Andy Reid should get down on his knees this morning and thank God for the Phillies.
Big Red should be leading the cheers for the Big Red Machine that plays across the street.
That’s because the Phillies today will no doubt get the lion’s share of our attention, which is a good thing if you’re an Eagles fan. Or if you’re Andy Reid. Not that our haughty, arrogant coach can be bothered with such trifles as upset fans.
The Birds hit one of the lower points of the Andy Reid Era yesterday, basically failing to show up as they lost to the lowly Oakland Raiders, 13-9.
This game might have been a microcosm of the Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb.
First there was the sneaking suspicion that the Birds, like many East Coast teams, might struggle to start the game, battling the dreaded hangover effect from flying across the country.
Indeed they did. Only the Eagles never recovered. This wasn’t John Madden’s Raiders they were facing. Or even those of Tom Flores. Both former coaches were in the house yesterday. Instead these were Tom Cable’s black and silver. The highlight of their season was – until yesterday – the fact that Cable took a swing at one of his assistant coaches.
Last week they were embarrassed by the Giants. Antonio Pierce was moved to say the Raiders played like it was a “scrimmage.”
The Eagles didn’t even do that yesterday.
And once again the fingerprints for this disaster have Andy Reid written all over them.
He went about the project of rebuilding his offensive line in the offseason, let veteran Tra Thomas go and decided to replace Jon Runyan, who was recovering from knee surgery. Reid rolled the dice with the Andrews brothers, with Stacy coming off knee surgery that ended his year last season, and Shawn still trying to get his head on straight and his achy back healed. They signed Jason Peters to man Thomas’ spot at left tackle.
Shawn Andrews is now out for the year. Stacy Andrews can’t get on the field. Todd Herremans has not yet played with a foot injury. Peters went down in the first quarter yesterday. So we got a good look at King Dunlap, Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles and Winston Justice. It wasn’t pretty.
Of course, with the Raiders coming into the game unable to stop the run against anyone this year, and with an increasingly makeshift offensive line, the offensive genius of Andy Reid decided it was a day to throw the ball almost 60 times. In the process Reid again exposed Donovan McNabb, still recovering from aching ribs, to his non-existent offensive line.
The few times Brian Westbrook or Sean McCoy did carry the ball, they carved out huge chunks of ground. Didn’t matter. Reid again had his blinders on, and could see only passing plays on that huge chart he carries around.
It soon became apparent that McNabb was not sharp, instead lapsing into his habit of throwing balls into the ground. No matter. Reid continued to dial up the pass plays.
Not helping a lot was kicker David Akers, who missed two field goals.
The Wildcat? It was missing in action, with little or no action for Michael Vick.
Reid also gambled on bringing back Jeremiah Trotter, only to see him exposed once again, when the Raiders found him – and picked on him on a first-down pass play that led to the game’s only touchdown, Trotter hopelessly trailing the play.
Maybe the Reid/McNabb Era can best be summed up with this: The 11-year veteran quarterback tried to call timeout at the end of the first half, apparently unaware the team had no timeouts left.
Or maybe this. The Eagles got the ball back with three minutes left in the game, trailing 13-9. They were one drive away from pulling this game out of the fire. Did anyone believe McNabb was going to deliver? I didn’t think so.
I said a few weeks ago that I expected the Eagles to break out to a 5-1 record against this miserable part of their schedule. And I still wouldn’t know if they’re any good.
I was wrong. The Eagles are now 3-2. And I have a pretty good idea if they’re any good.
They’re not.
Big Red should be leading the cheers for the Big Red Machine that plays across the street.
That’s because the Phillies today will no doubt get the lion’s share of our attention, which is a good thing if you’re an Eagles fan. Or if you’re Andy Reid. Not that our haughty, arrogant coach can be bothered with such trifles as upset fans.
The Birds hit one of the lower points of the Andy Reid Era yesterday, basically failing to show up as they lost to the lowly Oakland Raiders, 13-9.
This game might have been a microcosm of the Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb.
First there was the sneaking suspicion that the Birds, like many East Coast teams, might struggle to start the game, battling the dreaded hangover effect from flying across the country.
Indeed they did. Only the Eagles never recovered. This wasn’t John Madden’s Raiders they were facing. Or even those of Tom Flores. Both former coaches were in the house yesterday. Instead these were Tom Cable’s black and silver. The highlight of their season was – until yesterday – the fact that Cable took a swing at one of his assistant coaches.
Last week they were embarrassed by the Giants. Antonio Pierce was moved to say the Raiders played like it was a “scrimmage.”
The Eagles didn’t even do that yesterday.
And once again the fingerprints for this disaster have Andy Reid written all over them.
He went about the project of rebuilding his offensive line in the offseason, let veteran Tra Thomas go and decided to replace Jon Runyan, who was recovering from knee surgery. Reid rolled the dice with the Andrews brothers, with Stacy coming off knee surgery that ended his year last season, and Shawn still trying to get his head on straight and his achy back healed. They signed Jason Peters to man Thomas’ spot at left tackle.
Shawn Andrews is now out for the year. Stacy Andrews can’t get on the field. Todd Herremans has not yet played with a foot injury. Peters went down in the first quarter yesterday. So we got a good look at King Dunlap, Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles and Winston Justice. It wasn’t pretty.
Of course, with the Raiders coming into the game unable to stop the run against anyone this year, and with an increasingly makeshift offensive line, the offensive genius of Andy Reid decided it was a day to throw the ball almost 60 times. In the process Reid again exposed Donovan McNabb, still recovering from aching ribs, to his non-existent offensive line.
The few times Brian Westbrook or Sean McCoy did carry the ball, they carved out huge chunks of ground. Didn’t matter. Reid again had his blinders on, and could see only passing plays on that huge chart he carries around.
It soon became apparent that McNabb was not sharp, instead lapsing into his habit of throwing balls into the ground. No matter. Reid continued to dial up the pass plays.
Not helping a lot was kicker David Akers, who missed two field goals.
The Wildcat? It was missing in action, with little or no action for Michael Vick.
Reid also gambled on bringing back Jeremiah Trotter, only to see him exposed once again, when the Raiders found him – and picked on him on a first-down pass play that led to the game’s only touchdown, Trotter hopelessly trailing the play.
Maybe the Reid/McNabb Era can best be summed up with this: The 11-year veteran quarterback tried to call timeout at the end of the first half, apparently unaware the team had no timeouts left.
Or maybe this. The Eagles got the ball back with three minutes left in the game, trailing 13-9. They were one drive away from pulling this game out of the fire. Did anyone believe McNabb was going to deliver? I didn’t think so.
I said a few weeks ago that I expected the Eagles to break out to a 5-1 record against this miserable part of their schedule. And I still wouldn’t know if they’re any good.
I was wrong. The Eagles are now 3-2. And I have a pretty good idea if they’re any good.
They’re not.
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