Phil Sheridan | Reid now adding insult to injuries

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Obviously, Sheridan thinks KC is a cake-walk...Reid probably knows better...and Eagles fans are already looking at the injury excuse for their uneven play...56 passes


Posted on Tue, Sep. 27, 2005
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Columnist
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/spo...l/12749441.htm

The most honest moments occurred on the field Sunday. The most honest answers came not in words but from the pained expressions on the faces of Donovan McNabb and David Akers.

If Andy Reid doesn't learn from those moments, doesn't adjust his thinking accordingly, he will have no one to blame but himself if history repeats itself.

Last week, Akers had a strained right hamstring. This week, Akers has a torn right hamstring.

This week, McNabb has a sore chest, an abdominal injury and a bruised shin. Next week? Well, Reid could well find himself explaining that his quarterback's much more serious injury isn't related to all the ones he had going into the Kansas City game.

Will it be the chest? Will it be a serious tear in the abdomen or groin area? Will it be a knee ligament sprained or a shoulder separated because McNabb couldn't get out of harm's way quickly enough?

What just happened with Akers should cut through the fog-of-war mind-set that seems to be prevalent at the NovaCare Complex right now. Reid actually tried to sell the idea that Akers' torn hamstring was unrelated to the injury he suffered a week before.

"Well, it's in a different spot," the Eagles coach said. "That is what's different here. It's not the same spot. It's really a different injury in the leg."

Sorry, coach. Nobody is buying that.

A week ago today, these words appeared under the same dashing mug shot: The smart move is to rest Akers until he's at 100 percent. A long season and a potentially very short postseason are ahead. The Eagles can't have this thing lingering and coming back to haunt them....

The author of those words is not a medical doctor or trainer or head coach or psychic. That just made sense last Tuesday, and it makes a whole lot more sense this Tuesday.

So, will Reid consider sitting McNabb until the quarterback heals?

"I don't think we are at that point, not today," Reid said.

A day earlier, McNabb clearly was unable to run, throw or take a hit the way he normally does. These are pretty serious issues for a guy expected to line up across from an NFL defense and throw the ball 50 times a game.

One highlight showed McNabb trying to slide after a very short run. He was in agony. It was right there on his face. That, more than McNabb's words, should be driving Reid's decision-making.

Akers wanted to play this week. Now he can't play next week.

McNabb always wants to play. On Sunday, he said he would play if he was told he couldn't make his various injuries worse. If he could make it worse, he said, he would have to "think" about whether to play.

Reid should be thinking for his proud franchise QB, at least a little bit.

Right now, you have to wonder. McNabb was taking a beating in the season opener in Atlanta and the Eagles ran 48 pass plays against just 13 run plays.

Against San Francisco, there was some better balance. Still, McNabb was called on to throw the ball 31 times in three quarters of play.

Sunday, even though the Eagles were leading for stretches and the QB was in obvious pain, Reid called for an incredible 56 pass plays against 15 run plays.

The fog of war must be thick indeed.

"At the end, you look at it and say, 'That's a lot of times [throwing],' " offensive coordinator Brad Childress said. "I think in any point in time you need to know who you are. You need to know what you do and what you do well and don't try to be somebody else. That's important."

And that's fine. It's a pass-first offense. But it really seems obvious that Reid and his staff are choosing to ignore the two obvious solutions to their current problem.

They could rest McNabb and run all the pass plays they want with a healthy Koy Detmer or Mike McMahon.

They could play McNabb but protect him a little by running the ball more and keeping a tight end or back in to block more often. This is going to be even more pressing now that defensive coaches and players know where the bull's-eyes are on McNabb's beat-up body.

Reid stood by McNabb, letting the QB play through a thumb injury that rendered him ineffective early in the 2003 season. But these injuries are different. The thumb affected his accuracy. These make him a sitting duck.

Normally, you give Reid the benefit of the doubt. The image of Akers lying at midfield, clutching his hamstring, makes it hard to see any benefit to risking McNabb.

The doubt's still visible through the fog.

[bird is da word]

and the obsession continues

[ntotoro]

Obsession is registering at a 'Skins site to see what 'Skins fans are saying about the Eagles...

[bird is da word]

could be...or is it that I like to keep a line on other teams in the division, all the while taking note of 1 skin fan who has a ocd for the eagles.