Photo: Lehigh Valley Live
Last year, after the Eagles got out to a 3-6 start, I wrote an almost 3,000-word post on what was wrong with the team and organization as a whole. Almost all of it remains true today. Some details have changed, but the message is the same: the Eagles aren’t capable of winning a Super Bowl as constructed, Andy Reid needs to go, and the team needs an image refresh. Here is that post, originally on this site on November 16, 2011.
I’m not usually one to write knee-jerk Eagles posts. I think that for far too long, local print and radio outlets have fallen into the same lazy trap of pontificating every move the Eagles make, a practice that I find to be of little interest to a majority of Philadelphia sports fans (raise your hand if you run to the curb each morning to read Phil Sheridan's Eagles bloviations… looks around… no one, that’s what I thought). But that’s the person the local and national media often portray as the stereotypical Philly fan– the hardcore, fire Andy, McNabb sucks, snowball throwin’ dope who spells out E-A-G-L-E-S in his Alpha-Bits cereal each morning before grabbing his lunch pail and heading to work. And until recently – with the advent of blogs, a second sports talk radio station, and a dominant baseball team – we really didn’t have much of a choice but to be that guy, each morning awaking to listen to and read about the same endless Eagles debate.
Well, we’ve tried to fight that repetitive cycle here on CB. Realizing that there are three other major teams (four, if you count the Union), we’ve made a point of not falling into the same mundane trap of whining about the Eagles 24/7. But there comes a time when we must join in on the refrain: Fire Andy Reid! Blow the whole thing up. Start over. And give us back our football team.
The Eagles aren’t cool anymore
Sports fandom in this city is cyclical. During the mid and late-nineties, the Flyers were Philly’s favorite team. It was a time when the Sixers were awful, the Phillies stunk, and the Eagles were average, at best.
From roughly 1995-2000, Eric Lindros was in the prime of his career and, for three of those years, the center on the Legion of Doom, hockey’s most dominating line. The Flyers went to three Eastern Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final. They never won the whole thing, but they were undoubtedly at the top of the Philly food chain.
For the next seven years, until 2007, it was the Eagles’ turn. You know their accomplishments— four straight conference championship games, one Super Bowl appearance, and the most feared defense in the NFL. It was a period of sustained success matched by few teams in the history of Philly sports.
Since 2007, it’s been the Phillies, for reasons I don’t need to explain.
But the success of the Phillies is not the only reason why the Eagles are no longer atop the Philly food chain. At some point between the day the Eagles lost the Super Bowl and today, they’ve lost us. They’ve lost their cool factor.
Sure, they still fill the stadium and get fantastic local ratings. But why wouldn’t they? They’re the NFL team in one of the country’s largest markets. Of course we’re still going to show up and watch every Sunday. We love football, too. So no matter how bad or hilarious it gets, we’re going to root for our team, have orgasmic explosions (figurative, mostly) when they sign the best available free agents, and celebrate like only Philadelphians know how when they pull off a historic comeback against the Giants.
Unfortunately, however, those moments have been few and far between over the last few seasons. Now some of us are actively rooting for the Eagles to lose. We watch games not to cheer, but to laugh at the inevitable fuck up. Just stop by Twitter or Facebook during an Eagles game– you’ll see what I’m talking about.
What you’ll find are not the cries of fans who ache at the thought of a loss… you’ll find people getting joy (or at least dark humor) out of seeing their team being humiliated every week. Hell, my favorite pastime is watching Andy Reid’s press conference after a loss. I just love how the media takes on a pack mentality and gets pleasure out of watching Andy fume. I swear Les Bowen carries a pitchfork into those things.
That doesn’t happen to cool teams. Cool teams’ fans don’t take pleasure in watching the coach suffer. Cool teams don’t have what I’d imagine is a sleep-deprived Grilled Reuben Frank eating burritos and crunching statistics about how awful they are.*
*For real, check out Roob’s Twitter timeline sometime, it’s as though he wired-in like the dorks in The Social Network and isn’t coming up for air until he finds the perfect stat to explain how mind-bogglingly awful Andy Reid is. And I actually enjoy it.
But why?! Why are the Eagles no longer cool? And how do we change that?
A top-down cleansing of the entire organization.
Fire Andy Reid
How in the world do you get a rookie safety covering Larry Fitzgerald in the final moments of a close game?
When you have an offensive line coach as your defensive coordinator– that’s how.
When Reid hired Juan Castillo to be his defensive coordinator earlier this year, it was clear to most paying attention that this move would either make or break Big Red. If it worked out, the move would have been pure genius– what an outside-the-box way of thinking, this guy is a genius! If it didn’t work out, however (which it’s not)… then Reid should be fired.
…
It’s the same old shit. You know this. How many times must the Eagles throw two yards short of the first down marker on crucial third and fourth downs? Yeah, I know, Steve Smith deserved some of the blame on Sunday, but. this. keeps. happening.
And then there are all those wasted timeouts and challenges.
