My love/hate relationship with my favorite NFL team goes back well over twenty years. I can vividly remember being a sad and frustrated little boy the night the Philadelphia Eagles lost the 1980 Super Bowl. Maybe it was the emotion, maybe it was the fun of the Super Bowl party, but for whatever reason I was hooked and as much as I tend to say otherwise  it at the end of every Philadelphia Eagles season, I have never looked back.

Due to my color of green blood and love for the birds, I was recently approached about penning several guest blogs on the Philadelphia Eagles. The first one is a topic that is near and dear to every Eagles fan’s heart…trades. I look back at the history of the Philadelphia Eagles franchise and break down ten memorable trades. Thanks to a lot of research and some great information from fellow CamelClutchBlog.com writer Brett Clendaniel, you can relive some of the highs and lows of being a Philadelphia Eagles fan over at phillyburbs.com.

I won’t give too much away, but I will say that once I gathered all of the information I was rather surprised at some of the things I came across. For starters, I was really surprised as to how many great trades that the Eagles have made over the last several decades. Particularly the seventies saw the Eagles take scrap heap from other teams and turn them into Pro Bowl and even Hall of Fame NFL players.

In giving the birds praise, I felt my blood pressure go up as I researched and wrote about several of the bungled Eagles trades. Most of those trades came on NFL Draft Day and a lot of it quite honestly is 20/20 hindsight. I have to tell you that I came real close to grabbing my left arm and calling an ambulance when writing about a draft day deal made by the Philadelphia Eagles just a few years ago. Even now I can feel my green blood coming to a boil.

So judge for yourself whether the Philadelphia Eagles have gotten the better end, or blown some of the biggest transactions in franchise history. Relive the good, the bad, and the real ugly now over at phillyburbs.com by clicking here. If you feel that I may have missed a big one whether good or bad, leave a comment here or there and let’s hash it out 700 level style!

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Here we go again. It looks like it is time for the annual Philadelphia Eagles postmortem blog. For the fourth straight year I sit here in disgust and disappointment as a birds fan. The obvious two names up for discussion here are the head coach and the quarterback. Are we better off without one, the other or both? Unfortunately while a valid question it is one without much merit after the coach’s latest contract extension.

The last two weeks have been embarrassing and downright depressing for Eagles fans. Not only did the Eagles come up short in the two biggest games of the season, they were blown out, and even worse by the stinking Dallas Cowboys. Now I will give credit where credit is due. The Cowboys are hottest team in the postseason and by all rights, should be playing in the Super Bowl if they keep it up. Yet the loss is no easier to swallow if you are bleeding green.

Let’s start with the annual Donovan McNabb debate. I have always been a #5 supporter. Out of 32 NFL quarterbacks, he is a top ten QB and arguably even a top five. He has nine playoff wins under his belt which is no easy feat. He captained the most prolific offense in Eagles history this year. There probably aren’t many quarterbacks in the NFL that could have done better with this team than Donovan McNabb did this season.

However, racking up points against a decimated New York Giants defense and a rookie coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers means nothing to me after last night. In eight quarters of play in back-to-back weeks, against his rival, in the two most important games of the season, he managed one touchdown. Blame it on whoever you want, but his accuracy was abysmal for both games. In the first game specifically, he had plenty of chances to hit open receivers in stride and missed every time. This has become a common theme for McNabb in the big game over the last few years. Yes he will get you wins over a Tarvaris Jackson led Minnesota Vikings, but he won’t get you wins over a hot team and blitzing defense like the Arizona Cardinals last season or the Cowboys this season. We can argue all day long, not only has he not gotten it done, he was a big part of all of the losses.

