The Morning After
Posted: November 14th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 117 Comments »The Eagles lost to the Cardinals. The Eagles are now 3-6. That is the ugly reality of the 2011 season.
Rather than re-hash the game right now, I want to talk about some general things. I will do some sort of game review. I started re-watching it last night, but was so frustrated that I wasn’t sure continuing on was the logical move. I do have plenty of criticisms of players and coaches from Sunday, but I’ll save them for a post later tonight or early tomorrow.
* * * * *
No one is getting fired right now. That just isn’t the way the NFL works and frankly it doesn’t make much sense. That wouldn’t solve anything. You need to ride out the season and make evaluations at that point. You’ll have all the information necessary. Plus, that’s the time to make changes.
Andy could adjust some responsibilities withing the coaching staff, but don’t count on that happening. In 1998 Ray Rhodes gave the playcalling duties to Bill Musgrave after Dana Bible did such an awful job to start the year. The offense was on pace to be one of the worst in the history of the NFL, though. The defense right now is 13th in yards and 19th in points. That’s not even remotely close to being a comparable situation.
The defense played well for 3 quarters before falling apart. Andy and Juan must study the 4th quarter and figure out what happened. Part of it is the Cards making some big plays. You do have to give them credit. Still, there were other times when the defense just let us down. John Skelton should not be able to march the team down the field like that.
Juan Castillo built up some good will vs Washington and Dallas, but that is all gone now. The inability to hold 4th quarter leads is mind boggling. And Juan was clearly out-coached in some key situations yesterday. The Cards were able to create favorable matchups and then take advantage of them.
Juan needs to come up with a magic elixir if he wants to keep his job. This season isn’t all on him, but the fact you can’t trust the defense to make key stops is pretty damning. Juan isn’t winning the X’s and O’s battle. Young players aren’t developing in any kind of special way. The defense isn’t making crucial plays. It would be one thing if the defense was giving up yards, but was able to make key stops and/or come up with timely takeaways. The 2006 Eagles were a worse defense, but they did make plays in the 4th quarter, in the Red Zone, and at other crucial times. This group plays well for a half or sometimes even 3 quarters, but then comes apart when the game is on the line. That’s just unacceptable.
The offense also is at fault in this mess. Michael Vick has come crashing back to Earth. So much for Starship 7, as Jon Gruden liked to call him. Vick now has 11 TDs and 11 INTs on the year. He hasn’t thrown a TD in the last 2 games, both losses.
We just found out that Vick played virtually the whole game with 2 broken ribs. That helps to explain some of his struggles vs the Cardinals. It doesn’t ease the frustration of the loss, but at least you can understand why some of his throws were so off target.
Andy and Marty need to figure some things out. This team has only scored more than 24 points in 3 games this year. The Eagles did that 6 times in the first 9 games last year. The explosive plays are gone. This team has the talent to be an efficient, ball control offense, but turnovers kill that. We have a Red Zone turnover in all but one game this year. To me, that is the shocking stat of the season. Settling for FGs isn’t ideal, but you can’t turn the ball over. That’s a sure way to kill your chances to win. Go back and add a FG to each of the Eagles games and think about how that might have changed things. Ugh.
My biggest frustration with the 2011 Eagles is all the dumb play. Is there any better example than Nnamdi Asomugha lining up offside on 3rd/10? We had a key stop, but then gave Arizona 5 free yards and they did convert on 3rd/5. They scored a TD on that drive and the rest is history. Both sides of the ball have been guilty of mistakes. Clay Harbor had a key false start penalty yesterday in the Red Zone. That may have forced us to settle for a FG instead of scoring a TD. All 32 teams have talent. You cannot play dumb football and consistently expect to win.
I can’t begin to describe how mad I was at Steve Smith yesterday. I do think he should be cut. He has done nothing this year. He muffed a punt yesterday that we luckily recovered. Then he went down on the 3rd/long play instead of fighting for yards. I’d be patient with Steve if he’d built up any goodwill, but he’s a mercenary that is here for the paycheck. Cut him and give that spot to someone else. Chad Hall and Ronald Johnson are WRs on the Practice Squad. I’d rather have them than Smith at this point.
This team is utterly frustrating. I don’t know what to think about the Eagles right now. I’ll cheer for them each week, but how can you have any sense of optimism? Even when they build up a lead, you expect bad things to happen.
The last 7 games of the year will be important to the futures of some young players and the coaching staff. The Eagles haven’t shown much of a sense of urgency this year. It will be interesting to see if that changes now or gets even worse. Stuff like that will dictate just how much change does happen once January rolls around.
I’ll say it again. Just not a good team. Bad teams make dumb plays. Bad teams aren’t situationally aware.
There are a few things I know about this team.
I don’t like any single player on the squad. People may think I’m overeacting, but seriosuly who comes off as likable. The whole team plays the game for the check, not the game. Brian Dawkins is dead and gone as a Eagle, but I watched him and was in awe. That was a man who loved the sport. Ray Lewis, same thing. Who do we have like that? Who do we have that would do any and everything to play this game?
Also we don’t have a single team leader. Not one. No one to pull the team together during tough times. No one.
Lastly – not one clutch performer in this group (save maybe McCoy).
I don’t want to watch “this” taem anymore. I know I will, but anyone expecting different results is either insane, stupid or lying to themselves. This team needs to be broken up ASAP. People say we have talent, but if you watch the game, you are just talking about past individual performances, this team has no talent, as a group.
