The End

The debate today is whether AJ Feeley should remain the starter for next week’s game vs. the Seahawks or whether Donovan McNabb should reclaim his starting job if he is healthy enough to play. The debate will be a boon to WIP and there will be lots of breathless coverage on whether McNabb practices this week, etc. blah, blah, blah.

 

It’s a short-sighted conversation. The larger issue is that last night’s game probably hastened McNabb’s departure from Philadelphia. The offense looked smooth and efficient last night. At times even, dare I say, explosive. And AJ Feeley shredded the best team in the league for 345 yards, 3 TDs and a 64% completion rate. AJ Feeley is a journeyman quarterback. But as his record and performance with the Dolphins will attest, he is a career backup qb.

 

The larger, unanswered question is why the offense looks so much better without McNabb than with him. (one theory has it that different routes are called for the receivers when McNabb is in and when Feeley/Garcia is in. With McNabb at QB, the receivers run 7 yard routes with 22 yard alternates. With Feeley and before him Garcia, the receivers run 7 yard routes and 15 yard alternates, a difference that leads to more and better passing opportunities.)

 

Part of it is that it appears the team plays harder when McNabb is not in the lineup, as if they know #5 isn’t around to bail them out so they had better make something happen themselves. How else to explain the best pass protection of the season last night? How else to explain an entire receiving corps that suddenly developed a case of sticky hands? Seriously, there were at least half a dozen passes caught by Eagles WRs last night that are simply dropped when they’re thrown by McNabb – and that includes both of Greg Lewis’ touchdown receptions. And that doesn’t even count the Kevin Curtis circus catch that was ruled out of bounds but upon further review on my Tivo showed that he got his second foot inbounds. And we haven’t even mentioned how guys like Reggie Brown and Curtis who can’t get off a jam at the line were getting consistently wide open in the Patriots secondary.

 

And oddly, the inspired play extended to the defense as well. The pocket pressure the Eagles put on Brady was the most they’ve applied all year. Gocong made some big plays. JR Reed was laying a big lick everytime he got a chance. Even special teams got in on the action by recovering a surprise onside kick.

 

Notwithstanding the two backbreaking INTs – the TD return and the game ender (INTs that McNabb would be skewered for but everyone is overlooking in promoting Feeley to the permanent first team), the Eagles played their best game of the season. That they did it without McNabb will be the big offseason discussion.