Posts Tagged ‘Dallas Cowboys’
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Well, that was the least suspenseful ending of a quarterback controversy in recent memory.
Andy Reid finally ended the questions surrounding rookie Nick Foles’ status and veteran quarterback Mike Vick’s health situation by finally stating on Monday that Foles would lead the Philadelphia Eagles through the end of the season.
The Birds’ head coach revealed his decision to the media as follows:
“…because Mike [still] hasn’t passed his [baseline] test, today I’m going to name Nick as the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. Mike is on the fast track here so hopefully we might even be able to get him back this weekend but we’ll see. We’ll see how that goes but I can’t tell you here that he’s going to be able to practice come Wednesday yet. Number one is [Vick’s] health obviously and number two, which is also important, it gives one of our young players the opportunity to play the next four games as the starter. Each week he’s come in and he’s kind of been the replacement guy. Now he is the starter and we’ll see how he does with that on his plate and see how he handles it.”
After the messiness that erupted at the end of last week regarding reports that Vick felt that the team was playing politics, using his health to justify using Nick Foles as the starter, Reid knew that a decision had to be made. An ugly situation was getting uglier with each passing day. And with each loss by the team, you knew that it just didn’t make sense to play Vick any longer. But it wasn’t official so, we waited for updates on Vick’s recovery from his concussion, as if that would impact whether he got another opportunityto lead this Eagles team on the field.
As for Vick’s health, he remains in the fourth of five stages he must pass in order to even be cleared to practice. Said Reid,
“Michael Vick is in phase four. I’m kind of reiterating what [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] talked to you about, but he’s still doing the eye exercises and [his] reaction time has improved. He’s getting closer to being able to get back out there.”
So Philadelphia’s latest quarterback controversy has finally been settled, with Vick likely having seen his last on-field action for the Eagles in Week 10.
In Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys, Foles showed progress, completing 22 of 34 passes for 251 yards and 1 touchdown. The coaches eased up on the reigns of the play calling a bit to see how Foles performed. He is far from the quarterback this or any team needs to lead them to the promised land, but the improvement is at least something. And it will give those who are left with the Eagles organization after the massive gutting that will take place at the end of the season an opportunity to evaluate how much of a role Foles will play in Philadelphia’s future.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports
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Sunday, December 2nd, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
To state the obvious, the Philadelphia Eagles games are incredibly painful to watch these days. The prime time games have become particularly worrisome, as it’s not just a segment of the country seeing how far the Birds have fallen this season. It’s the entire nation.
While we hope against hope that the Eagles can stop their seven-straight game losing streak, particularly at Cowboys Stadium, I’m not sure that any of us truly believe the Birds can pull it off.
The 3-8 Birds face a 5-6 Dallas team. Neither team is good, but there is no team that you can comfortably say that Philadelphia is better than right now. And that hurts. Tony Romo has 15 interceptions so far this season, but he’s only thrown two picks in the last four games. As the Eagles defense has only a pitiful 7 takeaways this season, don’t expect Philadelphia to be able to force Romo to revert to his old ways.
Miles Austin is questionable for the game, but Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are ready to go as huge weapons on the Cowboys’ offense. Running back DeMarco Murray may return for the first time in seven games, and if so he will try to build upon the success Felix Jones had against the Birds the last time the team’s met in Week 10.
On offense, Nick Foles will make his third start at quarterback, and Bryce Brown will return to start for LeSean McCoy. Last week Brown made the game against the Panthers interesting, rushing for a whopping 178 yards. Foles has yet to wow us and the play calling for him has been incredibly conservative. But that’s because it needs to be. We’ll continue to watch and hope for improvement. The Eagles lost their biggest deep threat when DeSean Jackson was lost for the year, but Foles is only averaging 5.5 yards per pass attempt. Philadelphia will again feed the ball to Brown and Dion Lewis as much as they can, and hopefully Brown’s ball security has improved in the past week.
Some interesting points to watch: with Jason Babin shipped away to Jacksonville, Brandon Graham has his chance to make an impact on the d-line. And rookie Vinny Curry will be back in action after making his first NFL start, making 5 tackles in only 22 snaps against the Panthers and adding some much needed energy and passion to the Eagles defense.
I’m only hoping for the embarrassment not to be too bad. Is that too much to ask?
