IS Nick Foles a franchise QB? This time last year, some fans of the Philadelphia Eagles said “YES!” while others said “NO!”. For my part, I said I’d let the evidence of at least 15 starts in 2014 make the case. Foles did not start 15 games. Instead he was injured for a 3rd straight year. That has to be a knock against either Foles’ durability or our Offensive Line’s ability to keep him healthy.
Personally I’ll take either since I’m not as high on our O-line or our QB situation, as some are. Last year I wanted us to draft a Guard. We didn’t. How’d that work out? Here’s how it worked out: We lost studs and had to replace them “just some guys”. Some upper level talent on the interior line would have been great. But what can you do?
And THAT fellow Eagles fans, is pretty much what we’ve been reduced to. Step back for a second and look at what’s going on with us:
Today we argue about whether or not a 3rd round QB (drafted as a project), who’s been up and down his whole career, is our long-term answer. Used to be a time when we would have demanded consistent high level performance from year to year. Now we’re arguing over, and willing to settle for, mere glimpses of intangibles while trying to ignore massive faults.
Those who aren’t arguing for Foles, are arguing for Mark Sanchez. Once upon a time either one of these guys as OUR guy would have been unacceptable. Sanchez played great for a back-up, but hitching our wagon to him would be an act of desperation.
We have back-up O-linemen who can’t even run block, yet nobody (except me) made any noise on the subject. Once upon a time Eagles fans demanded toughness from our players. Today the idea of linemen who can be pushed around, barely raises an eyebrow among fans.
After being stuck with Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper, instead of DeSean Jackson and Maclin, people are actually applauding Chip Kelly getting more say. (Somewhere in my head the words “All he does is catch touchdowns” is echoing.)
Our best pass rushing Defensive Lineman is a back-up. Yet for all the ire it raises, he may as well play for another team.
In an off year, our starting RB LeSean McCoy still put up 1,319 yards, logged 314 carries and played every game for a second year in a row. This despite the enormous workload he’s had over that period. But the Eagles won’t commit to bringing him back, even though he’s willing to restructure his contract. I’ve been being largely mum on this point to see how many of fans would SPEAK UP on this subject. The only thing I’ve heard on it so far have been crickets. Meanwhile all signs point to second year in a row of losing an All-Pro talent with no one to fill his shoes when he goes.
How many times do we get slapped in the face before speaking up again? It’s YOUR money that fuels that organization. It’s YOUR passion. It should be YOUR standards that they have to meet. Instead you’re settling for theirs.
We used to have higher standards. What happened to us? What happened??
FELLOW FANS:
YOU pushed Andy Reid into getting us a WR. The result of listening to us was a Super Bowl appearance. Then management fucked that up. Probably because we were quiet.
YOU pushed Jeffery Lurie into finally firing Reid. The result was a division win and a playoff berth.
Here is something that you all need to understand: THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM US! Not just me. US! When we shut up, they fuck up.
Make your voices heard. In Philadelphia of all places, the words “We The People” should mean as much as they can anywhere on face of God’s Earth.
We aren’t just the audience for the Philadelphia Eagles, we’re the FANS of the Philadelphia Eagles. And it’s high time that we remembered what that means.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
Eagle, you know how much I respect your opinions. I, however am not ready to give up on Foles. I think with better protection we may see him revert to near the 27/2 QB that got us excited. i do agree that we as fans need to be heard but I don’t see how that’s helped before. Do you really think they got rid of Andy Reid because of the unhappy fans’ outcries? I sure don’t. I enjoy your blogs/articles so much. Thanks, my guru 🙂
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I’ll not debate Nick Foles. I’ll let his fans take that up with Chip Kelly.
A for Reid’s firing: A pissed fan base, plus losing equals crappy sales. Many Eagles fans may not remember, but they actually blacked games out locally (due to poor attendance) as recently as the Ray Rhodes era.
(Non-confirmable: Reliable word has it that Tammy Reid was fed up with the fan base, and fans calling for Andy’s head after Garrett’s death, had her ready to leave whether Andy went with her or not.)
Ultimately fans are customers (tickets, merchandise, advertising revenue. Too often fans forget that fact and give too little credence to our their voices (and dollars). It’s a form of adopted helplessness right where America was born.
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There were blackout in the beginning of the Reid era. We were a horrible team back then. With that being the case the fans had nothing to do with Reid being gone. Reid winning 4 games after winning 8 the season prior has to do with that. Reid losing so many home games late in his career had to do with that. What people forget about the “Dream Team” is the fact so many of those draft picks completely sucked. On top of that Reid’s agent tried to leverage a new contract for his client through his son’s death.
You also can’t blame the fans for the TO implosion. They are the ones that traded for him and they are the ones who gave him the crappy contract. How about some blame to Reid for allowing that situation to spin out of control? He’s telling TO he can’t do anything about it, but he was the head of PP so that was total B.S. He couldn’t bring in his star QB and his star WR into his office and tell them to cut it out? I’ve never seen this organization under Lurie (or any owner really) do one thing personnel wise cause the fans said do it. Frankly there were more fans for McNabb staying than going. There were more fans for Vick staying over going. There were few fans at all who wanted Chip Kelly. What fan wanted Howie Roseman as GM at all? You have some misplaced anger here. You’re pissed at the owner and Reid and not the fans. Reid’s contract never once said signed by the Eagles fans.
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WHOA! You are ENTIRELY off base.
What I said was that Management fucked up that T.O. situation.
Your entire second paragraph deals with absolutely nothing I ACTUALLY said.
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You implied the fans lack of speaking up was the reason why. It’s not the fans. It’s management.
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I didn’t IMPLY a damned thing.
I flat out said EVERYTHING I meant to say. And I said it in no unclear terms.
And YES, I do think fans should be vocal. Even if I happen to disagree with the masses, since I could very well be wrong.
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I agree with much of what you are saying but I have hardly been a cricket. As you well know I had big issues with management dating back to the whole contrived TO affair. Guys like McNabb lost their legacy towing the corporate line. The fans lost their pride. This was all well orchestrated. Look at Luries college degree. He is a master manipulator. A guy that is used to looking down on the average joe. This adds up to fans dumping money on the eagles and getting very little in return. The guy can shed all the crocodile tears he wants Im on to him. You think he went out on a limb to bring in TO? He got a bargain basement deal. It was like picking up a Ty Cobb rookie card at a yard sale. This owner has shown this town NOTHING. What has Lurie brought to Philly that owners with sweetheart deals like his havent done? Just name one!
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Lurie brought us Andy Reid. Then when the time was right, he got out of Reid’s way and just let him work.
As a guy who is also Raider fan TRUST ME, I can tell you not every owner has that in him. Your familiarity with, and love for the Ravens gives you a perspective that “single teamers” will never be able to grasp. That said, Lurie has his faults, but he also has his strengths.
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When Oriole fans talk about Peter Angelos they dont mince words. He is an arrogant crappy cheap owner. Guess what so is Jeff Lurie. Its high time that those descriptions become part of the conversation in Philly
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Well it’s going to take people actually saying that, if they think it’s the case.
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