| Andrew Perna. 30th December, 2008 - 11:58 am
 The course of the Philadelphia Eagles was altered in just 42 minutes of action on Sunday.
Entering the second quarter of their regular season finale against the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field -- with a playoff berth on the line, no less -- the scoreboard read 3-3.
Three minutes later Donovan McNabb crossed the goal line on a one-yard dive that would turn out to be more than enough to send the once-hopeless Eagles into the postseason.
The Birds dominated the final 42 minutes of the game, earning them a date with the Vikings in the Wild Card round this Sunday and, perhaps, saving the careers of McNabb and coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia.
The final score would be 44-6 -- utter domination of a team that many believed would reach February's Super Bowl.
It was the defense, led by coordinator Jim Johnson, that was largely responsible for the season-changing win. The Eagles sacked Tony Romo four times, intercepted him once, and forced (and recovered) four fumbles. They scored a pair of touchdowns (Chris Clemons and Joselio Hanson) and gave the offense prime field position (three drives began deep in Dallas territory) throughout the game.
The Cowboys went nine possessions in-between scores after notching a field goal on their second drive. They also lost fumbles on four straight drives that bridged the second and third quarters.
If the Eagles are going to live to fight another day, the defense will have to provide a similar effort against Adrian Peterson and the Vikings.
Regardless of what occurs, the matchup will be an entertaining one. Peterson led the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards (4.8 per carry and 110 per game) while Philadelphia employed the league's sixth-best rushing defense (92.6 yards per game on 3.5 per attempt).
In a Philadelphia win last season, Peterson managed just 70 yards on twenty carries. The following week, A.P. burned the Chargers for 296 in a Minnesota victory.
The Eagles allowed just three 100-yard rushers (Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, and Brandon Jacobs) all season long.
Over the final month of the regular season, with the team picking up stream and a playoff berth unlikely, but possible, I began to believe that the future of McNabb and Reid relied on whether or not they extended their season in January.
Their disastrous effort in Baltimore turned out to be their worst game of the season and fueled belief that one of the two -- either the coach or the quarterback -- were done in the City of Brotherly "Love".
The ugly scene in Maryland on Nov. 23 seemed far from the minds of McNabb, Reid, and the Philadelphia faithful on Sunday when the nearly everyone in attendance grinned from ear-to-ear and chanted "Fly, Eagles, Fly" more often than they had all year long.
No matter how good the Eagles are feeling right now, a trip to Super Bowl XLIII isn't in the forecast just yet.
The question remains -- is a trip to the playoffs, no matter how extended or brief it may be, enough to prevent major changes in Philadelphia?
If not, is keeping McNabb and Reid together for an eleventh season a good idea?
The Eagles have always been good at making decisions that go against the emotional grain -- Duce Staley, Jeremiah Trotter and Hugh Douglas -- but dealing with the best quarterback and coach the franchise has ever seen will be a different story.
Owner Jeff Lurie was seen hugging McNabb on the sideline during the fourth quarter of Sunday's no-doubter, but that embrace could have meant something entirely different had the Eagles lost and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
McNabb claims that he wants to remain in Philadelphia, perhaps even with a new current. Recent rumors suggest that the quarterback could even agree to a restructured extension that would save the Eagles cap room down the line, a gesture that could help them in bring enough talent to keep him productive when his career takes a downturn.
I know what you're saying -- isn't he already on the downside of his career?
At 32, he's probably close, but his career-high 3,916 yards, which would have topped 4,000 had the Eagles not secured a victory early in Week 17, suggests he has plenty left.
He still makes decent decisions (23 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 2008), and he completed more than 60% of his passes for just the third time in his career.
He might make poor decisions as times, and underthrow balls on occasion, but you'd have a hard time naming more than a handful of more reliable NFL quarterbacks. And it's highly unlikely that anyone even remotely in McNabb's realm will become available this offseason.
Another receiver, or perhaps prolonged health for Kevin Curtis, would help the Eagles in 2009, but the emergence of rookie DeSean Jackson has to have both Reid and his passer salivating.
The last time they had someone as talented as Jackson was when Terrell Owens are making team history in 2004. Jackson isn't as self-absorbed as Owens, and he appears to have just the right amount of cockiness to excel as a pass-catcher in today's NFL.
Jackson's hands need a little bit of work -- it could be that his drops in the second half were just the result of the rookie wall -- but he already runs above-average routes and creates space easily.
After posting 60 receptions for 866 yards and two touchdowns (it would have been more had it not been for his gaff in Dallas and that infamous drop in Washington), Jackson has a tremendous shot at 1,000 yards next season.
Philadelphia doesn't have much to worry about on defense, aside from the age of safety Brian Dawkins. Their linebackers are young, and Johnson is as sharp as ever when it comes to timely play-calling and excessive blitzing.
Assuming Brian Westbrook enjoys better health next season, he'll once again be among the best rushers in the league, something that might make even Reid call for more running plays.
Back to the matter at hand, who stays and who goes?
Three coaches have already been canned since the regular season ended, but it appears more likely that the Eagles will rid themselves of McNabb than Reid.
That doesn't make sense to me, but for every rumor you hear about Philadelphia firing Reid, you'll hear a few dozen about McNabb landing with his hometown Bears or elsewhere.
Philadelphia is on par with New York, Boston, and Chicago in terms of criticism, which should make the Eagles value McNabb even more. Not many quarterbacks would have been able to handle all the sand that has been kicked in McNabb's face during his ten-year tenure. It goes without saying that he has handled negativity even better than his coach.
Reid is rarely over-joyous or revealing to the media, but following losses or when fielding tough questions, he often spits similar lines. He's not unlike New England's Bill Belichick in that respect, but in a city like Philadelphia some personality and heart is appreciated.
There is no denying that Reid is a top-five coach, perhaps even higher, but his inability to adapt and change the team's offense style mid-game has hurt the Eagles often this season. Better gameplans -- and, yes, at times execution -- could have easily netted the team a 12-4 mark (I'm turning losses to Chicago and Washington into wins, and the tie against Cincinnati into one, as well).
More should have been gotten out of an offense and defense that both ranked third in the NFL; there's no denying that.
This season may have been Reid's worst coaching performance in Philadelphia, but he's just one year removed from, perhaps, his best. The Eagles were well out of the playoff picture last December, but he still motivated them enough to finish the season 8-8 -- thanks to three consecutive wins to end 2007.
No matter what happens in the playoffs, both Reid and McNabb deserve to remain in Philadelphia through the 2009 season. But if Lurie and Co. feel as though someone has to go, it should be Reid.
Replacing him will undoubtedly be tough, but another season of games lost in the fourth quarter might be even more difficult to swallow.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
