Jason Peters

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.

It's a time of despair for Philadelphia sports fans. Starting with the loss of Jason Peters, injuries and overall poor play have caused the Eagles' season to unravel. And although Rich Hofmann's recent column in the Daily News correctly points out that the Eagles could still win the division, with an offensive line missing Peters, Jason Kelce and Todd Herremans, Andy Reid is in need of a Ray Didinger "reality check" if he thinks the Birds can go 6-2, or even 5-3 to have any chance (hope I'm wrong)

IF YOU THINK you've seen this movie before, it's because you have. The Eagles expected double-digit wins last season and this. The Eagles went 3-5 through their first eight games last season, and this. The consistent flaw: the lack of consistently physical play. That does not necessarily mean they have quit, or lack talent, or there is a flaw in the coaching. Of course, it could mean any, or all, of those things. Regardless of the causes, the results are obvious . . . to anyone who isn't delusional.

Cowboys (-1) over EAGLES: Last week was the third straight time that my selection went against the Birds, and the third straight winner! No. 4 is on deck. Sorry to say this to all the loyal fans, but how in the world can the Eagles hope to post a W with a nonexistent offensive line, the key word there being offensive. And we're gonna go with third meaning of offensive at Dictionary.com: repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting. And from there, we focus on insulting.

The Eagles start a former tackle at guard and a former guard at center. Their starting right tackle has not started there since 2010, and their starting left tackle played right tackle for more than a half in the last game. This is the Eagles' 2012 offensive line, a group beset by injuries that sidelined four of its previous starters and has allowed quarterback Michael Vick to be sacked 27 times this season. When they play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Eagles likely will start Demetress Bell at left tackle, Evan Mathis at left guard, Dallas Reynolds at center, Dennis Kelly at right guard, and King Dunlap at right tackle.

Cowboys (-1) over EAGLES: Last week was the third straight time that my selection went against the Birds, and the third straight winner! No. 4 is on deck. Sorry to say this to all the loyal fans, but how in the world can the Eagles hope to post a W with a nonexistent offensive line, the key word there being offensive. And we're gonna go with third meaning of offensive at Dictionary.com: repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting. And from there, we focus on insulting.

As if the ailing and leaky Eagles offensive line needed more bad news, right tackle Todd Herremans suffered a right ankle/foot injury in the second quarter of Monday's 28-13 loss to the Saints in New Orleans. Herremans, who remained on crutches, had an MRI exam Tuesday. On his radio show Tuesday evening, Eagles coach Andy Reid said Herremans will see a foot specialist on Wednesday, and will have a CT scan before any further determination is made. Herremans was replaced Monday night by Demetress Bell.

NEW ORLEANS - If you want to find the source for the Eagles' below-par play on both lines, start with the draft - or start with the men who run the draft. The Eagles are 3-5 this season and gasping for dear life because the offensive line can't pass-block and because the defensive line can't rush the passer. They have issues at many other positions - quarterback, of course - but if it all starts up front, as Andy Reid has always preached, then the buck must stop there. And Reid, general manager Howie Roseman - and before him, Tom Heckert - deserve blame for their evaluations in drafting linemen since 2006.

EVERYBODY HAS an opinion about what's wrong with the Eagles. It's the quarterback. He's a damn turnover machine and can't read a defense to save his life. Nah, it's the offensive line. Those guys couldn't block my grandmother. Wrong. It's the pitiful playcalling. They gotta give the freaking ball to McCoy more. Nope. Everybody knows it's the head coach. We're not gonna win again until he's outta town. You certainly can make a case for all of those. The quarterback has 13 turnovers in seven games and is 25th in the league in passing and completion percentage.

SMALL STEPS. That's how Howard Mudd sees his offensive line pulling itself back together in the wake of the disastrous Detroit loss Oct. 14. When his o-linemen returned from the bye to start preparing for the 6-0 Atlanta Falcons this weekend, Mudd's message was to focus not on how out of sync the group has been at times, or on the larger issue of how a line missing Jason Peters and Jason Kelce is going to fare against the Falcons' deceptive, shifting...