Scapegoating McNabb was Shameful

I reread the text message my father had sent me, but I still didn’t understand. “Kolb is starting 2nd Half. As faras I can tell McNabb is healthy – just benched.” It read. Even after forgiving the typo I couldn’t understand the reason Andy Reid would bench McNabb in favor of second year man Kolb, who has done absolutely nothing positive in his pro career to this point. I just couldn’t believe it.

I wasn’t watching the game because it wasn’t televised out here in Los Angeles, but my father was watching it back home in Syracuse. The thought crossed my mind that he might be playing a trick on me. We had been exchanging frustrated text messages throughout the first half, and neither of us liked the way the offense was looking. I checked the NFL Gamecast and, sure enough, Kolb was starting the second half.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. That’s it. That’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. Andy Reid is inventing amazing new ways to lose football games. Why on Earth would you bench your five-time pro bowl quarterback in a three point game? Even if he had committed three turnovers in the first half. What Andy Reid did was shameful, embarrassing and cowardly.

I can’t begin to explain how misguided the decision to bench Donovan McNabb is. The turnovers aren't an excuse to pull him, considering Donovan McNabb has spent his whole career flirting with Neil O’Donnell for lowest interception percentage in NFL history. Not to mention the fact that the Baltimore Ravens have an outstanding defense that ranks near the top of the league in forcing turnovers.

Then there was the unbalanced playcalling. Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called another pass-happy game this Sunday. The Eagles attempted 41 passes, versus 21 rushes. Four of those rushes were by a quarterback, which means they likely started as pass plays. If you add in the two Baltimore sacks you have roughly 47 pass plays versus 17 run plays for the game. That’s nearly three-to-one!

The Eagles ground game has been nonexistent all season long. A team can’t win if they can’t run the ball. For some reason Reid continues to lean on an unhealthy Brian Westbrook instead of giving carries to a capable reserve in Buckhalter. In the NFL a strong running attack is used to set up the passing game. You get guys creeping up to the line of scrimmage and then you can hit them with play action and go over the top. If teams aren’t respecting the Eagles’ rush then they’re going to play the pass and four interception games will occur.

As far as I’m concerned, Donovan McNabb was the only player on this offense that was actually going out there and doing his job. He is the only player that has played well week in and week out. The offensive line has been offensive. They’ve been terrible in run blocking all season. The wide receivers have been erratic catching the football; the Eagles’ led the league in dropped passes going into Baltimore. That’s dropped passes, not incompletions. That means the ball was on target and hit the receiver’s hands, but they didn’t haul it in. The running backs have ripped off a lot of two-yard gains and not much else. McNabb was the lone bright spot on this team, even after committing seven turnovers in two weeks.

Reid should have benched every other offensive starter except for McNabb. But in the bizarro world Andy inhabits the onus was on McNabb and McNabb alone. When are you going to take some of the blame Andy? Your playcalling is hanging McNabb out to dry. He’s bound to throw a few interceptions when he averages 40 passes a game and he’s up against the league’s number two defense. When is it time to bench your gameplan? Reid can’t commit to a balanced attack or surrounding McNabb with reliable veteran receivers, but he has no problem committing to crapulence.

Let’s face it; Reid was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh in this game. Harbaugh had been with the Eagles for the last decade as an assistant and he knew Andy Reid’s gameplan inside and out. He coached his team to perfection to take advantage of all of Philly’s flaws. Andy Reid is getting too predictable. The only unpredictable thing that he manages to do is find mind-blowing new ways to lose games.

And for the coup de grace, Reid didn’t even inform McNabb of the benching; he had his quarterback coach do it. Andy, scapegoating your star quarterback instead of accepting responsibility for your failures as a coach was shameful. If McNabb weren’t such a class act you would have alienated your only chance at playoff salvation this season. Bottom line: This team’s failings are your fault, Andy.