5 Big Eagles Questions at the Bye
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
5 Big Eagles Questions at the Bye
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
1. CAN MICHAEL VICK CUT DOWN ON THE TURNOVERS?
The numbers are staggering: 13 turnovers in six games. Michael Vick has become a turnover machine. Can he possibly keep this season’s pace up? The laws of probability would seem to suggest that the quarterback cannot. In his first nine seasons in the NFL, Vick had an interception or fumble 3.0 percent of every time he dropped back to pass or ran. This season, he has turned the ball over 4.5 percent of every drop or rush. While that may seem like only a marginal increase, it is not; the spike implying that Vick is more likely to turn the ball over at a rate in line with the greater sample than with the smaller one. So he should do a better job in the final ten games. But that won’t be enough. Behind a crippling offensive line, Vick has to be extra careful with his ball security and with forcing throws downfield. It’s that simple. The Eagles won’t win if they keep turning the ball over at this pace – 17 all told. If they don’t, Andy Reid will be forced to stop Vick’s errors the only way he can – by benching him for rookie Nick Foles.
2. WHAT WILL THE DEFENSE LOOK LIKE UNDER TODD BOWLES?
Judging from Todd Bowles’ introductory press conference last week, the defense won’t look much different than it did under Juan Castillo. Well, except for that whole closing-out-games thing. Bowles said that defensive line coach Jim Washburn’s wide-nine scheme will remain intact, that he will continue to mix and match man and zone defenses and that he’ll blitz when warranted and when working. The most significant difference, though, will likely be seen on game days when plays are called and when adjustments must be made. Castillo’s inability to effectively counter fourth quarter changes from opposing offensive coordinators was his ultimate undoing. Bowles, like Castillo, had never been an NFL coordinator before Reid gave them the job. But Bowles has a strong pedigree and a long history of working with some stout defenses. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha had touted Bowles’ in-game capabilities weeks before he got the top job. The Eagles have the talent and the athletes to play fast yet disciplined, as Bowles said he wanted his defense to look. It’s up to the first-time coordinator to put them in the best possible position to makes plays.
3. HOW CAN THE OFFENSE SCORE MORE POINTS?
Well, they can cut down on turnovers, but we’ve already covered that area. And, really, there’s more to the Eagles averaging a second-worst in the league 17.2 points a game than just turnovers. The struggles on the offensive line and Vick’s giveaways forced coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to call for a more balanced offense and for shorter throws against the New York Giants and Steelers. That strategy had a 50-50 success rate, and would have likely batted 1.000 had Vick not fumbled twice in Pittsburgh. But for the Eagles’ fast break offense to reach its zenith, Mornhinweg has to go back to a more pass-oriented offense that throws downfield. He did so against the Lions last week. The opportunities were there, but the execution in many cases was not. Vick failed to hit open receivers on several plays, so he deserves some of the blame. But his protection was below average and you have to wonder where his mind was after taking such a beating. So what can Reid and Mornhinweg do? They could go back to a ball-control offense – and they may at times depending upon the opponent – but the Lions gave future defenses a blueprint on how to disrupt the Eagles. They stacked the box and shut down running back LeSean McCoy and forced Vick, behind a shaky line, to beat them. Here’s a sober thought: This offense just may not be capable of averaging more than 20 points a game.
4. CAN THE EAGLES MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?
Yes, they can. The Eagles are not dead and buried at 3-3, not by a long shot. Reid has been 3-3 after six games four previous times during his tenure here – 2008, 2003, 2001 and 2000. Each time the Eagles made the playoffs. Consider Reid’s career record before Week 6 (47-37, .559) and after (82-47-1, .635). Consider the combined records of the Eagles’ ten remaining opponents (27-28, .491). Consider the NFC East standings. The New York Giants are 4-2, but the Eagles have the head-to-head tiebreaker right now. The Redskins are 3-3. The Cowboys are 2-3. The division is there for the taking. The Birds have some work to do, but a playoff berth is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. Now will they do it? The belief here since before the season was they will not.
5. WHAT DOES ANDY REID NEED TO DO TO SAVE HIS JOB?
Making the playoffs would be a good start. If the Eagles finish the season 7-3 or better and somehow fail to reach the postseason, its possible Jeffrey Lurie cuts Reid a break, although highly unlikely. Lurie said that he needed to see “substantial improvement” over last season’s 8-8 finish. Two more wins without a playoff game is not substantial. So, let’s say, Reid rallies the troops and the Birds make it to the postseason. Is that enough? It’s possible Lurie views qualifying for the playoffs as “substantial improvement.” And there are a few possible qualifiers – injuries, acts of God, etc. But it’s likely Reid has to win at least one playoff game. He hasn’t won one since 2008. But first, he’s got to win a few games in the regular season.