And the unwillingness to stick to the run.
And the lack of accountability.
And now players are showing up late to meetings– a clear sign that you’re starting to lose the team.
Gov. said it best (really) on Postgame Live Sunday: This is why there are term limits in politics.
He’s right. Not only has has Reid lost the fans, he’s starting to lose his players.
But let’s talk about the fans for a second.
Reid represents everything that is soulless and wrong with the Eagles. He’s the figurehead for an organization that doesn’t understand its customers, Philadelphia, or the basics of putting together a championship-winning franchise.
He’s been here for 13 years and has yet to win a Super Bowl… but that’s not a fireable offense, in my mind. No, I would fire Andy Reid because, from a strict business standpoint, he makes people hate the product. As mentioned above, I look forward to watching him fume after a loss. Others laugh at his decisions. He’s hardly a likable figure, and now the results aren’t there, either.
For the first time this offseason, the Eagles did go all-in, assembling a “Dream Team” (hate myself) for Reid. What has he done with that talent? 3-6. Tells you all you need to know.
As a business owner, if someone is going to make people hate your product, they better be producing results.
Reid's not. Fire him.
Jerseys
Here’s what I think of when I see the Eagles’ current jerseys: Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, and Jim Johnson.
Donovan McNabb is on a bench somewhere, Brian Dawkins has played for the Broncos the last three seasons, and Jim Johnson is dead.
The current iteration of uniform (complete with new color scheme) worked well for the late-nineties. It signaled a shift in ownership and direction of the team. And it meshed well with the product. The Eagles had relative success on the field, became the gold standard, and asserted themselves as Philly’s number one team for the better part of a decade. Their new look was synonymous with a winning product.
That’s no longer the case.
The Eagles jerseys are stale. They remind of Forman Mills sales, the Dirty Thirty, and post-season failures. To make matters worse, the Eagles have abandoned any semblance of variety. In years past, they wore alternate jerseys: black (perfect for that mid-2000s chic), yellow and blue (hideous, but I enjoyed them), and kelly green (one-year only anniversary jersey). But why nothing new? As our resident uniform expert Dan Fuller pointed out earlier this year, the Eagles will be wearing no alternates this season. Why? Who would that hurt? Fans like them, they look good, and – got your attention now, Mr. Lurie – they make money.
If the Eagles are going to go in a new direction by firing Reid (something most of us agree they should do), then they need to usher in a new era in uniforms, too. Whether that’s kelly green or the current shade, I don’t care. That’s for someone else to figure out.
Nike?
Next year, Nike will take over the duties of providing NFL teams with jerseys. Why not use that as a chance to spice things up a little? They don’t need to go all Oregon on us (though I’m not totally against that*), but Nike can certainly help modernize the Eagles' look.
*The more I get into Euro soccer, the more I appreciate the way they have new kits every season. I used to be uber old skool (k, baby) in my uniform beliefs, but I’ve been converted: They’re sports. They’re supposed to be fun. Why not put out a new product, excite fans, and make a buck each year?
I’m indifferent on the logo itself. However, the old-style eagle does provide some more flexibility, I would think.
It’s the Mighty Ducks Effect: Do you remember that scene in DII where Jan gave the team new jerseys during intermission and they finally, um, flew together? Do that, Eagles.
Mascot
While Sixers CEO Adam Aron is tying a weight to Hip Hop’s rabbit feet, perhaps he can throw a line around Swoop’s talons, and together the two can sink to the bottom of the sea of unnecessarily swollen mascots.
Cheerleaders
They can stay.
Michael Vick
Make no mistake, this was a dumb contract. Sure, the Eagles only guaranteed roughly $35 million of the total $80 million (it’s not a $100 million contract– Vick has likely already voided that last year by playing in more than 35% of snaps this year), but the move was based on a very small sample size. I will once again reference what I wrote for the USA Today Football Preview this summer on why Vick wasn't an MVP candidate:
Through the first six games of 2010, Vick eclipsed a 100 QB rating four times. In the final six games? Just once.
In the first seven games of 2010, Vick didn’t throw one interception. He threw six in his final five games, plus one season ending pick in the playoffs.
Vick’s yards per attempt and completion percentage were also down in the second half of the season. And he was sacked more, too: 15 times in first six games, 19 in final six.
As you know, Vick has been nothing more than average this season.
Why is that? Well, for starters, he was never that good of a quarterback. Last year, when Kevin Kolb got hurt and the Eagles made Vick their starter, other teams in the league (looking at you, Redskins) were woefully underprepared for the new looks the Eagles were giving them. As a result, Vick tore up the league for a couple of months. Once game tapes piled up, however, teams were able to prepare and force Vick to be the helter-skelter, scrambling quarterback he is.
This tells you all you need to know: The Eagles were 8-2 beginning with Vick’s first start in Week 2 last season. Since beating the Giants in December? 3-8.
To make matters worse, because of his running style, Vick is fragile. He currently has two broken ribs.
