Chances are slim, but slim has fit through the door before (see 2008).

No matter what happens in the end, Jason Babin and LeSean McCoy will have fans reminiscing about the 2011 season for years to come, and not just because of the Dream Team that created “Nightmare on Broad.”

With his second-straight, three-sack performance, Babin leads the NFL with 18 quarterback drops. With two games left, Reggie White’s franchise record of 21 is in sight, even if Reggie did that in less games.

Jason Babin's 18 sacks through 14 games has been a bright spot in a Nightmarish season for the Eagles. LeSean McCoy is also producing a season to remember.

Say what you want about the fact that Babin is all about sacks and does this only in Jim Washburn’s Wide Nine scheme, the fact is Babin’s high motor has allowed him to get to the quarterback and wreak havoc on offensive lines and coordinators all season long.

The Sack Monster does rank fourth on the team in tackles. That has to account for something. Not since the days of White, Clyde Simmons and Jerome brown have we seen someone come in and get after the quarterback the way Babin does.

William Fuller and Hugh Douglas were Pro Bowl caliber defensive ends, and Trent Cole has been a solid end for the Eagles recently. But, who has had a knack for getting to the QB the way Babin has? Cole’s career-high in sacks in 12.5, accomplished in both 2007 and 2009. For Babin, 18 sacks with two games to go is a season that will not be forgotten.

On the offensive side, LeSean McCoy continues to dazzle when given the opportunity. With three rushing scores on Sunday, the third year stud back from Pitt leads the NFL with 17 rushing scores and 20 overall. He holds the Eagles single season record in both categories.

What’s more, the man is just 60 yards behind Maurice Jones-Drew for the NFL rushing title. With games against the Cowboys and Redskins ahead, that is attainable — IF Andy Reid gives him the ball. In the eagles wins over the Redskins and Cowboys in weeks six and eight, McCoy combined for 311 yards.

Granted, he toted the rock 58 times over those two weeks. And, every time you think Reid realizes McCoy is his key to winning games, the man goes back to his Cheese-infested West Coast pass happy offense.

But, if the Eagles get to the finale and have a chance to have the league’s leading rusher, you have to think Reid gives McCoy a chance to go for it.

Philly fans might be ready to shed Eagles green for Flyer orange come the New Year, but that doesn’t mean Jason Babin and LeSean McCoy’s seasons will be lost. You have to respect what these two are accomplishing this year.

Two weeks ago, the Eagles were 4-8 after losing to the hapless Seahawks. Reid was all but out the door — either by his own accord or that of Jeff Lurie/Joe Banner. Now?

Now the Eagles are on their typical December roll.

No matter what happens next week, the Eagles should beat the Redskins to finish — at worst — 7-9. They will have won three of the last four and finish one — maybe two — games out of the NFC East.

Fire Andy? Not fter Sunday's impressive blowout of the New York Jets. Reid and Juan Castillo likely saved their jobs over the last two weeks.

The wins will have been against the Dolphins, Jets and Redskins. Super Bowl contending teams? Hardly. But, wins that Reid can use to persuade his bosses to give him one more shot with his dream gadget offense and hand-picked defensive coordinator? You bet.

The Dolphins currently sit at a seemingly putrid 5-9. However, they have won five of their last seven, losing only to the Cowboys by one in Dallas on Thanksgiving and at home against the Eagles last week. That’s hardly a team playing out the string.

The Jets are in the thick of a playoff hunt and feature one of the more vaunted defenses in football. A 26-point win over that team is impressive.

The Redskins may seem hapless, but they did just spank the Giants who are also fighting for their playoff lives. Mike Shanahan is coaching for his football reputation. A win in the season finale is a win.

As far as Castillo goes, his defense has looked much better the last two weeks, holding the Fins and Jets to 29 total points while recording 13 sacks, three picks and a touchdown the last two weeks.

The argument will go that the Eagles lost games early because of a defense that couldn’t close out games in the fourth quarter. Said defense added many new faces, coaches and a coordinator in an offseason without mini camps. Castillo was totally new to his job with zero preparation time. As the season progressed, his unit gelled into a cohesive one. Given a full, normal offseason with his squad intact, maybe adding a safety and/or linebacker, Castillo will have his unit playing at a championship-level next year.

