Banner: They will be back

by JasonB on Jan 28, 2009 1:00 PM EST in News Comment 9 comments

Yesterday Joe Banner spoke to the Eagles website, last night he talked to Comcast sports net. After the Eagles loss to Arizona, Banner told Derrick Gunn "they say if you keep saying if you do the same thing over and over you’re kind of kidding yourself."

He was asked to clarify that.

"I thought and still think my answer was unambiguous. We thought that was important to clarify it because you don’t want those things to take on a life," Banner said. "The reality is, my view and our view is unambiguous, that we can win a championship with those people, and they will be back. We believe we’re very lucky to have them. The good news is, that’s overwhelmingly the view of our fans. I know it doesn’t always come out that way, but Andy is a heck of a coach."

When Banner says "them" he's referring to Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. Banner was clear that both would be back for next year.

Joe has't lost sight of the goal however.

"But our ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. Their ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. And they know the only way to prove that that criticism is isolated but inaccurate is to get on the field and prove it. We all know that. Any criticism I get, Jeff Lurie gets, Andy Reid gets – the only way we can end that is to win a Super Bowl. We’re aspiring to do that. We’re frustrated when we don’t, and these are legitimate questions until we do."

At one point in the inteview, Banner compares Andy Reid to John Madden... It's worth a read.

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JD is not going to be happy when he sees this

by eagleyosh on Jan 28, 2009 1:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

lol

"I need to do a better job of putting players in the right position to perennially come up short of expectations"

by Whodie126 on Jan 28, 2009 5:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+ 5

If football had a church, Brian Dawkins would be my preacher !

by NorthPhillyKid on Jan 28, 2009 7:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Kinda sad

It seems he has to say this every single offseason. Will it stop the yapping from so-called media pundits? I doubt it. But I for one am glad.

That being said, what did he really mean by his “insanity” quote. If he didn’t mean that in reference to Reid and McNabb, then what? Is it just lip service? Do they have something big in store for the offseason? I’m intrigued.

by ajay on Jan 28, 2009 1:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

me too

"This world extends way beyond this little field of dreams we're dancing in and I want to see that world"

by exitfare on Jan 28, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it seems

he was just referring to us making it to the championship game and continually losing expecting to win … imo

If football had a church, Brian Dawkins would be my preacher !

by NorthPhillyKid on Jan 28, 2009 7:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I agree. That's what I think he meant.

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

by Joe_D on Jan 28, 2009 9:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Difference between Madden and Reid...

Is that Madden won the super bowl one season. It’s ridiculous to compare the records of Reid and Madden, as if the comparison makes Reid look like a HOF coach. The goal is not to get Andy Reid into the hall of fame. And it’s pure speculation to say, “well Madden had a few conference championship losses and then won the super bowl, Reid could do the same thing.” It’s all hypothetical – Reid could turn out to be the next Bud Grant or Marv Levy, who’s to say?

by DK Jr. on Jan 29, 2009 1:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The comments on the Philly.com story about this ...

… are embarassingly negative. I mean, way worse than usual.

I happen to think Banner is right, that most Philly fans back McNabb and Reid, and they CAN win a championship with McNabb and Reid, they just haven’t so far.

I don’t think this lets them off the hook for roster mistakes or failings in trying to build a team, but for people to say Banner, Reid and McNabb need to go is to not understand how hard it would be to find people half as good to replace them.

I am of the opinion that this team needs tweaks/upgrades, not an overhaul. The roster is mostly young, and people often discount the value of continuity in the usefulness of young players.

And as the Cardinals, Giants, etc. have proved, you don’t have to be the league’s most dominant team over the course of the entire season to win a Super Bowl. You have to be healthy and playing well at the end of the year, and you probably have to catch some breaks.

The more times the Eagles are able to get themselves into the mix, the more chances they have that one of these years it’s going to break for them.

I’d love a completely dominant team with a perfectly-built roster, but no guarantee that team wins it all either. It’s a crapshoot … the more I watch us Eagle fans base all our happiness on winning/not winning the big one, the crazier I think we are.

Also I think it’s all going to be worth it when we do win. That’s what my Red Sox fan friends, who I used to identify with, seem to think. :)

by D3Keith on Jan 31, 2009 12:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs