It’s one thing for fans to quit their team. It is completely different that the players also give up.
But after watching last night’s 45-21 humiliation at the hands of Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, it was apparent the Birds themselves had joined Eagle Nation in forgoing the 2006 season.
What happened last night on the artificial turf of the RCA Dome was a parody. From the get-go, Eagle defenders were manhandled and pushed all over the field by the Colts’ biggest and strongest offensive line.
The Philadelphia Eagles were being tossed to the ground like sacks of potatoes, opening holes for Indy rookie running back Joseph Addai (24/171). After putting up just three touchdowns in the first 10 games of the regular season, the LSU freshman ran for four against an Eagle defense that has clearly given up.
Of course, even if they hadn’t given up, the Birds probably would have lost this game. Physically they are no match for the Colts and chances are the score would have been similar no matter how motivated the Eagles were.
But last night’s loss was an embarrassment. They were outmatched from the get-go, falling 21-0 early in the second quarter, allowing the Colts to do whatever they wanted.
And as a good team should be, the Colts took the lead, rushing for a staggering 237 yards, racking up 420 yards of total offense. And that includes a fourth quarter in which Indy mercifully took the reins.
It’s been clear for weeks that the biggest problem in Philly is defense. In fact, it was also evident last year. The Birds, with their philosophy of going with “small but fast” players, have been under pressure since the start of the 2005 season.
What is the problem here? Is it the staff? Is it philosophy? Has defensive coordinator Jim Johnson lost touch? Has the rest of the NFL caught up with his schemes?
To all those questions, the answer is yes.
Perhaps the play that best crystallized what this Eagles defense is all about was Addai’s third touchdown run six minutes into the second quarter. As Addai stretched to the left, Indy TE Dallas Clark completely dropped OLB Matt McCoy, opening a gaping hole that allowed Addai to score virtually untouched.
I repeat. A pass-catching tight end completely destroyed a starting outside linebacker on a supposedly competent defense.
Seeing it made me want to vomit.
But McCoy is not the only culprit, far from it. Watching Darwin Walker and Mike Patterson get eliminated at the point of attack, Trent Cole and Darren Howard disappear before our very eyes, Shawn Barber and McCoy being bullied, and Brian Dawkins and Sean Considine missing arm after arm, you wanted to throw a paperweight at your television screen.
And it’s not like the Eagles haven’t addressed these defensive concerns in past offseasons. With their last two first-round picks, the Birds selected Mike Patterson (I’ll give someone $200 if they can give me a rational explanation for the contract extension the Eagles gave Patterson a few weeks ago) and Broderick Bunkley, who was disabled. after missing the team’s flight to Indianapolis on Sunday and has been mostly invisible all year. Last offseason, they spent a lot of money on defensive end Darren Howard as a free agent and signed OLB Shawn Barber to a one-year deal.
But one thing they’ve never done is seriously invest in the outside linebacker position. Even with plenty of cap space, the Birds have never valued the linebacker position, instead focusing on investing in a small, fast, quarterback-pressing defensive line.
It’s just that the defensive line hasn’t gotten any pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Cole and Howard have disappeared. Jerome McDougle has been the franchise’s worst draft pick since Mike Mamula. Patterson and Walker not only can’t build any pressure inside, they’re too small to clog up the running lanes. And because Andy Reid and Jim Johnson have inexplicably ignored linebacker altogether, the Eagles simply aren’t a match for teams with any hint of size.
The defensive philosophy of the team has to change. Maybe it’s time for Jim Johnson to find a job elsewhere and for a new defensive coordinator to take over. A defensive coordinator who is capable of making adjustments in the game. A defensive coordinator who understands that size matters. A defensive coordinator who understands the concept that playing stiffs at linebacker will eventually catch up with you.
And while Johnson no longer has some of the players who once made his defenses great (Corey Simon, Hollis Thomas, Carlos Emmons), what has happened over the past year and a half is his fault. Along with Big Red, this is the defense that he has built. These are the players he wanted for his system. It’s him and Reid who recruited these stiffs and signed these free agents.
And it’s not working. It is a shame.
A new philosophy can only happen with the removal of Jim Johnson as defensive coordinator. The Eagles need a new direction on defense, and they need it now.
Of course, there were other stories last night. Jeff Garcia, replacing Donovan McNabb, played pretty well, moving the Eagles’ offense up and down the field when they had the ball.
Brian Westbrook and the offensive line continued to show that, given the opportunity, they can be a dominant running force.
Andy Reid proved once again that he’s completely lost touch with reality by calling that odd pass play by Hank Baskett to start the Eagles’ second drive, a play that screamed panic.
While mathematically still very much alive (thanks to the Giants and Panthers losses yesterday), the Eagles are out. Rather than face the challenge of playing without their starting quarterback and proving the Delaware Valley wrong, the Birds only reinforced our cynicism and skepticism by stinking up the joint last night.
They have given up their season.
And for that, there is no defense.
