The Longest Day

Posted: November 18th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 86 Comments »

No one is confident in a 3-6 team, but I felt today offered a  chance for the Eagles to  break the losing streak.  The Skins were a 3-6 team and starting a rookie QB of their own.  They have a bad defense and the offense had been struggling recently.  They didn’t have a dynamic rusher to deal with.  This was about as favorable a situation as you’d want.

Losing 31-6 is about a million miles away from where I expected the game to be.  If this wasn’t rock bottom, I hate to imagine what that is like.

The coaches did a poor job.  The players did a poor job.  This was an ugly, ugly day.

Everyone is ready to make a definitive read on Nick Foles.  Don’t.  This was one game.

* Foles vs WAS…21-46-204 with 2 INTS, 3 fumbles (none lost)…led team to 6 points

* Vick vs ARZ…17-37-217 with no INTs, 2 fumbles…led team to 6 points

Foles did some good things early on, but the game got away from him in the 2nd half and he got very sloppy.

The Eagles are now 3-7.  Things are getting ugly.  Andy Reid won’t be fired, even after a debacle like this.  There isn’t a natural replacement for him.  I don’t think it would make the situation better.  Changes will come in January.  There could be some lineup changes, but don’t expect crazy moves.

I’ll say more later.  Just a very, very frustrating day.  This team finds new ways to depress me.

_


86 Comments on “The Longest Day”

  1. 1 Anders said at 5:14 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I really think Foles suffered from the OL and his receivers not helping him at all and as a rookie QB with no help, its hard to do any thing.

  2. 2 Patrick said at 5:23 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I know its beating a dead horse, but why the F#%K do we run the ball 20 times with a rookie in his 1st start with LeSean McCoy on the team? This wasn’t the time to get cute. Sometimes, just play it simple. Even though its a passing league, i almost want us to get a coach who believes in running the ball down the throat of the opponents.

  3. 3 Anders said at 5:28 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    We actually tried to run in the first half, problem was half the runs was called back by penalty and in the 2nd half the game came out of hand.

  4. 4 Iskar36 said at 5:41 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I desperately want Foles to succeed, and you are right that the OLine and the WRs didn’t do him favors, but Foles played a bad game regardless. I don’t think the shortcomings of the Oline and WRs is enough to offset Foles’ poor play. I’m not saying we should give up on him already. I agree with Tommy that it is only one game, but I also think it is unfair to use the oline and WRs as an excuse.

  5. 5 Anders said at 6:04 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Problem is, in a rookies first ever game, you need atleast your OL and WRs to not make mistakes and put the rookie in bad situations.

  6. 6 eagles2zc said at 5:25 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    The last two minutes of the first half reminded me of the AZ game too. Eagles just can’t catch a break. Meanwhile, RG3 is looking like a million bucks

  7. 7 A_T_G said at 7:36 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    If that is true, he is way, way overpaid.

  8. 8 eagles2zc said at 8:05 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    What? RG3 didn’t look good today?

  9. 9 Steag209 said at 8:52 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    lol he meant that RG3 is being paid more than a million bucks to play QB

  10. 10 A_T_G said at 9:38 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Thanks. Dry humor doesn’t always translate to text.

  11. 11 eagles2zc said at 10:10 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Ahh, now that I sobered up some, I get it. All this Eagles suckage is helping the local bar economy around me

  12. 12 Allen3000 said at 5:27 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Want to hear a really depressing/eye-opening stat? Daniel Teo’Nisheim (spelling?) has as many, if not more tackles/sacks than the following D-Lineman on the Eagles:

    Fletcher Cox, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, Brandon Graham, Cedric Thornton, Derek Landri, Daryl Tapp, Phillip Hunt. Only Babin has more sacks than Teo’ Nshiem (and Babin has less tackles). WOW is all I have to say about that.

