Thinking Out Loud
Posted: October 9th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 67 Comments »A few hours have passed, but my head isn’t all that clear so there’s no reason to try and write something coherent. Here’s just some stuff bouncing around in my head right now.
* Will Andy Reid get fired? Will we draft Andrew Luck? Guys, we’re 1-4 right now. Those are big picture questions based on a 2-14 or 3-13 season. Let’s deal with those questions when it looks like they are possible.
* Part of my reason for the above statement is that I don’t think we will win 2, 3, or 4 games. We’re killing ourselves with turnovers and mistakes. That won’t last all year. Odds tell you that. We’re also going to play some mediocre teams. Our losses are to ATL (2-3), NYG (3-2), SF (4-1), and BUF (4-1). I’m not telling you to expect some great winning streak, but I can’t see any way we don’t win at least 6 games, barring a slew of injuries. That would be us going 5-6 from here on out. I’m hoping for better, of course. We’ve got 5 division games left and those contests will tell the tale of the season.
* Some people are going to read that stuff and say “Tommy, you’re such an optimist. What’s wrong with you?”. I’m hurting right now, just like everyone else. I’m not a happy camper. If I had one wish, it would be to go back in time and hit Vince Young with a shovel for ever saying those two F’ing words. That has been an albatross since the second the words left his mouth and hit the internet and airwaves.
I watched the 4pm games. When they were over I was sitting here just sorta stewing. Some commercial came on TV that annoyed me and I just started screaming at the TV. Dumb, I know. That’s what happens when the Eagles start off 1-4. Sundays go from fun to torture. We don’t think with clear heads.
Instead of letting the bitterness overwhelm me, I try to cheer myself up by looking for some positives, something to be hopeful about. I’m not delusional. I know how poorly the team has played. Just because I’m not calling for everyone to be fired doesn’t mean that I’m cool with the way things are and I’m Mr. Happy.
* We’ve got a ton of basic problems. I don’t know why they’re here. Jarrad Page is a talented, veteran player. Watching him vs the run today was like seeing a converted WR on his first day playing defense. Awful, just awful. We can blame Andy Reid and Juan Castillo for some of this, but guys not making the most basic of plays? I don’t get that. There were some signs of hope from the defense in the 4th Q. I’ll watch the tape to try and see what we did right. One key thing was the fact our guys finally played with a sense of urgency. If only we could do that 0-0 instead of down 28-7.
* Overall, we have a young team. That’s another reason I have hope. The young guys should get better. I don’t know if that will pay major dividends this year or we’ll have to wait for 2012. I hope we do cut Page. There’s no point in having a veteran player who is addicted to mistakes. He’s got no upside. Put Kurt Coleman back in (we did that in the 4th Q). Let Colt and Jarrett compete for playing time. Take a chance on some other Safety. Hell, go sign Jamar Adams. He doesn’t cover well, but the dude will hit and tackle.
* Sunday we play WAS. Next up is the bye week. If Andy decides to make any adjustments with the defensive staff, that’s the time to do it. I don’t think he’ll fire Juan, but it’s not out of the question. I think anything is on the table at this point. The big question is who would replace Juan. Bringing in a defensive consultant would make some sense. I’ve not heard any good rumors on this front. Is there a defensive version of Rod Dowhower out there somewhere?
* In the comments section Keith said something very true: “I’m gonna still root for them but they make themselves hard to like. I preferred the less-talented teams with discipline, grit and heart … and that’s hard to say because I thought having a ton of talent would be awesome.”
We all thought the teams of 2000 and 2001 were fun to watch because of how hard they played, but there just weren’t many playmakers. Now we’ve got those playmakers and the team is highly erratic. Cheering for flawed underachievers is hard. I’d love to tell the team this…we want to believe. Just give us a reason. Give us one stinking reason. Please.
