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 - yes he is and the accountants pride themselves on no dead cap money. with two years left on his contract I'll bet Andy is back next season and the season afterwards. depressing.
— coloradoeagle - The commissioner should invoke his "in the best interests of football" powers and:
1) fold the Eagles team
2) ban all the coaches and any player not named Lesean McCoy from future employment in the NFL.— jman - Watching the Eagles play is like driving by a car wreck on the freeway and being glad that it isn't you who is in the wreck.— SteveS11
- defense is small and soft and poorly coached and the diva spent the night sulking. why is chad hall taking up a roster spot? we just made the seahawks look like a good football team. unbelievable.— coloradoeagle
- A pathetic, pitiful "team". This organization needs a more thorough top-to-bottom housecleaning, than does Penn State.— JosephL
- Sad....a sad moment and unbelievable they can be so poor..are they trying to be like Tampa Bay used to be years ago, inept, blundering, and just terrible? I feel for some of the players...McCoy and Celek...maybe three or four more. But I have no faith in the ability of the coaches to make this rag tag group into a winning team. No this is not even a team anymore. Now the Eagles will trade McCoy...and we will then be like the Eagles of old.— envirojoe55
- There's not 1 coach or management personel that should be on the Eagles payroll next year.. and much sooner if possible.
Done, over, no excuses. Every last one. They are responsible, for allowing what you see happen. They all need to go.
Replace undersized underperforming players as necessary.
Start with Hanson and Allen. Asamungo needs to go..cut your losses. As soon as he got the big pay day he quit..no room for his kind here. Jackson is a cancer. Franchise and trade. Young, to put it nicely, flat out blows. Trade or simply cut him.
Finally. There shuold be 45,000 empty seats the last 2 home games.. Send a message loud and clear.— dedhed - When will we get rid of Jackson? can we sign McNabb? why does this team suck? when will we get rid of George Lopez(Juan Castillo)? This is what happens when u have a defense that consists of 5th ,6th, and 7th rounders starting. If Andy is still here our first round pick will be a 40 year old Canadian Kicker. ughhhhhh I hate the Eagles.— Chilladelphia
- Aso played hurt- shouldnt have.— saunhi
- One win (Rams) and three losses (Niners, Cards and now the Seahawks) to the NFC west (arguably the worst division in the NFC if not the NFL) says a lot about the 2011 Eagles...— northeagle
- it's getting harder to tell which division is more pathetic:
the NFC Worst or the NFC Least.— ekw555 - I guess you all can stop wondering what would happen if the won 'x' amount of games in a row to end the season. Best you can do is 8-8.
I am not an Eagles fan but have followed this train wreck of a team out of morbid curiosity.
Andy Reid gives the most useless, uninformative post game press conferences in the NFL.
— sam bonner - That's why the players just love themselves some Reid. He doesn't "throw them under the bus" ( oh how I hate that expression more and more). And, he probably coddles, cuddles, and rubs their backs. He's just a big softy and they love him for it. He probably talks barely above a whisper to them so they won't feel threatened or intimidated and, of course, it's reflected in their play on the field. The players just love them some Andy. — essell
- I guess you all can stop wondering what would happen if the won 'x' amount of games in a row to end the season. Best you can do is 8-8. I am not an Eagles fan but have followed this train wreck of a team out of morbid curiosity.Andy Reid gives the most useless, uninformative post game press conferences in the NFL. (HTML deleted)— sam bonner
- Asinine Eagles fans thought that McNabb was the only problem and once they get rid of him, they would win Super Bowl after Super Bowl. Glad to see that you guys have realized that dream. Goes to show how ignorant Philly sports fans are when it comes to reading the game.
I had fun watching Eagles lose today. This has been quite an enjoyable losing season (8 enjoyable games to be exact)and looking forward to more ramblings by ungrateful Eagles fans.
Cheers girls.— Bogey Yogi
