The play-calling: It's time for Andy Reid to hand over the play-calls to someone else. Anyone else.
The running game: Wait, what running game?
Reggie Brown: 1 catch, 0 yards. Nice game, buddy. What a waste of a 2d-round pick.
The refs: Thank goodness the roughing-the-passer call against Sheldon Brown didn't cost the Eagles their precious tie.
The fact that the Eagles can't win a game when their defense has eight sacks: None of the blame for this game goes to the defense. They held up their end and basically shut down the Bengals.
It's time for the Kevin Kolb era to begin.
Maddening McNabb
There is no babying McNabb today. McNabb always screams that he wants to be the man, wants to shoulder the load, that this is his team. McNabb was given that chance today (58 pass attempts) and against the one-win Bengals, the best he could manage was a tie.
So how does one factor a tie into the Eagles' playoff picture? Easy. There will be no playoffs for the Eagles, so it doesn't matter. Best part of today, we are now one day closer to pitchers and catchers reporting . . . 90 days.
Is today's performance a shocker? Not if you been watching the Eagles this season. The same problems again doomed the Eagles offense. 0-3 on third and 1. Too heavily dependent on the pass. Drops by the WRs. Entering the 2d quarter without a first down. McNabb's maddening play, but still he smiles. Play-calling that is only tricky to themselves. And on and on.
A tie. And since McNabb doesn't know what a tie is, here's a clue. It means your season is dead!
Time to punt the season
Facing fourth-and-one with 1:30 left in overtime, no timeouts, and the wind in their faces, the Eagles' coaching staff decided to punt.
They did this knowing full well that after the Bengals got the ball, a completed pass - even a sack - would take enough time off the clock that they'd have no chance for one last attempt to win the game.
They did it because they were afraid to lose.
They did it because they were hoping for a tie. A tie.
They - and by "they," let's be clear, we're really talking about the head coach - decided it would be better to try to lock in a tie, rather than going for a win. Even though the current playoff situation pretty much demanded they win this game.
The decision to punt today was the first time I've ever felt that Reid made an indefensible choice.
It was a give-up move.
It was a no-guts move.
It was, quite simply, a call made by a guy who - on this day at least - had lost his nerve.
All week people have been asking if this team has quit on its coach.
Today, the coach quit on his team.
- http://igglesblog.com
