Why the Eagles suck.
The Philadelphia Eagles. One of the elite teams in the NFL the last few years. Made an appearance in the Superbowl last year. Currently, they sit at 4-4, poised to lose 3 in a row for the first time in Andy Reid's time with the time. What went wrong?
History alone suggests that the Eagles should suck. Over the past few years, the Superbowl loser was an overall loser the next year. There is also the issue of the "Madden curse". of course, this is all superstition, there must be real reasons for their downfall.
Lets start no further than the face of the team. Donovan McNabb. This warrior has battled through a broken leg, James Thrash, Rush Limbaugh, and even the mayor. He's perservered through everything and come out a champion. This year is a different story. He has several lingering injuries that make him jittery in the pocket and unwilling to take the big hit. He stares down one receiver and doesn't check all his options. Passes are going at receivers feet again. We thought this stuff was a thing of the past.
The offensive line is a cause of concern this year. Thomas and Runyan are a year older and not as quick as they once were. Losing Hank Fraley is gonna hurt....bad. Shawn Andrews will be a great guard, but lets be serious....when are offensive linemen good their first year starting? Its a slower developing position.
Do I even need to talk about WR? you guys should be praying for the have Stinkston, Trash, and Bitchell days...its certainly better than Lewis, Brown, and McMullen.
Wesbtrook doesn't show the same burst he did a year ago. The lack of consistancy from the offensive line isn't helping, but come on....he's just not that scary this year.
The defense has been an embarassment. What happened to that heralded defensive line? I'll tell you what happened. A) They aren't as deep as they were before, and this problem is shown becase B) the offense can't establish the run, so the defense is on the field entirely too much. Kearse has been a virtual non-factor this year...sure he didn't rack up many sacks last year either, but he recorded plenty of hurries, which he isn't doing anymore.
LB is a liability in pass coverage. Trotter and co. are solid against the run, but against the pass, they just don't get it done. A solid TE like Jason Witten will tear them apart.
The problems in the front seven are finally exposing the secondary. I don't care what you say, Lito Sheppard and Micahel Lewis are AVERAGE players. They are not pro bowlers. Without the great pass rush of years past, they just aren't getting it done like they did last year. At least Dawkins is still solid, but how much more does he have in the tank? he's not exactly young.
In closing, the Eagles suck, and McNabb is going to have nightmares of #97 for the next week after tonight.