However, there is no way on earth Andy Reid would or should ever make anybody’s list of worst head coaches in the NFL.

Recently, both Deadspin and ESPN published a list of the worst head coaches in the NFL.  Deadspin’s was the 16 Worst Coaches in Modern NFL History and ESPN’s was just the worst coaches in NFL history.

Surprisingly, at least to me, was that Deadspin put one of the most celebrated coaches in Eagles history in Buddy Ryan as their No. 16.

Here’s what they had to say:

Is any crappy coach in league history more beloved by a fan base than Buddy Ryan still is in Philly? He gave reporters entertaining quotes, often at the expense of his own players.

He once put a bounty on the Cowboys’ kicker. He punched Kevin Gilbride, and even if it happened when he was in Houston, the act only endeared Ryan that much more to the likes of Paulie from East Passyunk. (According to the late Dave Duerson, Buddy was also something of a racist.)

“Buddy Ryan,” A.J. Daulerio once wrote, “was a walking, talking version of the mythology Philadelphia fans idolize about themselves.” People in Philly like Buddy Ryan because Buddy Ryan wasn’t Andy Reid, never mind that Buddy Ryan, with his immensely talented roster, never won a single playoff game (something even Rich Kotite did in Philly).

A month after the Gilbride punch, the Cardinals grabbed Ryan to try to rescue the franchise.* “You’ve got a winner in town,” Ryan declared during his introductory press conference in the desert. He went on to win 12 games in two seasons before getting shitcanned again.

Granted, Ryan never won a playoff game, but how on earth can you justify rating him as one of the worst head coaches in modern NFL history?  That’s just completely ridiculous!

You mean to tell me that a guy who built the Gang Green defense and made the playoffs in three of his five years as coach — all during a time that the NFC East had dominating competition — is one of the NFL’s worst?

They couldn’t find a worse coach than that?  They need to expand their research department because just off the top of my head, I can name several coaches who fared much worse than Buddy Ryan…

Dave Wannstedt, Chan Gailey, Eric Mangini, Jim Haslett, and Dave Campo all come to mind.  I’m sure there are several others as well.

Would one of the worst coaches in history be carried off the field by his players? Photo: Michael Mercanti / Daily News

I’m a huge Buddy Ryan fan and I have fond memories of that era.  I realize he was not the greatest coach as far as managing a team goes, plus he was an abject failure in Arizona, but there have bee plenty head coaches in the NFL that have been far, far worse.

To put him on that list is just lazy…or the list creator has something against him for some reason.  Either way, he doesn’t belong there.

Buddy is a beloved coach by many in Philadelphia because he was the kind of guy who didn’t take any crap and spoke his mind.  It didn’t hurt that he created the most memorable Eagles defense in team history as well (and in NFL history for that matter).

In fact, I wrote an article a couple years ago titled “The Buddy Ryan Era“ highlighting some things about that time.  I’m linking to that here as my rebuttal to Deadspin’s offensive claim that Ryan is one of the 16 worst coaches in modern history.

Ridiculous!

Furthermore, if you looked at Deadspin’s list, you might have noticed two other former Eagles head coaches on there: Rich Kotite and Marion Campbell.

However, those two guys are well deserving of being on that list.  Kotite was simply a moron and Campbell was just not cut out for head coaching.

My favorite Kotite moment was the “decline the penalty and punt” debacle.  During a game, the Eagles had a third and long situation and the play came up a few yards short of the first down.

However, there was a defensive penalty on the play that would have given them another shot at making the first down.  Instead, after a timeout to discuss the situation, Kotite elected to decline the penalty and punt the ball away!

Another thing to notice about Deadspin’s list is that Campbell, Kotite and Ryan all coached the Eagles in consecutive years between 1983 and 1994.  So, according to them, Philadelphia was mired in historically bad coaching for 12 straight seasons!

ESPN’s list was a little better, or at least more realistic.  They had two former Eagles coaches on there: Kotite, who was also on Deadspin’s list, and Bert Bell, who coached the Eagles to a 10-44 record of the span of five seasons from 1936-1940.

The Eagles have suffered from more than their fair share of inept coaching over the years.  That includes a span from 1961 – 1975 where five head coaches had a total record of 74-127-9.

If you think you suffered the last few years under Andy Reid, ask your parents or grandparents about that time frame.  They only had one season with a winning record during that time span, and that was in 1961.

That was bad coaching.

Photo: helmet2helmet.com

All tickets for single games during the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles season still have not sold out.  For at least the past decade, Eagles tickets would routinely sell out within the first hour after going on sale.

Here we are over a month after going on sale and there are still tickets available.  Granted, you might have trouble getting three or four together for most games, but there are still onesy-twosy’s available.

The questions are why, and what happens if a game isn’t declared a sell-out?

There are likely several reasons as to why all the games haven’t sold out yet, with the most logical being fan skepticism.

The Eagles are coming off of two incredibly disappointing seasons in a row…8-8 during the Dream Team season in 2011 and a complete collapse to 4-12 last season.

Now they have a new coach from the college ranks and are remodeling the team.  Casual fans, and maybe even a few disgruntled die-hards, might be a little cautious with spending their money this year until they can see what the team looks like first.

And speaking of spending money, the Eagles raised ticket prices this year.  So, you have a team coming off of two disastrous, underachieving non-playoff seasons, a new, unproven coaching regime and they want you to pay even more money to watch them.

Not the best of combinations to make tickets in high demand.

I think the fans are taking a wait-and-see approach.  If the team looks improved and contends for a playoff spot, you’ll see the mid-late season games start selling out faster.

However, in the meantime, what if a game isn’t declared a sell out?  That means it could be blacked-out on local television.

The NFL used to have a rule that stated if a team doesn’t sell all their tickets for a home game, it will not be televised locally…which covers a 75 mile radius of the stadium.  However, the NFL “relaxed” that rule just last season and made it to where a team only has to sell 85% of their tickets to avoid a blackout.

In this case, the NFL allows the team to make the final decision about airing the game locally.  Therefore, if the Eagles only sold 85% of their tickets, they could choose to televise the game or not.

How pissed would you be if they chose not to air it because they didn’t sell out?

The whole reason behind this rule in the first place seems to mainly be the mindset that, if you don’t want to buy tickets to see our product, why should we show it to you for free on TV?  Hence, the rule implemented by the NFL a long time ago.

Being a young Eagles fan growing up during the early 1980′s, I recall numerous times waiting with baited-breath to see if the Eagles declared a sell out so I could actually watch the game that week.

There were some struggles in the early to mid 90′s as well.  I was tortured as a young Eagles fan as compared to someone who just started following the team in the last decade.  As a fan, it truly stinks when you don’t know whether or not you’re going to be able to watch your team when they play at home.

Back then, I loved away games…at least I knew they’d be televised.  Fans have been spoiled for the last 10 years plus.

You’d have to go all the way back to 1999 for the last time an Eagles game was backed-out.  Coincidentally, it was the first home game of the Andy Reid era.

The Eagles were in a very similar situation back then as they are now.

They had two horrendous years in a row (6-9-1 in 1997 and 3-13 in 1998) and brought in an entirely new coaching regime.  Andy Reid was a complete unknown, coming from the ranks of QB coach in Green Bay.

Fans back then were disgruntled and developed a somewhat indifferent attitude towards the team, similar to what is going on now.

Might history repeat itself?  The first home game of the Chip Kelly era has not been sold out yet.  It’s unknown if they’ve sold at least 85% of the tickets yet, and in all likelihood, they probably will sell out eventually.

But, you never know.  This is different from what we’ve grown accustomed to for the past 14 years.  If the team struggles early in the season and loses, we could get dangerously close to blacked-out games.

However, a few early wins by Kelly and the Birds will go a long way towards ensuring all home games will be aired on local TV and things will be business as usual.

Photo: from aringo on flickr.com

During this slow time of year, PFT generated some buzz last week regarding what great Philadelphia Eagles players of all time belonged on their “Mount Rushmore.”

The fans who voted selected Reggie White, Brian Dawkins, Chuck Bednarik and Randall Cunningham as the four Eagles who should have their faces immortalized in rock on the mountain side.

They almost got it right as I agree with three of the four names there.  However, more interesting was the reaction I saw from some folks on Twitter debating whether or not it should have been Donovan McNabb over Cunningham.

I mean, McNabb’s five conference championship games and one Super Bowl appearance to Cunningham’s one measly playoff win during their respective careers in Philly should make McNabb a no-brainer, right?

My immediate reaction is no, it’s not.

When comparing current players and/or players’ careers, most people look at stats and accomplishments in order to form their opinion about who they think is/was better.  That can be an effective argument, but stats don’t tell the full story.

However, let’s get them out of the way.  Below are their career stats while in Philly, because this decision should go by what the player did while with the Eagles only…

Randall -

During his 11 years in Philly he played in 122 games with 107 starts.  He posted a 63-43-1 record as a starter and had a 1-4 playoff record.  He completed 1,874 of 3,362 pass attempts for 22,877 yards, 150 TDs and 105 INTs.  His career completion percentage was 55.7 and had a 78.7 QB rating.  He averaged 6.6 yards on 677 rushes for 4,482 yards and scored 32 TDs.  He was voted to four pro bowls and was a one time first team All-Pro.

McNabb -

Also played in Philly for 11 yrs and participated in 148 games, starting 142.  He posted a 92-49-1 record as starter and had a 9-7 playoff record.  He completed 2,801 of 4,746 passes for 32,873 yards, 216 TDs and 100 INTs.  His career completion percentage was 59 and had an 86.5 QB rating.  He averaged 5.7 yards on 573 rushes for 3,249 yards and 28 TDs.  He was voted to six pro bowls.

As you can see, McNabb clearly wins the stat battle.  He’s the Eagles’ all-time leader in basically every major passing category.  Does that mean he should be immortalized in stone over Cunningham?  Was McNabb clearly the better player?

Let’s take a look at the context, something that these stats do not show…

Randall’s prime years with the Eagles as a starter were mainly six seasons from 1987 – 1992.  Unfortunately, he lost the 1991 season due to a knee injury in Week 1.  Fans of that era always wonder what could have been that year as that was the season the Gang Green defense became part of NFL history.

In looking at that time frame, though, the first thing that stands out is the level of competition within the division.  Randall played at a time when the NFC East earned the nickname “NFC Beast” because the Giants and Redskins were both very good and Dallas started entering their dynasty.

During those six seasons, the Super Bowl champion came from the NFC East four times.  Hell, if we go back one year to 1986 (Randall wasn’t a full time starter yet), the NFC East had a run of five Super Bowl champs in seven years.

Cunningham’s Eagles had to face three Hall of Game head coaches in Bill Parcells, Tom Landry and Joe Gibbs, then the early part of the Dallas dynasty built by Jimmy Johnson.

The Redskins, Cowboys and Giants had some extremely tough teams back then.  Hell, that’s when the Cardinals were in the division and even they were tough at times.

Just think of some of the great players the Eagles had to face in their own division back then…

Redskins: Doug Williams, Mark Rypien, Darrell Green, Dexter Manley, Charles Mann, “the Hogs” (offensive line), and “the Fun Bunch (WR corps also nicknamed “the Smurfs”)

Giants: Phil Simms, Mark Bavaro, Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Pepper Johnson, Dave Meggett, Jumbo Elliot and seemingly plug-n-play running backs like Joe Morris and Ottis Anderson

Dallas: Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Danny White, Bill Bates, “Too Tall” Jones, Randy White, Ken Norton, Troy Aikman, Daryl Johnston, Michael Irvin, Emmit Smith, Jay Novacek and a killer offensive line

Hell, even the Cardinals had some pretty damn good players back then such as Neil Lomax, Stump Mitchell, Roy Green, Freddie Jo Nunn, Ken Harvey, Eric Swann and Vai Sikahema.

The Cards were never any good back then, but they were always good enough to give their divisional foes a lot of trouble.

The point is, Randall Cunningham’s Eagles came up during a time of NFC East dominance and were able to compete against Super Bowl caliber teams within their own division.  During those six seasons, they won the East once and made the playoffs four times.

When considering who they had to compete with, that’s not too bad.

