Talk about a guy that needs some love. Donovan McNabb has been the headline of the sports world the last two days as word leaked out that the Philadelphia Eagles were accepting offers for the Pro Bowl quarterback, as well as his sidekicks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. And thankless Eagles fans are eager to cheer for his departure.
McNabb's Days Are Numbered in Philly
Philadelphia is a disappointing sports town that just doesn’t seem to understand how to field a winner. The Eagles are the saddest of the group, having not produced a champion since 1960. While the team puts up wins, they haven’t delivered in the clutch. And to put this all on one guy’s shoulders in McNabb is classic Philly style.
After being profusely booed on NFL Draft Day in 1999, you knew that McNabb’s days in Philly were going to be rocky. But he rose to the challenge and delivered more wins in franchise history than any other quarterback before him. As it reads today, he is ranked 20th in wins and 7th in winning percentage for his career among all NFL quarterback.
Not too shabby for a bum that is perceived as the root to the team’s problems. Those wins and stats assure him a place in Canton upon his retirement.
Placing blame in Philly is a national pastime and it is amazing how Andy Reid consistently never gets the light shone on him except for when one of his kids run afoul with the law and gets sent to jail. It’s been Reid’s football philosophy, not McNabb’s performance that have led to the big game let downs. Andy Reid doesn’t believe in the running game and this is the true reason for the losses. The Eagles are easy to game plan for because they throw the ball every down and never leave the defense guessing.
Now the countdown is on.
The Eagles want a draft pick within the Top 42 spots of the draft in return for this future Hall of Famer quarterback that is no longer deserving of leading the team he brought to prominence. McNabb has made it known that he doesn’t want to play for the Raiders or Bills, but his desires will take a backseat because he is not going to a winner unless Brett Favre retires, which is unlikely.
For McNabb, he should want to take on the challenge of resurrecting a struggling squad, just as he did in Philly. It shouldn’t be about going to a team that gives him a chance at a Super Bowl. That ship sails as soon as he leaves the Eagles, as the Eagles are his bench chance at Super Bowl glory if they show a willingness to place talent around him. His goal should be to remind the Philly fans of what they once had as Kevin Kolb leads them into the abyss while he turns around an NFL doormat all by himself.
This year the NFL is trying some new things to spice up the Pro Bowl in 2010. As we have all heard by now, the Pro Bowl is the week before the Superbowl, instead of afterward, and it will take place in Miami instead of the traditional location in Hawaii.
The location isn’t necessarily a bad thing since there are plenty of sunny weather locations in early February, but there are a couple things I liked every year about it being in Hawaii. I like that they wore jersey’s with aloha flower water marks on them; which made each jersey a little more unique (which helped increase their sales), and that they touted Hawaiian leis during interviews to really give you that Pro Bowl feeling.
Saying “You’ll be seeing him in Hawaii” to a player performing at Pro Bowl status during the regular season was always fun as well.
All of these things aside I can see why they would like to move locations to the US mainland. For one, it would make going to the Pro Bowl more accessible to people that were previously unable to incur the cost of the travel expenses it took to go to the Pro Bowl. The flight, the hotel, the intermittent traveling, all on top of the cost of a Pro Bowl ticket package could get rather costly.
Bringing it to the mainland means that people could drive the distance to see their favorite players, and inter-US flights would make it relatively cheaper. Cities could too benefit from having the extra tourist volume coming from hosting an event coming from a gigantic brand like the NFL.
What the Pro Bowl is ruining is the meaning of the honor itself due to its new scheduling. Now that the Pro Bowl is a week early of the Superbowl, many players that are participating in the Super Bowl are opting out of participating because…. they are getting ready for the f-in Superbowl. Who in their right mind would get voted into the Pro Bowl, and actually play in it if they were going to the Superbowl?
The Superbowl is the most important achievement in the sport; it’s what these players live for. Even if a player said “derr, I’ll play”, the coach and organization would stop that noise real quick. This eliminates anybody voted to the Pro Bowl who is in the Superbowl; so no Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Antoine Bethea, and others.
Almost equally as important as who isn’t in the Pro Bowl would be who IS in the Pro Bowl as their replacements. This list includes: Donovan McNabb (for Drew Brees), London Fletcher (for Jonathan Vilma), Antrel Rolle (for Darren Sharper), Quintin Mikell (for Roman Harper), David Garrard (for Peyton Manning), Vincent Jackson (for Reggie Wayne), Heath Miller (for Dallas Clark), Kevin Mawae (for Jeff Saturday), Kyle Vanden Bosch (for Dwight Freeney), and Yeremiah Bell (for Antoine Bethea), and others.