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Brandon Graham, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Jason Babin, NFL, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Vinny Curry, War Room Sports
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Friday, November 23rd, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Rookies RB Bryce Brown and QB Nick Foles will lead the Eagles offense on Monday Night against the Carolina Panthers.
Nick Foles will see the bright lights of Monday Night Football for the first time as he returns as the Eagles starting quarterback for the second straight game. Foles’ start is expected as the Philadelphia Eagles face the Carolina Panthers this week. Mike Vick is still struggling to recover from and pass league mandated testing for a concussion sustained in Week 10 against the Cowboys .
The rookie quarterback will have another opportunity to get used to the speed of the NFL and find his stride within it. Following his less-than-spectacular debut against the Redskins, where he threw 21 of 46 passes for 204 yards with two interceptions, Foles has vowed to learn from the experience and improve — quickly.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. I need to get better. I’m going to learn from it, though. I was able to see what I did fundamentally, maybe decision-making sometimes, and I’m going to improve on it.”
Running back LeSean McCoy is also dealing with a concussion and another rookie, Bryce Brown, is expected to get his first start in McCoy’s absence. Remarkably, it will be Brown’s first start since 2008 when he was in high school. Drafting Brown was a gamble but the Eagles have used him steadily this season. Brown has so far accumulated 141 yards on 32 carries. He will need to show that his blocking abilities have greatly improved in order to provide some help to the struggling Philadelphia offense.
On the other side of the ball, another rookie looks forward to an exciting game, as defensive end Vinny Curry will be active for the first time this season. And why not give the hometown kid a try? The disappointing performance of the widely touted Eagles defensive line throughout the season has been one of the many storylines attributed to the 3-7 record of the team. The second-round pick is eager to show the fans and his teammates what he can do, but knows that being active for the game doesn’t tell him how much action he’ll see on the field.
“Patience is the key. Face it, those guys are household names [teammates like Trent Cole and Jason Babin]. I also want to establish my name around this league.”
“That’s going to be pretty sweet being active. But now the thing is, hopefully I get a lot of plays.”
Curry’s enthusiasm is infectious and his eagerness to give his all to the team he grew up rooting for means he plans to put it all out on the table. Or, more accurately, on the field. What should Eagles fans expect to see from Curry when he finally gets an opportunity to show what he can do during NFL regular season action?
“Just a guy out there who has worked his tail off. I was brought here in the second round, and I just want to show them what I can bring to the table and let them form their own opinion about me.”
In a game that may well yield yet another bleak outcome for Philadelphia’s woeful season, that’s something to root for.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Brandyn Campbell, Bryce Brown, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Vinny Curry, War Room Sports
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Wednesday, November 21st, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
A strange story out of the Novacare Complex seems to point to a Philadelphia Eagles organization that, both on and off the field, simply doesn’t have a clue.
News of a firing by the Eagles broke overnight. If you’re wondering why there’s no hubbub over it, it’s because it was of someone who has nothing to do with the mess that has unfolded on the field in the 2012 season. Or anyone you’ve even heard of. The team fired VP of Communications Rob Zeiger.
So….yeah. Zeiger’s responsibilities included heading up the Birds’ public affairs department, as well as serving as a liaison between owner Jeffrey Lurie, other members of the Eagles’ front office, and the media.
More meaningful to many of us, Zeiger is the poor soul trotted out to confront fan outrage on WIP following the loss to the Cowboys over attempts to raise the volume of the music at the Linc to drown out the boos of Eagles fans to a primetime audience.
If you’re keeping track, this is the second firing of an Eagles big-wig this season that will do absolutely nothing to improve the situation in which the team finds itself. The first, of course, was the firing of defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who is sitting home cackling at how things have unfolded as I write.
There is already much speculation and trepidation about how things will go down on Monday night, both on and off the field. Will the nation witness on Monday Night Football exactly how much fan disgust, disdain and outrage there is for Andy Reid and the Eagles’ woeful performance this season? And just how badly will team officials botch up attempts to “manage” the situation?
Or, here’s a novel idea. Perhaps the team will actually play like it belongs in the National Football League and defeat the only team in the NFC with a worse record, the Carolina Panthers. And then sure, there will be signs, but the Eagles fans who bother to show actually may have a little something to cheer about!
