There was a time when I lived and died with the Eagles.
This year it’s mostly been died.
But it’s more than that. My life used to come to a halt while these games were on. My family used to leave the house because they couldn’t stand to be around me during the games. And that is when they were winning.
They haven’t done much winning this year.
And they didn’t win again last night. In still one more punch in the guy on national TV, the Eagles were featured on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys. I’m sure before the season the NFL and TV czars who run things believed this would be a glamour matchup. Uh, not exactly.
The Eagles had lost seven straight going into last night’s game.
Make it eight in a row.
You want good news. The rookies shined again. Nick Foles played well at quarterback. Bryce Brown again opened eyes with a second straight superb performance. Brown ran for 169 yeards, following up on last week’s rookie record 178 yards. But, with this being the Eagles, there is an asterisk. Brown continues to have problems holding onto the ball. He had a critical fumble again last night that was returned for a Dallas TD, as the Eagles blew a lead.
But here’s the point. This isn’t about the offense. This season has been on the defense.
The roots of the Eagles debacle go back to the hiring of Juan Castillo, a great offensive line coach who had never coached defense in the NFL, as the Eagles defensive coordinator. That was followed up by hiring Jim Washburn and the installation of the ‘Wide 9’ defensive strategy.
It’s been a disaster.
Now neither Castillo or Johnson is still with the team. Castillo took it in the back weeks ago. This morning reports indicate Washburn has been axed.
Here’s the confounding part. The defense actually played pretty well this year under Castillo. He got fired because of two blown leads. But that’s nothing compared to what has been going on since.
The defense has quit.
Me? I quit a long time ago on this team. All I remember is that the Eagles were driving to start the game. That’s the last thing I remember. Times change.
Juan Castillo is gone. Jim Washburn is gone. Jason Babin is gone.
Andy Reid is still here.
How many people really care anymore?
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