Now, when you consider the competition for McNabb’s Eagles, things look a little different…

McNabb’s prime years were 2000 – 2005, another six-year window we’ll look at like Cunningham’s.  Of course, there was the 2008 anomaly, but for now we’ll just look at the bulk of McNabb’s prime years of competition…

He primarily faced head coaches such as Norv Turner, Steve Spurrier, Jim Fassel and Dave Campo.  They are the anti-Hall of Fame head coaching class.

There were no Super Bowl champs from the division during that span.  The Giants made it there in 2000 but lost.  The Redskins and Cowboys took a nose dive and the Giants were up and down like a yo-yo (and a shell of the teams Cunningham faced).

The other quarterbacks in the division were the likes of Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, Patrick Ramsey, Tony Banks and Kerry Collins.

Sure, there were some good players within the division such as Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Emmit Smith, Darren Woodson, Dexter Coakley, Greg Ellis, Stephen Davis, Champ Bailey, and LaVarr Arrington.  But, as a whole, they paled in comparison to the players Cunningham faced.

Therefore, there is absolutely no question that Cunningham’s Eagles faced far tougher divisional competition than did McNabb’s.

Other factors to consider when looking at McNabb and Cunningham are supporting cast and head coaches…

Cunningham had a head coach in Buddy Ryan that didn’t know anything about offense and basically didn’t care.  There was no nurturing of the quarterback and the key phrase was “let Randall be Randall”.  Ryan told him to just go make four or five big plays and the defense will take care of the rest.

Cunningham was pretty much left to his own devices.  He had little, if any, structure as far as offensive game-planning and expectations of how to run the offense on the field.  In other words, the coach just said “go make plays”.

His best skill players during his prime were Mike Quick, Keith Byars, Keith Jackson and Fred Barnett.  He also did not have any offensive linemen of note and his protection was average, at best.

The best thing Cunningham had going for him was one of the best defenses in NFL history.  Unfortunately, the year that unit made the NFL record books (1991), it was the year he was injured in the first week and missed the season.

During McNabb’s prime, he didn’t have much for skill players either.  His best were Duce Staley, Chad Lewis, Brian Westbrook and for two seasons, Terrell Owens.  Compared to Cunningham’s, I’d call this a draw.

However, McNabb had two huge benefits that Cunningham did not: coaching and offensive line.

Andy Reid was an offensive-minded coach and QB guru who had a plan.  He ran a QB-friendly kind of offense which is why McNabb was able to succeed even without much help from the WR position.

Reid gave McNabb structure and nurtured him along carefully.  He also gave him a pretty damn good offensive line during that time frame.

He had excellent book-ends at the tackle position in perennial pro-bowler Tra Thomas and the rock-solid Jon Runyan.  He also had Jermaine Mayberry at guard who had a pro bowl year as well.  John Welbourne and Hank Fraley weren’t too shabby either.

In other words, McNabb had a good, stable offensive line to work behind.

I was lucky enough to have witnessed both quarterbacks’ prime with the Eagles.  I was younger and not into “analysis mode” back when Cunningham played, but I certainly was able to analyze McNabb’s career.

I just remember Cunningham being the more exciting player overall.  McNabb made some great plays himself, but Cunningham was special.

Both players were good athletes, but Cunningham was better.  Both guys were great runners, but Cunningham was more elusive.  Both had great arms, probably a draw there.  Neither were incredibly accurate, I’d say a draw there too.

Both guys had their memorable plays as well.

McNabb had the 14-second scramble before the bomb to Freddie Mitchell.  He had “4th and 26″.  He also played an entire game on a broken ankle (very impressive).

Cunningham had the 95-yard TD pass on a scramble in the end zone before a long bomb.  He had the rubbery-like tackle-evasion of Carl Banks before firing a TD pass against the Giants on Monday Night Football.  He also had the 91-yard punt.

If you’d like to check out highlights of each player’s career and compare, check here for McNabb and here for Cunningham.

Ultimately, both players were great Eagles and both deserve their place in Eagles history.  However, based on all of the above, I’d have to go with Cunningham over McNabb if I had to choose a face for the Eagles’ Mount Rushmore.

I’ll admit I could be a little biased since I hold the Buddy Ryan/Cunningham era in such high regard in my memory banks.  It was just a special era with special players that took place during a time in football where NFC East rivalries were at its peak.

Beating Dallas, New York and Washington meant more to the fans back then than it does now.

McNabb was a great player, but I’m tainted by his perpetual “worm burner” passes, his awkward personality and relationship with the fans, and his goofy smiles and “aw shucks” demeanor when things weren’t going well.

Although I’d choose Cunningham over McNabb if given those two choices for the Eagles’ Mount Rushmore, I wouldn’t have chosen either player over Steve Van Buren.

As I said in the beginning, I agreed with three of the four players the fans over at PFT voted for: White, Dawkins and Bednarik.  The fourth spot should have went to Van Buren.

We’re talking about faces of the franchise who embodied Philadelphia during their time with the team.  I feel Van Buren has the edge over both McNabb and Cunningham in that regard.

When he first spoke about it, he said things about being a family man and being there for his three year-old daughter.  Nobody can argue with that reasoning for missing “voluntary” things.

However, he also offered the excuse of having to pick out sconces for the new house he is having built.  That drew some “huh?” reactions from the fans and media and was mostly seen as an inadequate (or ridiculous) reason to miss time with the team.

Photo: Howard Smith, USA TODAY Sports

Missing a voluntary camp is one of those borderline negative things for a pro football player,unless he has what is generally seen as a “good excuse.”  Yes, technically they’re voluntary, but the purpose of them is to get better as a team.

That’s why most players on every team attend these activities.  They’re dedicated to their profession and want to do what they can to get better.  Either that or they just don’t want to be seen as a “selfish guy” and be portrayed in a bad light.  Especially when you have guys like Danny Watkins, who postponed his honeymoon to go to OTAs.

Then there are a certain subset of players who do miss some voluntary activities for various reasons, but are likely reasons similar to the ones Williams talked about.  However, they typically don’t tell the media their real reasons for not attending.

Williams likely would have been let off the hook after initially defending himself, even with the sconce excuse.  Hell, this was good enough…

“Fans, I love you all, but please,” he said. “If I was a guy that had three different kids with three different women and I was a womanizer, you would be reporting that. Now I’m a guy that wanted to go see his daughter’s recital and I’m a bad guy. Like, come on man, I haven’t gotten in trouble in, like, years. I’ve learned my lessons, I’ve been through so much scrutiny in previous years. If I was doing something negative, then report it. I’m just trying to be a great dad. I’m just trying to be a great family man. I’m just trying to live my life outside football and not be confined to just the box, because life does happen.

