Sunday, October 24, 2010

Humiliating Loss to Titans Calls for Change

Reid is certainly not pleased after his team's embarrassing performance today.
Everything was going well, the Eagles were flying high. They established a comfortable 16-7 lead over the Titans and appeared in control of the game. Then, a botched assignment by the O-line killed an Eagles drive that would have assured at least 3 points, and allowed Tennessee to make it a one score game, 16-10.

Still, no worries, the Eagles quickly cut it back to 2 scores, 19-10. No time to panic right?

Wrong. BAM! 19-17 on a quick score. BAM! 20-19 Titans. In an instant, the Eagles found themselves on their backs 27-19, with all momentum drained and the game very well out of reach.

But who is to blame for this embarrassing performance by the Eagles? Is it Kevin Kolb? Who after lighting it up the past 2 games delivered a pedestrian performance? Is it Sean McDermitt? Who allowed Kerry Collins, of all quarterbacks, to overcome a two score lead?

The answer to these two questions is yes and yes. But first let me clarify:

Vick is and should be the man going forward: First of all, I am not throwing Kolb under the bus. He did not deliver his best performance today, but for the most part, Kolb effectively moved the chains and played okay. However, by no fault of his own, Kevin can only do so much as a quarterback. When he had pressure in his face, he was forced to throw the ball away, check it down to a halfback or tight end, attempt to scramble, or rush a throw downfield.
While Kolb is a fine quarterback, he simply does not have a capable offensive line to protect him.
While in theory Kolb may fit Andy Reid's offense more than Vick, this season that is not that case. The offensive line cannot sufficiently protect Kolb to allow plays to develop. He had to take what the defense gave him.

Vick, on the other hand, has the explosive speed and elusiveness to evade pressure and turn a negative play into a positive one. Kolb has proved me wrong about his arm, but the fact remains that his arm is simply inferior in arm strength to Vick. If under pressure but a wideout is alone on a streak pattern, Vick can get the ball more easily downfield to him. Also, Vick just simply has the experience to help win games, a fact that is often overlooked.
Vick has the ability to make something out of nothing and take advantage of Philly's speedy receivers with his big arm.
Andy said that Vick will be the starter after the bye. I hope he keeps his word. If it were up to me, if Vick continues to deliver strong performances I would extend him and trade Kolb. Kolb is a young QB and has shown he has a ton of potential. The Falcons got two 2nd round picks from the Texans for Matt Schaub. I don't know if the Eagles could pull that off with Kolb, but a 2nd or 3rd rounder is certainly realistic from a QB-needy team, like Arizona.

Now on to my next point:

A switch at defensive coordinator is a must: I defended Sean McDermott from all his critics last season. I told everyone that it was unfair to judge him after losing team leader and future hall of famer Brian Dawkins and having MLB Stewart Bradley lost for the season. Surely, next season, he will have things under control.

I was wrong. Yes, he has pressured teams way more than last season, but has failed to keep that pressure up in the 2nd half of games. Except for the Atlanta game, the Eagles allowed teams to nearly come back (or actually come back) every single game. Green Bay scored a great deal the 2nd half, putting pressure on Vick to try to catch up. Detroit and the 49ers of all teams nearly spoiled Eagles victories. And now Tennessee ruined our chances at going 5-2 before the bye.
It is becoming more and more apparent that McDermott is to blame for Philly's defensive collapses.
Clearly, the coaching is to be held responsible. And I'd hate to say this, but Sean McDermott has got to go. Bad play-calling and a lack of discipline has become far too consistent on this defense. Put him back at secondary coaching where he excelled. I'm ready to see what Dick Jauron can make of this young roster.

After a humiliating loss to the Titans, the Eagles now find themselves 4-3 and looking for answers. The season is by no means lost, as future opponents do not look nearly as nasty as they did over the summer (Colts, Redskins, Giants, Bears, Texans, Cowboys, and Vikings are all beatable teams). But this bye is very much needed if the Eagles are to right this ship going forward.

And with the return of Michael Vick (and DeSean Jackson hopefully) around the corner, Philly has all the potential to bounce back and find themselves once again in the postseason.

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