Crazy 9.5 Fingers wrote:I can say this, McNabb is not the problem. Yes his accuracy is not particularly great but Andy Reid looks like he has no clue any more. You finally get a good FB to get you those one yard runs but you have no run game. None at all. If you run the ball 10 times a game, it is ridiculously easy to defend. Safeties line up 20 yards deep and play quarters and can bracket your best wr. How many catches did D Jax have in three games vs Dallas?
That being said, I'd rather face Kolb than McChunks any day of the week.
I agree that McNabb isn't "THE problem", as in the "only" problem, but he is IMO, the biggest problem on offense. McNabb was similar to Vick, in that he really isn't that good of a passer. But when he came into the league, he was a smart, fast, and agile runner. That gave defenses so much more to think about when he dropped back into the pocket. Just because the offensive line was pass blocking, and McNabb was dropping back in the pocket DIDN'T mean that it wasn't a run play. The Eagles were the only team in the league at that time to have an offense like that. For 3 years, I thought McNabb was great, and I was a big fan. He was developing quickly, and gettting smarter and harder to catch. Then, the Eagles made him the "franchise player", allowing him to negotiate some giant fat contract (I even forget how many tens of millions it was), and the very next year, he shows up to camp with an ass the size of that contract. That was the beginning of the end.
I could also be convinced that Andy Reid is just a rock-head and refuses to accept that his star quarterback simply doesn't have the skill set anymore to pull off the offense he designed around the guy. Why do you think it is that the Eagles "throw" 70-80% of the time? That was the old offense, with the awesome-running McNabb, he would drop back 80% of the time, but 20 times per game, it was designed to be a running play. The loss of McNabb's ability to run, without a subsequent change to offensive strategy has taken the Eagles from one of the most difficult offenses to defend, to one of the easiest. Apparently, nothing will change in Philly until either Reid leaves, forcing a new head coach to re-think the offensive strategy, or McNabb leaves. I have long since given up on McNabb getting back into shape, and even if he did, he piled up so many injuries from flopping his fat ass around on the field I'm not sure it would make a difference. But even if Reid leaves, McNabb was just never that good of a passer. The Eagles would still have the "Phil Simms with a bad arm" situation with McNabb at QB.
Mama Mama many worlds I've come since I first left home.