Have you heard? The Philadelphia Eagles are having a great offseason. Yeah, again. They settled the DeSean Jackson contract mess, extended deals for a few key veterans, stole middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Texans and, according to many analysts, may have had the best draft of any team in the league. If the season were starting today, I guarantee they’d be the most popular pick to win the NFC East, ahead of the Super Bowl champion Giants and everyone else.

But me, I’m not so sure. I need to see it from the quarterback.

Michael Vick will enter the 2012 season under more pressure than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Eagles have told anyone who’ll listen that they believe last year’s team was too talented to go 8-8, that it got better as the year went along and that the four-game winning streak that closed their season can have a carryover effect into 2012. But no matter how true any of those assertions turn out to be, it’s still going to be up to Vick to cash them in.

The defense took a lot of the heat for the Eagles’ 2011 disappointment, and early on it did struggle to come together. But it finished eighth in the league in fewest yards allowed and tied for the league lead in sacks. If the defense does that again, it’s going to be tough to blame whatever goes wrong on that side of the ball.

It was on the offensive side that Vick turned the ball over 14 times during last year’s 3-6 start, coughed up the Arizona game by playing with broken ribs and not telling anyone and then missed three games during which backup Vince Young threw enough interceptions to make Vick look like the world champion of darts. Vick was as responsible for the Eagles’ flop of a season as anyone else was, and it’s worth making a point of that as the Eagles look ahead to 2012 with high hopes. Because that word — “responsible” — is the one the Eagles would most like Vick to keep in mind.

The Eagles don’t need Vick to be the dazzling, electrified, high-speed wonder he was in 2010. It’d be nice, but no one expects him to repeat that once-in-a-lifetime performance and no one ever did. What the Eagles wanted from Vick in 2011 was to evolve a bit as a top-level quarterback — to assume more responsibility for the offense, not to mention the ball and his own body. Vick has undeniable athletic talent of a sort no one else in the league could ever dream. But what he has yet to do is take that critical next step that transforms quarterback talent into quarterback success.

The quarterbacks who become great in the NFL are the ones who treat the position as a craft to be perpetually honed and refined. Vick had that opportunity in 2011 as a clear starter on a team that surrounded him with brilliant weapons. At the urging of new offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who prefers things to work this way, Vick was for the first time in his Eagles career given the responsibility of calling the protection at the line of scrimmage — of reading the defense before the snap and calling out the assignments for the linemen based on what he saw. At the beginning of the year, it caused confusion, as one might expect. But even as the year went on, Vick struggled to get in sync with his line.

Part of that is the style with which he plays — running around behind the line, determined to keep plays alive past a point at which most quarterbacks would have thrown the ball out of bounds. But that’s part of this responsibility theme, too. Part of Vick’s maturation as a quarterback needs to include knowing what he should and shouldn’t try — and when. If he becomes more responsible about knowing the right and wrong times to take chances, that’ll help his protection, his turnovers and his health.

And he has to take care of those last two things above all else. No team can afford to turn the ball over as much as the Eagles in did in 2011, and the Eagles can’t afford to play without Vick. As proud as they are of their draft, last year’s free agency and the depth of talent on their roster, they’re not a contender if Mike Kafka or Nick Foles or Trent Edwards is the guy taking the snaps for an extended period of time. Just as they weren’t a contender last year when Young was under center. The Eagles’ offense is built around Vick and must run through him or it’s not going to operate on the level required of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

So the pressure on Vick isn’t just to win — it’s to be responsible. To think more carefully about his throws and his other on-field decisions. To keep the big picture in mind. If he can do this — if he can take these next critical steps in his development as a quarterback, even at the age of 32, Vick is good enough to cash in his opportunity. He’s good enough to pilot an offense that has Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy to playoff glory. He’s good enough to come up with that signature game-winning fourth-quarter drive his résumé still lacks. He’s got the talent and he’s got everything in place around him to help him succeed. But once the curtain goes up on this 2012 season, it’s going to be on Vick himself to make sure he does. It may well be the best and last chance he ever gets.

For weeks we have heard of a mystery team interested in Peyton Manning and now on the day of his release Philadelphia Eagles fans are hearing rumblings that it may be the Eagles. No way will Peyton Manning play in the NFC East against his brother Eli, many NFL experts are saying. No way will Peyton play in the NFC at all, say many others.

Peyton has three, possibly four years left to play in the NFL and he wants to win at least one more Super Bowl to equal his little brother’s accomplishment. Peyton’s best fit may be in the same division as brother Eli’s New York Giants. The teams with a glaring need for a legendary quarterback under center are in the NFC East.

