A Work in Progress

No one ever said this was going to be easy.

I spent most of the game with one eye on the Wingheads in-game chatroom.  I won't name names, but the natives were restless.  McNabb had some staunch defenders in there, but let's just say those folks had to do a lot of staunch defending...

Look, we knew this season was going to be a work in progress.  Too many young guys.  Too many questions about Donovan's knee.  A rebuilt defense.  While it's surprising how bad they've looked at times this year, the fact that there have been struggles isn't at all surprising. 

The season isn't over.

Let's repeat that.  The season isn't over. 

Right now, the defense is far better than it was a year ago.  While the offense didn't light up the scoreboard tonight, it looked like it had a much better rhythm than last week in Green Bay.  Yeah, 0-2 is 0-2, but I'm telling you, this thing is already starting to turn around.

Which isn't to say there aren't some questions.  Ron Jarowski spent most of the night harping on the inability of the Eagles wide receivers to get open against the Redskins secondary.  Right now, if you're just going by production, Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis shouldn't be the starting wide receivers.  Reggie deserves the benefit of the doubt, given his past performance, but Curtis isn't making plays, he isn't hanging on to the football and he's proving us both right and wrong for writing:

"I actually expect Curtis to start strong, slow down in the middle of the season as a larger role takes a toll on his smallish frame, and then close fast once Andy and Marty start getting more creative with some of his packages so he's not constantly fighting off jams at the line all the time."

Right, of course, because he is having trouble just lining up on the outside and fighting off cornerbacks all day.  Wrong because it didn't take long for other teams to figure that out.  We'll see about that last bit.

That leaves Jason Avant, who seems to be emerging as the guy McNabb most wants to see on the field when he needs a receiver to come through for him.  He's doing it this year.  Baskett did it last year.  Might be time to give those guys a bit more of a chance.

Of course, all anyone's going to want to talk about this week is the performance of McNabb.  First of all, he wasn't great, but he wasn't that bad (28-46, 240 yards).  He's just rusty.  This is a timing-based offense.  He needs some more work to get things back together. 

He definitely looked a whole lot better this week than he did last week.  His progress was encouraging.  Heck, he even managed to run around a bit out there just to show he still could.

This is where the Andy Reid approach really pays dividends.  You might be freaking out right now, but Big Red isn't.  He's going to stay calm, just like he always does.  He's going to go back and tweak the game plan to "do a bit better job at putting his guys in a position to make plays," like he always does.  And he's going to get this thing turned around.

Just like he always does.

Comments

[SKINS WARPATH]

Skins 20, Eagles 12.

[Me]

Thanks for stopping by.

[BrianS]

I welcome the positive outlook, because I am typing this from the edge of the Ben Franklin Bridge. It's pretty crowded here.

McNabb looked overall better than he did last week, I thought, but I still thought he was not good for 3 quarters, but then then was pretty good in the 4th.

If he'd played as well in the first 3 quarters as he did in the fourth, I have no doubt the Eagles would have gotten enough field goals to win this game.

It just worries me because if this is the McNabb the Eagles have all year, a guy who takes 3 quarters to get into any kind of rhythm, or never gets there at all, they're in deep ****. At least Sports Hernia McNabb was streaky...this seems a lot more like the awful Broken Thumb McNabb, with no cast that'll come off in week 5 to welcome in Healthy McNabb. What happens, though? Do the Eagles stick with McNabb and hope they can come out on top in sloppy, low-scoring games like this one, or are they better w/Feeley or Kolb for a couple weeks?

(I'm sorry...it's much too close to the game for me to be calm and rational yet)

I believe that the Eagles' best chance for postseason success this year is with a healthy Donovan McNabb, but it seems like if they stick with him in the early part of the season, they'll never make it.

Do you think they'd be better going w/one of the other QBs till McNabb is healthier? (Note: I know Reid will never consider benching Donovan)

I'm sorry, I hate the WIP "McNabb is terrible" crowd, but I just don't think he gave the Eagles a chance to win tonight.

[roccarooter]

i believe that the packers and the redskins have above average defenses in the nfl. it was disappointing that the eagles didn't dominate the line of scrimmage on offense tonoght like i thought they would. the big play offense which i thoroughly enjoyed last year is no where to be found. let's hope the detroit game is where the timing for this offense comes together. if not, then let's talk about juggling the depth chart at the skill positions (except westbrook of course. i love that guy.)

[BrianS]

I thought the O-line pass blocked pretty well tonight. I thought Donovan generally had time in the pocket, and was either hesitant with his reads or the WRs weren't getting open.

Splash!

[Boss Hot Sauce]

McNabb is rusty, but this loss is about complete offensive system failure. The Eagle's running game doesn't scare anyone. Westbrook had the quietest 97 yards I've seen in a long time and clearly this team doesn't have the plays or personnel to get on the offensive side of the ballphysical when they need to. It's hard when you lose a winnable home game without turning the ball over or committing penalties.

I liked the way the defense played against the run, but they didn't put a lot of pressure on Campbell (who looked pretty good tonight). We really miss Lito and the secondary is starting to look beat up. Overall, though, the play of the defense has been a pleasant surprise.

