2011 Redskins vs. Eagles Game 1 Q&A and prediction with Kevin McGuire
This week, one of my favorite features, the guest prognosticator series returns! The Philadelphia Eagles are coming down I-95 to take on the Washington Redskins in a big NFC East matchup. Joining me this week is Kevin McGuire, a Philly sports fan who you may know from Examiner.com’s Penn State coverage and The Nittany Lions Den.
WFY: I guess you are finding out what Washingtonians already know — heavy is the head that wears the crown of “OFFSEASON CHAMPIONS.” What’s going on with “the Dream Team” right now? Also, was this past weekend the “worst weekend ever” (as suggested by the Philly Daily News) for Philly sports fans?
KM: Quite simply, the Eagles can’t tackle to save their lives right now, and Vince Young’s premature statement after signing with the team has unfortunately caught on everywhere even though everybody else on the team has tried to silence that idea, even as early as the day it was said. Andy Reid is under the hottest fire he has ever been in with fans and if things don’t start to turn around in a hurry it will only get uglier.
As for last weekend, yes, it was one of the worst weekends Philly has seen in sports in a long time. The way the Phillies went out was pitiful, and that’s being kind. There was no reason the Phillies should have lost to the Cardinals in a five game series, and ironically it was Cliff Lee, who signed with the team to win a World Series, who is most to blame for losing the series in my opinion. You can’t give up a 4-0 lead at home in game two. Enough said.
Forget the offensive woes for now. The Phillies lost games started by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt in a five game series. That just is not acceptable for the standards this team established.
WFY: Is it still uncomfortable having Michael Vick as the starting QB on account of puppy killing past? Or his present being 1-4?
KM: I have long moved on from Vick’s past, but I won’t blame others for not. To me, he has paid his time according to the law and thus he has earned a right to doing what he is best at again. I honestly feel Vick is a much different person than he used to be, at least in the media and the public eye. He really has grown and matured and become the leader of this team the way he never did in Atlanta.
The Eagles being 1-4 generally pins a lot of blame on the quarterback, but Andy Reid is absorbing the brunt of any negativity surrounding this team right now for more critical reasons.
WFY: Andy Reid is one of the deans of NFL coaches, arriving in Philly in 1999. He’s got 5 NFC title game appearances and 1 championship, but no Super Bowl victories. Is the fanbase tired of the team never breaking through or is he on strong footing with the fans? Would your answer have been different a month ago?
KM: Yes, and they have been since that run of NFC championship game appearances when the team had Donovan McNabb in his prime, Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook on offense and Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotter on defense. And Reid’s press conferences have long infuriated fans because you know exactly what he is going to say every single time.
“I have to do a better job and put this team in a better position to win.”
“I take full responsibility for that.”
Well Andy, if you want to take full responsibility and put this franchise in a better position to win, that position may be seeing you no longer on the sideline. I’m the one who wanted to see Reid go before McNabb left, so I don’t think my answer would have been any different a month ago. I think after 12 years, we know exactly what Reid is capable of. He’ll turn around a team, but he won’t win you the big prize.
WFY: How is the Lincoln Financial Field Eagles gameday experience? How available are tickets to the general public? Why does that stadium have a complete lack of symmetry between sections and tiers? It looks silly. What’s so great about Crab Fries? Aren’t they just regular fries with an Old Bay-like seasoning? Seems like something you’d get in Baltimore.
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