Disastrous season might lead to nuking Eagles' roster

I was struck by the TV clip of Jeffrey Lurie watching Sunday's game from his box, Lurie holding binoculars but not quite holding them up to his eyes, almost using them to shield his view of the field instead of enhancing it.

Moments like this, you'd love to know what ownership is thinking. My view has always been that Lurie thinks pretty much whatever team president Joe Banner tells him he thinks. That might not be entirely fair, but I haven't gotten to spend enough quality time with Lurie to know any better.

Banner isn't saying what he thinks right now, either. Reporters asked about that following Sunday's crushing loss to the Patriots, and were stiff-armed. Maybe the silence was telling, if you thought Banner might launch a passionate defense of Andy Reid in the midst of the coach's darkest hour.

Coming into this season, those of us who follow such things figured Reid had 2 years to win a Super Bowl with Michael Vick, Reid entering 2011 with 3 years remaining on his contract. After 2012, all bets were off, for Vick and for Reid. Until then, Reid was safe. But there was always a caveat. "If this season turns out to be a disaster . . . "

Well, we're pretty much there. Can the season somehow still not be a disaster, if the Eagles win their final five games? Could management conclude Reid is on the right track, but with all the changes and the lockout, yadda, yadda, yadda, let's try again next season with yet another defensive coordinator?

Maybe. But I don't think this team is going to win its final five games. I think it might win a couple, maybe three. I think this is going to be Reid's first losing season since 2005, and I think if you're the owner/president, the decision about what to do involves how you view not just the coach but the whole roster.

Vick is a project of Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. If you are convinced Vick is the face of your franchise for years to come, you probably don't fire Reid yet. But the guaranteed money in Vick's 5-year, $80 million deal ties you to him for just 1 more year after this. If you think you're on the wrong track, period, and aren't just a few tweaks away from the Super Bowl, maybe you hire a new coach and draft a quarterback - good draft year for that - and make next year a transition year, like 1999 was.