To me, that was good enough.  I get it.  I understand.  No big deal.  Let’s just move on.

But, he made the odd decision to go on 97.5 the Fanatic with Mike Missanelli and proceeded to beat the proverbial dead horse about the subject.  In doing so, he forfeited any pass the fans were going to give him and instead pretty much alienated himself from any Philly fan-base support.

I’m going to paraphrase and just give you the gist of what I heard in that interview, but basically he said things like…

• He doesn’t care what the fans think
• He doesn’t care what the organization thinks
• It’s nobody’s business what he does on his personal time
• He doesn’t get much time off
• He can’t call in sick or take a day off because “his head hurts” (relating himself to the average 9-5 worker)
• We’d handle the situation differently if we were in his shoes
• His job is to make plays on Sundays and not worry about the fans or critics

If you haven’t heard the interview yet, you can check it out for yourself to get an understanding of the context.  To me, he was in a defensive mode but clearly thinks he didn’t do anything wrong and therefore should not be criticized.

I think he’s right…but also wrong.

He’s right because the OTAs were voluntary and by definition he did not have to be there.  He’s within his rights to live his personal life as he sees fit and shouldn’t be criticized for doing so.

Who cares if he’s picking out sconces or just picking his nose?  It’s his time to do with as he pleases.

However, he’s wrong because of he how he went about handling the situation.  His honesty is refreshing, but he should have known that all of his reasons for missing OTAs (with the exception of his child’s recital) would be viewed as a negative.

He should have just kept his reasoning for missing OTAs as “personal reasons” and left it at that.  The team nor himself would not have been obligated to tell anyone why he wasn’t there.

Furthermore, he certainly didn’t have to go on Mikey Miss’s show and further condemn himself by saying he doesn’t care what anyone thinks.  And don’t go comparing yourself to the average working person, that just makes you sound like a jackass.

The truth is, he’s a professional athlete that gets paid a ton of money for doing what he does.  Public scrutiny comes with the job and if you open yourself up for some, you better be prepared to handle it accordingly.

After all, he should care what the organization and fans think about him.  For one, the organization is who he collects his paycheck from.  For two, the fans are the reason why the organization can pay him his handsome salary.

No fans = no money = no jobby for Cary.

That doesn’t mean he has to kiss our ass, it just means he needs to learn how to play the off-field role of pro athlete better.  Wise players either act appreciative of the fans or at least don’t say anything that may alienate them.

Williams has drawn a line in the sand now between he and the fans.  We don’t like him now, or at least don’t feel that warm and fuzzy anymore, and he doesn’t care.

In all reality, the only thing that matters is whether or not he makes plays this season.  If he plays hard, covers well, tackles well and makes some big plays, all of this will be forgotten.

Photo: Matt Rourke/AP

Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly had some interesting quotes by Vick from an interview yesterday as mini-camp was wrapping up…

“Hopefully, Chip makes a decision before training camp and we won’t have to answer that question,” Vick told CSNPhilly.com, “so we can go out there as quarterbacks and just focus on this season and not answer questions about competition every day.”

Asked if tension could mount between he and Foles as the competition plays out this summer, Vick said, “Yeah, but hopefully we’ll have an answer by then, so I’m not going to answer that.

“I won’t want to continue to answer those questions. I won’t continue to answer those questions until Chip makes a decision.”

Reminded that Kelly has frequently said no timetable exists for the coaches to make a decision, Vick said, “Then I’m not gonna answer any questions.”

Mosher then says that Vick was asked afterwards if he realized that his comments were on the record, to which Vick responded by saying to:

“Print his request that Kelly settle on a starter before camp to avoid the rampant speculation.”

“There’s better things to talk about,” Vick added.

On one hand, I can understand his comments because he is, after all, human.  To constantly be questioned about how he’s doing and whether or not he’ll “win” the job has to be frustrating.

Imagine if every day that you came into your office job and a flock of people came up to you to question you about whether or not you or Joe Shmo is going to get that awesome supervisor job you want so bad.

I could see that getting annoying.

However, it’s highly unlikely that the awesome supervisor job is going to pay you $3.5 million this year…or over the next 10 lifetimes for that matter.  Therefore, suck it up Vick!

Ultimately, I’m disappointed in these comments by Vick.  He still just doesn’t seem to “get it.”

Kelly has stated the entire time he’s been the head coach that it will be an open competition.  Furthermore, he has constantly stated that he can’t get a good idea until the pads come on at training camp.

How is he supposed to make a decision before camp and even a preseason game or two?

Ideally, yes, we’d like to have a starter decided upon as soon as possible just for the sake of continuity and less drama surrounding the team.  Instability or controversy at the QB position is never a good thing.

But, things are what they are.  We have a new coach with a new system and a new way of doing things.  He obviously wants an honest-to-God competition at virtually every position.

Even if it’s nerve-wracking, Vick, as a “competitor”, should be embracing the competition and the chance to prove himself.  Hell, if Kelly based his decision off of the last two years, Vick would have been cut.

Instead, his words sound like a man who is frustrated with the situation, frustrated with being asked about it and perhaps above all else, is afraid that he might not win the competition.

When he was asked about potentially being selective with the questions he will answer and the backlash it might spur, he responded: “Why not? Who cares?” he said. “Y’all [in the media] kill me anyway, whether it’s right or wrong.”

Yeah, definitely frustration.

Furthermore, this could all be eating at his pride as well.

Vick has been labeled as the favorite to win the job, even if that was mostly by the National Media (as well as myself).  The idea is that Kelly will want to have the option to run a read-option offense and Vick is the best guy on the roster to run it.

I’m sure Vick thinks that way as well.  I mean, why wouldn’t he?  That’s his “in”…aka, his best angle on winning the job.  His best talent is his athleticism and ability to run, which is the only way a read-option offense can work.

Perhaps that foot race with LeSean McCoy earlier this offseason was his way of showing how well he can still run and to show Chip that he should be the man.

