Re-building Year?
Alright, we haven't been blogging lately so I figured I'd throw out some thoughts for us to chew on. Looking at our schedule when the season began, Poplar and I discussed that the combination of the rough offseason along with a tough schedule and an improved NFC East were going to equate to a 9-7 or 10-6 record at best, and probably a miss on the playoffs (or maybe a wildcard bid). The Birds had a nice run over the last few years, and eventually the other teams catch up or inevitably a team runs out of gas, at least temporarily. Even the Patriots had an off-year a couple years ago after winning a couple Super Bowls. Now, with McNabbs' injuries and a sense that there isn't a lot of fire left when you look at the players' faces, do you guys think McNabb should just go have the surgery and call it a year? I suppose if he can suffer through the season, he'll have ups and downs and we still may have a shot at the playoffs, but he looked like he was in a lot of pain yesterday and was really ineffective. Detmer's not getting us to the playoffs, but maybe it's better than watching our star suffer all season and maybe do something damaging to his body. The Cowboys are a solid team now, but no way are they that good - we were beaten to the point of embarassment in every single aspect of the game. Another thing is that if we are going to win a Super Bowl, we still need some power in our running game - the Brook is the Man, but he can't get the tough yards when you need them. Plus, teams know that we're going to throw 50 times a game and they can key to that. Actually, my opinion is that McNabb should hold out as long as possible in hopes that we can make it to the playoffs somehow, but after yesterday....well, as Joey Lawrence used to say "Whoa."
posted by Paulomon Grundy at 8:56 AM
3 Comments:
Yeah, that "game" was as good of an excuse as any to jump start our negadelphia blog...
I still don't know about whether McNabb should have the surgery now. I just figure that his recovery would turn out to be longer than the optimistic 2-4 week projections. The only issue for me is that he may be more susceptible to getting a more serious injury now, if he can't play 100%. If that's the case, maybe we should call it a season and see what Koy or McMahon can do, and maybe he'll be back for the playoffs that we won't make.
But for what it's worth, I think it IS a rebuilding season -- and that it's a direct result of the arrogance of the Eagles' front office. They approached this off-season and season with a quiet cockiness that they were untouchable and that their coaching (and players, for that matter) were much, much better than they were. That's why they let so many solid players go. Yesterday showed how much we miss players like Ike on ST and Burgess and Corey on our (attempted) pass rush. And now we're left with less of a core team and less proven players, but with 12 million in the bank. Just plain stupid and arrogant. Their untouchable attitude just got out of control this year, and it has affected this team in many subtle ways that will add up to a struggling season. I wholeheartedly agree with Pauloman, who has said time and time again that our entire team organization just doesn't have -- or know how to have -- a true winning attitude.
I think our 9-7 or 10-6 prediction still stands. Hopefully...
and WHY would we leave 12 million out there coming off a year where we almost won the Super Bowl? We could've bought a hard runner and another good receiver with that money, and still had some leftover. Reid and Banner get (and deserve) accolades for their work, but I think they don't know how to motivate and inspire people. It's like we have a player coup taking place, quietly. The ridic offseason drama with Corey, TO and Brook was the first evidence of that. I'm not saying blow the cap out like the Skins have, but simply saving as much money as possible can work against can you too.
I'd be surprised if there wasn't a lot of resentment among the players about the way the administration views its players as such an expendible commodity. Seriously, what would you do if you were a player coming out of college and you had the choice of: 1) playing for a winning team like the Eagles but making less than market value and having little job security; or 2) playing for a non-winning team and making a lot more money, and possibly having slightly more job security? Winning is everything, in a sense, but with such a limited and fragile window of being able to earn, how could they not think about the money? So when they find out that their "boss" is taking hard-line positions on salaries, while just sitting on millions, I'd be shocked if they weren't pissed.
But back to the point -- the organization really doesn't seem committed to doing everything it possibly can to win. They think they can do just enough, and that they are the only ones who know exactly what they need to do. They don't have any sense of urgency. Without that hunger, we'll always fall short.
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