OT Jason Peters is the most valuable guy on the Eagles team. Without him, things are a lot scarier for Vick and the entire fan base. Unfortunately, he ruptured his achilles making it unlikely he returns until next season. Jason, COME BACK BOO. WE NEED YOU.

By the 3rd quarter of the Philadelphia Eagles/Cleveland Browns game I was screaming JEFF LURIE DO YOU SEE THIS? LOOK AT YOUR TEAM. JUST LOOK AT IT. 

Lurie, of course, is the majority owner of the Eagles and the only one with controlling interest. Lurie is also the man who has promised Coach Andy Reid a job as long as he’s owner-if you listen to Reid’s agent Bob Lamonte-and he is also the dude who, in response to Lamonte’s comments, denied what Lamonte said and promised Reid’s head on a platter if the Eagles don’t have a good season. Lurie is a man of many hats and what constitutes a good season will be decided by him and him only.

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Well I don’t know what Lurie considers a good season, but I’m 100% positive he wouldn’t consider yesterday’s showing a good game. And while national media wants diminutive QB Michael Vick sent back to the penitentiary those of us who have followed Reid closely for a while know that a coach controversy should come before a QB one.

During the game, Andy Reid called 60 pass plays and 23 runs against a team that was 2nd against the pass last year and 30th against the run. When asked why there wasn’t more running Reid said this:

“We probably could have done a little bit more of that early,” Reid said. “We had a couple fumbles early and got away from it. I thought as it’s all said and done, we probably could have run a little bit more early.

“We thought we saw some things there for the pass game. They were giving us some coverages that we thought we could take advantage of. We hit the one before the half and thought we could come back and get them again there.”

That’s an awful long way of saying “I’m stubborn.” 

If you read the rest of the article I pulled that quote from on Philly Mag.com you will see that Reid had the audacity to call Vick rusty. Reid, the same guy who manages games and clocks so poorly that Michael Lombardi said he should outsource game management to India. Reid, the same guy we can say the same thing about from year to year. 

And this is why I can’t get with people who are always hollering about Donovan McNabb being good because of Andy Reid’s “system.” You mean the system that passed too much and, until the arrival of Vick, didn’t hold many receivers anyone would draft in fantasy football unless they were intentionally trying to lose? Yes McNabb can pass 2000 times in a game, run for some yards, go the sidelines and vomit, come back and do it all over again all while being booed. But this is a new day and a new QB and, quite frankly, a new game. A lot has changed up front when it comes to defenses and Reid can’t blame his play calling deficiencies on “rust.”  

None of this means I don’t want to slap Vick in the back of the head sometimes for holding onto the ball too long, not throwing the ball away or making decisions fast enough, and misunderstanding the defenses he’s facing. But based on comments from yesterday, the line is struggling without Jason Peters. Sidebar: I saw a lot of people saying they chose Vick in fantasy. That’s fine, but I hope those of you who did knew the risk you were taking with Peters out the entire season. Peters is the most valuable guy on the team. Without him Vick’s luck decreases even when he’s not throwing his luck away by holding the ball too long. 

Final note: Eagles had a top offensive line last year and it’s a shame that struggles yesterday bought out a whole new round of “Vick’s line ain’t shit” from the people who get all their info from Skip Bayless. Unfortunately, Demetress Bell hasn’t been the solid guy we hoped he’d be which gave us an “okay” back up rather than a passable starter as all had hoped.  And I think there may be some issues as Vick and Jason Kelce work out who is going to call the protections at the line (more on that later). 

Beyond that, the Eagles had way too many penalties and turnovers which I also blame on coaching. On the offensive side of the ball they’re like a mini-Oakland Raiders. Their discipline is lacking and that needs to be addressed and fast. 

I realize the defense turned in a great performance and DL Jim Washburn and DBs coach Todd Bowles have my utmost confidence and respect. But I’m saving praise for them until after the Baltimore game. Besides, we’ll need something positive to talk about in case the offense turns in another bomb against Haloti Ngata and company.

For those interested, Adam Caplan posted the Eagles offensive snaps:

D. Jackson — 91, Maclin — 79, Celek —  89, Avant — 62 Harbor — 34, Havili — 18, Damaris Johnson —  13. There were 95 snaps in total.