  13. 13 Ty-Philly said at 5:28 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I didn’t need to know that. wow

  14. 14 austinfan said at 5:46 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    That shouldn’t surprise you, Teo was a good draft pick at the time, Washburn didn’t like him (he fits a conventional 4-3) and cut him. Sometimes the problem with the draft pick is the coaches, not the player.

  15. 15 Allen3000 said at 5:59 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    With all due respect I think you’re being a bit dishonest by saying it ‘shouldn’t surprise me’ (or anyone for that matter). Very few people thought he would make a signficant contribution here and he was released prematurely. Coaches were basically acknowledging he wouldn’t make a positive contribution for the D. Regardless of whether or not he was a bad fit, I find it extremely distressing that he’s putting up bigger numbers on a better team over guys here who were hyped beyond belief. It’s depressing that the TB coaches can get more production from him than ours can out of the guys I listed. I think that pretty much illustrates the point perfectly that our coaches/players are failing big time.

  16. 16 austinfan said at 6:06 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I liked Teo when he was drafted and was unhappy when he was released. I always saw him as a classic “try hard” LDE type, not your flashy pass rusher but the kind of guy who’ll be productive as a 3rd DE who rotates in. I thought it was short sighted of them to release him. But AR was in “win now” mode, which has turned into “win never” mode.

  17. 17 ACViking said at 6:11 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Re: Chris Clemons

    As T-law’s said many times, Clemons just didn’t work out in JJ’s defense.

    It happens. T’eo didn’t fit Washburn’s scheme.

  18. 18 ceteris_paribus1776 said at 10:37 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Te’o could get off a block to save his life. Guy was drafted 3 rounds too high. He has a grand total of 10 tackles and 2 sacks. Can’t say that I miss seeing him get pushed around

  19. 19 Ty-Philly said at 5:27 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Tapp should be inactive while Curry plays next week. start Graham and Curry and have Cole/Babin rotate in. time to let the young guys eat up the reps

  20. 20 Sb2bowl said at 11:41 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    At this point, its time to get Curry some real game time. Tapp is probably gone after this year; time to move on.

  21. 21 shah8 said at 5:32 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    /me shakes head…

    Foles is a rookie QB who was drafted to be a backup QB. He was never the QotF, and I fail to see how anyone protesting otherwise isn’t nuts. Depending, we may see Foles out there one more time, but no more than that.

    Arizona’s defense just about killed Matt Ryan today. Ryan Lindley played QB most of the day–for performance reasons. If Kolb was able to go, Atlanta would have been losing badly. Washington’s defense is just nothing like that. On the rewatch, check out how little respect they gave the deep game. Nobody believes Foles can throw deep, and everyone believes they can run him down. This was a complete repeat of the game Washington played against Minnesota, except we were total crap at running the ball. Did you see how hard Bryce Brown had to work to get a one yard gain early in this game? Anyways, they just played zone and blitzed alot, believing that the QB doesn’t have talent. Just like I would. Pretending that this is comparable to Vick’s game against Arizona doesn’t help much.

    I was hoping for some defensive turnovers, like a pick-6 in our favor or two. Except we made RG3 out as God,

  22. 22 shah8 said at 5:39 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I think this bears repeating. The sheer putridness of the runblocking has made this season unworkable. That nightmarish situation where the DL just doesn’t give a bleep about run trickeration ’cause the OL isn’t hitting the second level–at all. Some whispy-cheeked safety back there can dive at the knees if, somehow, the RB makes it past the line of scrimmage.

  23. 23 DamonL86 said at 5:39 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I feel like it the mid 90’s all over again

  24. 24 SleepingDuck said at 5:41 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Tommy, did you see McLane’s tweets about what some vets are saying?

  25. 25 TommyLawlor said at 6:41 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    No.

  26. 26 MichaelFloyd84 said at 7:00 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    What were they saying?

  27. 27 bdbd20 said at 7:24 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Basically the season is over and Reid is gone. I believe the quote had something to do with the new coach wanting to bring in his own guys.

