Brian Dawkins called a team meeting on Wednesday morning. Andy Reid had a team meeting on Monday. It was the second straight week he made the Eagles come in on Monday to vent his frustrations and try to correct the problems.
All these team meetings mean there is a lot of talking. All these poor results mean there is a lot of talking, not so much improving. It’s the same stuff, just during a different week.
You know what they say about a team that has a lot of meetings? They have a lot of problems, a lot of losses.
The Eagles clearly have a lot of problems — mental, physical and emotional — and their fair share of losses. They can’t win close games. They can’t run the ball. And worst of all, they can’t convert a simple third-and-one.
What’s the cure? Surely another team meeting will fix everything. At least that is what the team’s leaders believe.
This has become the Eagles’ calling card the last few seasons. They talk a good game, but they don’t play a good game.
They convince everyone they can be a winning team. They show just enough to hint that the playoffs are inevitable, that a Super Bowl is possible. Then they falter on the field. Just like that Monday night game in Dallas early in the season. Little did we know at the time but that disappointing game was going to be a microcosm of this season.
After losing to the Bears and Redskins, quarterback Donovan McNabb publicly stated he thought the Eagles were better than both teams.
"I believe that we lost to teams we should have beaten,” McNabb wrote in his Yardbarker blog. “Not because I think they are not good -- they are. But I still believe we are better; we just didn't show it."
It’s possible McNabb and the Eagles truly believe they are better than the results indicate. It’s also possible, more likely probable, that they are just hallucinating. The Birds’ players and coaches have apparently talked themselves into believing something that is not true.
Take veteran safety Brian Dawkins as an example. Dawkins seems to believe this is a talented team that can still win something.
"We know how to win," Dawkins said. "Season's not done yet."
Dawkins then went on to say the Eagles have won their fair share of close games this season. Unless we missed a few weeks of the season, Dawkins is a bit misguided. But then again, so are most of the Eagles.
Maybe the Eagles are just fooling themselves at this point. This time, however, we’re not going to be lured into believing the hype.