Like I said in the last post, this team will more than likely maul the Giants next week and do just enough to stay around 8-8 and more than likely cost them a valuable draft pick.
Who is likeable?
For me, most of the players. The guys I’m down on are much easier to list.
I am frustrated by plenty of guys, but that’s different than flat out not liking them.
Tommy,
I “like” any player who is wearing our uniform, I guess. I do not find the vast majority of these guys likable as players. If Vick was on a different team – he’d be among everyones most hated. DeSean? Same. LeSean? Maybe not, because he’s fun to watch. Maclin would be ignored, because he’s simply not that great.
Our seconday? We’d hate them if they were on any other team. Our terrible LB’s? On play alone, I can’t stand em. Our overpaid, underperforming DL? Our safties?
Our coaches?
There isn’t a lot to like about this team, is my opinion. I mean I know a lot of NFL fans hate Eagles fans, but most of them hate the Eagles to, and years like this year, I can see why. We have no good personalities. Our players are pansies and act entitled. How am I supposed to root for a guy like Steve Smith? DeSean Jackson…and Mike Vick? Any other uni – and I’d be rooting for them to suffer like they are this year.
I’ve played on good teams and I’ve played on bad teams. When I played on good teams, I was considered a team leader. When I played on bad teams, I was just one of guys.
It’s a team sport. No matter how well you play, you can’t look good if those around you are flailing. And most often, even the good players don’t play all that well because they need to do too much in order to compensate for others and therefore fail in their primary duties.
If this team were playing more cohesively, I assure you, we’d discover plenty of team leaders were here all along.
I think Nnamdi is an example of a guy (from what I’ve seen) who is playing sub par due to the lacking abilities around him. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen what looks like Nnamdi trying to rearrange parts and assign coverages before the snap, and he can’t get up and get his trademark jam on the WR. I think he expects more of himself, and is taking things personally. I am glad he is on this team, and I think he will emerge as a leader.
I don’t know how you don’t love McCoy. Not only has he been out best player, he can rattle off football trivia to put all of us to shame. He’s definitely a guy that loves the game.
I love what he does on the field. LeSean is a great player. But I’m not sure we have anyone on this team that would be playing this game if it weren’t for the chance at a huge pay day. I sincerely feel that way.
Maybe I’m wrong about Dawkins, I mean hell he left for a payday. But when I watched that guy, I felt he’d give his all, on any play. He’d take on guys 100lbs heavier, hell 150lbs heavier, like it was nothing.
And honestly I do like a couple guys, I’m angry and gerneralizing. But I don’t feel way too many of our guys are here for a pay day. Too many DeSean’s, Steve Smiths, not enough Dawkins. Not enough Ed Reeds. Guy who will play with a injury. Guy who will risk a injury to make a play.
Vick played yesterday with 2 broken ribs…
Totally agree with this sentiment. There are a few guys like Shady, Todd, Celek, and Trent Cole that I like, but man these guys are just so lifeless out there. There is no cohesion with this team, not only amongst themselves, but also with the fan base. I know these types of intangibles are said to be over rated, but man when a team is going south like this I’d at least like to have some guys who I feel are giving it 100% every play, and are playing with the type of HEART (sweet motto for this year, huh?) that this city has come to expect.
There’s liking guys on the field and liking guys off the field. Often there isn’t a difference. Ex. I don’t like DeSean when he lets his off field ego get in the way during the game.
There are guys I like on this team.
-Vick. Hate the guy as a person. Love him as a football player. Forget yesterday. He’s exciting to watch and changes the way defenses approach the team. He’s tough, fights for yards- more than he should- without self-preservation.
-Shady. He’s great. When the ball is in his hands, he’s dangerous. I liked him even more the two times he fired Rosenhaus (but now that’s gone again).
-Trent. I wish he were a leader. I wish he carried this team on his back. Its not him though. He does what he does and does it damn well.
-Nnamdi. He’s a leader off the field. That does mean something. With the self-interest of the whole team, they need to look at the way Nnamdi approaches the game and approaches his community. I think if the team were more cohesive, he would emerge as the leader of the team. I think he’s not vocal enough to pull them together and hasn’t dealt with all the self-interest in the locker room.
That being said: Desean I’m quickly growing tired of. Asante I grew tired of this year. Screw Vince Young. And DRC. And Steve Smith. And Andy Reid’s smug attitude.
Tommy can you put together a wish list of potential DC candidates? I think if Andy stays we are more likely to go with a retread, but if he is gone then I hope we bring in a new HC that is a defensive genius. Defense wins championships. Just look at the friggin Niners. No offense but insanely good defense.
Yeah, this is something I need to think about. I already have a bit. Fantasy scenario is Spags getting canned in STL and coming here.
Would Spags work with the wide 9 though?
Good question. I would think they could work something out. Spags uses his DL to attack (1-gap style) so that’s not totally different than what we do.
I was thinking about this today myself. If Spags gets canned in STL and doesn’t have another HC offer, this would be pretty appealing to him. It’s got a clear path back to HC (how long can Reid really keep coaching for?) in a town he’s had success in.
That’s a good plan. If Reid was to go, I’d love Spags to take another shot with us here.
I am not so sure Morningwig isn’t currently the heir apparent (whether we like it or not). If that is the case, then it is LESS likely that Spags will go to Philly knowing the future HC position is already filled.
That’s the kind of thing you DON’T say when trying to woo a great DC to town. So you have two potential replacements when Reid finally steps down? If you’re running the org, that’s what you want!
