A Tough Year For Philadelphia Fans

This has been a tough year for Philadelphia sports fans. Not only were the Phillies unceremoniously dumped in the first round of the playoffs, but the Eagles, after assembling talent so great that they drew the “dream team” label, have gone from first to worst in the NFC East. And while Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has escaped much of the blame for the flameout of his 102-win team, not so Eagles coach Andy Reid, who has been reduced to mouthing shopworn clichés and repetitive nonsense to explain both the current failure and future solution. I don’t think Reid suddenly forgot how to coach football. But he is all-in on Michael Vick, and his QB may not be accurate enough as a passer or patient enough as a decision-maker.

He also has the least productive and most mistake-prone linebacking corps in the NFL.

The Eagles may not be as bad as they’ve looked, but what was once a dream is looking much more like a nightmare. At the other end of the spectrum, the 49ers are looking like a real football team. Jim Harbaugh has silenced many of the critics who contend that college coaches can’t transition successfully to the pros. Harbaugh is uber-organized and is a QB whisperer. Nobody else has gotten anywhere near as much from Alex Smith.

This is going to be a playoff team.