Joe Banner and Jeff Lurie are making their annual postseason appearance.
No, not in Tampa. That’s where the Cardinals and Steelers arrived yesterday to start the week of hype and hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl. The Eagles aren’t making the trip again this year.
Instead the Birds’ brain trust is doing a little damage control, giving interviews, showing up on TV and radio. They’re saying all the right things. They’re pushing the idea that while many NFL franchises would consider the Eagles’ season a success, with an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, they do not.
That gives them something in common with their legions of fans. The much-heralded “gold standard” has yet to deliver a Super Bowl title to Philly.
But both Lurie and Banner seem to be solidly in the camp of head coach Andy Reid and starting quarterback Donovan McNabb. It’s been the one constant of the last 10 years. The Eagles dynamic duo as it were.
So here’s a question. If Reid is your guy, and you’re buying into his pass-first philosophy, wouldn’t wide receiver be fairly high up on your list of things to address?
The Eagles have played in one Super Bowl during Reid’s reign. You might remember that charmed season of 2004. The Eagles had a guy playing wide receiver that year named Terrell Owens. It all went south the following season.
In the wake of the Eagles’ incredibly frustrating loss to the Cardinals, you could almost hear McNabb begging for some weapons, although he didn’t actually come out and say it.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Reid to say it. Remember, it’s all about the system. You can pretty much plug in any wide receivers and the system will still function flawlessly.
How’s that been working for the past decade?
Oh, one other thing. That guy who torched your secondary and almost single-handedly led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl? His name is Larry Fitzgerald. He’s a No. 1 draft pick. A big, physical, sure-handed receiver.
Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson are good wide receivers. But I don’t think either one of them is a threat to put this team on their back and carry it to a Super Bowl.
And I don’t think that’s going to change one bit next year, so long as that axis of Lurie-Banner-Reid is running the show.’
In fact, I’ll tell you my prediction right now. It’s the same one I make every year. 10-6. A playoff appearance. And another crushing loss.
No, not in Tampa. That’s where the Cardinals and Steelers arrived yesterday to start the week of hype and hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl. The Eagles aren’t making the trip again this year.
Instead the Birds’ brain trust is doing a little damage control, giving interviews, showing up on TV and radio. They’re saying all the right things. They’re pushing the idea that while many NFL franchises would consider the Eagles’ season a success, with an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, they do not.
That gives them something in common with their legions of fans. The much-heralded “gold standard” has yet to deliver a Super Bowl title to Philly.
But both Lurie and Banner seem to be solidly in the camp of head coach Andy Reid and starting quarterback Donovan McNabb. It’s been the one constant of the last 10 years. The Eagles dynamic duo as it were.
So here’s a question. If Reid is your guy, and you’re buying into his pass-first philosophy, wouldn’t wide receiver be fairly high up on your list of things to address?
The Eagles have played in one Super Bowl during Reid’s reign. You might remember that charmed season of 2004. The Eagles had a guy playing wide receiver that year named Terrell Owens. It all went south the following season.
In the wake of the Eagles’ incredibly frustrating loss to the Cardinals, you could almost hear McNabb begging for some weapons, although he didn’t actually come out and say it.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Reid to say it. Remember, it’s all about the system. You can pretty much plug in any wide receivers and the system will still function flawlessly.
How’s that been working for the past decade?
Oh, one other thing. That guy who torched your secondary and almost single-handedly led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl? His name is Larry Fitzgerald. He’s a No. 1 draft pick. A big, physical, sure-handed receiver.
Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson are good wide receivers. But I don’t think either one of them is a threat to put this team on their back and carry it to a Super Bowl.
And I don’t think that’s going to change one bit next year, so long as that axis of Lurie-Banner-Reid is running the show.’
In fact, I’ll tell you my prediction right now. It’s the same one I make every year. 10-6. A playoff appearance. And another crushing loss.
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