It’s amazing that two drives are going to define two different players in the eyes of the fans and media.
Donovan McNabb’s failure to lead the Eagles over the Cardinals on the final drive of the NFC Championship and Ben Roethlisberger leading the Steelers down field and winning the Super Bowl over those same Cardinals just two weeks later.
The Steelers, no one seems to realize are a much better put together team than our beloved Eagles. While our defense was tops in the NFC, Pittsburghs was #1 in the whole league.
On offense, the Steelers have play makers. DeSean Jackson may become one of those guys, he surely looked the part this year. But we have no one else. Kevin Curtis was #3 on the depth chart in St. Louis for a reason. He’s a great player in that role, but he’s not a threat to other teams. They don’t plan their game around him.
Brian Westbrook is amazing, but he’s asked to do too much in the Eagles offense. There’s no way that the star running back should be asked to play running back, third down back, wideout, blocking back, and sometimes kick returner. That’s a good reason for allof his injuries.
Hines Ward is legit. Santonio Holmes is nont in that class, but as a #2 he’s a stud. Football instinct and talent enabled him to take a pass where he was supposed to get out of bounds, expected to get out of bounds, and should have gone out of bounds, and turn it into a gain all the way to the Cardinals 5 yard line.
Meanwhile, here in Eagles country, we have a third and 17, all three receivers run 8 yard patterns and McNabb is forced to dump to Westbrook who’s only about a yard off the line of scrimmage.
This doesn’t have anything with McNabb not throwing precisely or that he can’t lead the team. It has to do with the fact that the play being called has not one wideout past the first down marker. It has to do with the coaching and personnel that Andy Reid has assembled.
Everyone likes Greg Lewis. He’s someone that we all cheer for when he makes his one catch per game and then every fourth game or so, he comes in and makes a big play. But, he’s not really worth anything on this roster. I’d much rather have a big back for third downs or a true fullback. Reid keeps guys like Lewis around because they “know the system”. The problem is that the system doesn’t work and if anyone tries to tell you differently they’re morons.
Joe Banner and Jeff Lurie must have been hit over the head with the sacks of money they make every year, because they have no idea that this isn’t working. What is the point of being under the salary cap each year if you’re not making runs at a title.
We are a bit spoiled because the Eagles get into the playoffs more often than most teams, but they can’t get over that hump. The one year that they did go out and get a playmaker, they went to the Super Bowl. We all know how that turned out, but it’s the truth.
Instead of ridiculing McNabb for what he hasn’t accomplished, we should celebrate what he has accomplished given the limited assets that he’s had. I’m sure that all the whites we be up in arms, because he’s not a leader or any other load of crap they want to heap on the guy, but Kevin Kolb is not the answer. If you’re one of those idiots that thinks Kevin Kolb will be better, kill yourself now. You’re obviously to stupid to live. Ask David Klinger or Andre Ware how that University of Houston offense translates in the NFL.
Take the $10 million that we’re nunder the cap for this past year and turn it into a good receiver. Give away Lito Sheppard, he’s another waste of space and money. Throw in a draft pick or two and take Anquan Boldin off the Cardinals hands before Jerry Jones swoopes in and does it.
Finally, get a hold of one of those sacks of money and slug Reid in the head with it. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into him. Then hit the idiots who think this is all McNabb’s fault.