Philadelphia Eagles Need to Be Blown Up, Reid and Vick Included

I’m sure I felt a very different emotion watching the Philadelphia Eagles play the New Orleans Saints than Eagles fans did. While their fans felt anger, I felt sadness. While our feelings may not have been the same, I’m also sure we came to the same conclusion.

It’s over in Philadelphia.

What’s over? Everything. The season. Andy Reid as coach. Michael Vick as quarterback. All of it. Over.

Overreacting? I truly don’t think so. They look like a lost team that needs to be blown up. I can’t recall seeing a team with talent more out of sync. It starts with the horrific offensive line. Yes, I know they’ve had injuries up front but they have to be dealt with. If not, the offense can’t get anything done. And right now, they can’t get anything done.

The Eagles actually looked good early last night against the Saints. They moved the ball and had four 1st-and-goals that only netted them two field goals for six points. That won’t get it done.

I don’t speculate lightly about someone’s job status. I fully understand that public figures are also real people with real families. In Reid’s case, as a father who has gone through substance abuse issues with my kids, my heart aches for what he has gone through personally. 

But that doesn’t insulate him from public discussion of his professional life. Reid, in his 14^th season, is the longest tenured coach in the NFL. He’s been wildly successful and will be unemployed for about 37 seconds if he hits the open market.

Sometimes it’s a question of the dynamic of the situation. If a player changes teams and is successful, that doesn’t mean he would have had that same success on his previous team. Sometimes there is no logical explanation other than a change of scenery turned things around.

There can be a limit to how long a coach’s voice is heard in the same place. Jim Boeheim can be successful for 37 seasons at Syracuse because the players are constantly changing. It’s different in the professional ranks.

Reid hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to coach football. But he cast his lot with Vick, and that isn’t working out. After 10 years, it’s time to realize that Vick is what he is. While he may be a spectacular athlete, he is not a spectacular quarterback in today’s NFL. People forget that towards the end of his time in Atlanta, his ability to play the position was being questioned.

He isn’t a student of the game, admitting this year that he never really looked at much film. His judgement and decision making aren’t what they need to be to play quarterback in the NFL. He just doesn’t have the required passing accuracy either.

It’s time. It’s time to blow it up. I don’t say that lightly. And I do say that with a bit of sadness.

Follow me on Twitter @sprtsramblngman.