• March 29, 2024

If I Coulda’, Woulda’, Shoulda’……. But Still Not Done!!!

Are you serious? Are you kidding me right now? The New York Giants are back in the Super Bowl?! Do I feel terrible! Yeah, I feel terrible for Kyle Williams who fumbled away the 49er’s chance for their first Super Bowl in how many years? But I feel worst for myself and every other die hard Eagles fan who knows it could a’, would a’, should a’, been us if… oh boy, here I go again.

I thought I was done with reliving a horrible Philadelphia Eagles “nightmare” of a season, one that held such high hopes. Thought I was done with wondering what would a’ been had an Eagles defense come together in the first half of the season rather than in the waning weeks. I thought I was done wondering how a team that always stayed on the plus side of takeaways and giveaways forgot how to hold on to the football.

When the Eagles 8-8 season was done, I thought I was. Now, for the next two weeks I’m going to be waking up in cold sweats from bad Dream Teams, uh, bad dreams of  teams coming from behind to win games that seemed already in the bag. Until Super Bowl XLVI I’ll be crying in my Sweet Tea because it’s the Giants on their way to a rematch with the New England Patriots instead of the Eagles. Could a’, would a’, should a’.

Back in week two we traveled to the ATL against the Falcons in a game I marked on the schedule as a win. A tough game but a win all the same. A game we were leading 31-21 before giving up two 80-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. A game we should a’ won. The next week at our house against the Giants, after three quarters the score is 16-14 and then we imploded, again in the fourth. A game we could a’ won. And the fourth game the very next week we had a 21 point lead on the 9er’s before allowing them to steal a game we would a’ won.

We should a’ been Eastern Division Champs! We could a’ beaten the Packers with our many weapons on offense… right? And we could a’ handled the 49er’s with the speed of a hard hitting, relentless defensive line that would a’ given Alex Smith all kinds of fits. If I could a’, should a’, would a’.

Are the New York Giants – a team we should a’ beaten twice, and the San Francisco 49er’s, the team that, without the two turnovers would a’ been playing in the Super Bowl – really better than the Eagles? I mean, Alex Smith had a great season comparing 2011 to the other six, but against the Giants he was the 2010 version. And Eli, yeah he’s an elite quarterback, yada, yada, yada…the 9er’s “D” beat the crap out of him.

Now the Patriots, they’re another story all together. They “appear” to be this year’s Team of Destiny. I say that not because they got into a groove the way the Giants did the last couple games of the regular season and into the playoffs, but “Lady Luck” – if you believe she exists – stood on the Pat’s sideline at the end of the fourth quarter. Did she cast a shadow over the ref’s eyes or slip him a dollar to turn a blind one? I thought Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Lee Evans’  “so called” drop in the end zone which would a’ resulted in the game winning touchdown, was at least worth a review (looked good to me). And then on their next possession, kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32 yard field goal that would a’ won the game… again. An-n-n-yhoo…

Where do the Birds fit into all this?  Truth is, we’re right in there talent wise. Bring in a stud linebacker from the draft? Keep star cornerback Asante Samuel and disgruntled wideout DeSean Jackson? Both would be preferable to keep the talent on a “Super Level”. But when is Coach Andy Reid going to finally open his mouth to say something? Anything? He should a’ told us something by now. We could a’ gotten back “Spagnuolo the Great” (former Eagles Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and most recently, Rams head coach). Now he’s gone to the New Orleans Saints. Andy Reid is probably somewhere trying to figure out how the Philly Phaithful will react when he announces that he’s retaining Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo.

Might work out, might not but if it doesn’t, there will be no 2013 for Big Red… then he’ll be singing… “If I just could a’, if only I would a’, you know, I should a’… Hey Andy, the Dallas Cowboys have “5” Super Bowl wins in eight appearances, the Washington Redskins three out of five and on February 5th, the New York Giants have a chance to extend their Super Bowl record to 4-1. The Philadelphia Eagles? Uh… 0-2! The NFC East team with the least Super Bowl appearances and only team with “0” wins. None! Notta’! Zilch!

Anyone remember singer Lou Rawls? He was one of the leading Soul/R&B balladeers from the mid 60’s through the early 80’s. He sang hits like “Natural Man”, “You’ll Never Find” and “I’ll See You When I Get There”.  Check out the lyrics to this titled song I’m dedicating to you Andy … “If I could a’, would a’, should a’. That’s what folks always say. If I could a’, would a’, should a’, but it’s never too late. I’m sayin it now.”

