City of Pain

One more win. That’s all it would have taken. One more win and the Eagles would have been playing this weekend in Seattle for the right to go back to Dallas and compete in a rubber match with the Cowboys. All they had to do was not muff a punt against Green Bay in week 1, move the ball 30 yards in 90 seconds and watch Akers nail a 40 yard field goal for the win. Or seeing how he performed all season, would he have missed it? All they had to do was show up on the Monday night against Washington and score one lousy touchdown and then who knows what would have happened. Or would it have even mattered? If they had not given up 12 sacks AND had Brian Westbrook during the first game against the Giants, would they have lost by only ten points? What about if they had stopped a terrible Bears offense on the final drive of the game and won against a team that had absolutely no business beating us? Or were the Bears just as average as we were? If Akers doesn’t hit the goal post against the Giants, do the Eagles pull that one out in overtime? Who knows.

What is the real identity of this team? Do the organization, coaches, or players even know? Too many lapses in intensity and too many missed opportunities in the red zone killed this team. How can you have the 6th ranked offense in the NFL, yet only be 17th in points scored? Why is it that every dumb fan thinks our #1 priority is a ‘stud wide receiver’, sports radio thinks we need to address the secondary, and my seven year old neighbor thinks we need a new QB? Why is there so much uncertainty about everything with the Eagles? Are we ok at linebacker because Stewart Bradley played two good games? Do we need a new kicker? Are we watching Brian Westbrook finally stay healthy and play through the prime of his career, yet winning nothing? Is all of this scary to you as fans?

What the organization needs to do is simple: strive to build a top 5 defense and secure a better than average kick returner. That’s it. No wide receivers. No new coach. Maybe a new kicker.

What the Eagles of the past 20 years have always been linked to, what most of the great teams in the NFL have always had, and what Football 101 tells you, is that you need a good defense to compete. Period. Are there exceptions? Maybe a few, but let’s think about this for a brief moment. Newsflash, the Eagles have been successful this season because of their defense. The Eagles held their opponents to one offensive touchdown or less in 9 of their 16 games. Amazing. With the exception of the Dallas rape at home and the clash with the Patriots, the Eagles never gave up 30 points. They played in a division where every team was .500 or above and they still finished 4th in the NFC, giving up 18.8 points a game. They also were 4th in the NFC in rushing yards per game (95.8), 9th in passing yards per game, and 5th in total yards per game. Not bad for a team that didn’t have Lito Sheppard and Brian Dawkins for significant periods of time. By the way the top seven teams in the NFC in total defensive yards per game? Tampa Bay, Giants, Redskins, Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, and Seahawks. Notice anything? All of those teams except the Eagles will be playing the next two weeks, while Marty Mornhinweg is sitting in his bathtub playing with his whale eye. However they do it, the Eagles need to get a safety and a corner in the off season, and both of whom need to be able to conceivably step in next year and contribute immediately if needed.

As for kick returner and special teams in general…..something needs to be done. If I see Reno Mahe returning punts next year I may go into cardiac arrest. The numbers do not lie: Kickoff Returns (24th), Punt Returns (24th), FG% (28th), Punt Yardage (19th), Punts inside the 20 (19th), and Net Punt Yards (28th). David Akers was 12/12 from 20-29 yards, 10/10 from 30-39 yards, 1/6 from 40-49, and 1/4 from 50+. That is troubling.