The 3-8 Eagles, and My Thoughts on What Should Happen

Originally this post was going to be about Jay Cutler and how he should be considered for the MVP race, but after the Eagles loss tonight, making it 7 straight and bringing them to a 3-8 record I decided to go with another blog on the Eagles.

Before the season started I said Michael Vick was one of four quarterbacks that needed to prove themselves, and I also said that the Eagles would win the NFC East and make it to the NFC championship game.  I was dead wrong about this, the Eagles have been nothing short of disastrous, and they could be a 0-11 team if not for some last minute wins over the lowly Browns, the Ravens, and then a really lucky win over the Giants after penalties hurt them before missing the game winning field goal.

This team needs a complete makeover, starting with the coaching staff, Andy Reid needs to be fired, the owner even said that an 8-8 record would not be good enough, well I will tell you right now the Eagles will not be 8-8, I think they may slide to a 3-13 record, and at best 5-11.  Reid has been losing control of his team, they keep making bone headed plays and mistakes; the defense has more holes then Swiss cheese as does their offensive line.

Tonight their defense and turnovers killed them, they were able to run the ball for over 200 yards, but passing was another story.  They lost two fumbles on offensive possessions and one on a key kickoff towards the end of the game and added on that was a failed 4^th and inches attempt.  Reid looked just burned out there tonight, the team was moving the ball but coughed it up and could not make it happened when it was most needed.

The defense also hurt themselves as well with 3 straight penalties that led to the Cam Newton rushing touchdown to build the lead from 2 to 8 points, and then hurt them again on the following Carolina possession as well.  Carolina would have been at 3rd and long but because of a defensive penalty it was an automatic first down for Carolina, I was shocked at how bad the Eagles had played tonight, it seemed whenever they had a shot to get it together they let it slip away.

Again Reid has to be the first to go, but he is not alone, they should fire the defensive coordinator as well and clean up the roster as well.  Vick is the first player that needs to go, and I think he will be cut because looking around the NFL I don’t see a team that would trade a lot for him.  If Al Davis was still alive he would be traded to Oakland, but that won’t be happening after how the Carson Palmer trade has worked out.

Vicks departure will free up a lot of salary cap and also will allow the Eagles to find a new starting quarterback, they really should take a look at Matt Flynn out in Seattle, and he could be the fit for the Eagles.  He doesn’t strike me as the big mouthed big ego type player Vick is who said the Eagles could be a dynasty, well I think we all know how that is turning out right now for him and his team.  Vick is a risk, his health is shaky as well as his decision making, he is a turnover machine and that has been proven time and time again this year like in the past.

DeSean Jackson should also be shipped, he can be an issue for whoever comes in next as the coach, because Andy Reid’s chances of staying are slim to none.  The Eagles could move him to a team like the Rams who need an explosive player and also has a coach that will not take his antics.  If the Eagles can do that and get some quality picks for him they can start drafting an offensive line which they badly need as well.  As for the running game, Bryce Brown is showing how good he can be; the Eagles can use him and McCoy as a duel threat system and run the ball much more often with more efficiency and milk the clock and just make throws when they need to. 

For the defensive side, I think the Eagles need to get rid of Nnamdi Asomugha, he has not fit that system well, and teams are in need of a solid starting corner, again some trade bait for the Eagles to strip the team down and start drafting offensive linemen and maybe even the QB of the future as well.

This team is underachieving yet again, and it is sad to watch such a talented team just burn out the way they have this season.  Once Reid and Vick are gone a new era in Philly can begin, and hopefully for the Philly faithful it can one day deliver a super bowl, something the team has never won.

What the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles Need to do

One of the biggest disappointments thus far this season has been the Philadelphia Eagles, and they are now sitting at 3-5 with 4 straight losses, they are in second place in the NFC East.  They can turn it around, they have the talent, and right now the Giants are 6-3 and one of those losses is to the Eagles.

There really does not seem to be one issue with this team, if there can just be one main issue it would be the lack of play by the team as a whole.  They can’t protect Michael Vick, they can’t throw the ball well, they can barely score points and their defense has been atrocious, it is softer then a memory foam mattress.

This past week is an example of how bad this team has been playing, there were many missed tackles, poor blocking and a lack of red zone execution against the New Orleans Saints.  They had 2 turnovers in the red zone, a fumble and an interception that was returned for a touchdown and they also failed to convert a 4^th down at the end of the game in the red zone.  That is not good for a team that is already struggling; they could easily be 1-7 right now if not for Vick beating both the Browns and Ravens at the end of those games.  They could even be 0-8 if not for the Giants mistakes on the final drive that led to what could have been a game winning field that was missed.

Some people want to blame Andy Reid, some want to blame Vick, some blame the offensive line, some the defense and some blame the lack of carries by LeSean McCoy.  If you ask me I think this is a team situation, I can’t remember seeing such a talented team playing so poorly, they have only gone over 20 points once this season.  I thought Monday night’s game against the worst defense in the NFL would help get the Eagles back on track, CBS’s NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe said “When the Saints come marching in the Quartbacks numbers go up”.  What he meant by that was when the Saints play their opponents QB will light it up.  Vick did not do that, he did have that one long pass play to DeSean Jackson but most of that yardage was after the catch.

If the Eagles want to right this sinking ship, which they can do they need to fix some things.  They first need to run the ball more, LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs in the NFL right now, he is fast, elusive and can take the pressure off of Michael Vick.  The Eagles cannot expect to win when the have a spread of 5 receivers and then try to have their offensive line that has holes like Swiss cheese protect Vick, he got pounded on Monday.  If memory serves me right he was sacked, hurried, and hit on 37% of his drop backs, that is inexcusable, the Eagles did give Vick a 100 million dollar contract to take a beating and turnover the ball as many times as he has.  Some of those are his fault and some are because he has to hurry the throw or the ball gets knocked loose when he is being hit.

The Eagles need to find a way to get the ball to the other play makers such as Jeremy Maclin and Desean Jackson.  They have speed and skill to get it done, as does Vick and McCoy, once they are all on the same page this offense can be lethal, but right now it is a different story.

As for the defense, they have to step it up, there is no excuse for their poor play, they are professional athletes, they should know how to tackle and be swarm to the ball, firing the defensive coordinator was a bad idea.

If Eagles want to be a better team they need to fix their problems, and if they don’t get it right and save their season Andy Reid will be gone, and should be.  The team needs to draft offensive linemen and work on their defense, and Vick could be gone as well, but only time will tell.

My prediction is that the Eagles could finish 8-8 at best, I don’t see it being any better then that.