“It’s a bottom line business. It’s all about wins and losses and that’s the way this league operates.” Cowboys TE on the possibility that Andy Reid is gone at the end of the season. Photo by Todd Bauders/contrastphotography.com

This article was supposed to be about how the Eagles – after the Giants second consecutive loss – were not out of the race for the Eastern Division title and a guaranteed home game in the first round of the playoffs.
Unfortunately this story is not about an Eagles comeback.

I was hoping to say if the makeshift offensive line can somehow find a groove, if Mike Vick can stop turning the ball over, if Eagles receivers can start to block for LeSean McCoy so their great back can put up some great numbers, that if Reid can coach to win again and not to lose, if the Eagles secondary can stop being so damn warm and fuzzy with their tackling, and finally if special teams can have any kind of an impact on a game, the Eagles have a shot…a punchers shot…but a shot nonetheless.

None of that has happened over the last five weeks and the Eagles appear to be headed for a losing season.

I was going to say that if the Birds could go on a run with the soft schedule in front of them that they could get into the playoffs and save Coach Andy Reid’s job.

But now it looks like a sure bet Big Red is a lame duck coach. Reid had a 14-year run that produced a lot of wins both in the regular season and in the playoffs, but no brass ring.

No one can seem to be able to put their finger on what is so wrong. Yes the offensive line is banged up and King Dunlap gets hit with too many penalties but you really can’t put it on the line as the main reason for another 3-6 record after none games.

Tight end Brent Celek, who has been as inconsistent as anyone on the team, says he too is scratching his head.

“I am asking the same questions, said Celek. “How can we have this type of talent and play like this? It’s not good. We as players need to come together, try not to listen to everybody on the outside and come together and play for each other. We are all we have.”

Some question whether the players are still listening to Reid at all. When that happens, almost always the coach is the first one to go.

Celek was asked if he thought the players were playing for their Reid’s job.

“Yeah, I think we all think that,” Celek said. “I think that Andy is a great coach. I want to play for him more than anything. I want to win for him, especially with what happened earlier in the preseason. To see how we are playing right now, this is not a reflection on Andy. I know it is because he is the head coach, but this is not his type of team right now. We have to play better as players; we need to play better. I just feel bad for him.”

The Eagles could not get a break when they finally had an opportunity to see their rookie quarterback Nick Foles take his first NFL snap.

Vick left the game a concussion in the second quarter and Foles entered the game without much fan fare.

On the Eagles first possession of the third quarter, the rookie from Arizona threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, who was more open than Dick Vermeil on truth serum.

But Foles threw a tipped ball pick six to Brandon Carr then, after engineering a drive that brought the Eagles back to with a score late in the game, Foles fumble the ball into the end zone and Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher pounced on the ball for a touchdown and the game was over.

Reid was asked if he he finds it hard to believe that the team has a 3-6 record:

“Right now, we are what we are,” Reid said. “So we have to change that around, and I believe we have the players to do that. We have to get that taken care of.”

Defiant to the end, Reid insisted his team will somehow rise from the dead and make the playoffs.
 “Absolutely, yes,” Reid said. “You don’t know in this league, so you keep battling. That’s what you do.”

Players on both teams agreed that whichever coach lost this game – Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is feeling as much heat in Dallas as his counterpart is feeling here.

Cullen Jenkins was asked if it tough on the team to hear all the talk about Reid’s job security:

“It’s tough as a player” Jenkins said. “The things we do cause these situations. If we make the plays we are supposed to and do all of that, this talk is not happening. It’s tough as a player because you feel as though you are not holding up your end of the bargain.”

Jenkins said he believes the problem with the Eagles is basic.

“We are just not coming up with plays when it counts,” Jenkins said. “That is a big thing and when you look at any championship team, they go through tough stretches, but when they have to make a play, they do. We have to figure out a way to do that.”

The Eagles, as a team, are not making plays, neither are the coaches. Every call seems to be the wrong call.
Carr said the Cowboys knew they could be deciding the fate of a long-time coach.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Carr said of the heat on Reid. “But you know how it is, when things are going bad they need someone to put the blame on.”

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said he respects Reid but he has his job to do and when the roles are reversed it would be Reid’s job to beat him.

“Coach Reid is a heck of a football coach and has been for a long time,” Witten said. “It comes with the territory. I’ve been going against him for 10 years and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. That’s the way it goes though.
Witten said he thought coaches take too much of the heat for the results players produce. But started to say he would not be surprised to see Reid get replaced, then held back…

“It’s a bottom line business,” he said. “It’s all about wins and losses and that’s the way this league operates.”