It's more than the turnovers. He is just playiong awful in every area. All Vick had to do to beat the Lions was get two first downs in hat last drive at the end of the game. Then going into overtime, they went three and out again, putting the ball in Mathews and megatron hands, the best receiver in the NFL. You two have been Vick backers from the beginning. Don't tell me you are finally seeing the light— mario1239- He is playing awful in every area? Mario are you kidding me? Do you not watch the games. Mario, you are one of the biggest Vick haters I ever seen. You come on this site and make dumb comments. You are pretty much blaming the loss on Vick. Why not blame the loss on Celek. He messed up two td's. Why not blame the D. If you are going to say all Vick had to do was get two first downs, then why not say all the Defense had to do was stop them. We had them down by 10 points. How can you sit here and pretty much blame Vick for every loss that we had. Do you not realize that Vick had us come back in the fourth quarter four times this season. Not to mention we were leading 5 times in the fourth quarter out of 6 games, but you don't think about that do you? Stop being so biased and look at his whole body of work. — Lpboys
- 1. He has turned the Ball over his whole career. 2. Defense will look the same, the offense was the problem. 3. Change the quarterback and call better plays. 4. No. 5. He has already lost it.— Sidewinder7
- Smell the coffee guys. With an average coach and an average QB, the Eagles are going nowhere. Even if Andy Reid's Eagles make the playoffs, they'll still be just an average team, and not a great team. Great teams find ways to win; average teams always come up with great excuses for losing the close ones.
With Andy Reid as coach, the Eagles will always be an 8-8 team, or thereabouts. When a team; a QB, and a coach, need to win their last 3 games just to get to 8-8 (as they did last year), you'd have to be dumb as a post to not see the obvious.
As a long-time Eagles fan I gave up on Andy Reid taking our team anwhere when he got rid of his best QB that he's ever had, Jeff Garcia, for the prima-donna average QB Donovan McNabb back in the '06 season. Here's guy who took over the QB spot (after McNabb got hurt again, as he's been every year going back to 2001), with the team at 5-4 and rallied them to win the last 5 out of 6 to take them into the playoffs--including beating Dallas in Dallas on Christmas Day 23-7. So what happened? Andy Reid got rid of Jeff Garcia.— AmRifleman - Is this post what the cool kids call HAIKU ? — damrvrhunter
- amrifleman-garcia really led the eagles far into the playoffs that year, you clueless moron,— smiggs13
- is this team really going to go win 7 of its last 10 games? I don't think so.
— birds748 - When the going gets tough~~ the smart ones dial it back— Beagle Fan
- Love the sunny outlook by side-thinker and the rest of the negadelphians. Things can change in a hurry. Losers are great at giving up and complaining. Do most posters even watch other games and see a lot of NFC teams are playing mediocre football at this time. I will root for the Eagles every week. Defenses do win ballgames. Zero sacks in three games isn’t a problem? No real pressure on the opposite QB is not a problem? GO EAGLES!!! I wish they were playing this weekend.— SC Philly Fan
- Jeff, I think you meant to write 3.0 and 4.5 not 0.030 and 0.045 since you follow it with "percent". You are correct that it is a significant 50% increase in his historical rate. My free statistics tutoring is now complete.— borntosuffer
- Vick is a loser...Vick has NEVER WON ANYTHING..He is the most overhyped and overrated player in the history of the NFL....Vick is near the BOTTOM of all QB's in NFL QB rating..even rookie QB's RG111 and Russell Wilson are playing better than the $100 million fraud Vick...Nick Foles will also.— Bob112
- 1. CAN MICHAEL VICK CUT DOWN ON THE TURNOVERS?
No.
2. WHAT WILL THE DEFENSE LOOK LIKE UNDER TODD BOWLES?
It won't matter if the offense keeps scoring 17 points a game.
3. HOW CAN THE OFFENSE SCORE MORE POINTS?
Run the ball more and then throw play action passes once the safties start coming up?
4. CAN THE EAGLES MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?
Are the Eagles going to make any changes to run/pass ratio? In other words, no.