A little head shake for you as you start your Thanksgiving plans and preparations. Be good and stay safe.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, ESPN, Football, Jeffery Lurie, Juan Castillo, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Rob Zeiger, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
You going in to take a hit or is it my turn?
Andy Reid said on Monday that Mike Vick suffered a “pretty significant” concussion in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This fact sets the stage for Nick Foles to be the Eagles’ starter against the Redskins in Week 11, which is reportedly set to occur.
Said Reid,
“I’m just telling you Michael is hurting right now. Nick is going to step in and be the quarterback until that point comes, and we’ll take it all from there. Listen, I can’t project the future. I’m just telling you what I’m telling you. Mike is the quarterback. Nick comes in, and he is a relief pitcher and does his thing.”
Yesterday I asked the question if Vick’s early exit from Sunday’s game is how things will end for the quarterback in Philadelphia. Will that be his last appearance on the field as a starter? After all, it’s how Vick got his own opportunity to start for the Birds in 2010, beating out Kevin Kolb for the role after Kolb suffered a concussion.
If Foles shows promise against the Skins on Sunday, how could Reid justify pulling him? He wouldn’t have to because he wouldn’t do it. And let’s say Foles does poorly and the team falls to 3-7 (UGH). The season would be a wash at that point, with Vick virtually guaranteed to be gone at the end of the year. So why not see what you have in the rookie?
Vick will focus on resting and getting better, but will the move to Foles mean any improvement for this Eagles team? A squad already in desperate need of leadership now needs to get clamor behind a new quarterback. Will that transition be the final piece to make the wheels come off of the 2012 Eagles or will Philadelphia finally make a play to stop its five- game losing streak?
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports, Washington Redskins
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Monday, November 12th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
A tough hit, a tough loss.
(Image via the Philadelphia Eagles)
With each successive loss, hope for this Philadelphia Eagles team was harder and harder to come by.
Five straight losses, the most in Andy Reid’s tenure in Philadelphia. The last time the Birds saw a win was on September 30 — the non-playoff Phillies saw a win more recently than Philly’s football team.
Perhaps more disturbing, there were no signs of improvement anywhere on the squad. You know the talent is there, but the hope of putting it together in a meaningful way?
Gone.
Then came just the slightest glimmer of hope on Sunday in the form of the implosion of the New York Giants against the Cincinnati Bengals, which resulted in a 31-13 loss for the current NFC East leader.
Suddenly, if the Eagles could somehow pull out a win they would still have a shot in the division.
There was hope in the first Philadelphia opening drive of the season that resulted in a touchdown, with a one-handed, 2-yard beauty caught by Riley Cooper to take a 7-0 lead. Vick was off to a strong start — 6/9, 70 yards and a 127.1 QB rating.
But then came former Eagle Ernie Sims to make a play, a tremendous irony as he neglected to do that his entire time in Philadelphia. With 11:29 left in the half Vick was down for the count, out of the game with a concussion and an eye injury.
And finally, it was time. Time to see what Nick Foles could do to help this team.
He made some good plays, he made some ugly plays. For a rookie quarterback who’s gotten no snaps in practice he made a good shot, finishing 22/32 for 219 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Those numbers just so happen to make Foles the highest total by any Eagles rookie QB in his NFL debut. He connected with teammates Jeremy Maclin for a 44-yard TD and Stanley Havili went up the middle for a yard with 1:57 left in the game. And that would be all she wrote for the Eagles in their 38-23 defeat.
The defense was able to put some pressure on Romo and notched 3 sacks, tying a season high. But tackles were missed, and the Eagles again performed their specialty of allowing a team with little running game before the meeting to find a successful one against the Birds.
If any segment of the game captures this five-game losing streak and this defeat in particular, it’s that 2:35 stretch in the 4th quarter where the Cowboys scored 21 points in all phases of their team — offense, defense, and a 78-yard punt return by Dwayne Harris? Which showed a total meltdown on all aspects of the Eagles squad. A streak of total humiliation to put a cap on an unbelievably awful outing against a hated Dallas team that just isn’t good.
Sunday demonstrated that for as bad as the Cowboys are, the Eagles are worse. That’s a hard pill to swallow. But it’s reality.
