DID ANDY FAIL TO READ SON GARRETT REID

Multiple media outlets (ESPN article) have reported that Garrett Reid, the oldest son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, was found dead Sunday morning in his room at training camp at Lehigh University.  His death does not come as a huge surprise to many, given his widely publicized bouts with drugs and the law.

The civil thing is to offer condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Reid family.  I trust the ravenous Philly faithful will give Andy and couple of days before questioning whether Andy failed his sons, particularly Garrett.

I am not the biggest fan of the Eagles, loathe their quarterback, but losing a child has got to be jacked up...

I sincerely wish Andy Reid and his family the best in these difficult times.

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EAGLES Scavenging the NFL Scene as the SAINTS March on...

Indianapolis Colts owner Bill Polian felt compelled to point out where his team lost the Super Bowl, instead of simply praising the World Champion New Orleans Saints or Sean Payton and his staff for a gutsy called game. [click here for great SAINTS GEAR].  No real fault there, and I do enjoy it when guys don’t necessarily take the sports high-road, exhibit a little less ‘sportsmanship’ in their statements to the press, and generally let it all hang out there. He pointed a finger (No, not THAT finger) at ‘offensive’ line play, and the special teams. There was a lot of truth in what he said, but it came off like a little sour grapes as well.


What I was pleased to hear in his anguished words was that he found fault with the Colt’s special teams unit, just falling short of calling out former-Eagle Hank “couldn’t catch it if it landed in my bread…” Basket and throwing him under the proverbial bus. Hank could hardly be blamed for misfielding the surprise kick, and I’m sure he fought like the devil in the ensuing scrum, but I do love that there is a Philadelphia connection there.

Speaking of Philly and dogging it on the football field, I’m not sure what to make of Michael Vick’s revelation that he took a ‘…lazy and complacent’ approach to playing when he was with the Atlanta Falcons. No big surprise there, but was this revelation simply a teaser for the Eagles quarterback heir apparent’s 10-part documentary-series, "The Michael Vick Project," which was unleashed on the public by BET network Tuesday night?

The smart money insists that Kevin Kolb will get the start for the Eagles if and when they part ways with Donavan McNabb. However, one has to stop and wonder if we are going to be seeing Michael Vick taking a much more prominent role in Philadelphia. Perhaps running an Eagles version of the Wildcat, appropriately termed; Wild Dog?

McDaniels McContemplating McNabb?

You’re joshing me right? So rumors out of Philadelphia are that the Denver Broncos are one of three teams in trade talks with Donavan McNabb. The acquisition of McNabb would almost certainly help the Broncos, primarily because he would be replacing a mediocre quarterback in Kyle Orton. However, I would not for example, anticipate that he would have the same impact that Brett Favre has had with the Vikings this past season. I’m just saying…

Maybe I’m a little biased, but having lived in Philadelphia for the past 20 years, I have never been impressed with McNabb, and very dismissive of descriptions of him as an elite NFL quarterback. Keep in mind that a lot of the Eagles success earlier this decade had more to do with a weak NFC East than anything else.

The knock on McNabb is that he is great between the twenties, but is not very accurate and has the propensity to throw the occasional gopher ball. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for his subpar playoff games, but many question his intestinal fortitude in a big spot, and like to point to his apparent choking (literally) in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. He has choked in some other big spots too.  Still, he can heave the pigskin with the best of them, something Kyle Orton is definitely not capable of doing. If the Broncos do wind up with him, this would presumably lift the play and attitude of Brandon Marshall and the receiving corps.

At 33-years old, Donavan McNabb is still a viable option at quarterback. He would be a good stop-gap measure for the Broncos until they can either get Chris Simms to overcome his own problems ‘Manning-up’ and demonstrating that he has the stones to compete in this league, or until they can draft their quarterback for the future.