  28. 28 austinfan said at 5:45 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    We’ll see about Foles, but he didn’t look good, and you can’t blame it all on the OL, the interceptions don’t bother me, the lousy mechanics and inaccurate throws give me reason for concern.

    Think 1998, but there’s no McNabb in this draft, I’m not sold on Geno Smith, another athlete, no interceptions because he’s protecting his stats instead of trying to score points to help his team win. And who else, Bray should stay in school, Barkley is Brady Quinn redux, etc.

    On the other hand, this team has more young talent than the 1998 team, finish 4-12 or 5-11 and they can add 3 starters including at least one blue chip guy, and with something like $30M to play with, sign a couple YOUNG free agents (no more over the hill gang). So you can turn this completely around in two years with the right HC.

    I think the purge is easy:
    Vick, Bell, Dunlap, Babin, Tapp, Landri, Jenkins, Aso, DRC.
    Dump Chaney, Matthews, can’t play and don’t help on STs.

    I’d listen to trade offers for Maclin, no cojones.
    Guys on the bubble:
    Lewis, Polk, Avant, Harbor (hands are regressing again), Herremans (can he play RT, do you want him at RG over Watkings/Menkin?), Cole, Patterson, Jordan, Hughes, Coleman.

    I don’t think there will be a huge turnover, 15-20 players and 5-10 guys at the edge of the roster, but most of the high paid veterans will be gone, as they should be, they were brought in to win games. With a full draft and some free agents, SFAs, this could be one of the three or four youngest rosters in the NFL next year.

    The key is finding a QB in the next two seasons to build a young roster around and grow together. Just not sure he’s named Nick.

  29. 29 shah8 said at 5:53 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    mordant chuckle…

    /me shouts to Philly Nation:

    Do ANY of Y’ALL realize just how many teams are putting up with putrid QB play? Jason Campbell is going to be hot stuff this off-season! Jason freakin’ Campbell! The Bills might actually keep Tarvaris Jackson!

    What should make chills go down our backs is that the Chiefs BEST move is to literally trade for Joe Webb, with the first pick, if need be.

    The situation out there is simply not advantageous for QB acquisition.

  30. 30 austinfan said at 6:09 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Outside of a few top guys, QB performance these days is as much about the talent surrounding them as QB quality.

    Colleges are producing a much higher supply of second tier QBs than in the past, there are only a few Andrew Lucks a decade (RGIII is not in that category of QB, he had the luckiest day I’ve seen from a QB in a long time, two defensive breakdowns and a hail mary, and that was 90% of his output). However, you can develop a Dalton or Schaub with the right talent and scheme, or you can ruin a Cutler.

  31. 31 shah8 said at 6:21 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    You see Andrew Luck out there against a putrid NE secondary? He ain’t torching them like Russel Wilson did. And every time I’ve seen Luck play, what I’ve seen is a QB that’s fundamentally dependent on mechanics to be able to drive the ball at an NFL level.

    Andrew Luck is not the best prospect since whenever. Physically, he’s only a better prospect than the Matt Ryans and Mark Sanchezes of the world. And a strong case can be made that Russel Wilson entered the NFL more refined as a passer than Luck. One only has to go to Stafford to find an obviously better prospect. With a ton of guys going back to Vick, McNabb, and Manning who were truly top end No 1. picks, forget Elway.

  32. 32 shah8 said at 6:47 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    and oh hey, mechanics not up to snuff leads to a pick 6!

    This is not to say that Luck isn’t or can’t be good, but the hype is ridiculous.

  33. 33 teltschikfakeout88 said at 7:34 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Morton…….have you returned under another guise…..

  34. 34 Arby1 said at 10:56 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    No, the real Morton is waiting until we are 3 – 13 when he’s gonna come back breathing fire and damnation over all the eagles blogisphere.

