Time For Big Red To Feel The Heat
For 10 seasons Andy Reid has been the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Through three straight NFC Championship losses, a Super Bowl loss and family issues that were made public, Reid has been able to weather the storm of his critics.
With the Eagles suffering back to back losses attributed directly to Reid’s playcalling, I believe that now is the time for Reid to feel the heat that was reserved for Donovan McNabb this season. Reid is in the third and possibly final phase of his tenure in Philadelphia.
The Honeymoon 1999-2001: Andy Reid arrived in Philadelphia in January of 1999 with the task of removing the bitter taste that a 3-13 team leaves in the mouths of many. Reid who was a quarterback coach under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay was replacing Ray Rhodes. Rhodes, who coached the Birds for four seasons seemed to run out of profanity-laced pre-game talks, coupled with early round draft picks wasted on players that ended up being cut or ineffective as starters.
Reid was walking into and ideal position as the Eagles would have the second overall pick in the draft that was chock full of young quarterbacks. While the concensus seemed to be to draft Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams of Texas, Reid and the Eagles brass would select Donovan McNabb of Syracuse. Upon being selected the choice of McNabb was met with boos apparently by some “fans” with whom the selection did not go over well with.
McNabb would be an understudy to Doug Pederson, who came over from Green Bay with Reid to bring him along in learning the finer points of the West Coast Offense. In the Birds 10th game that season, the training wheels were taken off and it was McNabb’s show to run. McNabb had the good fortune of being surrounded with a mix of young talent and experienced veterans. Players like Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Sean Landetta and Brian Mitchell were important in the development of McNabb.
In the 2000 season the Eagles would finish 11-5 with a playoff win over the Tampa Bay Bucs in the Wild Card Round before losing to the Giants in the Divisional Playoffs. Reid would win the first of two coach of the year awards.
Getting over the Hump…At What Cost? 2001-2004: Andy Reid and the Eagles had become a force to be reckoned with in the NFC. Beginning in 2001 Reid and the Birds would win the first of four consecutive division titles as well as the run to four straight Conference Championship games. In the three Conference title game losses turnovers were the difference in each game, but what gets left out is the playcalling and Reid’s inability to adjust.
In the St. Louis title game, Correll Buckhalter left the game with and injury and missed the second half, Reid had Duce Staley and Brian Mitchell at his disposal and failed to use both. The Eagles became one dimensional and the Rams picked up on it, picking off McNabb on the potential game-winning drive.
In the Tampa Bay title game, the Birds once again failed to make adjustments. McNabb fumbled twice and threw the deciding pick to Ronde Barber in the finale at the Vet. Once again in a close Reid tried to pass his way out of trouble with Duce Staley, Dorsey Levens, Brian Mitchell and rookie Brian Westbrook at his disposal.
Against the Carolina Panthers in 2003, McNabb was picked off three times in the most frustrating of the three losses (14-3). The Eagles again failed to control the clock and the ball. Once McNabb was knocked out of the game Koy Detmer was ineffective in a game that the Birds could’ve won.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not passing all of these losses off on Reid. But i will hold him responsible for the one dimension offense that this team has become. In the regular and post season the Eagles have become a team that if you stay in the game long enough will hand it to you. Why? Because they don’t melt away the clock by running the ball, you cannot win in today’s NFL when you ratio is 65/35 in favor of the pass.
Closing the Deal: 2004-Present
Andy Reid has survived The Vet, it’s 700 Level, three major injuries to McNabb and Terrell Owens. Now is the time for him to cement his legacy here, not too many coaches hang around in one place this long and leave empty handed. Reid has maybe the game’s most versatile player in Westbrook, a healthy McNabb, and a decent receiving corps at best. As much as we want a big-time receiver here again, I believe that we as fans fail to realize that the thing we want most will hurt us in the end. Because he’ll never run the ball like he should.
So here is what I recommend:
1. Keep Your Foot on the Gas: The first drive of yesterday’s game was run like a championship team, flawless. Something we haven’t seen in awhile, there was a mixture of runs and passes and the Skins defense was left guessing until their backs were to the wall. But for some reason the offense eased up and let the Skins back in the game and never got the lead back. Sometimes a touchdown can be just as demoralizing as a turnover. Pedal to the metal!
2. Get Exotic: Nothing says you have to be down 10 points to run a trick play, a flea-flicker or a halfback pass shouldn’t be used to get you back into the game. Roll the dice. The weapons are there to make it work.
3. Play Big: Utilize the biggest offensive line in football, enough of this “a short pass is just as good as a run.” you have speed and power in the backfield. Short yardage (i.e. goal line situations) slide Dan Kleco back there. Oddly enough, he’s the most experienced fullback that you have. What happened to the fade pass McNabb and Hank Baskett worked on all through training camp. The Eagles have over 900 scripted plays. Andy you’re collecting plays like they’re football cards, give a different look!
4. DeSean Jackson: Rarely does a team have two players that can score anytime they touch the ball. In Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson, the Eagles have two. Jackson has shown what he can do as a receiver now it’s time to move him around the field just to cause confusion. Jackson doesn’t have to be the primary target, if he’s lined up in the backfield or anywhere the defense isn’t used to it will cause confusion. Even if the defense calls a timeout and you remove him, it was successful.