I have hope. Seeing the Chargers normally start off bad every year (aside from this year) and end up making the playoffs… As long as we have a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs I will have hope. Pythag (advancednflstats.com) states the Eagles have been unlucky and should in fact have a better record.. Lets remember, this is a playoff team. Enough with this Fire blah blah blah shit,
But they also normally play in a division where 8-8 can win it. Although the way the NFC East looks this year, I guess that’s possible.
The suspicion floated on the main board (yes I realize, grain of salt) was that After the Bills scored their 4th touchdown, the camera showed a convo between Juan and Andy, where Juan looked quite unhappy and finished with Juan removing his headset. The theory was floated that Lynn took over play calling duties at that point which is why you saw an adjustment (skinnier 9??, more blitzing). More than likely Andy just told him to change since what they had been doing wasn’t working. Any possibility that the Eagles quietly remove play calling duties from Juan?
Whoever called the plays after the 4th Bills TD should call the plays next week. They held them to less than 4 yrds/play not counting the two knees at the end.
If we are going to embrace wild speculation, perhaps Andy told him to forget Washburn’s and Reid’s input and do what he had been begging to do for weeks. Maybe Juan has it all figured out and the organization has been holding him back because of a trust issue.
Or maybe Andy told him he just lost out on the window seat on the way home.
There was a point the 4th quarter where Jason Avant caught a pass and started to head up field. I was watching on an old school rooftop antenna setup and the reception cut out right as I saw 3 defenders closing in on him. I had this premonition that he was going to fumble and we were going to lose the ball. I just knew somehow that he was going to lose the ball. When the reception came back on, sure enough, Buffalo ball.
Its a sick kind of feeling to have a feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong, and then it does.
He was pushing against guys high up back and forth to get the extra yard, which often causes fumbles.
On both the Maclin fumble last week and the first Avant fumble this week I actually yelled out “cover up the ball.” I realize Maclin said to a reporter fumbles “just happen” and some are flukes.
But if I, having not practiced football for 13 years can instantly have the thought that if a guy breaks into the open field and it seems nobody is around it’s probably too good to be true, and someone is coming from behind so cover the ball up, pros can too.
That feeling on the last drive? I just remember telling myself even though it feels like they’ll tie here, not to count any chickens before they hatch. Not with this Eagles team.
Also I think Buffalo totally started to slack off when they got up 28-7.
They play like they believe the hype.
I said this before, but if Peters can’t play next week, I hope they put Vince Young out there against the Redskins so he can take his punishment for opening his mouth. A franchise that has never won a Super Bowl and a fanbase that is defined by something that happened before man landed on the moon did not need to have more piled on.
Someone I know who’s a WAS fan and a big trash talker didn’t even say anything negative about the Eagles to me today. You know things are bad when Redskins fans pity you.
I’ve been getting Redskins fan pity for three weeks, after I did my ‘isn’t that nice, you had a good draft, Rex will be just fine’ act
Techanically, I think the snowballs at Santa incident came AFTER we landed on the moon…
You are incorrect. Snowballs at santa was 1968, we landed on the moon in `69. technically is an odd adjective for chronological order, which rarely comes down to technicality.
It was an attempt at humor. I didn’t really think he was referring to Santa Claus, nor did I think he was being literal. Perhaps I am wrong.
You are incorrect. Snowballs at santa was 1968, we landed on the moon in `69. technically is an odd adjective for chronological order, which rarely comes down to technicality.
Yes, today sucked, but I feel about 50% better than last week. We played a tough team on the road today. Yes we imploded again but not against a team that we clearly outplayed like in weeks 2 and 4. The Bills played well, they got extremely lucky today but it’s not like we blew a 20 point lead to the 9er’s or anything today.
I want to believe in Juan. Juan’s an Eagle. He fought to coach in Philly. He fought to stay here when Reid came in. The 4th qtr gave me reason for optimism. So did the Rams game and parts of the Falcons game. Juan is going to get another week. I hope the light comes on and he has the players ready to play and calls the kind of game that shows he can do the job. Quite simply, we’re too far along in the season for a Juan firing and replacement to make enough of a difference.
The offense needs to get their head out of their ass. Reid needs to get this team playing as a team.
I like Juan too. But I’d like the Eagles Defensive Coordinator to be a guy that’s coached defense for 10, 20 or even 30 years. I don’t think that should be too much to ask.
I agree. I’m just thinking that we’ve hitched our wagon to Juan. A new DC probably isn’t going to be able to turn us around in time to save the season. Our best hope for this season is that Juan turns it around.
After this year the organization has to either extend Reid, fire him, or bring him back on the last year of his contract. The feeling about the team that caused players to want to sign in the offseason is something you’d like to keep but it may be gone soon. Reid is also the guy who got Vick, DJax, Shady and Maclin and set them up in a system- Shady doesn’t get as many attempts as he would otherwise but likes the organization as it is. Vick’s contract as I said helps Reid’s job security. A lot may have to do with how the fans feel in two months.
I’m pretty sure they already extended him and he has 2 years left after this one.
ok I just googled quickly. He looked relaxed in the press conference when they were asking about his job
Ask Denver fans if HC contracts mean anything. The Broncos currently have Mike Shannahan, Josh McDaniels, and John Fox on their payroll. I do not think Andy will get fired, but his contract does not guarantee his job security.
The whipping SF put on TB makes last week look a little better.. Alex Smith and Gore picked up where they left off.
Does anyone else actually feel more confident after this game then they did last week? I thought we played better in the 4th quarter than we have all year. They proved, somewhat, that they are capable of turning it around.
The Eagles should be 5 – 0, if it wasn’t for themselves. I am absolutely sure we lead the lead in redzone turnovers.
It doesn’t help that opposing offenses are rarely if ever held to 3 on their scoring opportunities.
Did anyone else get up off the couch in a mock cheer when they held Buffalo to a field goal?
Yup, me and my buddies did. Did anyone else catch the stat that teams have scored on the Eagles something like 49 straight times that they’ve been in the Red Zone? I guess this could be somewhat misleading if those score were mainly field goals, but I don’t think this is the case.
I’m not that high on the Bills.
Hell, go sign Jamar Adams. He doesn’t cover well, but the dude will hit and tackle. Bloody Nora! I can’t believe I just read that. Jarrad Page sure must have peed you off!
Jarrad Page was so awful in that game that signing and playing Jamar Adams didn’t sound crazy to me.
I agree, but Tommy really didn’t/doesn’t like Adams, it’s akin to him asking for Matt Schobel to return in any capacity.
I did later read that it was a suggestion from ian_no_2 in an earlier thread.
My fellow Iggles Fans,
It is time. Time we stop bitching and moaning. Let’s get real results. I propose #OCCUPYNOVACARE, Effective immediately! We may not be able to actually break the gates, and put heads on stakes but damnit we can try! Worst case we will be maced in the face by Philly PD and that will at least be an improvement over the burn of watching our beloved Iggles play. We want this team to play united, with an us against the world mentality. Lets make them play together out of literal fear for their lives. What’s that Juan, You want to send Nnamdi on an Agap blitz? Well here is a punch to the face. A receiver drops the ball? He doesn’t do up-downs or run a windsprint or two… He outruns an angry mob. They will learn… or we will beat them all onto the IR. Also seriously if Drew Rosenhaus shows up he will find out that when SI wrote last week that Philly fans have mellowed, how very,very wrong they were. You think Santa got it bad? We will throw snowballs at you in October. Yes we will make dry ice snowballs just to prove our point. OH BOY! CAN’T WAIT!