5. WHAT DOES ANDY REID NEED TO DO TO SAVE HIS JOB?
Steal the Laurie sex tapes?— dlivesay - Another article offering false hope. NO THEY CAN'T! This is a crappy team. Admit it. Move on.— Bama
- Stop -------around and fire Reid!— lost eagle
- THERE IS ONLY ONE QUESTION....AND IT IS....WHY IS JEFFERY NOT FIRING ANDY....14 YEARS OF FAILURE....no line and a bad scheme....No d-line with a horrible scheme....No safeties....No scheme changes in 14 years.....Too many failures in drafting....Watkins, Mathews, Dunlap, Coleman.....Too many failures in coaching....JC, April, Mudd, Wahsburn....Too many clock management issues.....Too much arrogance with fans and media....Too stubborn to change or adjust to players, opponents etc.....AGAIN THE ONLOY QUESTION IS WHY IS JEFFERY NOT FIRING AR ????— nuggett
- AS LONG AS LURIE IS BUSY COUNTING HIS BILLION DOLLARS, HE COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT FIRING REID. — bedpan
- "Too much arrogance with fans and media!" I'm so happy someone finally said it. — Kolitz
- Answers: #1 Vick will continue his T/O rate; #2 Better but not up to what we had up through 2010; #3 re-sign Jamaal Jackson and make the OL moves Reuben Frank recommends at www.csnphilly.com, plus bench Vick and start Foles; #4 No, they can't; #5 Hopefully, nothing, i.e., Lurie probably already has Bill Cowher's phone number on speed dial.— 1republican
- your going to be eating your words here when they do turn it around and make the playoffs. This is fixable and the atheles are on the roster. Better play calling, better pocket movement, focused special teams, and ball control will fix this.— connorjr
- "Better play calling" - happened in 2nd half of NYG game - happens 1x per year under Andy and Marty - WON'T happen again this year - too stubborn to change base philosophy.
"Better pocket movement" - line can't block straight up and now pocket will move? That leads to more missed blocks. Only pocket movement is Vick running for his life.
"Focused special teams" - this one's the best!! Special teams have sucked for six years - except for DeSean!!
"Ball control" - they have focused on short-term gains and ball control - moved the ball OK - except for turnovers.
NONE OF THIS CAN - and under Reid and Marty - NEVER WILL BE FIXED!!!!! Smoke some more off the pipedream.— bburgk11 - Folks with all respects, I am the "True Falcons Fan" --- have been since 1966 --- The MV7 years were very great highs and extremely exasperating lows, all the guy needed to do was "TELL THE TRUTH" to ownership. The Falcons owner Arthur Blank is one of the most respected men in ATL, "Great Person"! Back during the later years of Vick's era/ tenure he was apply named the "Coach Killer" by Jim Mora Sr.,& in my opinion is the best title for MV7.... Nick Foles will be your starting QB soon and Andy Reid is one my favorite HC's. I wish him all the luck "but NOT on 10/28th".... My 6-0 Falcons are on a mission this 2012-13 ..... Go Falcons /// Eaglettes next— TrueFalconsFan
- With all due respect the Eagles will lay the "SMACKDOWN" on them Falcons Candy Ashes.
— SedatedManiac - Vick has GUTS but he has never been a top tier QB and he is not going to morph into one now. Andy needs to cut the cord NOW because Vick is the ultimate definition of "fools gold".— JBP
- The eagles shouldn't wear pink. they play poorly when they do.
— Tyrone Biggums - "Consider Reid’s career record before Week 6 (47-37, .559) and after (82-47-1, .635)."
What a loser!!!!
— reek3232 - This is the bye week. Soon it will be bye, bye week for Andy.— butchcat
- How can the offense score more? Well, T. 0. Vick cutting down the giveaways would be a start, wouldn't it? Just too hard to score when you keep giving it to the other guys! The defense is going to look pretty much the same, though since it was obvious after Sunday's fiasco the players were against Juan Castillo, it could improve if the want to play for Todd Bowles. Of course they CAN make the playoffs, and even make a run in the playoffs--IF THEY REALLY WANT TO DO IT!
Obviously, AT LEAST one playoff win is needed for Andy Reid to keep his job.— BEMiller - @4:35 Sedatedmanic Hey buddy smackdown we be all on your Eaglettes, yo boy MV7 will fumble at least 2 plus 2 int's ... See you've got a GREAT coach and a terrible QB known as "Coach Killer", a half ashes defense = Falcons win big --- probably something around Falcons 17 & Eaglettes 3 so don't bet the under "SmackDown" --- your team is goin' "DOWN" for sure....
Go Falcons --- Eaglettes next— TrueFalconsFan - DETROIT HAS 2 TIME OUTS LEFT,EAGLES HAVE THE BALL AND A 3 POINT LEAD.
3 MINUTES,THAT'S 180 SECONDS AND GAME IS OVER
WITH A 40 SECOND CLOCK IF YOU RUN THE BALL THREE TIMES AND PUNT
[ALLOWING 35 SECONDS + 5 SECONDS FOR THE PLAY]
NUMBER OF DOWNS WITHOUT A 1ST DOWN.....4 X 40 =160 SECONDS
DETROIT WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE USED BOTH THEIR TIME OUTS.
