Jason Peters

THE BEST THING about the NFL is that it's not the NBA. If you're an NBA team and fall on hard times, the road back to respectability is longer than the Appalachian Trail. A fan could get caught robbing a bank, do a couple of nickels in Lewisburg and still be back on the street before your favorite team gets good enough to make it to the second round of the playoffs again. Not in the NFL, though, where they've got more rags-to-riches stories than the Pennsylvania lottery. It has become routine in the parity-filled league for teams to stink up the joint one year and make it back to the playoffs the next.

IN 1998, the Eagles were 3-13 and placed nobody on the NFC Pro Bowl team. Fifteen seasons later, for only the third time since the postseason accolades began in 1951, the Eagles have been shut out again. The Birds were among eight NFL teams with no selections announced last night at the conclusion of a mysterious process that currently involves players, fans and coaches. There is an extremely slim chance the 2012 Eagles will not stay shut out, when all is said and done. A source close to the situation said left guard Evan Mathis is a third alternate for the NFC team.

When Michael Vick last played in North Jersey, he was at the apex of his career renaissance. It was 2010, and Vick led an improbable fourth-quarter comeback over the New York Giants that helped the Eagles win the NFC East. It was perhaps his last great moment with the Eagles. Vick's career since that day has been marked by injuries and inconsistency. But one big difference between the 2010 Vick and the 2012 Vick has been a reshaped offensive line, both in terms of personnel and scheme.

IT WILL BE COLD Sunday afternoon, when the Eagles begin their final attempt at entertaining a fan base now disgusted twice in as many seasons with its paltry results. It will be the day before Christmas Eve, and, undoubtedly, many seats that might have been occupied by wearers of the midnight green will instead host Redskins fans bedecked in burgundy and gold, StubHub winners of cut-rate resales, their original owners cutting their losses and putting the proceeds toward something useful.

Bryce Brown had barely reached the end zone on his 65-yard second-quarter touchdown run Monday night when the first of several emails from the Eagles' legion of armchair general managers arrived in my inbox. "Hey," the guy wanted to know, "how much do you think we could get for LeSean McCoy in an offseason trade?" The Eagles won't trade McCoy, for a couple of reasons. For starters, they would take a $6.8 million cap hit next season because the remaining 4 years of his pro-rated signing bonus would be accelerated into next year.

Eagles fans might take extra interest in Saturday's mega-matchup between Alabama and Georgia for the right to face Notre Dame in college's BCS National Championship Game. That's because Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner and guard Chance Warmack are blue-chippers the Birds might consider with their first-round pick. ESPN even rates Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones as the draft's best prospect, although that position hasn't been the club's highest priority for years.

Michael Vick's career as a Philadelphia Eagle ended on March 27, 2012. That's the day that Jason Peters ruptured his Achilles' tendon. Any chance of Mike leading us to the promised land went up in smoke, because the long-range passing game integral to the Birds' success in 2010 and during the tail end of last year depended on Vick having the time to let our wideouts go deep. When Peters went down, it opened up more holes and subjected Vick to as horrible a continuous beating as any NFL quarterback may have ever endured.

As fans are painfully aware, the Eagles are trudging through what could be the most dreadful season of the Andy Reid era. Not since the final days of Ray Rhodes or Rich Kotite has Philly been served up such a disappointing campaign. So, what now? The People Paper's football experts weigh in on what Jeffrey Lurie and Co. should do next. LES BOWEN I am asked to explain how the Eagles can save their season. Hey, why stop there? Why not ask me how to erase the federal budget deficit, solve the NHL lockout, and fix Andrew Bynum's knee?

THE THING about common sentiment is that it usually is right. He has been the best Eagles coach, but the third losing season of the Andy Reid era seems unavoidable. As such, Reid appears unlikely to return for the final season of his contract. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said as much before this season began. The Andy Reid Experience carried the team to unmatched heights, but Reid's teams are 3-4 in their four playoff runs in the past seven seasons, 0-2 in his last two trips, and would need divine intervention to reach the postseason after a 3-6 start.

Up-Down Drill   Nick Foles It wouldn't be fair to grade the rookie quarterback under difficult circumstances. Foles had to jump in for Michael Vick with no first-team practice during the week and was stuck behind a ragtag line. But he did not look like the savior some thought he could be this season.   Michael Vick Vick had his best game of the season, completing 67 percent of his passes with a touchdown and no turnovers. OK, that was a joke. Still, the Eagles quarterback can go one week - possibly more - without shouldering the blame for another loss.