  35. 35 Anders said at 6:07 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    It seems to me that as the game progressed his mechanics got more lousy. He looked good enough to me in the first 2 quarters, but penalties and drop got him in to too tough situations for him to handle right now.

  36. 36 Iskar36 said at 5:50 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I agree that there is not a natural replacement other than MM who is not exactly a change from AR, and I also came into the season believing it would be nearly impossible fore AR to be fired midseason. That being said, I do think the way the season has gone, the possibility of AR getting fired midseason has become a very real possibility. I’m not saying it is necessarily likely to happen by any means nor do I think it will happen this week, but even though there is not a great replacement available, at some point, there is no value to keeping AR around. If we keep out-underperforming the week before, I think Lurie’s hand may be forced.

  37. 37 eagles2zc said at 5:57 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I somewhat don’t care at this point whether Reid gets fired midseason or after the season. However, I just don’t see the point. There’s no one on the current coaching staff that I see as a possible HC candidate. So Reid may be the best person to finish out the season

  38. 38 Eagles4life said at 1:31 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    The plan is to keep Reid and possibly have the worst record in the NFL to pick up the 1st pick and get whatever player we want or trade down to get a bunch of picks from Cowboys!! lol

  39. 39 SteveH said at 6:00 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    My absolute favorite part about this game:

    End of the first half, Andy obviously just going to run out the clock and take it to the locker room, needlessly calls run play, Mccoy fumbles, Redskins get 3.

    End of the game, down 25 with under 2 minutes left, Reid needlessly runs Mccoy who gets concussed.

    I swear to god there is no coach in the NFL that fails to learn from experience like Andy Reid. He is literally the human equivalent of a mule with his heels dug in. When he thinks he’s right, ABSOLUTELY no amount of experience or evidence will sway him.

  40. 40 Julescat said at 6:04 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    so many will be so happy to see Reid fired

  41. 41 xeynon said at 6:36 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Yep. Reid’s stubbornness is infuriating, because unlike most coaching flaws it must by its very nature never improve.

  42. 42 Alonza Brown said at 9:18 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Can’t fault him for running the ball there. If he took knees, the skins had 2 TOs. They could’ve taken both and gotten the ball back with over a minute left in really good field position. Running the ball is usually a safe bet and if you happen to get a first down then you can take a knee to run out the half.

  43. 43 SteveH said at 10:33 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    The skins had 2 Timeouts, not 3. 1st down kneel, timeout. 2nd down kneel, timeout. Third down kneel and no timeout. When we got the ball there was about 45 seconds left, no need at all to run a play that was anything other than a kneel.

  44. 44 Alonza Brown said at 1:10 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    no we called a TO cause we thought they were gonna go for it on 4th down. there was over a minute and a half left

  45. 45 Allen3000 said at 6:04 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Initially I didn’t want AR to be fired in season, and I still don’t think it seems right. However, after the way he hired and subsequently fired Castillo I lost of a TON of sympathy for Reid. At this point, I only want him around because there’s absolutely no adequate replacement for him. I do still respect the hell out of the guy and will forever look back on much of his time in Philly with fond memories, but it’s been a nauseating past several years and the team is in dire need of a change. Even the great Bill Walsh said that there gets to be a certain point where your message (as a head coach) gets stale and there’s a need for a break. The time for change has obviously come for AR.

  46. 46 the guy said at 6:12 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I didn’t see the point of firing Andy Reid midseason until this game.

    Down 25 points with 2 minutes to play, he calls a running play with Shady, who gets injured. That’s unforgivable. And it’s hardly the first time he’s done something like this.

    His response when asked about it in the post-game press conference?

    From Eagles Insider:
    “Asked why McCoy was in game at the end: We were trying to win the game. Said he does not regret it.”

    Enough.

  47. 47 SteveH said at 7:12 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    He was trying to win the game by calling a running play down 25 with less than 2 minutes to go? Seriously?

  48. 48 A_T_G said at 7:49 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    To be fair, he had been passing all game to set up the run.

