FanHouse AJFeeley

First, FOX sideline reporter Pam Oliver says Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb told her, "point-blank ... my knee is not an issue ... [and the next place I go] I will win." Then McNabb denied ever making such statements (and Oliver denied McNabb's denial), and now it might not even matter.

On Monday, head coach Andy Reid indicated that the Eagles would be headed to the playoffs if not for a slew of injuries, and if he "had done a better job of play-calling in the red zone." (Can't every team say this?) But Reid also offered this:

Reid was as forceful and about as animated as the taciturn coach has been at a news conference when asked about the report by Oliver, who said she had spoken to McNabb before the game. [Reid] ... left the impression that he would like his chances with basically the same team next season, which means McNabb at quarterback.

"I know what he [McNabb] thinks. I don't worry about all that," Reid said. "To be honest about it, I'm so tired of talking about it. Every week I'm asked the same thing, and there's nothing that changes from week to week. Everybody in our organization said it, and I don't know what else needs to be said on it. It's been said. It's out there and, hey, let it ride. Let's go play."

L.J. Smith is having a rough season. Bad timing, too, since he's in the last year of his rookie deal and it doesn't look like the Eagles have any plans on bringing him back.

This raises a bunch of questions -- where will Smith end up? Who will Philly target to replace him? Will the tight end position be changing if Andy Reid calls it quits? And so and and so forth.

Despite Smith not doing much in 2007 (he's been battling injuries), the former second-round pick has amassed 145 catches for 1,670 yards and 13 touchdowns since 2004, which bests the Colts' Dallas Clark by 53 receptions and 192 yards (Clark also had 13 scores). Not too shabby.

Smith won't have any problem finding work, but who will assume the starting role in Philly when he's gone?

Forget Anthony Smith. As teammate James Farrior pointed out yesterday, "[Smith's] a guy who hasn't been around the league too long so I don't even know if he's even qualified to say something like that. I don't know if they'll pay that any attention."

Well, they paid attention it to it -- I'm sure Rodney Harrison had his RSS feed set to all things Pittsburgh this week -- but making empty guarantees won't have any effect on the outcome. Nope, if the Steelers lose, it's all on Eddie Mush Peter King. He's picking Pittsburgh over New England, 27-20. And he's not one of those guys who just throws out a score willy-nilly, no, he even took the time to write out five reasons why the Steelers will win! Paraphrasing:

• A.J. Feeley and Kyle Boller aren't very good, and they put up 52 on the Pats' defense. Big Ben won't make late-game mistakes;
• New England's run defense stinks; Willie Parker, even though he can't not fumble, will have a big day;
• The Pats are tired after three straight night games;
• Hines Ward just wins, baby!
• Peter King's gut tells him the Steelers will win.

For me, this is all a smokescreen. King is way too in love with Tom Brady to quit him now. No way in hell he likes the Steelers Sunday, and I suspect this is a desperate attempt to jinx Pittsburgh and help New England make it to 16-0. As far as I'm concerned, that's almost as bad as videotaping the opponents' defensive signals.

During a midweek conference call, ESPN analyst and Monday Night Football co-host Ron Jaworski made the observation that Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss occasionally takes plays off. Not surprising, really, given Moss' history, but let's just say some New England fans took the slight personally.

Whatever, whether Moss gives 100 percent or plays at half speed, it won't much matter tonight. Jaws, along with just about everybody else with even a passing interest in tackle football, likes the Pats over the Ravens. But unlike the rest of us, Jaworski watches hours of tape before offering his opinions. And after seeing the Ravens' film, well, it doesn't look good:

[Jaworski] trying to figure out whether the Ravens have any chance to topple the Patriots. Truth be told, he's not seeing it.

As he watches the Ravens' loss to the San Diego Chargers from last week, he sees mistakes that are simply uncommon for a good team. On one early play, tight end Quinn Sypniewski and receiver Derrick Mason crash into each other. "That shouldn't happen," Jaworski says. "They've been running that play since minicamp."

On a Willis McGahee run that loses yards, Jaws' "NFL Match-Up" show producer Greg Cosell also chimes in: "When your right tackle blocks like this, you've got a problem."

The point spread was 20.5 at the beginning of the week (Derrick Mason isn't laughing), the largest deficit for a home team all season. But the Eagles were three touchdown underdogs last week against the Pats, and they played an inspired game. And hell, if A.J. Feeley can do it, that means Kyle Boller has a chance, right? Right?