So where does that leave the Eagles? Well, they’re stuck with Vick through – at least – the end of next season. Releasing him earlier would force the team to take a major cap hit for the guaranteed portion of Vick’s contract (as best as I understand it).
This contract was dumb from the start. Vick is essentially Allen Iverson: fantastically talented, exciting to watch… but not going to win you a championship. Oh yeah, and that bad boy from Virginia thing, too.
Now the Eagles are stuck, at least for a little while, with a fragile, overpaid, running quarterback. The only solution is to draft a new one and cross fingers.
Fight song (and that whole blue collar aura)
Googling “Eagles pep band” returns the top results to their Angelfire-looking webpage and Myspace page. Myspace.
They have three featured songs listed on Myspace. In order:
Eagles Fight Song
Eagles Fight Song
Eagles Fight Song
By my estimation, based on no scientific evidence whatsoever, I’d say the pep band has performed Fly Eagles Fly roughly 35,002 times. That’s nine thousand and two too many. It’s time to move on.
Look, I don’t have a problem with Fly Eagles Fly – it’s been around since 1960 (according to Wikipedia) – but who in the Eagles marketing department believes that a bunch of blue collar guys with banjos appeals to the 6,930,000 in the Philly DMA who aren’t in attendance at the Linc on Sundays?
We discussed this on our radio show yesterday– the Eagles have Penn State Syndrome. Lurie sees tens of thousands of die-hards swarm to the Linc each Sunday during football season. To him, it looks like things are fine, like the Eagles are beloved. He’s wrong.
What he fails to recognize is that while he sees a relatively large group of supporters, they’re only a tiny fraction of his total audience (much the way many Penn Staters failed to see the national outrage at the Sandusky allegations). When you step outside the bubble, you get a much different view on happenings inside. The pep band and many other marketing tactics employed by the Eagles are stale and don’t appeal to the masses.
As John Miller pointed out on our show, the demographics of Philly are changing: the city is trying to become a destination for tech companies… the suburbs are chock full of fans who don’t give a rats’ ass about how awesome Vince Papale was… and, to some, Buddy Ryan is just Rex Ryan’s father. Basically, the hipster infusion is well underway, and it might make sense to appeal to those folks, too. Modernizing the banjo-laden rallying cry is a good place to start.
*It’s also worth noting that a recent ESPN study found that football fans are fans of the league, and baseball fans are fans of their team. Why? Fantasy football. The Eagles would be smart to expand upon the league-mandate to show stats on scoreboards, and cater to a wider audience.
Dave Spadaro
I figured if I’m going to write 2,500 words about the Eagles, I might as well hate on Spuds a little bit.
He’s insulting.
He insults our intelligence by pretending to be an “insider reporter,” when, in reality, he’s a PR person for the Eagles.
There’s nothing wrong with teams producing their own content with their own talent. Hell, Scott Palmer does it well for the Phillies. But when you see him, you know what you’re getting: a team-produced puff piece– we’re OK with that. The Eagles, however, try to blur the lines and take it to another level with Spadaro, who’s a mouthpiece for Reid and hosts call-in radio shows on the Eagles website, which also boasts a CSN-alternative post-game show for folks who are OK with taking Neo’s blue pill.
Spadaro is actually very good at what he does (which is getting people riled up), but his presence is a lame attempt by the Eagles to control the message. And if you don’t think that’s their goal, know that I’m told a local off-peak sports talk radio guy was denied a credential because he was too hard on the team.
I mean, this is football, not an oppressive regime… right?
Andy is not dead [pic via Google images]
Blow it up
Reid had a good run. This era of Eagles football, while controversial, has been fun: five NFC Championship games, one Super Bowl, and many, many exciting Sunday afternoons.
It’s become clear, however, that the Eagles don’t have a shot of winning the Super Bowl this season. And probably not next season (because Vick isn’t the guy). And potentially not the season after that. So why keep the coach around? Repeating the same action and expecting a different result is the first sign of mental retardation.
Lurie has created a monster of a business. I’m not going to bash him for doing so. Nor am I go to bash him for the competitive every year thing– I think it’s a smart business and football tactic. But, as a business, the Eagles are showing signs of trouble: they are no longer winning, their most loyal customers are mad, everybody else doesn’t care, and with every public display of their product they’re turning off more and more people. It would be like if now that Steve Jobs is dead Apple started making shitty toys, ignored the cries of hipsters, announced products with terse press releases instead of inspiring stage presentations, and failed to promote their redundant creations to a mainstream audience.
That doesn't work in technology. And it doesn’t work in sports.
Some of you might think this is overreaction. But raise your hand if you get excited for Eagles games on Sundays.
Two of you, in the Peco jackets. Thanks.
Now, raise your hand if you say to yourself: “Why am I about to waste three hours on this crap?”
Holy sh– put your hands down! You’re at work and your boss is going to get mad. Jeez, I didn’t mean literally.
