At this point it seems almost inhumane to continue the season. The Eagles have lost eight straight, coach Andy Reid is trying everything to reverse the irreversible and save his job, from haphazardly firing assistants like he's Donald Trump, to dumping quarterback Michael Vick for Nick Foles. We can't blame him -- desperate times and whatnot -- but the only remaining certainty about this team, now 3-9, is that it will look completely different in the coming months.
For now, though, all Reid can do is maintain the facade that he's in control, everyone's working extra hard to get better, and they'll get this thing fixed sooner rather than later. No one believes that, of course. For starters, the Eagles haven't won a game in two months. There's also the issue that only four games remain on the schedule. Win out and Philly goes 7-9, one game worse than what owner Jeffry Lurie called "unacceptable" in 2011.
If there's a silver lining, it's that following a rough start Foles has settled down. After completing 46 percent of his throws against the Eagles in his first NFL start in Week 11, the rookie third-rounder found 76 percent of his intended targets against the Panthers and 65 percent against the Cowboys. If Vick ever showed that type of consistency the city would erect a statue in his honor next to Rocky. (Vick's completion percentage in 2012: 58.5; his best ever? 62.6 in 2009; his career average: 56.3.)
This is the time of year when floundering franchises either stick with their veterans under the guise of playing for pride, or admit defeat and give the young players a look. For all the criticism Reid has taken this year (and most of it was deserved), he was right to go with the youth movement. Of course, a run on injuries meant that he didn't have much choice in the matter. Either way, this is Foles' team for the next month.
“I think where we’re at right now in the season that gives this kid an opportunity to play and finish it up," Reid said Monday on his decision to stick with Foles. "No. 1, I just think he’s playing well enough to where I think he can win football games for us, and two, I think where we sit at this position in the season, [and] I think it’s the right thing to do. With Michael we need to make sure he gets healthy. This thing has carried on a while here now and I want to make sure he is good to go.”
As for Vick, he'll likely be the No. 2 behind Foles. But once the season mercifully comes to an end later this month, Vick, like Reid, could be looking for work. This comes less than two years after he signed a $100 million contract. You can argue whether it's a prudent move for an organization in flux, but like Reid we're guessing Vick won't be out of a job for long. It's just that he's probably played his last game in an Eagles uniform.