People were calling for Juan Castillo’s head before the season even started. Not me. I like to see how things work out before making a judgment. I’ve seen enough. (Actually, more than enough.) He’s overmatched. Exactly what everyone feared. It’s Andy’s responsibility and it’s Andy’s fault. He was expecting to have a very good – perhaps even a Championship – team this year and he put his defense in the hands of an offensive line coach. Unacceptable.
Actually, Jaun Cstillo may explain a lot of our defensive woes. The Eagles defenders are all playing out of place and they lack coordination and confidence. So much talent doing so little.
As an aside, I think the success of the offensive line is being overlooked because of the losses. Considering how many rookies are starting and how many piece have had to be shuffled, they are doing a great job.
The OL wasn’t good last week. Not sure about yesterday. Gotta watch the tape. Overall, I think they’ve been good.
No Tommy…I do not think the OL was any good yesterday…even when they were rushing 3 or 4 the idiots could not give Vick enough time to throw…also fault lies on Vick too – he had happy feet…add to that the play calling
I feel like Vick was holding on to the ball forever, because our WR’s can’t win match-ups, well that’s hard to do too when teams know you aren’t going to run.
I feel like Vick was holding on to the ball forever, because our WR’s can’t win match-ups, well that’s hard to do too when teams know you aren’t going to run.
In fairness, the idea that the defense is stocked with talent is an absolute canard. There are zero NFL-caliber linebackers and zero NFL-caliber safeties on the entire roster. That’s 45 percent of his starting lineup that’s below replacement level. It can’t be ignored that the defense, in addition to being poorly coached, is also not very good on paper. The preseason optimism about the unit needs to be regarded as the absolute error that it is, in order to fairly assess all the things that went wrong this season. DRC is also not a good player, and it’s become clear why the Cardinals had no hesitation in trading him.
Castillo is still a bad coach and his hiring was a major mistake by Reid. But you can’t talk about the defense without talking about it being composed almost by half of players who don’t belong in the NFL.
Zero Safeties? That’s silly. Nate Allen has played well this year. 31 other teams would love to have him. Jarrett had a solid first start. Plenty of teams would love him. Coleman missed a key tackle, but has played pretty well overall since re-joining the starting lineup.
I hold nothing against Nate Allen. He had a terrible injury last year and shouldn’t have been expected to contribute in a meaningful way until next season. I think he’ll be good next season, once he’s fully recovered, but he’s been very bad this season. Coleman has been even worse. 31 teams would love to have Nate Allen on their rosters over the course of his contract, but no one would be able to do anything useful with him this season.
You’re getting Sean Considine-level contribution from them. They’re not good. Neither is Jarrett. Page is the worst of all. They all stink.
Can Nate Allen stay healthy? When will Jarrett be comfortable in the system?
Those are the two big questions… I think Coleman is an excellent 3rd safety on this team.
I believe we are missing Dawk/Mikell this year. If either one of those guys is back there to call adjustments, the whole secondary plays better. Instead we have Nnamdi trying to do that job from CB…
Zero Safeties? That’s silly. Nate Allen has played well this year. 31 other teams would love to have him. Jarrett had a solid first start. Plenty of teams would love him. Coleman missed a key tackle, but has played pretty well overall since re-joining the starting lineup.
Tommy,
I don’t like that Vick is making the excuse that he didn’t’ have DeSean so the offense was sluggish. There have been games before where there was no DeSean and the offense still functioned. Last year against the Falcons, albeit that was 3 quarters without DeSean, the offense ran fine with Kolb under center and Maclin lighting it up through the air.
That’s not really what Vick was saying, though. Remember when McNabb said they didn’t need TO, and he flipped his wig? I guarantee you that sort of thing was on Vick’s mind: DeSean’s listening. His answer made it clear they need DeSean back, and that DeSean has to be a big boy about it b/c it was his fault, not Andy’s.
For my money, I though Vick did a great job fielding those questions.
You know what was sluggish… The lack of effort by the WRs to line up during the 2 min drill. It was freaking pathetic. If I have to watch this team saunter their way up to the line of scrimmage with less than 3 mins on the clock and us needing a TD to win the game one more time… I’m going to bake and consume at least 20 homemade chocolate chip cookies after the game.
There I said it. Now my own personal health is on the line with this team.
This team sucks with a capital JUAN….
I am sorry..I know guys like Spadaro and the other lemmings on the payroll have to watch what they say about the coaching staff, but it’s a freaking joke how bad Juan is. In his press conferences he sounds idiotic, almost like a simpleton, he rambles on about nothing, his playing calling is even worse. Did he not see that when the Raiders played the Cardinals and locked Nmandi on Fitzgerald, and Larry was virtually non existent? Nope…they would rather get really creative and play a zone, with two of the better press corners in the game and let a rookie SS play one of the top three receivers in the game one on one. He has such a hard-on to get all three corners on the field at the same time, that he has a press outside corner playing slot, when one of the best slot corners in the league stands on the sideline. He has three LB’s that SUCK!! You cut Chaney and Fokou, they would struggle to even make other NFL rosters. ST’ers at best. Rolle, is mildly above average. Juan is and was the biggest mistake this team made. Reid is going no where this offseason. Laurie loves him and will give him one more year with this roster to make something happen. Juan, has to be fired after the season. We need to draft a stud DT and at least sign/draft two stud LB’s. Cut Brown, Smith and Young. Trade Asante for a starting caliber LB (Demarco Ryan, Tulluch. And possibly the biggest FA move this offseason…SIGN A REAL DEF COORDINATOR The one good thing I see is we may have a high enough pick out of this season to sign Devon Stills and not have to trade up!!!