DETROIT WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE BALL BACK WITH ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF WITH NO TIME OUTS.
THAT'S NOT VICK'S FAULT THAT'S COACHING TIME MANAGEMENT.— Ernie Garman - Maybe Cowher doesn't want the job, you geniuses. Who else do you have in mind?— p-diddy
- I posted on these boards way back in March that Edwards would replace Vick as starter before the season was over. Its getting close. However, this is before they drafted Foles, and I seen him play. So most likely Foles will be the QB very soon.— watsonmr
- Vick has heart of Lion and is knocked senseless every week. He is too short to be a pocket passer. All three phases need to work to win in post season. At best we have 1.5. It took Cowher 15 years to win SB.— oldBird
- And by the way, while you are talking about things...what about Special Teams? They are close to horrible...and Bobbie April is better suited to sell hotdogs or concessions of some sort. He has been at least one of our biggest concessions since the season began. Cheez Louise....is there anything going good with this team? Give us one part of the game to root for...— 5thstrretpast
bob,mario,wolf4,phil,cc25 are all the same person. Sybil personality complex. In the basement burning crosses in cut off daisy dukes with a mayonaise sandwitch in his hands. The real problem isnt Mike Vick the problem has been the offensive line for about 3 years now and they have done nothing. It was the problem when Vick was annointed starter in 2010. It was the problem last year and they did nothing. And its the problem again this year. Somehow they will figure out one of two things. Mudd's system isnt as good as advertised ( Peyton manning getting back surgery for getting pounded ) or letting the old man choose his own guys is a bad idea. Either way the line sucks. Fix it and all of the sudden the whole team gets better.— Zeru- This stat speaks volumes and says a lot about Reid - Reid has been 3-3 after six games four previous times during his tenure here – 2008, 2003, 2001 and 2000. Each time the Eagles made the playoffs.
Reid hasn't won a playoff game since 2008.
The common denominator - Jim Johnson was here those years. Reid is a good coach but he rode the coattails of Jim Johnson and the defense. Reid hasn't been the same since JJ passed away.
— blackknight - Absolutely correct knight! Reid was covered for 10 years on one side of the ball. Also covered for 8 years on special teams with Harbaugh. They've sucked since he's been gone too! — bburgk11
- 1) NO. MV7 has been a turnover machine his entire career, even in Atlanta, where he rarely threw the ball more than 30 times a game. Now he has a HC/OC that wants him to throw it 50 times a game. You do the math.
2) About the same. They still have no safeties and our supposedly top DL has disappeared.
3) Maybe...if they stop turning it over and the OC stops dialing up 7 step drop passes with a turnstile OL.
4) Can they? Yes. Will they? No.
5) Win at least one playoff game, which won't happen. BYE BYE ANDY!!!— Only in Philly... - I wish Vick would just stay on the ground so we can move on.— Apollo Creed
- No quarterback in the NFL could be successful behind the Eagles pathetic offensive line. I just don't see how the O-line can get much better, because the talent level is not there. The Eagles will not make the playoffs and Reid will be fired.— MUADDIB
- I wonder what gives this guy so many chances on the offensive line. Any prudent person would bring Jackson back at center immediately and start from there. Somebody got a surefire tackle for a 3 in the draft. We need bangers now.— JIM IAQUINTO
- Michael Vick cuts down the turnovers, so what! Can't you all see that this is never going to work. Reid and Vick are toxic. Not one of you that is sane, would bet there is a championship here this year. This idea that the team is going to get hot like the Giants last year is 1 in 100. It looks more like the players are pulling apart and the lame duck Reid is in full panic mode. The koolaide tanker just ran dry after 14 years.— Kioto
- Article Questions:
1. No - Vick has issues with blitz recognition, OL a mess, pass plays are 20 yds doenfield with no hot reads, and Reid/Mornhinweg used up their one game a year running the ball (NYG).
2. Same as it has since Jim Johnson passed - TURIBUL. Johnson covered for Reid COMPLETELY on defense (made all personnel calls, etc.). Reid's ineptness on that side of the ball is obvious with the DCs he's hired/fired since.
3. SHADY!!! Will never happen on regular basis though.
4. They can but not going anywhere.
5. He can't...burnt out, stubborn and lost projects all over the place. Bring in Cowher and clean it out...SB in 2014/2015
Additions:
---Special Teams were excellent under Harbaugh - been TURIBUL since. Again - failed coverage once assigned coach moved on.
---This team was based for years on bulk in trenches, hitters and playmakers in the secondary and discipline. Now - no discipline, secondary shaky at best, and line play resorted to gimmicks.
---Drafts have been average at best.
Time to blow it all up.— bburgk11 - Nothing short of a Super Bowl will save Reid.— voodoochile75