But Kelly’s reluctance to name a starter is frustrating Vick because he doesn’t seem to understand why he’s not the starter yet.  It’s almost as if he was expecting to be given the job and this talk of competition was just some kind of farce.

Yeah coach, it’s a “competition”, I gotchya, wink wink.  So, we’re running the read-option, right? 

Wait, what?  It really is an open competition?  You might actually put slow-ass Foles or Barkley in?  WTF!!!!  I’m not answering anymore questions…Hey Chip, just name the starter before camp so I don’t actually have to deal with the pressure of competing and proving myself.  That way, if I’m not the starter I can just cry about not being given a fair chance rather than answering questions about why I lost a competition I should have been favored to win.

Sorry for the little rant, but his comments remind me of someone who doesn’t want to deal with the situation and the possibility that he might not be the starter.  Maybe he’s a little bitter too since he agreed to a pay cut to remain with the team and probably assumed he would be the starting QB because of that.

For the record, I predicted that Vick would, in fact, be the starter come opening day.  I still stand by that prediction, but Vick just lost a little ground here with these comments.  It also makes me question his mental toughness and whether or not he should be the guy leading this team.

Kelly will probably take Vick’s comments in stride and not get emotional about it, but who knows.  Maybe Kelly is the kind of person who doesn’t take kindly to “requests” such as the one Vick made.

The reason being is that Vick’s comments are in stark contrast to what Chip has been promoting the entire time he’s been here…competition.  The best guys will play, period.  If you are against that mentality, then maybe Chip will see that as a negative and as not being a team player.

One of the aspects of Chip’s program is to weed out the guys who resist and don’t buy in.  That goes for quarterbacks too.

Lastly, Vick seems to be the king of contradicting himself anymore these days.  One of the things he said yesterday about the QB competition was:

“It’s tough,” he said. “I have to continue to be a professional and put my feelings and emotions to the side, and just continue to compete. But it’s hard. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t, but that’s just what I have to deal with, and I’m going to keep dealing with it until I see otherwise.”

However, just one day before that, he did an interview for NFL Total Access and was asked about the competition, to which he replied…

“It has been great. It has been very competitive. It has been us coming out here, practicing with an attitude, on edge, and just trying to get the most out of ourselves and out of the position.”

So, one day the competition is “great”, then the next day it’s “tough.”  I realize that professional athletes usually try to portray the good soldier to the media, especially the national media, and that might be what Vick was doing.

But, to give conflicting answers on back-to-back days is odd.  This was also in addition to another contradiction I recently pointed out about his ability to read a defense.

Maybe Vick’s losing his mind?  I’m half kidding, of course.  But maybe the stress of the past two seasons and this year’s competition is getting to him.  Not to mention, he’s getting older and realizes time is running out on his NFL career.

In any case, Vick’s comments, while the truth about how he feels, were a little out of line.  Competition is what this is all about.  If he can’t handle a training camp battle with the likes of Foles and Barkley, how is he going to handle leading this team to a championship?

Kelly already has a “sports science coordinator” on the payroll, maybe he needs to add a “conflict resolutionist” as well.

Photo: philadelphia.cbslocal.com

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced their 2013 training camp dates.  In just under seven weeks, rookies report to NovaCare to officially start the 2013 season!

Rookies report on July 22nd and the veterans on July 25th.

The dates of the practices open to the public are July 28th, August 5th, August 11th, August 17th and August 26th.

Of interest: The Eagles will be practicing with the Patriots for two days prior to their preseason game on August 9th.  Unfortunately, that won’t be open to the public.  Should be good fodder for talk if a brawl breaks out…which is a good possibility.

Here is the official release by the Eagles’ media relations department…

The Philadelphia Eagles announced their training camp schedule today, featuring five training camp practices at Lincoln Financial Field that will be free and open to the public. There will be additional private practices held at the NovaCare Complex that will be open to a limited number of Eagles season ticket holders randomly selected from every section of the stadium.

“We are very excited to hold training camp in Philadelphia this summer,” said Eagles President Don Smolenski. “We organized the practice schedule at Lincoln Financial Field to begin in late July and run throughout the entire month of August so that our fans and their families would have opportunities to come and see the team up close.”

Tickets to the five training camp practices at Lincoln Financial Field will be made available to the public on Tuesday, June 18 at 2 pm. Fans can obtain tickets at that time by visiting www.philadelphiaeagles.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Seating will be general admission by section, with an 8-ticket limit per practice.

“We are opening up the lower bowl first for fan seating and will open up additional seats as needed,” said Smolenski. “We want this to be a fun atmosphere for our fans and can’t wait to feel their energy as we get ready for the regular season.”

In addition, the Eagles will be holding joint practices with the New England Patriots at the NovaCare Complex from August 6-7 prior to their preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9. This will be the first time the Eagles have held joint practices with another team during training camp since 1998 when the Eagles held a scrimmage and two joint practices with the Buffalo Bills at Lehigh University. Season ticket holders will be randomly invited to attend these practices as well.

Other Lincoln Financial Field Practice Information

• Parking - Parking for practices at Lincoln Financial Field will be free with lots opening three hours prior to the start of practice (9:30 am).

• Entry to stadium - The HeadHouse Plaza will open before practice at 10:30 am and the interior gates will open at 11:30 am. All fans should enter the stadium through the Northeast and Xfinity gates only.

• Concessions - Concessions will be available inside the stadium. Alcoholic beverages will not be sold.

Damn…no alcohol?

In looking back at their four victories in 2012, we can point to a single play in each of those games where the Eagles got a “lucky break” at a crucial time that enabled them to win.

It’s true that all teams in the NFL benefit from these kinds of lucky breaks at one time or another.  A timely penalty against your opponent, a dropped pass or a missed field goal are all part of the game.

But, when you are a bad team playing bad football for the majority of the year, this “luck” stands out because it was the difference between being just bad or historically bad.

The difference between 4-12 and 0-16 kind of luck…

LJ Fort drops what should have been Vick’s fifth INT on the day

It started in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.  Michael Vick led the Eagles on a late 4th quarter game-winning 91-yard touchdown drive.  Sounds like a huge positive, right?

