Era defining Issue

Phil Sheridan cranks out an EXCEPTIONAL must read article today about Reid's offensive "philosophy" during the McNabb era. Noting that 62% of the plays run before McNabb got hurt yesterday were passes - against the 30th ranked run defense on a cold, wet day - while the percentage of passes plummeted to 44% after Feeley came in. The nut graph:

We can linger on why Reid would pretend the play calling didn't change because McNabb was out. But the more interesting and ultimately era-defining issue is why Reid and his staff stubbornly refuse to give McNabb the benefit of a more balanced offensive approach. Year after year, regardless of McNabb's health or the quality of his receivers or the state of the offensive line, Reid makes No. 5 throw the ball a ridiculous number of times.

So it is with Feeley, thus it was with Garcia. The reason the offense and Garcia looked so good last year in McNabb's absence wasn't that Garcia was a better QB, but that the offense was so much more balanced. Reid simply called more running plays for Garcia. It's a fact.

Sheridan gets to the heart of the issue. Why doesn't Reid give McNabb that kind of balance? Sheridan suggests, "It's hard to tell whether Reid's blind spot here is a kind of compliment - he just believes McNabb can and will do the impossible - or a sign he's hellbent on getting McNabb maimed. There is ample evidence for both theories."

Sheridan gets it right. This will be the "era-defining issue" of the Reid-McNabb years.