It is sad, it is unfortunate, and it is surprising in many ways, particularly the speed with which this moment arrived. But it has arrived.
So, play Kevin Kolb.
That is said with the understanding that the Eagles can beat Washington and Miami in their next two games and even their record at 5-5. If they do so, they will talk about getting momentum and playing with confidence and making the postseason, and it will sound familiar enough to be believable.
"We need to back-to-back a couple of games here and get ourselves on a roll," Reid said yesterday. "Things can change quickly in the NFL, but we've got to do it. We've done it in the past, and that's what we need to do now."
And then what? Even if they do?
Let's say they do get on that downhill roll, somehow parlaying the Redskins and Dolphins wins with further success against a daunting end of the schedule. It goes New England, Seattle, New York Giants, Dallas, New Orleans and Buffalo. Are there four more wins in those six games, enough to get the Eagles to 9-7 and have a hope for the playoffs?
You wouldn't think so, but let's give them the benefit of our towering doubts. Let's say they do that and make the playoffs. So what?
If the 2006 season did anything, it should have provided a valuable lesson in the illusory nature of a late run to the postseason. The Eagles made that run last season and, while it was billed as an uplifting end to the season, a morale-building gift that would certainly carry over to the next year, that hasn't exactly been the case.
The Eagles aren't good enough to compete for a championship, and if that is still the point of all this, then it has to be acknowledged that, even if they slip into the playoffs, they don't belong there.
