As the Eagles clambered down the stretch, there were fans who said they really hoped their team would miss the playoffs, because they figured that was the only way Andy Reid was going to get fired. And they very much felt Reid's departure was necessary for the franchise to move forward.
Once, this group was the lunatic fringe. This year, it was more than that. A whole lot more. Even the nonhaters had to understand the rationale, and wonder, at least a little. Over and over again, slogging along with the third-and-1 follies, the time-management debacles, living and dying with Brian Westbrook's health, and most infuriatingly, the out-of-sync offensive imbalance, culminating in the 16 called pass plays in a row at Washington. You read in the Daily News last week that the Eagles were on the cusp of missing the playoffs two seasons in a row, despite ranking in the NFL's top 10 in both offense and defense in 2007 and 2008, an amazing feat that would seem to speak to coaching.
RON CORTES / Staff photographer
Eagles' Trent Cole pressures Cowboys' Tony Romo in Sunday's playoff-clinching game.
