Can the Birds bounce back after the bye?

Last Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles managed to infuriate an entire city by losing a nail biter to the Arizona Cardinals. That's right, THE ARIZONA CARDINALS!

How is it possible? Who is to blame? But, more importantly, of all the teams in the NFL -- why the Cardinals?

The only feasible theory I could muster up is that given the right circumstances, any team will beat you regardless of how much talent is on your squad.

A prime example of this is what the Eagles did to the Rams last year just before the playoffs. And what they nearly repeated in Week One of this year, in a game that went into overtime, but resulted in a Philadelphia loss. If the intensity of a team fades, and its opponent is aware, it could spell disaster if the lead is less than ten.

Of course, the Eagles found this out the hard way, and who better to blame then Coach Andy Reid.

Reid's second half play calling was highly questionable. It is the Coach's job to recognize who is hot and who is not. Clearly, Reid had some type of 24-hour bug to realize that rookie running back Correll Buckhalter was devastating the Cardinals defensive line. And when the rookie got tired, veteran Brian Mitchell was doing an excellent job for the one or two plays of rest he provided Buckhalter, picking up four and five yard gains with each carry.

Reid however, had ideas of a passing attack that Eagles quarterback, Donovan McNabb, was not up for. McNabb had a par throwing day, managing to find second year receiver Todd Pinkston and newly acquired James Thrash in the end zone for scores. However, he also threw a pick that blemished his stats. Again, it was the good running attack of Buckhalter that even made it possible for those celebrations in the end zone.

Buckhalter only ran 21 times for 134 yards, which just so happens to be a single game Eagles rookie rushing record. So why not give the man the ball.

No offense to the West Coast offense, but if you have a player that runs the ball like Buckhalter -- you compromise the game plan a little. It's highly doubtful McNabb would have been upset of young Correll getting a few more touches. Correll certain wouldn't object. So what's the big deal?

The big deal is Reid seems to harp on a "pass-over-run" offense, similar to that of the Rams. The key to running such an offense heavily depends on having an excellent offensive line, a good blocking fullback, and a QB with a cannon for an arm. The absence of even one of these factors and you can be certain to have difficulties moving the ball from time to time. And last Sunday, it just appeared to me Reid strayed away from the initial game plan and tried to do too much.

Being fair, the Eagles did rush the ball, but it wasn't the amount of runs that were grounds for concern. It was the plays in which they could have ran the ball, but for whatever reason chose not too.

Nearly every Eagles' fan has questioned Reid's call on fourth-and-one to kick the field goal on the Eagles last possession of the game. But, that was only one of a handful of play calling foul-ups. We have to keep in mind, the Eagles are a very young team, with a relatively young coach who is going to have some growing pains too.

Philadelphia has a bye week and does not play this Sunday. That means they have a week and some change to correct some of the mistakes they made last Sunday. They can also cater their play calling needs to the division rival New York "Football" Giants, who struggled last week with the very mediocre Washington Redskins.

Reid knows all too well about the Giants, since they are the reason the Eagles were eliminated from last year's playoffs. A win over the Giants in the Meadowlands would be huge for Philadelphia. Just try explaining that to Coach Jim Fassel and the Giants.