Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg are the doing the Eagles offense a disservice by not using LeSean McCoy and the running game more. McCoy has had a terrific season and has shown that he is among the NFL’s elite running backs. He has become every bit as important to this offense as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, or any other of the Eagles weapons. Yet, he has been underutilized by the coaching staff in recent weeks.
Against the Vikings, on a night when Michael Vick was struggling, and the offensive line was giving up hit after hit on Vick, the Eagles gave their Pro Bowl-caliber running back only 13 carries out of 65 total offensive plays.
Reid leaned on Michael Vick to get the early lead, and once that failed, he leaned on him again to try to fuel another come from behind victory. While Vick has certainly proven that he is capable of putting the team on his back, Reid should have been able to recognize that Vick was too battered and bruised to ask him to drop back more than 50 times and try to pull off another miracle by himself.
The Eagles were down by only 10 in the third quarter, but Reid had already abandoned the running game. This problem is nothing new for Reid. Throughout Donovan McNabb’s career, Reid would often forget about his running game and try to put it all on McNabb, play after play after play. Now the same thing is happening with Vick, but Vick finally succumbed to the beatings he’s been taking. The result was a regression to some bad habits that made him a poor quarterback in Atlanta; taking his eyes off of the developing play downfield, not setting his feet in the pocket, and looking to run at the first sign of trouble.
The Eagles don’t necessarily need a “balanced” attack in the sense that the play selection between runs and passes must be 50-50 or 60-40, but what they need to do better is recognize the situation on the field and tailor the play calling towards the situation.
If Vick is taking a pounding and the opposing defense continues to blitz play after play, the Eagles need to go away from the pass and try to counter with a running game to keep the defense honest. That would ease the pressure on Vick and reduce the chances that he’ll commit turnovers as he did against Minnesota.
It’s easy for any coach to fall in love with Vick’s talent and playmaking ability, but by leaning on him too much they have robbed him of his effectiveness. There isn’t any reason why LeSean McCoy and the running game shouldn’t be a bigger part of the game plan. Unless this adjustment is made, it will be hard for the Eagles to succeed in the playoffs. If the defense knows the Eagles are going to pass on every down, they’ll just keep coming after Vick and the results will be the same.
Can someone please tell me why this is a problem every year? We talk about this after every Eagles loss. How come Reid doesn’t actually do it? Is he just too impatient? I feel like to establish a good running game, you have to be patient with the 1-2 yard plays; they’re gonna happen.
I agree 100%
I think that Coach AR/MM, were enamored so much in helping Vick to have a big game with lots of deep passes to help with the MVP voting,that they lost sight of how the Vikings were defending them..When a team is playing COver 2 on the back end, and blitzing on the Front end, guess what’s open. Yes the middle of the field and the intermediate crossing routes/sideline routes.. but the Eagles didn’t start taking advantage of this until too late in the game..
I’ve stated this a 1000 times, when you pass 40-50 times a game, you have a tendancy to tire out
these 300 + Lbs Offensivle Lineman too.. How get you expect to have a running game when you don’t allow your O/Lineman and RB’s get into a rhthym.. This is why the EAgles will never win a SUper Bowl with Coach AR at the helm.. It will never happen for to expect to win 3-4 playoff games against the better defenses in the NFL and to continue passing 40-50 times a game and not to have negative plays like Sacks,Int’s,Penalties,Fumbles is just not realistic and I don’t care who your QB is…
This scheme works against the bad teams and inexperienced Defenses & D/Coordinators.. but it will not work consistently against the Good Defensive & Coordinators like the Packers,Bears, Saints
have
Paulman, I highly doubt the coaches even think about the possibility of Vick winning the MVP.
I think most guys on that read this site didn’t expect to see the playoffs this year. Vick has preformed amazing and far better than what I thought he could. He has carried the team to several come from behind wins with his feet and just been a flat out stud. It’s amazing to watch AR/MM with the huge sheet of plays for every possible game situation and ignore 95% of the plays during a close game. If the first 15-20 plays are scripted then the double sided sheet is more of a prop than an actual resourse. I think 1 side of the menu has all the local pizza shops phone numbers and daily specials on it because they only need a 3×5 card of pass plays for the close games.
The small number of easy quick outs and slants against the blitzes is getting harder and harder to watch. Some hits on Vick is fine, but even the commentators constantly talk about the punishment he takes every week. The whole menu has to be used, not just the plays designed to get 35+ yards.
I know it sounds absurd BTC24, but so does continuing to throw deep routes and deep drop backs when you QB doesn’t have the time to throw it deep and your WR’s can’t get open against the VIkings Deep Cover 2 scheme…..ans do does Passing 57 times and Rushing 14 times
Here’s Vicks Stats and they are deceiving when you dig deeper…
25 for 43 in Passes Completed (58 % which doesn’t sound too bad on the surface)
but 6 Sacks (which would have been passes)
and 8 Rushes (which again, were passing plays where he scrambled out of pocket)
So in a nutshell, the success rate of called passing plays were 25 out of 57 times which is
a 44% Success rate and will not beat any good teams in the NFL and especially playoff time
You live by the big play (which this Eagle team has done most of the year) but what happens when you can’t get the big play or the opponents take it away, Then this Offense bogs down from the lack of balance of the play-calling and instead of keeping the Defense guessing and on their heels, they allow the Defense to pin their ears back and come after Vick
I think I have written this same paragraph ever since Coach AR has been in Philadelphia
(go ahead and change the names if you like, McNabb for Vick, Westbrook for McCoy, TO for D-Jax, but Coach AR’s System is his System and you will not win Championships by playing this way for it does not work against the betters Defense’s and Def/Coordinator’s in the NFL and Playoff time
It sounds like typical Andy Reid play calling. However, Vick actually did have a couple open WRs on deep routes but either over or under threw them.
To Jphalines,
I agree that mostly no one saw this coming of how well VIck has played, but no one would have predicted the collapes of the Cowboys,Vikings, the dissapointment of MCNAbb/Redskins and even
the up and downs of the Giants or the Success of the Bears,Falcons,TB Bucs..
I think most Fans would state that since September, it became pretty obvious that the NFC was completely open for the taken, and most fans looked around the NFL and the other teams and say,
hey why not the Eagles…
So let’s not discount the Golden Opportunity that is in front of this Eagle team in the here and the now…To win a Championship, a lot of things have to go your way, injuries,breaks,great comeback wins,etc,etc.. The EAgles has had all of these, and have gotten great play from QB VIck, but how
the Coach AR and his staff prepare this team from here forward is what the focus needs to be on,
not what it coulda,shoulda,woulda have been, not what we thought back in August or with Kolb at the helm..The NFL is about this week, this game and the significance of playing well as a unit and peaking at the right time to make a run at the Super Bowl..As a matter of fact, once the Playoffs begin next week, it really becomes irrelevant what your team did over the Regular Season, for everyone starts at 0-0 and it’s 1 loss and your done and home for the Off-season
(this is why Players play, and why Coaches coach and why we Fans love to follow the NFL with all it’s twists and turns, and love to critique,comment,whine,celebrate, and all the other emotions of being a fan…)
Ugh…. from Antoine Winfield:
“We watched the film and saw that every time a guy came to [Vick’s] left and he’s looking at you, he likes to spin out. He did on that fumble. Heck, I thought I missed him.”
“And he’s lookning at you.” Good times.
The clock has struck midnight and its 2006 all over again..
Good points Paulman. This team has had it’s fair share of “breaks” this year with comeback wins and others’ collapses. We have not had any breaks in terms of injuries but fortunately, we haven’t lost any significant starters with the exception of Weaver and Jamaal Jackson in week 1. Eagles need to get after Rodgers and hit him hard. Two concussions running and one big hit and we can get revenge on GB for taking Kolb out in week 1.
The Eagles have played down to a few losing teams, but against teams with a winning record they are second best in the NFL behind only the Patriots. The Eagles are 5-2 through week 16, and the Pats are 7-2.
