It's on to Plan B

Here at Wearing the RallyCap we strive for the upside down, inside out look on sports. I say that as we revisit one of my all-time favorite melt-down moments for a professional athelete. IMHO.

It was late October 2006. The Eagles were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a regular season game. It means this half of Rally Cap was rooting for the Bucs. In the fourth quarter of the game, Jerome McDougle sacked QB Brad Gradkwoski (who?) for a huge loss at a key point. But, he was called for intentional facemask and penalized 15 yards. In a fit of rage, McDougle kicked the referee's flag and was penalized another 15 yards. It was self-destruction at its finest.

Tampa went on the win the game by two, with the game winning field goal coming at the end of that drive. If you think about it, had McDougle not imploded, the Eagles may have finished the year at 11-5 instead of 10-6. They may have gotten the bye in the first round of playoffs, earning a week off instead of having to face the Giants in the wild card game. A week later, they lose to 27-24 to New Orleans. Season over.

Well, McDougle signed with the Giants.

Now, he's part of Replacing Osi, Plan B.