The Eagles SERIOUSLY need to address the return game. Apart from the fumbles last week, the Eagles had terrible field position for the entire first half against both Green Bay and Washington. And right now this offense can't move the ball seventy or eighty yards.

Really, the Birds only have three guys who are game changers, Lito, Donovan and Westbrook (and only Westbrook's completely healthy). For the past three seasons its seemed like we've had more play-makers. Scary math when you start to try and figure out where points are going to come from.

As for DMac, I just hope all the McNabb haters are ready to eat crow should he eventually leave town. We've been lucky to have a quarterback of his caliber for as long as we have.

Let's hope they turn things around in Detroit.

[Ben P]

I agree that this was classic Reid playcalling - clearly a problem.

I also think Reid's blindspot with wide receivers is yet again a major problem. Simply put, the Eagles receivers are in the bottom quarter in the league as a contingent.

But I'll finish by saying this: Donovan McNabb is no longer a "franchise" type QB. He's not just "rusty" - he just isn't that good. Its not that he's "bad" - but he's no longer a star. The injuries have taken their toll. Without decent receivers (just decent, mind you, not great), McNabb no longer has the athletic skills to compensate in a way he once did. He just doesn't run well anymore and has never developed into an accurate passer. He's still an above average QB, but he now needs a very strong supporting cast to be truly successful - which he doesn't have.

With that, I'll finish with this prediction: Kevin Kolb will be the Eagles QB within 12 months, and he will be clearly better than McNabb is and will be wherever he finds himself. Frankly, I'd put Kolb in now - I know this is still considered a crazy piece of analysis, but I really think Kolb is a superstar in the making and is pretty damn good now.

[Ben P]

On a positive note, the defense is better than expected. Still, I agree that the pass rush still isn't there.

But Gaither, Patterson, Bunkley are all coming through to some extent. Even Gocong looks credible.

Injuries in the secondary could well be a problem . . .

Bottom line, though. This team doesn't have enough talent. One star - Westbrook. Thats it.

[Dan]

The problem wasn't so much McNabb's performance today.

As it was the a priori mindset that whatever ails the Eagles, McNabb CAN'T, MUSTN'T be identified as part of the problem.

Look, Reid's idea was a pass oriented offense. Everybody knows that. That's common knowledge.

But to have your offense predicated upon the pass, built upon the pass, founded upon the pass, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A RELIABLE arm on the quarterback.

McNabb hasn't go that, what's more NEVER had that.

Troy Aikman said as much years ago, when he blurted out the truth, "McNabb's erratic."

"Erratic" means games where he goes 24 for 28, but it also means games which we've seen since his Superbowl performance.

I don't know if many of you are aware, but McNabb is sub-500 for regular season starts since his Superbowl start.

So to sum up, the problem extends WAY BEYOND McNabb.

Because you've a Coach that's determined to orient his offense on the pass, instead of the run, or at the very least, upon a truly balanced attack.

You've an aging defense that is effectively a one trick pony. It's blitzes, or it can get burnt.

Don't forget that Santana Moss was WIDE OPEN late in the 4th quarter. Washington should have taken complete control of this football game, and had they a reliable passer, they would have. Campbell blew a wide open receiver dashing downfield for six.

It isn't a lack of recivers.

Take a good look around the NFL.

Ask yourself how many teams have a top-shelf receiving corps.

Patriots, with Moss and Stallworth.

Cowboys, with Witten, Owens, Crayton and Glenn, {when he returns}.

The Giants, with Shockey, Toomer and Burris.

How many?

Not every team has a great receiving corps.

Last year don't let us forget, the Patriots went to the AFC championship game with a group of recivers that Brady never laid eyes on before training camp.

Great quarterbacks aren't limited by a lack of talent. They put the ball on the money in the clutch.

CONSISTENTLY put the ball on the money in the clutch.

McNabb at one point was 13 for 17 in the 4th quarter. And the pass that ended the offensive drive for the Eagles was on the money, it's just that the receiver got drilled. The Redskin made a great play. It happens.

So McNabb wasn't as much of a problem tonight as he's proven himself to be over the last couple of seasons.

THE PROBLEM has always been the same problem, ........................ ANDY REID HIMSELF.

Why doesn't the Philadelphia Eagles feature a BALANCED ATTACK?

WHAT in the name of tarnation is Reid's problem with a balanced attack?

Is there some kind of taint that attaches to a balanced attack, and the rest of us just don't know about it, 'cause we're not in on the know.

It used to be said that the only guy who could hold MICHAEL JORDAN under 20 points a game was DEAN SMITH.

Likewise it can now be said of the Eagles that the only guy holding them back from their place in the sun is ................................ their own head coach, ANDY REID!

He's got to go.

And his pet project has got to go as well.

[Fred Smoot]

You know what the problem is? The city of Philadelphia is a piece of garbage, McNabb doesn't have the mental strength to win and Andy Reid is one order of gravy fries short of cardiac arrest.

And Joe Gibbs is a champion.

[Me]

Fred, you didn't even play last night.

And Dan, I assure you, my evaluations of Donovan are very much a posteriori :)