  49. 49 the guy said at 8:30 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Also, everyone knows that November is Double Points Month in the NFL.

  50. 50 eagles2zc said at 8:04 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Marty is trying to pat the rushing stats. He’s been running the ball 4th quarter while behind many times

  51. 51 Eagles_Fan_in_San_Fran said at 8:06 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I agree with you 1000%.

    Back in 2007, with nothing to play for, AR kept both McNabb (coming off his ACL surgery and an ankle injury) AND Westbrook in the entire game against the wretched Bills just so they could win and finish 8-8 (but still in last place in the division).

    You’re got to get his a$$ out of there before he kills Foles as well.

  52. 52 JJ_Cake said at 10:34 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I have been happy enough with AR until the end of this game. To leave McCoy in like he did is inexcusable!!!! If he were an honorable man he would make a pubic announcement that he failed to protect one of the few bright spots on the Eagles’ roster by keeping him in the game when it didn’t matter and putting him at risk of serious injury. McCoy gets a concusion in the last two minutes, this is unacceptable behavior from someone we have come to trust as caring about the players and this team.

    It’s not the losses, or dismal play from the team, it’s because of this that AR should be fired!!!! and NOW!!!!

    This season is over, lets escape with the few good players we have and move on… unless AR puts them at risk of getting season ending or career ending injuries.

  53. 53 Jason_E said at 1:10 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    I don’t know if I have a problem with him leaving him in the game, or if its what he said when he was asked about it. I think his words and his justification are what has me on the “fire him now” side of the line.

  54. 54 Jason_E said at 10:37 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I couldn’t agree more. I got in a back and forth with Brian Solomon last week about how it was classless to fire Reid midseason. However, if he’s going to risk our future for the sake narrowing the margin of a blowout, then he needs to go.

  55. 55 ACViking said at 6:28 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Re: Bill Walsh’s Staleness Rule

    The Walsh principle — 10 years and done — made a ton of sense in 1988 when he retired from NFL coaching.

    It was pre-free agency. Core players — like Montana and Lott — had been with him nearly his entire tenure.

    But now, besides a super-QB or super-CB, few players lasts 10 years with one team.

    I think If Donovan McNabb had maintained his level of play, or even had it dropped only a bit, he could still be here and the Eagles would be competitive — especially given his protection of the ball.

    Even more, if Reid had been able to find an adequate replacement for Jim Johnson, we’d all be having a different conversation.

    So I’m not sure I buy into what’s fast becoming the conventional wisdom about 10 years-and-done.

    What I do believe is that if you have a great QB, you’ll stay competitive.

    If you have a great DC, you’ll stay competitive.

    Don Shula coached the Dolphins for 27 years. He had two HOF QBs: Bob Greise and Dan Marino.

    Tom Landry lasted 29 years in Dallas. He was a defensive genius in his time, and defensive players like Bob Lilly, Jethro Pugh, Harvey Martin, Randy White, Mel Renfro, Cliff Harris, Chuck Howley, and LeRoy Jordon. Having a great defense made QBs Don Meredith and Craig Morton competitive — like JJ did for McNabb.

    Then Landry developed Staubach, and Landry had a 9 great years just with him.

    _________________

    Anyway . . . the impact of the loss of Jim Johnson on AR’s success grows every week, it seems.

    Lurie could very well keep AR — in spite of the weight of the last two years — coupled with the hiring of an uber D-Coordinator.

    Look at the Saints. Spagnuolo finally has that team playing good defense. What a difference.
    _________________

    I expect AR to leave. But one ass’t coach could change all that. It’s just not Todd Bowles.

  56. 56 Iskar36 said at 6:48 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    “Lurie could very well keep AR — in spite of the weight of the last two
    years — coupled with the hiring of an uber D-Coordinator.”