You see that, Jeffrey? You’ve lost your audience. Please give us a new football team, we don’t like this one anymore.
70 Responses
I’m a Vick fan and not really an Eagles fan, but I agree with pretty much all of this. The Eagles need to blow up and just start over. The whole organization just seems like its trying to hold on to the way things were in the early 2000’s. The coaching staff is definitely the first thing that needs to go though. Andy Reid seems so out of touch with his players its not even funny.
Completely agree. I used to chunk out 5 hours for Eagles football a week…hour pregame party with friends, 3 hour game, 1 hour postgame with friends. Now, we all for some reason have something better to do than get disgusted over the brain farts we see on our TVs
Re: The Reid section. A fireable offense because he makes people “hate the product.”
OK, yes, we hate the product this year because they are 3-6. But, let’s be fair — last year, they were 10-4 and Reid is dishing out chest bumps, locker-room headlocks, etc., we didn’t “hate the product.” Even during their 10, 11, 12 win seasons, the games they lost we all griped over Reid’s decisions. But we didn’t “hate the product” at that time.
We don’t “hate the product” because Reid is dull and boring and predictable; we “hate the product because they’re 3-6.
Tony. Dungy. Please.
Well said.
I agree with parts of the article, but I think you are completely wrong with other parts. The Eagles were cool in August when they made all their signings. Everyone was pissed as anything after the losses in September and excited again the last few weeks when it looked like they had a shot. Now they lose a couple and we realize what this team really is. Hence why now it is laughable and we know they’re going to screw up, and frankly do not care as much because we know they are going no where this year. But if they are winning next year, they are just as cool and everyone is just as excited as in August and throughout the past decade.
2 other things:
1. If they get rid of the fight song I will riot. I love that song and it needs to stay around for all of eternity.
2. Who still reads Dave Spadaro? People haven’t realized by now he is a fraud?
This Team needs an emema~~~~~~~ #philadelphiaEagles
Bra-FUCKING-vo.
The only thing I enjoy more then watching the Eagles lose each week, is tuning in to “Post Game Live” and watching that fat slob Ed Rendell cry into his twinkies.
Sometimes things are as simple as they seem. The following reasons are why I want Andy gone and have been waiting for him to get shitcanned.
Hiring Marty Mornhinweg as OC. Had a 5-27 record as Detroit head coach. The fact that he was Detroit’s head coach in the years when any coach of any real value would not want to work in Detroit. Had a good run calling the plays at the end of 2006 into the playoffs. Since then not so much.
Juan Castillo. Enough said.
Still can’t manage the clock.
Still can’t adjust on the sidelines, even when a QB he drafted is now on the other team, allowing him to yell out formations and plays.
Still passes on 3rd from the goal line and runs dumb trick plays on 3rd and 20.
Still under-utilizes the run even though he may currently have one of the best backs in the game.
Still drafts and signs undersized players in all positions.
After all these years I just want to see a new staff and philosophy. I’d like to see what Billick and a new DC could do with this group of players.
These are the worst ideas ever. Horrible article. Seriously. Have fun when you replace Andy Reid with some other coach and the Eagles are mired in mediocrity. Blame the players for once. They are the ones that drop passes, miss tackles, overthrow receivers, and jump offsides. This blog has become a joke. Change the fight song??? HAHAHAHA Yeah, that will really make the Eagles play better.
I’ve been saying everything you just said for 3 years now, but it still made me happy to see it and read it here. Lets go, start the demolition.
@iggles fan, you know being mired in mediocrity would be a step up for us right now, right?
Agree with pretty much everything except for the fact about changing uniforms every year. I know you don’t mean literally every year and I am okay with wearning an alternate jersey here and there but I am a fan of the classic look.
hey nobody told you people to write essays as well.
love,
Beez Nutz
Very well done.
When the Eagles were on the playoff runs, they were much bigger than the Phillies when they won.
Granted, Eagles are low among diehard Philly sports fans now (and the bandwagon is empty), but when the bandwagon is going, they are the biggest by a longshot. Obviously, diehard fans are much more excited by the Flyers and Phils right now, but the Eagles have more fans.
There are two types of football fans out there; Diehards who’s entire week is ruined when the Birds lose and the others (we watch, we read, maybe even comment, but Monday morning rolls around and life goes on uninterrupted). The 1st fan puts hard-earned dollars into the team via tickets, jerseys, tv packages, merchandise, parking, seat licensing, etc. These dollars are spent and never returned and leave said fan with an emptiness in their wallet along with their heart. The 2nd fan spends money on improving their lives, raising their kids, investing for the future, etc, and sees actual returns.
Diehards fly off the handle at their loved ones who ‘don’t bleed green’, casual fans laugh at diehards. Diehards protect and dispute the image of an Eagle’s ‘passion’ to national media types, casual fans thank God they moved past those years and aren’t embarrasing themselves with something so trivial.
