Eagles' decline? What decline?
Andy Reid says he does not see a decline since the Eagles' Super Bowl season. Their 24-24 record since says otherwise.
Eagles' decline? What decline?
Josh Barnett
Is it negativity, or simply reality?
During an interview with Andy Reid the other day, WIP's Angelo Cataldi asked, "Can you not understand the negativity is from 48 years without a championship and a decline from the Super Bowl year of 2004?"
"I'm not seeing the decline," Reid responded ... before deftly asserting that Cataldi was just trying to be negative. Reid's contention: Negativity sells and Cataldi is seeking to garner revenue for himself and the station. He then urged Cataldi to "change his tune" because of the new partnership that will return Eagles games to WIP, and chastised Cataldi for never attending practice.
Reid refuses to acknowledge the obvious despite the evidence to the contrary; that is, the Eagles, obviously, have declined. If Reid believes that there is no decline, perhaps Eagles fans should be concerned. After all, he controls personnel decisions at NovaCare Way. Reid only will concede, "We've come up short a couple of times here and we need to get back."
How "coming up short" is not a decline from a Super Bowl appearance is unclear. What is clear is that ignoring the decline comes across as another reason why Reid cannot seem to connect with a fan base that has such high hopes -- a fan base that, simply, wants to hear that he feels what they feel.
That Reid also says, "This is about wining football games," provides the only real measuring stick. The Eagles' record is the absolute truth.
Since the Super Bowl year, the Eagles are 24-24 (6-10, 10-6, 8-8). They have won one division title and earned the accompanying playoff berth, but also finished last in the division twice. That record ties them for 14th in the NFL over that 3-year span, well behind both the Cowboys and Giants, and with the same record as Washington.
NFL COMPOSITE RECORDS, 2005-07
1. Indianapolis: 39-9
2. New England: 38-10
3. San Diego: 34-14
4. Seattle: 32-16
5. Dallas: 31-17
Chicago: 31-17
Jacksonville: 31-17
8. NY Giants: 29-19
Denver: 29-19
Pittsburgh: 29-19
11. Carolina: 26-22
Cincinnati: 26-22
13. Green Bay: 25-23
14. EAGLES: 24-24
Washington: 24-24
Baltimore: 24-24
Tampa Bay: 24-24
18. Minnesota: 23-25
Kansas City: 23-25
20. Tennessee: 22-26
21. Cleveland: 20-28
New Orleans: 20-28
23. Atlanta: 19-29
Buffalo: 19-29
25. Arizona: 18-30
NY Jets: 18-30
27. St. Louis: 17-21
28. Miami: 16-32
Houston: 16-32
San Francisco: 16-32
31. Detroit: 15-33
32. Oakland: 10-38
Money talks
Two former Eagles are having contract issues with their new teams ... They seemed to have contract issues here, as we recall it.
Terrell Owens is going into the final year of a 3-year, $25 million contract and says he wants to remain in Dallas. "There was a situation where the contract didn't work out in Philly," he tells the Dallas Morning News. Gee, you think? He says he is not going to let that happen again.
In Tampa Bay, Jeff Garcia is going into the second year of a 2-year deal and says he is frustrated by the slow progress toward an extension. "It's at a snail's pace it seems right now," he tells the Pewter Report.
Elsewhere
* ESPN has posted its offseason NFL rankings and the Eagles are No. 13. The comment reads: "Last season, they hit their stride when it was too late. With a fully healed Donovan McNabb and an improved secondary, the Eagles could be dangerous."
* Betting Web site Docsports.com had the Eagles at 45-1 to win the Super Bowl, the 19th choice on the board. "Philly was another injured underachiever last year and could bounce back." New England is the top choice at 5-2 followed by Dallas at 6-1. In case you are wondering, you can get 20-1 in Vegas on the Phillies winning the World Series.