As a person I don’t know Donovan McNabb but I hear mixed reviews on him from people who do know him and know people around him. A common criticism here in Philadelphia is that he just doesn’t have the passion or leadership needed by a veteran QB like him. It would be unfair for me to accuse him of this as I cannot get into his head. Yet there was a scene before the Cowboys game that really got me thinking. NBC showed McNabb leading the team through the tunnel with only Plexiglass separating him from the fans and playing air guitar. You know I thought to myself for a second and wondered if Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or even Philip Rivers (today) would lead his team like this? The answer is a resounding no. Whenever I see these guys some like Brees and Rivers are very emotional but not in such a comical way, while Manning and Brady are all business. The question I have is where the heck is this guy’s head before such a big game? I understand the idea of being loose, but there is loose and then there is the guy that is just being a goofball. To me, it didn’t look like a guy who was that focused on beating the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs nor did it look like a guy that will be losing any sleep on Sunday after the loss. Maybe I am just being nitpicky, but it really left a bad taste in my mouth.

On top of all of this, he has proven to be a pretty lousy leader over the last few years. Just last week he made a comment about the youth of the team being a problem in Dallas. While he may think that, what kind of leader goes out on national television and blasts his teammates? It would be no different than if T.O. was here blaming the quarterback, etc. I think it is funny that that an 11-year veteran who hasn’t done anything to put the team on his back over the last two weeks is blaming others for not stepping up and making a play. Last season following the Arizona Cardinals loss, he made a snide remark about the defense giving up the final game-winning drive to the Cards offense. Personally, the guy has worn out his welcome here and has turned into one of the most annoying athletes ever to come through Philadelphia.

Donovan McNabb has one more year left on his current contract. The big debate from McNabb supporters this season has been whether we are better with the devil you know or the devil you don’t? It is an interesting argument because you would think you were living in Cleveland listening to this. Since when did McNabb become so irreplaceable? Not only did Kevin Kolb do okay when McNabb didn’t play, Jeff Garcia led us into the playoffs a few years back. Additionally, as a franchise the Eagles have had a pretty good run on quarterbacks over my lifetime as a fan. Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, and McNabb aren’t that bad. Yes, we had some clunkers but it isn’t like McNabb is the only quarterback to come into Philadelphia and win games for the franchise. It just boggles my mind how a guy that hasn’t beat a good team in the playoffs for several years has become so untouchable?

By saying that the Eagles need to keep McNabb, you are also putting no faith into the God of football, Andrew Reid. Andy Reid picked McNabb eleven years ago and traded with the Cowboys (brilliant!) to move up to draft Kevin Kolb a few years back. The next draft is not going to be a good draft for quarterbacks in my opinion, so the draft is out. I hate Notre Dame but Jimmy Clausen is the best prospect, yet I don’t think any of those guys are ready to step into a win-now situation here in Philadelphia. Keeping McNabb because the Eagles are afraid to move on just shows what little faith they have in Andy Reid making the correct personnel move. Rightfully so, but a poor excuse to keep a guy who has come up small in big games over the last several years with the Eagles.

The birds do have options here. For one, they could trade McNabb and if they aren’t going to re-sign him, they need to trade him and get something for him in the off season. I would love to see them work out a deal with the St. Louis Rams. Their head coach is a former coordinator here so there is a chance that he would give up more for McNabb than someone else. Why not trade McNabb for Steven Jackson and draft picks? Give Kevin Kolb a shot in his final contract year with this offense and Jackson. If not St. Louis, maybe Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert work out a deal with Reid that sends the birds Josh Cribbs and some of his eleven draft picks? Could there be value to Arizona with the talk of Kurt Warner retiring? Who knows whether or not Brett Favre will be back, because I am fairly certain Brad Childress would take McNabb in a heartbeat. There are options out there that could give them the chance to make the Eagles a better team without McNabb.

Now normally I would write about replacing the head coach, because well I do that every year. However, Reid signed a contract extension in the offseason that will keep him here until 2013. Personally, I think the fish stinks at the top and Reid is the biggest problem here. He wins games, but he also loses games, and has only won one NFC title game. There are Super Bowl winners that have been either been fired or resigned and with the right new hire, their teams haven’t missed a step. See the Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, and Indianapolis Colts as prime example of teams who lost their Super Bowl winning coaches and remained strong and in the case of the Giants, won another Super Bowl. Reid and McNabb have a lot of defenders in the national media which astonishes me. Quite frankly, if these same people feel that both Reid and McNabb are as good as they say they are, than one of them has to go because there is a definite problem here. As much as I would love to see Reid replaced, it isn’t going to happen so I’ll save my space.