PS- I’m kidding… Kind of
Going into the season I thought it would take a while to gel. Not sure what the Giants record was at the start of the season when they won the Super Bowl a few yrs. ago; but was thinking we’d be more like them if we could finish 9 and 7 and get in the playoffs. If we can’t make it we need Andy to come back. People seem to forget that if he has time with his players(an offseason; after bye weeks) he’s one of the top coaches out there. This lockout made everything uncontrollably complicated for someone that doesn’t adjust on the fly and is just average if there’s time and a strategic thought process involved. If for some reason we don’t succeed this yr. next yr. Andy would more than likely take us to the SB; without him the Eagles will fail for most likely the next 10-20 yrs. or so. He’s by far the best coach the Eagles have ever had. Compare conf. championships, yrs. in PO, SB appearances, winning records in same # of yrs. to Dave Wannstedt and the only difference is he won the SB in one extra yr. than it would take Andy if he won it this yr. And Dave would be a first ballet HOF coach if they were sure that he wasn’t going to coach again. He went to a city where there’s no pressure on a coach(not fired every 3 yrs. in Pitt, the media won’t cut his throat, the fans are understanding and has the best Owner that’s been there forever).
Do you mean Bill Cowher? I don’t think Wannstedt ever won the Super Bowl and he coached at University of Pittsburgh but not the Steelers.
If Andy Reed wins a SB by 2013 he’d not only be a HOF coach, but under the pathetic scrutiny he’s been under in Philly he’d be at least 10x’s better of a coach than Dave Wannstedt. Anybody in Philly that wants him fired doesn’t want a SB period. Of course the national media and teams around the league are praying that he leaves, or is fired; than he could win it for them. It took Dave 13 yrs to finally win it.
Yeah if John Fox got rehired that fast Andy will have another job before he hits the Ben Franklin Bridge (or Penna. Turnpike, depending on which way he goes).
There’s a legitimate argument for whether or not Andy Reid’s style will ever win a Super Bowl, but I think it’s Fool’s Gold to tear it down and start over now.
Think about how much trouble the Eagles are having meshing all this new talent, and the Wide 9 D, etc. Why would we want to start all over on offense and special teams too? You might be able to get Cowher, but his style completely doesn’t match the talent on this team any more than the D matches what we need for the Wide 9.
You don’t fire somebody just to fire them unless the situation is completely untenable. And an awful five-game stretch is not enough to give up an start over from the ground floor.
Actually 14 yrs from the ’92-’05 seasons it took Bill Cowher of the Steelers to win the SB.
Yes, 1 of 2 winning super bowl coaches to win the big game more than 5 years after they took the job. In other words, if you don’t win it in your 1st 5 years on the job, chances are you aren’t winning it at all.
Wait, what? 1 out of 2, correct me if I am wrong, is roughly 50%. So around half the coaches win before 5 years and half win after. How does that lead to “chances are you aren’t winning at all?”
50% of the time it works all the time…
The response was about Bill Cower, who was 1 of the ONLY 2 coaches to win a super bowl after the first 5 years of his tenure. Every other super bowl was won by coaches in their first 5 years. So no, its not 50%.
Ahh, I see. That is much less rosy. Still, I’d be interested in knowing what percentage of coaches one their SB after, say, 10 years with an organization compared to what percentage of coaches in their first 5-years win one. I’d bet the odds aren’t that good going with either one as a decision-making model.
I’m so pissed off that it’s ruining my monday. And it’s been 2/3 weeks in a row now. Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined this affecting me so much, but I guess like other have put, it’s because:
– This team is full of talent, and is killing itself with dumb mistakes (last 3 halves of football we had the Ronnie Brown pass, Mike Vick 8s before half blunder, and Juqua offside- Unless I have selective memory, I don’t recall that many absolutely dumb mistake all of last year). Those are mind boggling
– We could be 5-0 right now. Seriously, it wouldn’t have taken much. That makes me even crazier.
I’m so f***ing pissed off right now, I don’t recall feeling like that in a while because of any kind of sports.
On a side note, Tommy, I’ll wait for an explanation during your game review of that Wildcat play the Eagles defended with a Nickel formation and 3 down linemen. That play drove me even more mad than Vick’s pre-halftime blunder.