All that said, if the Eagle’s current patheticness dictates your moods, capitalizes your attention span, and overall dampens your life, you should start the finger pointing once your standing in front of a mirror.
I was a diehard for a long time, close minded to being a fan of any other way. And then something changed (can’t say for sure what it was), perspective was gained, and life improved (won’t say it got better, but there was certainly a lot less somber Mondays during the season, i.e. addition by subtraction).
Now I still follow the Birds, obviously, and when they are on national TV, I’ll tune it, but the days of pure allegiance are over. I’ll still smile when (or more aptly, IF) they win, and enjoy a good performance (not this year)…but the days of hating anything because a sports team consisting of over-grown, spoiled millionaires lost a game are gone.
I invite the diehards to try it sometime…you may find you don’t miss this team nearly as much as you think you might.
@Andrew – “We don’t “hate the product” because Reid is dull and boring and predictable; we “hate the product because they’re 3-6.”
That could NOT be more of the case. This season is a complete abortion. There is SO much talent on this team, at very least they should be 6-3. Hell, they could really be undefeated (I know, I know, I’m out of my mind). But honestly, they have been winning just about EVERY game until the 4th quarter. Reid can not adjust. He has run his course and it’s so old and stale now it HAS to be changed. But I digress…
As for the points in the article… Reid (and the rest of the staff) = gone. The Fight Song better stay… it’s great. The jerseys can change as long as the wings stay on the helmet… they are the shit. Swoop means nothing to anyone except some of the kids who go to the games. And Vick HAS to go after next season. Don’t sign D-Jax, ditch Vick, draft a QB and a linebacker this upcoming draft, and trade Samuel for picks or a serviceable player… and you will be right back at the top of the division. It might sound like a lot but it’s not. Thanks for reading my ideas… sorry so long.
GO FLYERS
Oh and the last thing I’ll say is the argument that NO ONE else can coach this team except Andy Reid and that there is NO ONE else is out there and we just have to stick with Andy Reid is RETARDED.
Did you know who Mike McCarthy, Raheem Morris, and Mike Tomlin were before they were hired? No. It takes good people running the organization to find a new Head Coach.
Full disclosure – Rob Ellis made this point on WIP last night. I just thought it hit the nail on the head.
There are OTHER coaches.
Let’s also not lose sight of the fact that Reid probably has lost some of his passion for the job (at least from the outside).
Given how he treats the media, etc…
Also, anyone remember how his first couple years, he would greet fans lined up for playoff tickets on cold January nights and bring them pizza? Yeah, like that would ever happen again…
The dirty thirties were those soot faced drunken irish kids who lived across from the tanks in grey’s ferry and used to steal everything that wasn’t nailed down, Cataldi totally ruined that for me.
@Bleue
That is an excellent point. I see the same thing has happened with me. I used to be a diehard sports fan for all the Philadelphia teams. My mood used to depend on whether the teams won or lost. Somewhere along the line that changed. Sure, I still care. However, I don’t let these teams ruin my mood.
I am so sick and tired of being miserable over Andy Reid, the Phillies non WS wins, Flyers losing in the playoffs and Eagles annual choke jobs. I find that being a casual fan(which includes purchasing my jerseys from China at $45 dollars a pop over spending $80+ for the same thing works much better).
All of you that are letting the Eagles or any other sports team in this city have a negative impact on your lives on a consistant basis, need to look in the mirror.
This should be printed and posted all over the Nova Care complex, Geno’s, Pat’s, the Liberty Bell, the Art Museum, Andy Reid’s fat ass and displayed on that scrolling marquee building…
I have been screaming for Andy Reid to be fired for years. I am pretty excited that I think this might be the year I get my wish.
I hope they lose in some horribly unbelievable fasion every week from here on out. I hope Reid is embarassed by Tony Sparano and they lose 56-7 (D-Jax TD for my fantasy team!)
I am telling everyone right now, If the Eagles don’t fire Reid next year I will move on from being an Eagles fan until they do…Until then, the only team I care about is my fantasy team.
Regarding the article I disagree with alot but agree with some.
– The Eagles are cool anymore because they aren’t winning. It is that simple. If this team was 6-3, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
– Still after all these years never understood why the sports teams are pinned against each other by some fans, media, and bloggers? They are all equal, not a competition.
– Andy Reid needs to go, but won’t. I think the lockout will be his scapegoat. Castillo will be moved to another position within the organization.
– Jerseys if changed, should go back to Kelly Green. If not, then leave them.
– Swoop? Who cares? He isn’t as bad as Hip Hop.
– Spuds. He isn’t going anywhere. You are right, he is their annoying PR guy. But he does a good job for them.
Bottom line is this: 3,000 words typed complaining and more than likely nothing will change. If the Eagles have hot start next year under Reid everyone will be happy again.
