We Are What We Are

Dear Ben and the Daves,

The key thing to remember about the is-what-it-is theory (IWII??) is that there are different levels for understanding why a 5-5 team is just that, a 5-5 team. In the Eagles and Redskins case, I think they are both teams that should be better than 5-5, but for bad coaching and/or management.

Let me take the Skins first, since there's been a lot of Eagles talk already. For the love of god, they lost to the Packers because of fumbled reverse or end around that got run back for a TD. But for that play, they win. They lost to the Giants after blowing a big lead and then still not getting the ball in the end zone 1st and goal from the 1 or 2 yard line. Their inability to punch it in against the Eagles on 6 tries at the goal line allowed the Eagles to be in position to win on Westbrook's screen pass TD.

I really think the Skins have been a pretty good football team, in terms of the talent they put on the field. I think they are a 7-3 team based on the talent and the performance on the field. What's troubling for the Skins is -- sacrilege coming, as a warning -- the performance of the head coach and his staff. It just feels like Gibbs and his staff keep choking, repeatedly, in these clutch end-of-half, end-of-game moments. The inability to get play calls in, the rush to the line of scrimmage, the false starts, the bad play calling, it's gone on all season long with them in key moments. And I think it's cost them 2 wins.

I don't know how you change that situation. Maybe Gibbs doesn't return, then you get one of his lieutenants gets the job, but with Boy Danny you never know -- he may offer Nick Saban $15-mil a year or something crazy.

As for the Eagles, they're a 5-5 team that, given the overall lack of talent they have on the field for them now, yeah, that looks like a 5-5 team. They have one standout player among the front 7, Trent Cole, and the rest are nice, average or bad. B-Dawk is older and was injured for a bunch of games early. That leaves Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown as your corners, and injuries have been a problem there. Offensively, they have 1 standout -- Westbrook -- and a recovering QB. The problem, however, for the Eagles has been very much a management/personnel/overall philosophy of the team issue.

They have no standout players because management just stinks at offseason moves, won't make big deals. Didn't resign Stallworth, cut Trotter, provided no real replacements for either. They knew what their weaknesses were in the offseason -- and simply didn't address them.

Worse yet, not only did they not address those weaknesses in the offseason, they have gone into virtually every game this season simply ignoring those weaknesses, crafting game plans around the idea that they do have the same players that they had 3 or 4 years ago. Madman Andy keeps dialing up an offensive game plan around the idea of passing 70-75% of the time most weeks, even though he's got a QB playing on 1 leg and wide receivers who couldn't start on any other team in the NFC East. Ponder that for 10 seconds -- Skins, Dallas, NYG: Is Reggie Brown starting on any of those teams? I don't think so. Hence, we Eagles are what we are: 5-5.

Yours, PK