• March 28, 2024

Eagles Say How Good They Are, Giants Show It On The Field

The Philadelphia Eagles, on paper, are good enough to play in the Super Bowl.  They, like the New York Giants or the New England Patriots, on paper, belong in Indianapolis.

And any self-respecting birds fan that watched yesterday’s NFC championship game had to of thought to themselves at some point that the Eagles could be in this situation. They should be in this situation.

This may sound all too familiar, but please stop with the dreaming.

With all the talent that the Eagles possess there is often a gap in what they are capable of and what they actually accomplish on the field. Too often the team has relied on the concept that they “should have” or “could have” won a game if a few bounces went in different directions.

If the Eagles ever want to join the Steelers, Patriots and now, as much as I hate to say it, the Giants, as one of the elite organizations in the NFL they need to let their play on the field do the talking. No more questions about what-if or fumbling quotes masking the fact that the team lacks the heart to win when it matters.

The key to success is as simple as a quote from a favorite movie of mine Zombieland.

Nut up, or shut up.

There is no doubting the talent that this team possesses. Michael Vick is an explosive quarterback with an arsenal of wide receivers, who can leave any opposing cornerback in the dust. They have a running back in LeSean McCoy that conjures up images of Barry Sanders as he slices and dices his way through linebackers.

They have a defensive line as menacing as any other in the league, but those same players need to work on the intangibles. They need to do the little things that earn you wins in the close games that eluded them throughout the year.

Anyone who witnessed a Marty Mornhinweg’s press conference over the last few games of the Eagles season knows how much of a sore spot the team’s ill-timed turnovers were with the offensive coordinator.  Just like Eagles fans, Mornhinweg would wince when the team’s god-awful turnover differential was brought up.

He knew that if they had saved a few turnovers in the home game against the Cardinals they could have won. He knew that all the Eagles needed to do was show up in the second half of the 49ers games and they could have preserved their 21-3 lead.

Hell, if the team had showed up at all against the Seattle Seahawks they would have been playing the Falcons Wild-Card weekend.  But, the fact of the matter is they didn’t do these things. It is the reason that, hands down, they do not compare to the Giants or Patriots right now.

The Eagles do the talking, while these teams do the winning.

This isn’t all completely bad. The talent will always be there. Count me among the few who think another year under Juan Castillo should do wonders in gelling together the defensive unit. I also think that, if healthy, and with a balanced pass-run ratio, that Mike Vick can lead an offense can put up some pretty hefty numbers.

But, please, Mr. Reid and company, do not drift pointlessly upon the what-if’s or should-haves over the off-season. Do not worry about how the Giants, a team the Eagles beat with Vince Young at the helm, are about to play in another Super Bowl.

Work towards making a better team and make them realize that wins are earned on the field, not in some hype competition.

The Eagles and their fans need a Super Bowl, not the promised dream of one.

Join me tonight on 94WIP at 10pm and we will talk about why the Eagles have been coming up short.

Timothy Johnson

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bsmvideos
January 23, 2012 12:27 pm

Fundamentals.

If the 49er kick/punt returner uses them, then they have a better chance to win.

Fundamentals.

The Eagles are often to void of them.

Yes you can win games passing all the time. But when you balance your attack you will win big games more consistantly.

Andy Reid loses big games (1-4 nfc championships 0-1 superbowl) because a fundamentally sound coach can easily out coach him, even if Reid has more talent.

Lovie Smith beats him every year. So does Belichik. Take away all the flash and dash and you have always been able to run on the Eagles. They are too small on defense and offense. What other team has makes you so nervous on 3rd and one?

The Eagles football players are a reflection of their head coach and front office. They think they are better than they are. The reality is your record. Nothing else. Your coaches choke in big games. There is a aura of confidence that great coaches give off. When you watch Andy at the end of a tight game he always looks shaken not stirred. Nervous.

Andy is who he is. It won’t change in year 14.

The Eagles will win games. Maybe even the division next season. But forget winning the Superbowl.

If “Self Destruct” Andy gets away with giving us a Buffoon for a defesive coordinator, then when does it end? I blame the front office for allowing 1 man to have that much say.

Even the government has checks and balances.

Lurie showed his true nature at his press conference.

He saw what we saw, but in the end. The Eagles and the NFL are a business. And business is good in Philadelphia.

The old 49ers owner(debartalo), wanted to win badly. The Steelers ownership as well. Even Jerry Jones cares more about winning Superbowls. (laugh at his stupidity all you want, he won superbowls after getting rid of a legendary coach in Tom Landry). Not afraid of change.

This owner talks winning, but he had the gaw to look the Philadelphia Media and fans in the face and say he will not do or say anything to Andy Reid about the dumbest coaching move in the history of the NFL.

Now a superbowl winning defensive coordinator is off the market.

We are soooo smart.

Here we go again.

DCar
DCar
January 23, 2012 12:37 pm

BSM, I agree wholeheartedly. Always good to read your reality, fact based posts. We are a joke, & a sinking ship, with a lame duck coach. GOOD TIMES!