The point is regardless of our hysteria, the Eagles show up and play well against winning teams. The Viks game feels bad, but we can match any team going to the playoffs. You guys are right though in this regard AR and MM better get their head out of their arse and not just start using their two very good RB’s, but they better lean on them more.
I don’t think that their is a single team in the NFC who can stop the run (Better than the Eagles), and certainly not a steady and balanced does of McCoy and Harrison, throw in some Djax reverses and some plan Vick runs and the deep ball will be available like taking a deep breath.
Coaches get a dang nabit clue.
I would take the Bears front 7 over the Eagles in a hertbeat in stopping the Run
The Packers would be a close 2 and even the Saints are tough to run against..
Paulman’s Rankings of NFC Teams after Week 16
#1) Saints
#2) Bears
#3) Falcons
#4) Packers
#5) Eagles
#6) Tamp Bay
#7) Giants
#8) SL Rams
AFC Rankings
#1) Patriots
#2) Steelers
#3) Ravens
#4) Chiefs
#5) Colts
#6) Jets
#7) Jaguars
#8) Chargers
NFL MVP
Tom Brady wins hands down in a Unaminous Vote …
Others in the mix for 2nd/3rd/4th/5th etc are M Vick,A Rodgers,M Cassell,M Ryan,P Rivers,A Foster,T Palomula,C Matthews Jr,D Brees,J Cutley, B Urlacher, J Freeman,
Other Award Winners
Comeback Player of the Year Award – QB M VIck of the Eagles
Offensive Rookie of the Year — QB S Bradford of the Rams
Defensive Rookie of the Year — DT N Suh of the Lions
Offensive Player of the Year — QB T Brady of the Patriots
Defensive Player of the Year — LB Clay Matthews Jr of the Packers
Coach of the Year – AFC — KC Chiefs T Haley
Coach of the Year – NFC — TB Bucs R Morris
Paulman’s own Award Winners
Most Overrated Team – AFC (Jets & Bengals)
Most Overrated Team – NFC (Cowboys & 49ers)
Most Overrated Player – AFC (WR R Moss)
Most Overrated Player – NFC (QB B Farve)
Best play of the Season AFC ( Jaguars Hail Mary Pass to win the game on the final play vs Texans)
Worst Play of the Season AFC (Texans DB not batting the ball down on the same Hail Mary)
Best Play of the Season NFC (Eagles D-Jax punt return to win the game on the final play vs Giants)
Worst Play of the Season NFC (Giants Punter Dodge not punting the ball out of bounds)
Paul, in the NFC only the Bears and the Giants have a better performing front seven than the Eagles. Giants inpsite of their current fall of through week 16 is ranked number one, bears number two and the Eagles number three in the NFC. Overall for the NFL the Eagles are ranked tied for 6th. Passing Defense we are ranked 13th.
Again what I am trying to say is that we are not as bad off as some would sujest, we line up well with any team in the playoffs as we are contructed now, if we shift to a more balanced play call selection and execute well, then we are bettr than those remaining teams. The Key is we can run against anyone.
Surprising the team that scores well in all these areas is the Bears, something to think about.
I still don’t buy that the Eagles are that strong a running team,
When you take out Vick’ rushes/scrambles,yards and the End Arounds plays.. and the Eagles are ranked about 20th in the league in rushing yards per game, and more importantly, it’s the continual problem of not being able to effectively run the ball in the Red-Zone and Short Yardage situations that have plauged the Eagles for years.. a way of correcting this is to actually run the ball more than 15 times a game and keep get the O/L and RB better in synch while having the opposing Defenses play honest in their formations as opposed to pinning their ears back and coming after the QB on almost every snap..
All the NFC playoff teams have a good chance(“So you’re saying I have a chance”) to beat each other. I think the Bears can only be beat 1 way, but it’s not as hard as beating the other top teams.