However, after watching Vick throw four interceptions on the day, it was the fifth one that didn’t happen that enabled the dramatic comeback.  On the play before the winning four-yard TD pass to Clay Harbor with under 90 seconds left in the game, a Cleveland defender dropped an easy interception in the end zone.

Vick threw a pass right to Browns defender L.J. Fort and it simply clanked off his hands.  As you can see in the picture above, he had his hands on it for what could or should have been an easy catch.

If he just catches that ball, the Eagles lose that game.

Photo: wnst.net

In Week 2 against Baltimore, Vick again led a 4th quarter touchdown drive to take a late one-point lead in the game.  However, the lucky break was on the previous drive by the Ravens.

With somewhere around five to six minutes left in the game, Jacoby Jones caught a 25-yard touchdown pass that was nullified due to a very questionable offensive pass interference call by the replacement refs.

At the time, the Ravens led 20-17 and should have gone-up 27-17 after that play.  Baltimore ultimately had to settle for just a field goal to make it a six point game instead of a 10 point game.

That set the stage for the next drive by Vick.  If that TD had stood, the Eagles would have needed two scores, with under five minutes to play, just to tie and chances are that would not have happened.

AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson

In Week 4 against New York, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes missed a potential game-winning field goal not once, but twice.  Andy Reid did the moronic ice-the-kicker timeout just before they snapped the ball, but the kick played out and Tynes missed it.

But, since it didn’t count, Tynes had a second shot and simply missed it again.  Sure, it was a 54-yarder and a difficult kick, but not impossible.

Plus, if you remember, two plays before the field goal attempts, Giants receiver Ramses Barden was flagged for offensive pass interference that pushed them back 10 yards and turned what would have been a 44 yard FG attempt into a 54-yarder.

Therefore, the Eagles actually benefited from two lucky breaks there.

All of this happened in the first four weeks of the season and it allowed the Eagles to have a 3-1 record.  Obviously, their luck ran out after that as they went on an eight-game losing streak.

Their fourth and final win of the season came in Week 14 against Tampa Bay.  This is the game that inspired faith in Nick Foles as the possible future starter for the Eagles.

Down by five points, Foles led a dramatic fourth quarter drive that ended with a game-winning TD pass to Jeremy Maclin as time expired.  The drive itself was a good one and included two critical fourth-down conversions.

However, the lucky break in this game happened on the previous drive by the Bucs.

Tampa was up 21-16 and took over on offense with 3:55 left in the game.  Doug Martin was having a pretty good game and with the first carry on this drive, ran it for 11 yards.  It was one of those “here we go” moments for Philly fans because we knew the defense needed a big stop.

Martin then carried for three yards on first down and three yards on second down which should have set up a third and four situation.  However, there was a killer offensive holding call on Tampa on the second-down play that forced the Bucs back 10 yards and into a second and 17 situation.

No. 62 called for holding Kurt Coleman. As if Coleman would have made the tackle anyway

Martin was averaging 4.6 yards per carry that day and even on that second and 17 play, he ran it again for nine yards.  What’s to stop us from thinking that the Bucs would not have converted that third and four if the holding call didn’t happen?

Had they converted, they would have been able to at least take more time off the clock before the Eagles got the ball back and thus not allowed enough time for Foles and the offense to do what they did.

As it was, the offense needed every last second to pull it out.

I’m not trying to take away from the excitement of Foles’ game-winning drive, but it required a little luck to help set the stage for that.  Offensive holding can be called on more plays than not, the Eagles were just fortunate that the refs decided to call one on a routine run-play where holding is less obvious than pass plays.

Yes, the Eagles were bad last year and it could have been even worse if not for these particular plays in each of their wins.  It’s a good thing, though, because I would not have wanted them to join the 0-fer club along with the ’76 Bucs and ’08 Lions.

However, if this had happened one year earlier and it meant the different between getting Andrew Luck or RG3, I may have been resenting lady luck just a little bit.

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

The Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line was brutal in 2012 and along with the secondary, it was one of the two biggest weaknesses on this team.  However, this unit could turn out to be the team’s greatest strength in 2013.

Last season, Football Outsiders rated the Eagles’ OL at 28th in run blocking and 25th in pass protection.  They were also 31st in runs that were stuffed at the line (no gain or the RB tackled for a loss) and gave up the fourth-most sacks in the league with 48.

Those numbers match up with what we all witnessed last year, right?  Yes, they were B.R.U.T.A.L.

Things got so bad on the OL last year that they had to sign guard Jake Scott off the scrap heap in the middle of the season.  The sad thing is that, besides Evan Mathis, he became our best lineman.

The good news is that we won’t be seeing any of the same combinations along the OL this year, no matter what.  Jake Scott, Demetress Bell and King Dunlap are long gone and Dallas Reynolds will struggle to make the roster this year.

That doesn’t necessarily guarantee the line will be better, but here are some good reasons for optimism…

The obvious reason is getting the injured guys back.  Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, and Todd Herremans will all return to full strength and just that alone should provide a huge boost.

Then, of course, they invested the No. 4 pick in OT Lane Johnson, who figures to be the starting right tackle come opening day.  That allows Herremans to move inside to guard, which is a better position for him.

The not-so-obvious reasons to think that the OL will be the anti-2012 unit are the influences of Jeff Stoutland and Chip Kelly.

Stoutland is perceived as one of the top offensive line coaches in college football.  Almost everywhere he has coached, his lines performed extremely well and produced some highly regarded draft prospects.

He teaches smart, physical and tough football.  He wants his linemen pounding the defense until the whistle.  In other words, he expects his OL to do everything last year’s unit did not.

We all know the foundation for a good offense is a good offensive line.  And, you don’t always need to have top-tier talent at every position along the line.  More-so than any other position group in football, the OL has to play well collectively.

And that’s where Stoutland will improve this team.  He’ll get the linemen on the same page and have them play as a well-oiled unit.  The players are said to be very enthusiastic about playing for him and his scheme, which was not the case under previous OL coach Howard Mudd.

Furthermore, almost any offensive lineman you talk to will tell you they prefer run blocking over pass blocking.  The reason for that is because they get to be the aggressor and take the fight to the defense rather than the other way around.

That’s also good news because Chip Kelly likes to run the football…a lot.