For those who wanted to see what Foles could do in the regular season, there will be plenty of opportunity to do that now. Despite Reid’s assertion that he’ll have to see how Vick’s health is before deciding who will be the Eagles’ quarterback against the Redskins next week, you and I know that there is no longer any reason to play Vick. While Vick gave Philadelphia the best chance to win when there was some chance of contending, that time has passed. And sadly, there is just nothing to play for at this point.
It certainly can’t be for heart and pride. We haven’t seen that out of this team in weeks. So might as well make it about seeing what you have in your rookie quarterback.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Jeremy Maclin, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports
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Sunday, November 11th, 2012
by Brandon Campbell
Today’s showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field marks a battle of desperation. Two organizations who entered the season with high expectations now see their teams sitting at a disappointing 3-5, with already slim chances of contending for a playoff spot on the line this week.
Both Philadelphia and Dallas are teams more similar than we’d like to admit. Two squads filled with talent that can’t seem to put it all together on the field. Two quarterbacks in Mike Vick and Tony Romo plagued with turnover troubles whose fanbases are coming to the painful realization that they are not the ones who will lead them to the promised land of a Super Bowl ring. And growing calls for the end of the coaching tenures of Andy Reid and Jason Garrett.
In facing the Cowboys’ 5th-ranked defense, Philadelphia’s decimated offensive line catches a slight break with the injury of ILB Sean Lee. But they will have their hands full with the force that is DeMarcus Ware, who is tied with Clay Matthews for the most sacks in the NFL with 9. Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will move Ware around but anywhere he goes, Philadelphia’s o-line will struggle.
Demetress Bell will start at left tackle, where he will hopefully be slightly less of a disaster than he was when he stepped in for the injured Todd Herremans on the right in New Orleans. King Dunlap will fill Herremans’ former roll at RT this week. Dallas Reynolds will return at center, as will Evan Mathis at LG and Dennis Kelly at RG.
The Birds saw Vick sacked a season high 7 times and only managed a meager 13 points against New Orleans, the worst defense in the league. Philadelphia must find a way to protect Vick, and the QB’s decision-making must help the line and keep him out of harm’s way as well. For the Eagles to have any success they must involve LeSean McCoy and the run game prominently in their game plan to ease the burden of pass protection off the line.
Philadelphia, who went 0-5 in the red zone against the Saints last week, must make trips down the field count and get points on the board in order to begin to right the ship and win this game.
The Eagles D faces a quarterback in Romo who has the most interceptions in the NFL and a team that can’t get its running game going in light of an injured DeMarco Murray, who isn’t expected to play. Wideout Dez Bryant has 42 catches this season and is a talented but inconsistent target. Nnamdi Asomugha, who has struggled mightily since signing with the Eagles last year, was very successful against Bryant in the last meeting between Dallas and Philadelphia, so we’ll see if that success can be replicated today.
WR Miles Austin is neck and neck with Bryant with 41 catches, but Romo’s favorite weapon is tight end Jason Witten, who has 58 catches on the season. The Eagles defense has gotten worse since changing to DC Todd Bowles. If there is any game to step up and show improvement, it’s against the Cowboys. The Eagles know that with Murray down the Cowboys have no option but to pass. Romo has 10 TDs and 13 interceptions and, while throwing with 66% accuracy, he is killing the Cowboys offense with poor third down efficiency and turnovers. Faced with a turnover machine and a decent but not fierce Dallas o-line, can the defense finally get the job done?
No predictions this time except for an ugly game between two woefully underperforming teams. If the Eagles can’t pull this off at home we are in big, big trouble.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Austin Miles, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, DeMarco Murray, DeMarcus Ware, Dez Bryant, Football, Jason Garrett, Jason Witten, LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nnamdi Asomugha, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Rob Ryan, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Bowles, Tony Romo, War Room Sports
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Thursday, November 8th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Todd Herremans is out for the season.
(Image via Barstool Sports)
The issues for Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line got even worse on Wednesday when right guard Todd Herremans was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot, ending his season.
We knew the situation wasn’t good when Herremans was carted off the field on Monday night. He appeared in the locker room on crutches following the game. But as the Birds’ season grows more and more desperate, we needed some measure of hope. Surely, somehow, Herremans would be okay.