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 23, 2012 12:42 pm

You guys may have to start paying me for my incite because this guy timmy took almost everything i said in my 2 posts earlier…I will be calling up Timmy to give a piece of my mind, dont record my words and use it on another GCOBB post though lol

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 12:56 pm

I tdon’t think any of this is any real surprise to any true football fans…
The Eagles simply do not have the toughness and guts to grind games out in the trenches which is needed to move on in the Post-Season..
The Biggest telling stat of who wins or loses (besides Turnovers) is the Offenses Red-Zone Efficiency and the Defensive Red-Zone Stoppages… The Eagles have sucked in this crtical catergory for a while now due to their lack of toughness, crazy play calling and an overall lack of heart and agins, this are all attributes from their HC AR that filter down to the players on the field.. I beliver the Eagles Secondary over the last 3 Seasons has given up more TD passes than any other team in the NFL.. The Eagles Red-Zone Defense has also been horrible allowing TD’s (7 points) almost every trip down.. When you combine the Eagles Offensive troubles of scoring TD’s in the Red-Zone (with their smallish WR’s) it’s no wonder that they are jsut an average team, no more and no less in my opinion and I have been pointing this out for the last few years… This Team is not a very good team (even on Paper) if you follow the sport close enough), yes, they have Talent, every Team has Talernt, yes they have probably more team speed than most of the teams they play, but they give up size & strength for that Speed…Speed may kill, but it does not necessarily win Football Championships..

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 1:07 pm

Remember whwn the EAgles Defense always had one of the top Defensive Secondaries in the NFL .. With All Pro hard hitting Safeties likes A Waters, W Hopkins and B Dawkins and then coupled with aggressive, sure tackling physcial CB’s like Vincent & Taylor and then Sheppard and Brown …
This Teams Secondary took a turn for the worse when 2 Things Occured
#1) The Signing on the Soft,”Do my own thing” CB A Samuel
#2) The Departure of Safey B Dawkins who was the Heart & Soul of the Eagle Defense

If you think about it, ever since the contract Squabble which led to the Departure of CB Lito Shepard, and Safety Michael Lewis, this Eagle Secondary has gotten a little worse as each season has gone by.. Not only worse, but much more softer and less physical… I stated this 5 years ago and I still stand by it and I am not even saying that SHepard and Lewis was stud players (they were very good in my opinion) but it’s the way that they were dissed and disrespected in their contract talks and tossed away like a Soft pretzel wrapper… This is where I think the crumbling on this Defense started to occur… Then you have players like Dawkins,Trotter, Brown who see a big-name hot shot player come in like CB Samuel and they knew their days were coming to an end due to their own contract status’s….
Am I missing something or the only one who feels this way.. I thnik DC Jj was able to keep the Def Unit together despite the issues with the Front Office about Fair Value Pay, but since JJ is long gone, there is really no one else who was able to keep this guys together and focused on the task at hand with the old “Us against the World” mentality that the Eagles Defense Unit used to have and especially on their Home Turf…

nev856
nev856
January 23, 2012 1:08 pm

if the birds beat the 9ers , the giants are not even in the playoffs , the 9ers would have been the 3 seed and woulda played in new orleans . guess thats why they play the games!

ozzman
ozzman
January 23, 2012 1:53 pm

The Giants, Pats, Ravens and niners all didnt have OTAs and min camps but somehow got this far. I am tired of hearing that excuse with the Eagles. Stop patting themselves on the back for winning those last 4 games too. Fire andy and lets get someone in here already.

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 2:09 pm

Paulman’s Rankings for the Top 8 Teams in the NFC heading into 2013

#1) NY GIants
#2) SF 49ers
#3) GB Packers
#4) NO Saints
#5) Detroit Lions
#6) Dallas Cowboys
#7) Atlanta Falcons
#8) Carolina Panthers

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 2:12 pm

#1) NFC Teams on the Rise in the NFC
49ers,Lions,Panthers,

#2) NFC Teams that will bounce back after shaky 2011
Bears, Cowboys

#3) NFC Teams that are flat out bad
Vikings,TB Bucs,SL Rams, Redksins

#4) NFC Teams mired in mediocrity
Seahawks, Cardinals

#5) NFC Teams on the decline
Eagles

btc24
btc24
January 23, 2012 2:47 pm

The Panthers will be sick next year. If the Redskins get a QB, they will be pretty decent too. I think the Cowboys are destined to underachieve so they don’t bother me. The NFC is by far the toughest conference now.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 23, 2012 3:17 pm

Why do you have Dallas and Atlanta on your top 8 lists.? Dallas is a ‘soft’ team, which (I believe) just as many “4th Q collapses” as the Birds…maybe one less. They are about to go through a major overhaul on D that will take a season to work out. Atlanta is just bad. Really bad. They beneffited from a creampuff schedule as they got to feast on Philly, Carolina (early), Tenny, Jax, TB, Minny at home. Their RB has had about 2000 carries the past 3 years, everyone now doubts their QB and coach……..

If the Birds had a legit QB, they’d be at least 5th on your list….