Reid will be safe because he didn’t lose his players. Castillo will be safe because the defense improved, featured the NFL sack leader in Jason Babin and Reid can’t fire his coordinator two straight years.

This isn’t to say the fan base needs to believe/buy into the argument. Nor is this to say keeping Reid/Castillo is the right course for the Eagles organization going forward. However, by virtue of today’s win, this is the direction the team will take going into next season.

To say Asomugha has been a bit of a disappointment is an understatement of epic proportions. He has not been the shut down corner Eagles fans envisioned when the Philly braintrust came out of nowhere to ink the Pro Bowl-caliber corner. Asomugha would create even more interception opportunities for Asante Samuel. Nobody throws at Nnamdi, and they have to throw somewhere.

Nnamdi Asomugha goes up against the team thought to be the favorite for his services last spring. The Jets seem to have made out better for the deal that never happened.

Then the games started and Asomugha hasn’t fit into Juan Castillo’s defense. He’s given up bad plays more than once. Teams are throwing his way. And, Nanmdi has three interceptions, the most he’s had since recording eight in 2006.

The fact is, you don’t want Nnamdi getting picks because you don’t want teams even looking at his side of the field. Having Nnamdi should mean taking away half of the field from an opposing quarterback.

That clearly hasn’t happened.

Maybe he plays better under Rex Ryan because the Jets would play to his strengths and make adjustments, something we really haven’t seen from Castillo or the Eagles. But, for the contract he agreed to, Nnamdi should be able to adjust to any system and play better. The Jets are getting better from Antonio Cromartie for a fraction of the price.

Maybe the biggest name isn’t the best after all.

Just when you think Andy Reid finally gets the importance of using the running game to win football games, he goes right back into Happy Passer mode.The Eagles had a two-game NFC East winning streak by using LeSean McCoy early and often en route to dropping the Redskins and Cowboys.

Since the team’s rout of the Cowboys — a game in which McCoy carried the rock 30 times for 185 yards and two scores — Andy Reid has called his back’s number 30 times in two games. McCoy has continued to produce, gaining 152 yards the last two weeks — a 5.1 yard-per-carry average.

Somehow, the Eagles managed to lose leads in the fourth quarter last week against the Bears and on Sunday in a 21-17 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals. When you don’t run the ball and eat up the clock, you don’t control the clock and your defense can get tired. A tired defense in the fourth quarter is never a good thing.

On Sunday, the Cardinals controlled the clock, 32 minutes to 28 minutes. They gave Beanie Wells 23 ineffective carries. Yet, they stuck with the run to control the clock and set up the big plays to Larry Fitzgerald.

LeSean McCoy piled up 81 yards despite just toting the rock 14 times in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals.

The Eagles seemed to have finally learned the importance of clock management and running the ball. McCoy received eight carries in the first quarter alone in Washington. He ended up with 28 carries for 126 yards that afternoon. Then came the Cowboys game.

Then, just when you think the Eagles are the Eagles we expected after winning the free agent wars, Reid goes back to ignoring a guy who led the NFL in rushing halfway through the season.

Until the Eagles get a coach who truly relishes in the fact that he has a premier running back in the NFL, this team won’t be back in the winning column on a consistent basis.

#FreeShady

LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson are the top cogs in the Eagles explosive offense. DeSean’s contract is up after this season and after being underpaid throughout his rookie contract, the Eagles real human joystick wants to be paid.

McCoy is the NFL’s leading rusher and has a year left on his rookie deal. The kid wants to be paid, too.

Both players were represented by Drew Rosenhaus until a week ago. That’s when Shady ditched Philly’s most hated agent since Scott Boras.

The contract negotiations with DeSean have been moving at a Rodney Peete pace. The Pro Bowl wideout has voiced his desire to get a new deal done; he wants to be paid among the NFL’s top wideouts. The Eagles clearly don’t view him in that regard, or a deal would have been done.