Kelly’s bread and butter at Oregon was the read option offense and his quarterbacks did carry the ball a good amount of times for the most part.  However, in looking back at the last four seasons, he ran a run-heavy offense even when you take away the runs by his quarterbacks.

Last season at Oregon, Kelly’s offense actually attempted 373 total passes vs. a whopping 685 runs.  Of those 685 runs, 145 came from the QB position so that still leaves 373 passes to 540 runs.

If you count the runs by the QB, Kelly had a 65-35 run-pass ratio heavily slanted towards the run.  If you remove the QB runs in an effort to think more along the lines of “true runs by a running back”, then the ratio is more like 60-40 in favor of the run.

If you look back at 2009 through 2011, you see the same thing (I’ve removed the QB runs from the equations)…

• 2011: 386 pass plays vs. 550 runs, a 59/41 split in favor of the run.
• 2010: 395 pass plays vs. 516 runs, a 57/43 split in favor of the run.
• 2009: 338 pass plays vs. 410 runs, a 55/45 split in favor of the run.

That’s a four-year average run-pass ratio of 58/42.  Andy Reid’s offense this is not.

Furthermore, if you look at those stats as a progression from 2009 – 2012, he ran it more and more every year.  And with the running backs the Eagles have, I expect that ratio to continue in Philly.

As I’ve pointed out several times over the past few months, if you still haven’t read Chip Kelly’s clinic on the zone read option offense you should go read it now.  He describes at length his running game and breaks it down and really simplifies things.

Here is a quote I’d like to point out…

The offensive line plays with conviction.  If you can keep it simple for the players in the offensive line so they have confidence going into a game, you have an opportunity to win the game.  The five offensive linemen are the key to your football team.

I do not think anyone in our offensive line was offered a scholarship coming out of high school. I think the system we run helps our offensive linemen.  The key is to make sure they know what they are doing.  They are an impressive group of guys and they shop at True Value Hardware for clothes.

If you give your players something to hang their hats on, they will perform.

That’s the great thing about Kelly, he seems to have a knack for keeping things simple, yet it’s very effective.  He’s going to give our offensive linemen something to “hang their hats on” so that they can “play with conviction.”

Playing with conviction can’t be understated.

Offensive linemen love to run-block.  It builds confidence in their abilities and allows them to be physical.  In 2013, they will get plenty of opportunities to be the aggressors and it should have a positive impact on their entire game, pass protection included.

Think about the mental aspect of the game for a minute.  Under Reid, the linemen knew they would be pass-blocking the majority of the time.  That puts them in the mindset that they can’t be as physical and have to retreat more.

When you’re retreating and have to worry about defenses just tee-ing off, that doesn’t allow you to play with conviction.  In other words, it’s almost like being in a “I hope I don’t get beat” mentality rather than a “I’m going to maul you” mentality.

Just having an improved mentality should do wonders for the offensive linemen individually and therefore improve their performance as a collective unit.  It may sound basic, but I believe it will make all the difference in the world for these guys.

I fully expect the offensive line to go from near-bottom in the league in 2012 to near the top in 2013.

How can I make such a bold proclamation when it appears that there really is a full-fledged, honest-to-God open competition?  And, Nick Foles is getting just as many repetitions with the first team as is Vick?

Well, obviously I’m not basing my opinion on performance in mini-camp nor do I think Vick is the best QB on the roster.  Call it a mixture of rationale, logic and gut instinct.

When the Eagles decided to keep Vick and restructured his contract, Kelly made a comment at the time about having to consider the “landscape for other quarterbacks.”  The logical reasoning for that comment was due to the fact there weren’t any other available quarterbacks who were clearly better than Vick.

That included Nick Foles as well as any potential free agent or draft pick.

Now they have Matt Barkley in the fold and Kelly wants to see what he has in Foles. Competition makes everyone better and if players truly think they’re fighting for a starting job, it should bring out the best in them.

With that said, Barkley is ultimately still a rookie fourth round pick and Foles is a second year player who has yet to establish himself.  Foles showed some glimpses of potential last season but certainly not enough to secure a starting job.

In other words, they aren’t exactly killer competition for Vick to overcome.

Photo: gcobb.com

Vick is a 12-year veteran and has had success in the NFL so he should be considered the favorite to win the job.  Most coaches know what they’re going to do at the most important position in football upon taking over a team, particularly offensive-minded coaches.

Kelly surely had an opinion of Vick and Foles before even accepting the job.  I believe Kelly when he says this is an open competition, but I also think he is planning on, and expecting, Vick to win the job.

The reasoning is simple: If Kelly can teach Vick to make some basic reads, he is the QB that will be able to run the zone read option offense the most effectively.  We’ve all talked about what kind of offense Kelly will or will not run here, but if he can run the zone read, that will be his first choice.

I think Kelly has done a masterful job at keeping everyone guessing about what kind of offense they’ll be running in 2013.  But, when the curtain is drawn this summer, I think we’ll be seeing mainly a zone read offense with Vick at the helm, and then a ”backup offense” with Foles and Barkley at the helm.

If Vick proves he can run Chip’s preferred offense at least “good enough”, he will choose him initially because he’ll want to run the style of offense he is most accustomed to.  I mean, why wouldn’t Kelly at least take a shot to see if Vick can do it?

Kelly will get a free pass this year because of all the transition so he’s playing with house money by giving Vick the initial shot.  He would have Foles as a capable backup and if both guys fail, he can write them off as “not his guys” and would then begin the transition to Barkley and build from there.

Kelly is really in a no-lose situation with Vick.  If Vick fails, it’s because Vick just isn’t good anymore.  If he can’t run the zone read, which would be the best type of offense suited for his skills, his days as a starting NFL QB would be over.

In other words, if he can’t succeed under Kelly, he won’t succeed under anyone anymore.

On the flip side, if Vick succeeds in Kelly’s offense, then Kelly looks like a genius because he was able to get out of Vick what nobody else could, including the great Andy Reid.

With all of that said, do not take me as someone who wants this to happen or thinks Vick is the future of this franchise.  Remember, I’m saying that Vick will be the opening day starter.

This is how I actually see the situation playing out in 2013…

Vick is the season-opening starter.  As with every other year in his career sans one season, Vick will get injured.  When that happens (and yes, it’s when, not if), the next decision will be based on the following…

How many games into the season they are, how Vick has been playing, and what the team’s record is at that point.

