8 games. Half a season. Over 2 full months. All of this has
passed since the Philadelphia Eagles last won a professional football game. In
that time, we’ve seen Juan Castillo turned into a scapegoat, Nick Foles take
away the starting position from an injured Mike Vick, LeSean McCoy concussed on
an unnecessary play, Jason Babin released for the good of a nation, and, most
recently, Jim Washburn revealed as a “cancer” to the team. And you thought your
family had issues.
It really is amazing to watch a team go from 3-1 Super Bowl
contenders to 3-9 laughing stocks. There are so many things the losing streak
can be blamed on, and fans and writers alike have uncovered each and every one
of them. And it’s not as if they’re losing these games by 1 or 2 points. Over
the last 8 games, he Eagles have lost to their opponents by an accumulative score
of 237 – 151, which averages out to about 30 – 19 scores per game. On offense,
this team is scoring nearly a full 5 points under the league average, while
giving up 4 points more than the league average. That puts them behind by 9
come game’s end. You could place the blame on both the offense and defense.
Either way, it’s not pretty.
A couple of games ago, I wrote that Andy Reid would almost
surely be fired after another loss. Two games later, and Coach is still in
town. I still firmly believe that Reid shall be fired before season’s end. But
it appears as though Jeff Lurie will be giving his man at least the final four
games, or even more. With the moves this team (and Andy) has made recently
(namely Babin and Washburn), it may be that Lurie is planning on bringing Reid
back for a 15th season. In my opinion, this would be an awful
decision. Bringing back Andy Reid to Philadelphia would just be beating a dead
horse, and the Eagles would struggle to finish near .500 once again. He’s lost
his voice in the locker room, and his gameplan continues to fail with the
players he has. Andy Reid has become stubborn, and refuses to make any major
changes to his outlook. Look, Reid is 72-51-1 in his last 9 seasons. Even
though these last couple of years have been quite disappointing, he’s going to
find a job elsewhere. San Diego, Dallas, New York, and Cleveland have all been
named as possible destinations for Reid, but that doesn’t matter. 5 years from
now, Reid will be recognized as the best coach in Eagles history, but for now,
he’s Philly’s #1 enemy.
Going forward, Reid may have one name that he will be able
to hang his hat on: Nick Foles. Since Mike Vick went down with a concussion,
Foles has been this team’s starting QB, and we’ve seen extreme highs and lows.
In his first two starts, Foles was not the player fans had expected. Too many interceptions,
not enough completions, and a failure to accurately scan the field hurt the
young stud. However, in Sunday night’s loss to the Cowboy’s, Foles showed his potential.
For once, he was displaying an ability to find the open receivers and work the
field. But he’s also been the beneficiary of an impressive running game by
rookie Bryce Brown. A high school star, Brown went under the radar after a
non-existent college career. His lightning speed and maneuverability have made
him a formidable running back, something that has helped ease Nick Foles’
growing pains. He may not seem like a star now, but I believe Foles will show
he has what it takes to lead this team going forward.
Some, however, don’t see Foles as a starter, and instead
believe it is best this team intentionally loses its final four games to get
the best possible draft pick. That just seems preposterous to me. Why in the
world would you forfeit a quarter of a season? This notion is absurd. No, there
is no chance at the playoffs. But players are playing for their jobs at this
point. They need to be making names for themselves right now, not giving away
the rest of the year. I’m not going to go any farther with this, because this
idea bothers me. It’s for quitters, not professionals.
When the draft does come around, the Eagles will more than
likely have a top-10 pick. What they do with it is still a mystery. Right now,
I see two names that could be possible. The first is Manti Te’o out of #1 Notre
Dame. An inside linebacker by trade, Te’o could bring his talent, and possible Heisman
Trophy, to Philly and make quite the name for himself. Now, the Eagles would
probably have to lose at least 3 more games to have the position to draft him,
but at this rate, it could very well happen. The more realistic choice, though,
is Luke Joeckel. Joeckel is an offensive tackle out of Texas A&M, and we
all know the struggles the offensive line has had for the Eagles this year.
Joeckel has been important in defending another Heisman hopeful, Johnny
Manziel, but has not gotten enough credit. He has been one of the main factors
in Johnny Football’s incredible season, and could be very helpful in grooming
young Nick Foles. If neither of these men are selected, your guess is as good
as mine.
This Eagles season is toast. But the questions are
continuing to swirl. Will Vick and Reid return next year? Who will the Eagles
take in the draft? Is Foles the next franchise QB? Perhaps the next four games
will make the answers a bit clearer.
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