Time to Move On, Part 2

What is there to really say after a game like that.
During the week, I spoke to numerous friends who told me that last week's 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals was the worst football game they had ever seen, as well as one buddy who said he had never been more embarrassed to be a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, last week's game was a horribly played game for both side. Today may have been worse.
Remember the date - November 23rd, 2008 - because that will forever mark the end of the Donovan McNabb era in Philadlephia. It will be remembered as the day head coach Andy Reid, after 9 and a half seasons with #5 behind center, finally decided to pull his first ever draft pick out of a game. The Birds were only down 10-7 at this point, remember, even though Donovan had continued his month long...season long slump.
Was it the right move to pull Donovan out of the game with the team only down three points? Even more thought inducing is whether or not it was fair to throw second-year backup Kevin Kolb into the game against the vaunted Baltimore Ravens defense, on the road nonetheless?
The answer is no.
I was all for starting Kolb from the beginning of the game. The Eagles season ended last week, despite what you might have heard about this situation, or that team losing and the Birds team going on one of their patented late-season runs. Preparing Kolb properly and having him start a tough road game would have been appropriate - tough, but at this point, you might as well see what you got. To toss this kid into the lion's den was unfair and well, stupid.
The decision once again illuminates the number one problem with this team and within the organization that is the Philadelphia Eagles. That problem is Andy Reid.
For the better part of the last decade, Reid has been the face of the Eagles. These are his draft picks, his free agents and it is his strategy and gameplan that you see executed, for lack of a better word, week in and week out.
Andy has lost control of the situation. In 2005, following the Super Bowl loss and the T.O debacle (which may have been the turning point in McNabb's apparent decline), Reid got a free pass for going 6-10, especially with losing 5 to injuries (again). In 2006, let's face it, Reid got lucky with Jeff Garcia. Last season was the turning point. It started from that week one disgrace in Green Bay with Greg Lewis fielding punts. Lots of people said at the time that Reid was unprepared for the season and wasnt focused properly because of the situation with his sons. The problem is that Andy Reid was focused and was prepared, at least in his mind.
This season, again, I've heard time and time again that the organization is not focused on winning, that they don't want to win. To a certain extent, that may have some validity. But the overriding problem is that Jeff Lurie, Joe Banner and Andy Reid want to win, they just do not know how to.
Therefore, it is time for Andy Reid to go. It has been ten long years. From 1999 until 2004, this team was on an uphill clime searching for the promised land. Since then, they have been a steady decline back to the foothills of mediocrity, and now, despair. This is a pathetic team to watch led by a pathetic head coach who does not know how to win.
How fitting that nearly a year ago, almost to the day, I wrote on this very blog that it was time for the quarterback to move on. 362 days later, it's time his coach joined him.