The Storm Still Rages…
“This isn’t his fault. He played a heck of a football game,” Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said. “He’s a heck of a quarterback. That’s what a leader does. He takes criticism and puts the game on his shoulders. That’s what he did: ‘I lost the game.’ He played a heck of a football game. I’d play with him any day of the week.”
I wonder who he’s talking about?
The first thing I thought of when I was watching the Eagles last night was “Wow, these guys look like a completely different team.” I wanted to know why. I wanted to know why Vegas made them a 24 point underdog by kickoff, why I thought they’d lose by more, and why they proved everyone wrong (besides delusional Eagles fans who think they’ll win every game). The line was fair. After all, the Patriots have been steamrolling through the schedule with ease. The Patriots were Michael Jackson, fully stocked with candy, comic books, and animal rides, the Eagles were the fatherless Latino boys, and the game was an alcohol filled weekend at the Neverland Ranch.
Coming home to face a 5-5 Eagles team that has lost to the Bears and Redskins at home, a Dallas team (also at home) by 21 who had been gutted by the Patriots, and who’s biggest win of the season was…..at Washington (?) …how could you expect them to have a chance? Any given Sunday? Hell maybe, but this Patriots team is not the average team that plays on Sunday. This Patriots team may go down as one of the best teams in history, and the Eagles had them beat.
No disrespect to the Patriots whatsoever, but the Eagles proved that they belong in the discussion of playoff teams. I don’t want to take anything away from them winning the game because going 11-0 and taking everyone’s best shot every week is a challenge in itself, but let’s be honest New England fans: you almost got beat by a McNabb-less Eagles team at home and you didn’t even have any bad calls go your way. Maybe the Moss offensive pass interference, maybe. You got lucky the Eagles made a horrible play call as they sat on your 29 yard line ready to at least take the game into overtime. And the funny thing is, I know you agree with me. The following are quotes spoken to me this morning by a die hard Patriots fan here at work:
-“I never thought I’d say it, but Andy Reid completely out coached Bill Belichek last night in every facet of the game.”
-“The Eagles offense line was unbelievable last night. You guys should have won that game.”
-“The Eagles made the Patriots defense line completely invisible last night. Ty Warren had zero tackles. Your team shut them down.”
-“If the Eagles played the whole year like they played last night, we would be talking about them being undefeated.”
-“I was impressed with AJ Feeley’s composure and accuracy. He made some unbelievable throws last night and had the fire and motivating attitude in the huddle. You could just see it.”
It’s the last comment that got me. I felt the same way. The airways here in Philadelphia are already buzzing about who should be the Eagles quarterback in the upcoming weeks (Reid has already said it’s McNabb if healthy). Andy, I want to know why this is happening. I want to know why you and this organization believe he gives us the best chance to win. This is not about being anti-McNabb either. Everyone knows he is not going to retire as a Philadelphia Eagle, including him, so why do we have to play the seniority/loyalty card when your goal should be to win games? We’re talking about a team that has looked lifeless in almost every game this season with McNabb at quarterback. You can argue about the protection Feeley got last night or that our coaches took chances they wouldn’t normally have taken, but the fact remains that this team has responded when backup quarterbacks are leading the team.
Did our wide receivers finally learn to get separation last night, or we’re they getting it all along and just not getting the ball thrown to them? Is our offense better designed when the QB doesn’t have happy feet and instead throws balls with precision and touch? Do our players respond to more fiery leaders (did you see Feeley’s eyeballs pooping out of his head in the huddle calling out plays and saying “Let’s get these motherfuckers!”? I don’t have the answers.
Ask yourself this: last season when the Eagles got smoked by the Colts on a Sunday Night game, fresh off of losing McNabb for the season, falling to 5-6, with an alleged homosexual quarterback manning the team, who felt confident about their chances? Fast forward seven games later, three straight division road wins (one on Xmas in Dallas), beating the Giants in the playoffs, and facing a Saints team up 11 in the third quarter of a second round playoff game. How did you feel about Jeff Garcia then? You loved him. You needed him. You bought his jersey (ed. note: guilty). You looked past the fact that he was homosexual (again, allegedly). And most importantly, you believed. If McNabb would have come back healthy for the playoffs, NONE OF YOU would have wanted him to replace Garcia.
So how is this situation any different? I sit here and I almost feel like the Eagles won that game last night. I’m a little disappointed, but the game itself gave me hope where I previously had none. It told me if they play like they played last night the rest of the year, we could potentially have a repeat performance of last season. And Feeley earned the right to start after last night. I know he’s not going to win four Super Bowls or any MVPs, but he showed me something last night. I know he threw two big interceptions, but he should have never been throwing into the end zone in field goal range, and I blame the play calling. He showed great game management skills, he showed poise, he showed fire in his belly, and the players responded. I felt like it was last year all over again. Call it a knee jerk reaction to a great game if you want, but if you’re going to sit some defensive players for the betterment of the defense, then you can sit McNabb to help the offense. You don’t automatically start McNabb just because he’s McNabb.
I just wish Andy Reid felt the same way.
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