Who let the dogs out?

Andy Reid is embarrassed.

No, not by the fact that his team just signed a guy who spent two years in federal prison for bankrolling a vicious dog-fighting operation.

He’s talking about his Eagles. Or maybe we should call them Beagles.

Who let the dogs out? The Birds had plenty of them on display last night against the Colts. The Eagles probably should have saved the air fare.

In Reid’s words, the Birds offered an “embarrassing performance.”

Peyton Manning and his first-team offensive mates on the Colts savaged the Birds’ defensive starters, including a 76-yard strike to Reggie Wayne streaking down the left sideline. Wayne could not have been more open if he was standing in the desert. It is exactly the kind of thing that will raise a few eyebrows about the Sean McDermott era as defensive coordinator.

Here’s a piece of advice. Exhale. Relax. They call these preseason games for a reason. They don’t count.

I have a question I ask every year when fans start whining about how the Eagles are playing in the preseason. Name me one thing you remember about last preseason. Thought so.

Here’s the way I like to think about these glorified practices, for which fans pay regular-season prices. At some point in these four games, you want to see your first team offense and defense play well. So far this year, we’re still waiting.

About the only thing of note to point out last night was the gorgeous strike from Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson for a TD.

The third game of the season is usually the most important. That’s when the first-teamers play a full half, maybe into the third quarter, as they tune up for the opener two weeks away.

But the Eagles have a problem this year when it comes to next Thursday’s game at the Linc. Actually two problems.

The first is that their offensive line is a mess, and likely will continue to be right up until the opener. Shawn Andrews is still MIA.
Todd Herremans likely will miss the entire preseason. Jason Peters is dinged up. That does not bode well for the offense, nor for Donovan McNabb’s health.

The other problem is that you can now start the countdown clock to what undoubtedly will be one of the biggest media circuses in NFL history.

That will be Michael Vick’s return to the league, which likely will happen at some point Thursday night.

Six days and counting. Who let the dogs out?

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