Quote:
Originally Posted by Schneed10
The reason the Eagles win more often than we do isn't their front office and their scouting. The reason is the QB. Donovan McNabb is (and has been) a far better QB than anybody we've been put on the field during the past 10 years. Other than that, their front office has not acquired an appreciably greater level of talent than the Redskins have.
Their first round DTs, Bunkley and Patterson are starting to come into their own, but neither has reached the Pro Bowl, and when you're picked that high you should. Their attempts to find a TE worth a darn have been a dismal failure - franchising LJ Smith and giving him top 5 TE money? Their best offensive lineman, Shawn Andrews, has major mental problems and has trouble staying on the field. The rest of the linemen can't drive block to save their lives, and consequently the Eagles can never run the ball successfully on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1. Their linebackers are solid, but underwhelming. Safeties and corners are underwhelming, except for Asante Samuel. And I don't think I need to get into the WRs.
The Eagles have had some success, but so have we. You have to be thrilled with Brian Westbrook in the 3rd round, just like you do with Chris Cooley. Trent Cole has developed into an impact player, just like Mike Sellers. Overall, there is nothing about the non-QB personnel that makes me think the Eagles are better than the 'Skins. And it showed last year, we swept them.
While the Redskins have made boneheaded mistakes in free agency, like Adam Archuleta, the Eagles have made the mistake of doing too little. What's the bigger crime? Having a franchise QB capable of taking you all the way, and doing NOTHING to give him a significant weapon in the passing game, even though your team has both the cash and the cap space to do so? Or shelling out as much money as the cap allows to fill out your team, but missing badly?
See, the thing is, if the Eagles were willing to spend in free agency like the Redskins, combining that with Philly's ability to avoid the blunder on such decisions, and combining that with a franchise QB? You'd have at least one Super Bowl right now, and there's no Eagle fan that doesn't feel that way right now. How can you leave your fans thinking that McNabb's great career was wasted, all because the front office wouldn't sack up and pay a receiver?
I'd rather have Danny and Vinny any day. They'll make mistakes, but at least they'll try. And hell, even a blind squirrel has to find a nut eventually. When McNabb is done in Philly and they have to rely on Kevin Kolb, that team will enter a VERY dark period.
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So you say the reason they win is McNabb. Ok. They drafted him, didn't they? Bunkley and Patterson, as you say, are coming along very well. They weren't immediate stars, but the Eagles are clearly developing their talents. There's no reason to think they won't be pretty high level starters for years to come. And they drafted both of them.
Shawn Andrews definitely has some mental issues, but there weren't any red flags as far as I know when they drafted him. When his head is in the right place he's a pro-bolwer. You mentioned Trent Cole- they also drafted him in the 5th round and turned him into a stud.
They understand the game is won on the line of scrimmage and they draft accordingly. I hear your point about their struggles running on 3rd/4th and short, but keep in mind when they decide to commit to the run it usually works out really well for them. I think the majority of their struggles in the running game are more a function of how quickly Reid abandons it.
To me it seems like the main leg of your argument against their FO is the lack of a WR. But consider a few things- In the past 5 or so years they've done the following: used two high draft picks on receivers in Reggie Brown and DeSean Jackson. Brown isn't that great and gets hurt a lot, but Jackson looks to be a star in the making. They also signed TO, and he helped take them to a SuperBowl. Of course he imploded, but they still rolled the dice on a huge name for big dollars. Then they gave Kevin Curtis a pretty penny. He's been there 2 seasons. The first he had 1,100 yards and like 80 catches. Last season he was injured half the year. Don't forget they made a huge push for Randy Moss, but he chose NE. My point is they aren't ignoring the position.
They shouldn't have franchised LJ. He's garbage. But Celek looks like a solid young player. Remember he had 2tds in the NFC Championship game this year. Not bad for another 5th round pick.
The fact that Philly hasn't gotten or developed a superstar receiver for McNabb may be a crime. But not having a franchise QB (yes, I think we have one now) for more than a decade while overspending on numerous other positions when we don't have anyone worth a damn to manage the game... That's a huge crime IMO. Brad Johnson is the only exception, and he wasn't a Snyder guy. Snyder did let him walk though, and he went on to win a Super Bowl in Tampa just a few years later.
The Eagles have plenty of homegrown talent on their roster (Westbrook!). We have some great drafted players too, and nowhere have I said our FO stinks in this argument. I just maintain that I would take Philly's over ours.