Rock bottom? The Eagles can only hope
LANDOVER, Md. -- And so, as they say at the moment the ripcord is being pulled, "Look out beloooooooow."
Rock bottom? The Eagles can only hope
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
LANDOVER, Md. -- And so, as they say at the moment the ripcord is being pulled, “Look out beloooooooow.”
You would like to think that the Eagles have hit bottom, but there is no reason to believe that is true. That is how bad things have gotten. They just got walloped by a bad Washington Redskins team, 31-6, and there still are six games left to play. There is no telling what depths they might still reach.
The Eagles are 3-7. They have lost six in a row. You have to go back to the mid-1990s, to the days of Rich Kotite before the fall, to recall such a stretch of uninterrupted ineptitude. Think about that for a second. On second thought, don’t.
You forget what it feels like, the pointlessness of it all when two bad teams enter the arena and two bad teams leave the arena, the only difference being that one leaves with a meaningless victory and the other with a loss that validates every terrible thing you have thought about them. Because that is where the Eagles are. Sunday was epic validation.
They could not overcome a myriad of mistakes on offense, some the responsibility of rookie quarterback Nick Foles but many more that could be assigned to others. Foles threw two interceptions, one a bad throw and the other that clanged off of the hands of tight end Brent Celek, who is officially having an awful season. But the bigger problems came along the again-reconstituted offensive line, where every manner of drive-killing penalty was committed along the way.
I mean, who would have guessed that right guard Jake Scott, signed off the street only 6 days before starting the game, would have trouble with the snap count?
On defense, they made a couple of laughingly bad plays in pass coverage that led to two embarrassing touchdowns thrown by Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III. The first, a 49-yard touchdown to a wide open Adrick Robinson -- wide like the width of Tennessee -- came on a play where Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was expecting safety help that never materialized. The second, a 61-yarder to the venerable Santana Moss, came on a play where safety Kurt Coleman was in position to intercept the pass but monumentally bollixed up the attempt. Then, for good measure, Brandon Boykin failed to make the tackle short of the end zone.
But the piece of the play that might speak most to how bad things have become is this: a flag was down on the play in the backfield, and Eagles defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins was mocking Griffin’s touchdown celebration because he assumed the penalty was on the Redskins. Alas, it was illegal hands to the face on the Eagles instead.
Alas.
With 1:45 remaining in the game, running back LeSean McCoy was tackled helmet-to-helmet on a running play and did not get up. He took off his helmet and sat up, but they brought a cart out onto the field to bring him to the locker room. It was an awful bit of punctuation.
Finally, people will ask if Andy Reid should be fired immediately. After a game such as this one, there is only one way to look at it. If Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie fires Reid now, it will only be because he likes him so much that he wants to put him out of his misery.
The WHOLE team SUCKS! Fire the WHOLE team! PERIOD!!!— Phillyfan666- Fire everyone except Marty Morningweg. — Realtor in Orlando
- Exactly. He should be promoted to Head Coach. He is surgical as an offensive coordinator and even better as a head coach.
- Morningweg's play calling sucks, always has. He should be the dirst to go. He flopped in Detroit and he has flopped here. — Dave in Wect Chester
- Mornhinweg is part of the problem, not the solution. The terribly predictive play-calling and unbalanced run/pass attack have lead the team to be 29th in the league in scoring, averaging just 17.3 points per game. Anyone sitting at home knows that we will pass on first down (typically, a failed big play), run up the gut on second (usually for a loss/Shady is a wonderfully talented back, but Earth to Andy/Marty NOT a power rusher) and then a desperation pass on third down (which lately, seems to end in a sack or turnover). If we know it, you can bet your bottom dollar that the DC's watching our film are well-prepared for what we will attempt and ready to stop it. Our leaky O-line cannot protect a QB long enough to set up the big play nor create a hole for a RB to sneak between the tackles. However, despite these shortcomings, Marty has failed to adapt. Instead, insisting on running the same, old, tired, failed plays over and over again. In this league, it is adapt or die. That's why he, too, must go. — FlyingBoodles
- zzzz— Reality Speaks
- Wait 'til next year!
I mean, 2014!
Make that 2015. . .— clayboy - The sad part is that if the team had stayed healthy and Reid didn't pull the trigger to fire Castillo, the team could have been something. Say what you want, but Vick would have played much better if his line protected him. And the defense started off very strong. But excuses can only go so far. We could say that Roethlisberger, Stafford, Ryan, and Brees can make any defense look bad, but Griffin shouldn't. I was a big supporter of Reid, but even I can read the writing on the wall.— trungy
- Now all the Vick haters will become Foles haters because they would have won this season on their Madden game.
Realistically, this team is at least 5 starters short of the playoffs.— banned - MORE LIKE 21 STARTERS SHORT. THIS TEAM HAS ONLY 1 NFL CALIBER PLAYER - MCCOY. THAT'S IT. — bedpan
- Banned, I agree. Why don't I see comments on Foles performance last night. After all, he was the savior. Could it be that he couldn't do any better because of the OL. The same OL that Vick played behind. Maybe double standards, or maybe just plain old haters. — TeamSupport
- Reid should have been fired after the Lions game. To fire him now won't save the season. This is a 3-13 squad like the 1998 Eagles. Foles=Bobby Hoying and there is no Donavan McNabb in the draft to brighten the future of this team. Philly sports are in the toilet right now.— Repubrebirth
- I want Reid to stay and have to experience every single loss. Why should he be put out of his misery when the rest of us have to put up with the mess he caused. Let the rest of the NFL see what a wonderful coach he is as his team continues to lose.— mindstorms
- i don't know why people waste their time watching the Eagles.. I spend my sunday afternoon performing yard work and clean up, and feel better for it..— USAFirst1