Whatever Reid choses to do needs to be different than what we’ve seen the past two weeks. These Eagles are closer to the team that lost to the Cowboys than the one that lost on yesterday. And yes, the defense has their issues, but everyone knows that the offense is what makes this team go. The heat is on Andy.
Welcome to Philadelphia.
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October 7th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Last year’s first Giants game notwithstanding, I’ve always been a fan of Big Red but I do know where his flaws are when it comes to game planning especially when it comes to the situations in which he puts Donovan McNabb. If you’re going to pass all over the place then do you’re damndest to make sure the receiving corps is loaded from top to bottom. If that can’t be done then balance the offense so your franchise QB doesn’t have to win every game with his arm or his legs like he used to earlier in his career. It was telling how the offense was adjusted for Garcia in 2006 when McNabb messed up his knee. That was the year Westbrook gained a national profile and the offensive line became a road grading unit. A home playoff game was actually won with an exceptional running and controlled passing game. They would have beat the Saints too if Reid hadn’t given the ball back either but that’s neither here nor there.
The Eagles can still salvage the season but it’s going to be a bear with Westy’s fractured ribs and the team at a crossroads as far as it’s playing personality. I said in the pre-season that I didn’t have a feel for this team and sadly I still don’t which is sad because the games count now.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Well said on every point Harvey, you took the words out my mouth on that brotha.
I swear to you in 2004 (not drafting Steven Jackson, but drafting Andrews was my biggest concern) I became very concerned with the team. Before they got TO they were a balanced offense between run and pass. But once they got TO the team began to pass 65% of the time. They were the first team ever to go to the superbowl passing for 65% or more. Thats why I knew they weren’t going to win the game.
Also IMO since the eagles pass so much it seems that the offensive line is no longer aggressive (or just forgot how) when it comes to run blocking.
This OL is the biggest in the league yet they can rarely run block. I feel this is a direct result of Reid’s pass happy offense.
And to never surround Mcnabb with any type of real help is just plain stupidy mixed in with ignorance. And some of this needs to fall directly on Lurie’s head. Why would you want your Franchise QB to take hit after hit (see Giants game last year) and not pull andy aside and not say sh^%. Thats just a bad investment.
Could this be what Jerome Bettis mentioned in his book how management set up Kordell?? Who knows but it sure seems fishy.
But sadly the sheep (fans) and trouble makers (media) will lay the blame on Mcnabb. I was on the eagles forum and fools were blaming Mcnabb left and right.
So once Mcnabb is gone this year who are they going to blame then????
October 7th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Sadly we all know that Andy will still be there because Lurie can cut Mcnabb and not pay him a dime, only a cap hit.
Noway Lurie fires reid and has to pay him and another coach.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Andy/mouse Davis Jr. has made a living off of poor game management. With Mcnabb saving him with his arms and legs. Now that Mcnabb is older (like all players he is no longer able to do the things he once was) Reid hasn’t adjusted. Mcnabb isn’t going to give you 100 yards rushing and 300 yards passing like he did when he was young. So ummm you have to run the ball Andy.
October 8th, 2008 at 5:15 am
What coach is perfect? Which coach doesn’t have flaws? Tony Dungy? He’s got a ring? Bill Bellichick? We saw how the Giants undressed them in the Super Bowl. The fact of the matter is that expectations are unrealistic for today’s sports fan. Everybody thinks they have to win THIS year, or else. But only one team will do it. You have to give Reid the credit for turning this franchise around. Where were they before he got to town? Does anybody remember Bobby Hoying? What about the 3-13 season?
Stability is an under-valued commodity in the NFL. Look at Tennessee? They’ve never won a Super Bowl, but I don’t see people calling for Jeff Fisher’s head? Tom Coughlin was on the chopping block, but now he’s a genius? Do you fire Mike Shannahan because the Broncos haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Elway retired ten years ago? No. Why punish Reid? Teams that dance with the girls that brought them tend to fare better in the long run.
The two most important building-blocks in the modern NFL franchise are QB and head coach/ GM. Both Reid & McNabb are responsible for the team’s success. Talking about getting rid of Big Red, to me, is as silly and pre-mature as the talk about getting rid of Donovan last season.
Yes, the Chicago loss was bad, but Westbrook, who’s their best all-around weapon, didn’t play. And while I won’t make excuses for the Redskins loss, I will say that Washington is at least a good team. And we are talking about a team who’s missing a Pro Bowl guard and their top wide-out from a year ago.
And as far as trick-plays and flea-flickers and such… the Eagles do more of that than most teams. They’re good for a flea-flicker at least once a year, as well as a surprise on-side kick. And of late we’ve seen A LOT of DJax on the reverse. I think the problems on offense come from a lack of physical play. But that’s just the team’s philosophy — it’s gotten them this far and that’s how they’re built. To try and turn into the Bears or the Redskins now would mean starting over, and I still think they have a solid core of players (particularly, some young up and comers).
All that being said, I think they’re the worst team in the division. And it hurts my soul to say that. Still, making a change at the top will only mean that some other team will get to make a generous up-grade to their coaching staff.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I live in Philly and been a fan of this team my entire life. Since the late 1970’s so I’ve seen alot.
What really gets me about Reid is the press conferences and the answers (or lack thereof) that he gives. I’m tired of the “This one is on me.” responses, he’s run out of swords to fall on.
And no, flea-flickers and trick plays aren’t the answer but make adjustments.
What do you suggest?