Coach, please, do something, say something… Could a’, would a’, should a’. I’m sayin’ it now… make a move!

Mylow Young

Originally from Philadelphia Mylow now lives in Statesville, NC about 40 miles north of Charlotte. Mylow once aspired to play with the Eagles a bit after coming out of high school but was sidetrack by street activity and later drugs. He did however play Semi-Pro ball in the Tri-State Football Conference in 1978. He has have been clean and free from an addiction to crack cocaine for almost ten years now thanks to the mercy and grace of the God who loves him! Mylow is the author of two books, his first novel "Against the Gates of Hell: A Crack House Exodus" was released 9-1-11. Visit him at www.mylowyoung.com

Read Previous

Bobrovsky Stifles Panthers With Shootout Success

Read Next

The Haves (Pats & Giants) And The Have Nots (Our Eagles)

0 0 votes
Article Rating
35 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 9:53 am

DC J Castillo is coming back.. He’s down at the Senior Bowl checking out Senior Ball players eligible for the Draft with Coach Bobby April and GM Roseman..What’s wrong with you guys… AR is not firing Castillo ???
.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 25, 2012 10:11 am

Paul, i already mentioned that a few days ago keep up bro lol.. but i forgot to mention that the eagles claimed DT DJ Jones off waivers from the ravens whos 6’5 315 and is exactly what i was asking for, a mosterous fat unmoveable force in the middle..

timm00
timm00
January 25, 2012 10:55 am

I must be a masochist for reading this article.

Every team in the NFL has their list of ‘if ____ didn’t happen….’ or ‘if _____ bounced the other way…’ Every one that didn’t make the playoffs has a litany of lame excuses to “explain” their failures. It’s all bull.

If you follow all of those pathetic excuses to their ridiculously illogical end (everything had gone exactly right for every one of the teams), then every team in the NFL would have been 16-0. This is clearly impossible. And it’s impossible because all the “excuses” are opposed by what another team believes was borne of their “skill or hustle.”

What it all means is that only one statistically sound conclusion regarding a team’s season can be correct and it’s called the Parcells Rule – “You are your record.”

Over a 16 game season, everyone had opportunities to be struck with good luck and bad luck. If the season were 1 quarter long, you could argue that the sample size is too small to judge a team. But over 16 games, each team’s skill, strategy, player depth, and adaptability is reasonably tested and the results are the results.

Those who made the playoffs have the right to play ‘woulda coulda shoulda’ in terms of their elimination game. But that’s it. Teams that want to point to a pivotal play in one of the 16 regular season games as the reason playoffs were missed don’t have the same rights. It’s bogus and dishonest and not the same.

I know that wasn’t the intention of the article, but being surrounded by Reid apologists and fans of other teams who are equally prone to playing the ‘woulda coulda shoulda’ game, ANY mention of it sets me off… so I apologize for this post…. please carry on…

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 25, 2012 10:57 am

Ive been disappointed again.. hes not a DT hes a OT.. one report said he was a DT but instead is a OT… this signing bothers me because they seem to hit the nail in the head for OLine guys or offense as a whole but on the defensive side of the ball we dont see it.. its as if andy values offense over defense..he may reason well tbe objective is to score more than ur opponent, and its true yet can be false reasoning bc you still need to be able to stop your opponent and with all the 3 and outs they have or stalls in the redzone they honestly rely on there defense alot so wouldnt it make sense to improve it over stock piling offensive line man? I have no problem with oline depth but andys eyes go in the same direction every year he never makes adjustments or waivers… its nauseating at this point..

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
January 25, 2012 11:55 am

shouda kept Dawk Coulda drafted Jason Pierre Paul Woulda fired Andy Reid after the Kolb Fiasco.

Now, why did we drat Kolb again?

When was the last high defensive draft pick within the 1st 3 rounds the Eagles chose made one Pro Bowl?

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 12:28 pm

Probably Safety Michael Lewis or CB LIto Shepard who I think were actually Drafted by a real Football GM/Talent Evaluator in Tom Modrack if my memory serves me well..

Rocko
Rocko
January 25, 2012 12:31 pm

Shoulda gave Mcnabb, Dawk and S Brown 1more year. Shoulda fired Reid after 05 the year after the SB when we failed again. Shoulda never made Roseman a GM. Lurie shoulda sold the team to a diehard owner who is also a fan who knows football with the passion of Jerry Jones. Coulda paid Desean this past year as an incentive for his hard work the last 3 years; coulda made a difference in wins. But whatever – Green Sippin at its finest…KEEP ON SIPPIN BOYS!