@ iggles fan. I have to agree… although not 100% I feel that a vast vast vast amount of blame has to be placed on the players, but at the end of the day, after multiple failures with player personel you have to blame the people that bring the players in… and as far as the fight song and the “blue collar” argument. Get the fuck outta here. So what the eagles are supposed to usher in a new “era” by having a fucking starbucks and Charles Schwab offices in the concourse???? and at what cost, alienating the current/past fan bases, which by the way are the people that are born, live and die here, THE TRUE FUCKING FANS!!!! Not some mindless yuppie that uses phrases like “so full of win” and “uber”.
I agree, Andy Reid’s time has come….time for change, and fresh faces to lead this team….
Jersey wise…I also think a spice up is also overdue…but that is last on my list of wishes from the Eagles.
Lurie..please mix it up, and give us fans something to cheer about….I am tired of being embarrassed by this team and its on field decision making…
Good piece Kyle.
I actually think the NFL has been rather boring this year altogether and I have a theory why…
Commercials. Jesus H Christ. There are more commericals than actual game. That is also why I think youll find a majority of people dont give a shit about the NBA lockout, and why those of us who love hockey cant figure out why no one else does.
Football – 60 min of football – 3.5 hours
Basketball – 48 min of Bball – 3 hours
Hockey – 60 minutes – 2.5 hours. Nonstop action.
eagles organization= smug
Not sure how well new uniforms/jerseys would go over with fanbase, considering they’re in the midst of one of the worst seasons of the last decade+. If the jerseys are nice, many will eat them up, but might want to wait for a better season to do it to maximize effect. Let’s just start with a new Head Coach- someone who knows how to utilize a running game to control game, keep QB upright/healthy, and open up field for the pass. Andy Reid’s deficiencies, which may have cost the Eagles playoff wins in the past, are currently costing the team regular season wins, and will eventually cost him his job. Hopefully, sooner than later.
By the way –
ANDY REID FUCKING SUCKS IN THE DRAFT. CANT WAIT TO WATCH HIM BOTCH A TOP 10 PICK ON SOME 43 YEAR OLD QUARTERBACK FROM WITCHITA STATE.
@joe –
Yeah, he sucks so bad in the draft…
Boy, that McCoy really sucks. All us fans were calling for Moreno that year.
Boy, that Maclin really sucks. All us fans were calling for Pettigrew that year.
Boy, that Jackson really sucks.
Boy, that McNabb really sucked. All us fans were calling for Williams that year.
Boy, that Westbrook really sucked.
Boy, that drafting of Lito and Sheldon really sucked when we had Bobby and Troy already.
Every single team has hits and misses in the draft. The Great Belichick is getting shredded right now for his weak drafts recently.
Kyle,
Disagree partly on fight song and pep band. The pep band can be fun and “cute” during crucial games sports radio rallies, and standing at an entrance to the linc, playing over and over again, however, the band is overdone, over-used, and bugs me when i hear them on every radio station in the area during an entire season.
Everyone think this Juan Castillo thing was an abortion gone wrong. I think this is the point where the players lost this team. I am pretty sure current players, as well as 95% of fans, were saying WTF??? People are tired of Andy acting as though he knows more than everyone else. Sure he’s an NFL head coach, but don’t pee on my leg and tell me its raining, and don’t hire an offensive line coach to be the next great defensive coordinator.
I’m also tired of the fact that they have a system for players to pay money. Great. but the key position you needed to fill over the past 5 years is middle linebacker. You need a 6’3″ 260lbs, 4.5, 4.6 speed linebacker, not some 235 5’11 guy with a great name. Its the most important defensive position!!! (INMHO)
I think you’re right about jersey’s too. switch to Kelly Green for a season. and mix it up.
Also want to see us lose every game and give the USC kid a chance at backup QB.
Also, no fucking way does the Union count as a philly team. The Union will forever be held with the Soul and Wings in the third tier after Big 5.
@that guy
So let me get this straight, you say you need a MLBer that is 6’3 260 lbs and it is the most important position, yet you want to draft Barkely? What?
If you are in that spot you have to draft Vontaze Burfict from Arizona St. 6’4 260 lb. MLBer. Supposed to be a franchise player and the best MLBer in the draft by far.
That is your pick right there. However, with Reid and the Eagles they will draft a OT or DE.
Eagles have no likeable players on the team.
@mvptommyd
sorry i didn’t reread it. I want Barkley as our next drafted QB.
Dream Team insinuates that every player on the team is high quality. The Eagles dont even have a dream defense. 11 guys aside play the game and only 4 of them on the defensive side were worth anything. Its telling when a comcast poll shows that an overwhelming majority of fans want Kafka on Sunday if Douche.. I mean Vick cant play.
Im totally happy with this. one year closer to Reid and Vick being gone.
I just don’t think the Eagles, these Eagles, this FO including and especially, Andy, deserve our allegiance. The concept of the Eagles itself, has been gagged, hijacked and thrown in the trunk of the vehicle that is the faceless, ego thrusting, money machine.