They are absolutely lights out on special team, the number of short fields they give Cutler is crazy. They are fast and play a disciplined cover 2. You just have to take the underneath stuff and 15-20 yard corner routes if Vick can step up. Be patient, is this possible with the current offense? The most important thing is to get a few first downs to shorten the field. If you punt, kick it in the end zone or out of bounds at the twenty. The Eagles have to be willing to win 24-20 with 12+ play drives, not 35+ points with long pass plays.
In games played only against elite or teams with winning records here is the PF/PA
Bears 19.8/26.0
Eagles 28.0/21.4
Packers 23.7/18.0
Falcons 21.0/21.3
Giants 20.0/28.5
Bucs 14.8/28.2
Rams 16.0/25.4
Sorry fellas you know I am not a stat posting guy, but i just had to counter the posts that now say we stand no chance in the playoffs, these are real averages against quality teams only not blow outs or other junk, just against good teams.
From where I sit everyone has some issue that could send them home in the coming weeks, or could propel them to Dallas.
The point again is hold the line and don’t jumpship Eagle fans, what every team going to the playoffs is afraid of is the Eagles going balanced on offense. Why they have no game plan for stopping it. Andy gives our offense to the opposing defense on a platter, he needs to change, do that and we are an opposing offensive threat. Anyone agree with me or do ya want to hang out with my buddy Paul on the darkside.
JP, I agree good points
Paul we are not a strong Run team true, but we are a damn effective one for the offense we have, teams fear our deep play, thus our run is nasty when we use it.
@Vinnie you’ll be eating your words in a few weeks best believe it! Regardless of how you feel about Vick, he is the future Eagles QB! 🙂
as far as involving McCoy more in the offense, the Eagles need to get him the ball a little more, not necessarily with rushes, although he should get a few more touches, Harrison too? where has he been….I don’t have much faith in the offensive line to open up the rushing lanes consistent enough, and I believe so does AR, that is why Vick has to rush the way he does, because of the O LINE!!!! We’ve seen most designed runs with Vick near the red zone, rarely has AR called a designed run for Vick when we’re driving. Back to McCoy the Eagles have rarely set up any screens with McCoy as of late…maybe they are waiting for the playoffs, it seems to me that their are not showing their whole hand and may be a very good strategy once we get into the playoffs. I am expecting to see things we haven’t seen all season long come playoff time…to me this makes the most sense, not making adjustments for 4 plus straight games to the blitz…I think the adjustment has been made on paper and when the playoffs start, other teams won’t be able to counter it
Ali was not a strong punch, but he was an effective puncher, he never wasted jabs, so most the time he flicked one out it hit something, and the totality of that style allowed him to have a tremedous amount of TKO’s which as a former boxing fan is a bettr indictor of how well you beat your opponents arse.
You can get lucky bang a dude on the chin and knock him out, there is no luck in beating a man until the ref stops the fight simply on the purge of your attack.
This is the Eagles Run game in combination with the Passing threat. We don’t notice this strenght becasue we don’t run or commit to the run enough.
To Mono,
Stats, Stats and more Stats..
Another factor that many teams have not run the ball well on the Eagles as much, is that the Eagles Red-Zone Defense and especailly it’s Pass Defense has been so poor, that teams have been passing it into the End Zone against the Eagles D at an alarming rate instead of running the ball..
Here’s the Breakdown
Overall Defense is ranked 12th with 331 yards per game allowed
Rushing Defense is Ranked 13th- 107 yds per game on 26 attempts yielding 12 Rushing TD’s
Passing Defense is Ranked 16th- 224 yds per game om 20 attempts but given up a whopping 30 TD’s
Scoring Defense which is what it’s all about is Ranked 22nd allowing 24.2 points per game
The Scary thing is that the Eagles are ranked 4th in the NLF in Takeaways with a plus 12
So this tells me that if the Eagles aren’t getting turnovers, then they are not stopping too many teams
from scoring which in the end, is what Championship Caliber Defenses have to do.
eagles need to change up the gameplan, not major overhaul, just some tweaks, teams have figured out this big strike offense, reid doesn’t adjust, looks for 7 to win it late in game, but vick was hurt on the first play, deep thigh bruise, big effect on his play, no majic, but if the birds can change it up, bring the safeties in, the big play will come back
this next game is a watershed moment for reid and vick, will reid adjust, will vick execute the adjustments and look again like a qb of an offense instead of a man running for his life
Good Points and Stats Jphalines & Monoman,
Mono – What is the spread on the Saints PF/PA against good teams…
@Paul, Saints are not bad actually with a 23.2/17.4
Paul flip that If brother becasue if we are getting turnovers we are winning, hmm see how the “If” thing works now.