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 3:32 pm

Because I rate the COwboys Skill players collectively (Romo,Whitten, both their RB’s and their WR’s Corps better than the Eagles group collectively)
Falcons I think are on the way down too, like the Eagles
QB Ryan is overrated (like Vick is) but they still have some talent in TE,WR’s
but I do like new hire DC Mike Nolan who will improve their Defense big time but will need a good 2 years to do it…
The Falcons this decade (2010-2019) remind me of what the EAgles were
from 2000 to 2009, The Falcons are improved and better than they used to be but still come up short in games that matter just like the Ealges did in the previous decade….Now this Decade, the Eagles won’t even get those chances, for they won’t be playing in any of those big games anymore..

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 23, 2012 3:54 pm

OK. SO you just said that it will take 2 years to fix the Atl defense. Granted.

SO, is it a 2 year job to fix a D? (at least)

SO then why the hate (and not much from you) over the job Castillo did. This Defense was historically bad in 2010. Wouldn’t it be expected to take more than a year to tighten things up – even with the additions of Bab, Jenks and Nnamdi?

Of course it would. Yet people on here scream and yell that they didn’t turn into the Steel Curtian 4 games into the season. Despite constantly being put behind the 8 ball with an offence that turned the ball over as many times as they scored tds….they improved in every area. I thiught it was a pretty good job done by Castillo and his staff.

As for Dallas….Romo is Romo. And he’s on the wrong side of 30. I’d probably take him over Vick…..but wouldn’t be excited about it. Their coaching staff is very overrated and I think Jones erred with the re-signing of Garett after the interm success (common mistake). Their FO is run by Jerry Jones! Talk about fantasy football. Murray is a good RB, but Jones and Sammy Morris as the backups? Ugh. And don’t get me going on Dez Bryant. Guy hasn’t ever played an entire season at any level…..is a terrible route runner…and 5 years from now will be known more for his off-the-field antics then play on it….after that….Austin and Robinson? maybe…..

paulman
paulman
January 23, 2012 4:20 pm

I was not and am not a Castillo hater and with all the scheme changes and new players, I think Castillo did ok overall.. He sucked the 1st 6 weeks or so, but the entire team sucked in my opinion.. I thought he did pretty well the 2nd half of the season as he got a better rotation of his LB play and the Secondary startted to come together too..
I put Dallas,Atlanta,Chicago,Eagles,Panthers,Seahawks in that 2nd Tier of Teams in the NFC who can look good or bad and many times in the same game..
As far as the Cowboys go, remember their DC Ryan was in his 1st Season Coachin in Dallas too and though I am not sold on Ryan as a big time coach, they still have not addressed their weak Secondary int the last couple of Seasons.. I think they will add a CB, Safety and DE in the Draft and probably target CB Samuel if released by the Eagles and possibly even a trade w/Eagles. ILB S Lee had a big season, next Seasioin we will see the ILB Bruce Carter become the starter over Brady James.
Offensiveley, they added OL Coach Brian Callahan from the Jets who will also take over the play calling from Garrett.. so I do think they are moving in the right direction.. I think RB D Murray has a great chance to be a big-time back and Felix Jones I see strictly as a #2 RB which isn’t bad…
I do agree that Bryant has a ton of talent but is immature and undiscplined in his play,, If he doesn’t put the work in and mature then he will be a goner by the end of his Rookie deal, but if he ever gets it together, he could be tough.. I also think Miles Austin has to step up for them, since siging that big contraact after coming out of nowhere, he has been average too….

Rocko
Rocko
January 23, 2012 5:53 pm

Caughlin wouldn’t of sat Hakeem Nicks down a game for missing a meeting if it meant he could possibly lose a game and not get into the playoffs. Andy Blows and has been here for 13 going on 14 years with the same thing. the Cowboys have 3 SB, Giants 3, Skins 3 and Eagles 0..We suck, and it starts from Lurie on down. When Reid is gone and we get somebody in here who wants “fat Hog-Maulers and Roadgraders” up front on offense and defense, then I’ll take notice. until then We ‘re pure garbage.

BigE
BigE
January 23, 2012 7:22 pm

Birds are all in the post season and on vacation. I wonder what the group of front office non footballing clown nerds are doing. Mulling over their stats and decisions and giving their asinine justification that they are on the right track. Asante was not far off when he said they were doing their fantasy football thing.
Not too long ago Howie was elated over getting a Detroit linebacker that he was watching from afar, a loser who hit his own teammates afer the play was over harder than he hit any opposing player. Giants have Tuck, we have Abiamiri, the glass statue. The Giants have Victor Cruz, we have Chad Hall, the new Reno Mahe.

DCar
DCar
January 24, 2012 2:00 am

JH, sue him for copyright infringement. LMFBO!!! Yeah none of this is a surprise, Paul. It’s the same stuff we have been saying for years now. It’s beating a dead horse.

Kachtice
Kachtice
January 24, 2012 8:32 am

Andy Reid is good for the bottom line and Jeffrey Lurie still gets to watch his home town team play in the Super Bowl. Sounds like a win-win for Lurie.