It Wasn't That Close

Last night at the half, I wondered if there would be any way to hold Seattle under 50. By the end of the game, I was wondering what the over/under is for the total number of points the Eagles will score in the final 4 games of their season. I'll set the line now at 16.

You may have thought that the loss to the Redskins was The End, but you would have been wrong. The Nightmare Season From Hell continues.

(By the way, if Westbrook's ankle injury is serious, Andy Reid should have his Ring Dings taken away for a month. There is no reason in the world that the team's brilliant-but-fragile back should have been on the field in last night's meaningless, and quickly out of hand, game.)

The Inquirer and Negadelphia (here and here have reactions. I'm still sorting things out, but my initial suspcion is that they don't go far enough. It may be time to demo the team, trade everyone with any value not named McNabb for future picks, and try building a team that can compete for a title between the 2008 and 2012 seasons, during what will probably be Donovan's last few championship-caliber seasons. And by everyone, I mean everyone. Westbrook. L.J. Smith. Kearse. Dawkins. Trotter. Pinkston.

It isn't that these players are bad--I'd be sad to see every one of them go. (Except maybe Pinkston, but that's just business, it's not personal.) But the question is, which of these guys is going to be helping the team contend four to seven years from now? It's time to start building for the future and not delluding ourselves into thinking that there's one last chance with the current squad. That's fool's gold. The window for this core group is closed.

The Eagles will get a good pick this year, maybe 9th or 10th. Next season is already a lost cause. If they make the trades now, maybe they can get a high pick (3rd or 4th) in next year's draft. Then they can truly start rebuilding and make another legitimate run before the sun sets on McNabb.