The Sports Network - Other Sports

Donovan McNabb leads a rag-tag Eagles' offense that lacks potent receivers and running backs. (Lyons/Allsport)
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. (Sports Network) -- The one-eyed man is king. Which is not to say that Donovan McNabb is not a hell of a quarterback but, after all, these are the Eagles and their 2000 schedule listed Dallas, a shell and ghost of America's team, New Orleans before they found their winning ways, Atlanta, Washington...the team with the owner who shot himself in the foot and other vital parts (wallet, for example), Chicago, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Philadelphia lost to the Giants twice, got tweaked by Green Bay, beat Pittsburgh...a team with more ups and downs than an Otis elevator and got the short end of a game that Tennessee did not take seriously. The only schedule easier than this one was the sort that John Thompson used to devise for his Georgetown Hoyas to build their pre-real season confidence, his own ego and national ratings. Next year will not be quite the same for the "Iggles."

The NFL wanted parity and they got mediocrity. Yet, they are satisfied. Incredible. The indifference of the powers that be, owners and league office alike, is equaled only by their acceptability of inferiority and recognition of inferior.

If any department in our organization performed with the intensity of either the Seattle Seahawks or San Diego Charges we would sack the lot of them. Instead, in the NFL, the blind are leading the blind with the ineffective and incompetent seeking greater rewards for their farcical lack of production.

Chris Chandler of Atlanta should be checking the classifieds for openings as a short order cook. (Pensinger/Allsport)
How about some of the quarterbacks that cannot lead their team out of the locker room without running into a wall? Chris Chandler of Atlanta should be checking the classifieds for openings as a short order cook. Danny Kanell can do the pots and pans with more dexterity than he handles the ball. The Windy City has now added Cade McNown of the Bears to its sacrificial offerings on the altars of Soldiers Field and his heart was taken out long ago. With less talent than some Pop Warner field generals, McNown performs more like a private...and not first class at that. The Motor City's Charlie Batch might be the most over-rated gift from Detroit since Motown gave us rap and dared to call it music. With more injuries than the cast of "Saving Private Ryan," we are then awarded Stoney Case, a mental midget with a football personality to match. Instructed to hold the ball and not give it away under any circumstances in the final few minutes of a game that was his team's gateway to the playoffs, he throws an interception for a touchdown the wrong way and then his fumble leads to the winning field goal. Duh!!!!

Jake Plummer has to be let out to pasture with the rest of the studs that are beyond their years and only good for increasing the population. If not, Arizona will be mired fighting the Redskins for some semblance of respectability since Dave Brown was seen applying to fast-food icon KFC, where he belongs. Kerry Collins of the Giants actually thinks he can play because his team is in the playoffs with a decided advantage over all comers, an edge he will dissipate with aplomb. Count on it. I don't know what he did at Penn State but his stewardship of the New Yorkers is seriously in question and I say this as a Giants' fan. Brad Johnson and Jeff George in Washington do not add up to one whole person. With a name like Ryan Leaf he would definitely be better off just moving to the branch of the nearest tree rather than setting up over the center for the San Diego Chargers. Bad takes on a new definition watching him perform.

Those with weak stomachs cannot endure Jon Kitna of Seattle for more than the opening four downs. To do so puts 911 on instant alert. Doug Pederson has Cleveland, with Tim Couch out of action, and they deserve one another. Kordell Stewart makes as many mistakes as he does good plays, and Rob Johnson should do the decent thing and let Doug Flutie step in as starting quarterback in Buffalo for next season. Then there is Vinny Testaverde, whose contract obviously has a clause or two in it stating that he is to make as many mistakes as he does good plays and never...absolutely never...run through an open field for 10-20 yards when he can throw an interception or out of bounds. No matter what the Jets do to win key games he will find a way to blow them. The games that is.

There are four games this weekend and, in three of them, the home team is the underdog. The Eagles host Tampa Bay as a 3-point dog, Miami is getting one against Indianapolis and New Orleans is supposed to be a touchdown less efficient than St. Louis. Only Baltimore is given a legitimate edge over Denver.

In the City of Brotherly Hate - something you will understand watching the worst fans in all of sports this weekend, the Eagles believe that they are an 11-5 team that has beaten the best that the NFL has to offer. They are talking and thinking Super Bowl. They have lost their respective minds. They are a one-man team. Anyone that doubts this has not watched football since they wore leather helmets and played both offense and defense with the same players. The worst playing surface in the NFL will worsen and deteriorate into a literal mine field following the first scheduled blizzard of the year despite borrowing tarps and snow blowers from Pittsburgh and the Meadowlands. Tampa Bay's personal albatross of not having won in 19 tries when the mercury was below 40 degrees would have come to an end at 18 if not for an unusual errant field goal attempt by someone not known for missing from short distances. The weather up in Green Bay had to feel more like 40 below and the Bucs played admirably.

Philadelphia will have to ice down the opposing side of the field to stop their visitors from the south. Can they? Maybe. Likely? Not from this vantage point. Tony Dungy will be more conservative than George Bush's new cabinet members and he wants that final "home game" for Super Bowl XXXV. They can run much better than Philadelphia and stop what little run the Eagles muster. But, the boys in Philly genuinely believe that they are an 11-5 team and discount their schedule. Maybe they should start looking at 2001 and come down to earth. It is the reward for winning...their usual NFC East opponent who will only get stronger (Washington, New York) and St. Louis, Minnesota, Oakland, Tampa Bay (down there), Detroit under the dome, Kansas City on the road. San Diego and Seattle might be a couple of gifts, but 11-5 next year is not in the cards.

Having said that, St Louis to beat New Orleans again (but I will be rooting for the Saints), Tampa Bay over the Eagles, Miami in a squeaker - but I like Indianapolis at first blush and Denver to upset Baltimore. Are those choices worth taking to the bank? You gotta be kidding me! It's finally time to say it..."On any given Sunday..." Thanks NFL...for not very much.