* Former Cal and current Eagles receiver/returner DeSean Jackson will grace the cover of NCAA Football 09 for PlayStation 2, EA Sports announced recently. The game is available July 15.
jimmymack and franknstein. it's the same thing every year in the nfl: the team with the least injuries does better. look at new england, not one starter missed time in the first 11 weeks of their season and no starter missed significant time. do the colts win without manning for 16 games? i know injuries happen and that's part of the game, but these are key injuries (McNabb, Westbrook missed NY giants game, Shawn Andrews vs Saints in playoffs last year, Dawkins).— mikeb- "We've come up short a couple of times..." Missing a 58 yard field goal with time expiring, is coming up short. Missing the playoffs 2 out of the last 3 years is not coming up short, it's a failure. Hey Andy, every team in the NFL wants to win the Super Bowl, but you can't do that unless you GET to the PLAYOFFS (insert Jim Mora audio here). Cataldi can be a dope who feeds on making controversy, that's a given. But Reid's inability to admit what is glaringly obvious to even a casual fan may be the reason why he has to give up the whistle after this season. That way he can fully concentrate on which defensive lineman he's going to draft next year.— FrankieDaFace
- that list is irrelevant: dallas- 0 playoff wins in 12 years. cincinnati- 0 playoff wins in 18 years. green bay- 12-20 if you take out last year. seattle- plays in the worst division in the NFL and still cries about the refs from the super bowl vs steelers. youre TRYING to make the eagles look bad... as i said before, i thought this was a spot for eagles FANS. it's a blog.— mikeb
Comment removed.- WIP - RIP! 950 is much better. (would be even better if Missanelli is gone)— lgeagles
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- It amazes me how everyone complains about Reid and McNabb. I'm sure the same people complained about Cunningham and Jaworski. This team does have the ability to win the big one and if the team stays healthy, we could win it all. If I were to be concerned about anything, it would be the conditioning staff. Why so many injuries?— MTbirdfan
- Most Eagles fans are dopes, so it frustrates Andy Reid when anyone in the media questions him about his team. If not for Jeff Garcia, Eagles would have missed playoffs 3 years running. That's not a dropoff? In addition to trading away your first round pick two years in a row! I'm an Eagles fan, but let's be realistic. Every team in our division made the playyoffs last season but one, I'm glad Angelo called him out on it.— BobbyD
- HEY MT...this just in...the Eagles haven't won a chapionship in almost 50 years. There has been plenty to gripe about over the last half century including management, coaches, and quarterbacks, including Randall and Jaws. Injuries are a part of the sport, any sport, just ask the Flyers. We were completely healthy in 2004, except for our puking QB.— FrankieDaFace
- WIP - RIP! 950 is so much better (would be even better if Missanelli was gone)— lgeagles
- OK LG we get the point...you like 950 , but it would be better if Misanelli didn't steal you girlfriend in high school. We understand, let it go.— FrankieDaFace
- LOL...I deserve that. Sorry about the repeat, my bad.— lgeagles
- "What is clear is that ignoring the decline comes across as another reason why Reid cannot seem to connect with a fan base that has such high hopes -- a fan base that, simply, wants to hear that he feels what they feel." If I could get just one message through the media's collective, thick skull it would be this: Don't profess to know what I, and Eagles fan for over 25 years, "want" bevond the obvious holiest of the holies, the Vince Lombardi trophy. Fact of the matter is that I feel a very strong connection with Coach Reid. Of all of the coaches I have known as a fan, which begins with Vermeil, he has the most appealing personality, demeanor, and sense of humor out of all of them. Is Andy Reid ever going to become the patron saint to the legion steak-faced, downwardly mobile, under-educated, parochial peons who employ the exclamation "yo" as the functional equivalent of a period? No. However, such sorry reflections upon Philadelphia are but a minority of the fanbase, albeit one that is conspicuous for the size of their paunches, the resonance of their belches, and the miraculousness of their blod alcohol levels. The Eagles fans I know uniformly appreciate Reid's achievements, and we most certainly don't doubt the team's commitment to winning it all every year.— Stephen_Niksa
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- As for you Stephen_Numbskull...no one here (or anywhere else for that matter) cares about your personal connection to Andy Reid. What does that matter??? Maybe you could fill in on the sidelines this year as one of his sons until they fulfill their obligations at Club Fed. As for the team's commitment to winning, there have been some good signings in the offseason, but where is our wide receiver??? As true Eagles fans, it's all about the bottom line. No one gives a rats bass about Andy Reid's personality. He can smile all he wants during the Parade on Broad Street, until then, give me a fin break.— FrankieDaFace