If the Eagles put together the best offer, Peyton will wear Eagles green and he will play Eli twice a year in the regular season. The Eagles are the perfect fit for the former Indianapolis Colts legend. The Eagles have a top three running back in LeSean McCoy and they have an outstanding receiving corps headed by Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson.

The Eagles also have an offensive-minded head coach in Andy Reid that will work well with Peyton’s offensive inventiveness. The combination of Reid, McCoy and the talented receivers on the Eagles provides a perfect fit for Manning but there is one problem: What about Michael Vick?

The Eagles are not committed to Vick long-term despite a six-year deal and this makes a Peyton Manning arrival in Philadelphia possible. An injury-prone Vick could work in tandem with Manning but will Vick’s ego get in the way and destroy the Eagles if Manning does sign?

The Eagles are the perfect fit for Manning and despite the potential issues, Philadelphia should campaign for the elder Manning’s services starting right now. If Manning wears the No. 18 for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 they are an instant favorite to win the Super Bowl. It is time for the Eagles front office to force the issue and pursue Peyton Manning—now!

*Todd Jacobs lives in Las Vegas but has been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since the ’70s. Members of Todd’s family were devout Eagles fans and he had little choice but to follow the Eagles from an early age.

Sources:

ESPN Clubhouse: Philadelphia Eagles stats and news

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The Philadelphia Eagles have enough of an uphill battle in the NFC next year. But now Eagles fans like myself, although with every other NFC and NFL fan base, will now be glued to the official start of the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Although Philadelphia is too tied up in Michael Vick to make a run at Manning, it has to be weary of another NFC team making a run at him.

With Manning set to officially be released by the Indianapolis Colts on Mar. 7, a select few teams can officially start making offers for him. Since the possibility of his release came up, a few of those prospective contenders have been from the NFC. If one of them lands Manning, then the rest of the conference – including the Eagles – has one more big obstacle on the road to the Super Bowl.

The worst case scenario for the Eagles is that the Washington Redskins win the Manning lottery. In that case, both Peyton and defending Super Bowl champion Eli would face Philadelphia twice a season – and the lowly Redskins would be relevant again. Still, the Redskins might be a bit distracted now by the Gregg Williams scandal, since one of his bounty programs was allegedly in Washington.

If this makes D.C. less attractive to Manning – to say nothing of facing Eli twice a year – then he may join the NFC on another coast. The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers have been tossed around as good fits, given that the Cardinals have been let down by former Eagles Kevin Kolb and the 49ers were a step away from the Super Bowl last year. If Manning joins Arizona, the Cardinals could be Super Bowl contenders again – while the 49ers would be instant Super Bowl favorites if he comes to San Francisco.

Any of those scenarios would make the NFC pecking order even more crowded – and it is already crowded enough for the Eagles to deal with. The best outcome is for Manning to stay in the AFC, where the NFC doesn’t have to worry about him save for the odd inter-conference game and Super Bowl.

Luckily, the Miami Dolphins also seem to be a top contender, while many are drooling over Manning joining the New York Jets as well. Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver is also listing the Houston Texans as his best possible fit – although then he would face the Colts twice a year. Perhaps that would motivate him to go there, but if he wants to be a bit further away, then the NFC is more of an option.

The entire NFL may be shifted by Manning’s upcoming choice, to say nothing of the NFC. Of course, that all depends on whether Manning is actually his old self when he retakes the field. But if he is, whoever gets him might have the fast track to Super Bowl contention, at the least – and make other contenders like the Eagles feel even more cramped in the pecking order.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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There’s a point in “The Princess Bride” where Vizzini says the word “inconceivable” too many times for Inigo’s taste, and Inigo looks at him sideways and says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I bring this up because Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie used the word “unacceptable” several times in today’s news conference, and that’s one of those words that sports people use without thinking about what it really means. If something is “unacceptable” (as Lurie insists the Eagles’ 8-8 season was) yet elicits no consequences, then that makes it, by definition, “acceptable.” Lurie spent the first 15 minutes of his address to the Philadelphia media talking about his anger and frustration, called the first half of the season “dismal” and “terrible” and said he took little solace in the Eagles’ 4-0 finish because it came against teams that weren’t “that competitive.”

But in the end, he announced that he would bring head coach Andy Reid back for a 14th season. And he announced that any coaching staff changes — including any decisions on embattled first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo — would be up to Reid. And while the idea that something “unacceptable” has happened but that no one is to be held accountable for it likely isn’t sitting well with disenchanted Eagles fans today, as usual I think there’s some gray area here.

