Andy Reid has a lot of explaining to do. Today all Reid had when it was over was one-word answers.
What was he thinking when the Birds were on the goalline in the second half? What was the goalline plan before the game?
Does anybody understand why Reid had Michael Vick handing the ball off to fullback Owen Schmitt on the goalline, despite the fact that the Giants hadn’t been able to even slow down LeSean McCoy? When asked whether McCoy was alright to carry the ball on those plays.
“Yes”, Reid said.
When McCoy was asked if he was surprised about not getting the ball down on the goalline. He replied, “I wouldn’t say surprised. I kind of thought I would get it because I was getting hot in the last three games. But, I am confident in the call. If it would have worked out, the outcome might have been different. I can’t really put the loss on that”.
Does Big Red know what type of offensive line he has? How do you explain why you’ve got an undersized center, Jason Kelce and two undersized guards trying to push three big 350-pound defensive tackles back?
Why did Andy decide to go for a fourth down on the Giants 43-yard line with the Eagles holding onto a two point lead rather than pin down a Giants offense which had been struggling?
“I thought it was the right thing to do”, Reid said. “That’s on me, and it’s my responsibility there to make sure that we call those in the right situations. I didn’t do it last week and I should have. I did it this week, and I shouldn’t have. That’s how this thing works sometimes.”
On that play McCoy was trapped in the backfield for a three-yard loss. The Eagles defense didn’t get the job done but allowed New York to march downfield and take the lead.
Those are the easy questions. The tougher question concerns the coaching staff and the defensive starters.
First of all, Andy needs go back through the explanation for why it made sense to make offensive line coach, Juan Castillo the team’s defensive coordinator. In fairness to him, he’s learning on the job.
There’s no way in the world it made sense for Castillo to be blitzing the Giants when he had a defensive line who could get to him and a secondary with three Pro Bowl cornerbacks. It was early in the game when Castillo went after Eli Manning and the Giants only to have Manning spot Victor Cruz in man-to-man situation with safety Kurt Coleman.
Castillo has Asante Samuel, Nmandi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in his secondary, but he calls a defense which gets Cruz matched up on Coleman. Cruz beat Coleman on the route and caught the pass from Manning.
While in pursuit Coleman ran into Asomugha and knocked him off the tackle and Cruz wound up with a 74-yard touchdown.
Why does Casey Matthews had to start? Does he have some type of guarantee in his contract that he’s going to start?
I let it go that they thought he was starting caliber linebacker when they drafted him, but after a couple of poor outings, not to mention some poor performances in the preseason, why do they continue to insist that this rookie continues to start?
*sighs*
and let’s call out D-JAx who could have attemtped to break up the Int’s thrown by Kafka but didn’t want to get physical.. The First one down the Sideline was a tough one, But he could have turned into defender and at least attempt to defelct the ball but the 2nd was inexcusable and I want him to answer why he stopped running his route and then watched the Giant Defender intercept the vball, He was in position to rleap/jump and make a play on the ball but choise not to get his shirt dirty.. Inexcusable to me and I would trade him Tommorrow for Starting LB and a Draft Pick..
Sometimes Reid is just an idiot. He can be brilliant at times and other times just a buffoon. You’ve been shutting the Giants out, got the lead and then go for it on 4th and 1. Run the ball all the way down the field, get inside the 5 yard line and pass 3 straight times. Goal line, 2 FB runs and a QB sneak when you have McCoy and Ronnie Brown on your roster.
“G”…you’re singing to the choir
Andy is a planner…not a gamer.
He didn’t have the pedigree of hiring defensive players when he was hired. Hell…Holmgren didn’t mess with Ray Rhodes defense.
Rhodes players covered Reid’s ass for the foremost part of his beginning here.
Modrak kept the right peices in place until Reid undermined him.
Mcnabb, pulled his ass out the fire many days before MCD decided to stop running.
Mcnabb was also injured many days because Reid refused to use running backs, which put more pressure on QB’s, along with more hits.
What idiot believes a defense don’t need linebackers?
Linebackers are the heart and soul of the defense.
Andy thinks…a body don’t need a heart……arms and legs..no heart.
THAT’S THE EAGLES!
going for it on 4th down when you have the lead like that is something I would only ever do on Madden…
in real life it just isnt a smart idea.. Those are the type of decisions that wrry me about this guy…
exactly rev songs, this team is arms and legs, no heart, we dont need linebackers, hear that bergey, joyner, evans, trott, but grow your hair out with the name mathews and you can play for andy reid
Wow G, that’s a mouth full. G you are right on this time. Andy got some explaining to do. The smallish offensive line is going to get the QBs killed. The LB core and the Safeties are very average. I’m so mad I can’t even put it into words. BTW if Vick doesn’t play, Young has to start.