Perhaps he will be, but not this season. Official word from the Novacare Wednesday afternoon confirmed our fears: Todd Herremans would go to IR. In his place, the Eagles promoted Julian Vandervelde from the practice squad, a lineman the Eagles had cut just before the start of the regular season.
Evan Mathis is now the only starter still standing on the line. The Daily News’ Paul Domowitch called the mix-and-match mayhem “Evan Mathis and the Pips.” To call them “porous” almost sounds too positive. They can’t block a thing.
Mike Vick continues to take a beating behind them each and every time he gets on the field. Monday night marked a season high 7 sacks on Vick with the line yet again performing abysmally against the blitz. Which means that the Eagles had better be prepared to see a lot of it from Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Sunday.
Mike Vick is surviving as best he can. “I just gotta believe in the guys in front of me,” he said on Wednesday.
For the season, Vick has already been sacked a whopping 27 times. That’s four more than all of last year and we’re just past the halfway point of the season. And that number doesn’t include the dozens of hits the quarterback has taken.
The question is always, What can this team do to improve. Are there any answers to turn this thing around?
Vick says all he and his teammates can do is to keep on keepin’ on.
“Keep fighting. Preparation is very important. Don’t let up. We’re going to catch a break here sooner or later. This week has to be the week.”
“It’s not the funnest thing in the world to get hit over and over and over again. But I keep getting up. And I thank God that he blessed me with the ability to keep getting up, keep fighting, keep battling for this football team.”
“That’s why I continue to go as hard as I can and continue to make each and every play that I can. Even though I sometimes find myself doing too much and overcompensating.”
The Eagles’ o-line woes point to one of the biggest conundrums for the Birds for the remainder of the season. Many want to see Vick benched in favor of rookie Nick Foles, and that may well happen at some stage. But even if Foles displays the same promise now as he did during the preseason, how long do you expect him to hold up behind this line?
With four straight losses, things clearly weren’t going well for the Eagles even with Todd Herremans in the lineup. His season-ending injury adds to a long list of issues that makes it hard to see how there is any realistic possibility of the Eagles having anything but a miserable remainder of the 2012 season.
But if they can just get a win against Dallas it will all be just a lil’ easier to handle.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Herremans, War Room Sports
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
LeSean McCoy ran for 119 yards in Monday night’s game but his efforts weren’t enough to help his team overcome defeat.
(Photo via the Philadelphia Eagles)
Nothing like a Monday Night Football embarrassment. The Philadelphia Eagles could only assemble 13 points against the worst defense in the league. The Birds notched 447 yards of offense and yet only came out of the game with 13 points.
Where do you go from here?
The Philadelphia Eagles have now fallen to 3-5 in the 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints with absolutely no signs of improvement in sight. The fourth straight lost for the Birds.
Mike Tirico called it, “The night of the red zone nightmare.” And that about sums it up. The turnover issues returned, and in the red zone, no less.
The offense was 0-5 in the red zone. Mike Vick was sacked 7 times. The offensive line got even worse when Todd Herremans left the game early with an ankle injury and Demetress Bell put in an absolutely atrocious performance at right tackle.
On defense, Eagles fans may be wondering if Juan Castillo is available to return as coordinator as things on that side of the ball were a mess once again. Getting pressure on Brees was absolutely essential this game, so of course the D did as little of that as possible, though Jason Babin and Brandon Graham had a sack a piece. The secondary, the unit that now-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was brought in to the team to coach, was as it has been for much of the season – a problem.
Andy Reid said that Mike Vick would be the quarterback next week against Dallas, and why not? Nick Foles would get killed behind that line. Heck, it’s a miracle that Vick has lasted this long.
So what now?
The last game the Eagles won was on September 30 against the New York Giants. More than a month without a win. It’s astounding.
Andy Reid’s postgame presser showed a man who no longer believes his words but is desperately trying to put on a brave face. Mike Vick seemed shell-shocked. Brandon Graham expressed utter frustration at wanting to save his coach’s job and play a good season to honor Garrett Reid but having no idea what’s going wrong.
The Eagles’ loss rounds out a complete week of suckitude around the NFC East, with each and every team in the division suffering defeat. That at least means that the Giants haven’t been able to increase their lead over the Eagles. Up next for Philadelphia are the Cowboys at home, an always-intense battle. If the Birds suffer an embarrassing loss to Dallas at the Linc, the boos heard against Atlanta in Week 8 will seem soft as lullabies.