Pessimism: We’ve been awful in all phases and make the dumbest mistakes at the worst times.
Optimism: If we beat the Skins next week + Dallas loses to NE, we’re ONE game back of Washington with 10 games left.
This is what’s keeping me afloat. As bad as we are, we can still win this division because it sucks. And as bad as the Eagles are, they could win a playoff game because they can hang with anyone. But, before playoffs, one step at a time:
If PHI beats WAS, BUF beats NYG and NE beats DAL — all plausible results — the division looks like:
WAS 3-2
NYG 3-3
DAL 2-3
PHI 2-4
We go into the bye with a shred of confidence, make whatever changes we need to make, and chase from there. 1.5 games back with a 1-1 division record is not impossible.
The thing that worries me more with the Eagles is not can they catch the teams in the NFC East but can they stop beating themselves. They have had must-wins two weeks in a row now and lost both games. All 4 losses have been competitive in the 4th quarter yet they haven’t been able to summon the strength to pull out one of them.
So as wide open as the division is, the Eagles first have to get over their own hump … if that makes any sense.
Rather than have hope for right now, I’d rather have hope for the future.
The only way to have hope for the future with this team is to see them lose 10 or more games, force Lurie to purge the organization of Andy Reid & his minions, and hire a new, up-and-coming young assistant coach.
I want the next Mike McCarthy, or the next Jim Harbaugh. Someone who will start from scratch and institute a new system of accountability – someone who will hire his own coaching staff and implement an entirely new coaching hierarchy.
“We know that this team cannot compete with the current defense.”
I think this is the crucial point. I question, though, is whether this is a definite and accurate conclusion at this point. I’m honestly just not sure. We certainly have some proof that this might be the case, but I’m not convinced that we have enough data to close the debate. I can easily agree with you, then go on to a “but on the other hand” argument.
The bad and the good about this team is that they are playing dumb. The bad is that dumb loses games in the NFL. The good is that dumb can be fixed.
Plus, is anyone in the NFC East really any good? Our Division could end up looking like last year’s NFC West. The Eagles could, possibly, win the Division with a 9-7 or 8-8 record. Then, with some luck, anything is possible in the playoffs.
“I want the next Mike McCarthy, or the next Jim Harbaugh. Someone who will start from scratch and institute a new system of accountability – someone who will hire his own coaching staff and implement an entirely new coaching hierarchy.”
-So, you want the next Andy Reid?
In his first 5-6 years, Reid was a good coach who hired a great defensive coordinator.
The problem with Reid is that his regime has grown stale. Even the best coaches eventually become stale.
What if we try to hire the next McCarthy/Harbaugh and end up with the next Marinelli/Sparano instead?
I brought this up in a previous post, but is there a chance a defensive “consultant” is brought in to advise Castillo? It most likely will not help, but it does give you another option to promote in the likely dismissal of Juan. I’m not really sold on any of our in-house options, so I’m not sure that firing Juan would really help anything.
Page is been getting worse and worse every week. Please put in Coleman and Jarrett…or even Colt. Cut Page today!!!!!
I too am pretty positive. I just keep seeing this team make dumb mistakes at the worst possible time. Maybe that’s because they are pressing. You can’t blame Reid for the two Avant fumbles. You can’t blame Reid for Parker’s jump. You can’t blame Reid for the stupid mistakes all the players are doing. You are right, that can’t last forever.
I noticed when the defense started playing better was when they started playing man, as well as blitzing (especially the double A gap blitz). Its about time! I hope that continues.
Looking at each play in a vacuum, you’re absolutely right. JP’s encroachment call was on him. AR didn’t line up behind him and shove his ass forward, nor was AR the guy who ran up to Avant and ripped the ball out.
But if the team collectively is playing this poorly – Vick’s absurd turnover amount, sloppy finishes, etc. – then I think you blame the culture of the organization.
The crazy thing is that I don’t remember it being this bad under AR. I don’t know what happened on Offense. Defense, obviously, easy to figure out.