Jackson held out at the start of training camp after seeing money pour into the accounts of Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and others. The Eagles said they wouldn’t negotiate with a player who wasn’t in camp. Said it was team policy.

There’s one issue with that. The Eagles have made exceptions to that rule in certain cases where special players are involved. See Westbrook, Brian. Had the Eagles truly believed DeSean was their current Westbrook, a deal would have been done. It’s not.

LeSean McCoy may be the guy who gets the big deal, leaving DeSean Jackson out of the mix.

While DeSean has handled himself well, you know he’s seething at a lack of a deal and game-changing plays in which his number is called. That might have boiled over this weekend when DJacc missed a team meeting Saturday and was subsequently deactivated for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

This has Terrell Owens written all over it. Or, should I say Drew Rosenhaus. The agent and player see that the Eagles will not make a budget-busting long-term deal with Jackson. They don;t want the franchise tag used. So, do little things that make the point and piss off team management so that you are allowed to become a free agent. It worked with T.O., John Welbourn, Corey Simon and others.

Make no mistake, DJacc wants to either be paid here or become a free agent and Rosenhaus will help him at all costs.

So, where does McCoy fit in here? He likely is ready to sign a deal and secure his future. Maybe he even wants a below market deal now to protect against injury. The Eagles are notorious for offering security in exchange for top dollar. Agents hate it.

Maybe McCoy had an offer and was ready to pounce while Rosenhaus stalled saying, “I need to get DeSean done first.” Is that enough to piss off a player so much that he fires said agent? It’s reportedly happened twice this offseason.

If that’s true, how do McCoy and Jackson coexist? How does the huddle go when McCoy is getting touches in the running game that used to go to Jackson?

Player can say all they want that the outside stuff doesn’t matter once the game starts. They’re human and we all know this affects them even if it’s subconsciously.

Add this to the fact that the Dream Team is looking at early winter cruises this year, and you have a situation that could really unravel at a rapid pace.

Yet, 2-4 and last place in the NFC East is where the city finds its football team in a time when the residents need a pick-me-up from a failed baseball postseason.

Michael Vick has stretched his turnover streak to 13 games. The not-so-good offensive line has been banged up. And, the defense? Oh, the defense.

Yet, in a city known unfairly for its negative overtones, there is a silver lining. There is some positive to find. And, it comes from the three skill-position players who have the Eagles ranked third in the NFL in total yards.

Yeah, this team is pretty good between the 20s. Just keep them out of the Red Zone.

In any event, the Eagles average 441.7 yards-per-game through the first six weeks of the 2011 campaign. The team ranks tenth in passing with 271.7 yards each week and first in rushing with 170 yards a game.

While the team is 11th in scoring with 24.2 points-per-game, the fact remains that the offense is moving the ball. And, you can thank DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy for that. Yes, Michael Vick is behind the numbers, too.

The Eagles offense hasn't had problems putting up numbers in the team's 2-4 start.

In a quiet season for the Eagles contract-seeking stud wideout, Jackson has just 24 receptions yet ranks tenth in the league with 456 yards. Then again, Jackson has never piled up receptions. Even in his most prolific season, DJacc averaged 4.1 receptions-per-game. Dyanamic plays have been his thing and at 19 yards-per-catch, he’s still doing that.

His sidekick Jeremy Maclin is eighth in yards with 489 and fourth in receptions with 37. Only the unhuman Wes Welker and his 51 grabs are out of reach for Maclin.

On their current pace, Maclin and Jackson would be the first 1,000-yard duo in Eagles history, a feat they missed by 36 yards last season.

Meanwhile, the Birds finally have figured out how to feature a rushing attack with a passing game. LeSean McCoy is fourth in the NFL in rushing with 569 yards, just 41 yards behind Darren McFadden. The third-year back from Pitt is on pace for a 1,500 yard season. Add in the fact that McCoy is just one score behind Calvin Johnson for the league lead and you see what kind of special year he is in the midst of.

Rex Grossman, the one-time Super Bowl quarterback-turned journeyman, had the Redskins at the head of the NFC East and looked to be the leader of Mike Shanahan’s offense.

