I’ll Have To Take A Look At The Film…

Louis Ciavolella
I have been a long-suffering Eagles fan all of my life. It’s an inheritance of sorts. My dad, who was born in Esperia, Italy and raised in Bronx, NY, became a Philadelphia sports fan because his family would vacation “down the shore” and it was quicker to go to Connie Mack Stadium than to go to Yankee Stadium, so my dad and his brother became Phillies (and eventually Eagles, Sixers, Flyers) fans. When I grew up in north Jersey, my dad would take me yearly to Yankee Stadium to watch the Eagles vs. Giants. I remember walking out as a nine year old kid with a green Eagles knit cap in 1972 as the Giants spanked the birds 62-10. “We’ll get ’em next year” dad told me. He’s been telling me that every year since.
Fast forward to yesterday. With so much hope for the Eagles under Chip Kelly, after coming close during the Andy Reid years but falling short, the loss to the Cowboys yesterday has to rank up there with one of the worst performances I have ever seen by the team. So when I heard some of the postgame pressers something struck me – the usual “I’ll have to take a look at the film” uttered by head coach Kelly and players alike, including QB Sam Bradford. I’ve heard that expression perhaps thousands of times, but yesterday it got me angry. I understand how game film shows things that are not easily apparent from a sideline or on-field vantage point, but for crying out loud, the reporters are asking you some simple questions, you must have SOME answer you can provide. You can qualify and say “the film will tell more,” but don’t use “I’ll have to look at the film” as an excuse to sidestep the question.
We all know how the drill goes – the reporter asks the question; The coach/player sidesteps with the film excuse; by the time they look at the film, the fans and reporters are already focused on the next opponent. Guys, YOU WERE AT THE GAME! You were on the field, you have to have some explanation for how the opponent kicked your butts. Man up! It’s bad enough that I have to always wait until next year, the least you guys can do is show some guts and transparency.
Next week – the Jets! I’m not off the bandwagon yet, a few teams have won the Superbowl starting 0-2, but I seriously doubt any looked as bad as the Eagles did yesterday.