run-blocking line and a commitment to the pass to placate Terrell Owens (and by "placate," we mean: Keep him from freaking out).

The Eagles' defensive front looked pretty good before being eviscerated by the Giants. Through nine weeks, the Eagles had allowed 3.54 yards per rushing attempt (seventh in the NFL), had racked up a sack or an interception on 12.4 percent of opposing passing plays (third in the league) and allowed their opponents to convert on third down just 33.6 percent of the time (fifth in the league).

Then the Eagles got crushed by the Giants, pushed around up front (219 yards rushing, 4.9 yards per attempt, one sack and one interception in 32 pass attempts). The Eagles got driven backward on nearly every play.

Reid said Monday he was confident he had the people in place to stop the run, to compete with division foes who are plainly going big and aiming to push the Eagles around up front (Washington rushed for 203 yards Oct. 6 and averaged 4.6 yards per carry).

But, again, philosophy -- the Eagles are smallish up front by design, built to speed-rush the passer. On both sides of the ball, the Eagles believe it's too hard to walk the ball up the field, too hard to put together long,plodding drives. They're built to make plays in the passing game.

All of this just makes it weirder that the Eagles ran the ball twice on third and fourth downs with the game on the line. You know how many times the Eagles have run on third-and-3 this year? Once -- Sunday -- with their season in the balance.

McNabb -- who for his part took a delay-of-game penalty on the Giants' 8-yard line in the fourth quarter, inexcusable for a veteran quarterback -- supported the coaches' decision, but added pointedly: "I want the ball."

Hey, Don -- don't say it to us. Say it to Marty Mornhinweg. While the Eagles' offensive coordinator huddled with the head coach and plotted the two final plays, McNabb played catch a few yards away. Then McNabb walked over and got the play.

That was the time to say: "I want the ball." That was the time to take control of the game and stake a claim to this thing. Instead, the Eagles went quietly.

This is on the head coach. He's built a team that goes quietly. He coaches a team that shrinks from the big moment. Continually losing close games is a reflection of the head coach.

And Reid may not be able to scheme his way out of this one.

[ice grillin you]

its not a coincidence that the eagles go small almost at every spot on defense then cant finish games

[PhillyPhanInDC]

I am remembering Jim Johnson and other coaches in preseason going on and on about how they've never had such speed on a defense.

[ice grillin you]

other than killa lito and perhaps bunkley i see no speed on defense...just because youre small doesnt mean youre fast even tho the eagles always seem to see a direct correlation btwn the two

[Drunkmasterflex]

McNabb is out of alibis, if he really wants the ball in his hands then call a farging audible.  I have been a huge McNabb fan throughout his career and have defended him probably more than I should.  Enough is enough already.  Stop talking about it and just do it.  He has had plenty of opportunities to become great, but he is not he is only good.  Those last two articles pretty much sum up everything there is to know about this team.