When the Ray Rhodes era was over, and a quarterback coach with zero head coaching experience but a very big binder came into town there was hope that the big dance was not far away.
We were right….within minutes it seemed the Philadelphia Eagles were in the NFC Championship game. We’d not been there for so terribly long that there were teenagers who watched that first battle for the NFC Title who’d not been born yet.
We were young then, our quarterback was young, our offense was young, and we simply were not ready….or so we told ourselves.
The Philadelphia Eagles would return to the NFC Championship game four more times since the man with the binder came to town. Only one trip came with the golden ticket to the Superbowl and the Lombardi trophy.
We will be back we told ourselves…..we were too talented not to be back…..and then…..
Suddenly things happened, Westbrook was gone….Johnson was dead…..Dawkins was gone….McNabb was gone….and we wondered how on earth we would get our swagger back
And then came Superman in the persona a of a Michael Vick looking to return to the greatness people always told him was his destiny
The 2010 season was a shocker. The heir apparent to McNabb was not who the team would follow. Watching Kolb in Arizona kind of makes you understand….yeah wasn’t much there.
It was quite clear that the team responded to Vick….it was also quite clear that if Vick was half the man that he was prior to his jail time, he was still the best ATHLETE on the team.
Then 50+ points on a Monday night came…then Miracle at the New Meadowlands came…and we believed again….how could we not?
An early exit from the playoffs was disappointing but we will be back next year……
Through all of this time…13 years….longer than a Hollywood marriage….Andy Reid has been at the helm.
He’s been steering the ship, sometimes into the playoffs, sometimes not….but always in a steady manner that if you were truly an optimist you would say towards the promised land.
Some (like myself) realized that it was not going to happen after the loss to the Patriots in the SuperBowl……it took some a little longer to figure it out.
And today November 14, 2011 with the Philadelphia Eagles sitting at 3-6, and playoffs hopes in need of Tim Tebow faith to get the faithful across the desert of yet another year without a SuperBowl chance….the question everyone should be asking is who is responsible?
What is wrong with this team?
It is poorly coached, it is undisciplined, and it is in need of heart.
If you look at all that has gone wrong, the blame rest solely at the feet of Andy Reid…the buck stops right there.
The players have been vocal in stating that it is them who play the game and they’ve made mistakes….oh yes they have….yet is a missed tackle on occasion as big a mistake as:
Putting a rookie back on Larry Fitzgerald when the defense needs to stop a score to win the game.
That is a coaching issue, and that is the fault of Juan Castillo the Defensive Coordinator. Juan was given his shot by Andy Reid after the dismissal of a more than competent Sean McDermott. Carolina didn’t win the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes though did they?
Speaking of which…why wasn’t he on Fitzgerald all day? No that is a serious question…no really.
As the Washington Redskins have shown us it is difficult to assemble a team through free agency. A football team at least. It is not impossible though…if you have a solid foundation through the draft and a good coaching staff.
Instead the DC puts a rookie on one of the top 5 receivers in the league and the draft foundation has a history of people like Freddie Mitchell in it. This year a 40 year old offensive lineman and a kicker were in the draft.
By the way? Freddie Mitchell was last seen on the reality show Millionaire Matchmaker.
The owners of the Philadelphia may not be enthused about the search for a new head coach…but they should be even LESS enthused about Andy Reid not being able to bring home the trophy.
It is time for Andy to move on, and take his coaches with him.
Except maybe Duce Staley. McCoy seems to be the only bright spot on this team.