The Philadelphia Eagles needed everything it took to pick up a week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. They withstood four interceptions from Michael Vick, poor play-calling from Andy Reid and a defense playing against a rookie quarterback and rookie running back, which has only happened in the first week four times in the past 44 years.
The Eagles may have escaped with a 17-16 victory, but if this is a sign of things to come, it could be yet another long season in Philadelphia.
Or a short one, if you are Vick or Reid.
The Browns defense is not exactly the San Francisco 49ers. They are not known for shutting down opponents and creating five turnovers. But they confused Reid’s star pupil all day long on Sunday. Vick did throw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he was intercepted four times and fumbled the ball twice, although the team was able to recover both of them.
Still, if this is a sign of things to come, could the Eagles be all that far away from undergoing some major changes in 2012?
Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie has admitted that another season of mediocrity simply will not cut it in Philadelphia for Reid and the team. If he goes 8-8 again, he can consider himself more than just on the hot seat.
He can probably consider himself a goner as the Eagles’ head coach after failing to deliver for so many seasons with a team who has had Super Bowl aspirations for well over a decade now.
If Vick continues to struggle and the Eagles continue to barely scrape by against some of the teams predicted to be toward the bottom of their divisions, expect some massive overhauls on this coaching staff and roster.
You have to know at this point that if Reid is not safe, then his favorite endorsee in Vick may not be all that safe either. Just because he signed a $100 million contract does not mean that the Eagles could not cut Vick after this season. Especially if they fire Reid. Nick Foles definitely impressed many people throughout the league this past preseason, and you know he will see the field at some point this season, as Vick has not played a full season in quite some time.
Despite what many supporters of Reid and Vick may believe, neither is a lock to finish out the 2012 season in Philadelphia.
Not if things continue like they did yesterday going forward, especially in what is sure to be a much improved NFC East.
Filed under: AFC, AFC North, Breaking News, Cleveland Browns, NFC, NFC East, NFL, NFL Player News, Philadelphia Eagles, Previews-Predictions
Tagged with: Andy Reid, Jeffrey Lurie, Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles
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After the 1st game?! Defense has drastically improved which was the eagles weekness last year. Get a grip week 2 is next week there are still 15 games to go.
Really? – I guess you’re the king of assumptions. Nick Foles?! REALLY!? Bro it was the preseason when you watched Foles – GET A GRIP. Reid is one of the most winningest coaches in NFL history and after one game (a win) you’re gonna write this garbage? Mike Vick is a freak of nature who had one bad game and you want to write him off – should i write off you and the Pig Skin Report for this lousy article?
Amen Joe.
let me add to that. i’ve watched Tony Romo, Brett Farve, and even Payton MAnning throw 3 plus picks in a game. 5 to 6 in one game for Farve and Romo and nothing like the garbage articles like this are written about them.
I find it curious that journalist look for the worst possible scenerio using “anonymous” sources when there are no “Sources” its all made up BS to sell your column. Luck had a bad game why didnt you write about that? Miami had a worse game 3 picks and lost by 20 points. why didnt you write about that? Fitzpatrick and the Bills had an even worse game. I think you may be color struck and like to report bad about the black athletes every chance you get. Maybe its you on Foles nuts and not the Fans. A win is a Win not matter how ugly or pretty it is. a team can have 12 ugly games and still make it to the superbowl. all people care about is wins. not stats unless u playing fantasy football…maybe you should report on that instead of trying to report inside information that is garbage.
Spelling? Punctuation? Is that optional? Thepigskinreport did cover every rookie quarterback’s performance on Sunday. The slim difference between Ryan Tannehill and Michael Vick is that Tannehill is a rookie and Vick is an 11-year veteran making well over 13 million dollars this season which performed horribly against a team which likely will struggle to win three games this season. Then, to bring in the remark about race, you just lost all credibility. In two articles this afternoon about Vick, NOTHING, NOT ONE THING can be construed as racist. Vick’s skin color has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he is not performing on the field and I would challenge you to find anything written on Thepigskinreport website which suggests racism, because you wont. You are just another drive by reader which leaves a comment in order to incite hatred and divisiveness. Vick’s performance on the field has suffered mightily since his career 2010 season. In his last 14 games, Vick has accounted for 21 turnovers. The criticism of Vick has to do with his performance on the field, not the color of his skin. Take your race card and play it elsewhere.
Although he made a few mistakes, he still led his team to a win. Vick didn’t play much in pre-season and it shows, but he is still dangerous and capable of leading his team to victory despite struggling. Andy Reid is a very good coach and there is no reason to fire him. Do us all a favor and shut up!
This article is so typical of the sensationalism that’s in sports journalism these days. 1st off, Vick is and probably will always be a ‘media target’. I would more expect writers from AFC ‘small market cities’ to write trash articles likes this. They pick up generic articles off the AP wire, they re-word & embellish them… what does that mean?… They got NO TRUE SUBSTANCE to them at all; they are clueless & meaningless. However, if you are just writing these types of articles to incite the ire of the fans and piss everyone off… you are doing an excellent job!
I didn’t write this article, but I own this network of sites. What I found curious is your assumption that you believe writers from “small market AFC teams” will publish trash such as Mr. Kelley’s article. Why small market AFC teams? Vick plays in a major media market in Philadelphia and is receiving more than enough criticism in his home town, but he also plays in the NFC. Exactly why would AFC small market teams be interested in bashing Vick? Do you have any idea where Mr. Kelley lives?
You claim that the article written by Mr. Kelly has no substance, but yet you offer up no rebuttal to his claims other than baseless allegations. Sorry that your feelings were bruised regarding your favorite team, you can go back to watching Snooki on “reality tv” now.
let’s not jump too early. Vick is a playmaker and Reid has enough wins to merit some more time.After all-THEY DID WIN THE GAME!!
My statement is not an assumption, I have read and seen small market journalists pick up stories on the AP wire because it has sensational interest that their own market does not; writers seem to do this more in small AFC markets than in the NFC. These journalists don’t study or know these teams, they just write about them, so they have no real substance. Vick is sensational news, it wouldn’t make a difference if he were from Philadelphia, Seattle or Buffalo… he’s news! Now if a writer from Philadelphia blasts Vick, which they do constantly, they do it because they have watched him for years.
I don’t know where Mr. Kelly lives and don’t need to know. If I were to offer a rebuttal to Mr. Kelly’s ‘claims’; it would be too long to print, because it would have studied/observed knowledge in it. Also, in your defense of Mr. Kelly, you call my rant ‘baseless allegations’, when indeed it has more substance than your defense of this sensational article.
Mr. Schmidt… I am NOT attacking Mr. Kelly, I am merely saying this article has no substance to it… nothing more!
Oh, and Mr. Schmidt, I live in Colorado not Philadelphia and the Eagles are only one of my favorite teams… and I have also never seen a reality TV show and don’t even know who ‘Snookie’ is… besides, my pursuits in my free time are not watching the ‘b00b tube’ as apparently yours must be… enough has been said!