Hugh Douglas came onto a Philadelphia radio station yesterday and said that the entire team/organization is in disarray. Everybody has their own ideas and goals for the team, from the top to the bottom. This, along with the ineptitude of the coaching staff, is one of the main reasons why this team has been an embarrassment this season. Hugh says that if things don't change (which they won't), and if the Eagles miss the playoffs (which I'm pretty sure will happen), expect to see shakeup in the front office, and most likely with the roster as well. Which could mean the departure of Reid (hopefully) and McNabb. As for Hugh, he said that the Eagles were looking at Kevin Kolb a couple of days before the NFL draft. And then the Eagles proceed to make the head scratching pick. So he has some credibility, and I'm hoping he is 100% accurate. This team has frustrated the hell out of me, and it's time for changes.
I think there are definite areas that need shaking up. I've been impressed with how this team's drafted and approached free agency over the past 5-6 years, but if everyone isn't thinking on the same page then there probably has to be some firings or reassignments to make sure they are. The coaching staff has also looked very shaky the past couple years and that has to be addressed. The playcalling has been particularly brutal, and I think the front office would do well to try and get Andy Reid to take a step back and delegate more to his coordinators. I'd also suggest firing Marty Mornhinweg, because he's not the kind of coach you want to be handing more responsibility to. It'd be a shame if the issues with this team shift attention to the roster, because I believe that's the least pressing problem. The defense has been consistently formidable, and the offense has some strong foundations in place (McNabb, Westbrook, the O-line). I think the Lito Sheppard situation has to be resolved soon, because he's just becoming a cancer in that locker room. They should also look to bring in a more consistent TE and a WR that could command a double team. There's no doubt that in a west coast offense a big name receiver is more of a luxury, but with the strength of the division the Eagles could use that extra dimension to their offense. The Eagles have been the class of the NFC East for most of this decade, but that's partly been because of the struggles of the rest of the teams. Those teams now have very strong foundations in place and its shown in the rosters they've put out the last few seasons. Its up to the Eagles to recognize this and stop being so complacent with their front office personnel.
I disagree with some of this. It is true that when the Eagles go into free agency targeting a player, they make sure they get him. For an example, Jevon Kearse and Asante Samuels. But drafting? Not impressed at all. Reid had a couple of gems a couple of years ago, when he got Lito, Sheldon, M. Lewis, and Westbrook all in the same draft, if I'm not mistaken, but ever since then, he's gone down hill. Usually our first rounders end up producing at the next level, which I'm happy about. But way too many 2nd or 3rd round picks wasted. Matt Ware, Ryan Moats, Matt McCoy, and Winston Justice (looks like a bust) are just recent examples. I consider Kevin Kolb a waste as well, because obviously we have more pressing needs than a QB to use with our first pick of the draft. I also was not pleased with the Bryan Smith pick this year (I believe a 3rd rounder). Could've gotten much more value there rather than reaching for a 25 year old rookie who some said would've gone undrafted. As for the coaching, I've already expressed my disgust at Reid and the entire coaching staff. It's almost comical watching them on 3rd and 1, or any down for that matter which they're only a yard or two away, because they never convert. It's always the same shit, which I pointed out this week in the NFL Gameday thread. 2nd and 1 - pass, incomplete 3rd and 1 - pass, incomplete 4th down. Rinse and repeat. It's comical how Reid just doesn't use the running game at all. When was the last time a team won a Superbowl without a solid running game? I'm actually not too upset with the fact that Reid insists on passing every down, he's brought us success in the past, although it could be argued he could've been even more successful with a solid running game. I'm upset with the lack of moves, and his complacency with our receivers. He wants to pass a hundred times a game, fine. Then surround your QB with good receivers. McNabb had a good receiver for one season, and in that season, we went to the Superbowl. I just laugh at how Reid constantly insists on passing the ball, yet he never cares, or goes out of his way to make sure we have legitimate receivers to throw the ball to. Our receiving corpse is a joke (Desean is the only bright spot), and I have no idea what the crackpot thinks he can accomplish by making McNabb throw to junk 50 times a game. The roster is not a problem. I don't think we have enough to win a Superbowl, but we definitely are a lot better than what our record, and what our play on the field currently shows. Look at our games this season, and look at how many games we've lost under 7 points. A lot of our losses this year could've gone either way, the team just didn't respond properly when they had to, and that is on Andy Reid. He doesn't put the players in good situations to succeed, his playcalling this season has been beyond piss poor. I hope his fatass gets fired. McNabb is having his best season since 2004, and we have nothing to show of it. Honestly, I feel bad for the guy. He deserves better than the treatment he has received in Philly. Unfortunately, I don't see him winning the Superbowl anymore, at least not as an Eagle. Same with Brian Dawkins. Sad, but true. They don't have a sense of urgency and it's pissing me off. The rest of the division has gotten better, and we haven't. Each and every offseason, the front office says we're "fine." This is evident by the draft. Take the Giants for example. They go into the draft, get good, young talent, who can contribute on the field, not 3 or 4 years away, but NOW. Desean is probably the only rookie we've had for as long as I can remember who has contributed his rookie season. Instead of drafting for the "future" like we're a team that can wait around for talent to develop, draft some guys who can impact, and contribute NOW. Stop with the idiotic "project" players like Kevin Kolb when we have more pressing needs to address. The recent couple of drafts have been horrible. We were "fine" this offseason as well. They signed Asante Samuel and called it day, even though CB wasn't a big need to begin with. We came into the season without a real fullback. We used our third string running back as our starting FB, and now he's off the roster. Reid has now gone on to convert a DT into our starting FB, I wonder who he's going to try out next? Wide receiver has been our weak point, for, I dunno, how long? Apparently drafting a rookie solves all our problems, which it obviously hasn't. The saddest part is, Desean, the rookie, has actually been our best WR this entire season. Just goes to show how weak our receiving corpse really is. Safety is also an issue, and we've done nothing to address this. I like Mikell, but he's average. We could've, and should've done better, but we didn't. I love Dawkins, but he's nowhere near the player he once was, and we have no replacement for him on the roster. Tight end was a problem last year, we did nothing. Instead, LJ Smith is now our "answer" even though he hasn't shown anything in this league except underachieving, and is probably the worst franchised player in the history of the NFL. I'm upset with this team. Every year the front office stirs some bull about how this season will be different, how the year before was just a fluke, due to injuries, inexperience, etc. Now everything has unfolded, and they've been revealed as frauds. Thanks for tricking me yet again this season. Too bad it's never gonna happen again. I hope Hugh Douglas wasn't talking out of his ass (I don't think he was). I want changes.
I just wanna add this. How the hell did McNabb not know the games go to a tie. He beat a team in the playoffs that had a tie in their record in 2002
