RSS
Home
Stubborn Reid keeping Eagles from soaring
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Few would question Andy Reid’s ability to game plan for an opponent; to pick out flaws through intense film study and devise a strategy how he thinks to best exploit their weaknesses and utilize his team’s strengths.
But game day is something else. When the scripted plays are all used up and the other team has implemented its own strategy to counter what Reid has thrown at them, that’s where the longtime coach of the Philadelphia Eagles is usually at his worst.
And never was that more evident than late Sunday night when the Eagles dropped a critical 20-16 NFC East showdown to the hated Cowboys in large part because of Reid’s stubborn refusal to adjust to what’s happening on the field.
Why is it that fans and media members can look far enough ahead to realize the inherent risk of kicking a field goal—and a 52-yard field at that—when you’re down a touchdown with 4 ½ minutes left and have no timeouts? But the man in charge can’t---or won’t--concede the obvious. Even if he makes the kick—which David Akers did—unless his defense can prevent the Cowboys from making first downs and get the ball back, it won’t matter.
That’s how it ended, costing the Eagles a chance to take sole possession of the NFC East lead. But earlier other critical Reid decisions—electing to give the ball to rookie LeSean McCoy on third-and-one, rather than rugged Leonard Weaver… not figuring out a way to get explosive DeSean Jackson away from Dallas’ double teams… using Michael Vick only twice the whole night and never in a situation where the defense didn’t know what was coming —came back to bite them.
That’s why the big story on the talk shows and in the newspapers today is that the Eagles simply can’t win close games, their record 1-8-1 in games decided by seven points or more the past two seasons. Even Reid, speakiit “ang in his usual day-after press conference where he generally says nothing of consequence termed pretty good link’’ in examining flaws in his team. Still, he offered no explanation.
That leaves it to outsiders, who believe it’s a two-fold issue. First, Reid’s reluctance to improvise on the fly puts him at a disadvantage. Compounding it are the Eagles’ near legendary issues of time management—whether it has to do with getting plays called early enough for Donovan McNabb to run them, having the right personnel on the field or not simply knowing how to best use his timeouts.
In blowouts, which have been the rule rather than the exception in 14 of the Eagles last 15 wins—including all five this year—those things generally don’t matter, because the game isn’t riding on it. But when it’s close and the outcome hinges on key decisions in the final minutes or even seconds, the Eagles are well behind the curve.
The other phase of that is McNabb, who used to excel in making the big play with the game on the line. Used to.
Now Donovan’s track record is consistently not coming up big when it all comes down to a play or two. Just as he was unable to get the Eagles into the end zone, after they had a first down at the Cowboys 35 on what proved to be their final possession, that’s been a recurrent theme.
Together, while Reid and McNabb may talk a good game, their words have become hollow. Reid can forever absolve his players, insisting it’s on him to “do a better job putting them in position. ‘’ But no one’s buying it anymore.
The only thing they’re buying is that the blame rightly should be placed on him. After all, who else steadfastly refuses to run the ball except almost as a last resort? Who else forgets or chooses not to put key players on the field at critical times.? And who else bemoans the numerous penalties his teams commit—particularly on special teams—but does little to shake things up in an effort to change it?
Despite all that, the Eagles have the potential to be an elite team in this League, though seeming less and less likely to actually contend for the Super Bowl. With Brian Westbrook’s status becoming more and more uncertain while their linebacking corps is being riddled by injury, their lack of depth has become apparent.
Yes, there’s still time to turn it around; to get on the kind of roll that carried the Birds all the way to the NFC title game last January, where they held the lead with just over 10 minutes left, only to lose a close one in the end.
That seems to sum up this team and their stubborn coach as well as anything.
So close… yet still so far away.