    I could not disagree with this more. AR is very largely at fault for the Eagles inability to replace JJ. Excusing him because we don’t have a good DC makes no sense. On top of that, after 3 major failures at DC, I think it would be incredibly dumb for Lurie to even begin to think the Eagles can just go out and hire an “uber D-Coordinator.” The evidence suggests they don’t know how to find one and in fact, we have gotten worse and worse with each subsequent DC since JJ.

  57. 57 ACViking said at 7:00 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Iskar 36:

    I agree with everything you wrote. The state of the Eagles rests entirely at AR’s feet.

    All I’m doing is laying out a hypothetical based on a 14-year relationship and the fact that the Eagles have reached the playoffs in 4 of the past 7 seasons (and nearly a 5th).

  58. 58 Iskar36 said at 7:05 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Saying the exact same thing with a different spin though, the Eagles have not won a playoff game in 6 of the last 8 seasons.

  59. 59 Iskar36 said at 7:31 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I love reading your posts, so I hate to be picking on them so much, but saying that last year we nearly made the playoffs is like saying when a team goes up 30 and puts their bench players in and allowing the other team to make the score not look as loopsided at the end of the season. We were awful last year and it took a miracle 4 game win streak against a bunch of backups and a near complete collapse by the Giants (they went 1-5 between weeks 10-15 last year) for us to still be out of the hunt two weeks remaining in the season… that’s not “nearly a 5th”.

  60. 60 DanJ3645 said at 5:58 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    I agree.
    I’d think of it like this:
    Elite QB and a top notch Defensive coach (either HC or DC) will allow continued regular season success and opportunities in the post season.

    With a HC/GM that can, consistently identify the players to meet the needs of the schemes, or the coaches to meld their schemes to their players, consistent playoff success is possible.

    Eagles vs the Pats.

    I wonder if one of the things that JJ brought to the Eagles was the ability to define the qualities and abilities that he needed from each position.
    I’d guess that SM and JC had not worked through that process before, and didn’t have the experiance to deal with what they ended up with.

  61. 61 xeynon said at 6:34 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Today was the worst I’ve felt watching an Eagles game since the last season of Ray Rhodes’ tenure. Even the wrenching NFC Championship losses and the Mike McMahon debacle were more watchable, because they felt like dips in an otherwise positive trajectory. This looks like a team and a regime that’s been in irreversible decline and has finally had the bottom fall out. I think they not only need to fire Reid, but clean house in the front office as well. There are also several players (Dunlap, Coleman, Tapp, Asomugha, etc.) I’d be happy to see never put on an Eagles uniform again.

    I’m not going to throw in the towel on Foles just yet, but today’s performance was not encouraging. He looked overmatched. He has to start for the rest of the season, because Vick is clearly a dead end, but I wouldn’t be surprised if posters start asking you for tape breakdowns on Matt Barkley the minute the season is over.

  62. 62 ACViking said at 6:37 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Re: Russell Wilson

    Is the NFL all about mobile QBs now?

  63. 63 holeplug said at 7:17 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    no

  64. 64 BobSmith77 said at 7:35 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Somebody needs to place an Eagles helmet outside down outside the Nova Care Complex and let the sounds of traffic going by on Patterson resemble the sound of the waves crashing on the shore while drumming on a large bass drum . . .

  65. 65 BG said at 7:56 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Draft Dion Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu. And AJ McCarron if he comes out

  66. 66 BobSmith77 said at 8:12 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    “There could be some lineup changes, but don’t expect crazy moves.”

    Couldn’t disagree more. There is going to be a ton of wholesale change and a lot of veterans who got brought in the past few years will be gone which includes Jenkins, Nnamdi, Babin, and Vick among others. Expect there will be at least 10 new starters next year from this year.

  67. 67 bdbd20 said at 8:15 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I believe Tommy was referring to players this season. No big lineup changes. Maybe a few guys get some more time (Curry, Graham, Harbor, Lewis, Brown, Sims, etc.)

