Iggles Blog - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

This Pam Oliver Thing

Everything McNabb says or does that is the least bit controversial (pointing his arms to the sky?) turns into a big deal, but I have a bad feeling this whole Pam Oliver thing is primed to go to the next level, for a number of reasons:

• Oliver's defense is very convincing.  I read it and I bought it. 
• The Eagles' playoff hopes have now been officially dashed, which is going to make everyone awfully grumpy and free up lots of media space for Yet Another McNabb Controversy.
• Pam Oliver is both female and African American.  Even (especially?) McNabb's own parents aren't going to like the visual of their son basically calling Oliver a liar.
• This latest controversy changes the whole McNabb "stand-up guy" storyline.  It's hard to hold the moral high ground when you're the stabber, not the stabbee. 
• Everyone knows McNabb isn't happy with what's happened in Philly in the past 13 months.  Whether or not he said exactly what Oliver claims he said, McNabb clearly let fly to some extent regarding his feelings about Philadelphia.  A lot of people -- who have to this point defended McNabb -- are going to feel like, "Hey, if you don't like it here, screw you and enjoy your time with whatever hellhole franchise will give us a couple of draft picks."

The next question will be how McNabb responds.  I think Gabe is probably right that we're looking at a clean-up post on Don's ridiculous blog.  But I don't see how that's enough.  If he backtracks at all, that's just going to invite high-stakes questioning the next time McNabb appears before a media horde looking to close up ranks around an unfairly-maligned colleague.  And if he stands by his story, it's going to look like he doesn't have the guts to do so in a venue he doesn't completely control.  Not to mention it doesn't solve the issue he has with Oliver.

No, if McNabb really wants to fix this, he needs to do three things:

1. Call Oliver and apologize to her directly for what he said "in the heat of the moment after a big win against the Cowboys."  Mostly so that he can say that he's done this, but also because it's the right thing to do.
2. Explain at his next press sit-down what, in fact, he did say.  The cat's pretty much out of the bag on the whole ripping-the-organization thing, so McNabb probably needs to admit that he did express some frustration with how the season has progressed, but make it quite clear that what he's "most concerned about is how we as a team and me individually didn't get the job done this year."  He could even throw in an: "I'm a competitor and it burns me up that we didn't have a successful season and that's what I'm really most frustrated about."  It doesn't really matter what he says, though, because the most important point will be...   
3. Blaming the media.  Embrace the fans, dance around the organization issue and make it very clear that it's the negativity in the local media -- especially those sports radio people the print reporters like to look down upon anyway -- that he was really lashing out about.  Try the old, "There are 53 guys in this locker room who are busting their butts out there every week trying to get a win and all we ever hear about is how much we suck.  THAT's what I was trying to say last week."

And then the obvious Q&A:

Ink-Stained Wretch:  "But Donovan, Oliver claims you very clearly said that you felt the organization was distancing itself from you.  Can you explain what you meant?"

Quarterback happy he has his mobility back to dance around these questions:  "Look, I've known Pam for many years.  She's a fine reporter and I want to make it very clear I'm not suggesting she fabricated any statements or made anything up.  But the truth is you're talking about a quick, off-the-cuff conversation before the game when all I was really trying to do was get ready to face the Cowboys.  I'm sure I didn't say things as precisely as I should have.  What I meant was [and then segue into #2 or #3 above depending upon need]."

It still won't be enough for everyone.  But the longer this festers, the worse I think it's going to be.

Speaking of Things That Suck

Pam Oliver comes across as a very convincing witness. 

It's interesting, though, how a reporter covering her side of the story basically did the exact same thing that caused the controversy the first time:

Now, she feels back-stabbed to the point where she can't envision a scenario where the two could talk openly again.

I didn't see where she said "back-stabbed."  Must have missed it.

And So Endeth the Season

I guess when you're counting on the Bears' offense to try to keep your playoff hopes alive ... you've pretty much hit desperation mode.

I'd love to hear someone explain why Lovie Smith didn't call his final timeout with 13 seconds left to at least give Hester a chance at one last miraculous punt return.  Even the Eagles wouldn't have screwed that one up.

Worst Call of the Season?

That ridiculous intentional grounding they just called against Orton suggests that the refs' screwing of the Eagles extends even to the teams they need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

TKO Has TRC (Torn Rotator Cuff)

This really sucks:

Spikes had an MRI on Monday morning which revealed the extent of the injury. Reid said that they are going to see if the injury can be managed to the point where Spikes can play. If not, Reid did say there are contingency plans but he would have to speak with defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

One option could be to put middle linebacker Omar Gaither on the weak side. Gaither started the last five regular season games and two postseason contests at the weakside spot last year. Rookie Akeem Jordan could also be promoted to starter and Gaither would be left in the middle.