The Eagles have never traded back into the 1st round under Reid after having a top 10 pick. Although they haven’t been in that situation very often. I’ve been looking at the last 10 or so NFL drafts and I believe at least 1 NFL team in the top 10 has traded back with the exception of last season.
It was actually an interesting streak going on there until it was broken this year.
Maybe the Eagles can start it up again.
It worked well for the Packers – DT then trade back in for OLB. A few years later, Super Bowl winners.
Tommy for the love of all that is holy you better take Andy/Marty to task for only giving Shady 14 carries when he was average 6 ypc!! It’s even worse now that we know Vick was hurt. Your QB has broken ribs, you’re 2 best WRs are not playing (Maclin was gone for large portions of the game and/or hurt) and you have a lead and you’re best player gets 14 carries? Say what??!!
That’ll be addressed in the game thread. You and I are on the same page.
Bless you…u beautiful man.
So I believe it’s Marty calling the plays but we all seem to treat it like Andy’s calling them or that it’s a joint play call responsibility. Is that actually the case or is it just easier to blame Andy for playcalling since that meme’s been around for ever? I’m actually asking – who’s the real culprit behind playcalls? Also, it feels like that dude is influencing the defense – the whole Fitzgeraldgate issue this past weekend smacks of trying to be too cute by half. There are things that have worked for us in the past. These are avoided by the playcallers in favor of doing the unexpected – what the other guys would never expect us to call. And it comes back and bites us in the @$$.
Simultaneously, we seem incapable of making adjustments. I love this combination. We come into a game ignoring our wheelhouse plays so that we “surprise” the other team by doing the opposite of what we think they expect. And when it starts blowing up in our face, we can’t switch back to what we were initially good at to recover. I think the Reid regime represents the absolute opposite of common sense and the opposite of what every football coach loves to preach – do what you’re good at. Dictate the game and you’re building on the solid foundation of what you know you do well. Reid & co. build on the less solid foundations of what they think the other guys think we’re doing.
Thank you, Pitmanite, well stated. I think Shady only carried the ball six time in the 2nd half. Pathetic! I wonder if Reid has some type of clinical phobia about calling running plays. Like someone who is afraid of heights, Andy must look at his play list and shreek, “No, Marty, not a running play!”
To me, this is the very reason AR should be fired at the end of the year. I fully agree with Tommy that nothing should/will be done right now, but at the end of the season, ARs repeated inability to use by far his best player is why he should be fired. He had every single excuse to use McCoy yesterday. We were never loosing at any point in the game except at the end of the 4th quarter, DeSean was suspended, Maclin had been out for at least several drives (one of which we dialed up three straight passes before punting if I remember correctly), the backup WRs were dropping balls all over the place, our OLine was not playing particularly poorly, and to top it off, McCoy was getting huge gains the majority of the times he touched the ball. ARs inability to use him more is simply inexcusable.
Jeff McLane summerized it pretty well –
Jeff McLane
Jeff_McLane Jeff McLane
After LeSean McCoy’s 29-yard run with 4:46 to go in 3d he did not touch ball on Eagles’ next 10 plays. Only had 2 carries rest of way.
4 hours ago
I’ve seen this over and over and over again. Juan’s woes I can understand given his situation. But what about Marty? How many time over the last three years have you seen the Eagles with the game on the line and the offense throws three times and goes three and out. The offense becomes predictable (not good) we preserve the clock for the opposing offense (not good) defense doesn’t have time to make adjustments and catch their breath (not good). I’ve seen flashes of genius from Marty but rarely over a two game stretch.
My understanding is that Vick didn’t tell anyone he was hurt, and Andy only found out after the game. Tough to blame Andy for not adjusting on that one, and everybody knows how I love to blame Andy.
Of course, Shady should still be running the ball a lot in a close game with your two best receivers out.
I think this game shows how thoroughly sub par Smith and Cooper are. I like our chances with Chad Hall and Brian Westbrook at WR than those clowns.
The issue I’m starting to come to terms with in regards to routing for this team, is who IS this team? In past years we have come to know the majority of the players because they have been draft picks that have developed, or guys that have been on the team awhile.
Right now I find myself trying to relate to key players, and it just isnt working. Other than Shady, Cole, Avant, & Herremans, the majority of key players are either brand new FA’s or recent draft picks that havent built up the fans trust. Other guys like Asante, Vick, Babin, could all be great guys and play their ass off every play, but to me they are not homegrown “Eagles.” A term and description that meant something very specific in years past. I just dont get that same feeling with the current group.
Maybe I am reaching a bit, and I will always route for the team to do well, but who is this teams Bobby Taylor? Where is the Trotter and Dawk of the group? Not specific to those guys, but more their personality and leadership? I just dont see it with this group. The current group appears to have a bit of entitlement, and softness that I havent seen from an Andy Reid coached team in a long time.
Add into the mix, poor play calling, and a DC that is clearly in over his head and you have 3-6.
Time is yours…
Michael Vick has 2 broken ribs and says he may not play vs. the Giants. Vince Young on the road on national television? DREAM TEAM
He probably shouldn’t play. In fact, why not sit both him and Young? Since Young is most likely gone after the season, why not see what Kafka can do with extended playing time?
Of course, come game day, Vick will try to gut it out, get hit, go to the sidelines, and we”ll get a Vince Young shit sandwich to chew on.
Why do the Eagles hate their fans so much?
