WE Could be The Eagles Today

[Flugel]

Thinking back to 1999 Carmen Policy came here with a some VERY important decisions. First was WHO to hire as Head Coach and we heard there was allegedly only a couple decent choices and we weren't gettigng either of those. Philly hired Andy Reid and we hired a guy that never had a snowball's chance in Hell - Chris Palmer. Very similar resumes.

 

Next came the expansion draft which had a name in there that Policy stuck his nose up in the air at. The name was Kurt Warner but Policy would prefer Scott Milanovich (better known in college at Maryland as the kid an Art Schilchter habit).

 

No problem because we were drafting first AHEAD of the team sporting the worst NFL record of 1998, which was THE Philadelphia Eagles and their new Head Coach Andy Reid. Chris Palmer didn't get a GREAT first impression of Tim Couch but Carmen Policy and his sidekick Latte Clark said THIS is our QB. Let's give him another workout so you WILL like him better. Naturally, a knuckleheaded fan named Flugel was on the message board posting his firstever thread "Couch Just Makes Sense." Then again, the reality is this is what fans do while Millionaire GMs are paid to cross every t and dot every i in the research part of it all. Policy looks like he turned it into an American Idol contest and what kid would put more fannies in the seats.

 

I DOUBT many of us fans would have picked McNabb at the time because let's face it - SU was running the Veer option. Most pro teams weren't considering that type of QB from that type of offense. So WHO would do such a thing? Not the Cleveland Browns, I think we sent our equipment manager and 1 of our waterboys to watch McNabb's workout. Therefore, our brain trust was left contemplating the difference between Akili Smith and Tim Couch. Sounded like Palmer fell in love with air tight spirals while Carmen and Latteboy fell in love with Blonde hair. That's okay though because Policy knew full well that the only person that would have to walk any planks would be the first Head Coach he made sure was best known for not being his 1st or 2nd choice. Lucky us!

 

Meanwhile, they say Andy Reid was largely responsible for the development of Brett Favre in Green Bay. So one would have to ask what kind of offense did Favre come from in college? It was a VERY similar offense to the Veer option so Andy Reid said - I can work with this kid McNabb that nobody else wants. Columnists in Philly were certain Andy Reid was going to draft Ricky Williams and their fans wouldn't cheer any other name. Therefore, when it was announced who Philly selected with the #2 overall pick - their fans booed the pick and the person behind it. They were certain New Orleans was going to be the franchise they would envy forever. Guess how many Conference Championships Ricky Williams has played in?

 

Reality is folks that the Philadelphia Eagles hired the RIGHT Head Coach and drafted the RIGHT franchise player to take them out of the depths of the worst record in 1998. I think they've done better than merely escaping rock bottom football. Here they are with the SAME fans booing McNabb AND Reid before the conclusion of the 2008 story. At least when they booed both guys in 2008, they waited until after the first chapter of the story. That said, they were WRONG again because guess who is playing in their 6th Conference Championship Game since they drafted McNabb? Andy Reid's IMPROVED version of the Philadelphia Eagles. Let's be honest, who saw them in the Conference Championship this season?

 

I LIKE the Philly story because they had a guy with the grapefruits under his stinger to defy popularity and conduct the research to make the right call. I guarantee you I would have been one of the Knuckleheads thinking Andy Reid was out of his mind. That said, I think I would have learned to appreciate him a LITLLE more than he is appreciated there sometimes. Consider this one too: nobody on this planet knew who Brian Westbrook was pre-draft because the only sport you watch at Villanova is basketball. He was a 2nd day pick in round 4 but what an enormous impact! There's VERY important kids Andy Reid took in that had a chip on their shoulders to prove they belonged. Philly can boo McNabb and Reid all they want but they better be careful what they wish for because that was a pretty pathetic franchise before they added competance. I've seen them beat alot of teams they shouldn't have and I swear all I still read is Andy Reid can't coach. We know what "can't coach" looks like and that ain't it. Has there been a team that's reached more conference Championships than 6 since 1999? Kind of makes you quickly forget that this was the WORST franchise on the planet in 1998 doesn't it?

- Tom F. (I'm excited about the Mangini-Kokkinos tagteam. If Philly can do it - so can we!)