Doomsday
Rich Hofmann’s blog has the latest news on the Philadelphia Eagles
Doomsday
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
On nights like these, it is hard to know where to begin. Because you would need a fire hose to clean the mess off of the sidewalk, there is nothing to do but stare at it for a while and search for some kind of meaning within the mess. But it is hard.
Cowboys 34, Eagles 14. I’ll admit that I thought it would be bad, but not this bad. The Cowboys looked to be the far superior team last Sunday afternoon, but I thought the Eagles might be able to slow down the steamroller a little bit. I was wrong, really wrong.
There are two main issues here:
The Cowboys look like they are very, very good. They show a lack of discipline sometimes but they really look like a complete team right now. Size up front, speed on defense, weapons, a quarterback who is maturing before our eyes -- the Cowboys are just excellent right now. There is no disgrace in losing to them. The concern is with the imbalance.
The reason for the imbalance, mostly, is that the Eagles’ defense is just a shell right now. The middle is hollow. And against a good offense, any good offense, they were going to be picked apart. Which they were, on back to back weekends at Cowboys Stadium.
I spent the season asking the question, as gently and respectfully as possible -- because I do respect 11-5 in the NFL -- “Well, who have they beaten?” As it turns out, they beat nobody. You will search a long time before finding a really signature win during the 2009 season. You can only play who is on the schedule, and that is fair enough, but the truth is the truth -- and the truth is that the Eagles played five games against playoff teams this season and lost them all.
I have delayed the Donovan McNabb discussion here for as long as humanly possible. He engineered one meaningless touchdown drive in the game, after they trailed by 34-7, and Michael Vick gave you the full Michael Vick experience: a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, and a fumbled handoff to Leonard Weaver that cost the Eagles a touchdown. But back to McNabb. I think this might very well have been it for him and the Eagles after 11 seasons. I have no inside information; it’s just a vibe, tied to his contract status.
That doesn’t mean that this game was his fault, because it wasn’t. But on a day when they needed him to be their best player, McNabb was just one of the fellas. His numbers on the day are a pretty fair representation of his level of play, although they were padded a bit at the end. He faced a lot more pressure this week than he did last week and that has to be acknowledged. It factors into any and all calculations. But he holds the ball too long, and his accuracy was iffy, and well, the numbers: 19-for-36 for 230 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 lost fumble.
What this all means for the future is to be determined, as they say. There are all kinds of questions. This very well could have been McNabb’s last game. This very well could have been Brian Westbrook’s last game. And everybody knows that the defense is in for a significant bit of surgery. You don’t get beat like this and act like nothing happened.
But that is for later. First, there is a mess that needs cleaning.
We are the Gold Standard!— Sean Thornton- We have the best roster in Football!— Sean Thornton
- Let's Go Flyers— JSaq
- Ugly as a rented mule...— Nicher
- hi guys— flyeaglescrash
- Guess it's time to take down your 44-6 banner. One of the days you classless Eagels fans will realize when you spit on a teams logo, when you chear a man who's paralyzed, karma catches up. Enjoy your 44th year with no Super Bowl.— COWBOY4LIFE
Comment removed.- mcnabb was his choking self and enough is enough. we needed so much more from him. good luck in minnesota, loser.— snakeplissken
- Looks like they could have used Dawkins leadership, intensity and play calling. Good job Lurie, Banner and Reid.— GKC
- Don't forget that one of those losses was to the RAIDERS! Who knows what might have been if they had finished 12-4?? That Dallas D-Line is for real.— TripleOption
- Hope The They get rid of Vick now - I couldn't bring my self to watch the Eagles this Season because of him. Doesn't look I missed anything - same old, same old.— phillydude
- It was a great run...time to make the necessary adjustments and move on. McNabb looked terrible...wobbly and inaccurate passes. The D line, linebackers and secondary was terrible..missed assignments, missed tackles, out of position. The 0-Line sort of held up but needs to improve. About the only thing good is that the young guys (Maclin, McCoy, Celek, Jacson) now have a real taste of the NFL and what is takes to win. They are the future and provide a nice base to grow from. We need a great passer and new leadership.— psuwelsh
- Not surprised by the result...seasons may change, but the Eagles' future will not...— Rational Thinker
- I think they should give McDryheave a 10 year extension. He deserves it. He got the playmakers he said "he" needed last year to take the next step. What did he do with those new weapons ? He personally disarmed them by throwing at their feet, hanging them out dry. He's such a fraud. Good bye McDryHeave. Take your act to Chitown.— Times Yours
- Need to find playmakers on defense..safeties and linebackers are garbage. We have playmakers on offense...except at QB, another horrible season ending performance from Dononvan...it's time to move on if they ever hope to win a Super Bowl— Will T.
