Nov 6 2006
We're now halfway through what started out to be a promising Philadelphia Eagles 2006 season, but which has quickly turned into one with lots of questions and doubtful playoff prospects.
How could a team that started 3-1 with a strong showing (albeit a late game loss) against the defending Eastern Division champion New York Giants and a big victory over arch-rival Dallas then lose three games in a row against teams that almost everyone expected them to beat, i.e. New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville? What's even worse is that in each of the losses the team looked worse than in the week before.
Perhaps a look at each position on the 2006 Eagles will bring some focus to what otherwise seems like a very fuzzy picture.
Coaches
Andy Reid likes to say that it all starts and stops with him and this year I think he's right on target. The coaching staff has shown moments of brilliance, but too many moments of poor play calling, poor clock management and questionable personnel decisions. The coaching staff's woes have been on a steady decline over the past three weeks. The team seemed totally unprepared and totally unmotivated to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in what all involved considered a must win.Grade D
Quarterback
It's should be no surprise that the Eagles go as Donovan McNabb goes. Through the first four games he showed that he was one of the elite quarterbacks in football, leading the league in almost every offensive category. McNabb had little problem adjusting to new wide receiver Dante Stallworth and fans began to forget that T.O. was no longer available to make the big catch. In the last three games, however, McNabb has taken several steps backward. Once again he has started each game off very slowly. In fact, his statistics in the first half of each of the last three games have been atrocious. The Tampa Bay loss rests squarely on his poor play.Grade B
Running Backs
As is usually the case with the Eagles, this position barely exists. Sure, the team has two good backs in Brian Westbrook and a rejuvenated Correll Buckhalter, but their big plays are usually as receivers coming out of the backfield. Despite promises that the running game would play a significant role in 2006, the Eagles still lack the ability to run the ball consistently and eat time of the clock. This inability to run the ball directly results in the Eagles defense being on the field far too much - something which has hurt the team late in almost every game as the defense tires out.Grade C
Wide Recievers
This was supposed to be the big question mark coming into the 2006 season, yet the trade for Dante Stallworth late in the pre-season and his superb performance in the Eagles first two games led everyone to believe that all the questions were premature. Stallworth's nagging hamstring injury which kept him out of most of four games together with rookie Hank Baskett's inability to hold onto McNabb passes has hurt the team over the past four weeks. Second year starter Reggie Brown has been hot and cold, but more often just lukewarm. The receivers will need to step in up in the second half of the season.Grade C
Tight Ends
Wasn't this supposed to be tight end L.J. Smith's breakout year? His stats through the first half of the season indicate that may be the case, but stats can be deceiving. Sure he leads all NFC tight ends in receiving yards and is second in catches, but in some games he still seems like too much of an afterthought, i,e. after Westbrook, after Stallworth, after Brown. Smith's blocking still has a long way to go. Backup Matt Schobel is on the team and that may be the best thing that I can say about him.Grade B
Offensive Line
This was supposed to be the strength of the offense. The Eagles feature the biggest offensive line in football. At times that have given McNabb all the time in the world to pass the ball, yet they have also given up 20 sacks. The line's run blocking appears adequate most of the time, but Coach Reid's lack on faith seems evident every time he elects to pass the ball when it's 3rd and 1. Too many stupid penalties has killed the offense's momentum on several occasions and what makes matters worse is that most of these penalties have come at the hands of veterans William Thomas and Jon Runyan.Grade C
