The Andy-bashers are giving the coach grudging credit for sticking with the run game against the Vikings even though it wasn't working. This is wrong. He didn't stick with it. They weren't getting anything out of it (but for one 27-yard run by Correll Buckhalter). The rest of the time, Brian Westbrook was banging his head against a wall and he didn't look like he had the burst it would take to bounce outside. So Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg did what they almost always do in that situation -- they threw.
At the point where Westbrook caught the 71-yard screen pass for a touchdown, the Eagles has called about 68 percent passes and 32 percent runs. When they are losing, these are the kinds of numbers that get Reid barbecued. It is only a few play calls away from the sainted concept of balance, but people here insist that those play calls are the holy grail. Well, he wasn't balanced yesterday. So why aren't the Balance Police out in force?
Because it was never about the play-calling, except in the most extreme cases. It is about the players. Most of all,this was about a defense that tightened up at halftime and smothered Minnesota. On the other side of the ball, it was about Eagles receivers holding on to the ball and, especially, it was about Donovan McNabb delivering the ball under pressure. He did turn it over twice, and that can get you beat against a better offensive team, but McNabb played a tough game and absorbed a lot of punishment and functioned well overall.
Rich, I admire your work and have always respected your opinions. However, it is clear that you don't get it when it comes to the playcalling gripe fans have with Andy. Your logic has always been to blame the players - essentially saying that the coaches are incapable of putting the players in a bad position. The unbalanced approach puts the players in a bad position. Running the ball provides balance, and to be honest, Andy's philosophy yesterday was an improvement. Considering what Minny's numbers were against the run (#1 in the league), what Reid did was appropriate. It's when he's facing teams that aren't as good against the run as they are against the pass - when he's incessantly calling passes that fly in the face of logic - that drive fans nuts. Have you read the quotes from opposing defensive players?
Good win for eagles. The tight end play was main reason along with westbrook getting lucky and breaking a clinching td. I fault AR for not giving buck more touches. Hopefully McNabb dosen't get a swelled head bigger then it is now, until Westbrook broke his run McNabb looked like a deer in the headlights-ready to upchuck like in his last playoff game in 04). Laurie/Banner still need at seasons end to offer AR his choice of either head coach or GM-not both anymore. McNabb should be offered a year by year contract to see if he can continue to improve on his ground ball throws-no way in hell a extension or new a contract!!!
Rich:
The problem all along has not been that there has been an imbalance. It has been when Andy has completely abandoned the running game. You failed to note that Andy's decision to keep running the ball every so often led to the biggest play of the game. On Westbrook's 71 yard td, the Eagles ran play action to Westbrook before he went out on the screen. Because the Eagles had continued to call running plays in the second half, the play action was just effective enough to spring Westbrook.
it's not the percents that we were just worried about. It's when they were called. The mixed the run into every few plays rather than go on 7-10 play streaks of only throwing it.
I'm still not saying a thing until we face the Giants or until we are Superbowl bounded. But I believe that if Andy continues to mix it with some running during games, we have a pretty good chance.
I think Andy has proven to be among the elite coaches in the NFL. I think McNabb has proven to be among the elite QB's in the NFL. WIP and the boo birds should shup up now.
I agree with R. Hoffman. Eagles fans are the worst in sports. They don't have any knowledge of football, when in doubt blast the head coach. My biggest wish is for Reid to leave and then win a Super Bowl the next year with another team, and meanwhile these ingrate fans see another 45 years with no Super Bowl.
He didn't run the screen til the 4th quarter...Buckhalter was just about taken out for the day after just 2 rushes for 30 yards...I'm glad we keep saying 'Andy Haters go away', but was I the only one who saw that abomination called a 2 minute drill before the half? Or how about 3 consecutive drives with 3rd and less than 2 yards? Anybody remember those called plays? Lining up in the shotgun or throwing 50 yards down the field? They struck gold on 1 play on offense all day. For Andy Reid lovers who think this guy is a genius, it's been Jim Johnson and his players who've been carrying this team for 10 years... that said, the Eagles offense played well driving the ball out of the deep end in the 2nd half. I don't hate Andy at all, it's just that his adjustments and playcalling sucks-Even Westbrook had no explanation for how Andy calls a game. If Westbrook hadn't scored on the 71 yard screen, everybody else would be saying exactly what I'm saying. Winning cures all of that, and I hope the birds win in NY...
Great win, but play calling was still an issue. Buckhalter didn't touch the ball after having a big run. Needed 1 yard and threw a 50 yard pass for an interception. Even Aikman questioned this call.
How about running Westbrook underneath the linebackers, which has worked so well for the past few weeks.
One thing that was impressive is they found the hole in the middle and kept passing for 9 or 10 yards. In the past, they wouldn't have kept coming back to that play.
Lonewolf, you know this how? A stupid call especially when he had the field wide open (to run) to continue the drive, not give the ball back to Minn....keep drives going....keep your D off the field, that's what wins games. Juggs you are so right on every count. Rich, read Juggs' take on things, then you'll get it.
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About Rich Hofmann
Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest. Rich has blogged the postseasons of the Flyers and Eagles.
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