Saftey Kurt Coleman changed all that with an afternoon he’ll play over and over until his grandkids destroy his Blu Ray player — or whatever new electronic device they have in 40 years.

Kurt Coleman collects one of his three interceptions against rex grossman on Sunday,

Coleman, the second year player from Ohio State, recorded three of the Eagles four interceptions in the team’s 20-13 win on Sunday. Fellow second year safety Nate Allen had the other pick.

The result was the end of a four-game losing streak for the Eagles and a trip to the bench for Grossman. The Redskins starter ended the day 9-of-22 for 143 yards and four picks. It was the kind of afternoon that could change the season for both squads.

The Eagles could use this win as a starting point to a run after the bye. For the Redskins, this is the start of a quarterback controversy between Grossman and John Beck, the guy who saw his first NFL action since 2007 today. Beck ended the day 8-of-15 for 117 yards.

LeSean “Shady” McCoy carried the ball 28 times for 126 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles 20-13 victory. The game was McCoy’s third 100-yard performance of the year and he is the first Eagle to ever score a touchdown in the team’s first six games to start a season according to CSNPhilly.com’s Reuben Frank.

McCoy had eight carries by the end of the first quarter — a number he usually enters the fourth quarter with. The Eagles tailback scored the team’s second touchdown at the start of the second quarter after his backup and former Pitt teammate Deon Lewis had a score called back to the one-yard line after a review at the end of the first.

LeSean McCoy torched the Redskins for 126 yards and a score on 28 carries as the Eagles stopped a four-game losing streak on Sunday.

Shady just continues to prove that he has the skill set and ability to be the best eagles back ever when his career is over. He isn’t the elusive receiver Westbrook was out of the backfield. However, he is a tough runner who can and will rival Wilbert Montgomery and his fellow McDevitt alum Ricky Watters.

He continued to dance his way into and through holes and always seems to find the extra space and get extra yards.

On the season, McCoy has 569 yards on 105 carries, good enough for an amazing 5.4 yards per carry. He also has 21 catches for 123 yards. The third year back out of Pitt is one pace to post his second consecutive 1,000-yard season and put himself in a position to make a lot of money with an extension later this year or next summer.

Of course, all this hinges on the fact that Reid continues do what successful teams do in the NFL — run the football to balance out he passing game.

Could the Eagles really be on the verge of going after their third (or fourth if you consider Kevin Kolb) franchise quarterback of the last 12 years?

If you consider the fact that they are a game and a couple tiebreakers away from the No. 1 overall pick, the next Boy Wonder Signal Caller could call South Philly home just in time for Jon Gruden to coach him.

Andrew Luck could be headed to Philadelphia if the Eagles keep on losing.

Rick Reilly took a shot at ranking the top ten suitors in the Luck Sweepstakes and your Philadelphia Eagles of a nightmare come in ninth on the list, just in front of the Carolina Panthers who have Cam Newton. Says Reilly:

Sneaky bad. Their backups are better than many teams’ starters on this list, but they’ve seemed committed early on.

Now, Reilly created these rankings before the team lost to the Bills yesterday. Surely, that has to move them up a bit.

With Michael Vick under contract for five years, you’d think the Eagles don’t want/need Luck. Then again, the chance to get a young stud doesn’t come along every year. And, Vick is Reid’s guy, not the new coach’s. Should the Eagles be in position to grab Luck, Reid won’t be here.

Given a chance to give Reid the proverbial “vote of confidence,” Eagles President Joe Banner declined comment to the Wilmington News Journal.

Andy Reid appears to be losing the backing of the Eagles front office and the players following the team's 1-4 start.

Add to that the fact that stud receiver DeSean Jackson, the one who is battling the team for a new contract, opined that it may be time to change things up. When asked about a “major shake up,” Jackson said:

“I wish I could tell you the major shakeup but I don’t know. We’ve just got to keep coming to work, working hard and doing the things we need to do. Maybe it is time for a major shakeup. I don’t know.”

The fact that he said it could be time is telling. It tells us that the players have no answers and lack guidance/support in the coaching staff, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And, that, is nobody’s fault but Reid’s.