Posted on Sat, Aug. 30, 2008
Andy Burgers are always on the menu Saturday night.
Asked to recall a memorable speech by his head coach during his six seasons with the Eagles, cornerback Lito Sheppard could come up with only one thing.
"I'll treat you to some cheeseburgers," he said, laughing about Andy Reid's signature Saturday night ritual. "He says that every week. It's the snack after the meeting. There are other things you can eat, but the cheeseburgers are always on the menu."
Reid's cheeseburger promise has been consistent since he became the head coach in 1999, with one exception.
"I give my little talk and then I always finish it with, 'I'll treat you to a cheeseburger,' " Reid said. "There was a game during my third or fourth year when I didn't say it, and all the players just sat there and kind of looked at me. Then they said, 'Hey, hey, you didn't say anything about the cheeseburger.' Now, I make sure I say it every time.
"Here's all you need to know: With a coach that looks like me, you're going to eat good. If nothing else, you're going to eat good, both home and away."
Brodrick Bunkley, a 306-pound defensive tackle, tries to forgo the Andy Burgers but admits the temptation is great.
"Me being a big guy, I try to stay away from them," Bunkley said. "They're pretty good, though. Big sirloin burgers, and I do love them."
"Saturday is a good day," quarterback Donovan McNabb said. "It's just a walk-through, and you're pretty much looking to leave the building as soon as you get to the building because you know you're going to be gone by 11 in the morning. At that point, you're just looking forward to Sunday."
After leaving the NovaCare Complex, the players and coaches have the rest of the day to themselves if they're playing at home the next day. Otherwise, they have to catch an early-afternoon flight, bus or train to whatever city they're playing in the next day.
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said he watches college football on Saturday while putting together his final notes for that night's meeting.
"If I know somebody, I like to watch those games," Johnson said. "I know Jim Harbaugh, so I watch Stanford. And I know Charlie Weis, so maybe I'll watch Notre Dame. If I know a coach, I'll be more interested. Sometimes I fall asleep."
The coaches and players spend Saturday night in a hotel regardless of their location. At home, they have to report to the Philadelphia Airport Marriott by 7 p.m. Meetings begin at 7:30.
"It's really vanilla," McNabb said. "For the quarterbacks, we take a sort of test about the game plan. Then the team gets together, and Andy speaks. Hopefully, you won the previous week because you get a highlight tape. Then you get a snack and you go to bed."
Crafting the script
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said he first goes over the 15-play script that the offense uses to start the game with McNabb, while Johnson meets with the linebacker and safety calling his signals in the huddle.
"We get a good review of our opponent and then we put in the first 15 plays," Mornhinweg said.
McNabb said he does not have many exchanges with Reid the night before the game.
"I laugh and joke with him at snack, but he doesn't talk to me much that day," McNabb said. "We talk more than enough during the week. I think we run out of things to say on Saturday. The other thing I do on Saturday is call home and give my 'good nights' and 'I love yous.' I talk to my daughter before I go to bed."
Sheppard said Saturday is not the time to get nervous or overly pumped. Reid agreed that he wants his players in a relaxed state the night before the game, which is why NFL teams stay at hotels even when they are at home.
"I like to keep things as consistent for the players as I can," Reid said. "I want to let them have a place that they can get away. With Mom and Dad, Uncle Charlie, and everybody else coming over, they can get to the hotel and focus on their job.
"I realize that nobody but the player understands what it's like to be a player. All those people love them, but they look at this as a game, and for the players this is a business. I want them to get off their feet. You don't want to peak too soon. The whole week you're trying to perfect your peak."
Reid's day
Reid spends a portion of his Saturday between the walk-through and the hotel check-in at the NovaCare Complex.
"It's a good time for me to review," Reid said. "Sometimes during the week I'm doing a few different things, and I use Saturday to go through it just one more time."
Actually, Saturday is a day for Reid to also put on his hat as executive vice president of football operations.
"I put the college games on. I've got my projector where I go through all my film, and I just start going back through things," Reid said. "I'll also sneak home that day, especially if one of the kids has a game. My wife goes on the road with me."
Reid, like every NFL coach, wants things to be structured on Saturday. But sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. Before the Eagles' eighth game in 2005, the coach had to make the decision to suspend wide receiver Terrell Owens.
"I honestly don't remember it being that tough," Reid said. "The thing I remember most about that day is Reggie Brown having a good game with a long run. You don't like that stuff, but that one doesn't stick out as being that big of a thing."
In a perfect world, of course, Reid does not have to deal with any distractions before telling his players that the cheeseburgers are on him.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
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