The 'shattered dream team' Philadelphia Eagles couldn't do much of anything on offense, except occasionally run the football. The Eagles were stopped numerous times in the red zone by the New Orleans Saints, mainly because of horrible offensive line play.
The Eagles were supposed to get back on track against a Saints defense on track to break records in yards allowed per game for a single season. This was supposed to be the game the Eagles climbed back to .500. Instead, this game was one in which it became apparent to all watching that the Eagles have issues on both sides of the ball, and that quarterback Michael Vick isn't good enough to carry a team by himself.
Few quarterbacks can do that, and I am not placing the blame on Vick for this loss. I am calling into question the huge contract Vick signed with the Eagles last year on August 29th, a six year deal worth a staggering $100 million. That kind of contract is usually reserved for those few quarterbacks that can carry a team on their shoulders.
The Saints gave up over 400 yards to the Eagles, but the Eagles couldn't do much of anything in the red zone, turning the ball over or getting stopped and settling for three points.
The one lone score by the Eagles came on a long pass by Vick, connecting with wide receiver DeSean Jackson deep for a 77-yard touchdown.
In the end, that was far from enough for the Eagles, as Drew Brees threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Saints to a 28-13 victory over the Eagles, and sending both teams to a 3-5 record.
We didn't expect much from the Saints after the bounty scandal in the off season, followed by the suspensions, but the same can't be said of the Eagles, labled once again as the 'dream team' by the media before the start of the season.
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| Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles' head coach since 1999 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Watching the Eagles can be confounding, as it would seem that there are players on both sides of the ball playing hard, while others are not involved in the same playbook. To me, this falls on coaching, and is a prime example of what can happen in the NFL when too many big name players and free agents find themselves on the same roster.
At this point, for Reid to remain the longest tenured head coach in the NFL, the Eagles are going to need to put together a string of wins that would have everyone talking and send them to the playoffs.
Some of the talent is in place in Philadelphia to make that a realistic goal, but that Eagles offensive line tells me a winning streak of that magnitude just isn't going to happen. Reid has until the end of the season at this point, unless Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie decides he wasn't serious before the season started when he said another 8-8 season just wouldn't be good enough.
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