When I look back at the other eras of Eagles football, I think about the personality of the team as a whole..Vermeil, Buddy, Rhodes, Kotite (sure)and then there’s Andy and that weird political arraingement that he has with the FO.
Andy is arrogant, but the type of arrogance intertwined with equal parts goofs, gaffes and non-answers that polarize his impression upon the fans. He is also stale…he runs a trite, tired act that year in and year out, proves to be anywhere from “not quite good enough” to “patently awful.”
Andy Reid’s name on the football 86 List is long, long overdue.
Kyle thats a good article.
first off though, I dont count the sixers as a major team anymore i think the union usurped them when their attendance beat the sixers attendance.
second, uniforms – they need to go back to kelly green and maybe bring back the old logo with a modern twist on it(see washington capitals)
third – to all eagles fans the fight song is not only not only dumb…the concept of having a pep band that sings three total songs all about the egales is retarded and makes us look like hillbilly rednecks in my opinion. lets lose the pep band and move on.
4th – say goodbye to the entire coaching staff, desean, all our linebackers, our safeties, vick, and our o-line. essentially only keep maclin, mccoy, our corners, our d-line, and the rest of our recievers
5th – eagles fans, even the diehards (you know, the ones that give the city and all its sports fans a bad name) need to wake up. lurie and banner wont do anything to this team until people stop showing support for the team. why yes we pride ourselves on our loyalty in philly, blindly following this team off the cliff is not intelligent andits not loyalty its stupidity. if you want to root for philly sports the FLYERS are the BEST team in the city hands down (easily the most exciting team). the PHILLIES are a close second. and right now even the UNION are higher on my list than the eagles. wake up philadelphia, the eagles are no longer your team. the city isnt green anymore. The city is ORANGE BLACK RED and BLUE. get off your high horse and stop blindly following this team like they are the second coming of christ
Andrew…you listed 7 draft picks. Hes been here 13 years. Gimme a break.
Mike –
Clearly I was making a point that it’s unfair to say he can’t draft. And that was just off the top of my head thinking about right decisions despite fans wanting Player XXX.
Obviously I could go back 13 years and continue to pick out good draft picks. (And, obviously, I can pick out stinkers, too.)
Shazaham! I decided to go back and actually read your post after I posted my last entry and well…I can only say, “well done.” It’s just a wonder how it could take 3-6 for people to truly understand what a horrible bet for the future that Andy is for this city’s football fans. When Andy was winning, something he did with many of Ray Rhodes’ best guys mind you, he represented progress. He represented hope. NONE of that exists anymore and instead, has been replaced by the all encompassing, “WTF?!” And it happens over and over and over again. I remember the “gamble” that was the 2008 Championship Game for the Birds…it was exciting but the mood was severely tempered by the ineviatable outcome of that game as Donovan’s leadership weaknesses took center stage..again. I remember thinking that making the Championship that year, if they lost, would be the worst thing to happen to the Birds and that we might suffer for many more years because of it.
Andy’s past success should no longer afford him any more chances to belittle the local media and assault the football sensibilities of the Delaware Valley.
Andy Reid is a fat fucking pig
Good article, Kyle. We need a huge blow up of this team/franchise. Unfortunately not sure it happens since Lurie, Banner et al are in cahoots. Also agree with mvptommyd. You got to draft Burfict. Eagles will make Kafka the next longtime starter similar to their plans for Kolb.
“So what the eagles are supposed to usher in a new “era” by having a fucking starbucks and Charles Schwab offices in the concourse????” Haha couldn’t say it better. The Fight Song is the shit, and I say this as a 23 year old in the Suburbs who wears cool t-shirts. Who cares about casual fans (by casual I mean people who say “Oh well, it’s just a game” not just those who don’t slit their wrists after a loss) and “Fans of Football.” Fuck them. To those of us who live for the games and the tailgates, all of these “outdated” things are what we grew up with, what makes this franchise great (except Swoop of course he can die).
Maybe try getting an NFL defensive coordinator, that might help “rebrand” the team. Or an offensive coordinator that runs more than 15 times against a horrible run D when he has no QB or starting WRs. I wonder who hired those two….
And Vick- How many times have his receivers and defense failed him this year? His only really bad game was the Arizona game, when he could barely breath. Everybody hanging my man Vick out to dry fails to mention that he has had the absolute worst luck so far.
Joe Nickles Banner
Your man, Vick is a few games over .500 for his career. He has 1 playoff victory in his pro career. Luck, though not doled out equally to all, usually finds a way to seek close to it’s own level. Andy has basically mortgaged the last few years of his coaching life in Philly against the collateral that is supposed to be Vick’s abiltity…it’s not working out to well for the Big Guy. Vick doesn’t/can’t take care of the ball well enough for Reid to succeed over and above his many shortcomings.
Oh and I’d also like to bring back Dawkins in any capacity whatsoever, assistant, PR, waterboy, whatever. Just get him around this team somehow until he retires at age 75 so I know there’s at least someone in the organization with some fire.
lemme get Bill Cowher, black and white jerseys, and a new qb and ill be happy
i agree with just about everything here except the fight song. i think people really do love the banjos and all that. other then that i 110% agree with everything though.