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

A.J. Feeley, Eagles
Well, so much for a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia. After one of the most impressive performances of the season last Sunday night, Eagles backup A.J. Feeley followed that up with what we've come to expect from A.J. Feeley: noodle-armed underthrows, poor decision making, and a bunch of passes to the other team. Check, check ... and check.

For the second straight week, Feeley threw a pick on the Eagles' first possession, but luckily, Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu didn't return it for six. That would be the highlight of Feeley's day.

The first interception set up a Shaun Alexander touchdown, which, these days, happens about as often as a Lions Super Bowl run. Pick No. 2 led to another Seattle touchdown. No. 3 killed an Eagles drive late in the third quarter with Philly trailing 28-24, and the final interception came with 23 seconds to go, Eagles still down by four.

Yeah, I think you could say this one's on Feeley.
Sorry, No Photos

The Baltimore Sun's David Steele thinks this Sunday's game could be the roughest of the season for the strugglin' Ravens. Baltimore has dropped five straight (team record!), and they host New England this week.

Not many people have much faith in the Ravens to win this game, but Steele writes that it could be much worse than your garden-variety Patriots blowout. You see, master motivator, Bill Belichick, will use the way-too-close Eagles game to light a fire under his obviously overconfident team. I mean, who wins by only three points to a Philly team led by A.J. Feeley? That's damn near unacceptable. Here's what Steele wrote at halftime of last night's game, Pats leading the Eagles 24-21:

...ESPN's Sunday Countdown had a feature [yesterday] morning about the "Humble Pie'' that Bill Belichick hands out in the way of microanalyzing flaws and mistakes in film sessions every week to keep the players on edge - and about how Adalius Thomas made T-shirts for everybody with the phrase on it.

Well, losing at home to an Eagles team without Donovan McNabb until the final seconds of the first half is about all the humble pie these guys are going to need for next week. If the Eagles actually come back and win this, God help the Ravens next week. You think the Patriots are merciless now, watch out if they come to town after having their perfect season broken up and their bubble burst and the whole cheating and running-up-the-score routine thrown in their faces all week.

Well, this is a shocking development: after playing the Patriots close for 60 minutes, and the game decided on a late A.J. Feeley interception, the Philadelphia media has picked up on a story line nobody saw coming: Should Feeley replace Donovan McNabb?

After Adam Joshua Feeley nearly does the impossible, how do you tell him, his teammates and a city of disgruntled fans that he's going back to the sideline?

That is what Andy Reid will do if Donovan McNabb is healthy enough to start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. It is the way Reid operates and always has. Feeley himself understands that.

To be fair, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Phil Sheridan hasn't given up on McNabb, but suggests that after last night's performance, Feeley and his teammates "deserve a chance to see if he can keep this thing going."

He goes on to paint a pretty clear picture of the current situation in Philly:

Many Eagles fans don't fully appreciate McNabb. It isn't fair, but that poisoned atmosphere is a factor in all this. Playing McNabb at the Linc on Sunday means one of those tense afternoons when every play becomes a referendum on the QB.

Whatever happens over the next five weeks, there's a good chance McNabb's gone after the season. Good or bad, it could be up to Feeley and rookie Kevin Kolb in '08. Fans are a fickle bunch, and I suspect that won't change no matter who's under center. Just something to keep in mind when people are calling for the backup -- whoever that might be -- next season. (Mike McMahon, anyone?)

There are two story lines heading into the home stretch of the 2007 season. One, obviously, is New England's chase for perfection. That the Patriots are beating opponents by an average of 26.5 points per game, makes it a compelling angle.

The other story line, though, isn't about the on-field dominance, but the off-field foolishness that many people believe precipitated Bill Belichick's take-no-prisoners approach to each game. As the Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper writes, the PatriotGate fiasco casts a pall over this potentially historic season:

The rule-breaking is one reason the Patriots have not been embraced nationally and the football cognoscenti, while acknowledging their remarkable play, are holding off on crowning them the greatest team ever. Don Shula, the coach of the '72 Dolphins, suggested there should be an asterisk attached to an undefeated season by the Patriots, although he later equivocated.

The thing is, New England doesn't care about being nationally embraced. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Belichick is using it as motivation. In addition to being labeled cheaters, there's also the little issue of allegedly running up the score: