Embarrassing

Tuesday was a day of embarrassment for Eagles' fans. I'm not talking about the blowout loss on national television the night before (although that certainly qualifies), but to the incredible sense of panic that fans and seemingly the entire region are in over the Eagles.

Their is a collective, and in my opinion wholely unwarranted, gnashing of teeth. A deep-seated fear that far from being a mulligan of a season that the Eagles are somehow on a long, inexorable slide back to mediocrity.

People! Snap out of it!

This is a one year aberration.

This season was lost the moment Donovan McNabb was not going to play the duration of the season without injury. At that point, the Super Bowl wasn't really a realistic possibility. Indeed, the playoffs were the best case scenario. It's rather remarkable that the Eagles were even in plausible contention for the playoffs untilthe Seattle loss.

What Eagles' fans should rejoice about is that given this was a lost year when McNabb got the hernia the Eagles have had an unvarnished look at all the positions (surprisingly many!) that they need to upgrade in the offseason.

If Reid and Company objectively analyze the play when the season is over and work to fill the holes and return to championship form in 2006 than this season - while lost - won't have been in vain.