Where to go From Here: Reasessing the Eagles

My last contribution to this site came following the Eagles disgraceful prime time loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Now here we are two weeks and two wins later. A few things have changed while many, unfortunately, remain the same.

A week ago I was not convinced by the Birds’ 33-25 victory over Washington. In fact I was downright disgusted by the fact that James Thrash caught two touchdowns and had 100 yards receiving. The defense showed some backbone with a big goal line stand, but their inability to defend the pass left a nasty taste in mouth.

The question of this past week on WIP was which upset is more likely: Miami over Philadelphia or Philadelphia over New England. Callers and hosts seemed far too uncertain about this one. To me it’s a no-brainer. A Philadelphia win over New England next week would be next to impossible. We all know the scenario, New England plays the worst game of the season, giving up multiple turnovers and committing a lot of penalties, while the Eagles come out and play a flawlessly, capitalizing on all mistakes. Well, anybody who has been watching the Eagles knows that a perfect game just isn’t in the cards. I don’t believe that the Eagles could be capable of playing good enough, nor the Patriots capable of playing bad enough, much less at the same time, in New England, for an upset to happen. Thankfully The Eagles did pull out the game this Sunday, and they have Brian Westbrook alone to thank for that.

What has changed in the last two weeks? First, the Eagles are up to 500 and in a potential playoff situation. Even I haven’t ruled the possibility out yet. If you chalk up a loss to Dallas and New England, then the Birds will need to beat the Seahawks, Giants, Bills, and Saints. Another change is that McNabb’s future has become uncertain again as he is questionable following injuries to his thumb and ankle on Sunday. Some fans will rejoice at a change in the quarterback position, but this is not the type of season where an AJ Feely or Kevin Kolb can come in and rally the team to a string of victories. In order for that to happen a team has to exhibit some signs of life. This team, with the exception of Westbrook, has been flat all season. When something is sick you can make it healthy again, but you can’t bring a dead thing back to life. That being said, I don’t think it matters who the quarterback is right now, the quarterback is not going to win games for the Eagles, Westbrook will have hoist the Eagles on his shoulders and win at least four ballgames for them if they want to have any shot at the post-season.

So what’s stayed the same? Just about everything else and that’s the problem. We are still looking at a defense with a poor secondary and no pass rush, an offense with only one legitimate weapon, and a coach whose lack of focus is rubbing off on the rest of the organization. Don’t be surprised if I don't provide another update for two weeks, I have a feeling I’m going to want to pretend that next week’s game didn’t happen.