Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity…

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Like the first day back after a glorious vacation, reality set in Thursday night. What looked like a team that had turned a corner in Tampa, was exposed by Cincinnati in the 3rd quarter.

The Eagles were beaten 34-13 Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field by the home town Eagles.  Not a typo.

By now you know the story. Five turnovers leading to 31 Bengal points. In fact, if you add in the punt blocked by our own man, all 34 Bengal points could have been potentially avoided. The Bengals never scored when starting in their own territory.

Besides being painfully laughable, I found this lack of discipline and all around disregard for ball security puzzling. What is the root cause of such sloppy play? Never have I been so frequently reminded of Sir Issac Newton and his “Universal Law of Gravity”. Like the apple falling from the tree, watching the ball hit the turf over and over, flipped some sort of switch.

I have always been an Andy Reid “supporter”. Maybe it’s the memories of past glory. Maybe it’s fear of the unknown, moving forward in a new direction. Uncertainty. Whatever the reason, those 7+ minutes of dark comedy pulled me into the light. It made me understand one thing…Andy’s gotta go.

The National Football League is a well oiled machine. Gears constantly turning, chewing through anything stagnant. Leaving the worst kind of waste in it’s trail. Mediocrity.

Andy Reid is 130-91-1 in his career in Philly. Most major TV personalities will pound this little tidbit into your head. Leave you with threats of “careful what you wish for”, and “you’ll be soooooooryyyyyyy”.

But lets look at “what he’s done for me lately”. In the past two seasons, the Eagles are 12-18, 4-10 so far this season. How is this acceptable? Not only are the wins not coming, his players look POORLY COACHED. I remember in high school, seeing the guy who fumbled on Friday night, walking around school with a football in his hands. He was clutching that thing for dear life. Because, if you could knock the ball away from him, and bring it to the coach……. Next week that same guy would have as many points of contact with the ball as humanly possible. You knew there was at least one guy who was not going to fumble.

Such a simple fix.Yet we still have all these problems. Bryce Brown STILL can’t hang on to the rock. And what the heck was Cedric Thornton doing even looking at the ball!?!?!? I understand Andy doesn’t coach every player on every facet of the game. But he has surrounded himself with the coaches that are responsible for doing just that. His poor choices in assistant coaches has ultimately led to his inevitable demise.

And since we’re piling it on, let’s not forget the consistent sub-par play calling and clock management skills. (I still remember the final two minutes of the Super Bowl. You do too.)

But all is not doom and gloom for the Eagles. Through all the injuries we have had a good look at a lot of young players. There are a lot of guy worth mentioning, but one rises to the top. Colt Anderson. This kid is fearless. From watching him on kick coverage earlier in the year, to his high level of play in the past two weeks, Colt has a very bright future. He was fun to watch last week in Tampa. Every play it seemed, there he was. Hitting the RB in the backfield. Tackling in the open field. Covering down-field. Always on the screen, in the play, just like Brian Dawkins.

Yes, Andy Reid was a great football coach. Yes, he will have success somewhere else. But his message is tired. His supporting cast is failing at every level. Week 15 was the nail in the coffin. It’s time to leave the circus behind and begin the next era in Eagles history.