Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb Era

Never been a Reid fan, he seems to be getting worse every year. Terrible calls, no sense of clock/time management and utterly clueless with challenges. IMO hes in the bottom half of the league coaching wise atm but everyone still pretends hes a top guy. Not buying it.

As for McNabb, I wonder if they will explore trade options with him over the summer and see what Kolb is like. That Giants game was stunning to me. That last drive .... was a total repeat of the super bowl. Almost 30 seconds before the 2 and couldnt get a play off with McNabb just standing there sucking wind like he was a NT who just rumbled 90 yards on a fumble recovery. Incredible. You have a shot to knock off the division leaders on your home turf and just stand there watching the clock bleed away.

I feel the Eagles have gone as far as they can with those 2, especially Reid. They are a team that everyone overestimates because they consistently win (often convincingly) against the lesser teams, but always seem to blow the big ones.

 

I used to think highly of Andy Reid because I thought he was a good coach but he has gone downhill. They're not prepared very well, they don't seem to have smart gameplans, poor calls offensively and not great drafting. They have a lot of starters from drafts, something like 11 starters from the first three rounds of every draft since Reid took over in '99 but they aren't good players. Other than McNabb and Westbrook, the other nine starters have been average. They need to fix that offensive line. As I said prior to last nights game, they need to get some power up there. They tried to overpower a very strong Giants defensive line last night and it did not work. We saw it on the back-to-back short yardage calls inside the two minute warning. I think it was 3rd and 1, they couldn't pick up a first down. Then on 4th and 1, they ran a stretch, thinking they would overpower the Giants and they got knocked back. Tolfelson made that play if I remember correctly. They finally got a playmaking WR in DeSean Jackson. He's electric and knows how to operate in the open field. He has surprised me in getting open so early in his NFL career. He's about 170 pounds and I figured DB's would jam him but he has such a quick first step that its nearly impossible to jam him at the LOS. What they need is a big WR opposite of Jackson. They thought Hank Baskett would be that guy after he impressed in training camp. He worked with Harold Carmichael and Baskett has made some plays this year. I think he has a couple plays of 80+ yards but he's still average. Back to the draft picks, they pride themselves on the draft and they don't do so well in it. They should have made that move for Roy Williams when they had the chance to but it would have never happened because Reid is very protective of his draft picks. Until he starts moving them draft picks for starters, they will struggle on the offensive side of the ball. You brought up Brian Westbrook and I wonder how long he can do this. He's a large part of that offense and gets the ball often. He gets dinged up every year and he's 29 years old now. In a couple years, he could be hitting that RB wall. By the way, I think McNabb is a great QB and I don't think he's the problem there. If they choose to move him, Kolb is going to be a good QB IMO. I watched him in the pre-season where he went up against the Patriots first team defense. McNabb played about a series that game and they handed the keys to Kolb. In his first drive, he led the team to a 96 yard drive in a short time. I really like him.

On defense, Jim Johnson can only do so much. He puts his guys in position to succeed but they fail to execute. He is arguably the most creative defensive mind in the league. Him and Monte Kiffin are up there for sure. As you said, Brian Dawkins, a guy whose been the heart and soul of that defense, has gotten up there in age and he's done after this year IMO. I think their secondary needs help from the defensive line. The defensive line is having trouble stopping the run again this year and they aren't sacking the Quarterback. Trent Cole, whose an outstanding pass rusher in my opinion, hasn't gotten to the QB as much this year. He has five sacks. Darren Howard has six sacks. They need a guy on the opposite side of Trent Cole. I know they thought very highly of Victor Abiamiri out of Notre Dame in training camp and they thought he was a guy who would win that starting job but he broke his wrist. He has played in only four games this year and hasn't done anything. Stewart Bradley isn't helping that run defense IMO. I watched him last night and he didn't seem to react quick enough. I would like to see Joe Mays out there, the division II prospect who didn't get invited to the combine. He impressed me in pre-season. A guy who can get sideline to sideline and has a good motor. He's always around the ball and can rack up tackles. He led the pre-season in tackles. He's undersized at 5'10" or so but he's in a 43 defense and he isn't asked to take on blockers. I think he can be a good player in Philadelphia. The secondary will be a very good one once the front seven starts making some plays.

 

McNabb has still got some movement. Obviously its not like before because of all the leg injuries. I think he's had a broken ankle, sports hernia, torn ACL and a couple others. Also, I think the loss of Shawn Andrews hasn't helped him one bit. He's a Pro Bowl Guard that is surrounded by a weak interior offensive line. I like the Tackles but again, I don't think they're suited for a power running style and neither is their RB.

One thing I have to give Reid credit for is turning McNabb into a pocket Quarterback. That was something that had to be done. McNabb ran a lot in his early days, I think he holds a couple QB rushing playoff records. He's learned to stay in the pocket and scramble only when he needs to.

 

Yeah, I think the Tackles are getting up there in age as you say. The pocket Quarterback is what hampered Mike Vick. He couldn't learn to stay in the pocket. McNabb did and he got the team to the SB one year.

 

I always liked Donovan McNabb. He used to be a running QB but obviously, to succeed and stay in this league, you need to be able to operate in the pocket. It's why I don't really like seeing running QB's in the NFL.

