The Eagles Are An Embarrassment
This is what happens when a “good” team doesn’t take a “bad” team seriously. The Eagles said all the right things during the week in preparation for their game with the Raiders. Things like “we don’t look at their record” and “they are a talented team” and “those guys get paid too.” Idle words.
The Eagles took a king sized dump today and inexplicably lost 13-9 to the silver and black. With the exception of Brian Westbrook, the entire team from top to bottom was outplayed, out-coached and out-hustled in every phase of the game. I wrote before the game that this team deserved to be smashed and ridiculed for the remainder of the season should they lose.
Well, allow me to commence with the smashing. I will not forgive Reid and this team anytime soon for the disgusting display of football we were all forced to witness. Championship teams don’t lose in these spots, which is why the Eagles aren’t champions.
Let me count the ways in which our beloved Birds tanked:
– The offensive line: FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! That’s one fail for each lineman. Let’s hope the injury to Jason Peters isn’t serious, because without him the other four are worthless. What a fu**ing joke! McNabb had no time to set and throw.
– Speaking of Don. Pressure had much to do with it, but how many dirtballs and overthrows did he hurl? Eight, ten? I lost track.
– The running game: FAIL! When passing offenses are out of sync, good teams turn to the run game. Unfortunately, this concept is lost on Reid. His solution is to throw and throw some more. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
– The run defense: FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! You can tell when the Birds were not ready to play when Justin Fargas runs wild. He ran left, right and right up the gut.
– The pass rush: FAIL! They had a sack early and then fell asleep. Again, no one except Trent Cole consistently gets to the quarterback. This is becoming a glaring weakness. Abiamiri getting hurt won’t help the situation, even though he wasn’t doing much.
– The Trotter experiment: FAIL! Guess who got beat on the Zach Miller touchdown? Trotter looked like an old, slow backer, which is what he is. The Raiders exposed this vulnerability all day. Bottom line: the Eagles have no replacement for Stewart Bradley.
– The tackling: FAIL! I could just single out Asante – who completely whiffed on Miller’s 86-yard touchdown – but the entire defense eschewed fundamentals, again.
– Management of timeouts: FAIL! Reid continues to have no idea what he’s doing in this area. Because of this and his foolish decision to march Michael Vick onto the field near the end of the first half, cost the offense a shot at the end zone. There is no excuse for being this stupid on gamedays.
– The coaching staff: FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! One for each unit. To be out-coached by Tom Cable and his staff is a disgrace. Especially from an 11-year head coach who just won his 100th game last week. I realize coaches don’t play, but it’s their job to get their guys motivated. That clearly didn’t happen.
– The receivers: FAIL! Six drops, at least. Again, this reeks of a lack of effort and concentration. Guys like Celek and Maclin don’t drop balls. Today they did… repeatedly. Oh, Asomugha was sidelined for the majority of the game, and the playmakers still couldn’t get open and catch the ball.
– David Akers: FAIL! FAIL! One for each miss. When the offense is inept, the kicker cannot miss field goals. Akers did. He’s not the reason they lost, he’s just one of many players who didn’t take this game seriously.
I could go on and on, but I’m beginning to feel sick. Congratulations to the Raiders for earning a win. They were the better team from start to stop. Getting destroyed by the Giants last Sunday was the wake-up call they needed.
Meanwhile, the Birds’ best laid plans have blown up in their faces just like they do every other season. The inability of Reid-coached teams to defeat lesser opponents is troubling. They will NEVER be legitimate Super Bowl contenders until they figure out how to get up for EVERY game.
Every Eagle deserves blame for this deplorable performance. I’m going to go have a drink, or two, or five.