I just wanted to chime in with my two cents on the current state of the Birds. This team for all intents and purposes does NOT seem like a team headed in any particularly good direction, and if it were up to me, I think I would do the following to right the ship:
Ask Andy Reid to step down as GM – and find someone with the pedigree to take over the reigns – and no, I do not mean Tom Heckert. If Andy wants to be the coach, fine – he deserves the benefit of the doubt considering all he has accomplished here thus far. But as GM, he is downright terrible. How many 1st, 2nd and even 3rd round picks have turned out to be duds during his time here? Jerome McDougle (1st – DE), Quintin Caver (2nd – LB), Barry Gardner (2nd – LB), Matt McCoy (2nd -LB), Freddie Mitchell (1st -WR), Todd Pinkston (2nd-WR), Matt Ware (3rd -CB), Billy McMullen (3rd -WR), and even Michael Lewis (2nd-S) had flashes of brilliance yet faded quickly and was allowed to leave for SanFran in free agency. This is an absolutely abysmal draft record, and IMO, falls squarely on the shoulders of Andy Reid and Tom Heckert. I am sick of hearing how brilliant either of them are – they have failed miserably in this respect, and should be held accountable.
I would then cut Jevon Kearse & Darren Howard – money that was not even remotely well spent. Then there is the question of LJ Smith – Is he worth resigning? So far, he has never lived up to his potential, and he has been injured and invisible all season. But, he has potential, has shown flashes of briliance and I think might actually be worth resigning if he can get past these injuries. Sure makes me wish we hadn't passed up on Jason Witten though, who is now Dallas's star pro bowl tight end who was taken less than 10 picks later in that draft.
Dump AJ and find a LEGITIMATE player to backup McNabb. I don't know about this Kevin Kolb kid – but its hard for me to take the guy seriously as McNabb's heir apparent if they traded DOWN – out of the 1st round to nab this guy. If he was THAT good, why trade DOWN to get him?
The draft needs to focus on significant areas of weakness on this team, and what I see as areas of weakness are DE, S, CB, TE, QB, and WR. Some of this should be obtained via free agency, but the question is, what position do you go for in the draft? IMO, you need a legitimate #1 WR in order for your offense to be effective. Kevin Curtis is NOT that, nor is Reggie Brown. But, if you add a legit #1 that should free up Reggie, and if you put Curtis in the slot, you'll then have the WR corps we have been dreaming about for years. Problem is, WR's are sooooo hit or miss in the draft. So if one becomes available via free agency (fat chance), then he needs to be the #1 priority going into this offseason. Then I think the focus via the draft should be DE and Safety. Without pressure on the QB, your D is rendered ineffective, and this leaves your secondary exposed.
Which brings me to another significant point – the eagles have a possible 3 headed moster in Westbrook, Buckhalter and Tony Hunt – why don't they even make an attempt to utilize this strength? I know Westbrook is a stud, but Buckhalter has looked good with a limited amount of playing time, and who knows if Tony Hunt brings anything to the table because the Birds refuse to play they're rookies – which I think is another glaring flaw in the Birds plan. These guys aren't rocket scientists who are going to adjust to sitting for a year and ONLY studying, they're football players. Get them out on the field and give them a shot to see what they bring to the table. I think much of the reason why they have such difficulty in developing they're draft picks is because they put them on the shelf for a year or two and then all of a sudden expect them to be a stud. I think your chances of success become greatly diminished as a rook if you are sitting on your but for 12-24 months straight.
And last but not least, if you can get anything of significant value for McNabb – I think now is the time to do so. I actually hate to say it – and I do remember the times of Ty Detmer and Bobby Hoying. I truly like McNabb, and I appreciate what he has done for the Birds over the years. But the facts still remain that he has significant accuracy issues, he can't run a two minute drill and his abilities are starting to fade as a scrambling QB. Its his ability to be elusive that made him such a game changer. Without that, all you have is an inaccurate QB. And my other question to that is – why is it, that if its a 3rd or 4th down play for say 8 yards, we always seem to throw a lateral or three yard pass? Wouldn't it make more sense to throw PAST the 1st down hash marks? Other teams tend to do it and understand that rationale, why don’t the Birds?
This happens time and time and time again with this team and for the life of me I will never understand the rationale behind it. And the first Giants game earlier this year exemplifies my point rather well. two minutes left in the 4th quarter, its 3rd and 17, and McNabb throws a lateral pass to Westbrook. Who the **** called that play? The game is on the line and you call a lateral on 3rd and 17? And therein lies the question – is this a McNabb issue, or an Andy Reid issue? Either way, its incompetence at its most basic form.
This team needs a rehaul, not minor tweaks. If I see them signing no names as they usually do each offseason, I am going to go postal.
Jake