Let’s see how much attention you guys have been paying to Juan’s PCs
According to Juan, “We need to get ______”
a.) Crazy
b.) a sandwich
c.) Better
d.) more PBR to keep watching this train wreck
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that when you combine answers a and b you get the best answer…
A Crazy Sandwich… mmm yes I can almost taste mine now.
But then wash it down with PBR (and everclear) to make things better
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that when you combine answers a and b you get the best answer…
A Crazy Sandwich… mmm yes I can almost taste mine now.
I’m going with B and D.
I’m going with B and D.
Can I have c. and d. please? A beer better than PBR (which leaves pretty many choices), and plenty of it.
If we throw in the first choice too, we could all sing along, “…going off the rails on a crazy train.”
And of course, b. Who turns down a sandwich? Some salted, cured meats on a good bread with some mustard. Yes, please.
So, I’ll go with all of the above. Juan probably went with c.
I’m here to agree with JR091 about Castillo’s failure to put Nnamdi on Fitz. Last year’s Raiders-AZ game showed exactly how to play Fitzgerald, and who it took to play him. The frikkin’ playbook was in place. All Castillo had to do was implement something that was already proven to be successful. I was confident he would do so and confident that neither Kolb nor Skelton would find his #1 receiver open. Does anyone have any idea, seriously, what Juan was thinking?
I do NOT want to see Reid fired/forced into retirement. However, I can’t see any way that the front office can justify bringing him back to the fans.
We’re out of the playoffs, but I hope this team shows some heart and unity the rest of the way to give the FO a reason to keep Reid.
Most consistent player on the team………….. Colt Anderson! That says a lot about this team. He and Derek Landri are truly competing for team MVP. Sad
Again: Shady. He’s looked like the second coming of Barry Sanders, how are you guys not on board with him? Just broke Steve Van Buren’s consecutive TDs record, led the NFL in rushing… He’s kind of a big deal!
Completely agree. He is the best player on the team. Just poking a little fun at our favorite inept team.
Vote for them for the Turkey Hill gameball!
Vote for them for the Turkey Hill gameball!
Hi Tommy, just to pick up on your point about the penalties. You mention the Clay Harbor false start where we have to settle for an FG. It was worse than that, because it was 3/1 and we probably run, instead it’s 3/6 and Vick threw a pick on the play.
Also, would prefer to see Kafka starting ahead of Young next Sunday. I think all the one year contract guys, apart from Mathis, will be packing their bags. Let’s see what the young guy can do.
Bless you…u beautiful man.
No… all Eagles fans deserve more than that. We deserve to line up in a 3 mile long spanking machine which he has to crawl through. That would be a small measure of justice.
Tommy
Since the season is basically over and all we have to look forward to some interesting playoff games and a entreating Super Bowl, i wanted to propose a post to you:
You are the new owner of this team and you can do anything you want. Fire GMs, Coaches, Players etc. take the team in any direction YOU find the best. Everything works out perfect for you too, other teams fires coaches that does bad(like Spags) and role-players that you like. Players you like decide to test the FA and your draft sweathearts manage to just drop enough for you to grap. Aaaaaaand GO!
Yeah, I’ve been kicking that idea around for a couple of weeks. Title of the post is “King For A Day”. I’ve got a couple of notes jotted down. Will need to hold the post a few more weeks to find some things out. This team could go 4-12, 6-10, or 8-8. All depends on how the players respond to the current situation. Do they rally, give up, or tread water? I need to see who here should be part of the long term plan and who needs to be sent packing.
I’m rooting for a full tank. It still bums me out we won some meaningless games down the stretch in 2005 which netted is Broderick Bunkley instead of Haloti Ngata in the 2006 draft. Ngata instead of Bunkley and I think we beat the Saints that year. Ugh.
We’re 3-6. 5-11 please!
RE: “Juan needs to come up with a magic elixir if he wants to keep his job.”
Tommy, does JC really need a magic elixir? Actually, I’d say it should be much simpler than that. How ’bout lining your pro-bowl, biggest-prize-of-free-agency cornerback on their best and ONLY offensive weapon, Larry Fitzgerald?! That’s what is so frustrating about this season. It’s as plain as day, except to the Eagles coaching staff and DC.
Its the same thing for the entire coaching staff and HC. Totally abandoning or ignoring what everyone else and their grandmother can clearly see is an issue. Its been going on for 13 seasons now. Whether it was the WRs back in the early 2000’s; TE back in 2005 and 2006; LB in more recent years.
I can feel the end for Big Red coming. I think we can all sense it. For this team to have had its back against the wall in a must win yesterday and to come out and play as atrociously as they did speaks volumes about the state of this team, its HC and his ability to be successful moving forward. AR’s decision to go with Castillo as DC will most likely be his ultimate undoing. The move looks even more ludicrous today than the day they announced it.
Its time for AR to move on and for the Eagles to bring in a HC who can work with the talent the front office has assembled.
RE: “Juan needs to come up with a magic elixir if he wants to keep his job.”
Tommy, does JC really need a magic elixir? Actually, I’d say it should be much simpler than that. How ’bout lining your pro-bowl, biggest-prize-of-free-agency cornerback on their best and ONLY offensive weapon, Larry Fitzgerald?! That’s what is so frustrating about this season. It’s as plain as day, except to the Eagles coaching staff and DC.
Its the same thing for the entire coaching staff and HC. Totally abandoning or ignoring what everyone else and their grandmother can clearly see is an issue. Its been going on for 13 seasons now. Whether it was the WRs back in the early 2000’s; TE back in 2005 and 2006; LB in more recent years.