This results in a total of 17 “replacement” pro bowl additions. All of these players are “good” NFL players, but if you’re telling me you’d rather see David Garrard over Peyton, or Heath Miller over Dallas Clark, or Vanden Bosch over Freeney, you must be insane. Now the Pro Bowl itself has been watered down by players that weren’t voted in because they weren’t the best at their position during the regular season.
The drop off for some of these positions is significant when considering the level at which a Peyton Manning is playing when compared to David Garrard. What will suffer will be the various skill games that are played by individual players before the game (by not showcasing the best player at that position in every case), and the game itself (by not having all of the best players on the field). Will this also have some effect on HOF players getting in where a player may get 1 or 2 more Pro Bowl visits during their career that wouldn’t normally have happened? You could make a case…
Now I know this is marginalized because it’s not a “real” game, but even if it isn’t, you don’t have to treat it like it’s not by instituting a new “twist” designed to increase attention given to the game, but makes those deserving players unavailable to participate. I don’t see this approach lasting more than this trial year before being moved back. Do you think this is a good idea? I do not.
Two other things I’d like to point out is that I am surprised this didn’t get vetoed by the owners considering that the players that make it to the Pro Bowl have incentives in their contracts that say “I get paid when I make the Pro Bowl”; meaning that owners and organizations are shelling out some bu-coo bucks where they normally wouldn’t have had to. The other thing is that it is being reported that the Pro Bowl in Miami might not even sell out, and tickets are as low as $20 to get in. Is this the result of the Pro Bowl not actually being “the best of the best”?
I see that the Eagles coach Andy Reid has given his endorsement for Donovan McNabb to be his starting quarterback next year. As a pro football fan and Eagles fan, I disagree with this decision and think the Eagles should look into another direction for their starting quarterback next season…
Donovan McNabb should not be the Eagles starter next season.
McNabb will be entering his 12th season next year. He is coming off a good regular season but faltered when the Eagles needed him most in his their las two games, two defeats at the hands of divisional rival, Dallas. McNabb was mediocre at best in these two games. In the last regular seson game ,and the NFC East Division on the line, McNabb missed receivers early that changed the complexion of the game. The Eagles were both shutout on the scoreboard and out of that elusive first round bye in the playtoffs. He then followed up that perfotmance with a awful game the next week . He went 19-37 for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception. These stats are inflated as they came well after Dallas had the game in hand.The Eagles would have faired better with another quarterback.
McNabb has had a habit at not playing at his best when it counts most.He is only 1-4 in NFC Championships games. He lost his only Superbowl performance against the Patriots when he was picked off three times. If he played to his potential, he would have a Superbowl ring on his finger. Eagle fans are sick and tired of seeing him play stiff in the games that count most It is time for a change.
Enter Kevin Kolb. The Eagles took a chance on drafting him in the first round. It is time for him to fly for the Eagles. Kolb started two games this year and passed for over 300 yards in each game. He is the only quarterback ever to accomplish that feat in NFL history. He has the tools and confidence to be the starter, Reid also agrees.He will be in the final season of his contract. If Kolb does not start next year, he will probably fly the Eagle coupe. There are other teams that will call on for his services.I vote for Kevin to be the starter next season.
It didn’t take long for the media to begin stirring up trouble for Donovan McNabb after another beating at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, a 34-14 loss to knock the Eagles out of the playoffs. Stories are streaming that it’s time for the Eagles to cut ties. That McNabb can’t win the big game. That Andy Reid needs to start anew and find someone else better that can run his offensive system.
Reid Deserves All The Blame In Loss
Why does the media dislike Donovan McNabb so much? Do they feel a responsibility to be extra harsh to him to prove Rush Limbaugh incorrect? Was he especially rude or offensive to someone? McNabb cannot even catch a break when the issues with the Eagles are obviously not him.
These Eagles really had no place being in the playoffs. They were the worst team that made it in…that’s the reason why they were the last seed. To clarify this point further, this team is the only team without a win against a playoff team and scored only one win against a winning team, and that comes with an asterisk because Atlanta played without QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner.
Simply put, this team only made it to the playoffs because of Donovan McNabb.