With the exception of last weeks two missed field goals, I think special teams is looking pretty good so far this year… Have we punted the ball yet this year?
I have yet another completely stupid idea.
Why can’t the Eagles play 5 D-linemen in the base defense?
Use the Wide 9 and drop a 3rd DT right over the center in an attempt to eat blockers…
Use Rolle and Chaney as your LBers
Put the 3 CBs on the field to cover passing threats (WR, TE, RB in that order of priority depending on offensive package)
And Nate Allen deep as a safety net (since a slightly gimped Allen is our best option)
I realize this is not normal and probably makes no sense… except that it gets our best players on the field. Since we are basically just playing street ball at this point, why not take that kind of approach? Try to create pass rushing lanes with the D-tackles on some plays, DEs set the edge and rush the passer… I don’t know… I just like crazy ideas.
It is time to see what Jarrett can do. All I heard after they drafted him was what a beast he was in making tackles. His coach at Temple said he was the best tackler he had ever coached. The Eagles D could probably even benefit from watching his highlight videos to learn how to tackle. So, what is the problem with giving him some PT? They say he was having a lot of trouble picking up the system. Well, rookie or not, it seems even our high priced FAs and veterans are having a hard time with it too. We need a strong hitting safety if we are using the Wide 9, regardless if that player is somewhat of a liability in coverage. Dawkins wasn’t great in coverage, but could bring down any ball carrier that made it to the second level. I know that when you are thinking too much out there, you’re playing slower and less instinctive, but Jarrett can’t get better if he’s not out there (can’t be any worse than Page). I think it will come together eventually, but I was hoping that we could have at least gotten away with 2-3 wins by now. Yesterday was the first time this season we didn’t have a lead going into the fourth quarter, and we still had every chance to pull out a win. We just didn’t take care of the football and didn’t make tackles. What about that is on the coaches. Every player at this level should be able to protect the football and/or make tackles. Granted, I’m not happy with Juan’s results so far (especially since he said this training camp that “fundamentals” was all he was coaching, and the Eagles D to this point is fundamentally deplorable), but this defense CAN be special. There are times when this defense looks dominating, but it changes not from game to game, but series to series. That inconsistancy is unacceptable. Eliminate some of these bone-headed mistakes/turnovers, we could easily be 5-0, but we’re not. Get over it, move on to the next game. Blowing up the coaching staff is a knee-jerk solution to a team that just doesn’t seem together yet (mentally and emotionally). Beat the Redskins, and we are back in this thing with 10 to go.
dude you’re too soft on these guys, just like you were with casey matthews. now is not the time to be soft. they are overwhelmingly undisciplined. did you watch the packers last night? are there not worlds of difference between them and the eagles? the packers are a disciplined team. the eagles are a mess. if we wait another week before firing andy and demoting juan, it will be 2 weeks too late. a team so undisciplined at this point in the season can not retain their coach. if we want any chance to make the playoffs this year, they need to make tough choices to save the season right away.
I don’t know if you saw the same game but 5-1 TO makes a difference. If you’re upset at Vick and not the defense you’d have a point. Juan’s D gave up 14-21 points depending how you look at it. The D wasn’t even on the field when Vick through a TD 4 the wrong team. When you’re playing against a good O it’s more than likely if you throw 2 Int around the 50 yd line there going to get 6-7 points. If you give it to them at the 37 yd line how are they not going to come up with a FG. Obviously you think Tom Brady’s the worst QB & NE is the worst in the AFC since Brady threw 4 int’s & NE’s 1 loss this yr happens to be against the Bills. Have you ever thought that it’s possible they’re good at getting Int’s, have a good O and might be a decent team?
nah i think vick played a pretty good game. i think the defense needs to focus more on tackles. i dont know why people who previously could tackle, can no longer tackle. what exactly is going on when they no longer concentrate on wrapping up the tackler?