“Accountable” isn’t automatically the same thing as “fired.” As a result of the flop that was a 2011 season in which, Lurie said, “the difference between the expectation and the result was dramatic,” Andy Reid enters 2012 under greater pressure than he has felt at any time during his tenure as Eagles coach. I believe Reid will coach in 2012 under more pressure than any other coach in the entire league. Lurie made it clear with several of things he said that, unless the Eagles rebound, big-time, next season, the news conference he has next January isn’t going to be as friendly.

“If I didn’t think that next year would be substantially better,” Lurie said. “Then I would be up here announcing a coaching change.”

That says to me that, if next year is not substantially better, Lurie will in fact be up there announcing a coaching change. If I were Reid, that’s the way I’d be hearing it. And throughout Reid’s long and impressive tenure as Eagles coach, I doubt he’s ever faced this degree of ultimatum.

Lurie spoke of other teams in recent history that rebounded from disappointing seasons to win the Super Bowl, naming the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints specifically. He spoke of Reid’s record of bouncing back from seasons in which the Eagles missed the playoffs, pointing out that it’s very good. He didn’t say he expected 2012 to continue that trend, but he didn’t have to. That much was clear. Lurie is an owner who’s much more upset about this season than he let on at any point while it was unfolding, but he’s also an owner who believes in a measured approach, who believes in continuity in positions of leadership, and who believes Reid is a good coach who knows what he’s doing and is capable of making next season a success where this one was not.

But Lurie also left little doubt that this can’t happen again. So from this point forward, every decision Reid makes is going to be scrutinized in ways it never has been before by the guy who matters most. Whatever mistakes Reid made in 2011, Lurie was able to view them through the prism of all the good work Reid did for him in the previous 12 years, with the knowledge that players have historically played hard for Reid and have wanted to play for the Eagles because of the coaching structure they have in place. But any mistakes Reid makes between now and this time next year will be viewed through the prism of Lurie’s present disappointment, and are likely to be judged much more harshly as a result.

Reid must now decide about Castillo and the rest of the coaching staff, then he must get to work on free agency and the draft. Then there will be minicamps and OTAs, the incubators the 2011 team lacked but which the 2012 Eagles must use to make sure they don’t sleepwalk their way through the first half of next season the way they did this one.

“It’s possible there was a miscalculation in terms of implementing big scheme changes in a lockout situation,” Lurie said.

That could mean the Eagles stay the course, scheme-wise, in the belief that they are moving in the right direction but just took too long to start moving. It could mean that they make big scheme changes again this offseason in the belief that they will have the time this year to implement them. That sounds as though it’s up to Reid. But whichever way he goes, it’s got to work, or he’s going to be gone. He may not have to win next year’s Super Bowl to keep his job in 2013, but it’s very clear after listening to Lurie today that he’s got to make a pretty serious run at it to make up for the damage this season caused. Those are the consequences of 8-8: That Reid finds himself, at long last, facing a make-or-break season.

The Eagles struggled early and never recovered. A four-game winning streak at the end came too late and they finished 8-8, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and just the fourth time in coach Andy Reid’s 13 seasons.

“It’s going to motivate us to work harder,” quarterback Michael Vick said Monday. “It’s very disappointing.”

After an offseason spending spree brought several accomplished players to Philadelphia and added to a roster that already featured Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, the Eagles were the talk of the NFL. They were defending NFC East champions and seemingly on the rise.

So when Young compared his new teammates to the Miami Heat, some people scoffed but most expected the Eagles to make a serious run at the first championship since 1960. Even team president Joe Banner declared the Eagles “all-in” and called this a Super Bowl-or-bust year.

But the team quickly imploded.

“There were definitely red flags,” said defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, who won the Super Bowl with Green Bay last season. “A lot of people see Super Bowl, or I think they let the fact that the Super Bowl is there, and so many people talk about it right away. You can hear people nowadays, they come out of the draft talking about Super Bowl and I think it kind of gets thrown around too loosely now.

“It’s obviously the ultimate goal in where you want to get to, but you have to understand that you have to work hard. It’s something that is a process and you have to take it each step at a time to get to it and I think a lot of time people just want to jump from preseason to the Super Bowl without doing what it takes in between.”

Various factors contributed to a four-game losing streak that dropped the Eagles to 1-4 and doomed them from the beginning. Vick couldn’t finish two games in September because of injuries, the offense made critical turnovers and the defense struggled mightily as new players tried to adjust to new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo’s system.

