After Taking A Break, Eagles Try to Regroup

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 6 -- The losing was becoming too much of a routine around here so the Philadelphia Eagles, left with a weekend free of football, were given an entire week off. Their coach, Andy Reid, sent them away last Monday after a long team meeting, perhaps figuring there was nothing to be gained by practicing through a bye week, unsure of what had led to three straight defeats.

"We'll see how that goes," he said then. "We'll wait and see."

On Monday, they returned to their team headquarters near Lincoln Financial Field and ran through a practice the players said was as crisp as any in a long time. They were so enthused that when the practice ended, quarterback Donovan McNabb called to the receivers and running backs and asked them to stay late. And for the next half hour he did nothing but throw passes, hoping to get the timing right again.

It may have been their most refreshing day together in weeks.

But as rejuvenating as a vacation may have seemed and as invigorating as Monday's practice apparently was, the Eagles are nonetheless haunted by the strangest of seasons -- a year in which games seem to slip from their fingers. They were pounding the Giants, only to lose in overtime. They were outplaying the Saints, only to keep falling behind. They had the Buccaneers beaten, only to watch in shock as Matt Bryant's 62-yard field goal sailed through the goal posts.

"That loss was just ridiculous," said cornerback Lito Sheppard. "A 62-yard field goal? Who's going to kick that? Who's going to make that?"

He laughed and then shook his head Monday. The day before, he spent the afternoon watching this week's opponent, the Washington Redskins, and was amused by the way the Dallas Cowboys kept imploding on the FedEx Field grass. When his former teammate Troy Vincent blocked the game-winning field goal, setting up an unfathomable string of events that led instead to Washington's game-winner with no time left, he was struck by the familiarity of the absurd ending.

"That's what it's been like for us," he said.

Much like the Cowboys on Sunday, the Eagles have been doing a lot to destroy themselves. In the loss to the Giants -- a game they led 24-7 in the fourth quarter -- defensive end Trent Cole kicked New York tackle Kareem McKenzie in the groin, earning a 15-yard penalty and setting up the game-tying field goal.

Against Tampa Bay a few weeks later, another defensive end, Jerome McDougle, was called for roughing Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and protested the penalty by kicking the officials' flag, which earned him another 15-yard penalty. This set up a field goal that could have been the difference between winning and losing.

They are 4-4 and tied for second place in the NFC East, a breath from the playoffs and a small stumble from last place. But what is galling, even beyond the three straight losses, is the fact that without a handful of mistakes they probably would be 6-2, in first place and thinking about the playoffs.

"It's not a 4-4 team," guard Shawn Andrews said. "I think we should be at least . . . "