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| Andrew Perna. 4th December, 2011 - 10:16 pm
 The struggles of the Philadelphia Eagles have been well-documented this season. With four games left, they are in the cellar of the NFL and need to run the table just to finish at .500.
For the first time in his 13-year tenure, outsiders are calling for the head of Andy Reid. Philadelphia has just two losing seasons under Reid (1999, 2005), but they will add 2011 as the third.
On paper, the Eagles look great. They have a star-studded offense and impact players sprinkled all over their defense. Chemistry has been the main issue and time has not healed those wounds. Teams need to marinate quickly in the NFL -- here is where comparisons to the Miami Heat end; there is no time to work out kinks -- and Philadelphia is still searching for the perfect recipe.
As good as they look on paper, you will see how ugly they have been this season if you flip the page from the roster to their statistics.
1-5
The Eagles are an embarrassing 1-5 at home, poor for even a team with low expectations. Since 2002, they have averaged 5.2 home wins per season. They will need to beat the Jets (Dec. 18) and Redskins (Jan. 1) just to surpass half of their recent average.
Aside from their 34-7 win over the Cowboys (Oct. 30), they have lost by an average of 5.6 points in Philadelphia. Good teams win close games and they win even more close games at home.
23.5
With Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, everyone expected the Eagles to be explosive offensively, but the big story heading into the 2011 season was on the other side of the line.
Having added cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, tackle Cullen Jenkins and defensive end Jason Babin, scoring was supposed to be arduous against this team. Sure, they looked thin and inexperienced at linebacker, but there would be more than enough help in the secondary and along the front line.
Three-fourths of the way through the season, teams are averaging 23.5 points per game against Philadelphia (21st). They yardage numbers are a bit better -- 344.8 total per game (15th) -- but they have not been able to get stops when needed.
They have allowed 11 rushing touchdowns (26th) and 22 touchdown passes (last) while newcomers Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie have struggled.
-13
After facing Seattle on Thursday, the Eagles briefly held the bottom spot in takeaway differential with an abysmal minus-13. Last season, Philadelphia was plus-nine. They are minus-six over their last five games, including minus-five in their last two (both losses).
The giveaway/takeaway ratio is one of the most transparent statistics in football and the Eagles have been awful in that regard.
157.1
Could it be that Reid had things right all along?
Notoriously a pass-heavy club, the Eagles have the second-best rushing attack in the NFL this season and are flirting with their worst record under the longtime coach. Only the Broncos, who have won games by competing just two passes, are averaging more yards on the ground.
McCoy, who led the NFL in rushing by 96 yards over Maurice Jones-Drew with an additional game played, has been the only consistent star for the team this season.
Relating their improved rushing attack to their struggles is a short-sided angle. When Vick was healthy he was not as transcendent as he was last season and Young has struggled with accuracy issues since taking over.
In their four wins, McCoy is averaging 136.5 yards per game. In the eight losses? 73.5 yards. Of course, teams tend to run the ball more when they are winning, especially late, but a 63-yard difference is significant.
7 & 9
The storyline has been extinguished because of his rib injury, but Vick was not the same player in his nine starts this season.
His numbers are down across the board: completion percentage (62.6 to 60.3), average per attempt (8.11 to 7.31), quarterback rating (100.2 to 79.8) and most importantly touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.5 to 1.0).
His interception percentage has more than doubled (from 1.6 to 3.7) and his adjusted yards per pass attempt have fallen significantly (8.5 to 6.4) as well.
Young helped lead the Eagles to an impressive Sunday night win over the Giants late last month, but his passes have been off target more often than not. He has completed 57.9 percent of his attempts, thrown eight interceptions in his three starts and tallied big yardage numbers only because of game situations.
He led his receivers into big hits constantly against the Patriots and attempted passes into coverage with regularity against the Seahawks. Reid and Co. will need steady play at quarterback in order to save some face at the end of the season.
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