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Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles 2010: Farce or Tragedy?

When the news flashed across the wires that Michael Vick was the new starting QB of the Philadelphia Eagles, I could only shake my head in disbelief. Just last week, I wrote:

“[Reid] is not going to wither under media and fan pressure to start Michael Vick. First, because he knows Michael Vick is not the long term answer at QB… More importantly, because admitting he made a mistake in anointing Kevin Kolb the future one game into the season would mean that Andy made a mistake in evaluating Kolb’s talent. For four years. … His concussion might force Kolb to sit versus the Lions but as soon as he’s healthy, Kevin Kolb will be back under center.”

Oops.

This isn’t about being wrong. This is about being wrong about Reid as a coach. Despite all the complaints about Reid as a head coach (poor clock management, passing too much, lack of a running game, arrogance, etc.), the one positive trait that always stood out was his ability to remain calm and steer the ship towards his destination. We might not have always agreed on the course he chose, but we knew that he would never panic and overcorrect. After all, that’s the type of knee jerk behavior that gets other coaches around the league fired.

So what does Andy do? He throws everything out the window and makes a knee jerk reaction. What in the name of Rich Kotite is going on here?

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Philadelphia Eagles

In Defense of Kevin Kolb

kevin kolb gets sacked(or Quick! Everyone Panic!  Kolb fails to win Super Bowl in week 1.)

There’s no getting around it: Kolb was absolutely dreadful on Sunday. 5 for 10 passing, 24 yards, 2 sacks, and a 56.3 rating. Not only were the stats bad, he looked jittery and confused in the pocket, something that we were told by Eagles brass would not happen with the quick decision making Kolb.

So is it time to call it a season, or even worse, start Michael Vick at QB? Of course not. While a QB controversy is good for websites, sports radio, and even something called newspapers, it’s not good for the Eagles. Furthermore, there is no quarterback controversy. Kevin Kolb is your starting QB.

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Philadelphia Eagles

Can McNabb handle inevitable calls for Vick?

A couple of weeks ago, while we were broadcasting Poor Man’s PTI, RJ called in and informed me that the Eagles had just signed Michael Vick.  Like the rest of football America, I was shocked and dumbfounded.   Not because I had any objection to Michael Vick being back in the NFL but because I had no idea what the Eagles wanted Michael Vick on the team for.

The only time I’ve been confident in an NFC Championship game was when the Eagles took on the Atlanta Falcons.  There was no way that Michael Vick, even with his considerable athletic skills, could read and react to the defense that Jim Johnson was going to throw at him.  Rarely am I that correct on anything.

The problem with Vick then is the problem with Vick now — he’s just not a very good quarterback.

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Philadelphia Eagles

Reid and McNabb: More fool’s gold for Philly fans

mcnabb4

It was week 12 of the 2008 NFL season and the unthinkable happened: Donovan McNabb was benched for the second half. Kevin Kolb stepped in and promptly screwed the pooch some more. That poor pooch had a rough couple of weeks as he’d already been screwed repeatedly by McNabb in previous quarters. Every Eagles fan and reporter thought, “wow, this is the end of the McNabb era.”

Not so fast. While I sat around and wished for the Eagles to lose their remaining games to hasten a regime change (I even came up with a clever term for it: f’ing the kennel), the Cardinals came to town and promptly laid down for the Eagles, starting a run that will go down in Eagles history: finishing 4-1, knocking the Cowboys out to sneak into the playoffs as a 6 seed; beating the Giants twice, once in the NFC Divisional round to make the NFC Championship game.

Riding high on emotion and momentum, the Eagles were a 4 point favorites on the road against the Cardinals and did what they do best: choke.

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College Basketball Philadelphia Eagles

Favor: The Gift and The Curse

By: Maurice K Dixon

It’s nice to know when some pick your team, but it makes me a little uneasy when all pick my team as the next one to cut down the last arrangement of nets. Honestly, I don’t have an issue with the experts’ opinions. I have issues with the increasing expectations because they add to the pressure, which if mishandled could evolve into shortcoming.

The North Carolina Tar Heels (college basketball’s outright No. 1 at the start of the season) or “my boys” – the group of talented ball players I have repeatedly referred to in first person (we) over the years – are expected to win it all. The analysts have all said it. The columnists have all written it. The magazines have all printed it on the front pages.

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Arizona Cardinals NFL Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Flashback: 1948 NFL Championship, Eagles vs Cardinals

On Dec. 19, 1948 the city of Philadelphia was to play home to the first televised NFL Championship game, pitting the West Division champion, and defending NFL champion, Chicago Cardinals and the home town Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles were also defending East Division champions and were looking for revenge after the previous season’s loss to the Cardinals, 28-21, in the championship bout. Mother Nature had other things in mind.

Snow piled on the city, raising questions as to whether or not the game would even be played or if it would be postponed. To today’s Philadelphia fan, this story may seem all too familiar. The championship game, held in Shibe Park, was delayed for thirty minutes while the grounds crew cleaned up the field.

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Arizona Cardinals NFL Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Flashback: 1947 NFL Championship, Eagles vs CardinalsT

Today we take a look at the 1947 NFL Championship game between the Eagles and the Chicago Cardinals.

If you are an Eagles fan you no doubt know that the last time the Eagles won an NFL championship was 1960, before the Super Bowl was even a thought.

What about the Cardinals? The last time the franchise won an NFL title came thirteen years before the Eagles’ last championship, in 1947!

It was a rough road for the Cardinals, who at the time played in Chicago. Playing in the shadow of the Chicago Bears, who had won five NFL titles in eight tries between 1933 and 1946, was a hard task.

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Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Fan Looks Back at Texas Stadium Memories

As an Eagles fan it is somewhat bittersweet to see the Cowboys play their final home game in Texas Stadium on Saturday. There were some good Eagles memories in the stadium, and there were bad ones as well (more bad ones than good I’d say). While I feel that there is no place I would rather see the Cowboys play than their dump with a hole on top, it will be nice, as a fan of the game, to see a storied franchise move in to a new home.

So as the end of Texas Stadium comes tonight (barring some upsets in the playoffs in the Cowboys’ favor), let us take a trip down memory lane and look at the top five Eagles moments in Texas Stadium, in no particular order.

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Philadelphia Eagles

McNabb vs. Garcia? Not even a question.

While the NFL season is rife with ridiculous comparisons and commentary, nothing has bothered me as much as the ludicrous assertion that the Philadelphia Eagles are a better team with Jeff Garcia than they are with Donovan McNabb.  Look, I’ll grant you the fact that the Eagles are a team transformed – six straight wins leaves the current squad looking nothing like the team that even the most fervent of fans had left for dead following McNabb’s injury and a blowout loss against Indianapolis.  Hell, I’ll even go so far as to say that the loss of McNabb is ultimately why the Eagles have seen such a change in their fortunes… but not because Jeff Garcia brings anything to the table that Donovan does not.

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Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles Fly High…..again

After watching the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboy’s at Texas Stadium on Christmas night, I now realize the Eagles are now the favorite to win the NFC.  Philadelphia clinched a playoff berth with a 9-6 record, and with a win next week against Atlanta, they will clinch an NFC East title.  This has been a major turn-around for a team that was considered “dead” after a primetime loss to Indianapolis.  But that game truly was the beginning.