8 replies to this topic

[Randy Rampage]

Well Dave, I've been alive for 43 years, and still haven't see the Eagles win a Super Bowl. It's a pathetic streak, really. Big city. Rabid fans. And yet, the Eagles continue to be small potatoes in NFL history post 1960.

You and Jeff Lurie like to point out how illustrious the Reid era was. I'm sorry, but it wasn't. Compared to the crap we had in the 70s, sure. But is that really the standard?

Reid was no Bud Grant or Marv Levy. He's not even John Harbaugh. I'm a little tired of the organizational backslapping for a guy who, in the end, didn't get it done and destroyed the franchise before Lurie mercifully fired him.

I'm hoping that Chip Kelly finally ends the streak, but 43 years of futility makes one cynical. I'm sick of watching confetti fall for other teams. I'm tired of the excuses. I'm fed up with dreaming of next year. The owners change, the coaches change, the players change, and yet it's still the same futility.

I'll always be an Eagles fan. It's in my blood, and that's why it hurts. Chip has a chance to be a legend in this town. I hope he becomes one.

My question: what do you think Jeff Lurie has learned from the Reid era that will finally get this team over the mountaintop and into the promised land?

[KOJO]

I feel exactly the same, Randy. But I'm really excited for what's to come here with Kelly. I have a good feeling about him.

Hope is really all we have at this point.

[PoconoDon]

KOJO, on 04 February 2013 - 12:17 AM, said:

I feel exactly the same, Randy. But I'm really excited for what's to come here with Kelly. I have a good feeling about him.

Hope is really all we have at this point.

Agreed.....and it's hope that has at last, returned. There wasn't any left before Reid was fired. I don't if it'll be Chip, Chip, Hooray....or Chip falls where he may....but at least we have a chance to watch them possibly build a championship team now.....and if it doesn't work out, there's always another guy.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the team will head in the right direction finally, but I also understand that 2 or 3 really, really, bad seasons may be in front of us before they can turn the corner and quickly accelerate to becoming a great team. In fact, at this point, with this roster, it's probably required, and would be the best path to the desired long term outcome. This team needs a big infusion of home grown star power, and that only comes from the draft, so picking correctly, early and often, over several drafts, is the recipe.

That's my take on the big picture.

[Randy Rampage]

KOJO, on 04 February 2013 - 12:17 AM, said:

I feel exactly the same, Randy. But I'm really excited for what's to come here with Kelly. I have a good feeling about him.

Hope is really all we have at this point.

I'm behind Chip and hope that he's a championship coach. Darn it - there's that word again: hope.

Part of the problem with this franchise is that I never get the idea that they can relate to us. I think they try, and I have no doubts that Lurie wants to win. But let's face it: he was a Patriots fan that bought an NFL team named the Eagles. There's just not the empathy, and you can see it throughout the organization.

In other words, we should be grateful for Spadaro. We might not like the message, but at least the messenger is a die-hard Eagles fan who has suffered along with the rest of us. You just know that Dave wants a title. Bad.

[NOTW]

This front office placates the fans a lot, but in reality they really need to be thankful the fans have been patient this long.

[Runtherock]

I am so frustrated over the Harbaugh deal, he was so good, it was obvious he was that good, and we let him walk because Lurie couldn't see his a** from a hole in the ground. Reid was cooked and should have been replaced by Harbaugh. A moron could see it, you would think a graph crunching Phd could. Excited about Chip for sure, but bitter this week.

[Randy Rampage]

I'm with ya, Runtherock. Unfortunately for us, Lurie was in safemode at the time. He put all of his faith in one man, and was willing to try just about anything....except for replacing Reid. It cost the franchise big time.

John Harbaugh is now a Super Bowl Champion. We're still waiting.

[DaveSpadaro]

A kind word in there for me ... thanks ... I think it's really hard to win a Super Bowl, number one. I think Jeffrey knows that. I think he knows the drafts have to be better. I think he knows the line of succession, be it a player, or a coach, or a personnel evaluator, has to be better. I think he knows that the Eagles came really close in 2000-2004 and that there is no formula for such a sustained run. The basics of the game remain the same: Gotta draft well, gotta develop players well, have a good coaching staff, a very good quarterback ... etc.
Look, Jeffrey and everyone here already knew the fan base is and was and always will be remarkable. You deserve a heckuva lot better than the poor football these last two seasons. It's been awful. Very painful for all. Better days ahead!

[NOTW]

I think NFL owners are going to give less power and control to a coach.  You can't have one person in complete control for that long and hold a franchise hostage with an owner afraid of change.  Reid was getting results, then was given all the power too soon, then peaked in 2004 and went downhill from there.  Without all the power, it would have been easier to let him go many years earlier.

I'm not saying you have to have a coach afraid of being fired every day, he should feel supported by the team to succeed.  But with some teams turning things around in a draft or two, I think the days of giving a coach 10+ years with no championship are over.