A Tie? That's unusual

After playing to a 13-13 tie in Cincinnati, the Eagles will look to regroup in advance of this weekend's game in Baltimore. Donovan McNabb turned the ball over four times against the Bengals and, in his latest column; Dave Spadaro says McNabb and Co. must make a critical stand over the next six games. Defensively, the Eagles added to their sack total with eight on Sunday, but in the end, it was not enough to change the outcome of the game. On Monday, head coach Andy Reid accepted responsibility for the team's recent struggles and pledged to work harder and get things turned around. So if you want to take the anything-can-happen approach, the Eagles are just a half-game out of second place in the NFC East. The playoffs are very much within reach. That is your glass-is-half-full view. The other vantage point is that the Eagles have flaws and five quarters in Cincinnati did nothing to smooth the warts that are so visible a blind man could see them. Sunday comes quickly. Baltimore is waiting with that big, bad defense and a good offense featuring a power running game and a young, emerging quarterback in Joe Flacco. The coaches have watched the film of the tie in Cincinnati and are already on to the Ravens. They believe in this team, as every coaching staff believes in its team.

Clearly, though, everybody realizes that this is crisis time, or at least on the verge of such a moment. The Eagles are 5-4-1 with a heavyweight schedule approaching and given the state of the NFC playoff picture, another loss (definitely two) knocks this team out of any playoff dreams it has. I have trouble looking at anything like the playoffs after such a poor performance against the Bengals. For the sake of focus here, the focus has to be on the offense. And it has to be on the man running the offense, quarterback Donovan McNabb. It was certainly not his fault alone that the Eagles managed just 13 points, that they were unsuccessful on three third-and-1 plays and that they continue to flounder in the running game. What was the only conversion in short yardage? It was a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak. The pass/run ratio was completely out of whack, as McNabb attempted 58 passes and ran the ball just 18 times (one of them a McNabb sneak to convert a third down and one of them on DeSean Jackson's run out of the "Wildcat" formation when it looked like the young wide receiver wanted to throw the football). The defense played its heart out and that group deserves a lot of kudos for attacking the line of scrimmage, for being aggressive and for dominating an offense that it should have dominated. The offense is what needs immediate therapy.

The Bengals are a bad football team with a defense that had been gashed all season. The pre-game hope was that the Eagles could get a lead and extend it and then work on their running game in the second half and build a bit of confidence heading into this extremely difficult stretch of games. The offense was awful on Sunday in a game that the Eagles needed to win. How does it happen that a team that blew the doors off the Rams in Week 1, then played a fantastic, near-miss game in Dallas in Week 2 before redeeming itself a bit in Week 3 with a physical, emotional win over Pittsburgh is now on the edge? There are factors that some will use as excuses, but they don't play here. There are no excuses. Even with Shawn Andrews out, and with Brian Westbrook battling a variety of injuries and playing at less than 100 percent, the Eagles have been more than healthy by NFL standards. McNabb is holding on to the ball, waiting for the receivers to create separation and then gunning it to them. The receivers are not consistent enough catching the football, but I believe of lot of that has to do with their lack of certainty as to when the ball is coming out, and where it is coming to, and how fast McNabb is throwing it and all the little insecurities that lead to drops. Whatever that trust is that is missing between McNabb and his receivers is holding back the passing game. What else do you pinpoint? A lack of a running game? It's hurting the offense, no doubt. There is nothing to fall back on in that phase of the offense, and the play calling is such that running the football barely makes the game plan. Talent at wide receiver? Look, I'm as disappointed as anybody that Brown is such a non-factor here, but I still maintain that Curtis, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett are more than enough to get it done. Tight end? Yeah, there isn't a consistent level of production there, but there are plenty of teams getting more done with less talent.
I'm not dumping on Donovan. Please don't misunderstand. I love the guy. I respect tremendously what he has done for the organization. I think he is a rare player and a future hall-of-famer. But the Eagles need him more than ever to be the great quarterback that he was a few years ago, A leader, someone whom the rest of the players can gather around and follow to victory. I guess in a lot of ways I'm wondering if McNabb is ready to make a stand. He has to be The Guy To Do It, right? Is there anyone else? Brian Westbrook is a great player, hobbled by injuries but still a great player, but the leadership has to come from a quarterback when the offense is throwing the ball 35-40 times a game. The quarterback has to be the one to throw the team on his shoulders and will a team to victory. Again I am not knocking Donovan but leadership has been a problem for a while now, the defense is in good shape as far as leadership is concerned (until Brian Dawkins decides to retire or the coaching staff cuts him prematurely). Some people can lead without even trying while others have to work at it, McNabb is one of those who has to work at it and frankly, he just hasn't been working hard enough. But, hey, McNabb is the guy here, and the quarterback gets a lot of the credit and a lot of the blame. Right now, McNabb has a bunch of heat on him, and that is understandable. My point is that the Offense needs a leader and as much as I like McNabb if he can't be that leader then the team might be better off with someone else. The impact the quarterback has on a team goes far beyond his statistics. You see it everywhere in the league. How much of a winning confidence has Brett Favre had on the Jets? Tony Romo comes back to the Cowboys and they go out and win a big game in Washington. Eli Manning doesn't resemble the quarterback he was in the past, and the Giants are the best team in football. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco show they are capable young quarterbacks around whom the Falcons and Ravens, respectively, can rally and both of those teams are in playoff contention. The Eagles need to do the same with McNabb and McNabb has to do the same for the Eagles. It isn't all on him, but it is. He is the quarterback. He is the most important player on the field and in the locker room and in the organization. It's on Donovan. It's on the quarterback. Reid's responsibility is, yes, far beyond anybody here and he acknowledges that every week. But a quarterback can change things on every play on the field. Donovan needs to make A Stand. Right now. So much depends upon the next week, two weeks, however long.
What IS next? A major shake-up? Something to rattle the bones of the locker room? A way to get the Eagles to be the team the coaches think it can be? Or, maybe, this is what the Eagles are – a team that just didn't beat the 1-8 Bengals at a stadium with just as many Eagles fans as Cincinnati fans. It was just a very poor performance, so incredibly disappointing. What it means to the playoff chances isn't even worth considering right now.The Eagles need something good to happen. They need to make some good fortune for themselves. They have McNabb, who in his 10th season and has taken all kinds of heat for admitting after the game that he wasn't aware that regular-season games in the NFL end (even when the score remains tied) after one 15-minute overtime period. "I never knew that was in the rule book," said McNabb. Reporters rolled their eyes and shook their heads when McNabb said that, and when he also said "I would hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl or in the playoffs if they settled for a tie." Amazing. McNabb wasn't the only player unaware that a regular-season game ends in a tie after 15 minutes of a scoreless overtime, but that is beside the point. Overtime games are rare and scoreless overtimes even more so, and quite frankly McNabb's knowledge of the rules in such a rare situation doesn't make any difference. The coaches who were calling the plays knew the rules, at least I hope they did, and that is what matters. I would like to point out one thing though; the Referee gives a quick summary of the overtime rules before the coin-toss at the beginning of the overtime period. So I guess Donovan should have listened to what he said but basically it is irrelevant, so get off the guy's back.