Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Eagles Humiliation Worst Since '98


Time to send the big boy packing?

First, to respond to Matt's rebuttal to my "what if" scenario (read both below), he makes several good points about how things may have played out differently in the long run, allowing Owens to wind up in Washington and, perhaps, Brad Johnson playing QB for the Eagles right now. A quick note about Johnson--he is undefeated this year. Nevertheless, things have gone well over the years since Rhodes' firing. The crux of my argument wasn't that Lurie has done a horrific job as owner, it was that he made a titanic mistake in how he chose to handle Owens and, had he taken a more Croce-like diplomatic and patient approach rather than allowing his ego to get in the way, Eagles fans wouldn't have witnessed the franchise's worst loss in thirty years and maybe longer last night (I got tired of sifting through Eagles history to go back further).


Frankly, I prefer seeing Owens celebrate in the endzone (but that's just me)

Matt invoked the name Ray Rhodes. Well, it was Ray Rhodes who, in the 1998 season opener, "led"
the Eagles to a 38-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. I researched back in Eagles' history to 1976 (the year of my birth) and could not find a more lop-sided Eagles loss than what took place in Philadelphia last night. Let me throw a couple of names at you. Rich Kotite. Marion Campbell. Now that your done wincing at the site of those two synonyms for ineptitude, get a load of this. Neither of those coaches ever presided over this bad of an Eagles loss. Andy Reid has entered rarified air with last night's dud performance. He has made history.

So, what to do? Well, it might be time for the Eagles to re-evaluate whether Andy Reid is the right man to coach the Eagles. I know, I know...people will point to four straight trips to the NFC Championship game and an appearance in the Superbowl to rationalize that this season is an aberration. But, some of that success can be attributed to a weak division and a weak conference. And Reid's inability to coach in big games cannot be overlooked either.


What does Reid have the Eagles doing all week? They can't be practicing

Some people, stupidly, will continue to blame Owens. I can't imagine Owens would have allowed himself to be pushed around by the Seattle defensive backs like Greg Lewis did last night. Feelings of nostalgia for the NFC Championship game against Carolina nearly overcame my feelings of nausea last night watching the hapless Eagles. I was waiting for James Thrash to run out and line up in the slot for a a squad that played like a high school team.

Now is the time for the Eagles to deal with their reality. Otherwise this could be the first of several looming losing seasons.

Mistakes.

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