Remember what I said about WIP being somehow different now that the Phillies had won the World Series, that everyone was happier now and it wasn't the station I remembered? Yea, that lasted about a week.
The Eagles are the whipping boys now, following last week's Sunday night loss to the Giants. What's funny is the Eagles, who are 5-4 (the Vikings, by contrast, are THRILLED to be 5-4) were actually winners of three straight before this week. But because that streak coincided with the Phillies' title run, no one was paying attention. So since the Giants loss, Topic A in Philadelphia has now become "should the Eagles get rid of Reid, get rid of McNabb, or get rid of both Reid and McNabb?"
As with every time the Eagles lose a game, all the revisionist history comes creeping through. Reid was never a good coach. McNabb "always" chokes and "always" throws at receivers' feet (except for when he doesn't do either, which is almost all the time.) They will NEVER WIN with this coach/quarterback/ownership group (funny, I heard that about the Phillies every day until about three weeks ago.) Or hey, Reid/McNabb's run to four NFC title games, one Super Bowl appearance, and eight playoff wins doesn't count, because "the NFC was weak back then."
The WIP morning show has been leading this as usual, coming after years and years of killing everything about the Phillies, from the owners to the management to the players; if they'd had their druthers Charlie Manuel would've been fired, and Pat Burrell released, years ago. Hell, Cataldi decided before last season that Pat Gillick was a bad general manager because he saw him once wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Yet they celebrated just like everyone else at the parade; something tells me if the Eagles ever have one, it'll be the same thing and they'll somehow forget about the 525 times they demanded Andy Reid's firing.
Come on- the Eagles are 5-4! They're not 1-7! With an easy schedule coming up- and a penchant for almost always finishing strongly- I'd guess they have more than a 50/50 shot at the playoffs. But hey, enjoy this while you can- I really hope this town is prepared for 10 years of awful quarterback play if McNabb's gone after this year.
Yes, I know Reid can be sort of questionable when it comes to game-day calls, and McNabb has at times been inconsistent this year. But they're both very, very good at what they do, and wouldn't have won as many games in their careers as they have if they were not.
UPDATE: Oh wow, Bernard Hopkins insulted McNabb again! It's just as shocking as the other 15 times he did it.