It’s clear that no one knows how to fix the problems with the Eagles because if they did, the issues wouldn’t keep reappearing. They would be fixed by now. Maybe there won’t be the dramatic wave of changes this week as many have predicted if the Eagles lost in New Orleans. Perhaps the team is resigned to the reality of their woeful and habitual under-performance. And maybe we all have to face the fact there are no more excuses – this is just not a good football team.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Atlanta Falcons, Brandon Graham, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Demetress Bell, Football, Jason Babin, Juan Castillo, LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, Mike Tirico, Mike Vick, Monday Night Football, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Bowles, Todd Herremans, War Room Sports
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Monday, October 22nd, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
It’s not yet midseason but the bye week provides an opportunity to take a look at the Eagles season thus far and consider what the next ten games may feature.
While the Eagles are at exactly .500 at 3-3, there is ominous feeling surrounding the team and the rest of the season. Why? Because no one is convinced that the many issues on offense that have plagued the Birds — that o-line, the fumbles, the play calling — have been corrected. While head coach Andy Reid chose to take a stand by firing defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, he has taken no action on the offensive side of the ball.
We desperately want to believe that the problems on Philadelphia’s offense will magically work themselves out. Magic may well be the only solution, as we’ve seen no evidence of any ability on the coaching staff to adequately address the errors that have afflicted the team thus far. Which is precisely why Reid seemingly has decided to stay the course.
What’s that, that they say about the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing repeatedly yet expecting different results. It’s a quote that is often applied to the Philadelphia Eagles and especially Andy Reid for reasons precisely like this.
In early September I made a prediction for the Eagles 2012 season. Nothing outrageous, but an achievable goal: A 10-6 record for the season.
At 3-3, that means the Eagles need to go 7-3 for the remainder of the season in order to reach a record of 10-6. Can they do it?
The next test is the undefeated Atlanta Falcons at home. If the Birds don’t come out swinging this game they never will. The jobs of their coach and starting quarterback are on the line, and Reid’s perfect record out of the bye won’t hurt.
Philadelphia then takes to the national stage and heads to New Orleans to face the Saints on Monday Night Football. The Super Dome is a notoriously difficult place to play and after a very poor start, the Saints have some momentum and are heartened by the moral victory of having Jonathan Vilma back with the team.
Then we get into the thick of the NFC East battles. If the present is any indication of the remainder of the season, this may not be a year where a poor record can win the division, with the Giants currently standing strong with a 5-2 record. Dallas will come to town in Week 10, then the Eagles will head down the road in Week 11 to face an RGIII-led Redskins team for the first time.
Monday Night calls again in Week 12 as the Birds play Cam Newton in what so far has been a disappointing and frustrating season for the Panthers. In Week 13 Philadelphia gets even more prime time action as the Eagles faceoff with the Cowboys in the den of evil—Dallas– on Sunday Night Football.
With the end of the season in sight, the Eagles will face the Bucs in Tampa Bay in Week 14; back-to-back home games against the Bengals and Redskins, and in Week 17 finish it all off against the Giants.
To finish at 10-6, the Eagles can lose only three of their remaining games. If they can lose even fewer, fabulous. The good news is that, aside from the Falcons, none of the remaining Eagles opponents seem formidable. And the fact that Atlanta will play at the Linc lessens the worry.
The season will come down to the division games. I’m hoping that the Giants will do the opposite of what they did last year — start off strong and then trail off come the end of the season. But the Redskins are a surging team and are going to be more and more of a challenge for Philadelphia as RG3III gains more experience in the league. Dallas is an organization with a lot on the line if they have another disappointing year so expect a lot of fight from the Cowboys.
Whatever the record, we know that this year it’s about the postseason. Making it there and going deep. But first thing’s first: the Birds need the record and the standing to put them in a position to make a run.
As is said far too frequently when the Philadelphia Eagles are involved, there is an incredible level of talent on this roster. It’s all about how it’s put together. Time to see that “FIGHT-FIGHT-FIGHT” we know this team has to battle through and show what they’re truly made of.
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Atlanta Falcons, Brandyn Campbell, Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Juan Castillo, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, RG3, RGIII, Robert Griffin III, Sports Talk Radio, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The War Room, War Room Sports, Washington Redskins
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