Here’s pretty much all you need to know about the Eagles:
They don’t run the ball. And they don’t stop the run.
Case closed.
Andy Reid had made it abundantly clear that he likes to throw the ball. Too often that is to the detriment of a running game. The team’s best weapon is Brian Westbrook. Yet they insist on starting every game throwing the ball, even though quarterback Donovan McNabb is beginning to show a disturbing trend toward being erratic at the start of games.
Then the coach wonders why the team consistently has trouble in short-yardage situations. Yep, they failed again with the game on the line Sunday night against the Giants. Fourth-and-1? Not this team. Westbrook was hit in the backfield and came up short.
Running the ball is as much an attitude as it is execution. Just ask the Giants. Or the Redskins. Those are two teams that actually believe in a rushing offense. And they ran it right down the throats of the Eagles’ defense. Both teams racked up 200 yards on the ground against the Birds’ so-called vaunted defense.
The Eagles now sit a thoroughly mediocre 5-4. Are the playoffs out of the question? No. I learned my lesson with the Phillies. As Yogi Berra once said: It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
But this team is in trouble. Big trouble. And it starts at the top. Andy Reid’s team too often does not run the ball. And has trouble with teams that do.
Tough to win big games in the NFL with that albatross hanging around your team’s neck.