  68. 68 BobSmith77 said at 8:50 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    You right. I misread what he was saying. I agree on Foles today even i he was awful.

    New regime still will probably want their guy in there but they at least should have a good chance to get a look at Foles to see what/if anything they have.

  69. 69 Mike Roman said at 8:26 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    At the very least, Marty should be fired. Castillo got fired for being mediocre to average. MM’s offense has been atrocious. I love how every week he comes out with the same gameplan of throwing the football because “he saw some weaknesses he thought they could exploit.” Apparently he doesn’t see the weaknesses in his own personnel. Simply put, he’s a douche canoe.

  70. 70 TheRogerPodacter said at 11:20 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    at some point, the OC needs to look at his own personnel and say “here are the things that we can do with the guys we have” and plan for that instead of “if i had the perfect team, here is how i would attack this defense”

  71. 71 Ben Hessel said at 8:34 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Some realism: How would Peyton Manning look with his 4 best OL injured? RG3? Eli? Matt Ryan? Our offense is in large part doomed because, as we’ve said during the ENTIRE Reid era, “it all starts on the line.”

    Our struggles should be no surprise. Injuries happen, and all happened at the same time at arguably the most significant positions. We’ve now lot…. both OTs, C, an OG, QB, RB and slot WR on offense… Name ONE team that can have that happen and be productive. The bad part is that it makes it difficult to see what Foles really can do.

    Also….

    Castillo had the 12th ranked D. I never understood why we got rid of that. It wasn’t ideal, but the D won us the first few games despite far less than ideal situations. We had been slowing down, but in Arizona for example, D wasn’t the problem. Bowles is HORRIBLE.

    Further more, no way does Nnamdi always play the right coverage and the safety ALWAYS fails to cover up top. Common denominator is Nnamdi. He’s got to be at fault for plenty of big plays this year. He always points the blame, looks like he’s not a team player and I don’t think the DBs respond to him well.

  72. 72 P_Roach17 said at 9:34 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Tommy,

    I understand there are still a good amount of games to go, but do you think it’s officially time to start talking about a new regime? Other than evaluating some of the young players, I don’t see much of a point in directing full energy towards the current team. I would really like to hear your opinion on potential coaching candidates, scheme changes, front office personnel etc.

  73. 73 cmengel said at 9:43 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Frustrating? Tommy, we are way beyond this! Embarrassing, futile, inept is more like it. I’m not about to pass judgement on Foles. Why? Because I feel that 80% of this team and 100% of the coaching staff and administration should be gone.

    Tommy, you and I come from the same generation of Eagles fans. I know your trying to make light of our situation; but this goes way beyond one player, or one coach. We have had troubling times, but, my god, I have never seen a team break down this way. We have been through a lot, but maybe we have been deluding ourselves since the late 70’s & early 80’s. Perhaps it’s because I was a kid then, but my enjoyment of our team has weaned.

  74. 74 Iskar36 said at 10:41 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Tommy, at some point can you talk about the drop off we have seen going from Castillo to Bowles? I never believe in Castillo and thought he should have been fired last season. After they decided to keep him, my opinion was that he was still not a good coach, but he had certainly shown improvement this season, so while I had no problem with them firing Castillo for his inability to be a quality DC, I thought it was crazy for them to have not fired him for last years performance but managed to justify firing him for this years performance, especially considering the defense at the time was the only group that seemed semi-competent. Since his firing, I think it is hard to deny that we have taken a significant step backwards. Has this been on Bowles, or were the wheels ready to fall off even if Castillo was still in charge? From what it seems like to me, it certainly seems that AR handled the Castillo situation the wrong way at every single stage of the process.

  75. 75 TheRogerPodacter said at 11:18 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    i’m hoping that tommy can give us a more lengthy post on this. i think this is going to be one of the biggest topics this offseason.
    it seems to me like they made Castillo out to be the scapegoat of the team and now it is biting them back.

