Brent Celek

At 5:23 p.m., with the game tied in the second quarter, rookie quarterback Nick Foles took his first regular-season NFL snap after entering the game to a big ovation. With a woozy Michael Vick unable to continue, Andy Reid had finally been forced into making a move he had avoided for weeks. Vick left with a concussion. Foles could not save the game. There may be nothing that can save this Eagles season or Reid's job. Foles helped the Eagles to a 17-10 third-quarter lead before the team unraveled in the fourth quarter and allowed two defensive touchdowns and a special teams touchdown in a 38-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

NEW ORLEANS - It should be shocking, the way the Eagles humiliated themselves on national television in a 28-13 loss to the Saints on Monday night. But didn't we see exactly the same game last year in Seattle? A defense that has no interest in tackling or contact, an offense that just can't get started. It was all there in that nationally televised debacle. It was all there again Monday night. There was Nnamdi "Night Train" Asomugha shrinking from contact, allowing running backs to sprint free.

NEW ORLEANS - Anything can happen now. Anything except a merciful end to this still just half-finished Eagles season, that is. Given a chance to get their playoff quest back on track last night, one day after everybody else in the NFC East lost, the now 3-5 Eagles sank to previously unexplored depths. In the wake of the players-only meeting, after Michael Vick vowed to get back to aggressive play, after all the discussion of how the New Orleans Saints had the worst statistical defense in the NFL, the Eagles stank out the Mercedes Benz Superdome, losing 28-13, their fourth setback in a row. How deep is the crater this morning?

NEW ORLEANS - Michael Vick said this would be the week he regained his "swag" on the football field, and found the brashness, not to mention the production, that had been missing from his game. Well, maybe next week. But, then again, maybe not. If Vick was making his case to remain the starting quarterback for the Eagles - who have fallen to 3-5 and no longer look remotely interested in the season - he didn't make it very well against the New Orleans Saints in a Monday night embarrassment in front of a national audience.

Bear with me here while we break down the Eagles' red-zone snaps Monday night: LeSean McCoy run, minus-1. Interception run back for TD. Next time down there: Bryce Brown run, no gain. Shovel pass to McCoy, no gain. Incomplete to DeSean Jackson. Next time: Throwaway in end zone. Sack loses 11 yards. Incomplete to Jeremy Maclin at the back of the end zone. Next time: Incomplete to Jackson. McCoy run no gain. Six-yard completion to Brent Celek. Completion to Clay Harbor, no gain, play wiped out anyway because Demetress Bell was illegally downfield.

Here are some observations and ruminations about the Eagles-Saints game: NEW ORLEANS - Michael Vick's ninth interception of the season - and his second pick-six - was both his fault and that of Brent Celek. The veteran tight end ran an "out" route just shy of the goal line, and he had a slight step on the Saints defender Monday night. But Vick led Celek too much. Celek, who may have been held, half-heartedly stuck a hand out and deflected the ball into the hands of New Orleans cornerback Patrick Robinson.

Andy Reid's end, if it finally occurs after this season, won't come with a bang. In most cases, the first signs of a dead coach walking come with a whimper from the locker room. The pulse of the Eagles is a hard one to accurately gauge, following their devastating loss at the hands of the Falcons on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. But there seems to be a disparity among the players in recognizing the urgency they now face at 3-4 and with their coach's job on the line. Several players said they were aware of the ultimatum that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie gave Reid before the season, that his team must show "substantial improvement" over last season's 8-8 record.

BRENT CELEK had two different touchdown balls in his grasp in the third quarter alone on Sunday - yet both red-zone opportunities for the Eagles ended in Alex Henery field goals. Celek's body took a beating at the beginning of the quarter - after Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley's helmet caught him in the knee while trying to bring him down - and his psyche was battered by the end of the 26-23 loss. "I feel a huge responsibility for this loss with how I played and the position I put our team in," Celek said.

Michael Vick walked down a corridor at the Eagles' training facility after Wednesday's practice clutching a ball. He carried the ball earlier in the day and later in the day. He took it to breakfast, to team meetings, and to lunch. One week after Vick lost two fumbles against the Pittsburgh Steelers and amid a season in which he has fumbled eight times, the quarterback is trying to get a grip on his problem entering Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions. Vick said he wants to feel the pigskin, and he's been keeping the ball high and tight.