Reid OK with postponement
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Reid OK with postponement
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles-Vikings game that was scheduled for tonight at 8:20 p.m. has been moved to Tuesday 8 p.m. because of the blizzard that is hitting Philadelphia and the East Coast, the team said.
With Tuesday's game, the Eagles will now have only five days of rest in between the Vikings game and their final game of the season against the Cowboys. The Eagles host Dallas on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. The Cowboys will have an additional day of rest having played against Arizona on Saturday. (They lost, 27-26.)
"I don't think it's a problem," Eagles coach Andy Reid said about the short week. "I think we'll be all right. We've had Monday games, Sunday night games, we had a Thursday game, so we've been through a lot of this already, and that will help us. We'll be fine."
Reid said that he'll give his players off Wednesday and then get back to work on Thursday in preparation for Sunday's game against the Cowboys.
The game will still be broadcast on NBC-10. It was originally set to be played at 1 p.m., but the NFL's flex scheduling allowed for the game to moved back into prime time. The Eagles-Cowboys start could also be changed.
With ESPN's Monday night game set between the Saints and Falcons, the league likely moved the Eagles-Vikings game back two days to avoid a conflict. The NFL released the following statement:
"Due to public safety concerns in light of today's snow emergency in Philadelphia, tonight's Vikings-Eagles game has been postponed. Because of the uncertainty of the extent of tonight's storm and its aftermath, the game will be played on Tuesday night at 8 pm. This will allow sufficient time to ensure that roads, parking lots and the stadium are fully cleared. The National Weather Service states that a winter storm warning in Philadelphia remains in effect until 1 pm on Monday. NBC will televise the game nationally."
"We're OK with it," Reid said. "We're organized and prepared for this, and we completely support what the league did from a safety standpoint for everybody. We got the guys out of the hotel and home, and they'll come back for a walk through tomorrow and then to the hotel, and it will be just like a Saturday night before a Sunday game."
Some players have gone to Twitter to voice their disdain for the decision.
"This sucks man," wrote running back LeSean McCoy.
"Pissed," wrote receiver Jeremy Maclin.
The extra time off could also benefit the Vikings. Quarterback Brett Frave was doubtful for the game because of the concussion he suffered last week and because of a lingering shoulder injury. Two extra days of rest could be what Favre needed in order to play.
The Philadelphia area is expecting its first storm of the winter with accumulations expected to exceed a foot in South Jersey. Philadelphia and west could get as much as a foot of snow. Mayor Michael Nutter declared a state of emergency to begin at 2 p.m. in the city.
A couple of today's games still affect the Eagles, in particular the 4:15 p.m. matchup between the N.Y. Giants and Green Bay. If the Giants lose the Eagles clinch the NFC East and a playoff spot. A victory by New York, however, means that the Eagles would still need to win on Tuesday if they wanted to clinch first in the division with one game to play.
The 1 p.m. game between Chicago and the N.Y. Jets also has implications for the Eagles. If Chicago loses and the Eagles win their final two games of the season they would secure the NFC No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Win or lose, though, the Eagles will have something to play for against the Cowboys.
The No. 1 seed is still up for grabs, but the Eagles would need a laundry list of scenarios to play out for that to happen.
Stupid. Now the Eagles will have probably have to face Favre and they will have to play week 17 on short rest. B.S.- SMART. Oh, ok the mayor said he is calling a state of Emergency at 3pm, the worst of the snow between 3-11. It is very dangerous for anyone ... including Eagles employees to travel home at 11p in possibly 20" of snow!! I think you just felt like watching the game tonight, yeah me too, but my guess is that this may have saved a life!!!... uh, I'll just watch it Tues! SMART!!!!!!!!
— iluvmyeagles - STUPID. It is not that difficult to get around in snow. People have been doing it as long before today's amenities have been around. This has the potential to be crushing for the Eagles. The short week could cripple their hopes in getting the bye.
- What a joke. Cancelling an NFL game because of snow. Now Favre and Peterson get another 2 days to get healthy. Good job Goodell! Way to make it more competitive.— bornphilly
- If the Eagles need Goodell and snow to make them better, than they've got bigger issues than a game being postponed. These are high-payed, high-trained athletes, if they can't bring it Tuesday they aren't the high-flying act we think they are.
Save a life (from keeping thousands of drunk fans off the road at 11pm last night) and crush the Vikes on Tuesday. Really, bornphilly, you're scared of Favre? That's the joke!— Pastor Lee - What a bunch of wimps!— farley
- Playing in the snow: Not a problem.
Holding a game in a potential state of emergency when it would be illegal, not to mention ridiculously dangerous, for the tens of thousands of fans to drive to and from the Linc, in a heavy blizzard, in the dark: Problem.
This is a good move. Sucks that it can't be made up on Monday though.— DLR - why couldnt they just make it a monday nite game ? the eagles have too much riding on these last 2 games to get screwed over like this. They should make the eagles/cowgirls game a sunday nite or monday nite game if they are playing for a first round bye.— tsoprano
- ESPN has an exclusivity clause in their contract for Monday night. An exception was made for the Giants Vikings game since it was a regional game for FOX, and their Monday game was only shown in the New York and Minneapolis markets. The difference for this game is that the Eagles Vikings game was slated as the national game on NBC and showing this game nationally on NBC would violate the clause in ESPN's contract. — s1360m
- I'd rather have Favre play. His career is over.— PortCity
- not nutter's fault so no need to blame him - ESPN.com
"Nutter, reached by telephone before the decision to postpone the game, said it was not the city's decision. "We'll be prepared," said Nutter, who said city operations officials were in constant contact with the NFL and the Eagles front office. "Either way, if there is a game or not, the city will be ready. But it's the NFL's call to play the game or not."— mia74 - Incidentally: It can't be on Monday night because ESPN's Monday Night Football contract guarantees that no other NFL games will be played during their broadcast. Just like ESPN can't show a game on Sunday night, because it would conflict with NBC.— DLR
- this makes no sense. there were 2 MNF games a couple weeks ago when giants-vikings got postponed — yatpatel
- Sorry, I should have said *nationally telecasted* games Vikings/Giants was on local channels only. — DLR