If they are long-shots for the playoffs and Vick hasn’t played anything better than mediocre, he will lose the starting job, just like last year.  The question will be whether it’s Foles or Barkley who takes over at that point.

At that point, Kelly could go one of two ways…he either puts Foles in just to make sure he is or isn’t the future (and if anything, increase his trade value), or he goes with “his guy” to get Barkley some experience to build on for a starting role in 2014.

I could even see Kelly trying both guys out at that point as basically an audition for 2014.

However, there could be a few other variables to the situation.  If Vick was playing mediocre but the team was still in playoff contention, I think Foles would definitely be the next guy in to give them the best shot at staying in contention.

And if he does well, he keeps the job.

If Vick is playing well and the Eagles are in contention, then Foles will just keep the spot warm until Vick returns.

Unfortunately, I think that last scenario is the least likely to happen.  But, you never know.  Vick could take to Kelly’s offense like a fish to water and get into a groove reminiscent of his run in 2010.

Or, and perhaps more likely, Vick will struggle with the “quick reads and repetitive accuracy” aspects of Kelly’s offense and will eventually get injured and miss a few games.  That’s all it would take to open the door for Foles and/or Barkley.

In any case, I think Vick will be the one who starts the season but not the one who ends it.

First, a site titled “Cold Hard Football Facts” came to the conclusion that the Eagles were the “dumbest team in football” last season.

Here is an excerpt from the article that starts to explain how they came to this conclusion…

We know the Eagles were the dumbest team in football because we have the Quality Stats that put an empirical figure on team intelligence. They are called Scoreability and Bendability.

Scoreability measures offensive efficiency in terms of what we call Yards Per Point Scored – how effectively teams turn yards into points. Smart teams need only a few yards to score a lot of points; dumb teams, like the Eagles, produce plenty of yards but few points.

Bendability measures defensive efficiency in terms of Yards Per Point Allowed – how effectively opponents turn yards into points. It measures, in other words, the “bend but don’t break” phenomenon. Smart teams might give up a lot of yards but surrender few points; dumb teams, like the Eagles, surrender few yards but a lot of points.

The 2012 Eagles sucked at both: they ranked No. 31 in Scoreability and No. 32 in Bendability.

Scoreability and Bendability are great indicators because each takes into account so many different factors – special teams proficiency, field position, red zone efficiency and turnover differential, among others – and then spits it all out in an easy-to-understand number.

Smart, well-coached teams that play well in “situational” football rank high in both Scoreability and Bendability. Dumb, poorly coached teams that play poorly in “situational” football rank low in each indicator.

The 2012 Philadelphia Eagles ranked low in each indicator. Hence, they earn the dishonor of dumbest team in football.

I like the concept, but I don’t like the title of “dumb”.  Not that I take offense to it, because I’ve called Andy Reid, Michael Vick and the Eagles several choice adjectives during the heat of the moment and “dumb” was probably one of them (or some other choice derivative of dumb).

Anyway, the whole “scoreability” and “bendability” that measures yards per point scored and yards per point allowed is an interesting stat.

To dumb it down some, scoreability basically means that the Eagles covered a lot of ground on offense last year in between the 20′s but barely came away with any points.

They ranked 15th in the NFL in total yards, but only 29th in total points.

Conversely, on defense they they ranked 15th in the NFL in yards given up, but gave up the third-most points in the league.  Bendability means that opposing offenses didn’t have to cover a lot of ground in order to score against the Eagles.

Therefore, the Eagles’ offense went up and down the field but couldn’t score and the defense couldn’t stop anybody from scoring.

This is directly reflected in the Eagles’ red zone rankings in 2012: 28th on offense and 19th on defense.  However, all of this data from “scoreability” and “bendability” can be explained simply by one thing…

Turnovers.

The Eagles ended the 2012 season tied for dead last in the NFL in turnovers and takeaways.  Dead.  Last.

Furthermore, though I can’t seem to find an official stat as of the end of last season, the Eagles either lead the league or were amongst the leaders in red zone turnovers.

So, if they drive the length of the field and then turn the ball over in the red zone, they will have a lot of offensive yards but fewer points, hence their “scoreability” number.

On the flip side of the offensive turnovers, the ones the do not happen in the red zone gives the opposing offense a much shorter field to work with, hence the defense not giving up a lot of yards but giving up a lot of points (bendability).

Of course, the severe lack of red zone takeaways doesn’t help their cause either.

With all that said, it doesn’t mean the Eagles were the “dumbest team in football.”  Perhaps the most unfocused and undisciplined team, yes, but not the dumbest.  And that’s a long way to go to say what can be summed up by turnover differential.

Maybe this was his reaction to the Chip Kelly news as well.

Speaking of dumb, I like and respect Ron Jaworski, but I was a little taken aback by his proclamation that Chip Kelly’s offense won’t translate to the NFL.  In case you missed it, this is what he said:

“It’s going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL,” Jaworski, a former Eagles quarterback, recently said on WPEN-FM, via Phillymag.com. “I’m going to say no.”

“I just don’t see NFL passing concepts in this offense,” Jaworski added. “It’s a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts.”

“I hope it works. I like the innovation, but I think it’s going to be very difficult,” Jaworski predicted. “In the NFL, these guys work 17 hours a day. A day, not a week — 17 hours a day getting ready, so there’s no secrets.”

Jaws is usually the most optimistic analyst out there, especially when it comes to all things Eagles-related.  That’s why I was a little stunned by this.

His reasoning is solid, if Kelly runs the same exact offense as he did in Oregon last year.  But, that is the problem I have with Jaws’ opinion…nobody knows exactly what type of offense Kelly is going to run.

It’s likely he’ll use some of his familiar concepts that Jaws mentioned, but that’s one of the reasons why he hired Pat Shurmur…so he can add NFL concepts to his offense.

I can’t imagine Kelly won’t mix in the long ball.  He’s smart enough to realize that you can’t play small-ball the entire time because defenses will just stack the box.  Plus, when you have a deep threat like DeSean Jackson who can stretch the defense, it would be criminal not to utilize that.

Therefore, it’s just silly to say that Kelly’s offense won’t translate to the NFL without even knowing exactly what offense he’s translating.