It Was Ground Hog Day in Redskins’ Game

It was the best of times and the worst of times, except that it is the tale of one city.
The Phillies and Eagles appear headed in vastly different directions as October dawns.
The Phils, winners of the last four National League Eastern Division titles, have three solid starting pitchers and home field advantage as they tangle with Scott Rolen and the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday in game one of the postseason.
Manager Charlie Manuel may not be more intelligent than Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid but Manuel is the leader of a team that has appeared in the last two World Series.
Manuel struggles with the spoken word but he seems jovial and grandfatherly, and who doesn’t love his/her pop pop?
Reid, contrarily, is close to the vest with everything and rarely reveals his humorous side.
The national media seems to witness more of Reid’s personable side, but the locals, and therefore the area fans, do not hear anything except brief, empty comments. It is Reid’s way and it would be fine if the Birds had a ring or two by now.
Although the enduring popularity of Mitch Williams and Dick Vermeil indicates otherwise, in the end, none of the personality stuff really matters.
Manuel is at the wheel of a winner while Reid has come close on occasion, but has yet to steer the midnight green to the elusive Super Bowl title. This fact makes all of the little things into big things. Every penalty, every time out, every lopsided run-pass ratio is magnified.
This year’s offensive line is shockingly poor. Penalties and lack of continuity impact the group’s performance weekly. The clock management from Reid and his coaches is stunningly and consistently awful.
The delay of game before the first half versus Washington remains unforgivable despite the attempts at explanation.
Regardless of where the ball was spotted the lengthy replay process should have found the Birds’ offense at or near the line of scrimmage ready to read the defense and execute a short-yardage play.
The defense is simply not big enough to match up with many of the league’s mammoth linemen and large running backs. The speed is commendable, but it is not as useful when the opponent is blowing your people off of the ball.
The defensive backs get run over like road pizza. The tackles, while steady, don’t seem capable of penetration into the backfield. They’re relatively small by NFL interior lineman standards.
It was interesting to see Donovan McNabb in another uniform yet performing the same way. He makes some plays but, overall, his decision-making and accuracy give credence to Reid’s decision to cut the cord.
Big Red isn’t much of a game-day decision-maker, but he’s been very good at player personnel decisions involving when it’s time to leave.
Washington’s smash mouth running game was too much for the undersized Eagles’ D-line and that was why the visitors got off to such a quick 14-0 lead last Sunday. The ‘Skins didn’t need McNabb to throw the football.
Can you imagine any Reid-coached game in which McNabb would throw less than 20 times as he did last Sunday?
Michael Vick’s injury was inevitable due to the porous offensive line and Vick’s commendable desire to make plays. He’s not that big of a guy and getting hit so often in the NFL is a recipe for disaster.
It’ll be interesting to see what his situation is for the next several weeks and how that impacts the team’s decision on Vick’s future. Contract time is coming in a league starved for quality quarterbacks.
Kevin Kolb, like all Eagle back-ups, didn’t take any snaps during the previous week of practice. This is Reid’s routine and it makes little sense in the gruesomely physical world of tackle football.
Kolb’s hesitancy was understandable since he’s been idle for a couple of weeks.
No one knows if Kolb will develop into a reliable starter or become the latest version of A.J. Feeley. The only difference is that Feeley was a fifth-round draft choice and a relative unknown from Oregon. Kolb was a high second round selection after a trade with the hated Cowboys.
The Phillies give the region hope and we should all enjoy the greatest era in team history. They have experienced solid position players and an all-star starting staff capable of handling post-season pressure.
That will help soften blow of what appears to be another disappointing Eagles’ season unfolding as the baseball continue a stranglehold over the fan base.
The debate over whether the past 11 years were McNabb or Reid’s fault is yet unsettled. Both men were themselves in last week’s game.
Time management, passing accuracy, and even running out of bounds when his team was trying to take time off of the clock were all on display last Sunday. It was like reliving the past decade in some sort of Ground Hog Day.
Let’s go Phillies. Be the Tylenol that all Eagles’ fans need right now.
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net