I know there are a lot of other problems in addition to Donovan McNabb. However, when the Eagles can only muster up 14 points with such a talented offense in two weeks, you need to look right at the quarterback. We had a good run here in Philadelphia, but to think that no other NFL quarterback can ever come to the Eagles and win as much as McNabb has is ridiculous. There are a lot of other quarterbacks that can come here, score seven points in two weeks, and never win a Super Bowl. So let’s start looking.

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Michael Vick came out this week and made rumblings that he wasn’t happy on the team. Finally, Philadelphia Eagles fans and Michael Vick can agree on something. Guess what Michael, either are we! Vick also expressed frustrations with the Wildcat offense. Once again, we agree Mike! Vick is also looking towards next year and has desires to be on another team. Michael, why did it take us nine weeks into the NFL season to finally be on the same page?

The Michael Vick experiment here in Philadelphia will go down as one of the most bizarre personnel moves in Philadelphia sports history. Immediately upon signing Vick, the Philadelphia Eagles alienated their fans, the city, advertisers, and even members of their own organization. The threats of protests and bans couldn’t dissuade Andy Reid from acquiring this great weapon. Yet here are we are now nine weeks into the NFL season and we have yet to see any positive contributions on the field from the, “x-factor.”

I was irate with the Vick signing like many fans. Beyond the off-field baggage, I couldn’t comprehend how the move would help the team. As a matter of a fact, I wrote an article in August entitled, “Michael Vick Hurts the Eagles Offense.” I was criticized by Vick supporters and Eagles fans for the article, most claiming that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I hate to say I told you so, but everything I predicted in August is exactly how the season has played out thus far with Michael Vick.

I wrote, “How will Mike Vick’s inclusion in the game impact the offense’s momentum? Whether it be the line, the quarterback-receiver timing, or the running back, a successful drive needs momentum. Whether Vick is coming into the game for 2 plays to 10 plays, this can’t be good for the continuity of the offense.” Even I didn’t think that Vick’s presence on the field would be as distracting as it has been. To say that it has been a disaster has been an understatement.

Take a look back at the last two Philadelphia Eagles losses. Andy Reid has been criticized and rightfully so, for blowing timeouts in each game. Here is something that has flown completely under the radar about those games. In the Oakland loss, Donovan McNabb called a timeout (which he didn’t have) when Mike Vick came onto the field. Once again, the Eagles blew a timeout against the Dallas Cowboys when Vick came onto the field for a play. The only team being disrupted by Michael Vick on the field is the Philadelphia Eagles. In games in which the Eagles offense struggled, Vick’s presence on the field cost them timeouts which could have been used at the end of the game.

We were all told by the Eagles and the media that Vick would give defensive coordinators nightmares. After a few weeks when it was painfully obvious that Vick was a non-factor, we were told that Andy Reid was waiting to unveil the complex Vick packages against the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys. I am still waiting to see those plays. Yes, those offensive wrinkles were unveiled in the Dallas Cowboys game…by the Dallas Cowboys. It is enough already with the excuses as to why this thing isn’t working. The bottom line here is it isn’t working.

There are a few reasons that the Vick experiment has been a failure. For one, I think Andy Reid brought him here because he didn’t have confidence in Kevin Kolb. To the surprise of many, Kolb was spectacular in his starts this season. Two, Andy Reid has done nothing creative at all with Vick. Vick comes into the game at awkward times and is killing the momentum of the offense. On top of that, it has gotten to the point where he isn’t even lining up in a Wildcat. Vick is just lining up behind center and handing off the ball. This is the x-factor? Finally, nobody can argue that Vick has lost his speed. Maybe he can get it back in a full off-season program, but that remains to be seen. I love how people went nuts when he broke a nine-yard run in the Redskins game and called it a “flash.” He is averaging 2.3 yards a freaking carry! So we are taking the ball out of Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Bryan Westbrook, or even Donovan McNabb’s hands for 2.3 yards a carry? It just doesn’t make any sense!

