Juan More Time? Not That Thrilled
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Juan More Time? Not That Thrilled
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
I've gotten some emails and tweets from people who say they will be just fine, if the Eagles decide to do nothing to shake up their defensive decision-making hierarchy, in the wake of Steve Spagnuolo signing on with the Saints. Their thinking, of course, is that Juan Castillo's defense improved dramatically down the stretch, that players talked of having needed time to come together and grasp their roles, get a sense of one another, so on and so forth.
No question, the Eagles' defense improved, allowing no more than one touchdown in each of its last four outings, yes, against subpar quarterbacks, but looking much better than it had looked against equally subpar quarterbacks earlier in the season. (Ryan Fitzpatrick? Tavaris Jackson?)
Castillo is an earnest, decent man who doesn't deserve to be cast aside summarily. And if you're going to retain Jim Washburn and the Wide 9, which seems advisable, the easiest way to do that is to keep Castillo in place. Still, I want to see a prominent, experienced voice given a position of power on the defensive side, with Juan, in place of Juan, whatever.
The Eagles missed the playoffs for two reasons: Turnovers and Castillo's learning curve. The turnover thing they're going to have to fix by beating Michael Vick over the head with it all offseason. The Castillo problem isn't just magically cured by the former offensive line coach having one season on defense under his belt now.
Yeah, they'll shore up the linebacker position and maybe safety, too, and that will help. But how do we know Castillo won't stand and watch Larry Fitzgerald beat him again when Larry Fitzgerald is the only real weapon on the field for the other team? As much as I like Juan, I don't want to see him matching wits with, say, Bill Belichick, or even Drew Brees, in the third quarter of a close game. There is no way Castillo is going to have the grasp of defensive nuance of someone who has worked on the defensive side for many years, no matter how hard Juan works. My feeling down the stretch was that players and other coaches got Juan to simplify things, to blitz more, to junk the complex zone coverages he'd designed. I don't trust the man's instincts, based on what he planned for his rookie season.
I still think it's inexcusable that the Eagles missed the playoffs in large part because Andy Reid couldn't forsee that making his offensive line coach the defensive coordinator in a lockout year, with no offseason preparation, was going to be a disaster. The lockout didn't just sneak up on anybody. Teams knew it was coming, for a couple of years.
I don't think "well, what the heck, Juan seemed to be catching on there, let's see what happens" is a good way to prepare for a Super Bowl-or-bust season. Reid was incredibly lucky that last year's Castillo decision didn't cost him his job. This year's Castillo decision still could.
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Note to people who might read a couple of the comments below: The Eagles' ranking of 8th in defense pertains strictly to yardage, which is close to meaningless. Ask the Patriots, who ranked 31st there.
The Eagles gave up 27 touchdown passes last season despite having rich talent at the cornerback position. That figure ranked 24th in the NFL, and that stat DOES mean something. They were 30th in red zone defense. They tied for 17th in the league in interceptions, despite tying for the league lead in sacks. When you're getting such good pressure, it ought to convert into turnovers. It didn't.
And I don't think I'm the one bending stats to fit an agenda.
Les, you're totally right about the bogus defensive ranking based on yardage; the late, great Jim Johnson never cared about yardage, he focused on points allowed. I'm sure you have some of his quotes in your files.— chesapeake- Needs a QB that doesn't turn it over at a league leading rate.— Sidewinder7
- Needs a QB that doesn't turn it over at a league leading rate.— Sidewinder7
- Blah, blah, blah. Who cares what you think Les? I've read and heard your crappy take on things for too many years. How about this? The Eagles have a head coach has been very successful and two of the main tools he has is (over)preparation and having the hardest hitting training camps in the league. He was stripped of both, and in a year of many new faces. I liked what I saw in the last 4. Not just the wins, but how they played. I hope they keep it together so we can see what happens.— reek3232
- Great piece Les. Hopefully this blowhard will be outta here after this year. Hearing Brian Dawkins interviewed on the radio made me remember why I once was a die hard Eagles fan. Not so much anymore. Don't know your relationship with 975 and Mike Miss, but the two of you together could sure create a great public view of how we as as former die hards despise the Franchise's approach. keep up the GREAT WORK!— finkel
- Lurie is the problem and he is the owner. The Eagles will go nowhere. Lurie insist on keeping Reid when he obviously cant get the job done. He will draft poorly again. The defense will be mediocre at best and we will be back at this same point next year. So frustrating— Mikedub
When the season started- I was appalled by Castillo appointment to Def Coord. But as the season wrapped- I was seriously convinced that he should remain Def Coord! The Defense is implementing the wide9 and the other stuff Castillo put in place and you can see the thing gel -ing. Don't change a damned thing! That Eagles team there at the end of the season- is one I'd pay to watch next year... People are scared of that team of Eagles who won those last 3 games!
Leave it alone- let your impulse for changing things rest! leave that team alone for this entire coming year- its obviously starting to work well. Don't make this season in vain! Leave it alone. I want to see all the coaches we can keep- staying on and the team staying with this system in place- no changes! @ the end of next season- we can revisit- don't mess with it now.- Spag is a loser and Bowen is a little wimp. He hates real men like Juan that can build a TOP 10 D in one year. He likes little wimps that look like him.— Dallasrulez
- Juan may be a great guy. He may work hard. He may stress fundamentals....But a good to average OC is always thinking several plays ahead. Juan nor Andy seems to have the football acumen to keep pace during a close game.
We need change. I'm convinced that that must start with ownership. Lurie has showed he is afraid to make necessary decisions because of any perceived perception nationally. What a wuss.— Lil Ratman - changing coaches now would be insanity! Anybody with any football sense had to see what happened this season coming, I only hoped things would jell in time to make the playoffs but expected a slow start. New line coaches new def. coord. and all those new players no matter how talented can't come together in one season let alone the stike short off season. To change any coach now would be to start over again with similiar results next season. Could we get Phil Sheridan to be traded to the Tampa Tribune?— weso
- When reading the Philly sports writers essays, it's always a benefit to remember theses are the same writers who convinced you that Kevin Kolb was the answer in replacing Donavan McNabb.— Dexter
- I think this one of the better columns I've seen Les write. Presented several good points, with some good facts to back them up. There were some real bottom of the rung QB's that they played the last 4 games. I think realty is what you saw in games 1 thru 12.— watsonmr
- bs articles is why philly will always be negative because the media thrives on negativity i guess if juan should be fired the giants skins and cowboy coordinators should be fired too he mentioned where the patriots ranked with yardage but they were second in forcing turnovers and the other team that one 15 games with that porous yardage defense green bay lost because the giants moved the ball and didnt turn it over so dont just pull comparisons to make a point like i said bs article— positive eagle
- Andy Reid and the Eagles brass have blamed the lack of off-season OTAs, the hiring of new Coaches, the signing and trading for new players, etcetera for their dismal performance this past year.
To that I say just one thing: "San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh."
A good Coach can overcome a lot of issues; a bad one makes excuses. - "UNACCEPTABLE", Welcome back Guys! The Insanity continues!— younged
