Eagles are a lot closer than many fans think

Hop on the Eagles message board and you would think that the Eagles had a horrible season and that things were about to implode.

But the fact is that the Eagles won 10 games, won the NFC East, and were one game away from the Conference championship game.

You could have fooled me.

But I guess that is what comes along with being an Eagles fan. However, fans on the message board have taken it too far.

Many are calling for the Eagles to trade Donovan McNabb. Cut me a break, he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league. I don't want to hear otherwise. Sure, his touch and accuracy could improve. Sure, Garcia played great. But McNabb is the one who is going to take them places.

Fire Andy Reid is another calling by fans on the board. Cut me a break. While I myself crticize Reid for some of the calls and things he has done over the years, how can fans want to ride him out of town. Look at what the Eagles have done this decade. That is pretty darn impressive, especially in this day and age with the size of contracts and free agency.

The Eagles offense is very, very good and there really is not anything to "fix" there. Yes, I do think getting a big RB would help. And yes, I really, really want them to resign Stallworth. But even if they do not do neither, their offense is still petty darn good. The issue is more with keeping a balanced attack and we saw what that can do - good things.

The defense is what needs fixing, but not really a ton of it. The d-line was very good early until Javon Kearse got hurt. He will be back. Darren Howard needs to play like he is capable of playing. With having the rotation they had earlier in the year, they can be very successful.

Obviously, LB is one area that really needs to be fixed. As much as I want Stallworth back, if they had to pick one place to put money towards, I would pick this position. They need to get tougher on defense and improve at stopping the run.

So for all of those whining about this and that, quit it. The Eagles are in pretty good shape. Sure, they have some work cut out for them. But they went 5-1 in the East this year and will be right back in the thick of things next season.

Would you rather be a Giants fan with Tiki Barber retiring and a coach who can't keep his players under rap?

Would you rather be a Cowboys fan and have to deal with all of the T.O. crap?

Would you rather be a Redskins fan who has to deal with owners spending a ton of money but never being able to put together a good "team."

Believe me, we as Eagles fans have it good.

The unfortunate thing is that our expectations are so high that only them winning a Super Bowl counts as a successful season. And that's ok, it shows we really care.

Now dig in, look at things positively, and know that we are a move or two away from a parade down Broad Street.