The coup de grace of this experiment is that Vick himself doesn’t believe in the Wildcat. Vick said this week, “I won’t be a Wildcat guy. I can’t,” Vick told NBC. “It’s a different style of play. It’s almost like a hit-or-miss type of thing. My position is quarterback. That’s what I was born to do.” As much as I groan and yell every time I see Vick coming onto the field in one of these Wildcat formations, Vick himself is sensing the same thing. How can you have success on the field when the “x-factor” doesn’t want to be there in the first place?

The bottom line here is that the Eagles screwed this one up badly. With all of the problems on the offensive line, Vick is killing them by taking up a wasted roster spot. Any other G.M. would have released Mike Vick by now, but not Saint Andy. As much praise as Andy Reid gets for drafting Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy this year, he should be roasted for this Mike Vick debacle. I can understand if the idea was to trade him in the off-season, but what NFL team in their right mind would sign this guy at over $5 million a year to be their starter? The only thing that the Eagles have accomplished by bringing Michael Vick here is disruption to their own team, their success, and their fan base.

So now that Michael Vick is making noise about wanting out of here next year, I think it is finally time to close this door. This team has bigger needs for that 53rd roster spot and Vick can’t do what was promised upon signing with the team. I think we can all agree that we will all be better off next season when Michael Vick is playing somewhere else. So why not start now?

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Enough Is Enough Already With Andy Reid

Did you know that Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid had a pact with the media? Well apparently nobody but Coach Reid was aware of this. Talk about the nerve of this guy. If Andy Reid is this worried about an injury report in August, we have bigger problems than we thought going into this season.

I bleed green but I have never liked Andy Reid. He is smug, arrogant, cocky, and extremely condescending. If there is anyone in the local media who should be rolling out the red carpet for the media it is Reid. Reid has been given more leniency than anyone else I can ever recall in my years as a Philadelphia sports fan by the media.

How many stories did I read about Andy Reid’s children from the sports media two years ago? At one time it appeared as if his kids were being arrested daily for drug related charges. Not once do I recall ever reading anything tasteless by the media. The media showed him compassion by not asking him any questions or commentating on this. How did Any Reid repay them?

Andy Reid and his wife gave a full interview to Philadelphia magazine. That is right. Reid repaid the sports media that made a pact with him not to talk about it, by giving a non-sports entity the exclusive. What happened to that pact Andy? Hey, you don’t owe the media anything but they sure as heck didn’t owe you either.

How about the last ten years of watching Andy berate and humiliate the media on a daily basis? How about nobody from the media calling out the obvious garbage he spews at his press conferences? How about the media giving him 100% support in the Terrell Owens debacle? What is the pact here? Is the pact that Andy Reid gets to dictate how the local sports media do their jobs?

How about the Super Bowl Andy? Am I still bitter about the Super Bowl? You’re damn right I am. I am also bitter about the fact that Andy still hasn’t explained to this day his thinking in the final five minutes of the game. Even Bill Belichik in an American’s Game episode openly questioned Reid’s coaching. Hey Bill, watch out. You may have broken the pact with Andy.

So on August 3 I have to sit here and listen to Andy Reid bully the fans, the media, and the team over an injury report? Hey Andy, welcome to 2009 and the era of instant news. Was Andy hoping that the Pony Express wouldn’t deliver this news until opening day? I don’t always agree with the media, but to get angry and berate the media over reporting an injury on August 3 is just simply ludicrous.

Who the hell does Andy Reid think he is? Andy Reid hasn’t won anything to warrant that kind of arrogance. Reid came off as an unprofessional bully and a big baby. Is he kidding me with this self-proclaimed media pact?

Now that the pact has been broken, maybe certain members of the media can start doing their jobs. Maybe some in the media instead of kissing his big behind, will start asking him some tough questions this season? Maybe someone in the media may actually gulp…challenge him on one of his non-answers after he blows another game due to his poor preparation and play calling.

Andy Reid better have one hell of a season this year. Anything less could get ugly really quick in this town. Quite honestly, anything less than the Super Bowl after ten years should be unacceptable by this point.

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I only wish the real Andy Reid showed this emotion on Sundays.

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