Finishing games was a problem, too. The Eagles lost five games in which they led in the fourth quarter. One play could’ve made the difference in a season where the division was mediocre. The Eagles weren’t eliminated from playoff contention until right before their next-to-last game kicked off and they ended up second behind the New York Giants (9-7).

“It will be tough to sit at home and watch the playoffs, but we have to maintain a positive outlook about what we could be and go into the offseason knowing that we can play with the best teams in the league,” wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said. “Philly is not used to not being in the playoffs. I think guys will be hungry. This offseason will be very critical for us and I think it will be good.”

It’s uncertain whether the team will make major changes. Reid was criticized heavily this season and many fans want him gone. They chanted “Fire Andy!” during a loss to New England. Reid refused to discuss his future after Sunday’s game and wasn’t available to reporters on Monday. He’s expected to return, but his coaching staff may look different.

The only especially interesting question surrounding the
Philadelphia Eagles’ season finale 1 o’clock this afternoon at Lincoln Financial
Field against the Washington Redskins is: how many fans will show up?

The outcome of the game makes no difference in the NFL playoff picture. A
New Year’s Day game faces a lot of competition for attention (hello
Mummers).

And Eagles fans voted with their feet during the last Linc
disaster when less than 10,000 remained in the stadium during the fourth
quarter of the loss to the New England Patriots in November. At least the weather’s supposed to be nice — 55 and sunny.

What the fans who do show up will see is a Redskins team in its usual place in the NFC East — last for the fourth straight season — and one of the few NFL teams with more issues than the Eagles. Substance abuse suspensions, a quarterback (Rex Grossman) who leads the
NFL in interceptions, all kinds of injuries and a Super Bowl-winning
coach in Mike Shanahan who seems to have left his bag of magic tricks in
Denver add up to another fine mess megabucks Redskin owner Daniel Snyder has gotten himself into again.

Shanahan himself admits Washington has taken a lot longer to turn around than he thought.

“A lot longer than I first anticipated,” Shanahan said. “We had less
depth than I thought. We were a little bit older at a few different
positions. I thought we might keep those players a little longer than we
did.”

The Eagles probably thought their season would be lasting a little
longer. Their three-game December win streak came too late to salvage a
playoff spot and any accomplishments that will come today are for
individuals alone.

LeSean McCoy has an outside shot at the NFL rushing crown. He has 1,309
yards coming into the game, trailing Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew
by 128 yards (that each conference’s leading rusher will miss the
playoffs gives a pause when thinking of how critical running games are).

It may be more realistic for McCoy to break the all-time Eagles
single-season record of 1,512 yards set by Wilbert Montgomery in 1979.

“Yeah, it’s on my mind,” said McCoy, who leads the NFL in touchdowns
(20) and rushing TDs (17). “Hopefully, I can get it. A lot of things have
to go right for me to get it but I’m going to go out and play my heart
out. I’m sure my linemen are going to do the same thing. But the main
thing is winning and kind of go out on a good note. And it would just be
even sweeter to get the record though.”

Sweet for his linemen too, perhaps.

“Yeah, he can take us to McDonald’s or something,” said guard Evan Mathis with a laugh.

Eagles’ defensive end Jason Babin, with 18 sacks, trails Minnesota’s
Jared Allen for the NFL lead by half a sack and, with a huge day, could
pass Michael Strahan’s NFL record of 22.5 in one season.

Other than such records, there’s not much at stake. The Eagles make a
big deal about finishing .500 and going 5-1 in the NFC East and while
some dismiss such talk, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, who won the
Super Bowl with Green Bay last season, disagrees.

“Oh yeah, it’s something that’s huge,” he said. “Even if you look at
Green Bay, what we did at the end of the season last year and that
carried over with them into this year and that’s happened to us a
couple times out there when I was there. So I think it’s something that,
especially for the young guys or the people coming in, is that you kind
of get a taste of that winning like, ‘Man, we won four games straight,
we can do this.’ So then for all of the young guys, their approach for
next year will be wanting to go through that again, they don’t want to go through the losing part, and then they know that we have the ability to do that.”

Eagles fans might wonder why it took until December to find that
ability. Quarterback Michael Vick said the team was frustrated, too.

“We’re all going through it together,” he said. “We want to win just as
bad as they do and, you know, certain things just didn’t happen the way
that we wanted them to and this is where the chips fell. So, hopefully,
we’re all disappointed and wish that the outcome could have been
different but we apologize and, hopefully, we can give them want they want
very soon.”

A win today would be a small first step, for however many show up at the Linc.

