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So, this is it, eh? After months of waiting – years in some
cases – we’ve reached the end of the line. Today Andy Reid will almost
certainly coach his final game from the home sidelines at Lincoln Financial
Field.
Hold me.
There’s been some discussion this week about the type of
reaction Reid might receive, but we’re not expecting much pomp and circumstance
to be on display. The team has not formally acknowledged they will be moving on
at season’s end, and the past few crowds have been less than capacity. There
might be a few signs, maybe even a chant or round of applause, but mostly it’s
going to look like Week 16 for any generic club that has a 4-10 record.
News
Still, it is kind of hard to believe it’s come to this. Reid’s
fate is about as predictable as an Eagles running play on 2nd down and 10 to go.
I guess I never really thought about how it would all go down until recently,
but I didn’t necessarily believe it would be as inevitable as this.
There is a game though, and a relatively big one at that. Philadelphia
sparked a five-game winning streak for the Redskins, who thanks in part to the
ongoing collapse in the Big Apple find themselves right in the postseason mix. Suddenly
Washington is tied for first in the NFC East, and unlike Reid, in control of their
own destiny.
The Skins get a big boost from the return of Robert Griffin
III as well. RG3 missed last week with a nasty-looking knee sprain, but he’s
ready to go now. Bad news for the Birds, who back in November allowed the
rookie quarterback to complete 14 of 15 pass attempts for 200 yards and four
touchdowns, while adding another 84 yards on the ground.
He is fun to watch, no doubt about that.
The other major story that will unfold is the progress of
Nick Foles for the Eagles, who are just hoping the kid has more of an
opportunity to strut his stuff. Foles didn’t have much of a chance in the game
against the Bengals, throwing the ball just twice in the time it took for the
score to go from 13-10 Philly to 34-13 Cincinnati.
Foles’ first start happened to come versus the Skins, and it
was ugly. He put the good guys in a hole with an interception right off the
bat, and before you knew it, he was dropping back on every snap. Foles has made
some strides since being thrown into the fire, but obviously he has a lot to
prove, not much left of this season to do it.
Keep an eye on the Birds’ defense as well, which has shown
some life the past two weeks since Jim Washburn was removed. The defensive line
has been disruptive and generating tons of pressure, which wouldn’t you know it
makes everybody in the back seven look much better. Who would’ve thought?
Yet it’s tough to focus on the actual game to be played. I’m
sure we’ll get plenty of cuts to the sidelines, even though I don’t expect it
to look much different from any other game Andy has coached over the last 14
years. That being said, we know today is very different, even if the sendoff
won’t necessarily reflect it.
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