Tough loss in Jacksonville doesn't spell doom for Eastern Eagles

I don’t know what was more frustrating, Eastern Washington University’s fourth-quarter collapse last Saturday at Jacksonville State or the subsequent reactions to it on social media.

Granted, we’ve grown accustomed to the Eagles football team taking over in the final 15 minutes of play, whether it’s rallying to win or putting the foot on the gas and sealing the another victory. So blowing a 17-point lead and getting shutout down the stretch is a bit unsettling.

But to read some of the posts on various Eagle fan pages, or some of the texts from friends, you would’ve thought it was the end of the world. The responses ran the gamut of who should be replaced to every possible version of armchair quarterbacking you can find.

Remember Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers words in 2014 after Packers fans began panicking after a 1-2 start? If not, here it is.

“Five letters here just for everybody out there in Packer-land: R-E-L-A-X,” Rodgers said on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show back then. “Relax. We’re going to be OK.”

I would say the same for the Eagles. Yes, Saturday’s results were uncharacteristic for a program that’s provided plenty of reason for fans to believe we are never out of any game when down late, and in control when leading under similar circumstances.

But to want to start firing people and replacing players, come on. For starters, that pays no credit to the quality football program Jacksonville State is, or the caliber of its players. Hey, news flash – they’re pretty good.

And they were at home, in the heat and humidity of the Deep South where Eastern had to fly several time zones away to play. Not an easy environment.

Yes, I agree our play calling became conservative in the fourth quarter. I trust that will be addressed by the coaching staff.

But we’ve become spoiled here in Eagle Land. It is part of the price of success, along with losing quality coaches to other, bigger programs and everyone team circling the date on the calendar they play us to remind them to bring their best game.

Eastern faced a quality FCS program in the Gamecocks, and with a team that lost some 23-24 players from last year’s national runner up, it’s going to be a year of discovery for those who returned. Discovering what new roles, discovering new responsibilities that come with those roles, and discovering within them to answer those responsibilities.

It will also be a year of discovery for new coaches, discovering how to interact with and get the best out of those players. Sure, they’ve had time during spring and fall training camps, but those are different learning environments.

The one at Jacksonville, Alabama last Saturday was for real.

Eastern can get healthy this Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow against the Idaho Vandals. I have no doubt that head coach Aaron Best and company will have them ready.

The rest of Eagle Nation needs to stop, take a deep breath and R-E-L-A-X. Or, in the words of actor Donald Sutherland’s character “Oddball” in the movie “Kelly’s Heroes,” – “Have a little faith baby, have a little faith.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.