Further Futility in South Philly

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles reached a level of offensive futility they hadn’t glimpsed in more than forty years.

Not since Veterans Stadium was opened in 1971 had the team played back-to-back home games without scoring an offensive touchdown. But after a 15-7 loss to the wretched New York Giants, the Eagles extended their NFL “leading” (and franchise record) home loss streak to ten, four short of the NFL record.

Michael Vick made a cameo and quickly pulled off his patented “interception on the Eagles first possession” to effectively sap the energy out of the home crowd.

He followed that up with a fumble on the Eagles second possession, although the Eagles recovered it. Then he got injured again.

It is laborious to continually bash Michael Vick, but never has a player who has accomplished so little had such unjustified support from some fans.

There is nothing more counterproductive to an NFL team than instability at the quarterback spot. Mike Vick is instability personified. He is constantly recovering from, suffering from, or moving towards another injury.

More importantly, Vick is a bad quarterback even when he is healthy enough to play.

In six games this season, he has five touchdown passes. Vick started 1-3 this season, then got injured, and is 1-10 in the last 11 games he has started and finished. In his last four games, Vick has sustained more injuries than he has thrown touchdown passes.

Save for a very good half season in 2010—when the NFL had not seen him in four years due to his prison term—Michael Vick has been a below-average NFL quarterback over the past seven seasons. Why Eagles fans would be supportive of Vick or be anxiously anticipating his return from his latest re-aggravation of his second latest injury is nonsensical.

When the curtain is pulled back from Vick’s career, the truth becomes clear: never has there been more discussion about a quarterback who has won a total of two playoff games in his career, the most recent almost a decade ago.

Hopefully, this latest example of Vick’s utter impotence will resonate with those who have yet to recognize he is a mirage and has been for most of his career.

The only thing worse for the Eagles than having Mike Vick playing quarterback is having rookie Matt Barkley playing quarterback. Barkley was abysmal last week, throwing three fourth-quarter interceptions. He was slightly better this week.

To be fair, it’s a tough situation for a rookie to be in. After not practicing with the first team, it is difficult for a young quarterback to take over a suddenly dysfunctional offense in the middle of a game. But it’s unacceptable that Barkley has committed five turnovers in four quarters. He is on pace to be even more prolific than Vick in that category.

The Eagles defense played a great game on Sunday. The Giants’ incompetence helped the Eagles defense hold them to fifteen points, but it was still impressive for this much-maligned group.

The defense has been a real bright spot during the offensive meltdown. They have held four consecutive opponents to 21 points or fewer. It is unlikely they will consistently be a very good unit at any point this season, but they are at least improving.

It is unfortunate that the offense wasted two very good efforts from the defense because those type of results cannot be expected every week from this evolving unit.

Chip Kelly has a bad day Sunday. His questionable decision-making is becoming far too frequent. An onside kick with 4:11 left with one timeout and a defense playing very well was curious. Eschewing a 49-yard FG attempt a week after attempting a 61-yarder had fans scratching their heads.

Most egregious was putting the game in Matt Barkley’s hands, calling a roll out on first down from the 2-yard line. The prudent move in that situation was to hand the ball to Lesean McCoy at least two times if necessary and let the best player on the roster get the job done.

Kelly did not prepare Barkley during the week at all in case he had to go in. He should have split first-team reps since Vick often does not finish games he starts.

Big Balls Chip declined several fourth-and-one opportunities, electing instead to punt. He has been hamstrung by quarterback issues, but he is supposed to be an offensive innovator.

He has not found a way to get Lesean McCoy untracked in any of the last four games, other than the Tampa Bay game. He has been unable to adapt to different quarterbacks even enough to coax more than three points out of them over two full games.

He does not have his own players here yet ,and fans realized that and were prepared to give Kelly some leeway; however, his inability to manage the clock raises some concerns. Kelly coached in very few close games in college and so far has not distinguished himself in those situations.

Time is running out on this season, although not on Chip Kelly. He has a grace period, but it would be in his best interest to show something in order to ensure its extension; something on offense that, if not revolutionary, is simply competent.

Eagles fans are passionate but not patient. Winning at home should be Chip’s first order of business. Defending one’s own house is akin to manning up. The fans will not stand for historically futile production in South Philly. Get one and more will come…but make the next one the one you get.