Andy Reid is a nice guy, but he is a failure as a coach and talent evaluator. The only shining spot on this team in 2009 was the quarterback and the passing game. Let’s think about how the season turned out:
The running game was non-existent and the heir apparent to Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, is a bust
The offensive line cannot run block at all and rarely gave time to McNabb to pass
The defensive line rated 12th in sacks, but only got pressure in blitz packages and most of the sacks came from Trent Cole
The linebacking corp is undoubtedly the worst in the NFL. They can’t tackle, they can’t blitz, they can’t pass cover.
The defensive backfield plays opportunistically and delivered very little. They registered just 25 interceptions despite the first game turnover gift wrapping of 5 INTs from Carolina. You take out that one game, they rated middle of the pack in the NFL.
Every area of this team underperformed, especially on defense. The one bright light was the quarterback and receiving corps. McNabb is not responsible for the failures in other areas, that falls on Andy Reid.
Reid has control over all personnel decisions. The GM in Philly is nothing more than a person with a title pushing paper. Reid decided to bring in the offensive line failures. Reid decided to reach on LeSean McCoy. Reid chose not to replace Brian Dawkins. Reid chose not to make a move to fill the loss of MLB Stewart Bradley.
The failures on this team all roll back to Reid.
But the biggest glaring problem is Reid’s offensive strategy. Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhigwheg’s pass happy craziness makes the Eagles too predictable. The opposing defense is never left guessing, its always going to be a pass. So instead of the offense keeping the defense guessing, for the Eagles, it is the other way around.
Eventually, this will catch up to you in a long NFL season. Jim Johnson is no longer around to save Reid’s neck and McNabb performs admirably despite the defense knowing he is coming with a pass and his offensive line never giving him protection.
Lets put away the Hang McNabb catcalls and focus the energy where it belongs. Andy Reid runs this team top to bottom and his inability to realize his offensive strategy will never make it through a 21 week NFL season will keep the Eagles without a Lombardi Trophy on its mantle.
Yesterday’s defeat is just another notch on the belt of failure that is snuggly fit around Andy Reid’s waistline.
The Dallas Cowboys will be battling the Philadelphia Eagles tonight in the NFC playoffs for the third time this year. Dallas is coming off a 24-0 domination just a week ago that gave them the NFC East Division title and knocked their division rival the Eagles all the way to the number six seed. Dallas will be looking to pull off a third victory in a row and beat a trend that the Eagles have maintained for seven times in a row. The Eagles have won their first round playoff game seven years running. Dallas will try to buck that, and the fact that it is very difficult to beat a team three times in one season…
Tony Romo and the Cowboys will hope to pull off the trifecta tonight against the Eagles
Dallas will be motivated as they have had a thirteen year playoff drought. They are coming off three impressive victories and nothing less than a victory tonight will not suffice. Tony Romo will have to prove to himself and the Dallas fans that he can win a big game for them. Dallas has all the momentum in the world and the Eagles are a team demoralized and ripe for a third beating tonight. If Romo does not defeat the Eagles tonight, he and his head coach Wade Phillips could be run out of town. This is a must victory for the Cowboys, plain and simple.
The Eagles on the other hand are headed in the wrong direction. The Eagles were winners of six in a row before last weeks embarrassment. They had the Division title and a first round layoff bye in their sights and let it slip away. They played their worst game of the season and this is no way to start a run in the playoffs. They were held to a poultry 228 total yards last week. Donovan McNabb missed receivers on key passes and seemed to play tight. Maybe the Eagles and McNabb can use the motivation of this embarrassment and right the ship.
With all this being said, I look for the Cowboys to come up big tonight in their new digs. Dallas has had a playoff drought and will be motivated like never before to get the victory and advance in the playoffs.Romo has a lot to prove ,and a loss would be most devastating for this quarterback. Romo and the Boys pull off the trifecta. I just can’t see the Eagles rebounding after last weeks pathetic performance. This shows you just how objective a fan I am, I am a Eagles Fan. Maybe I will be wrong, I hope so.
The Philadelphia Eagles were rolling to close the season again. Six straight victories and a first round bye was staring them in the face. Andy Reid was awarded a contract extension. Six players named to the Pro Bowl. Good times.
Then a dose of reality set in down in Dallas with a 24-0 trouncing at the hands of the Cowboys. The scoreboard was much kinder than what occurred on the field. The Cowboys rolled up 474 yards against a porous defense. The stats could have been much worse if Dallas had not eased off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter. The Eagles had no answers, either offensively or defensively against a team considered average by most and primed to the #6 seed.
How could the season unravel so quickly? One loss drops you from the #2 seed to the #6 seed? What happened?
