Hating McNabb/Reid: Attempting To Understand Philly Sports Fans

A funny thing happened along my path through the working world in New Hampshire: I met and worked alongside a lot of Philadelphia fans. In a small office of roughly 15 people, there were five that happened to be from Pennsylvania or had spent considerable time there.

There was really no rhyme or reason to why they had all amassed in the Granite State at that time and just happened to work together—they just did, and no, they all weren't Amish.

As a bi-product of this close association with the fellers, I got to understand and know their pain and suffering and their disdain for Boston sports. I don't think it was a real hatred, but rather a major dislike of Boston teams and the fans that cheer for them. (You know, perhaps it was hatred after all).

This emotion only grew after the Sox won the World Series and the Patriots began their run of dominance. With every win and every day, they had to listen to more and more fans spout their opinions on a growing media base, their anger grew more intense and my fascination at their ever-changing venom increased.

With the latest Donovan McNabb disaster (simply called The Timeout Story) and the bizarre widespread fascination with whether he'll return, whether Andy Reid will return, and the press circus that surrounds this whole situation, I had to ask my Philly friends the following question:

"Hey guys - as a large group of Eagles fans I know, I'd like to do an experiment of sorts for my Small White Ball blog. I'm fascinated by the treatment that McNabb and Reid are getting, especially nationally. As die-hard fans, I'd like to get your opinion on both men, what's happening in Philly and what you would do to fix it."

Here are answers from three of them, all sent before the Eagles' big Thanksgiving night win over Arizona and without any interaction with each other. You'll notice an interesting thread between all of their responses, which revolves around a certain roly-poly coach and the words "play-calling."

I don't know if I understand any more than I did before, but I'm a little bit closer...I think.

>From Chris M.

For me, its not so much McNabb, it's all Reid. Look, the guy WAS successful—no doubt—in building a contender for several years. Four NFC title games and a three-point loss in the Super Bowl is nothing to sneeze at.

But since then, I think he is 29-29-1. Time and time again, these last few years, his play-calling and clock management have failed...especially clock management.

If the Eagles are down by three or six at their 30 with two minutes on the clock they ain't winning, period.

What's more, as GM, his 10 year draft history has sucked. Aside from McNabb, Lito, S. Brown, Westy, Shawn Andrews, and maybe D. Jackson this year, he hasn't shown the ability to oversee scouting and make good picks. That's six legitimate picks in 10 years. Have I touched on franchising L.J Smith last year?

Family off-field issues? Check.

My solution? Reid is done after this season. No ill will. It's just time. Go out and get Spagnuolo (my pick) or Harbaugh (if he can or would be willing to leave Baltimore). If Banner and company want to make up for their lies and really "go for it" as they exclaimed they would this season, blow Cowher away with a huge offer, get what you can for McNabb and please get a legit and bruising North/South RB.

Keep Jim Johnson, but do not promote him. He's comfortable with the D and that's where he wants to stay. Draft another QB early and an O-Lineman (we have two first rounds). Start over in Sept '09. We have a Phillies Championship to tide us over at least for another 25 years!
>From Dave L.

To me, last week's debacle in Baltimore tells you all you need to know about the state of the Eagles. Name a quarterback who hasn't had a series of poor games at some point in his career.

Donovan McNabb is having one of those slumps at this moment...But it is being aggravated by the real culprit of the problems in Philly—Andy Reid. Any good supervisor would not put his top employees in a situation where they were set up to fail.

Passing the ball 75 percent of the time will almost certainly set up the quarterback to fail if he is not the greatest of all-time, which McNabb certainly is not.

The play-calling and coaching in Reid's tenure has been lopsided and, at times, downright questionable. The Eagles appeared in four straight NFC championship games and most certainly should have won at least three of them.

However, they were over-matched and out-coached by the Rams in 2001, they laid back on an early lead and were not aggressive enough against Tampa Bay in 2002, and they were unable to play physical football against Carolina in 2003.

Only when Reid was able to get his hands on a top-flight talent such as Terrell Owens (yes, it does pain me to say it) did the Birds make the Super Bowl. But what happened in that Super Bowl? Only the most mismanaged final quarters in recent memory, virtually handing the Patriots the victory via the poor coaching of Andy Reid.

Now, what do I think is going to happen? McNabb will be traded, Reid will get a contract extension, and Kevin Kolb will turn out to be a colossal bust. The Eagles will not make the playoffs for the next three-or-four seasons, until management finally realizes that no team can survive when the play-calling is this atrocious.

>From Scott S.

The window of opportunity has closed...plain and simple. McNabb, while still a decent quarterback, is on the downside of his career. He refuses to run anymore.

Defenses know this and can give more attention to the receivers and coverages without worrying he will take off. This closes down passing lanes and leads to more "forces" and ultimately more INTs.

If Philly is smart, they will let McNabb showcase himself the rest of this season and then trade him. I will be sorry to see him go, as he has provided me with many good memories, but it is time to start fresh.

Reid is in the same situation in my opinion. He had a good run in Philly and is a very good coach. But his approach is tired here and we desperately need a new point of view...why not make a clean slate of things and start over? I know this will mean some painful seasons, but the hope would be that the foundation can be adjusted or rebuilt for future payoff.

If one or the other stays, I don't see much changing on the performance front. Jeffrey Lurie is a progressive owner, willing to assign resources given a good plan. Right now the biggest issue is "the plan".

With McNabb here, we can't see if Kolb is the future or a temporary solution. With Reid staying around, we can't see if more aggressive play calling on the offensive side could play more to the strengths of the current talent populating the roster.

So, it is bittersweet for me to say that it is probably time for a change of scenery for both men. I would go further to say that it could be a win-win situation for all parties involved. My two cents...what the heck do I know anyhow? :)

Josh Nason - josh [at] smallwhiteball [com] - is the publisher and main writer of Small White Ball, an all-encompassing sports blog that began in 2007. You can also read on mixed martial arts, boxing and pro wrestling at brother site RopesRingandCage.com. If you're using any part of this post, please link back to www.smallwhiteball.com. Thank you!