I have been an Eagles fan for my entire life. From the time I was born, I was surrounded by both Pittsburgh and Philly fans, being that my dad's side of the family hails from Pennsylvania. So when it came time for me to choose an NFL team to root for, there was really no choice at all.
I watched my first game when I was 1 year old apparently, and have been hooked ever since. I have been through some ups and a lot of downs as an Eagle fan. My first game that I ever attended was in Dec 1998, and we lost to the Seahawks 38-0. Ray Rhodes was the coach at that time. Things never looked bleaker as an Eagles fan. But all of that changed Jan, 11 1999. That was the day Andy Reid was hired.
Andy Reid took the Eagles to 5 NFC Championship games and 1 Super Bowl. He has won coach of the year awards. He had a fabulous winning percentage and with his first draft pick ever, he drafted the best QB in the history of the franchise. After all that Andy Reid has done for Philly, we should be forever thankful for the ride that he gave us, even though it came up short of the ultimate prize. Now, though, it is time for Andy Reid to go.
The fans in Philly are not dumb. We are tired of the mismanagement of the clock. Tired of the "putting players in the right position to make plays". Tired of the excuses. It's time for some new blood to come for Philly. After this past Monday night in New Orleans, I have given up. It's gotten to the point where I'm not even upset anymore. We scored 13 points...13!!!!!!!! on the worst defense in the history of football. You can only laugh at that.
Poor drafting and a complete lack of depth have killed this roster. This team has no O-Line, no game-breaker at receiver, an aging injury-prone QB and the asinine belief that giving Shady Mccoy less than 20 touches a game is a good thing.
Truthfully, this has been coming for a while. The Eagles glory years were 2001-2004. During those years Reid had 2 future head coaches on his staff in Brad Childress and John Harbaugh and one of the best defense coordinators in Jim Johnson. Since those 3 main men have gone, Reid has not been to the divisional round of the playoffs. It makes you wonder how much credit Reid deserves for the early years of success with the team.
Reid's drafting has been sub par. He has many more misses than he has hits. Bryan Smith, Andy Studebaker,
Reggie Brown, Ryan Moats, Dexter Wynn and Freddie Milons. These are just some of the people Reid has picked in his tenure. Draft loads of picks wasted. He had some hits, such as Westbrook, Mcnabb, Jackson, Cole, brown and Sheppard. by and large however, the team has suffered from his lack of quality scouting.
After the "Dream Team" bust of last season, Team Owner Jeff Lurie gave Reid an ultimatum. Another 8-8 season is unacceptable. Now it seems that an 8-8 season would be wishful thinking. The Eagles are 3-5 with no plan and no clue. 8-8 would be a success at this point.
All of Andy Reid's miscalculations have finally caught up to him. From the bad FA signings to the poor drafts to Juan Castillo becoming Defensive Coordinator, enough is enough. Fresh blood and a fresh perspective is needed. A different hand needs to guide the ship.
There is enough talent left on the roster that the cupboard wont be bare when the new guy comes along. Shady, Jackson, Herremans, Mathias, Peters, Cox, Curry, Ryans, Kendricks, DRC and Nate Allen are but a few pieces you can build around. With the right coach and the right philosophy...a CLEAR philosophy on both offense and defense, hopefully not this "wide-9" nonsense, the Eagles will be able to bounce back.
But it will not be this season. All we can do as fans now is look ahead to 2013, and the future and hope it holds. There are some good candidates out there in the coaching ranks and Philly is still one of the most passionate sports towns around. Hopefully our GM can pull a Mike Tomlin or Tony Dungy from his hat. At this point though, I think all that matters to Philly fans is that it won't be Reid. We had a great run. Now though, a new era needs to begin.
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