It's Time to Win

This past weekend provided an excellent demonstration of what happens when good teams lose their starting quarterbacks.  Matt Hasselbeck and Ben Roethlisberger were both knocked out of games their teams went on to lose.  Hasselbeck has strained knee ligaments and should be out 2-4 weeks.  Roethlisberger suffered a concussion and his status for next week isn't yet known.

This is why teams with playoff aspirations can't afford to dump games they should win.  Unless the Eagles feel super-confident about going into a must-win game with Jeff Garcia at quarterback, they can't afford to blow any more opportunities.

By NFL quarterback standards, McNabb is a pretty durable guy.  He had the sports hernia last year and the broken leg in 2002, but beyond that he hasn't missed much time.  The problem is that even the most durable player is one helmet-to-helmet hit from spending a game on the bench checking out the pretty butterflies.

This is also the reason this team can't afford to have a "growing up" mentality.  Yes, assuming the veterans don't slide too much, this should end up being an even better team in 2007 once the young guys get more seasoning.  But all it takes is a couple of key injuries (say, McNabb and Westbrook) and suddenly the season is over and now it's 2008 and Pat Gillick has finally finished his three-year rebuilding plan and we're wondering what just happened to our football team.

I said a few weeks ago that I thought this thing was there for the taking.  I still believe that.  There isn't a single team in the league without question marks.  Depth is an issue for every team but Dallas, which has the good fortune of being able to call on two different guys who can throw game-killing interceptions.  What a luxury.

McNabb turns 30 in a month.  Dawkins, Trotter, Runyan, Thomas and even Howard aren't getting any younger.  Which means the Eagles must win now.   

It's not a moment for panic, but it is a time for urgency.