I can feel the end for Big Red coming. I think we can all sense it. For this team to have had its back against the wall in a must win yesterday and to come out and play as atrociously as they did speaks volumes about the state of this team, its HC and his ability to be successful moving forward. AR’s decision to go with Castillo as DC will most likely be his ultimate undoing. The move looks even more ludicrous today than the day they announced it.
Its time for AR to move on and for the Eagles to bring in a HC who can work with the talent the front office has assembled.
Has Steve Smith been cut yet?
Can anyone explain to me why, if he hasn’t. It’s not like we’re going to re-sign him and it’s evident to me at least that his ass isn’t a NFL player.
Has Steve Smith been cut yet?
Can anyone explain to me why, if he hasn’t. It’s not like we’re going to re-sign him and it’s evident to me at least that his ass isn’t a NFL player.
Why can’t they just trash Andy Reid midseason?
This season is comparable to the Cowboys’ season last year. Wade Phillips was fired after numerous horrible games similar to these, and Jason Garrett was installed as the head coach. The play of the team improved and it has clearly worked out for them so far in the 2011 season as well.
Because its classless and, if you’re going to fire him, you don’t it midseason. This isn’t a guy like Wade who has been on the job for three years. This is a guy who has built a team into a perennial contender over more than a decade.
Yeah, but who’s the Jason Garrett (i.e., in-house replacement) on this team? If MM is involved in the play-calling, he’s just as culpable as Reid. Plus, after the debachle in Detroit, I wouldn’t consider him for a head-coaching job, interim or otherwise. How about Castillo? He looks up to the challenge.
You’re a funny guy.
(in Borat voice) NOT!!!
I fully agree with Jason_E, but I also would add that unlike the Cowboys last year, we do not have anyone to come in and replace AR. Regardless of how you feel about AR, he is hands down the best person for the job that is on our team at the moment. MM is probably the next in line (and really only other option) and going to him would not exactly be a change. On top of that, MM is also nowhere near the coach AR is. The alternative is to hire someone outside of the organization (which is the option I hope they take at the end of the season), but all that’s available are guys who either couldn’t earn a job with any team or are former head coaches that have been out of the system for awhile. Personally, I don’t want any part of Gruden, Fisher, etc. I would rather pick up a young coach that has been earning respect recently (similar to AR when he was first hired). Either way though, hiring someone that is not already in the Eagles coaching staff would be near impossible considering how hard it would be to establish the new system and would more likely damage a coach than help him going into next season.
I want one of the younger assistant coaches as well. I just think that sh!t-canning Reid midseason would send a strong message. You’d be forced to install an interim Head Coach, but obviously, after the season is over you could just as easily hire someone else.
Or they could let Reid finish the season out.
Neverthless, as long as Reid is gone before the 2012 NFL Draft, and someone competent is making draft-day decisions, I will be happy.
That’s the key. If Reid (or whoever is reponsible for the last few drafts) is still calling the shots on draft day in April, then this franchise will slip further into the Dark Ages.
If a fresh, new coach such as Mike Zimmer, or Chuck Pagano, or Mike Pettine, is using the Eagles’ high first round pick and two high second round picks to rebuild from the ground up with “his guys”, then this team stands a chance to remain relevant in this decade. I mean, there is certainly no guarantee that a new coach will draft well, but I know for sure that the current braintrust is incapable of doing so.
I’m not as vehemently against the Eagles draft history as you are, but I do agree that if/when they hire a new coach, that new coach should be the one making the decisions on who to draft. Keeping AR to draft guys and then switching to a new coach makes absolutely no sense.
This league is about QBs, not LBs…. Reid is not going to get fired. He will leave when he feels like it.
I’m a fan of Mike Zimmer – it seems like he’s done some really good stuff defensively.
Though doesn’t his D have like 7 1st round picks starting? Hey, at least that shows he knows what to do with talent. And also how to evaluate it.
“[I]t has clearly worked out for them so far in the 2011 season as well.”
Except, of course, when the Cowboys were steamrolled by the incompetent Eagles, right?
It still looks a lot like Garrett tossed Wade under the bus and took his job (in my opinion).
Now that I think about it… maybe that’s what Juan is doing?!
Why can’t they just trash Andy Reid midseason?
This season is comparable to the Cowboys’ season last year. Wade Phillips was fired after numerous horrible games similar to these, and Jason Garrett was installed as the head coach. The play of the team improved and it has clearly worked out for them so far in the 2011 season as well.
There is a reason no other team in NFL history has ever made their OL coach the DC….
Wait, what? I thought that was a natural transition…
Ideal scenario:
AR resigns as coach and stays on as Team President ala his mentor Holmgren. Jeff Fisher is the new HC. MM stays and runs the offense.
Juan is still the “defensive coordinator” but Fisher pretty much runs the defense. Bring in Chuck Cecil to coach something.
Can I get Seth Joyner in the coach the LBers on this team?
I’d love to see Seth here.
Although, we may lead the league in unnecessary roughness penalties.
I get the feeling he’d be a terrible coach. Great player, but seems far too emotional for coaching.
Ideal scenario? For who? I wouldn’t mind AR staying here as Team President, he is one of the best Monday through Saturday guys in the league, but I would expect him to give whoever the coach is freedom to draft his own guys, design his own playbook, etc and AR only provides advice (a scenario that I imagine AR would not like). As for OC, if AR is gone, MM has to go as well. He would be AR all over again. I want a coach that has a much better feel for the run game. Personally, I would still want to be a passing based offense, but when you have a guy like McCoy, I would want the coach to know how to feed him the ball on a much more regular basis.
