Eagles: We Salute the Losers!

But I’m getting the negativity out of the way first. That pass. A.J., you hung in there all night with blitzers breathing down your neck like a 300-pounder squeezing into a two-seater on a SEPTA train. Your accuracy was unbelievable, threading the needle on countless passes, including that spectacular, lead-assuming short touchdown to Reggie Brown when you were already being knocked off balance by the incoming pass rush. You rallied us from an interception that would have had a McNabb-led team scurrying through the city guide to find out which Boston hot spots stay open latest. You displayed a passion absent from Donovan’s automaton-like performances behind center this year. The last time an Eagles quarterback looked as excited as you was when Donovan heard he wasn’t going to have to do any more Campbell's Soup commercials with Mommy this year, due to his steadily declining Q-rating. Hell, man, you even made Greg "Emmanuel" Lewis (two touchdowns!?!?) look like he deserved to be collecting a check in the National Football League.

But you just can not make that fourth quarter pass. The ridiculous thing is that I totally understand the Eagles' thinking in that spot: You are down 31-28. Sure, you could play for the field goal. Hell, you are already within range. But tying the game and giving the Patriots the ball back with five minutes on the clock would be absolutely pointless. You know they would be coming out of there with a field goal, especially with Wes Welker running roughshod all over the Eagles’ secondary the whole night (by the way, Kevin Curtis is aah-ite, but maybe we should have taken a run at the OTHER token white receiver who was available this past off-season) and the D-line beginning to fade due to three quarters worth of herculean effort. So you take your shot. Go up 35-31, make the Patriots have to score a touchdown and suddenly the pressure is on. Just one thing: The guy has to be open. On Feeley’s pass, his receiver (Curtis) was not only nowhere near the ball, he was covered by the Patriots’ best cornerback. You know, Asante Samuel, the dude who returned Feeley’s first pass of the game for a 7-0 Pats lead? You just can’t throw that ball in that spot. As the ball spiraled through the nighttime chill, the wind seemed to cry “career backup.” Cue the sighs and harrumphs.

But right now, I’m gonna pull a "Das Efx." I have to chiggedy-checks myself before I wrecks myself. I have no right to sit here harping on the bad aspects of last night’s game. First, because there weren’t many and second, because I went into the thing thinking the Patriots were going to put a pantheon-level beatdown on our boys in green. The truth is, watching the game, I never felt sooooo good to look sooooo stupid. I’m going to say something crazy right now: Don’t be completely shocked if the Eagles make a playoff run this year. Yes, I said it. Bottom line is, the NFC sucks. The Eagles are only one game out of the wild card right now. Sure, they are tied with like a million teams, but none of them are world beaters. Anybody betting on the Arizona Cardinals or Minnesota Vikings to hold up down the stretch? The teams in front of them? The New York Giants, with pathetic excuse for a quarterback Eli Manning, and the Detroit Lions, who are literally a bunch of lambs in Lions’ clothing. By the way, the Eagles play the Giants at the Linc in two weeks, and they hold a tie-breaker over the Lions after clobbering them in Week 3.

Now maybe this is just the Chianti still talking and everybody knows that a playoff run would just be a Band-Aid anyway. The Eagles would probably use a playoff run to disguise the fact that the offensive line is getting old, the quarterback’s tank is empty and the secondary needs to be improved more than Mike Quick’s grasp of the English language. I could see it now: “If only Donovan didn’t get hurt! Who could have seen that coming?” Still, it could happen. Because this may have been a loss, but the Eagles are going to be inspired. Here are just a couple reasons why:

A.J. Feeley – Look, I’m convinced that this guy is not a full-time starter in the NFL, but I am also convinced that the Eagles have to find a way to keep this guy on the field for the rest of the season. Good news? They are, too. They have already said that they want Donovan to be "100 percent healthy" before they put him back on the field. In other words, “Here’s your crutches; what’s your hurry?” Maybe it's a cliché, but the team just plays harder for Feeley. It just seems like he is out there giving a damn, while McNabb is going through the motions. And it ain't all about intangibles and WIP-speak. He throws a more catchable ball, with less speed and more accuracy. He doesn’t have the happy feet. Feeley can get hit without fearing that his leg is going to fall off. Man, Feeley may even be more mobile at this point. Sure, he is going to do some stupid stuff too, but maybe it is time to go with unpredictable brilliance rather than predictable mediocrity.

J.R. Freakin’ Reed – So far this year, this guy has served no purpose other than designated punt dropper for the Eagles and constant joke fodder for myself... but who the hell taught the dude to hit like that? In last night’s game, this fifth-string safety was delivering hits like his name was Silvio Dante. First, was a bazooka blast in the second quarter to Wes Welker, who amazingly held onto the ball for a first down. But the destruction he set upon Randy Moss on the same possession could have gotten him arrested in fourteen states. Moss' shoulder pads literally tried to jump out of his jersey. This guy was electric. Most likely, he can’t cover a dime with a sleeping bag, but if he is going to continue drilling people like a Halliburton non-contested contractor, he’s alright with me.

Andy Reid – I am not coming out of my stance here. The man has to go. He doesn’t draft well, he doesn’t run the ball, he doesn’t handle the clock efficiently, yadda, yadda, yadda. But dude came to play last night. Well, he came to coach. Going for it on 4th and 1? A successful first quarter onside kick? Throwing the ball when anyone who mattered (in other words, me) was saying “Run the ball and keep it respectable”? One word: Cajones. If he had bitch-slapped Bill Belichek at the 50-yard line after the game, I would have wanted his head on Mount Rushmore.

Like I said, these guys are professional athletes. They don’t get paid to lose. They don’t get paid to “stay in the game.” And they certainly don’t get paid to go offside on punt coverage and hand the ball right back to the Patriots during crunch time (Nick Cole, if this was any other week, I’d be calling for your head). But make no mistake about it: Today is a day to be proud of your Eagles, and to be hopeful of what might happen in the next five weeks.

Image credit to flickr user pingnews.com.