Mike Kafka is just not good i cant see blaming Djax for that. If reid has guts he would have went with the better option in Vince Young damn what everybodys says. He put Mike Kafka in a worse spot this week than he did last. Last week was fine Maclin just dropped the damn ball. U put the game on the shoulders of ya best players so Lesean should have got the looks when Kafka came in. Reid has Ronnie Brown but gives it to Owen, and he ran a trap on the goaline with inches 2 go. That a boom or bust play and if it fail I loose yards and the possibility of a 4th down attempt. Steve Smith came up small! Caused a int ran a half ass pattern on third down and fell untouched. Casey is just not big or fast enough yet even when he gets there he can’t stop the ball carrier byhimself. He I what I call a bootlicker tackler smh. Pierre Paul or Brandon Grahm? Nate Allen, the Firefighter, where is the top half of the last two drafts? Desean had another drop he had one last week that can’t happen I’m not gonna blame him for Kafkas semi pro arm
let’s make this clear….the linebackers and safeties are not average.
Average would suffice with our defensive line and corners.
Our Linebackers and Safeties are atrocious, and the one bright spot (Chaney)of last year have digressed because of the Matthews experiment.
Another year starting from the beginning with Chaney would have solidified the middle. Chaney was the only reason we were behind Stewart Bradley leaving in Free Agency..Hell, We would have raised hell if they would of told us Bradley can go only to be replaced by a 4th round bum with hair.
Andy is officially out of Rabbit feet.
for all the detractors of stu it is a joke to think we replaced him with hair boy.
The emperor’s been naked for a while.
Reid is a donkey and when things go wrong for a dunkey they cease to function and just sit down in a stubborn defiance. Reid cannot be an effective game day coach. He is overwhelmed trying to cover for all his other bad coaches and himself. He Haw! Juan the cheerleader is a joke. He is the new Rory Siegrest.
Im actually embarrassed for Andy Reid. I think he needs to fire Marty Morhninwhig. He was at Detroit all those years when that sucked, between him and Matt Millon I think they won 4 games his whole tenure. Whoever made decisions about our linebackers going into this season should be fired, and I don’t care if it’s Joe Banner, Jeff Lurie should fire his ass. How can a collective majority of fans know full well that letting Stew Bradley go, and the drafting of shrimpy Matthews was a good idea?
Damn it pains me to agree with you guys, in part!
Jake
I’m with you. After the laundry list of small, speedy linebackers, it was GREAT to have Stu Bradley on the roster. Granted, he’s not “hair boy’s” brother, but at least he could “man up” against the run.
*wasn’t
Letting Stew go was like taking out the one bolt that connects an entire bridge. How can we have such an explosive attack offense and we can’t get in the end zone on the one yard line or 4 yard line? How do you march down the field running the entire way and throw 3 downs and then on the next attempt sneak your 100 million dollar qb through the pile? How do you have the fastest qb in the NFL and not let him end around? How THE FUCK ARE YOU SO FUCKING STUPID???!!! LOL
Flaw with the title of this article … it assumes Reid can think …
Monolith
You are a true fan, but that’s what true fans do. They desire what’s best for the team, and sometimes that means reversing field on your outlook.
I started out a Reid fan, then became increasingly more skeptical after he allowed Deuce to walk. I got back on board with the addition of T.O. and a Superbowl appearance, only to lose faith the following season (when Reid decided we only needed “more” receivers rather than “better” receivers). Since that time, my opinion of Reid has decreased incrementally. After all, it’s hard to argue with the post-game appearances and division championships. But when I look at everything objectively, i.e., the level of competition, the manner in which we won or lost games, etc., I have come to firmly believe that our Eagles have won in spite of Reid and not because of him.
Just one fan’s opinion.
Side note to “Vinnie the Inventor:’
You clamored for “Baby Arm” today. How’d he do?
IanIJM
LOL
Lastly, one poster (who shall remain nameless) has been quite inconspicuous today. Perhaps, he’s on vacation.
who’s baby arm?
Another side note for at least SOME good news:
Atlanta and Chicago both lost today. 2 teams likely to contend for wildcard spots which may be all we are good for after todays performance hahaha.
On another sidenote how awful is Atlanta? This season they are calling pass plays over 75% of the time and they have scored one TD on offense in 8 quarters of football outside of their dome. Why couldnt we get THEM in the home opener?
And final sidenote: how hot is Faith Hill in the SNF opening song?
i hope vince young is available as krapta throughs like a girl. glad andy let him air it out on the first play. wow he has a weak arm. still time to right the ship but man this one stings.
how dumb was that airing it out on the first play? i would love to watch that game and know for fact who called what plays. seperate the marty plays from the andy plays and let me measure which one is the bigger moron. we suck so bad it’s not even funny. I love everyone saying “they just need more time to gel” are you fucking kidding me? we suck. lol… we suck so bad and I take no pleasure in saying that whatsoever. We are in for a long year my eagles friends.
I cant remember what article it was in but someone was saying none of the eagles early round draft picks of the last 2 years suited up today.
If you look at the superbowl winners of the last 8 years, the winners of 7 of them all believe in building a great team through the DRAFT. Not free agency. But how can we do that when AR is constantly drafting scrubs?
Run
I’m with you. Against my own will, I have declared this team a disaster. I came into this season thinking it would take half a season for the team to come together. I thought they would improve each week, though.
Right now, I think we’re getting worse each week. I still expect us to battle at the end, but I expect no more than a one-and-done type of year at best. When I look at how many changes were made and how much was spent, I can only conclude that this is a coaching disaster.
