Changes Are Needed As Eagles Fall To A Bad Cardinals Team

Hang up the jerseys, put away the face paint and take down the inspirational signs, the Eagles season has come to an end.

After another fourth quarter collapse resulting in a 21-17 loss to the Cardinals, a team that once promised greatness has given fans across the Delaware Valley misery instead. Sunday’s performance was the most disgraceful display of football this city has seen since Bobby Wallace coached at Temple.

All eyes must now turn to head coach Andy Reid. After thirteen years, six division championships, nine playoff appearances, one conference title and zero Super Bowl victories, the fat lady must now sing Reid’s swan song.

If one thing was clear in the postgame locker room, it was that this group of fifty-three players is only that and nothing more. They are not a team and do not know how to play as one.

Asante Samuel said:

“Everybody has to groove together and figure things out together and have each other’s back. We have a lot of new players and new coaches. We just need to figure everything out at the end of the day.”

The end of the day has now come nine times in 2011, and only three of those days have ended in happiness. So who is responsible for the lack of chemistry? It is Reid and his coaching staff.

Time and time again Andy Reid has reiterated the importance of putting the players in the right places to make plays. Yet, this never seems to happen. Sunday’s game plan was another perfect example of how to prepare an NFL team to lose.

Without DeSean Jackson, the Eagles’ second leading receiver and best deep threat, the team was never able to expose the weaknesses of the Cardinals’ 29^th ranked pass defense. Arizona often stacked the box and pulled their safeties in tight, daring Reid to continue to call for the pass, to which he unsurprisingly obliged. At one point in the first quarter, the Eagles had two straight three and outs. Over those two drives, Reid and staff called seven consecutive pass plays.

One drive later, the team finally called for a running play that gained thirteen yards. In response to the success on the ground, Reid reverted to the passing game, which continued to render little success.  It was not until Steve Smith caught a six-yard pass with four minutes left in the first half that an Eagles’ wide receiver recorded a positive gain.

When the Birds went into the locker room at halftime, they had seventy-three passing yards on eighteen attempts and seventy-three rushing yards on eleven attempts. It does not take a mathematician to determine which had been more affective.

Coming out of halftime, Reid, to nobody’s surprise, continued to throw the ball. In the fourth quarter, when the Eagles had a seven-point lead, Reid called nine straight pass plays. When asked after the game about those plays, he said, “We thought we could do what we needed to do to add points on the board.” When DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are both on the field, nine consecutive passing plays makes little sense. Without either of them in the game, it is unfathomable.

Michael Vick finished with fewer than 130 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 32.5.  Vick was downright terrible, and when he made some decent throws, his receivers frequently dropped the ball.

Yet, no matter how much Vick and the wide receivers continued to struggle, Reid seemed to avoid giving the ball to LeSean McCoy. When asked why, Reid simply stated, “We have to do a better job all the way around.” Last time I checked, Reid has the final say over what plays get called.

But going back to Reid’s comment about an all around better job, Michael Vick needs to step-up. His fourth red zone interception of the season is simply unacceptable. As the quarterback he is the leader and I am seriously questioning his leadership qualities.

After the game he tried to maintain that there is still hope for the season:

“Every game is not the same. We still have opportunities. Lord willing, maybe we can end up 10-6. Who knows? Nobody believes it but us. I think that’s the most important thing. We just have to find ways to get it done. We can’t perform like we performed today. If so, it will be a rough set of games.”

“Rough set of games” may not fully characterize the negative fan feedback that will surround the Eagles if they continue this downwards trend. Michael Vick is allowed to remain optimistic, but I am going to be realistic. Andy Reid is the best coach in Eagles history, but he has lost the respect of his team and the support of the city.

Professional sports do not take into account past success unless it involves winning on the biggest stages. Reid is yet to prove that he can do that. There is nothing that this city craves more than an Eagles’ parade down Broad Street. I have come to accept that Andy Reid will not be the man that is leading that parade.