Eagle Offense Leaves Its Defense Dangling

Jeremiah Trotter and his teammates on the Philadelphia Eagle defense watched as the offense failed to score on six tries after getting to the one-yard line.

Trotter, a Pro Bowl middle linebacker, finally vented his frustration after the Eagles lost at San Francisco, 13-3, Saturday.

“When you get that close, you should score,” Trotter said. “Let’s be honest. They let us down and we let us down too. We allowed an 80-yard touchdown drive.”

The Eagles (9-5) can clinch their first NFC East title since 1988 with a victory or a tie against the New York Giants on Sunday or against Tampa Bay on Jan. 6.

But their playoff chances aren’t promising, unless the offense improves.

“We’re not good enough to beat a good team without playing a complete game, offense, defense and special teams,” Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent said. “You have to score points in the playoffs. Teams that go to the Super Bowl score points. We moved the ball, but we didn’t get in the end zone. You have to get in the end zone.”

The Eagles lost to St. Louis, 20-17, in overtime in the opener despite facing a defense that started eight new players.

Philadelphia’s last-minute 21-20 loss to Arizona came after running back Correll Buckhalter couldn’t get a first down on third and one late in the fourth quarter that would have allowed the Eagles to run out the clock.

The defense had no chance in a 20-10 loss to Oakland on Oct. 28.

It was on the field for 40 minutes 9 seconds because the offense managed only 11 first downs and 195 yards.

The offense was even worse in a 13-3 loss to Washington on Nov. 25, getting seven first downs and 186 yards.

Then came last week’s loss to the 49ers. If the offense could’ve scored the go-ahead touchdown after reaching the 49er one-yard line early in the fourth, the Eagles may have won the game.

“There were some things I thought we did a nice job with,” Coach Andy Reid said. “The red zone wasn’t one of them.”

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Denver Coach Mike Shanahan is trying to quell rumors he might be heading to Notre Dame.

Shanahan said Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White called him about the vacant coaching position with the Fighting Irish but never offered a contract.

“I said thanks for the call, but I was very happy where I was at,” said Shanahan.

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Coach Marty Schottenheimer’s contract with the Washington Redskins gives owner Daniel Snyder the authority to hire a front-office executive to head the club’s player personnel department.

Schottenheimer acknowledged Tuesday that Snyder retained that right under contract, but declined to say how he would react if Snyder made such a move.

“Those are matters that we’ll sit down and talk about after the season,” Schottenheimer said.

Redskin officials had suggested since Snyder hired Schottenheimer in January that Schottenheimer had total control of the football operations.