Did anyone notice that Vinnie hasn’t posted on this thread? lol I wonder why??? Oh I know because he can’t blame Vick in this thread further proof the man is a card carrying member of the I hate Vick fan club.
The trouble is our team is undersized in EVERY position. No teams fear us.
Jeff_McLane Jeff McLane
The #Eagles had 72 offensive plays to the #Giants’ 51.
Mimitaro
Someone made a similar point last week. Again, I have to look at the roster changes since the departure of key Ray Rhodes players. Ironically, the changes mirror Reid himself, who is absolutely brilliant in some ways, but head-scratching, mind-numbing porous in others. We have a few players who were great draft picks, i.e., McCoy. On the other hand, we’ve drafted so many players who are absolute busts and who beg the question why were they ever drafted?
The Eagles have allowed 8 passing TDs this season (all coming the last two weeks). On pace for 43 this season. Last season allowed 31.
Mimitaro
Size is an issue, and that’s in direct correlation with philosophy (which I believe is Reid’s biggest flaw).
Oh the eagles will beat the giants easy!
Oh the Giants have no WR
Oh the Eagles will win 31-10
HA FUCKING HA!
Good news for you guys however Vince Young will start week 4. A real winner unlike cry baby Vick.
^Vinnie’s cousin
Anyway the Eagles do indeed suck today.. They need to regroup and get their act together…
we should be able to pull it together if Reid get s his head out of his backside
Drummer…it’s easier to get success at skill position like recievers, and runningbacks in the early rounds opposed to defensive players and lineman. For a team that focus on lineman in the 1st round..we’re well below average in when choosing
The good thing is this merry-go-round will not continue indefinitely.
The beginning of the end began with the McNabb trade. Initially, everyone asked whether McNabb or Reid was the greatest cause for our shortcomings. Since leaving, McNabb has done nothing to prove himself blameless. In fact, his deteriorating play could lead one to conclude that he was the sole reason for our shortcomings. However, even with McNabb gone, many of the same problems continue to plague this team, i.e., clock management, devaluing certain positions, etc. These problems rests solely with Reid.
I refer to Reid as the QB killer. By the time a QB gets beat down by Reid’s play-calling, he becomes gun shy. I believe that’s what happened with McNabb. Were talking about a guy who played on a broken ankle while his coach called 50 passes. McNabb played though a lot of injuries, including the sports hernia, and his coach did nothing to protect him.
Anyway, soon Reid will either prove me wrong or be gone. That’s the best thing about this “all-in” season. Reid no longer has any excuses. He was given a blank check to build a Superbowl champion, and what we got, so it seems, is a mirage.
Oh, I almost forgot. Reid did the exact same thing today that he did against North Carolina. We drove down the field with McCoy running the ball, only to have Reid (the passaholic) call a few passes near the goal line.
Songs
I can’t disagree.
they played like garbage, but I’m sick of reading how “bad” the eagles drafts are. Every person says it takes 4-5 years to know if a draft is good, except when it comes to the eagles apparently… everyone wants pro-bowlers in year 1. If you look around the league, I’m pretty sure its the standard to have more people you draft not pan out, than become pro bowlers. The pats have a billion picks every year, and I guess they draft all pro bowlers all the time. Before you say the eagles draft bad, go back and look at a few drafts, and count the good players, there are not many
One of Reid’s great strengths is motivation. I fully expect this team to make a run, but it”ll probably be too much too little, and too late.
There is a bright spot fellas. Maybe once the smoke clears, and this team’s failures and magnified and what they are, Lurie wakes up and addresses the HC position. Personally I’d love for a couch with a HOF defensive pedigree and a lombardi or two to come aboard. I’m thinking Dungy. He personally bears a great deal of responsibility for the new improved more focused Vick. Dungy would get a real OC and fix the defense.
Zoltek
It takes 3-4 years, if they’re playing. Our guys aren’t even playing and the few that are shouldn’t be.
Coldbrewski
The only potential drawback to that thinking is that no Superbowl-winning coach has ever gone on to win an additional Superbowl with another team. That’s not to say that it can’t happen, it’s just something to consider.
there were like 15-20 pro bowlers taken in the entire 2007 draft… you dont build an entire team around draft picks… you just hope to get lucky on a few of them, and its fair enough to say that they have done that
Whats up Eaglesnation? I have said this last year and the year before that…This type of nonsense i.e. making your offensive line coach the DC??? going into the start of an NFL season with a garbage OL???? In todays game the Eagles were on the goaline twice and you have a 230lb back on the bench(Ronnie Brown) where was he??? Going for it on 4th and 1 and calling a run play to the outside???? Starting a 4th round rookie LB who shouldnt even be in the NFL??? CANT Blame #5 anymore….Fire Andy Reid and his entire staff now!!!!!
Fat Slob Reid is now figured out. He is an average coach who has been very lucky for his entire career in Philly. This owner must feel like a horses backside.
Jeff, Andrew is making an ass out of you and I’m loving it!
Pete60
Quite the contrary. The owner feels like a billionaire.
Zoltek
Isn’t there some middle ground between pro bowler and bust?