They haven't been as strong as they used to be but I think with little less injuries, they're still a force to be reckoned with. They've done alright in making transitions from aged to youth but this is a team that lives and dies on their star players (McNabb, Westbrook, Dawkins). The secondary should be much better than it is right now (ranked #6) but I think with more time together, they'll pick up.

 

McNabb struggles to complete 50% of his passes.

 

Was never lower than 57%.

 

Jesus. Eight sacks by the Eagles and a forced fumble and they end up tying the Bengals in OT. Didn't get to watch the game but McNabb had three INT's and it looks like Andy Reid is still trying to get that power O running but of course, it isn't working. I wonder when he'll figure out that it won't work.

 

Was their secondary that bad today? Because the defensive line looked pretty good in the sacks column.

 

Oh wow, didn't even notice Rocca's day. 31 yards per punt. That defense seems like it did a good job and the offense just blew it for them.

 

Yeah that was pretty awful of both him, and by reflection, the coaching staff and Reid. Really? You dont know that?
Worse, he almost made it seem like he wasnt going out there with the kind of intensity needed to win the game. Ohhhhhhh, we have more time, no biggie. Its ok guys, lets just wait for the next OT period.

Pretty bad.

 

What's even worse is that QB rating. Ouch.

 

Speaking of the word last, is this McNabb's last season in Philadelphia? The writer of this article thinks so.

 

Anytime.

I concur. I think the emergence of Kyle Orton in Chicago has ended the possible move of McNabb. I thought Chicago or Minnesota were the only destinations for him. Minnesota is still possible though. It'll be an interesting off-season in Philadelphia.

 

If he wants to move, he'll restructure that contract and a deal would be done.

 

If Reid is so tied to Donovan, why did he draft Kolb? They were obviously scouting him and were very high on him.

 

Possibly as a capable backup and injury safety as we know McNabb misses time just about every year. That could be the reason but I think Kolb is there to lead that team in the future.

 

In reference to the move of Bradley, I think Gocong is decent enough outside and I wonder how Bradley fits out there. I have been on the bandwagon of Joe Mays since the pre-season. He reads well, can get sideline to sideline, racks up tackles and is in command.

Re: draft - They have bigger issues than to go with a RB in round two in my opinion. Problem with Reid is that he goes after offensive line but he doesn't hit on the pick (4 total offensive linemen on the current roster since '99 & those four are from '05-'06 drafts), outside of Shawn Andrews and Todd Herremans. Herremans hasn't been great (moved from OT to OG) but he's a starter. The Tackles they currently have were there prior to Reid's arrival. I believe William "Tra" Thomas was selected by Michael Lombardi ('98) as well as Jon Runyan (selected in '96; I could be wrong on Runyan, I know Thomas for sure). I think they have to go Tackle in the first round. A key thing at the selection of a Tackle is that they have to know what they want to do scheme-wise prior to that selection. Do they want to be a power offense or finesse? They have tried to power this year and it has proved unsuccessful time and time again. If they have two in the first as you say, I say go get Rashad Johnson of Alabama (assuming that its not as high of a pick) to be the replacement for Brian Dawkins. Johnson has the athleticism you want, he has the speed, closes well on the ball and plays ST's very well. He gets a little high in his hips in my opinion but that can be corrected. In the second round, hit on a Guard and a Defensive End if they have another second or in the third. In the fourth, they can go after a Running Back if they would like. I realize Brian Westbrook is getting close to that RB wall and that he is missing time every year.

All that said, they have to hit on these draft picks to be a competitive team like they were in the past. As the cliche goes, "you need talent to evaluate talent" and quite frankly, I don't think they have that talent in the upper management.

 

Thanks for the correction on Runyan.

Mikell is a nice player, keep him at SS and draft Johnson at FS. Considine is average, JMO. Demps is a special teamer at best. I wasn't too impressed by him when I caught a couple games of him. I like Rashad Johnson over those guys.

I agree that they need a RB but I don't think they should go in the 2nd when they have issues in the trenches.

 

Nothing wrong with doubling up early in the trenches my friend. I was just giving an option.

I don't think they need to go Linebacker, at least not early. They can get that later in the draft as they have a high amount of draft picks annually. However, I do think that they need to go Defensive End in the draft.

Re: shuffling Safeties - I understand what your saying here and I don't think its necessarily wrong to try and shuffle them. How I'm looking at this is an upgrade of the position. If you can upgrade the Safety spot or any position as a matter of fact, then go for it. Never be set with what you.

I concur that Shawn Andrews is a top-notch Guard in this league and I agree that they need some Guards. I don't think they can go wrong with a draft of LT,RT,OG,DE. (no particular order). I think offensive and defensive fronts are musts for this team.

 

Andy Reid, upper management, offensive line, & Quarterback.

Just my opinion.

 

My bad, I thought you meant at the end.

At defensive end, I think they just need a guy who consistently puts pressure on the Quarterback. Darren Howard has made plays this year , Jaqua Parker has 5 sacks, Trent Cole has made some sacks and he's dropped in coverage as well. If they can get this production out of Howard on a consistent basis, they'll be fine. However, he is 32 years old and will need to be replaced. Can Parker replace him on a full-time basis? A few questions to be answered.

I wasn't aware of how well the defensive line has played this year. 39 sacks total, leads league.

 

Yep. I wasn't aware of how well they have played. Not necessarily trashing them but I do think they need a consistent guy opposite of Trent Cole still. Whether that ends up being Darren Howard or a draft pick, I don't know. We'll have to see.