The Philadelphia Eagles have faced questions about the fate of Andy Reid for most of the last few months. For that matter, all of the NFC East coaches have had their future look uncertain at some point this year. But Eagles fans like myself are resigned to having Reid coming back for 2012, while Dallas Cowboys fans were assured by Jerry Jones that Jason Garrett isn’t going anywhere.

That may not sound good to Cowboys fans if the team loses their NFC East title game to the New York Giants on Jan. 1. Yet while Jones promised on Dec. 30 that Garrett is safe even if Dallas loses, Tom Coughlin has no such public assurances from the New York Giants so far.

This makes the Cowboys-Giants battle have even more at stake than the NFC East, as at least one coach is still playing for his job. Coughlin could still stay if the Giants lose and turn a 6-2 start into an 8-8 finish and a season-killing loss at home. However, it would be an uphill battle to get one last chance in New York.

Like Reid, Coughlin has gotten even closer to wearing out his welcome with a disappointing 2011. But while the Eagles put Reid in jeopardy by struggling from the start, it took until midseason for the Giants to put Coughlin on the hot seat. He has escaped getting fired for some time – most notably by winning the Super Bowl in 2008 – yet just making the playoffs will have to do to make his case now.

Reid, Coughlin, Garrett and Mike Shanahan were all just as likely to get fired as they were to make it to 2012 at various points. But it seems that Shanahan and Reid will at least get one more season while Garrett has escaped the wrath of Jones for now. This would make it even more notable if Coughlin was the only NFC East coach to get the ax after all, even though he is the only one to win a Super Bowl with an NFC East team. Yet that was years ago and the Giants haven’t even won a playoff game since then.

Since this is the ugliest NFC East season of all time, it would make sense if at least one coach got fired for it. However, if the disappointing seasons of the Giants, Cowboys, Eagles and Washington Redskins aren’t enough to get any of their head coaches fired, it shows how untouchable and lucky they really are – or it could just trigger a bloodbath for 2012.

Still, while Shanahan, Reid and Garrett expect to breathe easy when it comes to their jobs, Coughlin still needs one more victory to do the same. If the Giants’ win over the New York Jets on Dec. 24 is their last of the season, then Coughlin will have to sit on pins and needles awaiting his fate. But with a win and a divisional title, he can likely relax like the rest of his peers when it comes to 2012 – if he was capable of relaxing.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles are not facing America’s Team on Dec. 24 after all. While Eagles fans like myself have had no problem hating the Dallas Cowboys, the rest of the nation still regards the Cowboys as America’s Team. Yet for now, America has dethroned Dallas in the latest sign of the Cowboys’ lack of glory lately.

According to a new poll on Dec. 21 from Public Policy Polling, the Green Bay Packers are now the new favorite team for the average American. In fact, with 22 percent of the vote, the Packers doubled the Cowboys’ vote total. Since Green Bay is the defending Super Bowl champion, the favorite for a second straight ring and are more universally beloved than Dallas, it makes sense that it would finally take this crown.

The Cowboys do at least still have one No. 1 mark as America’s least favorite team, as they got 22 percent in that vote and doubled up the Chicago Bears. But that is a given for Dallas, although it at least had the America’s Team label and Super Bowl rings to balance it out. However, that applied to Cowboys teams of a different era, as the modern day Boys are now just another team struggling to get over the hump. They’ve been that for about 15 years now and for over five years with Tony Romo at the helm.

Despite the old glorious image and the new billion dollar stadium, Dallas is no more special than anyone else these days. It could have been a much different story this year, since if the Cowboys had held onto half their blown fourth quarter leads, they would be right up there with the Packers in 2011. Instead they are 8-6, struggling to hold on in a pathetic NFC East and are no one’s favorite to reach the Super Bowl if they do make the playoffs.

Still, although the Cowboys don’t inspire the buzz and as much love as they used to, at least people do still feel something for them. In contrast, the Eagles didn’t even make the cut of most liked teams, while the Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Redskins all got above 4 percent support. Philadelphia didn’t even make the cut of most hated teams either, despite the negativity that has surrounded the Eagles at home most of the year. Yet Michael Vick remains the most hated quarterback in the NFL to help balance it out.

The Eagles used to have to envy the Cowboys for being so famous and successful. But even now when Dallas is leading its division, it isn’t sitting on the kind of pedestal it used to anymore. Perhaps nothing short of making or winning a Super Bowl will put the Cowboys back in America’s good graces. Yet until then, they only have the usual bad graces and more December disappointment to define them now.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers are incredibly similar in many ways. Eagles fans like myself have ranted about their Super Bowl near-misses every year, yet the Chargers are just as much of a near-miss franchise. This season, it looked like the bottom had fallen out for both Philadelphia and San Diego, as they completely collapsed even before the postseason.

