Deflated Andy, Dispirited Vick
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Deflated Andy, Dispirited Vick
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Not much to do today other than try to find a secure spot for my recycling bins, and think about what happened to the Eagles yesterday.
I'm most fascinated by the postgame scene. When Andy Reid trundled into the interview room, I was struck by how deflated he looked. Almost literally. Not making a weight joke here, but we all know the coach has lost more than a few pounds this year, and he's been growing out that brushy mustache until it dwarfs the rest of his features. The man who stood at the podium Sunday, swathed in rain-spattered black, looked like a shrunken, diminished version of the familiar coach.
We've seen Andy lose games before, and then brusquely declare how he has to do a better job. This was different. This time, the 14th-year coach seemed to be questioning himself as much as we were questioning him. I asked Reid if the change in defensive coordinators during the bye week, intended to galvanize the defense, had instead unsettled it.
"How can I stand up here and tell you it didn't, with the way we played?" he said.
That is not an Andy Reid answer. I have been asking this man questions since 2002, and I know an Andy Reid answer when I hear one. An Andy Reid answer to that sort of question usually involves everyone looking in the mirror while sharing pieces of pie.
Reid summoned a tiny bit of snark when ESPN's Sal Paolantonio asked him if he thought the team needed to hear a different voice. Reid asked if Sal wanted to talk to 'em. Otherwise, we seemed to be talking to a man as bewildered by the Eagles' response to the Falcons' sharp, focused play as we were.
I've heard this theory floated by former Eagles such as Brian Westbrook, and I think it resonates: So many of these Birds are not Andy guys. The great free agent coup of 2011, when the Eagles outsmarted the rest of the league by going out and signing everybody on the market in a few days, still resonates. Vince Young and Ronnie Brown are gone, but Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins play on. Plus, some of the young guys who were drafted here have known nothing but struggle and failure; they've heard about Reid's successes, haven't lived them. Remember, the Eagles last won a playoff game in the 2008 postseason.
In the NFL, you can't paper over draft failures with free agent signings. Uusually in NFL free agency, you wind up paying for glittery things a guy now at the end of his prime did while he was playing for somebody else, not what he is going to do for you in the future. That's not the way to win.
Moroever, when guys are drafted together and grow up together, win together, they build a strong bond, among themselves and with their coaches. Guy comes in from some other organization, gets a big guarantee, where's his incentive? What's his bond with you?
Also disturbing was Vick's postgame interview, at the same podium. I don't think Vick was saying he wants to be replaced, when he told us Reid was "obviously" considering a QB change, and that he would support whatever the coach did. I think he was trying to be a team guy, and acknowledging that he has not played well.
I think being unable to get this offense going has sapped Vick. The turnover problems have made him hesitant, tentative. He can't trust his constantly changing o-line, and at 32, Vick can't trust in the one thing he always believed in, his own superior athletic ability, which he used to think could solve any problem.
Vick is a crucial step slower than he was a few years ago, but he isn't as slow as he looked against the Falcons. The QB moved like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I don't think handing the season over to rookie quarterback Nick Foles is going to save the Eagles, who really can't give up on the playoffs at 3-4. But Reid needs to get Vick's mojo back, and maybe his own, as well. And I have no idea how that is going to happen.
Andy lost it three years ago. He should have retired gracefully and concentrated on his family, not football. Instead he put an offensive line coach in the top defensive position and then insulated himself by getting all the power of decisions on himself. Everyone said he will either live or die by such a move. Now its time to die.— Larry Byrd- the Colts are over .500 with a ROOKIE QB!!! just sayin— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
- The Iggles players know they aren't that good and have played accordingly, that can't be coached out by anyone. Yes, a complete coaching change is needed, but for right now I
believe what we see is what we get unfortunately, just sayin'...— DJ - Andy knows. He probably can't fix this. He'll be riding the storm out. And dismissed at the end of the season. The trenches are understaffed. The QB is too short and there's no magic in the legs anymore. Andy just realized he booked passage on the titanic. Bye Andy.— Grazman
- When I watched those press conferences, I could not help but think of the Republican Party, who is also deflated knowing that Obama is cruising to re-election because people are tired of Republican criminality and of what Republicans do to innocent women, children, minorities, gays, and the elderly. They only care about making sure Big Oil makes record profits and that their cronies get no-bid contracts. Reid sounds just like the Republicans will next Tuesday night.— eldiablodelsol2009
- PeeWee Roseman should be the first to go. The head football coach, King Cartoon, should be next.— Astro Jones
- It's time to realize that we''ve got a Bud Grant situation here, a successful coach that has stayed too, too long. The players comments after the game over the past few weeks have been very telling. It's always, "we have lots of talent" or, "we're a good team". The fact is the Eagles are NOT A GOOD TEAM. Their self-assessments are invariably too favorable. All of us have worked with people who are delusional about their worth and continue to think that their performance is excellent when it's obviously not. Many of these Eagle players are suffering from this disconnection from reality. It's not Andy "doing a better job". It's these players recognizing that they have to "DO THERE JOBS" and quit talking about how "good" they think they are.— cyclenut1
- Very entertaining here today. I think the players have a hard time giving 100% for the dolts that make all the noise in Philly. I wish they knew the silent majority supports them through thick and thin.— vafan
- You mean the noise they ignore? No player worth his weight in jock straps would ever admit to basing his effort on what fans think.
Get a brain.— Atomic Fury - With all due respect to you Les, this season isn't salvageable. If there are fans like myself, they're "done" with this regime and all it's hollow proclamations of having to do better. Yes, they're mathematically within reach of the playoffs but we all know that there isn't a miracle in this team - even if were to come in the form of an in-season Head Coach change.— Atomic Fury
- 11-14 time to go to sleep andy.— sgamble077
IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO ME:
After the loss of a child, sometimes people don't just bounce back.— Cuddles- A change a coach may be do. Ultimately it is up to the players to implement the plan. Maybe a 50/50 or 60,40 run/pass offense will finally be employed. But then you have depth of field considerations. Who knows what response to adversity will cause in a second/third/teamer?— gj2001
- Andy, It's time to move on with your life.We had few wins last 12 years but you're aren't anylonger "fit" neither physically nor psychologically to coach or lead the Eagles. You're hurting them understood!!!— afrux
- Andy - Take the rest of the year off.— rugbyjt