“if we want any chance to make the playoffs this year, they need to make tough choices to save the season right away.”
Well yes, but firing the coach is not going to save the season. It’s going to start us from scratch. You do that when you’re 1-7 like the Cowboys last year, not after 5 games.
As much as this pains you to hear, if you want a chance at making the playoffs this year, you win this week, then make tough choices during the bye. (I would back the elevation of Jaiquawn Jarrett to starter with 2 weeks of practice to work on it, for instance).
Firing the coach is giving up on this season. There might be an argument for giving up on the season at 1-4, but there is no argument for bringing in a coach to take over a 1-4 team, reset everything and rally it to the playoffs.
Fired coaches begets more losing until they have an offseason to establish identity/change the culture.
im not sure… some teams did ok with interim coaches, havent they? marty mornhinweg could keep everything together. i’d rather them move juan to O-line coach and fire howard mudd.
Sheil says we were running a nickel D most of the game. Wha?! They were gashing us in the run and with screens, our corners can’t tackle, and we’re still running a nickel? Now I’m depressed again.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/moving_the_chains/Man-Up-DRC-Samuel-struggle.html
I’ve been a supporter of AR for a long time. I think he is a very knowledgeable coach and has helped make this team competitive nearly every year throughout his long tenure in Philly. Having said that, his success year in, year out, is what makes me like him. Without it, there are plenty aspects of his coaching that are very fair game to question. Tommy, I know you support AR and I completely understand wanting to have a successful coach (AR) over making a change for the sake of change. That being said, I do think 3-13 is way to low of a cut off to entertain the conversation about AR’s future. There is still plenty of season left, but there are still glaring holes on this team that the guy who is both the coach and final decision maker for this team must be held accountable for. The way I see it, if this season ends below .500, AR is not being a successful coach and change is warranted. That means we have to go 7 and 4 the rest of the way. While it is certainly not out of the question, anyone who thinks we can easily get to 8-8 is simply being a homer.
We have won one game, and that was a game against a team that currently is winless. Even yesterday when our defense was playing well late in the game, it’s hard to buy into it to much considering that the Bills were up 28 to 7 with 9 minutes left in the third. The positive spin is we played a ton better and stopped them the rest of the game. The obvious negative spin is that the Bills took their foot off the gas, feeling they had the game won already. Ignoring the latter to feel positive about the former is just grasping for hope. No matter how you look at it, this team still has not shown they can put a full game together against decent teams and right now, every single player and coach has to share the blame. That also means the head of team, AR, is a very fair target.
Watching the game yesterday – was like giving myself a self flagellation…instead of switching off the game I forced myself to watch it knowing fully well how it would end…for those optimists who say we can turn the season around and we will get into the playoffs…u must be kidding…a few more losses and I visualize the locker room breaking up and the team quitting…this team has no leadership…and to add to that the whole team is playing poorly…the OL is a mess, the less said about the Defense is better and the coaching is terrible….how can you explain on a 3rd and 5..Fitzpatrick snapping the ball and running behind his center for a first down…this season is a disaster…and I think Castillo will be the straw that breaks Fat Reid’s back…on another note Chris Clemons and a bunch of no name defense did a good job on the Giants….And isn’t it surprising that both the Phillies and Eagles got the big names and it all comes to naught…
That was a pleasant surprise, totally wasn’t expecting to be quoted … just reading along like I normally do, doop de doop de doo … hey, cool!
I wish it wasn’t true. I so want to like this team, but they lack the grit, discipline and soul that most great teams have. Part of me hopes this 1-4 start draws it out of them … but a 1-2 start should have drawn it out of them if it was in there.
My hope right now lies in how winnable this division is and how close the Eagles have been to winning every game that perhaps a small tweak or some confidence or luck can get them in the mix. I am no longer expecting they will find that soul or grit or discipline within. Five games in, this team is what it is … a super-talented mess. Would be cool if they could right the ship but they haven’t given us reason to expect it.