The Eagles and Chargers were both 4-7 a few weeks ago, and looked ready to get their long time frustrating head coaches run out of town at last. Yet Andy Reid and Norv Turner may have saved their jobs with a few December victories that have kept Philadelphia and San Diego improbably alive. However, this is nothing new for the Eagles and Chargers, as they are once again red hot in December when it is too late to really do any damage.

Both Philadelphia and San Diego are experts at winning big in the final weeks of the regular season. They always go into January with major momentum and fuel hopes that this is finally their year to win the Super Bowl, only to get cold when it counts in the postseason. Last year, the Eagles were both hot and cold in the final month and stayed cold in the playoffs, while the Chargers recovered from a 2-5 start and got to 9-7 when it was too late to save their season.

That same scenario is happening again for the Chargers, as they are once again rallying back from a terrible first half of the year and are getting scary again. But for the second straight season, it might be too late to get them into the playoffs, in spite of how they destroyed the Baltimore Ravens by 34-14 on Dec. 18. At 7-7, San Diego still needs a great deal of help to win the AFC West and overtake the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders, even though the Chargers might be among the hottest teams in the AFC right now.

Over on the East Coast, the Eagles are trying to put together an impossible rally of their own. Like San Diego, Philadelphia humiliated itself by underachieving in the first three months of the season. But in December, Reid once again flipped the switch and put together two easy wins over the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. And the Eagles were even more thorough in destroying an AFC playoff contender at home, as they throttled the Jets by 45-19.

Philadelphia is clinging to life even harder than San Diego, since it is still 6-8. But two more victories and key losses from the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants could get the Eagles into the playoffs in spite of it all. And even with their mostly embarrassing seasons and poor records, no one would want to play the Eagles or Chargers in the playoffs if they did find a way in.

These two teams were supposed to be this scary all year and finally get over the Super Bowl hump. Instead, they have waited too long to get good, as usual, and now have to be utterly perfect for two more weeks just to make the postseason. Even if they do find a way, they are still long shots to actually make the Super Bowl and win a ring at long last, which is the goal they have fallen short of for over a decade already.

Philadelphia and San Diego are two of the cruelest franchises in the NFL, as they are major letdowns at the beginning and end of a season without fail and still get everyone’s hopes up in the middle. Right now, they are raising hopes for redemptions and miracle Super Bowl runs right on cue – yet this also means the Eagles and Chargers are on cue to let everyone down worse than ever any moment now.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles like to think that they are the gold standard in the NFL. But for the next month, Eagles fans like myself will have to be bored by meaningless football, which is a rare thing in December. For the fourth time in the Andy Reid era, Philadelphia has nothing to play for in December, as it is just like a regular old 4-7 team – like the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks are a bit more used to playing out the string, although it has been fairly rare for them as well. Since Seattle plays in the dreadful NFC West, it is used to actually fighting for a division title – and often winning one – no matter what its record is. But with the Seahawks at 4-7 and the San Francisco 49ers at 9-2, they are also reduced to sleepwalking through December.

This makes the Dec. 1 showdown between the Eagles and Seahawks nothing more than a waste of a Thursday night showcase. The NFL didn’t figure it would be when it scheduled this game, as Philadelphia was supposed to be leading the NFC East and Seattle was supposed to have a fighting chance in the West – even if it was 4-7.

Both the Eagles and Seahawks have had a pretty good decade, with several divisional titles and one Super Bowl appearance for each of them. Mike Holmgrem turned the Seahawks into a contender while his disciple Andy Reid made the Eagles come close and fall short year after year. Now Holmgren is trying to rebuild the Cleveland Browns while Reid’s days are hoped to be numbered in Philadelphia – and the Eagles and Seahawks have become afterthoughts in the meantime.

Seattle’s step down is less than surprising, considering that it was still 7-9 when it won the division last season. Despite pulling a massive upset of the New Orleans Saints in the first round anyway, the Seahawks haven’t been a true Super Bowl contender since that missed opportunity against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. Likewise, the Eagles haven’t come that close to a title after their loss in Super Bowl XXXIX the previous year.

These two former NFC powers had their chances to win it all years ago, blew it and are struggling just to stay above water now. Of course Philadelphia is thought to have a better chance than Seattle to come back and make one last run – depending on what changes lie ahead in the offseason. But for the Eagles and Seahawks, the offseason has pretty much started now as there’s not much to actually play for in the final month – except for jobs.

