"Listen, one did get away," Andy Reid said. "We lost. But it's not the end of the season, either. I understand that."
They have an explosive offense, except when they don't.
They have a cunning, clever, aggressive defense, except when they don't.
They can wallop the Giants and wallow against the Raiders. They can go bombs-away against some teams but they cannot work the ball up the field when forced to take small bites against other teams, like the Cowboys last night.
This inconsistency, bordering on schizophrenia, can be seen as a charming byproduct of the NFL of today. Or it can be seen as the maddening unpredictability of a team that is going nowhere.
Do you know which it is? Do you?
Just know: They should be better than this.
"We tripped ourselves up," defensive back Ellis Hobbs said. "That makes it hurt that much more. The problem is, one, it's a division game. Two, it's a home game. Three, with the Eastern Division known as such a tough division to win in, every game counts. We couldn't afford it, but we definitely took it on the chin."
The 2004 Eagles were 7-1 at the midway point of the season and everybody knew they were special. It did not mean they were going to get to the Super Bowl, because knowing that requires knowledge currently unavailable to normal human beings. But it meant that they were likely to go far, and to go down swinging if they went down. They just had that kind of a look to them.
That might have been the clearest picture we have ever had in the Andy Reid era.