As for the coach, I don’t want a Jeff Fisher type. What has he done any time recently that makes him a better coach than AR? If you’re going to change coaches, it should be for a guy that is either clearly better than AR (not sure a guy like that is available), or a guy that may be still relatively unknown in terms of HC but is promising and can bring a new energy to the franchise (a much more likely scenario).
Finally, in terms of the defense, if you bring a new coach in, you want that coach to bring in some guys that he himself believes in. Right now, outside of the Eagles organization, is there anyone who really believes in Juan as a DC? Regardless of if they are right or wrong about Castillo, Castillo has not done anything so far this season that suggests to the rest of the league that they should be paying attention to him. Maybe he proves me wrong down the stretch, but through 9 games and 5 blown 4th quarter leads, I can’t see a way he is back next year.
Ideal scenario if AR is not the coach next season. I agree that he’s still the best choice.
I believe changes will be made to the defensive coaching staff and we’ll get these hired guns (VY, Smith, Brown) out of here.
I can’t fault Banner/Reid/Roseman for giving it a shot with the big name rentals. It obviously disrupted the chemistry.
The problem is that Andy is not a good gameday coach. He is very good at preparing a gameplay for a particular team.(Cowboys game) The problem is when that gameplan doesn’t work or his team has key injuries. He never makes the proper adjustments. That is why you usually know early whether the team is going to win or not. Yesterday Vick looked erratic and his top receivers were hurt and he continued to throw the ball. Every Eagles fan was screaming at the TV, “give it to McCoy)Sometimes this is cancelled by fantastic play by a player(McNabb, Westbrook, Vick, McCoy, ect) Tthe rest of the time you just know that no offensive adjustments are coming.
Jim Johnson on the otherhand seemed to ALWAYS TRY AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS and they usually worked or at least helped. The defense rarely looked outclassed regardless of what talent he had. With Reid, you take the good with the bad I guess.
Simply put, there was too much upheaval in an already shortened off-season.
The FO took too many risks and it has come back to haunt them.
AR/MM continue to pass, pass, pass and pass some more, and they do so with a QB who is unable to throw anything except a deep bomb. I sincerely believe that the Eagles and AR would have had a couple Super Bowls by now had AR balanced the pass/run ratio.
I still think dumping AR would be wrong; both from a professional standpoint and an ethical standpoint.
He is allowed a bad season, its just a shame for him that this was the season it all went wrong.
Frankly, if he wanted to switch JC to the D, he should have give him the LB job and allowed him to gain some experience and then progress a couple of years down the line. JC is in the deep end and he doesn’t know how to swim.
The decisions made the last few years in appointing position coaches have been bemusing, to say the least.
Yes, how does a man make great moves (Mudd/Washburn) and then completely bungle the vital DC position?
I think Castillo made a really good pitch, McDermott ran a complex scheme and lost the respect of the players. So here is Juan making this pitch to play simple, fast and aggressive which was especially appealing given the impending lock out. There had to be a better candidate but the level of respect Reid has for Castillo and his pitch gave him the job.
Juan is too simple to run a simple defense. He probably has one of those vibrating football games in his office and gets his ideas from that when the players move. “I’d love to be at that dinner table with the Matthews.” What an idiot
Tommy,
Two years ago when the Eagles got rid of Clemons and let Babin go sign elsewhere, there was alot of talk about these guys being “selfish players out for stats”. Babin Part II and his apathy towards the run–by his own statements–is kind of predicatable, isn’t it? Bringing a guy with this type of attitude onto a defense that already has an Asante “I ain’t paid to tackle” Samuel was not a bright move, don’t you agree?
In this scheme, Babin is supposed to focus on the QB. That wasn’t the case in the old scheme. And I’m not sure about any comments. I’ve seen a couple of locker room interviews with Jason where he said they needed to play good run defense in order to get teams into passing situations.
Plus, Jason pursues as well or better than anyone else on D. He gives 100% on every snap. I’ve got no real complaints with him.
I agree the defensive line as a whole hustles. They miss Dixon badly though. They have no beef. Hopefully they can get Devon Stills and bring Cedric Thorton along. Those two could be very disruptive along with Patterson Landri as Jenkins. It just dumbfounds me that the key to the wide 9 is stud LBs and they throw STers out there and try to hide them with a star studded secondary and defensive line. I respect Laurie by I can’t believe he is just sitting on his hands here. This team has become the laughing stock of the NFL. It makes being a fan very hard. I live in Pittsburgh am can’t defend them anymore to Steeler Nation. I get destroyed everyday.
Fair enough. However, I distinctly remember this quote from Quinton Mikell when Babin left:
There was just a lot of negativity,” Mikell said. “A lot of people weren’t putting the team first. Everybody’s guilty of it at some point—I’ve been guilty of it here and there. But when it’s all the time, then it’s a problem. We’ve never had that before, since I’ve been here.”
“We’ve never been a selfish team, where guys were more worried about what they did individually than how we did as a team. But we had guys who were more concerned about how the game plan affected them. It was, ‘How am I going to get my sacks if we’re doing this,’ instead of, ‘Hey, let’s go out and do whatever it takes to win the game.'”