Philadelphia and Seattle have made a habit of preparing for Super Bowl and playoff runs by now, yet that time is nearing an end. The Seahawks’ time may have already ended, given that the 49ers may be in control of the NFC West for a while. As for the Eagles, they are at a major crossroads that a win in Seattle will barely soften – and a loss may only help hasten.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles have been the greatest tease in the NFL over the last decade or so. However, Eagles fans like myself aren’t alone in wondering when a long awaited Super Bowl will come – and whether a long time coach should get another chance to win one. Both Philadelphia and the San Diego Chargers have been in the same boat for years, which is now complete with twin 4-7 records.

The Eagles have been a dominant NFC power for over 10 years without any rings, while the Chargers have been an AFC contender for nearly as long with no results. At the least, Philadelphia did get to go to one Super Bowl while San Diego could only reach one AFC title game – in the same year where the New England Patriots started 18-0.

This year looked to offer a good chance for the Eagles and Chargers to get over the hump, as the AFC was more wide open than usual for San Diego and Philadelphia had a “Dream Team” to conquer the NFC. Instead, these two traditional powers who are used to leading their divisions by now are each 4-7 and ready for their worst offseason to date – although it may be a short one for coaches Andy Reid and Norv Turner.

Turner may be more expendable than Reid, despite – or perhaps because of – the fact that the Chargers haven’t come as close to getting over the hump than Reid and the Eagles. However, San Diego did get off to a more promising start this season, as it started 4-1 while Philadelphia stumbled to 1-4. But while the Eagles have at least gotten a few wins since then, the Chargers have tumbled down to a six-game losing streak and an all-time low point in this era.

These struggles are particularly inexcusable for both teams since they play in the worst divisions in football. If Philadelphia and San Diego were anything like their old selves, they would have slaughtered the NFC East and AFC West by now. Instead, the Chargers are three games back of the Oakland Raiders and two back of the formerly 2-5 Denver Broncos, while the Eagles are three games back of a Dallas Cowboys team that they destroyed on Oct. 30.

The late afternoon of Nov. 27 was the final blow to their seasons and perhaps to their era as Super Bowl contenders. For the Eagles, their climactic downfall was more predictable as the New England Patriots manhandled them by 38-20, despite falling asleep for the first few minutes. The Chargers were doomed because they let Tim Tebow(notes) and the Broncos stay within range heading into the fourth quarter, which spawned another Tebow comeback and a 16-13 overtime win.

These two former powers should have combined to win a few Super Bowls by now and maybe faced off in one or two of them. Instead, the Eagles and Chargers may have to blow up their entire system, or at least a good deal of it, to stay relevant in the years to come.

But they may have too much invested to provide such a total overhaul, no matter how much fans call for Reid and Turner and their underachieving stars to go. So Philadelphia and San Diego may wind up disappointing fans in the end, as they have been for about a decade – although they are finding new ways to underachieve these days.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots have been the gold standards of the NFL since about 2000. Of course, Eagles fans like myself know that grouping the Birds with the Patriots is problematic, given the differences in Super Bowl rings. However, Philadelphia and New England have each been perennial contenders for over a decade, despite the different end results.

Sooner or later, the Eagles and Patriots will stop making the playoffs and dreaming of Super Bowls, especially once their constants finally leave. Yet since the end of an era appears to be closer for Philadelphia than New England, it is another bit of proof at how the Patriots’ dynasty has towered over the Eagles’.

The Birds have tried for over 10 years to win a championship under Andy Reid. But as it stands now, they have kept regressing and it has bottomed out with a 4-6 start to the season. A loss to the Patriots on Nov. 27 will likely kill any hope left for Philadelphia and put Reid further out onto the chopping block. That will hasten the end of an era defined by disappointment and near misses.

While the end of the Reid tenure is near – at least if fans have anything to say about it – the end of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady(notes) era is nowhere near in sight in New England. In fact, while the Eagles have lost most of their old leaders and may be about to dump Reid, the Patriots have kept Brady and Belichick around and have thrived even when they’ve changed the supporting cast.

There is no longer any guarantee that Reid can keep Philadelphia in contention for a Super Bowl. But as long as Brady and Belichick are in New England, the Patriots will always be in range to get another ring. In fact, while the Eagles have crumbled under adversity in 2011, the Patriots seem to have gotten through it and now have a clear path to the AFC East and home field advantage in the playoffs.

