Andy Reid's final defeat
Giants 42, Eagles 7
Andy Reid's final defeat
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For years, I had this vision of how Andy Reid would walk away. I carried it until pretty recently, until about 2010. The way I figured it, the final camera shot would go like this: Reid finishing the press conference after the Super Bowl, finding his wife, Tammy, in the crowd of reporters -- she always goes to his post-game press conferences -- and walking away with one arm around her and the Lombardi Trophy in the other.
It was cinematic and Hollywood, yes -- but didn’t the law of averages have to work for Reid at some point? Didn’t it? That was the theory, anyway. In the last 2 years, though, the vision changed. We all know the reasons -- Michael Vick, a couple of bad drafts, a failure to replace Jim Johnson at defensive coordinator despite repeated attempts. And while it was easy to see it ending badly, it was hard to predict the last day.
Sunday was the last day.
It was cold and miserable and buffeted by a bitter wind. It was sloppy and inept. And when it was over -- historians will record the final final score for Reid as the Eagles’ coach was Giants 42, Eagles 7 -- the black-clad coach left the sidelines for the last time. All that remains is the press conference where he will be fired, presumably on Monday.
He will be known for how much he won, and how much his quarterbacks threw the ball. He will be known for “time’s yours” and taking responsibility and needing to put his players in a better position and looking forward to the privilege of playing everyone. He will be remembered for being the best coach the Eagles ever had at the same time he is remembered for failing to win the the Super Bowl.
The final indignities of the final Sunday -- the bad tackling, the terrible secondary play, the erratic quarterbacking of Vick, the deserved fourth-quarter benching of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha -- will not linger, mostly because almost nobody was paying attention. But the answer to the trivia question will be this: Reid’s first quarterback was Doug Pederson and his last quarterback was Trent Edwards, who mopped up Sunday.
There was no spotlight on the players, not on this day. All eyes were on Reid, with the rolled-up play chart in his left hand and the red challenge flag in his back pocket and 14 years of memories locked inside. As he walked off, for the last time, that is where those memories remained.
Time's your's, Andy. Good Luck.— Boru- I am soo glad The Vick era is over as well. Now we can start washing the stank off this team. Talk about unlikable human. Made it hard to even watch and root for. I would rather have been tortured with more Mcnabb hipwaggles and wormballs then like at that smug jerk another day. — hipdaddy
- Time's yours......— PhillyFan_in_NoVA
- Thanks for the last 14 years, well more likely thanks for the first 11 years.— palmyra21
- Please let this nightmare be over. Please.— gladmax
- brotherman1,WOW ITS OVER,this is the Meeting that Reid will have with Jeffery please let me Try one moore Time i didn't put the players in the right spot the right play its my FAULT.— brotherman1
- He came in on a 3-13 note left on a 4-12, kinda sad but funny at the same time it happened this way.— realtruth
- Thank goodness this season is over. Better yet,the Giants are going home.— samafja
- AR to Lurie, "give me one more chance, hey there's no where to go but up"— realtruth
- I think he should have known something was up when the bus ticket for him and his coaching staff was only 1 way...
Time to clear his stash of tastykake and twinkies from his desk..one last stop at Tony Lkes on the way to the airport and good riddence..— dedhed - Sadly, Andy is not gone until Lurie says so, and he has yet to say so.— The Truth Hurts
- Or maybe he will have the lawyer kid do it for him. Lawyers running the Eagles, who woulda thought it would come to this? — hipdaddy
- how is he best coach? the clown was here for 14 ffin years...mike mcormack would have been good had he had 14 years— tjwin23
- how is he best coach? the clown was here for 14 ffin years...mike mcormack would have been good had he had 14 years— tjwin23
- how is he best coach? the clown was here for 14 ffin years...mike mcormack would have been good had he had 14 years— tjwin23
