Eagles drop the ball against Redskins

The trap was set, and the Philadelphia Eagles fell right in.

After seeing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the San Diego Chargers earlier in the afternoon, the Eagles were suddenly in complete control of their own destiny, and just needed wins over the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys to secure a spot in the playoffs.

However, the Eagles dropped the ball. Again. And again. And again. And by my count, five or six more times, including two deep passes to DeSean Jackson, one of which would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles’ defense showed up and limited the Redskins to just 10 points and 249 yards on offense, but the Eagles’ recently high-powered offense left its swagger three hours north in Philadelphia.

Now, with their 10-3 loss to the Redskins, the Eagles once again find themselves on the outside looking in, and in need of an improbable win by the Oakland Raiders over Tampa Bay this weekend to even have a chance at making the playoffs.

With this loss, we can make the excuse that the Eagles’ offense was shorthanded, playing without Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett, but missing those guys wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the wide receivers on the field couldn’t remember that they are paid to catch the ball, and not “wap it down!” like a defensive back on a deep ball.

I know that a lot of people are going to question Andy Reid’s play-calling, but that would be misplacing the blame. Yes, the Eagles should have run the ball a lot more than they did. In the Eagles’ last three wins, they ran the ball as much as they threw it, but for some reason, Reid only called seven rushing plays in the second half of the game, compared to 35 passes.

The only problem with that argument is that Brian Westbrook was clearly hurt, and the passing plays actually worked! The wide receivers got open! Donovan McNabb found them!

It really is a simple process, and if the wide receivers knew how to catch the ball, the Eagles would have rolled over the Redskins and we would be looking forward to a showdown with the Cowboys for the last playoff spot in the NFC.

On a side note, I do find it kind of ironic that Reggie Brown has wasted a career by never coming back to the ball, which gives the cornerback a chance to break up the play. However, with the season on the line, he finally learned one of the basic tenants of playing wide receiver, only he came back about a foot too far.

This game, like the loss to the Carolina Panthers in the 2003 NFC Championship game, proves that the West Coast offense works, but you need to have wide receivers, and a tight end, who will actually catch the ball.

Baskett, Curtis, Jackson, and Jason Avant are all nice wide receivers, but none of them are game-changers. Someday, Jackson might be, but his two drops in the fourth quarter prove that he is not there yet. Each one of them would be a fine number two or number three wide receiver, but Sunday’s game proved that the Eagles need a top wide receiver and someone better than Correll Buckhalter to back up Brian Westbrook.

I know everyone says those things after each loss, but if we can only expect a few fully healthy games each year out of B-West, the Eagles need other weapons. When Westbrook is completely healthy, like he was the last few games, the Eagles’ offense will work with anyone split out wide.But on days like Sunday when Westbrook is not at 100 percent, or even 75 percent, the offense will always stumble unless they have guys who can step up and carry the team.

Against the Redskins, McNabb threw the ball 46 times, which is far too many, and his wide receivers only came down with nine catches. That’s pathetic. McNabb is on pace to set a career high in passing yards this year, but unless he gets consistent playmakers on the outside, those will just be empty yards on the way to an unsuccessful season because the Eagles will always have days like this holding them back.

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Like the “On the Edge” Blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where, this week, we will dissect how the Eagles blew their golden opportunity to make the playoffs.