Monday Thoughts: Philadelphia Eagles

I would like to see this one in Daily News Live's Slug It today.

Wow. I wasted yet another Sunday afternoon watching the soap opera that is the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. Putting the blowout loss aside for a moment (The Eagles lost to Baltimore 36-7), it is becoming more and more evident to me that Andy Reid has lost control of the team.

Pulling Donovan McNabb out of the game was not necessarily the worst decision he could have made, but in typical Eagles fashion, the whole decision was executed inappropriately and the drama that unfolded afterward was despicable.

Reid admitted yesterday that he was not the one who told McNabb that Kevin Kolb would start the second half. That is not acceptable. That is cowardly and gutless.

McNabb and Reid have been together for too long for the coach not inform his face-of-the-franchise quarterback, but the head coach should be able to go to any player and tell them they are benched.

I wonder how the other players on the team interpretted that action, sending the quarterbacks coach to deliver the news to McNabb. Reid showed his colors yesterday and it is not pretty.

Is the Kevin Kolb Era officially underway?

Now we wonder if the McNabb Era is officially over. Who will start on Thursday, McNabb or Kolb? That decision may be announced today at noon at Reid's press conference, which I anticipate McNabb will be the answer.

If the decision is based on the belief that the Eagles are in the playoff hunt and they will put out whoever gives the team the best chance to win, then Kolb should be the name Reid announces.

Otherwise, Reid looks hypocritical and even more foolish for going back on his philosophy in the second half against Baltimore. To me, though, it seems the more important decision that needs to be made is which coach gives this team the best chance to win.

Reid always says, "I take responsibility for that," and, "I have to put them in a better position," every week. EVERY week! After last week's awful results on third and short yardage you would have expected a good coach to attack that situation this week in practice. How did those results pan out yesterday? Abysmal. It is time for Reid to go.

If Kolb had pulled the Eagles back and make a run and possibly win yesterday then the fingers and the talking heads would be pointing at McNabb, but today the eyes and fingers are deservedly on Reid.

As for the game itself, ugh.

I will never, EVER, understand why a team would pass on 2nd-and-short or 3rd-and-short, especially when the ball is inches away from the end zone. A pass would be ok once in a while, if it was a rarity.

This team does it all the time and surprises nobody. Let's be clear though. The Eagles did not lose this game solely on the 108-yard NFL record interception return off of Kolb's end zone pass (reminiscent of Troy Aikman against the Eagles years ago).

The defense, though solid through the first half, came out and laid another egg in the second half, failing to stop the run and giving up a couple big plays against the pass. Lito Shepherd was burned on a long touchdown pass and failed to prove to me why he should be a top paid corner back.

While I applaud the kickoff return by Quintin Demps, Greg Lewis continued to hurt the team on special teams with a stupid penalty. Having a punt blocked for a safety is always a downer as well. But the Eagles lost this game in the fourth quarter, yielding 24 points in the final frame. Entering the fourth quarter the Eagles were down 12-7.

Sure to irk McNabb Haters everywhere, a smile heading to the locker room after the loss.

The Eagles were 3-13 on third down. The two quarterbacks each threw two interceptions, one being returned for a touchdown. The playcalling didn't even change for the young quarterback.

If you are going to pull McNabb and put in Kolb you need to adjust your game plan. Kolb may or may not be good someday, but regardless he is not ready to take on McNabb's playbook. But Reid continued to believe in his system instead of putting his players in the best position to win.

Enough is enough. I need something better to focus on, perhaps something with roses...

More on these guys later.