Eagles hit rock bottom
Seahawks 31, Eagles 14
Eagles hit rock bottom
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
SEATTLE --The Eagles have crawled up into a ball now, their position both fetal and futile. They can only hope that this was the worst.
To watch them blow lead after lead in the fourth quarter of games this season was maddening. To watch too many of them fail to complete against the Seattle Seahawks last night in a 31-14 loss was much different, and much worse.
It is such a jarring sight -- not only to see an Andy Reid team so ridiculously underperforming, but to see them spanked by a team such as this. But as a wise man once said, you are what your record says you are. And at 4-8, after this mess, the Eagles’ record says they stink.
In the absence of starting quarterback Michael Vick and his broken ribs, the Eagles stole a game against the Giants and then completely rolled over in the next two. To get pounded by the New England Patriots is one thing. To get dismantled by the Seahawks is something completely different.
Yes, Vince Young was terrible at quarterback as Vick’s replacement. (Working definition of terrible: four interceptions.) But the real story of this game was a defense that rolled over early and forced Young into a position of having to play from behind.
The most unforgettable video from this entirely forgettable season might just be that of the Seahawks’ first touchdown, the one in which running back Marshawn Lynch appeared to be buried in a crowd of Eagles and Seahawks, only to emerge on his feet and untackled and prance into the end zone with a 15-yard touchdown. That, right there, is the story of 2011.
They are just so soft on defense. Safety Nate Allen had a really rough night again, and was in and out of the lineup. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is a worse tackler than Asante Samuel, which is saying something -- and, to make his inaugural season even worse, he left the game with a neck injury.
Watching them this season, watching them blow all of those late leads, it led most people to conclude that they had talent but lacked something, and that maybe time would provide the answers. After the blowout win over the Cowboys, and again after they beat the Giants, it was easy enough to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they had discovered what had been missing.
Instead, they have collapsed. Last night was an embarrassment. It is true that they are without starting quarterback Vick and his broken ribs, and that Young is limited, and that he does not appear to have the arm strength on the long ones, or the accuracy on the short ones, or the ability to get the ball out quickly on any of them. This will never be a high-scoring offense when he is running it -- at least, not this year.
Young threw four interceptions against the Seahawks, two of them particularly brutal. The first was a horribly underthrown pass. The third, with 4:24 remaining, was a ridiculous throw to LeSean McCoy in the late that linebacker David Hawthorne plucked with embarrassing ease and returned 77 yards for a touchdown.
They were never going to win the game with that kind of quarterback play. But they never had a chance when the defense rolled over early.
Report Card: Grade the Eagles' performance Photos: Seahawks 31, Eagles 14
Buy Eagles tickets 
Rich, too much written about the QB play. Everyone and their brother knows who Vick is, what level he normally plays at, and how often he misses games. They also know what Young is. Yet Andy Reid thinks this duo gives him the best chance. That's just as dumb as moving Castillo to DC. If Andy Reid- or anybody who earns a paycheck from football- is surprised that Vick is hurt and Young is throwing picks, he is stealing money and should immediately be removed from his responsibilities.— jtj06- Loving the discontent in Beagle land. lol— Cowboys204
- Who would Lurie hire once Reid is fired? Who is out there who can fix this sorry mess? I am serious.— Wemwal
- "An inferior oppenent".....Are you kidding me? Face it, the Seahawks are beginning to rise again and the Eagles are losing their talons....— Tom Shafer
- I spent 300 dollars to go to this game with my family. What a waste!!!— Smittyaecs
- I dont understand why all you eagles fans are so mad??? its not like the eagles have EVER won anything, go COWBOYS— EAGLE_H8R
Comment removed.- The personnel blunders are simply astounding: Kolb for a cornerback that can't play, Stewart walks, and a seventh round outside linebacker is drafted and named started. Allen's coming back from a career threatening injury and there was no starting safety signed, ...they have one of the poorest tackling cbs in the league on the roster, and compound it by giving a big contract to one of the few CBs capable of challanging him for the title, ...and oh yeah, he plays man coverage, but the other CB plays zone, ...so we'll let the rookie defensive coordinator sort that out somehow, ...and also give him a defensive line coach with an unorthodox scheme to handle too.
We'll draft and start a rookie center, ...next to our rookie guard, ...who's only played tackle btw, ...and next to them since we have a gaping hole at right tackle, ...we'll do nothing, because hey, Winston Justice should be just fine eventually.
And oh, by the way, we're gonna replace our allpro kicker and veteran punter with rookies, ...and since we gave away our backup quaterback, have a third stringer of marginal ability, a lousy line with two rookie starters, an injury prone starter, and run an offense that's ridiculously pass heavy, ...we'll bring in wonderlick wonder Vince Young to learn our complicated offense while we fix his complicated mechanics, and unpro-worthy arm strenght.
And we'll do all this without the benefit of the traditional off season or training camp and expect to compete for a Super Bowl.
'Cause hey, what could go wrong?— andyd - The front office stunk the joint up the last 2 drafts so they had to throw Andy a bone by patching together some big ticket guys. Andy's time has come but the front office isn't in good hands either. If that doesn't change as well it's looking like a long road back to respectability for the team.— hillbillybirdsfan
- move this team to LA and start over in about 10 years...that should be enough time to recuperate...GO SIXERS— 1stamendment
- I was wondering what the NFL Network Studio guys were thinking when they all picked the Eagles to win.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- I am so frustrated with this management from owner down through the coaching staff. I am now retired but if I did my job for 1 (one) season as this group of marx bro's has, I would have been tossed out like the trash. These guys should be on late nite TV with their own show. Top ten reason's Philly won't make the playoff's, How to ruin an Eagles team and make $5 million a year while doing it, Andy Reid and his three stooges, Bozo's with money and buy a professional football team! This team and the its so called game plans are laughable if I were not a life long Eagle fan. Here is a team coached by the same individual for 13 years and for 10 of those years, He didn't have to worry about the Defensive & Offensive Coordinators, Special Teams, or even QB coach because of Assistants coaches then such as Payton, Harbaugh, Childress to name a few. Now exposed, this former QB coach doesn't have a clue and his ability to replace departing coachs shows in kind. Okay, bottom line, time is up for Andy. Yes, we live in a "what have you done for me lately" world, and that question surfaced soon after losing the SB to the Patriots. Andy, thanks for the memories good and bad, but right now I just wish to say, GOODBYE, GOODBYE, GOODBYE!!
- Mr. Banner, the time is now to do something - team is bled out now - Start your re-building and get rid of Howie Roseman and Andy Reid plus their staffs - they have proved that they cannot draft well or win championships - only things that saved them over the years were playmakers and Jim Johnson's defense - without that you get a season like this one - WAKE UP!!!— Tom Man
- Rock bottom? I think not. We have 4 more weeks of watching this failboat sink.— Only in Philly...
- How can you crawl up into a ball? You can "curl" up into a ball. You can also crawl up your a**, which is what Cowboys fans are great at doing.— carnivor52
