Frustrations with Eagles have endured

PHILADELPHIA - The City of Brotherly Love is hardly imbued with that spirit when it comes to the Eagles these days.

Andy Reid, long a target for fans upset that the franchise has not produced a championship since 1960, left and instantly transformed the Kansas City Chiefs into the NFL’s only undefeated team.

The club Reid left behind is off to a wobbly 3-4 start under Chip Kelly, whose rapid-fire spread offense has not put opponents on their heels the way it did when his Oregon Ducks posted video game-like statistics.

Most infuriating to fans notorious for booing Santa Claus is that Philadelphia has endured a franchise-record nine consecutive home losses, last winning at Lincoln Financial Field Sept. 30, 2012, when it edged the New York Giants, 19-17.

Players are as exasperated as the fans, who vented their frustration during a 17-3 loss to Dallas last Sunday that nudged the Cowboys into the lead in the NFC East at 4-3.

“Going back to last year, we obviously had a bad end to the season,” said tight end Brent Celek, who is in his seventh year with Philadelphia. “This year, we haven’t started off right at home. We have to get it started.”

The Eagles dropped their final six home games last season, finishing 4-12 as Reid’s long and bittersweet tenure ended with both parties saying a change would be beneficial. This season brought home losses to the San Diego Chargers (33-30) and the Chiefs (26-16), before the defeat against Dallas, which has won all three of its NFC East games.

Cary Williams, a cornerback who left the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens to sign with Philadelphia, said: “If you are trying to make the playoffs, if you are trying to be a successful team, you have to win your home games. We have not lacked effort. We have not lacked enthusiasm. We have just not finished well at home and put them away.”

The circumstances are exerting enormous pressure on Michael Vick to rejoin the lineup on Sunday against the Giants even though it is unclear if he is fully recovered from a strained left hamstring he sustained late in the second quarter of a 36-21 victory against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 6.

“Absolutely, I want to be out there with my teammates,” Vick said Thursday after practicing for a third consecutive day without limitations.

He said he expected his status to be determined today, when he planned a complete test of the hamstring for the first time since the injury by sprinting and trying moves requiring sharp cuts.

Vick, 33, denied that he and Kelly were trying to make it harder for the Giants to develop a defensive game plan by not clarifying his status. “I’m not up here playing games, blowing smoke,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out the best situation.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 10/25/2013

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