As the Philadelphia Eagles stand at 3-5 with eight games to play and a wafer-thin margin for error if they hope to play beyond the regular season, Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck has provided his assessment of the squad that perhaps should be known as the Pipedream Team.
In an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Tuck emphasized the importance of chemistry over talent.
“I think everybody expected a little bit more [of the Eagles],” Tuck said. “I think with the talent they have on their football team, they can be one of the most dangerous teams in the league. When they put it together, the thing I was quoted saying is, ‘You can’t buy championships.’ And what I meant by that is, you’ve got to build chemistry.
“You can have all the talent in the world, if you’re not out there playing as one, if you’re just 11 individuals, you’re not gonna beat anybody in this league. And I think right now that’s some of the issues that they’re having. Nobody can question how talented they are, nobody can question how good of a coach Andy Reid is. Everybody knows that. You need more than talent in this league, because every team has talent.”
Tuck is right. If the Eagles figure out that he’s right between now and November 20, when the Giants host the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, Tuck may wish he hadn’t been so candid.
Then again, Tuck likely believes it’s too late for the 2011 Eagles to dig out of the hole that they’ve created for themselves.