Thank Heavens For Fan Appreciation Day

Well, I gotta kind of admit I am glad that is over. The Eagles finished their unsatisfactory season with a decent try against the Redskins. But after half-a-dozen games of not really caring if they win or lose- but merely sorting through the B-list roster spots looking for contributors for the 2006 campaign- well, it grows old. Plus, I am not sure they can find out any more about the current roster- the grades are in. Now is the time for sober analysis and the best part of rooting for a losing team- saying good-bye to players who suck and rejoicing in their removal from the roster. I’m talking to you McMahon.

The game itself was a highly spirited, physical affair. Lots of good hitting. The Eagles played a handful of regulars, got some decent performances from the fifteen or so back-ups/youngsters that played in the top 25 regular roster spots. Better, Philadelphia got off to a good start- particularly on offense- and parlayed that head-start into being in the game late. The offense had the ball with a chance to win with four minutes to go. The Philadelphia B-team probably arguably wins the game with any kind of positive quarterback play in the second half.

But you can’t go crazy either. The Redskins are basically a .500 team- commendably parlaying a hot start and a healthy team (Brunell, Portis, Moss and most of the defense are on the field for once in December)- into the last play-off spot in the NFC. Correspondingly, a bad pro-team at home should be able to play with this team- particularly in its own building.

The Seattle game aside- the one characteristic the Eagles have retained, the one thing that the Eagles still have been frequently able to do in the second half of the season, is to sort of hang around in games. Outside of the quarterback position, particularly since the late season resurgence in the kicking game, they are still a pretty smart team- particularly in light of playing so many young people. And of course, playing young people give you a high “try” factor for a lost season.

The Redskins are certainly better- but the Eagles did “play” as well as Washington for the most part. They can’t beat the Redskins, or many other teams, straight up at a football right now with McMahon playing quarterback. But until the quarterback follies in the fourth quarter, the Eagles did some good things to keep themselves around.

For the first fifty-minutes, Philadelphia didn’t kill themselves with penalties. The defense simply plugged away- forcing Washington to play well to score. Reid seemed to surprise the skins’ defense a few times. Yes, most of the Philadelphia offensive line is a problem, but Runyan and Andrews are healthy and move people on their side. Perry and Moats and Brown have shown flashes at times of being solid NFL players- and the Eagles had stretches where they could run it well and throw it a little. They put points up every chance they got. And outside of the fumbled punt, they played well on the specials- scored first via a long kick, forced the Redskins into many long field situations.

And admittedly, the Redskins helped too. The ‘skins are sort of designed to help teams hang around. They play conservative on offense. Handing the ball to Portis and chums thirty-plus times, keeping the clock moving and shortening the game, helped a bunch too. And I suppose Brunell is an adequate quarterback when healthy- but he certainly just doesn’t give you enough consistently to score points in bunches.

Altogether, it meant the Eagles did what they could do- and had some success turning the game for three-plus quarters from a football contest (where Washington is clearly better) into a struggle that could tip either way depending on who made fewer mistakes. Of course, the Eagles are ill-equipped to win that sort of game either. It just gives them a puncher’s chance. The quarterbacks made bushels of mistakes late- particularly brutal turnovers- and the Eagles are simply not beating Washington while losing the turnover battle in the deciding quarter by four. But more often than not, they probably win that game with McNabb. They certainly have in the past.

But McNabb is not there. Even on the road, Washington is a better football team than the amalgamation of back-ups and regulars than Philadelphia presents now- and Brunell is a smarter, better quarterback that McMahon- giving the Redskins also an edge on who is the smarter football team.