By G. Hylton / @realgoesright
“The Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) take on the Washington Redskins (3-6) this Sunday afternoon. The Eagles, led by All-Pro QB Michael Vick are coming off their last win against the Dallas Cowboys. They have a stranglehold on the NFC East and have one of the best records in the NFL.”
That’s how this article WOULD have started if the universe was aligned properly. Instead, I’m pretty much debating on skipping my 3-6 Eagles to go to work.
On a Sunday.
I am fed up. And running out of ways to defend my team. A cursory glance at the signs posted during the game last week and you’d find similar sentiments in Philly about our woefully underachieving team. It’d be silly to assume the front office hasn’t taken note of and isn’t making plans on changing during this offseason as I’m positive this isn’t what they had in mind when the season started. As the season has progressed, we’ve literally watched the Eagles “fall from top ten to not mentioned at all.”
Except that isn’t exactly accurate.
The Eagles are getting mentioned plenty, but it has less to do with them being top ten and more to do with “who’s going to be fired in this offseason?” The firing of Juan Castillo, who shouldn’t have been our defensive coordinator anyway, didn’t exactly work out in the Eagles favor. According to my fantasy team which has the Eagles defense, they’ve definitely been worse since his departure. Fans are left seething in a mix of anger and confusion as to what happened to our team and are, rightfully, calling for Reid to be relieved of his head coaching duties.
At this point, the season is pretty much unsalvageable unless they plan on pulling a move from our rivals and stumbling into the playoffs at 9-7. I’m not stupid enough to have that kind of optimism, but logic isn’t something that fanhood has ever paid much attention to. Outsiders have called for changes to be made to see if there’s any way to gain some momentum and somehow turn our “bad luck” into good fortune.
As they say, “ask and ye shall receive.”
According to ESPN, Nick Foles will be starting on Sunday against the Redskins. Vick apparently “suffered a concussion” and will need rest, giving Foles his first start. It’s no secret the Eagles have struggled mightily and their hopes for the Super Bowl have crashed and burned. Poor defensive play (looks directly at the African who will not be named), terrible offensive line play (last I checked, we lost three starters on the line), and generally a lack of offensive balance (Shady isn’t getting the ball enough), and there’s clearly enough blame to pass around for this underachieving squad.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Vick ended up sitting on the bench for the rest of the season, as the Eagles try to figure out how to get rid of this year’s problems to prep for next year. I haven’t seen Foles throw the ball any in Arizona, but he seemed to have great success there since he’s no doubt being groomed to be Vick’s replacement.
Vick “getting some rest” doesn’t bother me. He’s been getting beat up behind our shoddy O-line and seen his turnovers increase to damn near unprecedented levels. And it actually wouldn’t surprise me to see Foles succeed, as Andy most likely won’t be calling 50 pass plays a game. What will bother me is the inevitable “Foles is better than Vick” conversations that will no doubt come in droves if Foles is able to succeed on Sunday.
You have to give credit to Vick. He’s stood in the pocket and taken those hits and tried his best to lead his team to victory. But his health has always been an issue, and I don’t want to see him too banged up. I still believe he’s the best chance for our Super Bowl hopes when he’s at full health. I don’t think Foles can save Andy Reid’s job, but I suppose if there’s success, he can at least leave on a better note.
This season has been an unforeseen disaster of the highest caliber, and since there’s nothing left to play for but pride, sitting Vick might be the best move for the long term. And that’s assuming the Eagles don’t do something very Eagle-like, which is cutting him in the off-season. If Vick needs more “rest” after this week, though, we might have a situation on our hands.
For more from G. Hylton, be sure to follow his blog RealGoesRight.com.