The Streets of Philadelphia

And the comparison between the 2008 Eagles and the 2007 Giants comes to an end. Because to think you are similar to champions, you have to, um, win a championship.

But who were the Eagles kidding? Did anyone really think they were going to end their Super Bowl drought? I mean, come on, we’re talking about the Eagles here. And Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. It’s like the Red Sox pre-2004. Until a team wins a championship, you can’t trust them in thinking they will. It just won’t happen.

Kurt Warner played on Sunday like the date was January 18, 2000. He looked like he was having so much fun out there racking up yards by the dozen and trying to obtain a perfect QB passer rating. He appeared to be having so much fun that you could almost hear him laughing everytime Jimmy Johnson sent the house at him leaving his receivers uncovered. And you actually could hear him laughing when Larry Fitzgerald was left in one-on-one coverage downfield.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we came to find out that Warner had the bellhop at the Eagles’ hotel snag the defensive playbook. Because the way Warner was recognizing Jimmy Johnson’s blitzes, you’d think Warner had drawn up the plays himself. At least Jimmy Johnson got to watch the demise of the Eagles season from high up on in the booth and away from field level where the massacre was taking place.

Teams usually come out with slogans to represent their organization before the season and sometimes during it. Anytime you venture to a pro team’s website you will notice their franchise phrase. And during the game I thought it would be good to see what the Eagles were using on their site. Sure enough there it was: “BELIEVE IN GREEN.”

I would have to say the new Eagles slogan wll be changed to “DEVASTATION” for the 2009 season. Because really what word better captures the essence of the Philadephia organization. What team could make five of eight NFC Championships, win only one of those five, and lose their only appearance. Since 2000, the Eagles have been back-to-back wins away from winning a Super Bowl five different times and not once did they ever finish the job. Devastating.

I am guessing that the talk about the dismissal of Reid and McNabb is now officially open again and has already become a hot topic on the Philly airwaves. And on that note, who would you say has had the worse career in Philly?

It’s tough and really just a coin toss, but I think the only fair thing to do is call it a tie. And no Donovan, there is no overtime associated with this kind of tie.

If it’s not time for Donovan and Andy to be kicked to the curb of Philly now, then when is it? Because every loss for the rest of their Eagle careers will have people wanting them out. It seems like now or never to say “thanks for playing” to the most successful losing tandem in the NFL. And you know whoever they bring in will do just a horrific job and leave the Eagles fans wanting Reid back. Because that is how sports works.

Maybe Reid deserves to be back and maybe he doesn’t. But, all I know is he didn’t manage the game yesterday like he wants to be back.

Just when you think, “Ok, the Eagles are going to run the ball this play, they have to run the ball this play.” Donovan goes into the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass. Philadelphia passed so much during the game, you’d think that running the ball was illegal in the NFL. Ever hear of keeping it on the ground Andy Reid? Ever? Brian Westbrook had five carries in the entire first half on 29 offensive plays.

And how about David Akers. Wow. You can talk about John Carney choking all you want, but Akers did him one better by just failing miserably every single time he stepped inside the lines.

Neil Rackers started off the second half with a pop-up kickoff as if to say, “Hey, why should I waste “good” leg on you guys. I might as well save it for Tampa.” And he did this with the mindset that even with good field position, the Eagles were just going to throw it anyways and end up punting. And they did just that, time and time again.

Joe Buck said Clancy Pendergast watches tape of Jimmy Johnson’s blitz schemes in the off-season to learn new things. Something tells me he won’t be doing that anymore.

But the real question now is…is Donovan McNabb the worst big game quarterback ever? Seriously, is there anyone you would choose Donovan over to man your team in a big spot? The man has proven that a team led by him will not win the big game, considering they are 1 for 5 trying to win the game to get to the big game.

I am sure this will all get solved shortly. And the same Philadelphia fans who were about to name their kids after him last week and the few weeks before that are now calling for a new QB and a new face to their sorry franchise.

So, it turns out the Philadelphia Eagles really are no better than the Giants, but that’s ok, we all knew that anyways. One fluke game in the divisional playoff can’t change that.

BELIEVE IN GREEN.