Eagles football blog

Reid says Donovan is still the man

Andy Reid didn't want to start a quarterback controversy.

Two days before the Eagles were to announce the restructuring of quarterback Donovan McNabb's contract, the head coach - in a one-on-one interview with The Inquirer - was asked to compare backup Kevin Kolb with McNabb.

Reid, as one would expect, was complimentary of the quarterbacks, both of whom he had drafted. However, perhaps sensing that he had presumably awarded the position someday to Kolb, Reid - after a pause - added a caveat.

"You could take that little conversation we just had a couple different ways," said Reid, always careful with his words. "Donovan's the quarterback. I don't want to start a quarterback controversy here." Continue

Grading Andy Reid

Here's a head coaching resume for you: In 11 years, coaching three franchises, this guy reached one Super Bowl and lost. After that, he had a 1-3 record in the years his teams made the playoffs.

The coach was Bill Parcells, a sure Hall of Famer for the two Super Bowls he won with the New York Giants - the most recent of which was almost two decades ago.

Then there's a guy who won a Super Bowl in his fifth season - his first with Tampa Bay - then failed to win another playoff game in his next six seasons before getting fired this month. Continue

With everything going his way, Eagles coach Reid doesn't have time to gloat

- It was Andy Reid's moment.His last-seeded team had soundly beaten the top-seeded, healthy, well-rested, home-standing Giants.

He'd been hugged by the quarterback he'd benched. He'd hugged his wife, and every assistant's wife who wanted one.He'd addressed a room full of dissectors and doubters.

Once vilified, now victorious, and . . . validated?"Bah. I don't get into all that," Reid said.He had every right to.

When his team was 5-5-1, when his head was being called for (or at least his duties as personnel architect), when his quarterback was being run out of town - nothing Reid did was right, or good enough, and what he had done was collateral evaporated. Continue

Eagles' Reid gets another shot at genius

NFL coaches earn the genius label in a manner that brings to mind the Scarecrow getting his diploma from the Wizard of Oz.

Tom Coughlin was a too-tightly-wound martinet whose players were in nearly open revolt and whose job security was an open question. Then Brett Favre threw an interception in overtime in Green Bay and David Tyree made a one-headed catch in the Super Bowl, and Coughlin got his diploma.

Genius.

Bill Belichick was a humorless prig who had ridden Bill Parcells' coattails to a couple of NFL head coaching jobs. Belichick was muddling through a typical season in 2001 when his starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, got hurt. Bledsoe's replacement, a complete unknown named Tom Brady, started winning games, and Belichick got his diploma.

Genius. Continue

Reid took the blows, and did it his way

He stood outside the big, green double doors at one end of the Eagles' locker room at Lincoln Financial Field "Training room," says the sign. It is one of the team's secret places, one of many. It is where Andy Reid was headed.

All around him, the improbability of the moment was manifesting itself in all of the time-honored ways: shouting, embracing, laughter, wonder. Reid's team was going to the playoffs after all. A week earlier, the Eagles had seemingly drop-kicked their destiny into oblivion with a loss to the Washington Redskins. This day, somehow, it boomeranged back into their suddenly sure hands. Continue

Reid faces harsh reality

 The shame of it all is that the Eagles will have a top 10 offense and defense for the second straight season, and barring some kind of miracle on Sunday, they will have missed the playoffs each time.

That’s two straight seasons of Brian Westbrook’s prime. Two straight seasons of a defense that is currently No. 1 in the NFC and third in the NFL.And two straight seasons where Donovan McNabb was still among the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

McNabb will most likely set the team record for passing yards in a season, and has a decent chance to surpass 4,000 passing yards in the regular-season finale Sunday against Dallas. No wonder he thought he “played great” this season, although he must have amnesia over the fiascos against Cincinnati and Baltimore. Continue

Eagles coach Reid should follow NFL lead, stop being GM

 When Eagles owner Jeff Lurie decided to make Andy Reid king 7 1/2 years ago, monarchies were all the rage in the NFL.

With his May 2001 elevation from head coach to head coach/executive vice president of football operations, Reid became the 13th coaching member of The Final Say Club.

Seven-and-half years later, you could hold the monthly meetings of The Final Say Club in a bathroom stall at McDonald's. Continue

Reid: No decision on QB

After benching Donovan McNabb at halftime and watching Kevin Kolb suffer through a rough second half, Eagles coach Andy Reid now must decide who starts in four days, Thursday night against Arizona.

McNabb finished 8-for-18 for 73 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. Kevin Kolb was 10-for-23 for 59 yards with two interceptions.

The Eagles offense has now gone 99 minutes, 29 seconds since their last offensive touchdown, during the third quarter of last week's game against Cincinnati. They have now scored one offensive TD in 140:30.

After the game, Reid said he had not made a decision about the starter for Thursday.

"It is an understatement to say that was a poor offensive performance," Reid said. "It's not all about one guy. We're all going to sit here and point at Donovan. It's not all about Donovan. We saw that as the game went on ... This is not something that I have made any decision on, if Kevin is the starter or Donovan is the starter. We have a short week. I will think about it and we'll go from there." Continue

Eagles need action, not Reid's hollow words

Until the Eagles actually score a go-ahead touchdown to win a close game in the final couple of minutes, I'm done believing anything Andy Reid has to say. It's all just meaningless words now, non-explanations, catchphrases, and taking responsibility for things that don't make any sense.

Apparently, after losing yet another NFC East game by single digits, Reid thinks the Eagles are just fine. He knows what he's got. There's plenty of time left. He's got the pieces he needs. The only addendum to Reid's normal postmortem yesterday after a 36-31 loss to the New York Giants was this: "We all need to step it up here now another notch down the stretch." Continue

Eagles coach Reid doesn't need Patterson situation

At best, Mike Patterson is guilty of stupidity and a severe lack of judgment, if the charges against him stand. At worst, if the charges are true, the Eagles defensive tackle is guilty of a lack of concern and sensitivity to the coach and organization that picked him in the first round of the 2005 draft and recently rewarded him with a hefty contract extension.

Not that the use of illegal drugs is ever a minor thing for a professional athlete, but it will fall under heightened scrutiny with the Eagles considering the yearlong ordeal coach Andy Reid has just endured with his two eldest sons. Continue