Jake I like your thinking brother that is on point and I hope it is the case. Hey maybe you and I can start an Eagle Nation, uh what do you say. 🙂 🙂 relax just having fun, I am in a good mode cut me a break, thanks.
Andy just needs to be patient with the run. Just because McCoy gets stuffed at the line of scrimmage on the first two running plays, doesn’t mean we can’t run the ball and should resort back to pass, pass, pass. Hell, keep at it, even if we aren’t moving the chains and are in the hole 0-7. The key with running is to be patient and wear down the defense which will then start to open up the big play and allow Michael Vick to use his legs if he has to.
btc, he will not establish run bf the pass, never has , never will, he needs something other than the big play o, maybe more use of avant or cooper over the middle, way too much reliance on 10, but if they don’t change the gameplan it will be 1 and done
haha mono, but no….
Yes Indeed Mono,
We appreciate the glass is half-full enthusiam…
But back on the Turnovers, the Eagles were a plus 11 in the Takeawy Category halfway thru the Season, which means they are not trending too good in this important category and the biggest reason why is that Vick was about Flawless with the ball the first 8-10 games, now that he keeps getting pounded , the Eagles and Vick are the one who are turning over the ball and the
Consequences are usually not good when they do..
You said it yourself man, their track record is is better on the not turn over side of the issue, two bad games is not a trend, 8-10 games is a trend.
If we are to assume that the Eagles bring their A game to the playofss along with their continuing trend to play good teams well then my statement is much stronger than yours, not that its a competition, but for my Eagles I am leaning towards my thoughts then yours. Why? Because as you say myine is just more happier. Unless you can prove to me why we are worst than the Rams i am sticking with the Eagles. Here is some homework dig up some stuff to show why we can beat these teams.
Paul, my friend you are not being honest. You don’t really appreciate the “Glass half full” enthusiam do you? You just being nice right? You prefer the darkside of the Moon, yes? Sorry can’t go there with you right now, but we still cool, hmm hmm okay see ya.
Paulman the stats you are talking about can be misleading..There is no doubt that the Eagles red zone defense has been horid. However, there are numerous factors that come into play. Eagles quick hit offense plays apart of it. This means the other teams gets extra posessions sometimes only 3 mins or shorter after having the Eagles defense on the field for a 6 minute drive. Its common sense the more possessions you have in a game, increases your chances in things happening in all areas… So the stat you really want to find is how many total possessions has the other teams had against the Eagles and how often have they entered the red zone…then compare the same for all other teams, to get closer to the truth…the red zone stat is specifically for posessions in the red zone where a TD was scored.
The same can be said for all the other stats you mentioned, like Overrall defense rank, Scoring Defense, Washington scored 28 on us in a blowout…how many possessions do you think they had that game….? probably close to two games worth on the average…
Did you guys see that Derrick Burgess got cut already? This is exactly why you can’t get hyped over because the Eagles signed a player who used to be good.
All good and valid points RT777
Stats can be twisted,contorted,.manipulated,constipated,infiltrated,manifestated,capiculated in many different ways, which kinda of sounds like a John Lennon song doesn’t it…
“All we are saying…is to give the Eagles a chance”
But I guess the 2 Stats that do matter is how many Wins & Losses you have (10-5)
and do you Score more points (Eagles Offense avgs 28.4 pts while giving up 24.2 points per game)
than your Opponent…
The rest are just a thatism,thisism ism,ism,,ism.ism…