The Phillies won’t repeat as champs if Brad Lidge is the closer. Let’s just hope Charlie Manuel sees what is obvious to the rest of us.
Much like Shawn Andrews, the problem is more in the mind than body. In Lidge’s case, he can no longer cope with adversity. He still can throw his lethal sliders and 95-mph fastballs; he just can’t deliver them with any consistency.
Lidge did get another chance to close Sunday, and he nearly gave us all a nervous condition before he recorded the final out.
But who ascends to Lidge’s throne? Both Ryan Madson and Brett Myers looked terrible in a gut-wrenching loss to the Mets Saturday, and Madson was shaky Sunday night. The bet is that Myers will have the ball when the Phils face their first save situation in the playoffs. Again, it’s all a question of mental makeup. Myers is tougher mentally.
If Lidge’s run is truly over here, he will be a hero forever. In Philly, it takes only one title to ensure immortality.
The three-headed monster created by Eagles coach Andy Reid just grew a fourth head. Hide your children. Protect your pets. With Donovan McNabb’s status up in the air, the next few weeks could be downright bizarre.
Even after a brilliant 38-10 opening win over Carolina, the Birds are staging one of the strangest quarterback dramas in their history. Donovan McNabb is unlikely to play because of a fractured rib — for at least a week, maybe two. Michael Vick also can’t play for one more game, banished by the NFL. Now, based on his recent exploits, everyone is beginning to wonder if Kevin Kolb can play, period.
The only quarterback missing is Jeff Garcia, the toast of the town three years ago until he became toast after a great playoff run. Oh, wait. The Eagles just signed him, too. Are you ready for some football?
OK, let’s try to make some sense of this chaos. Barring a medical miracle or a really dumb decision, Kolb is going to get a chance to prove he belongs in the NFL next Sunday. He will practice with the first team. He will have some input into the game plan. He will have no excuses. After that, who knows?
Would Reid opt for Vick in Week 3 against pathetic Kansas City, knowing the bye week would give McNabb almost a month to heal? Would he stick with Kolb, even though evidence is growing that the heir apparent is not so apparent after all? Is there any way the coach would try to rekindle the magic of Garcia’s 2006 season, even if just for a quarter or a series? And would McNabb roll himself out on a gurney before he’d allow any of these people to steal his beloved spotlight?
A few things need to be established right away. First, McNabb is the best quarterback on the roster, and it’s not close. Look up the numbers. They don’t lie. Second, Vick is talented but erratic. As a pure quarterback, he’s not in the top half at his position, two-year layoff or not. Third, Kolb’s designation as a prospect is about to end. If he hasn’t learned how to succeed by now, it’s too late. And fourth, Garcia is a backup for a week or two, no more — pending future plot twists.
Reid wouldn’t rule out a return by McNabb Sunday, but that’s just more smoke and mirrors by the paranoid coach. If the coach really believed that, he wouldn’t have signed Garcia. The Eagles would be foolish to risk further injury to their franchise quarterback in an early-season game they can probably win without him.
Those ruling out Vick as a major contributor soon — either as quarterback or some other role — are being foolish, too. The word inside the organization is that Reid loved Vick before the two-year ban, and he loves him even more now.
Brace yourself, Philadelphia. Like a mad scientist, Reid is about to set his four-headed monster free. Boy, it sure didn’t take long for this new season to get interesting.
More idle thoughts ...
1 Catch me if you can. Andy Reid wants it both ways. First, he went berserk when the media didn’t follow his rules on getting information about Stewart Bradley’s injury, and then he snuck out after practice to avoid questions about Shawn Andrews.
2 Justice served? John Fox is known as a defensive genius, but he was brain-dead Sunday. Against a makeshift offensive line, Fox almost never blitzed. Someone should have told him Winston Justice was playing right tackle.
3 Blitz package. The hero of Sunday’s win never took a snap. His name was Sean McDermott, the Eagles new defensive coordinator. Unlike John Fox, he did blitz — and with spectacular results.
4 Jerky boy. In his Hall of Fame speech, Michael Jordan ripped his former GM and scoffed at the value of team play. Isn’t it comforting to know that he hasn’t changed? He’s still an arrogant jerk.
big kid, grow up
Andrews has issues
It’s hard to decide what is more nauseating: the inability of Shawn Andrews to earn the $40 million he is being paid to play football or the fruitless enabling behavior by the Eagles.
Because of serious psychological issues last season, the media has been reluctant to speak the truth about Andrews. This is the truth: He doesn’t want to play. Yes, there may be a back problem. And yes, there may be some residual effect from his bout with depression. But the real story is that he doesn’t like his job.
Rather than develop a logical Plan B, the Eagles have gone to extremes to coddle him. They even flew him across the country to hear from the best back doctor in the country what they already knew, he is structurally sound.
You read it here a month ago, and you’re reading it here now. Shawn Andrews will not be a factor this year. The problem has nothing to do with his back. He simply doesn’t want to play.