The reality is, the Eagles are not a very good team. Heading into the playoffs, the Eagles are the only team among the 12 playoff teams that don’t have a victory against another playoff team. The Eagles were 0-4 against playoff teams and hold only one victory against a team with a winning record, the Atlanta Falcons. And that victory against Atlanta comes with a big asterisk given that Matt Ryan and Michael Turner did not play that day.
So, what it gets down to is that the Eagles have beaten the teams they were supposed to beat and lost to the teams where there was a question mark. This team lacks mettle. Their 11-5 record is the product of a soft schedule that afforded them matchups against the bottom feeders of the NFL. And even with the soft schedule, their defense still rated at the middle of the pack.
The Eagles have two major weaknesses entering the playoff, a lack of a running game and the inability to stop over the middle pass routes.
Opposing defenses have no fear of the running game. Brian Westbrook is no longer an elite player, LeSean McCoy has shown to be a bust and Leonard Weaver is a fullback that just happens to be their best running back at the moment. This has allowed defenses to sit back in pass coverage, blitz with recklessness and challenge Donovan McNabb to beat them.
As for the defense, the Eagles have been unable to plug the leak that opened went Stewart Bradley went down with a knee injury in preseason. The Eagles rotated Joe Mays and Omar Gaither with poor results. They then pulled Jeremiah Trotter off the scrap heap to no avail. Then they traded for Will Witherspoon before the trade deadline. Nothing has fixed the problem. Opposing tight ends put up Pro Bowl worthy stats against this gaping hole and running backs are feasting on pass routes.
This is not the first time the Eagles have slipped into the NFL Playoffs with a less than deserving squad. Andy Reid and company always seem to find a way to pull out a win. But with no quality wins recorded during the regular, it appears the mountain will be much tougher to climb this time around.
The NFC East was on showcase in the NFL yesterday with marquee matchups that would set the tone for remaining games on the schedule. The Dallas Cowboys played host the streaking San Diego Chargers while the Philadelphia Eagles battled it out with the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. After all was said and done, the NFC East showed themselves to be also-rans in the playoff conversation.
In Dallas, the Cowboys continued their annual December swoon with a 20-17 loss at home to San Diego. While Dallas has compiled a 3-8 record in December over the last three seasons under Wade Phillips, San Diego has compiled a perfect 11-0 record in the same time span under Norv Turner. The trends didn’t change yesterday.
While the game was decided late, the tone was set early as San Diego took a 7-3 lead after a 7 play, 84 yard drive capped by a LaDainian Tomllison 1-yard plunge. The game was defined by the inability to execute when it counted. That difference showed up on third down, where Dallas was an underwhelming 1 for 8. While Dallas played turnover-free football, they just couldn’t make plays when it counted. And for the second game in a row, the Dallas defense was unable to place pressure on the QB, leaving their questionable secondary open for attack.
To add further misery to the Cowboys locker room, defensive star DeMarcus Ware was taken off the field in a stretcher in the fourth quarter. Ware was hospitalized, as early reports suggest a severe neck sprain that may keep him off the field for awhile. This is unfortunate news for a team already reeling with a tough schedule ahead.
The Eagles and Giants duked it out in a 45-38 offensive war that saw the Eagles come out on top. A matchup of teams where a defensive struggle is the norm, the teams combined for 83 points, the most ever between these teams with a storied history of games played against one another. The Eagles eked out the victory thanks to four lost fumbles and some favorable calls from officials.
Despite the victory on the scoreboard, the Eagles performance on the field was less than stellar. The Giant offense racked up 512 yards of offense as they rumbled up and down the field without the Eagles putting up much of a fight. Once again, the Eagles interior defense was exposed, as the Giants attacked over and over again across the middle, piling up yards in chunks. The Eagles once again had no answer to the middle defense attacks and showed they can be exploited with relative ease.
On the otherside of the ball, the Giants just did themselves in by giving up big plays. DeSean Jackson had a career game with 6 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown as well as 72 yard punt return score. The plays by Jackson were less about his terrific skills and more about a Giant team that can’t get it done. On the two long passes caught by Jackson, Donovan McNabb had underthrown Jackson. The Giant defenders were so far behind, they still couldn’t make up the difference. Then Domenik Hixon total blew the punt return coverage that opened up the run lane for Jackson to break free. The big plays were about blown coverage and non-execution, coupled with poor defensive schemes by the coaches.
