The Eagles Are In More Trouble Than I Thought
I miss being an Eagles fan… but I don’t think as fans that we stand up enough for what we believe in. Too many times, we blindly sit by and declare our unconditional love for our favorite team. In the case of the Eagles, the trip into mediocrity has been ominously looming over the past couple of years. With the events of this offseason, I think it is here. Let me point out a few signs of the Eagles Apocalypse.
- Randy Moss signs with the Patriots
No one thought the Eagles were serious with signing Randy Moss. Out of nowhere, the Moss talks heated up quickly and Philadelphia got involved. They made the most lucrative offer… they had a spot where Randy Moss would be the star… and Moss chose the Patriots. Moss thinks he has a better shot at a championship in New England and that was the ultimate dealbreaker for the superstar wide receiver that the Eagles so desperately need. -
Larry Fitzgerald renegotiates with Arizona
The Eagles were fairly close to working out a deal with Arizona to get Fitzgerald from most accounts. Things changed late in the game and it looks like Philly may have been used as leverage to get Fitzgerald an AMAZING new deal with the Cardinals. -
"Donovan McNabb isn’t going anywhere."
The quote late last season from Joe Banner that many thought may not have been completely accurate now looks pretty close to being the truth. There are no signs of McNabb being moved in the offseason. It looks like the captain of the ship in ‘08 will be McNabb. Granted, McNabb led the team to a Super Bowl a few years ago and the NFC Championship a couple of times but he’s not the same guy anymore. In my opinion, he doesn’t look like a QB that can make it happen without a lot of help… and the help isn’t there on this team. Philly is 6 months away from sending out the same wide receiver tandem that wasn’t good enough last year tied to the same QB that wasn’t good enough last year. -
The Brian Westbrook situation
The T.O. disaster was mostly Owens’ fault a few years ago. Some of the blame can be shifted to Drew Rosenhaus doing his job but a little has to be thrown the Eagles way. So, what have they learned from their missteps? Rosenhaus learned nothing because he was just doing his job. T.O. is almost a choir boy in Dallas which shows that maybe T.O. has learned a little. Finally, we have the Eagles who are headed into this offseason with an unhappy Westbrook who wants a new contract. The one bright spot of the ‘07 season, Westbrook wants to be rewarded for his efforts. Where is this headed? If the Eagles learned anything from the T.O. situation, they would address this and nip it in the bud. This thing has all the signs of not only a holdout but an ugly holdout. Westbrook is the driving force of the Eagles’ sputtering offense and without him, the Eagles could be headed to a 4-6 win season in ‘08… but it doesn’t look like there is a lot of positive signs that this will be addressed before the ‘08 season. I doubt B-West will ever be interviewed by the press while he does sit-ups outside of his house but this thing has signs of being a long holdout.
These are just a few signs from an organization that has done everything it could to combine success and frugality. While they were more successful at doing so than any other organization I’ve ever seen, it looks like the shelf life of this approach may be reaching expiration. And with at least one more year of McNabb, Eagles fans may be one year further away from the rebuilding phase of their operation.