This will be an interesting decision.  I'm on record this past summer as saying that Bradley will be starting in between Gaither and Gocong next year.  The solid play of Spikes down the stretch -- along with this injury -- might be enough to keep him in the fold next year at a reduced rate.  But I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Bradley out there Sunday.

Playoffs? You're Talking 'Bout Playoffs?

So here's the Eagles' playoff situation in a nutshell:

Even in the wake of Philadelphia's big win over Dallas on Sunday afternoon, unless Lovie Smith's team can knock off the Vikings in Minnesota, the Eagles playoff hopes will be extinguished.

Andy Reid hopes that Chicago can shut down Minnesota's powerful rushing attack Entering the weekend, the Eagles needed to win and have either Washington or Minnesota lose. The Redskins beat New York 22-10 Sunday night in the Meadowlands.

Stupid Giants can't even win a stupid game that they should win easily.  Just one more reason to despise that team.

Chance of Playoffs? 3.2 percent.

This guy emailed me last week about his cool statistical website that showed the Eagles had a 1.7 percent chance of making the playoffs after they lost to the Giants.  I told him to check his math, since the real number was actually zero.

Oh me of little faith.

Anyway, if you follow that link, you'll see he has the odds up to 3.2 percent and he also provides rooting assistance by laying out how the possible outcomes of all of next week's games would affect that percentage.

To put that 3.2 percent figure into real world terms:

1. Find a coin.
2. Pick heads or tails.
3. Flip it five times.
4. Did you get the side you picked all five times?

So you're telling me there's a chance...

Day After Quotes -- Cowboys

Brian Westbrook on being awesome:
"I think we felt like they didn't really respect us," he said. "Sometimes, when you don't respect the opponent, you get beat."

Westbrook again on how if you really want to waste his prime you should trade Donovan McNabb:
"Donovan played a fantastic game today," running back Brian Westbrook said. "He ran the ball well and he threw it well in the clutch. That's who he is, a clutch performer. Our running game wasn't where we needed it to be all day and he carried us."

Jim Johnson on motivating his mercurial star cornerback:
"We felt that it was going to be a good challenge for Lito," Johnson said. "I think he looked forward to the challenge. I think he was fired up about it. He's had just a so-so kind of year, and it was a thing where [we said], 'You can run with T.O.' ... That was a great, focused job."

Lito Sheppard on there's nothing I can add here:
"They say there's a hole in the roof here, so God can see America's Team play, but He's watching me, too," Sheppard said.

Tony Romo on the Eagles' defense:
"They had a really good scheme and they had a couple of things go their way that you just can't account for," Romo said. "They had d-linemen jumping in my window right when I was passing. They put a lot of pressure on us and we didn't handle it as well as we've done.

Wade Phillips on forgetting that one-third of Romo's attempts were to Owens:
"We didn't get the ball to our best player," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "That concerns me." 

AJ Feeley on intercepting an sideline official:
"I just got caught up in the game," Feeley said afterward. "It was a deep ball . . . I stepped in the white area . . . It was one of those freak deals. I saw him at the last minute and tried to avoid contact."

Brent Celek on I-can-do-Eagles-speak-as-well-as-Kolb-can:
"It's L.J.'s job," Celek said. "He's a great player. You can't take anything away from him. It was my role on the team [to back him up]. So I accept my role. I just want to do anything to make this team win. Whatever I can do to help out."

Andy Reid on what a fantastic job Celek did Sunday:
"He was OK," Reid said of Celek, the Eagles' fifth-round pick in last year's draft. "He's young."

Make That Runyan...

So we get the true story of the Westbrook play:

"I just want to help this team win - and I got a stern talking-to by Jon Runyan right before that play," Westbrook said.

"He said, 'Listen, if you get down to the 1, take a knee.' I was like, 'Ahhh . . . ' He said, 'Take a knee, Westbrook, take a knee.' "

Then, during the play, Westbrook said: "I looked back and I saw all 6-7 or 6-8 of him running toward me saying, 'Get down.' So I got down . . . Runyan, he's our offensive leader out there. He's a coach. So he helped me out a little bit there."

UPDATE:  If you watch the video below, you can see Runyan waving his arms telling Westbrook to get down.  Awesome.

Now Where Did I Stick That Knife?

(Ron Cortes/Inquirer)