Rich Hofmann | Reality staring Birds in the beak

THIS IS never an easy time for an NFL franchise - you know, the reckoning. The Eagles have not dealt with one since 1998, which was the end of Ray Rhodes' time as coach. They are staring squarely at 8 weeks of garbage time, barring an almost-historic turnaround in their fortunes.

In the search of some thoughtfulness, some dignity, you make a stop in front of the locker stall occupied by cornerback Sheldon Brown. This was late after the game Sunday night, the over-the-cliff game against the Dallas Cowboys. The room was pretty much cleared out, and the clubhouse kids were bringing in big empty cardboard boxes for loading with equipment. "Coffins," someone cracked.

And Brown was saying: "I still believe in the guys in this locker room and I hope they believe in me. There's no quit in my heart, no give-up. In this league, it's always, 'What have you done for me lately?' So if we go out and win big next week, then we'll be talking a different language than tonight."

It is what you do and what you say, all right and proper. There can be no public surrender, not yet. But the whole thing carries such odd overtones.

Coach Andy Reid held his day-after press conference yesterday afternoon and occasionally smiled his I-know-something-you-don't-know smile - that is, when he wasn't being peppered by questions about replacing Donovan McNabb as his starting quarterback.

Reid supported McNabb, but he also said that nothing is guaranteed forever, and he also said that neither the first-quarter fumble nor the second-quarter interception by McNabb - two killer turnovers - were because of the quarterback's still-incomplete recovery from offseason knee surgery.

That this conversation will continue, with the volume increasing with every additional loss, goes without saying. It is a standard part of the drill at this time in a franchise's history. It is all as uncomfortable as it is inevitable when you are 3-5 and just not playing well.

Three wins, five losses.