Reid, Manuel, Burrell, Rollins and McNabb

Not so long ago, many observers in the Delaware Valley and elsewhere, including some eminent local sportswriters, were calling for the scalps of Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, the poster children of the Eagles' failures. Now the critics are silent as the squad is probably in as good a position as any of those teams still standing, in this age of NFL parity, to extend their season to February. Sports prognosticators are proving to be as accurate as stock market prognosticators in 2008.

The twists and turns of the Eagles' soap opera have some intriguing parallels to the Phillies of a few years back. The baseball team back then had no shortage of critics. Many thought Charlie Manuel was the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place. Too much of a players' manager. Not tough enough. Pulled pitchers too quickly. Too fond of lefty-righty switches. Stuck with Pat Burrell too long (a la Reid and McNabb). Burrell himself, now a former Phillie headed for Tampa, was derided mercilessly for a couple of years.

But Manuel's loyalty to Burrell payed off in 2007 and 2008. And the manager's brief benching of Jimmie Rollins last season for not running out a hit, similar to Reid's early removal of McNabb in a mid-season game, seemed to send just the right message to the entire team.

Manuel and Burrell can now afford to be magnanimous toward their former detractors. Reid and McNabb are close to being in the same position.