| Andrew Perna. 24th November, 2008 - 3:36 pm
 Andy Reid has had a tremendous run as the head coach of the Eagles, but his decision to bench Donovan McNabb in favor of Kevin Kolb at halftime of Sunday's game against the Ravens may have effectively ended the careers of two Philadelphia legends.
Heading into the battle with Baltimore, the Eagles were teetering on the edge of postseason contention. It was a must-win with the rest of the NFC East catching fire as cold weather blasted the Northeast.
The Ravens are, and were, no push-over, but Philadelphia was undoubtedly talented enough to topple Baltimore, who has been led by rookie quarterback Joe Flacco this season.
McNabb, who will admit that he struggled in the first half, went 8-for-18 with 59 yards and two interceptions against the stifling Ravens' defense. He also lost a fumble, helping Baltimore hang 10 points on the equally-stifling Eagles' defense in the first two quarters.
Had it not been for a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by rookie Quintin Demps, Philadelphia would have been held scoreless in the first half (and eventually the game).
Trailing 10-7, far from a lost cause, Reid turned to second-year quarterback Kevin Kolb to start the second half. Even stranger, Philadelphia was due to get the ball to kick off the third, which could have allowed McNabb, a 10-year veteran, to quickly rebound and put the Eagles back in the driver's seat.
Instead, Kolb went 1-for-3 with 7 yards, and the Eagles punted less than three minutes into the half.
Kolb finished 10-for-23 with 73 yards and two interceptions and scrambled three times for 12 yards. In case you're wondering, Kolb averaged 3.17 yards per pass. McNabb's average was slightly higher, 3.27 yards per pass during his time on the field.
The fact that Kolb didn't look any better than McNabb, in fact he looked worse, doesn't even matter much. The fact that Reid replaced McNabb midway through a winnable game with a playoff berth hanging the balance proves just how little control the coach has over the team this season.
After running time and time again on key plays earlier this season, Reid opted to pass on important third-and-short situations in Philadelphia's tie against Cincinnati and loss to Baltimore on Sunday. If his struggles with the play-calling weren't enough to place Reid's status with the team in jeopardy, the absolutely horrible timing of McNabb's benching should place him on the butcher's block.
McNabb is on pace to attempt more passes than he has ever before Reid's fault not his which has adversely affected his interceptions and quarterback rating in 2008.
There is no question that Reid hoped the benching of McNabb would energize the team, but he failed to realize that #5 is part of the club's heart-and-soul. Not only did the Ravens dominate in the second half, but the Eagles looked listless and uninterested in rallying around Kolb.
You can't really blame the defense for the ugly loss either, with all but one of Baltimore's five scoring drives beginning deep into Philadelphia territory.
Historically, the best way to introduce a new quarterback into an offense is to give him a week to prepare and familiarize himself with the first-team unit. Instead, Reid threw Kolb to the wolves (or Ravens) in a tight game on the road.
So ... he's going to stick with Kolb, right?
Doing so would allow the Eagles - who saw their playoff chances go the way of brunch on Sunday afternoon - to decide which quarterback (McNabb or Kolb) is their man of the future.
Reid was both as predictable and unpredictable as ever on Monday when naming McNabb the team's starter against the Cardinals on Thursday night.
"Sometimes you have to step back to step forward in a positive way, and Donovan will do that," Reid said. "This has nothing to do with Kolb's performance or Donovan's performance."
McNabb, 32, is signed through the 2013 season and came to Philadelphia along with Reid prior to the 1999 season.
"As I sit here right now, he's my starting quarterback," Reid said. "I need to coach better. Donovan needs to play better, and the guys around Donovan need to play better."
Reid's desperation is now on display for the entire world to see.
Kolb showed that he's clearly unprepared to lead the team's offense while McNabb, at least, has the background to prove that he can be productive in most situations.
The right decision would have been for Reid to stick with McNabb through Sunday's game, no matter how bad things got. Then, if the playoff picture started to cloud and Donovan continued to struggle, he could have plugged Kolb in as the starter heading into Philadelphia's Week 14 battle with the Giants, or even the Week 15 date with the Browns.
That would have allowed Kolb a full week to prepare, avoiding this Thursday's game against the Cardinals during a short week and the firestorm that occurred this past weekend in Baltimore.
Now McNabb, unless he has received some sort of guarantee from Reid, will go into each game with doubt in the back of his mind. That's something he hasn't faced in his career despite all the battle wounds he's suffered on the field and in the media.
So, what kind of leash is McNabb on?
If the Eagles are eliminated from the playoff picture, will Reid turn to Kolb in an effort to evaluate his worth?
Will McNabb, who has reportedly been on his way out of town numerous times during his tenure with the Eagles, actually depart this coming offseason?
How soon before the rumors of McNabb-to-Chicago rekindle?
Luckily for the Eagles, McNabb is a team player. Obviously, he wouldn't have benched himself in favor of Kolb, or anyone else, but he understands that the franchise comes before his own feelings.
"No," McNabb said when asked if he would have switched quarterbacks. "I guess that's just my competitive nature. I always think we can get things going and make some plays. But I'm not the coach."
McNabb reportedly heard of his benching through the team's quarterbacks coach, not Reid.
"My first reaction was, 'Wow!' " he added. "Then I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."
There are five games left on the schedule that will allow us to see just how this all plays out in Philadelphia. McNabb seems to be cognizant of what Reid was trying to accomplish, perhaps using the benching as a motivational tactic.
We'll find out soon enough as we digest our Thanksgiving turkey whether or not Reid's decision ultimately helps turn things around or digs the struggling team even deeper into a hole the size of Philadelphia's Sports Complex.
"I personally don't care about my time being here or expecting to be here," McNabb said. "When you're in a game like this, you don't focus on your future and all of that. You try to focus on trying to win a game. At this present time, I'm not even thinking about what happens after the season is over."
Good thing he's focused on the remainder of the season, because it's bound to be entertaining one way or another.
And it'll likely decide who goes first - Reid or McNabb.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
