Like Husband And Wife

Need a writer to blast McNabb for making some rather uncontroversial remarks?  Gonzo's your guy:

Members of the Birds' defense just got markings applied to their bodies. Not tattoos. Tread marks. That's what happens when you end up beneath a bus.

In the latest example of not-so-fearless leadership, Donovan McNabb hinted - and not very subtly, either - that the Eagles' defense was to blame for the NFC championship loss in Arizona.

Yeah ... and you know what?  McNabb's right.  The defense got shredded, which of course hasn't stopped people from ripping McNabb for only accounting for 400+ yards of offense and three touchdowns.

Oh, and here's the "wife" part.  Need a former Eagle to chime in about how so-and-so has broken some sort of code for criticizing the guys he was in the locker room with ... by criticizing a guy he used to be in the locker room with?  You guessed it, Hugh Douglas is available:

"Some people will say it's not a big deal, but it is," former Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas said.

"When you break that team code, it hits home. When you call someone your teammate, you're calling them your brother. Be loyal to your teammates. It's easy to point fingers. Brian Dawkins is a team player. He would never do that."

Really?  Hmmm.  That's strange.  Since I kind of remember Brian Dawkins saying this just one week ago:

It is clear, however, that the loss is fresh in Dawkins' mind, particularly the defensive performance. After allowing just four touchdowns in the team's previous six games, the Eagles' defense surrendered four touchdowns and 32 points to the Cardinals.

"What happened in that game was what happened to us when we were losing some games earlier in the season," Dawkins said.

"We were making mental mistakes that were helping the other team, and that's what we did again in that last game. For whatever reason, it happened, and it happened at a very, very bad time..."

"Those young guys will learn, and they will take this, and they will be anxious to get back into training," Dawkins said. "They will hate the fact that they made mistakes in those games when they go back and look at the film, and they will come back better prepared to handle this situation when it comes back.

"I do believe if we do what we're supposed to do this off-season, we will have a chance to get back in this position again. There are no guarantees, but that's just my feeling..."

"It's more about growing up for us on the defensive side of the ball," Dawkins said. "When you look at our linebacking corps [Stewart Bradley, Chris Gocong and Akeem Jordan], they were puppies - every last one of them. Believe me, they will learn from this."

And here's what he said after the loss in his post-game press conference:

On what the Cardinals' offense did differently on the go-ahead drive: "I'll have to go back and look at the tape to see exactly what happened. It was hard to tell what exactly went on, but he went to a whole bunch of quick throws, a lot of quick routes, nothing really down the field, just to kind of dink and dunk their way down the field. They didn't commit any mental mistakes, and they were able to go down and score that touchdown, which obviously was a backbreaker..."

On whether he finds it hard to believe the defense gave up 32 points given their play so far in the postseason: "You have to give them credit for a lot of it, but we can't assist teams, especially at home. We gave them great assists by making mental mistakes, which allowed them to make more plays. We can't do that, especially against a good offense, and then away from the house."

Or perhaps this part, in which he says the exact same thing Donovan McNabb said:

On what he would say to people who say the offense came up short, having the ball inside Cardinal territory with two minutes left: "That we, defensively, didn't get off the field when we're supposed to. They did their job; we did not. They drove the field. They got us points. We went ahead. Defensively, we have to get off the field, and we did not."

"Young guys."  "Puppies."  "Growing up."  "They will hate the fact that they made mistakes."  "They will learn from this."

What a jerk Dawkins is throwing all his defensive teammates under the bus like that.  Crap like this is why Dawkins and Reid will never win a Super Bowl.