It's over.
When it comes to the Eagles, we're no longer talking about if, but when owner Jeff Lurie will stand in front of a bank of microphones and announce the end to the most successful era in the team's history.
Andy Reid's days as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles are numbered. When he leaves, he likely will be joined byin the moving van by Michael Vick.
Vick left yesterday's desultory loss to the hated Dallas Cowboys with concussion symptoms. There have been any number of surprises in this most disappointing Eagles season. That Vick got hurt is not one of them. Two weeks ago Vick indicated he was going to shed the cautious way he had been approaching the game and return to the style of a man playing with his hair on fire. My immediate response was, 'warm up Nick Foles.' That style of play used to guarantee electrifying highlights. Today there is only one thing you can count on when Vick plays the game in that fashion: He's going to get hurt.
It's amazing to me that Vick simply either did not understand or refused to adop the correct way of 'sliding' to avoid contact. He did it again yesterday, instead diving head first. That makes him eligible to be hit, as opposed to when he is sliding feet first. He got his head once again slammed into the Lincoln Financial Field turf on a head-first slide, then on the next play got hit again. The next we saw the valiant QB was when he was walking into the lockerroom.
Thus started the Nick Foles Era. The kid from Arizona, who could not be more different from Vick in both his physical presence and style of play, had his ups and downs. He threw some good balls, had several dropped by his receivers and was lucky not have several balls picked off, including one horrendous screen that he threw directly into the hands of a Cowboy. The resultant Pick-6 was negated by a penalty call.
Unfortunately, the passing of these two ships - Vick and Foles - shared one overriding theme. Both men stood behind perhaps the worse offensive line in team history.
Really, shouldn't the Eagles simply admit that King Dunlap is not an NFL offensive lineman?
The loss to the Cowboys drops the Eagles to 3-6. It is the first time in his 14 years as Eagles head coach that an Andy Reid team has lost 5 straight games. It coincides with a sudden hiccup by the front-running New York Giants, who the Eagles have already beaten this seson. Eli Manning is playing like the scared rookie of a few years back, not the Super Bowl MVP. For two weeks the Eagles have had the opportunity to get right back into the NFL East race. Instead, they find themselves little more than the smoldering embers of a once-proud organization.
The team is a shambles, with contributions from every aspect. The offensive line is a nightmare. The defense has not yet played as well for Todd Bowles as it did for a few games under fired coordinator Juan Castillo. The special teams under Bobby April are for the most part a rumor. Has this team returned a kick past the 25-yard line yet this season? They routinely lose the crucial game of field position. When your offense features this offensive line, that is a fatal predicament. The Eagles simply are not built for the long haul. They must be a quick-strike team. They have yet to do that this year.
The ball is now in Lurie's court. It is his time. Not Reid's, not the media's, not the fans.
Lurie now must make the only move he can to dig his "gold standard" out of the ditch it finds itself in.
Lurie likes to talk about his connection with the fans. But his actions belie those words. And they will continue to do so every day Andy Reid remains head of his football team.
It's time for a new era in Eagles football.
For 14 years, Reid has started his press conferences by running down the injuries, then offering this paean to the assembled media: Time's yours.
Not anymore, Andy.
It's time, Mr. Lurie.
Comments