By all reports, he was referencing Babin. From everything we have seen this year, does that not look to be the case again? Every time he goes full speed and extremely wide to the QB, he leaves a freeway for blockers to get to the 200lb linebackers and the running back to follow. I guess you better be good in pursuit if the running back is already 5 yards down the field when you finally lift you head to figure out what is going on.
Life sucks today.
I’ve seen people here and other places saying that we need to fire Andy Reid and that Jeff Fisher should be a potential head coaching candidate. I can’t act like I followed the Titans all that closely over the years, but I would have to imagine most of the people in Tennessee feel about him the same way we felt about Andy Reid. He was there for 16 seasons, and ultimately couldn’t get over the top. I know this is such a premature discussion, but it’s always made me wonder why so many people would want to see this happen.
The grass is always greener.
I think the biggest thing with Reid is how he manages to do the same stupid shit over and over, and I can’t blame the fanbase for being tired of it. Underutilizing the running game, timeout and clock management catastrophes, trying to get too cute with playcalling and personnel decisions. If he was doing that 5 years ago, but learned from it and was doing something differently now I think the fanbase would probably not be quite as rabid but for some reason he’s simply incapable of changing his ways. If he was capable he would have done it by now.
Jeff Fisher would be an awful choice.
The best possible candidate for the head coaching job is an up-and-coming assistant coach. There are plenty of them out there who are viable options.
Give me the next Rex Ryan, Mike McCarthy, Mike Tomlin.
The problem is that those guys are hard to find. For every McCarthy, there’s Jim Zorn. For every Tomlin, there’s Josh McDaniels.
With this talented roster, I think Lurie/Banner would go for a veteran coach if they chose to let AR go.
At the same time, there have been plenty of examples of coaches who have failed on their second team they coached on. Just look at Shanahan. Neither option guarantees you a quality head coach. With an up and comer though, you bring new energy and new ideas. With a veteran coach, outside of maybe Cowher, who retired, you are almost guaranteed to be bringing in a coach whose most recent coaching experience was a failure (hence they were fired and are now available).
Lurie and Banner did bring in a new guy when the hired AR and that worked out excellently for them (even if AR didn’t ultimately win them a superbowl), so I can definitely see them going that route again. That being said, I agree that having a talented roster could play into the decision. In my opinion, considering how the Eagles have emphasized putting stock towards future years in order to maintain the team at a competitive level, the current talent of the roster will matter, but not be a huge factor in deciding which coach to hire. They will want a coach that can continue to bring in and develop talent and hopefully keep this team competitive for several years. That doesn’t necessarily rule out a veteran coach, but most guys who are now not coaching have that type of story (Gruden for example).
Tommy,
You think the FO made the right choice activating Graham for this year? One week after his activation and we’re playing for pride (conspiracy theory?).
Curious to hear your thoughts on this. Hindsight is 20/20, but I don’t think anyone thought he was the “missing piece” this season. Wondering if getting him fully healthy for 2012 would’ve been in our best interest rather than racing a recovering horse. Thanks…
It doesn’t really matter what happens with Graham. It’s clear by now that he was the wrong choice to make over Jason Pierre Paul and Carlos Dunlap.
I’d be surprised if he’s still in the league 3 years from now, all while Dunlap and JPP are posting consecutive 10+ sack seasons.
Along with this, I think the Eagles should take the route of some other teams (like the Bengals recently) with taking fliers on guys in the 2nd and 3rd round of guys that were projected 1st round top 10 picks the year before.
Both Dunlap, Michael Johnson, Maualuga, etc. were all top 10 talent prior to the season they left school. Obviously anything is a crap shoot, but I can’t really recall the Eagles doing this. At least not very often. DeSean is one I can think of, but he was more of a late 1st round projected guy anyway.
Actually, I think they have done this a couple times. Lindley is the most recent example I can remember of the top of my head, and I believe Jack Ikegwuonu was another (although his slide was a result of injury). Personally, I would rather them get guys who are not falling down draft boards (or suddenly rising up draft boards). They have done that a bunch of times with their 3rd rounders and taking fliers at guys that may have promise but so far, they have missed on most of them.
Seriously, we should put JPP, Carlos Dunlap, and Sean Lee in the Hall of Fame now and ban Graham to Siberia. Then we need to hire Morton like yesterday to be the coach, GM, owner, President, scout, and both offensive and defensive coordinators for life because he clearly has all the answers.
Seriously, someone keep track of Morton’s predictions on draft prospects because he is right 100% of the time.
I realize you were asking Tommy, but I thought I would toss out some actual ideas since the only other comment so far is just a bunch of negadelphian B.S.
The only logical explanations seem to include: We were still in the fight at the time (and still technically are) and also that he doesn’t develop his talent by sitting on a shelf, although I wouldn’t have been opposed to resting him the whole season. Ultimately, they probably did what the doctors thought best.
In my opinion, if Graham was healthy enough to play, he can only benefit from playing right now. If they rushed him back from a physical standpoint, that would be dumb, but usually, the mental standpoint is the part that takes the longest to recover from. My guess is physically, the doctors have cleared him. Right now, he is probably trying get over the mental aspect and I would much rather him work that out through the rest of this season than have to worry about it at the beginning of next season.
I am willing to bet $20 that Reid is still the coach for next year
3-13 should net us a good draft pick, assuming we use it wisely. What are the odds we can get comp picks for allowing VY, Ronnie Brown, and Steve smith to leave in the offseason? Anyone have an answer?
Plus, you hope the Cardinals lose out.
VY would be the most likely to bring us a comp pick. As a young QB, he’s the most likely to sign a large contract.