Still, just because New England remains a Super Bowl favorite doesn’t meant that it can follow through as easily anymore. In fact, the Pats are starting to build a reputation as a postseason disappointment, as they haven’t won in January since 2008. That kind of run is more fitting in Philadelphia, although at least Belichick and Brady got three rings before they started coming up short in the playoffs.

Maybe that is the big sign of how the New England dynasty is not what it once was. But even though it isn’t what it once was, it is still enough to give the Patriots double-digit wins every year and keep them among the elite. On the other side, the Eagles aren’t what they once were and they can’t even get to .500 with a so-called “Dream Team.”

But Philadelphia and New England have always been different in this way. The Birds’ highs have never been high enough to match the Pats since 2001, so it makes sense that the Patriots haven’t quite sunk as low as the Eagles yet either. Although these two teams have had the same prosperity for over 10 years, it seems that Philadelphia will never have the edge where it counts – yet it would be nice to defy that trend at least on Nov. 27.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP)—A stonefaced Andy Reid sat at the podium, giving the
same answer to each question about his future and the Philadelphia Eagles’
dwindling playoff prospects.

“I’m not even thinking about the playoffs, I’m thinking about playing the
New York Giants,” Reid said several times Wednesday.

The defending NFC East champion Eagles (3-6) face the division-leading
Giants (6-3) in their latest must-win game Sunday night. They are one loss away
from being all-but-mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in a Super
Bowl-or-bust year.

Reid has been heavily criticized for the team’s miserable performance and
its failure to even come close to living up to enormous expectations. Fans,
media and even former players have said it’s time for Reid to go.

But the stoic coach isn’t worried about getting fired.

“I’m concerned about getting ready to play the New York Giants,” he said
when asked about his job security.

Losing the locker room isn’t on Reid’s mind, either, even after he
deactivated star wide receiver DeSean Jackson(notes) for being late to a meeting last
week.

“I’m concerned right now about getting ready to play the Giants, and that’s
it,” he said, repeating himself. “All the other stuff you guys can work with.
My job is to get our football team ready to play the Giants. That’s what I’m
going to do.”

Reid has dealt with intense scrutiny before, particularly early in the
season after a 1-4 start had people loudly calling for his dismissal. Players
staunchly defended Reid, blaming themselves for the poor start.

It seemed the Eagles had turned things around after consecutive wins in
October, including a dominating 34-7 victory over Dallas in front of a national
audience. But they lost the next two games at home, blowing fourth-quarter leads
in both. They’ve lost five games this season in which they led in the final
quarter, including four at home.

“Late in the game, we are not going for the jugular and finishing the game
in the right way,” running back LeSean McCoy(notes) said.

Reid has led the Eagles to nine playoff appearances, six division titles,
five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl in his first 12 seasons. He is
under contract through 2013 and has an excellent relationship with team owner
Jeffrey Lurie and president Joe Banner.

But the Eagles were built to win now. They uncharacteristically spent wildly
in the lockout-shortened offseason and added six players who have been to Pro
Bowls. Lurie, Banner and others made it clear that winning the Super Bowl is the
only goal.

So perhaps Reid will take the fall. He has made several questionable
decisions, including moving Juan Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive
coordinator.

“Every year is different, and this is no more different than other years as
far as challenges go,” Reid said. “It’s not more challenging or less
challenging.”

Injuries are now a factor, too. Michael Vick(notes) broke two ribs on the second
play during Sunday’s 21-17 loss to Arizona. The starting quarterback played
through the pain, but missed practice Wednesday. His status is uncertain against
the Giants.

“He’s still sore. These next few days will tell, so we’ll see,” Reid said.

Reid wouldn’t name a starter if Vick can’t play, saying Vince Young(notes) and Mike
Kafka(notes) would share reps in practice. Young was 30-17 as a starter in Tennessee
and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2006. Kafka, a fourth-round pick last year,
has thrown 16 passes in the NFL.

“(Young) has worked hard to know the offense,” Reid said. “Both those two
have done a great job with it. With Vince being the newer of the two, I think
he’s done a heck of a job of learning.”

Wideout Jeremy Maclin(notes) has shoulder and hamstring injuries and cornerback
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie(notes) has a high ankle sprain. Maclin is making progress,
but Rodgers-Cromartie likely won’t play.

Notes: The Eagles promoted wide receiver/kick returner Chad Hall(notes) from the
practice squad and released safety Jarrad Page(notes). Hall played in eight games last
year, making 11 catches for 115 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 29 yards on
nine carries. Page started five games this season.