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 12:40 pm

They still have a chance if Owner Lurie hires GMCliff and Paulman to run the Draft, Free-Agnecy and Player Personnel Depts…

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 12:42 pm

Meant to say immediately for the 2012 Off-Season

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 12:45 pm

Rocko – Dawk wouldn’t have taken a 1 year deal. Come on now. Dawk walked. The team was willing to keep negotiating….

navyeaglefan
navyeaglefan
January 25, 2012 12:54 pm

Pman – shame on you – Modrack had left (in May of 2001) and gone to Buffalo in the summer of 2001 – that great draft class was 2002 so Modrak was not here for the 2001 college season, the 2002 Combine or pro days – that’s a mistake I expect from Songs –

Just FYI – go check out the buffalo bill swebiste that has all the comments on Modraks firing – they have a great section on all the comments Modrak made about Bills drafts when he drafted them and then the results of the players careers –

now Modrak was responsible for Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 12:59 pm

I will suspend myself (with full pay and benefits of course) and not post anymore Mock Drafts until the Weekend .. Thnx Navy..

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 1:10 pm

if only it were true…

navyeaglefan
navyeaglefan
January 25, 2012 1:12 pm

its all good my man – next batch of fried pickles are on you – you can afford it with that consultant bonus you are picking up for help with draft preps…

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 1:17 pm

mmmm fried pickles…

navyeaglefan
navyeaglefan
January 25, 2012 1:45 pm

a surprisingly tasty treat – must admit I was skeptical at first… might have been the (fine looking) local lass from Appalachian State that convinced me to give it a try – wash it down with a fine local brew (I prefer the blonde ale’s) and a little football – not bad at all –

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 1:49 pm

Good one Schill
To Navy, When you heading back to NC to visit your Son at College..??

navyeaglefan
navyeaglefan
January 25, 2012 2:49 pm

14-18 March – home games on 14 and 18 March and away at Catawba on the 16th

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 3:53 pm

Sounds good,
Maybe, I can take a trip down the Mountain to watch your son play..

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
January 25, 2012 3:58 pm

Navy wake up……Modraks players who were scouted were still in the pipeline even after he went to Buffalo. Look at 2003 on when Reid and Heckert had complete years with their program in place.

They sucked every since then.

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 4:13 pm

Songs, you just exposed yourself as a hypocrite (I’m shocked).

You’re saying, to get a good evaluation of a person’s work, you have to give some full years and time for them to fully develop into the role – WHEN ITS CONVENIENT FOR YOUR ARGUMENT

BUT

When it comes to draft picks, you want probowl, rookie of the year and hall of fame by game 2 of his rookie year.

FOOL

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 25, 2012 4:26 pm

Schiller strikes again, all he does is analyze ones posts and criticize there words. Where is your opinion of the team? You sound like an idiot that has no life man.. its pretty sad

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 4:31 pm

Jon my opinion of the team is right here (and it’s been all over if you look more closely – I do often remark about others’ posts but I post my own opinions a lot too).

I think the team suffered from egomania to the n’th degree. I think the contract and (regained) fame had Mike Vick thinking he had ‘arrived’ again. i don’t believe he’s motivated to win a superbowl, I think he’s motivated by praise, fame, and money (and I don’t blame him entirely for that either, a lot of it is cultural – how we idolize and put young star atheletes on pedestals…)

Same goes for 10, 22, etc… so many of them weren’t disciplined because of all the talent on the team.

I also never like Marty so I want him gone. I think that the team can and most likely will gel better and play better. I think they should draft LB, LB, S, S, LB LB LB and LB.

That’s my take on the team. I think the lines are pretty solid now.

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 4:32 pm

and jh – don’t take things so personal. I busted (or really jumped on the busting) you 1 time and now you’re all heated and sour against me.