When you remove the big plays from the box score, it displayed significant weaknesses in the Eagles offense as well. They didn’t move the ball very effectively despite the Giants placing limited pressure on McNabb. The running game was a disaster again, as the Eagles turned to fullback Leonard Weaver over the struggling rookie LeSean McCoy. More than half of their total offense came on Giants lapses rather than their own solid execution.
The saddest part of the story in the NFC East right now is that the hottest team in the division is the Washington Redskins. With their 34-13 spanking of the Oakland Raiders and their quandered victories against Dallas and Philadelphia, it appears the Skins are the most feared team in the division.
Will Andy Reid win that elusive Supebowl in his 3 year contract extension?
I have to weigh in on the Philadelphia Eagles decision to give head coach Andy Reid a three year extension worth a reported $5 to $6 million a season.
Reid has done a good job of winning games (115) in his ten year tenure as head coach. His win percentage is a solid .611, he has the Eagles at 8-4 this year and right in the playoff hunt again. The Eagles have made five NFC Championships under him including last year’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He also inherited a team in 1999 that was 3-13 and was instrumental in drafting their superstar quarterback, Donovan McNabb.
With all this being said, I think the Eagles should have gone in another direction. His resume is impressive, but his failure to win the big game is something Eagles fans have no patience for.
As an Eagles fan for over 30 years, I am frustrated with some of the conservative calls the Eagles make on offense. I do not see the fire to win at all costs and that is a direct reflection of the coach. Eagle fans will also tell you that McNabb does show that will to win and hate to lose that will make you a Superbowl Champion. I just think that a change should be made so the Eagles can go from winners to champions.
They just don’t have the pieces in place in the coaching staff to take their winning to the next level. And it starts and ends with Andy Reid.
So while I am appreciative of all the winning the Eagles have done under Reid, I would like to see a change with a coach that has more fire and passion that Reid. It looks like the Eagles will have three more years of Andy Reid. I only hope that he catches lighting in a bottle.
Eagles fans continue to scratch their heads on whether their team can finally get over that proverbial hump. With an opportunity to jettison a Dallas Cowboys team with a penchant for choking, it was the Eagles that choked once again in another close loss, 20-16 this past Sunday night. It leaves Eagles fans and players to question “Can we win consistently with the game on the line?”
While famous for their collapses in NFC title games, Andy Reid’s Eagles have more problems than just winning when the spotlight is shone on them. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, the Eagles are 4-13-1 in games decided by 7 points or less. In the 2008 season, the Eagles were 1-6-1 and the struggles have continued in 2009 with an 0-2 start in tight games. When will Donovan McNabb rise from the ashes and provide an Elwayian comeback performance rather than looking like his counterpart across the field in Tony Romo?
During the post conference press conference, when shared details of his team’s struggles in close games Andy Reid responded, “That’s a pretty good stat, so there is probably some form of a link. I’m not sure exactly what that link is other than that stat. We have to do better in those situations on both sides of the ball and special teams.” Somebody needs to share with Reid that this is not a good stat to be proud, as it suggests poor coaching and preparation…that is the link. These losses can be the difference in making the playoffs or staying home. Championship teams are defined by their ability to deliver in the fourth quarter.
If the Eagles want to become a serious threat to getting to the Super Bowl, it starts with improved direction at the helm. Blaming Donovan McNabb is just no longer in vogue. Its about predictable coaching that the other side can count on every week. Marty Morninhweg calling the plays ensures that David Akers will to be a top fantasy football scorer each week is not good. The Eagles once again rank in the bottom third for Red Zone efficiency because the play calls are just too predictable when they get in tight.
But more concerning is what we saw on the field Sunday night. Late in the first quarter, with 3 down and 23 yards to go, we saw this poor coaching on full display. With the top deep threat in the NFL leading your receiving corp, DeSean Jackson is on the field, right? You would be wrong. Reid and Morninhweg sent in the “third and long package” and decided they were better off with Reggie Brown on the field for this play rather than the NFL leader in yards per catch. Its this type of poor game planning that loses tight game by not having the right players on the field when it matters.
Outside of the victory against a reeling Giants squad, the Eagles have not displayed much on the field. The defense is in shambles, they can’t stop over the middle passes and they have no running game to speak of. They should be thankful for playing the weakest NFL schedule to date, but the road starts getting tougher the rest of the way.
For all Eagles fans, here’s hoping that Jeffrey Loria withholds that contract extension for his coaches until they prove they can deliver on the field in a close game.