Good article Kyle, I agree with your comments. I think the organization needs an overhaul and it really all comes down to attitude, which I think projects down from Reid & management. This team (most importantly, defense) has no identity, no attitude. The Dawkins/Trotter/Vincent defenses had an identity. Same goes with the Linc — it’s a nice stadium but does not nearly have the character of the Vet. Over the last decade this team has progressively gotten softer as Reid has gotten more involved involved with personnel decisions.
With this all being said I do not think Lurie will fire Reid. The Eagles management loves Reid. And what’s not to love when 70,000 continue to pack the stadium for home games and millions more continue to watch from their homes? Their pockets still get lined whether they go 10-6 or 6-10. I agree with mvptommyd that Burfict should be their top pick — he instantly adds some attitude to our defense. What the Eagles will probably do is trade their first rounder for a second and a third rounder and then draft an OG and an undersized LB.
RE: It’s the Mighty Ducks Effect: Do you remember that scene in DII where Jan gave the team new jerseys during intermission and they finally, um, flew together? Do that, Eagles.
Couldn’t they go the Charlie Brown effect and suck after they get new jerseys because they think that just because they have cool jerseys they’ll win?
Joe Nickles Banner
GREAT ARTICLE! Couldn’t have said it any better!
Andy Reid will eat anything
Ron, That’s your 1st intellagent post, ever. Comhghairdeas!
The Eagles right now are just a hard team to cheer for and be a fan of. I try really hard and watch every game but I just don’t believe the hype anymore. The team seems like they don’t care and they never seemed to have any urgency the entire season. That mentality is a top down effect and starts with the coach. I completely agree, blow this thing up.
Definitely bring back the Kelly Green and old school uniforms. Current colors and uniforms are dated. The Phillies and Sixers both have returned to their original uniforms. It’s time for the Eagles.
Anyone else laughing when the eagles list again in the 4th q??? They are a joke
read this this morning and thought it was aprpos:
“Next time someone tells you you’re down for the count, tell them ‘I’m from Philly, where Joe Frazier was from. We get back up.'” Rev. Dr. Alyn E. Waller, delivering the Frazier eulogy.
I agree with some of this.
However, we have to think of the alternatives. The options.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the Eagles were second only to the Patriots in terms of wins, winning percentage, playoff appearances, and conference championship appearances. This is an astounding statistic, considering that they won 0 Superbowls, which is, of course, deeply disappointing.
So what can we do? If we switch any coach or player, the idea would be to replace them with someone better. Statistically, that means we need to replace Reid with Belichick. Not going to happen. And who is out there (and available) that is better than Vick? Some sportswriters think that the Colts may trade Peyton Manning if they get Luck in the draft. I’d welcome him here, even if he only has one or two good years left. Basically, my point here is that I’m not opposed to replacing Reid, Vick or anyone else, *IF* we trade up. Replacing them with someone worse simply for the sake of replacing them is not progress – it’s the worst type of knee-jerk response.
I completely disagree with some of the other suggestions – the uniforms, the logo and the fight song. I’m not blue collar – I’m from the Philadelphia region, but anyone who knows me would describe me as a computer geek, and every job I’ve had as an adult has been in an office. That said, being in the Linc after a touchdown, and hearing tens of thousands of people singing the song, is a feeling unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced anywhere. The energy is amazing. It should stay.
I like the uniforms too. I’m not opposed to changes, but the color and logo should stay. The old Eagle logo is incredibly dated and boring, and using the other shade of green will just make us look like the Jets, which no one wants.
And with its crisp, dry flavor and modest alcohol content, hard cider is a real crowd-pleaser. Beer, I was surprised to learn when I read the Journal a few weeks ago, is only appreciated by men. (Note to said men: My upcoming beer and beer-distilled whiskey party may have to be a female-only affair. Serves you right.) Cider, on the other hand, appeals to every palate, and is the perfect alternative for non-beer drinkers at barbeques, baseball games, and other such beery gatherings.
Luke 21:29-33 – He told them a story. “Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here. Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.”
I thought this was pretty cool.
http://phillysportscentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/desean-jackson-cowboys-e1292269860211.jpg
so true
It’s all up to Jeff Lurie.
His divorce is on the frontburner.
He’ll probably serve up a shit sammich for everybody in the Eagles Org.
I get that this is all still true, but really, posting the exact same article is just lazy. I get that there’s nothing to write about lately, but this is just ridiculous. Your “job” is to write shit on a blog and you’re just mailing that in too? Pathetic.
A million cocks couldnt fix this team, trust me… I tried it
I met this girl Rebecca yesterday. She danced for me all the time.
A lot of fun. Told me I could get her show by download at this amazing site.
I did so. Will recommend it to every guy out there.
Really nice stuff.
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