  76. 76 Ty-Philly said at 10:52 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I’m not going to speculate on the guys we have seen very little of, but…

    Offense:

    Definitely gone- Bell, Reynolds
    Probably gone- Vick, Dunlap, Lewis
    Could be gone- Avant, Edwards

    Defense:

    Definitely gone-Nnamdi, Landri, Tapp
    Probably gone- Babin,Jenkins
    Could be gone- Chaney, Coleman,Hunt

    Any additions or subtractions from this list?

  77. 77 Sb2bowl said at 11:43 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    Depends on who they bring in to replace Reid and the staff. Could be a pretty big turnover. What about DRC? How about the new OL coach? Does he like athletic guys, or maulers?

  78. 78 Iskar36 said at 11:57 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    DRC will be interesting. I’m pretty sure he is a FA at the end of this season. Can you justify giving him a new contract with the way he has played recently? Will his contract demands be reasonable to begin with? On the other side of the argument, can you justify getting rid of both of your starting CBs and expect to be competitive the following year? This offseason is going to be extremely interesting, and it will be absolutely huuuuge for the near future of the franchise.

  79. 79 Sb2bowl said at 7:28 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    He hasn’t played bad up to this point; yesterday though, he missed an easy interception. That ball was there for him to step in front of, and he could have taken it to the house. The turnover could have been the spark that we needed.

    Nnamdi is as good as gone; even if he restructures down to 5 million a year, he probably isn’t coming back. I generally give the guys on the outside a little bit of a break, but he hasn’t played up to his billing.

  80. 80 Ty-Philly said at 7:35 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    peters herremans and mathis could play in most any system. Kelce could be a different story, but he is smart enough that he’ll probably get a chance. I left DRC off b/c he’s a FA and that’s as up in the air as it gets.

  81. 81 tag1555 said at 10:55 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    Both Herremans and Trent Cole have gotten old quickly. I think TH could still work at OG adequately, but he was getting consistently beaten by speed rushers this year before getting hurt. He probably shouldn’t be playing OT anymore.

  82. 82 Cal Setar said at 11:56 PM on November 18th, 2012:

    I agree with most of this. I’d keep Coleman though. If we weren’t scraping the bottom of the NFL safety talent barrel he’d be a perfect 3rd safety/special teams guy.

  83. 83 Ty-Philly said at 7:38 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    Coleman could be fine as a backup, but man has he been bad. Far from a sure thing that he’s gone, but he’s no sure thing to stay either

  84. 84 Matt Hoover said at 12:10 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    Its now midnight, guess there is no helmet to helmet recap, I really enjoy post game audios from them.

  85. 85 Eagles4life said at 1:23 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    The only reason why this team is losing so badly this season is because COX is without McNutt!! LOL

  86. 86 ceteris_paribus1776 said at 7:56 AM on November 19th, 2012:

    Lets look at what Howie the wunderkind has accomplished in his tenure: 2nd for Kolb & DRC, Ryan’s for a 4th. Good moves. Jenkins is a good player and Babin was really good for a year. Same with Mathis. Now they are all pedestrian. Nnamdi is a colossal failure along with Bell. So in FA he managed 4 productive Seasons out of the handful of players he brought it over the years. Not the worst thing in world but not great either, But the fact that they’re all highly paid Aging veterans doesn’t bode well for the future.

    The draft is been a terrible failure. Graham is a rotational guy, Allen is a marginal starting safety, te’o Is not on the roster, Watkins is a backup second-year to a bum off the street, Jarrett LOL, Marsh Has played about 10 snaps in 2 seasons, Cox has potential, Kendricks honestly just looks like a decent linebacker not a difference maker, Curry is one of two second-round picks not to dress this year and the other is playing behind Gore and Hunter in San Francisco, and Foles According to some has no NFL potential. Those were the first three rounds worth of picks from this tenure Where you’re supposed to find Difference making players. This Is the guy who will be helping select the next head coach…