A Man Will Rise, A Man Will Fall

Terrell Owens had left the team. Injuries had healed. New players were acquired. It was looking to be a good year for the Philadelphia Eagles. I got to see them practice during training camp on my birthday, and I was excited.

But things don't always work out the way we hope. The Eagles played sloppy; they dropped passes, missed tackles, blocked badly, and committed stupid penalties. The team was 4 - 4 before their bye week. But the next week was an exciting game. Everything seemed to go smoothly as the Eagles thoroughly trounced the Redskins 27 - 3. There were no dropped passes, no bad tackles, etc. It looked as though the team was back on track.

This past Sunday, they Eagles faced the Titans, and the game started as all of the other Eagle losses had started. The opposing team took an early lead, and the Eagles drive was stopped before points were put on the board. Passes were dropped, balls were thrown in the dirt, tackles were missed. It appeared that the team couldn't remember who they were and the talent they had from one week to the next. It was only a matter of time before disaster struck.

On a third and long yardage situation, Donovan McNabb had to roll out of the pocket to throw the ball without being sacked. Donovan eventually had to throw the ball away with no open receivers, and he got knocked out of bounds. But then he didn't get up. Our starting quarterback had injured his knee. Head Coach Andy Reid announced McNabb would be out for the rest of the season. It was only a matter of time, really.



So now the questions mount. Can the team come back from this injury? If they played as well as they did against the Redskins, I believe this team could make it to the playoffs even without McNabb. Our backups (Jeff Garcia and A. J. Feeley) are both very competent and former starters for other teams, so I have no worries there. It's the rest of the team I am worried about.

And what about McNabb? This is the third time in five years me will be missing more than six games in a season. While 30 is not old by regular people standpoint, he is starting to get up there in "football years". There are rumors that McNabb may not be back in time for the start of the next season. Is this the end for the McNabb Dynasty in Philly? Donovan is a friendly guy and works hard. It would be a shame if injuries forced him to leave the game before winning a Super Bowl.

Any way you look at it, it's a tough time to be a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.