The Panic Button: Philadelphia Eagles Itching for Change

Matthew StraubmullerThe Philadelphia Eagles are 3-3 and it is time to push the panic button. This team is flying nowhere fast and though the NFC East is winnable, the chances that this team will hold together long enough to not implode, let alone win, is doubtful. But there is nothing like the bye week in the City of Brotherly Love, and the first winds of change came down just two days after Sunday’s loss.

Juan Castillo is out. Temple graduate, Todd Bowles, has replaced the much-beleaguered defensive coordinator who should have been fired during the summer. The talent on the defense has been good enough to compete and a fresh start with the squad would have created enthusiasm. The defense has been good this year except for the Arizona game and two fourth quarters, yet someone’s head needed to be chopped to appease Eagles fans.

The offense is the problem. The Eagles lead the league in turnovers. The offense is confusing even for someone who watches every play. We are a passing team one week and a running team the next. There is no rhyme or reason to the game planning as the Eagles never game plan for the team they are facing. Week after week, we choose one of the multiple weapons and dedicate a game to them. The Eagles need to focus on the weaknesses of the opposing team and exploit them with a mixture that ensures the best success. We are too proud and too enamored by the offensive talent and our defensive legacy.

This is why Reid should go. He has had the talent to win. He has had the players. We have blamed the offensive line and the defensive line for the past ten years. It is the game planning that is sorely lacking in this town. Reid is arrogant in defeat and befuddled in victory. I do not know how long it has been since a journalist praised the Philadelphia Eagles for a game plan that actually worked. Oh, yea, it is when we had Jim Johnson as defensive coordinator.

We need to run Shady McCoy. We need to bench Michael Vick because he is not winning football games. His risks outweigh his benefit right now and I would like to see Nick Foles try to run a balanced offense. It is six games into the season and for all purposes, the Eagles could be 0-6. Michael Vick has been given his chances, but this year he continues to be unpredictable and frustrating. If the offensive line is not strong enough for a rookie quarterback or someone who cannot run out of trouble, then we are in bigger trouble than we think. That just might be the case and reason for the hesitation.

It is time to push the panic button, but Reid is excellent after the bye. I would not say it was his game planning, but maybe he needs two weeks to prepare for every game. In my corner, I am ready for a new quarterback, a running game, and a fresh start on defense. None of this will make me happier than having a new head coach at the realm and if the Eagles hope to win the Super Bowl in Giants Stadium in 2014, we better get started in the next two weeks.

 You can follow James Dugan on facebook and on Twitter @jamesduganlb. Purchase his new book through Amazon What Baseball Teaches: A Poetic Odyssey into 2008 Season of the World Champions Philadelphia Phillies  

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

Your last paragraph captures the Catch-22 that is the Eagles and its disenfranchised fan base. We must cheer the team, but if they manage to pull out a winning season, win the division, and even win a playoff game, Reid will be back, and all of the problems that exist now will persist. I've been calling for Reid firing since McNabb was scapegoated. They were a package deal. Win together, lose together, but only one of them left.
You're right on every account. He's had the talent, time, and management, but he can't get it done. At least not here.
There are so many holes on the offense that I don't know where to start. What's sad is it's not really complicated, at least not in the way that Reid and other football "experts" like to make it seem. This team has lost sight of the simplicity of the game. I was listening to Ray Didinger on 610 today. He was addressing exactly what you're saying about exploiting other team's weaknesses, specifically, the corners on Detroit. They were giving the Eagles receivers such a cushion that they could have gotten 6-8 yards with quick 2 dropstep passes. If they need to play up on them, they need assistance from the linebackers, and more holes and lanes are open for Shady, and then if Shady stars to run all over them, there's more opportunities for a big play down the field. This is not complicated.
However, I'll continue to cheer, but anything short of a Super Bowl and Reid must go.