myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
“What do they say? If you keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result, you’re kind of kidding yourself.”
– Eagles president Joe Banner—
Banner uttered this paraphrasing of the famous quote about the definition of insanity following the Eagles’ loss to Arizona in last season’s NFC championship game. Banner later tried to quell the firestorm created by his statement. Although insisting that he thought his quote was unambiguous, Banner stressed that Andy Reid is a “heck of a coach” and that “we can win a championship with those people … we’re very lucky to have them.”
Now let’s fast-forward to this season. Lack of commitment to the running game. Poor clock management. Wasted timeouts. Inability to convert short-yardage situations. An apparent failure to adjust during games.
Or is that a rewind to last season? Or the season before? Or the one before that?
The reason it’s difficult to figure out which year those problems refer to is because the list of problems remains the same year after year.
The Eagles (5-4) aren’t a bad team. In fact, if the season ended today, they would earn one of the NFC’s wild-card berths based on tie-breakers. But the obstacles that have prevented the Birds from winning the Super Bowl remain the same year after year.
Remember the Eagles’ difficulty in converting on short-yardage situations last year? The Eagles addressed that problem by revamping their offensive line. They replaced aging tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan with younger tackles Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews. Stacy Andrews then moved to right guard, switching positions with younger brother Shawn. We all know how that move worked out.
The Eagles also finally brought in a true fullback, Leonard Weaver, to serve as a lead blocker or power runner in short-yardage situations.
So, when the Eagles faced first-and-goal on the 1-yard line Sunday at San Diego, they ran the ball right into the end zone, right? Um, no.
Weaver got stopped on first down. Inexplicably, the Eagles had McNabb throw a low-percentage pass to the far side of the end zone on second down. The pass fell incomplete.
The Eagles trailed 14-0 at this point. Getting seven points was imperative. So in this crucial third-and-goal situation, Reid had Donovan McNabb hand the ball to Eldra Buckley, whose previous NFL rushing experience consisted of three meaningless carries in two blowout wins earlier this season.
Buckley was stopped. To be fair, however, it wasn’t as if he missed the hole. There weren’t any holes. On fourth down, Reid had David Akers kick the short field goal.
As if these decisions didn’t cause enough head-scratching, Reid reversed the pattern later in the half when the Eagles had first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. An incomplete pass on first down was followed by a Brian Westbrook run to the outside on second down, resulting in no gain. Why would you run on second-and-goal from the 8 when you didn’t run on second-and-goal from the 1?
The offensive linemen change. The fullback changes. The ballcarriers change. But one thing remains the same: the Eagles continue to have difficulty in short-yardage situations.
So what’s the common denominator? The play-calling.
Play-calling is a huge problem for the Eagles. And it’s a much larger problem than these two series.
Reid seems determined to prove that he can win a Super Bowl with a pass-first offense. Game after game, year after year, Reid abandons the running game and relies overwhelmingly on the passing game.
The Eagles have experienced success using Reid’s formula. The attempted comeback during Sunday’s 31-23 loss to the Chargers was a good example. The Eagles offense was most effective when McNabb was throwing all over the field to tight end Brent Celek and receivers DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant.
There are times, however, when an NFL team must be able to run the ball. A team must be able to run the ball when it’s ahead. That takes time off the clock. Good teams also must be able to convert short-yardage situations.
How can the Eagles be expected to convert in short-yardage situations when they don’t run the ball very often? Linemen who spend almost the entire game dropping back in pass protection are expected to suddenly drive-block and push defenders backward.
You might think the connection between the paucity of running plays called and the lack of success in short-yardage situations would occur to Reid. Wrong. There was a glimmer of hope when, following the disgraceful 13-9 loss to Oakland, Reid admitted that maybe the Eagles should have run the ball more often. That hope was quickly extinguished.
Reid keeps returning to the same formula. Game after game. Year after year. Not surprisingly, the results remain the same.
There are only two ways the results could change. Either the coach changes his philosophy or the Eagles change coaches. Neither is likely to happen.
Why not? To paraphrase another famous quote, the Eagles haven’t learned from history, so they seem destined to repeat it.