Decision to fire Castillo a "miscalculation"
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Decision to fire Castillo a "miscalculation"
Jeff McLane
NEW ORLEANS -- It may sound like an obvious statement after the last two games, but the Eagles' decision to fire Juan Castillo over the bye week was labeled as a "miscalculation" by one of the team's decision-makers following a 28-13 loss to the Saints on Monday night.
In an attempt to shake-up the team following a disastrous overtime loss to the Lions on Oct. 14, Eagles coach Andy Reid fired Castillo as defensive coordinator and replaced him with defensive backs coach Todd Bowles.
Bowles had never been a coordinator in the NFL. He was hired in January after a stint with the Miami that ended with him as interim head coach for three games in 2011.
Castillo was promoted from offensive line coach in Jan. 2011, a move that was criticized by many at the time. Castillo struggled in his first year as coordinator, but his defense showed improvement in 2012.
But back-to-back fourth quarter collapses against Pittsburgh and Detroit led to his firing.
Bowles hasn't had the opportunity to blow any fourth quarter leads because his defense has put the Eagles behind in the last two games. The Falcons scored on their first six possessions in their 30-17 win over the Eagles on Oct. 28.
The defense showed marginal improvement against the Saints, but could not keep the Eagles in the game after Michael Vick threw a pick six that spotted New Orleans a 7-0 lead. The Saints offense gained 371 yards and scored 21 points as the Eagles missed many tackles and were poor on third down and in the red zone.
The mis-calculation was measuring the toughness, heart and character of the defensive players. Wheher it was JJ, Juan or Todd Bowles, this group of defensive players are not up to the ferocious play necessary in the NFL.— psubrian- Fire Reid. But... Last night was not at all his fault. Anyone who thinks it was is just a hater. Nice tackling! Should have traded Babin that baby... Sad when Graham and Sims are the two best players.— fman727
- How u cant put blame on A. Reid, In GM management the worst in the league or coaching career. Watch Seattle vs Green Bay game and learn from it, Rodgers was been kill in the 1st half, 8 sacks coach McCarthy made a adjustment went to a Max Protection for the rest of the GM. Rodgers did not get touch. so how come the O line missing 3 starters, Vick is getting kill and you do not go into Max protection... Well see you next years..... — T.K.O
- It will be very interesting to see the home crowd's reaction this coming Sunday if and when the Eagles lay an egg the size of the ones over the past two weeks. They'll tear the place down.— mportik
- Washburn and Mudd are not what they have been hyped up to be. Bowles is just plain clueless, you can see it on his face as he hides behind the players. You can fix some of the O line by bringing back Castillo and J. Jackson. As others have said the wide line is only good for leaving big holes to run through.— schlippg
- I think we should can reid,washburn and mudd and name Howie interim coach.— euell
- The overly proud city of fickle fans are finally getting a dose of... you reap what you sow. All the negative media, all the negative fan talk has finally caught up. The city is now over whelmed in the flood of negative minds of the city. It really doesn't matter who the Phillies go out and get, or who the Sixers bring in and what level of talented players the Eagles bring in, the city is going to get the same results.
Hope everyone has prepared themselves for the storm coming that way this week and the cold front to follow.
Rayzoe :^)
— rayzoe - rayzoe,
don't you have a hole or a sewer to crawl back into?— oyoyer - The fact that Castillo's firing was a miscalculation is not news. We knew this then. Even though the defense blew two fourth quarter leads, the offense stunk, the special teams stunk. Too many turnovers, bad offensive line players etc. None of which was Juan's fault. All of which is Andy Reid's fault.
Now who's he gonna blame? Who's he gonna fire?— thegoldman - This is the ugliest team / year I have ever seen. It is embarrassing to be a fan of them.— RealizticFan
- Fire Reid. Time's yours.
- This whole team is a series of miscalculations!— fanup
- The real "miscalculation" was not firing Reid last January.— Phront_Runner
- Just a reminded; under Juan Castillo defense was rank 3rd on 3rd down, and 4th in the Red zone %. offense 31 in the red zone, and first in turnover, A. Reid play calling and in gm adjustment are the worst. I saw Seattle play green bay, and in the 1st half they had 8 sacks killing Rogers, but Coach made a adjustment and came out in the second half with Max protection, Seattle Defense did not touch Rogers for the rest of the GM. Can anyone tell me why there was no Max protection giving to Vick when off line just was not getting it done.— T.K.O
- Reid's done, Howie should be out of here too. I don't what else to say, other than this team is done. Period. We may not see the playoffs for a while, but this has to be nuked. It's like the house in the movie Money Pit. Looks great on the outside and rotten on the inside.— bbohannon
