I still look at this season and say I love doing an Eagles-Dallas game. I love broadcasting football games. As a fan, I always loved watching football games. We just have to isolate them and watch them for the game value themselves.

I think Andy Reid as a head coach has an obligation to play the game to win until the end. You play to win every game with your starting players as long as there is the mathematical chance of making the playoffs. You can say the season's over, I can say the season's over, as far as the playoffs are concerned. Andy cannot until all the math works out that way.

If the Eagles are mathematically out after this week, I'd like to see some of the younger players get in there and get some playing time. I want to see Victor Abiamiri get as many snaps as he can get. I want to see Stewart Bradley out there on the field, get some opportunities to see what he can do. We know Takeo Spikes is fine but he doesn't need an extra couple of games. He's a veteran. He's going to be back and be fine. So, I'd like to see Bradley get that kind of experience. I'd like to see Tony Hunt this week in the Correll Buckhalter backup role.

I do not blame the quarterback alone for the team's struggles this season. It certainly has not been Donovan McNabb's greatest season and he has struggled. I mean, there are so many problems. Have the wide receivers been good enough? No, they haven't been good enough. Have they gotten enough consistent play out of the tight end position? The funny thing is, if you look at this team at yards gained, they're a top 10 offense. How can this team be 10 or better in total offense and total defense and still be 5-8? I don't understand this. I know that there are games they gave away. I still feel that the Green Bay game was theirs had they lined up in punt return formation and said to the returner "your sole job is to get out of the way of the ball." They would have been fine putting back nobody.

Has Donovan McNabb peaked? No says Merrill Reese

There are some things that I don't want to hear. This is where people say, "These last three games are where we find out what this team is made of." It's not true. We know what this team is made of and whatever it is, it is not enough to be a championship team.

Somebody else is going to say, "This is when we find out about the character of this team." I don't believe it. But this team, these players have character. Character is not an issue with this team. They need a few characters, but the character, these are character guys. These are good guys who try, who work, who study, who prepare, but unfortunately, who collectively lose more than they win. So, I'm not worrying about the character of the team, that's not a problem.

The other thing is, "Now, we're going see what this team has in store for the future." We're going to get a good look at what this team really has, maybe have a preview of next year, because next year, you're not going to recognize at least 10 players on this roster. Next year there is going to be a lot of changes.

But yet, you look at the way this team has stood up with goal-line stands and has battled and fought and scratched and clawed. You can't say it's a lack of motivation. You can't say it's a lack of effort.

It's a lack of performance.

I hope this is a temporary glitch where a team falls short of expectations. There are still plenty of football players on this team who have not peaked out. I still believe, I still believe that Donovan McNabb has not reached his peak. I do not believe Donovan McNabb is on the decline.

Also, bad times don't last forever when you have good people in an organization. I don't think the future for this team is stark and morose and depressing. I think this team and this organization has the people in it that will make the decisions that will not let this season repeat next year.

Wouldn't that be great to go down there and put the Cowboys right back in the homefield race with the Green Bay Packers? I'd like to do that for Brett Favre, who I really like a lot more than anybody in Dallas. I'd love to see them come up and upset the Cowboys. I still don't think the Cowboys are the greatest team ever invented. If this team can go to New England and almost upset the Patriots with A.J. Feeley, I really believe they have a shot to go down there in Dallas and pull this off. The Cowboys are not New England. They're good, they're very good, but their not great and they're certainly not unbeatable.

How do the Eagles win? Brian Westbrook. Let him get involved with the football Let Donovan put the ball in Brian Westbrook's hands and put him in space and be as aggressive as you can when you're going against Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Come up with all sorts of packages, put the kind of pressure on Tony Romo they put on Tom Brady, knock him around a little bit. I just want to see them give him a lot of tough pressure, sack him about 10 times and any quarterback who gets hit a bunch of times, starts thinking, "That's it." As far as Terrell Owens is concerned, I'd like to see Sheldon Brown put the kind of hit on Terrell Owens he put on Reggie Bush. How's that?