Any Reid finally got the memo to run the ball and look at what happened. Brian Westbrook had 4 TD’s. Of course the Cardinals defense isn’t anything close to the Ravens defense, but I’m just saying that Donovan McNabb is only as good as his running game.
I, among most others, threw Donovan McNabb under the bus after the Bengals game. Four turnovers in that game, another three turnovers to boot in Baltimore. That’s seven turnovers in seven quarters of football.
Was it all Donovan’s fault? No. The playcalling was terrible, the offensive line played poorly, the Eagles had no running game, and the wide receivers were dropping passes and not getting open. That still doesn’t take away the fact that Donovan McNabb should have won that game against the 23rd ranked defense. That was the worst game from McNabb that I have ever witnessed. Balls were thrown right to defenders, balls were thrown right into the ground 20 feet shy of a receiver. Balls were thrown 15 feet over receivers heads. Donovan was terrible.
Things didn’t improve much the next week at Baltimore and Andy decided to light a fire under McNabb’s ass to get him playing better. If McNabb still played at this poor level, there’s a young guy that we drafted #1 that we could throw in there.
The McNabb I saw against the Cardinals is someone I haven’t seen play all season long. He wasn’t the careless player who laughs when he makes a terrible throw. He had a little hustle in his step. Instead of being a statute in the pocket like he has been most of the year, he actually tried moving around a little bit and look at the results. McNabb finally played like his job was on the line. If there’s anything positive that came out of the benching of McNabb it’s that the pressure of losing his job is making him play with more passion and pride. That’s something that should have been in his head from the start.
Do I still want Kevin Kolb as the QB of this team? Let’s look at the facts. Yes, McNabb was incredible in 2004, but we can’t keep living in the past. It’s 2008 going into 2009 and since 2004, McNabb has suffered two very serious injuries, is now 32, has gained a bit of weight, has lost his best asset (his mobility), and hasn’t had a single season that’s close to earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
I’m willing to give Kevin Kolb a mulligan. Andy Reid threw him to the wolves. He had to go in relatively unprepared against the NFL’s best defense. If you expected him to go in there and play like Joe Montana, that’s delusional. Kolb made two bad interceptions and a critical one in the endzone, but let’s give Ed Reed a bit of credit. He is the best safety in the NFL and if I was playing Madden and saw Reggie Brown come across the endzone, I probably would have made the same call. Throughout that drive, Kolb was looking sharp and looked like he had a good grasp of the West Coast Offense. Kolb throws a very nice ball, he’s more mobile, but his decision making is obviously poor due to inexperience. I don’t think he’s going to end up being a bust. Kolb will be a very good player one day.
The Bottom Line: The Eagles are 6-5-1, which is last place in the NFC East, and unless they win every single game on the remainder of their schedule, they will not make the playoffs, something that McNabb has gotten to since 2004. Remember who the QB was the last time the Eagles made the playoffs? That would be Jeff Garcia. McNabb: 5-5. Garcia: 5-1. Garcia clinched a playoff spot, beat the Giants in the first round, and then lost to the Saints in the next round. The Saints loss wasn’t Garcia’s fault. He played great. The Eagles run defense lost that game. If the 2008 Eagles defense played on that 2006 team, the Eagles could have played the Colts in the Super Bowl.
I’m tired of McNabb costing us a playoff spot season after season. McNabb plays very good at times, but performances like last night are few and far between. Westbrook won that game for the Eagles, not McNabb. Unless McNabb can miraculously get the Eagles a playoff spot, the Eagles need to go in a new direction. I still love McNabb. He’s given us many great memories, but let me define insanity to you. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. McNabb hasn’t led the Eagles to the playoffs since 2004 and his time is running out. The Eagles need to take a new direction and that means a change at QB and at head coach.
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