So last night the D-train Daily ran late due to it running up and down the 95 corridor between here and D.C. During that time good/bad news, depending on your perspective, hit the Philly area.
Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid removed the need for speculation by saying that Donovan McNabb will return as the Eagles starting QB next season.
"That's my call," said Reid. No kidding coach. "I think he's a great player. His work over the last 11 years has proven that." No doubt that McNabb's body of work over the last 11 seasons proves Reid's point. However Eagles' fans see the one glaring absence in the things McNabb has accomplished... A Lombardi Trophy. And considering the talented teams that McNabb has played on it can only be McNabb that is holding da Iggles back. That would be short-sighted.
The truth is it wouldn't have mattered who is under center next season. The fact remains that the Eagles problem is Andy Reid.
His inflexibility and refusal to lend more balance to the offensive play-calling cannot be ignored. This season, for instance, as the Eagles were on a five-game winning streak that began in week in week 10 the balance on offense was obviously contributing to the team's success. For a moment, a quick moment, it looked as if the Mad Mormon had finally learned his lesson. Had he seen the possibilities that came with more balanced play-calling? Then the Denver game, when Reid abandoned the run. McNabb dropped back to pass 44 times; he had five rushing attempts and was sacked four times so the 35 passing attempts doesn't look as bad. It was painfully apparent, once again, that when it comes to balanced offense Andy Reid is more stubborn than Fox News Channel personality Bill O'Reilly; a truly frightening prospect.
The times when the offense showed the most balance was when McNabb was injured, forcing Reid to minimize the deficiencies at the QB position by running the ball on offense. It should be plain to see that Reid puts too much on McNabb to carry the offense.
So, the question moving forward is will Reid evolve as a coach? It's doubtful considering his track record. Unless Eagles fans know one hellava hypnotist, unfortunately the offense will continue to struggle when it has a lead and the defense (not the stalwart unit we envision they are) will be put in bad positions. In essence: McNabb fans should not expect him to grab the one thing that has eluded him throughout his tenure, nor should McNabb haters expect anything different in 2011 with Kevin Kolb under center. The fact of the matter remains that there will be one common denominator, Andy Reid and his stubborn, inflexible, hard-headed way of coaching.
So yesterday, Mark Mcgwire admitted what everyone knew already. Well kinda admitted it. Mcgwire had the stones to say that the steroids weren't meant to enhance his performance, but rather his health. "I did this for health purposes," he told Bob Costas on the MLB Network. "There's no way I did this for any strength use." Right, right. Knowing that would be a by-product of taking them didn't hurt though.
Mcroider did deny the homoerotic injection sessions in the bathroom that Jose Canseco divulged in his book. "There's absolutely no truth to that whatsoever," he told Costas when the subject was broached. Who can blame him there? That leaves him open to a multitude of gay encounter in the bathroom jokes, and the injection thing makes for a hellava punchline.
Mcgwire's admission was reminiscent of a junkie admitting drug use to a relative.
"I have something to tell you. I'm using drugs."
"What!? Nooo. I never saw this coming. I mean your house is in a state of squalor, you stopped going to work, you lost weight, and you tried to sell me copies of Ebony Magazine from Barack Obama's election."
"I'm sorry. I didn't do it for fun or to escape pain; I did it for more energy."
"It's okay. Let's just get you in a good rehab program."
"I'm not doing in-patient!"
Of course now there will be discussion on what baseball does with the slew of records that took place during the steroid era. The suggestion of the D-train Daily, put a star to denote Roger Maris' 61. When people look see the notation, only one word is neccessary... VALID.
TOMORROW ON THE D-TRAIN DAILY: COLLEGE AND PRO BASKETBALL.
Time to start getting ready for the football season to end in totality. Sigh.
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