"The way we lost, the things we did, it's tough to see that," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "It's tough to put that performance out there [against the Saints]. It's unacceptable."
There's that word again. The players, those who stand up and talk about it, blame themselves. The coaches blame themselves for the planning, and the players for the execution. The question is who does Lurie blame? If the ship is sailing in circles, you can blame the way the rigging was designed or blame the sailors for how the sails were raised, but ultimately you have to knock on the door of the captain's cabin.
That seems inevitable now, and Reid probably knows that better than anyone, even as he talks about getting the one win that will unlock the season and get things rolling again. There is that opportunity, remote as it seems. None of the next seven opponents have winning records, but, then again, neither do the Cardinals, Lions or Saints, three of the five teams that have beaten the Eagles this year.
"Somewhere, we've got to come together," Reid said. "In this league, you get yourself and win . . . and things snowball from there."
That was the expectation when the Eagles pulled out a good win against the Giants to begin the season 3-1 and shake off a bad loss to Arizona. The snowball melted quickly, however, and now the Eagles have lost four straight.
Along with everything else that is going wrong, it is getting late very early for Reid, and the mathematics of what it would take to save his job is becoming increasingly unlikely. At the moment, it seems as if the second wild-card slot in the NFC will go to a team that finishes either 10-6 (probably) or 9-7 (maybe).
Could the Eagles possibly finish the schedule with six wins in the final eight games to go 9-7, barely stepping across the line in the sand drawn by Lurie? That is difficult to envision. If it fails to happen, would the owner stick by his words and throw the entire football coaching operation into the hands of a stranger, or would he find enough glimmers of hope amid the rubble? Would he talk about extenuating circumstances - mostly the injuries and turnovers - and continue to express faith that the direction is the right one?
If Lurie did that, the public firestorm would be intense, but that is the corner into which he painted himself with the preseason tough talk. He wanted to see significant improvement, both in record and in play.
Let's assume he has been analyzing the team as the season has progressed. At the exact midway point of the schedule, is there any improvement in any phase of the game, any bright spot that he can point to as illumination to lead the team from this dark hole?
Not so much.
On defense, the Eagles have gone from being eighth in the league in yards allowed per game to 15th. They have gone from 10th in points allowed per game to 18th. Built around the concept of pressuring the opposing quarterback, they have gone from being No. 1 in the league in sacks per pass play to No. 32.
As a bonus, the eyeball test, which has no column on the stat sheet, shows the defense to be a soft bunch of tacklers and very average in pass coverage when the opposing quarterback has time. Oh, they like dumb penalties, too.
So, not much improvement there.
On offense, the Eagles are on pace to score 130 fewer points than they did in 2011. They are still capable of collecting a lot of yardage, but have even fallen from fourth in the league to 10th in that category. The sacks per pass play are way up, and their production in the red zone - where games are won and lost - is just awful.
The eyeball test shows a quarterback who is losing faith, an offensive line that will take at least two years to rebuild, some good, but under-utilized skill position players, and a propensity for turnovers so profound it seems ingrained.
Nope, no improvement there. In fact, as on the defensive side of the ball, there is regression. The special teams are dreadful, too, and that's a reflection on the quality of the bottom half of the roster put together by the front office.
That's the mid-season report card, and the Eagles are failing. They are failing themselves and their coach and they are also failing the standard set by the owner for what will keep him from blowing up the whole thing.
Maybe it can still turn around. The coach says he believes, just as he always says. That, however, is a bet that won't have many takers.
Contact Bob Ford at bford@phillynews.com, read his blog at www.philly.com/postpatterns, and follow @bobfordsports on Twitter.
