Worst-Case Scenario
Could this be Andy Reid's last year coaching the Eagles? It seemed unthinkable a few months back. It's startng to seem thinkable.
Worst-Case Scenario
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
As the Eagles slip toward the playoff margins, this is not the "failure" scenario I envisioned in the preseason.
I thought if the Birds weren't pretty solid this year, it would be because either Donovan McNabb or Brian Westbrook suffered a serious, season-altering injury. I figured the most likely outcome in that case would be that management would decide it was time to rebuild, and focus on trading McNabb in the coming offseason. I didn't see anything endangering Andy Reid's status.
But though McNabb and Westbrook (especially Westbrook) have been dinged and dented, the Eagles aren't the third- or fourth-best team in the NFC East because of injuries to those guys. Neither McNabb nor Westbrook has much to do with blocking or tackling, and it is on the offensive and defensive lines that both Washington and New York seem to have moved past the Eagles. (Dallas, who knows? We'll leave the Cowboys out of this for now.)
Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner are pretty stubborn when it comes to acquiescing to a panicky populace. They've had quite a bit of faith in Reid, quite a bit of appreciation for how he led their team out of the 3-13 wilderness. But "stubborn" and "stupid" are two different things.
If I'm Lurie or Banner right now, I'm looking at things like the miscalculation involved in the Lorenzo Booker trade, the fullback follies, and the inability of the defensive line to stop the Redskins or the Giants, despite a bunch of money and draft picks spent in that area the past several years. I would have serious questions about whether Reid is the guy to rebuild this team in 2009, the way he was in 1999.
I'm not saying anything is going to happen. Lurie owes Reid at least $10 million on a contract that runs through 2010. The Eagles could still make the playoffs, could still catch a Washington or New York napping in the rematch and succeed just enough to allow management to cling to the mistaken belief that it has the personnel in the trenches to line up with the best. Titular GM Tom Heckert, whose rise abruptly stalled a little while back, could become a sacrificial lamb
Overall, I still favor the blame-it-on-Donovan scenario: reporters historically sympathetic to management favored by postseason not-for-attribution whispers about how, you know, film review showed the team would actually have won this game or that game if McNabb weren't so erratic, it wasn't really that the team or the playcalling weren't good enough, you see.
I don't see any way Donovan stays, at age 32, and Andy leaves. That wouldn't really make sense. And though I don't blame McNabb for what has happened this year, I also don't think he's been good enough when it counts. He is not the QB he was four years ago, and I guess now he never will be that guy again.
But for the first time, I can envision another coach behind that NovaCare microphone -- I never thought Reid was close to stepping down last year, when his kids ran into trouble. Now, I keep flashing back to Sunday night, and the Eagles being pushed around the field by the Giants in a nationally televised game that was not as close as the final score indicated, the scoreboard cameras settling on Jeffrey Lurie entertaining vice president-elect Joe Biden in Lurie's suite. The booing was visceral. I have to think Lurie knows Philadelphia wasn't booing Biden.
So just now you can see what so many sports outsiders recognized years ago -- Andy doesn't have it. You're very much like the Eagles brass yourself.— battman21
Comment removed.- This reminds me of the Joe Kuharich, Norm Snead days— JamesJ
- PS...McNabb is a pretty good QB...he is NOT a great QB— JamesJ
- Is Andy Reid making these personnel decisions alone. He needs someone looking over his shoulder or a new team needs to evaluate talent.— chgtown
- It appears to me that the Eagles have assumed the "tone" that McNabb has, and I think McNabb got it from Reid...lack of emotion, they seem to mostly be flat...it's all a day at the office to them. Perhaps if their paychecks were tied directly to their own performance, as well as the team's performance, we might see some fire.— brightmoments99
- Im sick of people blaming McNabb. If you look at his stats, he ranks in the top ten for QB's in the NFL. True he makes his mistakes, but I will gamble with him each time. One thing is evident, the Eagles need a power running game.. bottom line. The Giants made that apparent. I love westbrook but he needs someone behind him that could pick up additional yards when they need the short gains. A deep threat at wideout (maybe) they actually have a core group that could get the job done. Another concern is the pathetic and predictable playcalling by AR. Again a great coach, he just makes some poor decisions and gives some cryptic and esoteric responses during the press conferences. I suggest that AR allows marty to call the plays and I guarantee the Eagles will put up some wins.— komplex2005
- Les, the worst-case scenario would be for the team to win enough games to get to .500 or make the wildcard. (They will surely lose to the teams with a better record.) Reid and the know-nothings in the FO will see this as a promising sign, and it will get us another year of the status quo. ... I agree with your premise that Reid & Banner will leak displeasure with McNabb (probably using the puppet .. er, Spadaro) to the media, and another scapegoat will preserve Andy's reign of comfort.— jman
- The bottom line is, Lurie will only make a change for financial reasons, not for win/loss reasons. (The same as when the Phillies replaced Wade. Years of ineptitude didn't cost Wade his job, only when ticket sales dropped.)— jman
- I can't believe the idiocy of the Philadelphia fans is now spreading to the media. Firing Reid, who has averaged 10.5 wins per season as Eagles Head Coach, would be one of the dumbest all-time moves in Philadelphia sports history. Luckily, the people who count, Mr. Lurie and Mr. Banner, as well as the relevant go to guys in the Philly media, Rich Hoffman, Sam Donnellon, Phil Sheridan, and Howard Eskin, understand how dumb of a move it would be as well as how Philadelphia fans continue to embarrass themselves nationally.— jeffmacnow1234
- Banner need to go too. His cap management method of duping young players into signing early, ill-advised, long-term contract only sews discontent. The Eagles can afford to make deals that are fair to both parties (if they want to).— smurf
- How are Philly fans idiots for wanting Reid fired? He is the Mary Schottenheimer/Marv Levy of the 21st century. The guy averages 10.5 wins a season, really, wow. What happened? Did he completely forget how to coach? He wanted the power to make personnel decisions and coach at the same time. He got them and with them came greater responsibility. He hasn't done anything since 2004. They were headed down the tubes in 2006 and got lucky with Garcia, who he ultimately let leave last year anyway despite having a still visibly injured QB in recovery on the field. In 2005, McNabb had the sports hernia injury and Reid actually had him throw the ball more!! Same with last year. His personnel decisions have been abysmal. Several of the Eagle greats from those the NFC Championship teams (Dawkins, Trotter, Douglas, Tra Thomas, Troy Vincent, Bobby Tayor, Duce Staley, Jermaine Mayberry, Chad Lewis) weren't even players he drafted or signed. The guy is lost. He can't draft. He can't sign free agents. He can't gameplan. Period.— OMIGODEAGLES
