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John Smallwood | Maybe the Birds simply need better players
"Those have been our two problems. If you look at simply moving the ball, I think we're doing a reasonably good job there. Third downs, a reasonably good job. Yards per pass attempt, a reasonably good job."
In a classic case of statistics not telling the whole story, the Birds actually rank ninth in the NFL in total offense with 349.6 yards a game.
But in the infinitely more important category of scoring offense, the Eagles ranked 20th (19.5 points per game) - a level indicative of a team with a losing record.
"Normally, if you're good, you'll score points," Mornhinweg conceded. "If not, you're going to have trouble scoring points."
So simple, yet so true.
The Eagles can't score points and are a bad team.
Trying to figure out why this has happened is what has everyone walking on eggshells around the NovaCare Complex.
While not naming anyone specifically, McNabb's comments
on Wednesday were clearly a
reaction to the inordinate amount of criticism that all quarterbacks get when things aren't going well offensively.
The Eagles have worked on this over and over, yet still haven't been able to get things right.
The answer isn't complicated - the Eagles either have a game plan that doesn't work or players who aren't good enough to
execute it; or, it's a combination of both.
The troublesome point comes in trying to determine which is the greater issue.
"I don't think the philosophy is the problem," Mornhinweg said. "In the last two games, we're 4-for-8 [on touchdowns] in the red zone.
"You need to be 5-for-8 to be
really good. I think we've made some strides in that. We need more points. We need to be a
little bit more consistent."
If the philosophy is good, then it comes down to the players not executing.
"Yes, that's right," Mornhinweg said when asked whether the struggles are a matter of