LITERALLY – take a deep breath!

navyeaglefan
navyeaglefan
January 25, 2012 4:52 pm

Songs – you need to wake up you clueless whiny shit – there is no freaking way in hell a dude that left in the summer of 2001 had anything to do with the draft in the spring of 2002 – get over it – as usual you are dead fuckin wrong – the draftees all played an ENTIRE college football season – the players all went to the combine and had pro days – you (as usual) got cuaght bullshitting (not hard there) and got it broke off in your ass – now rub a little preparation H and go back to coming up with conspiracy theories about harmonic weather destruction and satan worshipping mason founding fathers or whatever the hell else it is you do, cause other then bitch – you don’t really add much to the conversation – wait – can we plaes get a rundown on when the last time you spent any money on the Eagles? Haven’t heard that in a week – maybe you can update us on the status of GRaham – haven’t heard that one in two days – give us your whole spin on ‘the USG caused 9/11 – cause that is about as plausible as Modrak ‘being in the pipeline’ for the 02 draft – you think maybe a few of the scouts were still around???? Course – how did Modrak do in Buffalo…….. go on – look it up – not that hard –

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 25, 2012 5:01 pm

Schiller, get a life old head.. bring something more to the site than criticism..I could care less if you attempted to correct me, that’s not what im talking about, im talking about what you do day in and day out nonstop attempts to correct everybody’s posts, you really sound like a loser man lol.. you give off the impression that you have no life.. and from the looks of it idt you do haha.. any time of the day you log on to gcobb.com and you see schillers name on there its pretty pathetic if you ask me… correct yourself not everyone else bro..

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 5:05 pm

I’m satisfied Jon – no problem to solve here. And again, you’re way off with the age thing… but it does make me laugh. I’m 28

Erock
Erock
January 25, 2012 5:06 pm

Should we draft a backer shill?

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 5:12 pm

Erock – in my opinion – HELL yes. And I don’t buy that they won’t just because they haven’t. Many like to call Reid predictible stuborn…etc… but they said that about him only drafting OL way back – hasn’t proven to be the case. They said he’d never draft WRs or RBs high – not the case. They said he’d never make a big splash in free agency – not the case.

I personally would be very happy if they drafted 6 LBs just to get a few keepers. I think they need safety help, OL depth, competition at RB QB… but that’s at and to a much lesser degree.

If they drafted LB with every pick, I’d be happy.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 25, 2012 5:30 pm

Holy shit Navy well f-ing done. …..”now rub a little preparation H and go back to coming up with conspiracy theories about harmonic weather destruction and satan worshipping mason founding fathers or whatever the hell else it is you do, cause other then bitch”

I’m still losing it.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 25, 2012 5:37 pm

Though I shouldn’t laugh because then the illuminati will phone up skull and bones who will ask the Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn (I looked it up) to drop some mad curse on me.

Better be careful.

Danimal
Danimal
January 25, 2012 6:38 pm

JH – Of course most of Schiller’s comments are criticizing the posts of others; people say some stupid stuff on this site. Guys like he and Navy just like to call out the irrational and whining posts (not to mention the articles). No offense intended dude, but their comments match what a lot of readers are thinking. We’re just too lazy to login.

schiller
schiller
January 25, 2012 8:14 pm

Danimal – Ha – Cheers! Thanks for the dose of reality…

paulman
paulman
January 25, 2012 9:06 pm

Anyone see the Interview with GM Roseman on EAgles..co..
I got th eimpression that they are planning to move on without D-JAx..
GM Roseman basically said they are still going thru evaluations and will come of up an plan of action to upgrade the entire roster,etc,etc and I heard no ringing endorsement that I saw in his repsonse or demanor when asked about D-Jax.. (maybe negotiations are on-going and GM Roseman wants to keep his Poker Face on) …
Then a few minutes later when asked about the OL and Free-Agent Evan Mathis, GM Roseman was like, yes we want him back, we ant contunuity along the OL, etc,etc… I just thought it was odd that I had to watch it again..
GM Roseman seem so cavalier in his repsonse about D-Jax and then a few minutes later is beside himself talking about re-signing Mathis..
Check it out guys and let me know if anyone has any thoughts.. It’s the 2 Part INterview between Bo Wulf and GM Roseman and It’s Part II on Eagles.com

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 26, 2012 12:03 am

I saw that earlier Paul, its definitely a poker face. Roseman was groomed very well. They have on going negotiations taking place right now. Because i read a piece by Jeff Mclane and Les Bowen that mentioned how he and Mclane were interviewing Roseman and all of a sudden drew Rosenhaus pops up and says “hey roseman dont let these guys gang up on you” jokingly.. then roseman shoots back by saying ” Ok, hey how does desean feel about the franchise tag?” Then rosenhaus reply was “no comment”…

Wow, i never heard an Eagles GM come out and say anything like that in front of reporters.. maybe he didnt think they would repeat it or maybe it was all a strategic ploy idk.. but i thought it was pretty funny/odd all at the same time..