Top 10 Worst Philadelphia Eagles

I was watching the Eagles vs. Bears on Sunday Night Football this past week, and after watching David Akers hook two field goals, and Kyle Orton throw three touchdowns against our defense, it made me wonder the worst players ever to play for Andy Reid. We've had some pretty bad ones, but here are the ten worst...

10) Matt McCoy, LB, 2005-'07: McCoy was drafted in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft, with the hope that he could help to solidify a struggling linebacking corps. Following an extremely unproductive rookie season in which McCoy played very little on special teams, he was nevertheless handed the starting job his sophomore season. McCoy was described as a ballhawk and a defensive playmaker, but he did little to help the Eagles in '06, eventually losing his starting job to rookie Omar Gaither. McCoy was cut halfway through the 2007 season, after 40 disappointing games. Few people, other than probably McCoy and his immediate family, were upset when he was released from the team.

9) Greg Lewis, WR, 2003-Present: It amazes me that a player who is nothing more than a fourth-string receiver at best can last six seasons (and still going) with one of the NFL's most prolific offenses. I still have nightmares remembering Greg Lewis trying to catch a punt in the 2007 opener against Green Bay. And his career highlights consist of just six touchdowns in 78 career games (although he actually caught one in the Super Bowl - something no other Eagles wide receiver has ever done). Hopefully, the return of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown from their injuries will mean the end of the Greg Lewis era in Philly.

8) N.D. Kalu, DE, 2001-'05: Kalu was one of many defensive ends the Eagles have picked up over the years who was expected to give them a speedy pass rush off the edge. Kalu never lived up to his expectations. He had his moments, such as four sacks in one game in 2002 or a 15-yard interception touchdown in 2003, but the bottom line was 20.5 sacks in five seasons with the Eagles and never more than eight in a single season.

7) Dhani Jones, LB, 2004-'06: Dhani Jones was a free-agent acquisition from the Giants following the 2003 season, and expected to be a solid playmaker for our defense. Simply put, Jones was a dime a dozen, and we all grew sick and tired of his air guitar imitation every time he made a decent play, which was rare and infrequent during his three years with the club. How he is leading the NFL in tackles through four weeks of the '08 season is beyond me.

6) Winston Justice, OT, 2006-Present: It's difficult to judge exactly how well or poorly an offensive linemen plays. But Justice made it easy for us all. Drafted in the second round of the '06 draft, Justice was expected to be the replacement for Tra Thomas sometime in the future. But it hasn't worked out well so far. Not only was Justice the only offensive player on the team who failed to dress for a single game in 2006, his lone start for the team in 2007 was arguably the worst performance by an offensive linemen in the history of the NFL. Filling in for an injured Tra Thomas, Justice surrendered six sacks – SIX – to Giants' All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Six.

5) L.J. Smith, TE, 2003-Present: A second-round draft pick in 2003, L.J. Smith was supposed to be a solid pass catcher with playmaking ability, similar to then-Giant tight end Jeremy Shockey. He dropped an easy touchdown pass in the end zone in his first NFL game and never developed into the Pro Bowl player we thought he would be. His blocking has declined, his drops have increased, and he has become injury-prone. Time for him to go.

4) Freddie Mitchell, WR, 2001-'04: A big-name receiver out of UCLA, Freddie was taken in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft with high expectations to become the No. 1 receiver that the Eagles needed to for McNabb. Mitchell had his fair share of highlights, such as the 4th and 26 catch, the 60-yard play on McNabb's Monday Night scramble against the Cowboys, and the two touchdowns in the playoff game against the Vikings in 2004. But Fred Ex failed to deliver like the Eagles thought he would. He never caught more than 35 balls in a season. And then he mouthed off to Rodney Harrison before the Super Bowl, and Harrison ended up catching more passes from McNabb (2) than Mitchell (1).

3) Mike McMahon, QB, 2005: It's unfair to expect much from a backup quarterback, especially since McMahon was mainly a third-stringer for the Detroit Lions (Talk about an impressive job). But watching Mike McMahon try to read a defense is like a child trying to learn calculus. Not even Doug Pederson in 1998 was as inept as McMahon in 2005. McMahon was just pitiful. He almost made me hate football.

2) James Thrash, WR, 2001-'03/Todd Pinkston, WR, 2000-'05: Trash and Stinkston. They were a pair of No. 3 receivers who were McNabb's primary go-to-guys, but neither kept opposing defensive coordinators up late at night. In fact, playing these guys was like a bye week for opposing cornerbacks. Thrash was our No. 1 receiver for three years, although he never caught more than 833 yards or eight touchdown in a season. Pinkston was a tall and lanky receiver with a knack for making a big play, but he refused to go across the middle to catch passes and couldn't break a tackle to save his life. Collectively, the two were manhandled by the Panthers' defense in the 2003 NFC Championship.

1) Jerome McDougle, DE, 2003-'07: McDougle rivals Mike Mamula as the worst draft pick in recent Eagles' history. The team actually traded UP to get McDougle, and he rewarded the team with three sacks in five seasons. Why the Eagles continued to keep him on their roster is a mystery to me, for no offensive linemen has ever feared a one-on-one matchup with Jerome McDougle.

Guys who just missed the list: LB Nate Wayne, RB Reno Mahe, DE Brandon Whiting, S Blaine Bishop, RB Lamar Gordon, S Sean Considine