Birds' gold standard now tarnished

It’s over.

Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb have been paired for 10 years. They had a pretty good run. Dominated the NFC East for a good chunk of that decade. Made it to three consecutive NFC title games, then finally got over the hump with a big boost from a wide receiver named T.O. and made it to a Super Bowl.

And lost.

They’ve been in decline ever since.

Yesterday they hit bottom. They settled for a tie with the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. Before yesterday the Bengals had managed to win exactly one of their nine games. They didn’t win yesterday. But they didn’t lose, either. Neither did the Eagles.

The two teams tied, 13-13.

That in itself is galling enough. But for Eagles fans, there would be insult added to injury. And it had nothing to do with kissing your sister. It would come from the mouths of the Eagles themselves after the game.

It became apparent after the game that Donovan McNabb, who has been a top-flight quarterback in the league for 10 years, did not know one of the basic rules of the game. I don’t think he was the only one. And his coach might be on that list.

In answering questions at the post-game press conference, McNabb admitted he did not know that the game would end at a tie if no one scored in the single overtime period.

It is one of my many pet peeves with pro athletes. They get paid millions of dollars and don’t know the basic rules of the game.

That McNabb, perhaps his coach and many of his teammates did not know that the game could end in a tie borders on the unbelievable.

Maybe that explains why Andy Reid decided to punt the ball away on fourth-and-one. Either that or he was willing to settle for a tie when his team desperately needed a win to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive.

For years now Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner have talked bout the Eagles as the gold standard of the NFL. Today their franchise is tarnished.

Or maybe it’s just Fool’s Gold.

Then again, maybe we fans are the fools. We have invested our time and passion in this franchise, only to be kicked in the teeth by their arrogance and pomposity.

Today the shoe is on the other foot. The Eagles are the ones who look foolish.

They didn’t know the game could end in a tie. I repeat: The star quarterback didn’t know the game could end in a tie.

Jeff Lurie’s gold standard has been reduced to a plugged nickel. No. 5 didn’t know the rules. Apparently it never occurred to his coach to bring this to his attention.

Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb have been together for 10 years. They shouldn’t be together, not with this franchise, for another day.

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