Juan More Time? Not That Thrilled
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Juan More Time? Not That Thrilled
Les Bowen
Juan Castillo's defense struggled in the first half of the season but showed improvement toward the end. (Clem Murray/Staff Photographer)
I've gotten some emails and tweets from people who say they will be just fine, if the Eagles decide to do nothing to shake up their defensive decision-making hierarchy, in the wake of Steve Spagnuolo signing on with the Saints. Their thinking, of course, is that Juan Castillo's defense improved dramatically down the stretch, that players talked of having needed time to come together and grasp their roles, get a sense of one another, so on and so forth.
No question, the Eagles' defense improved, allowing no more than one touchdown in each of its last four outings, yes, against subpar quarterbacks, but looking much better than it had looked against equally subpar quarterbacks earlier in the season. (Ryan Fitzpatrick? Tavaris Jackson?)
Castillo is an earnest, decent man who doesn't deserve to be cast aside summarily. And if you're going to retain Jim Washburn and the Wide 9, which seems advisable, the easiest way to do that is to keep Castillo in place. Still, I want to see a prominent, experienced voice given a position of power on the defensive side, with Juan, in place of Juan, whatever.
The Eagles missed the playoffs for two reasons: Turnovers and Castillo's learning curve. The turnover thing they're going to have to fix by beating Michael Vick over the head with it all offseason. The Castillo problem isn't just magically cured by the former offensive line coach having one season on defense under his belt now.
Yeah, they'll shore up the linebacker position and maybe safety, too, and that will help. But how do we know Castillo won't stand and watch Larry Fitzgerald beat him again when Larry Fitzgerald is the only real weapon on the field for the other team? As much as I like Juan, I don't want to see him matching wits with, say, Bill Belichick, or even Drew Brees, in the third quarter of a close game. There is no way Castillo is going to have the grasp of defensive nuance of someone who has worked on the defensive side for many years, no matter how hard Juan works. My feeling down the stretch was that players and other coaches got Juan to simplify things, to blitz more, to junk the complex zone coverages he'd designed. I don't trust the man's instincts, based on what he planned for his rookie season.
I still think it's inexcusable that the Eagles missed the playoffs in large part because Andy Reid couldn't forsee that making his offensive line coach the defensive coordinator in a lockout year, with no offseason preparation, was going to be a disaster. The lockout didn't just sneak up on anybody. Teams knew it was coming, for a couple of years.
I don't think "well, what the heck, Juan seemed to be catching on there, let's see what happens" is a good way to prepare for a Super Bowl-or-bust season. Reid was incredibly lucky that last year's Castillo decision didn't cost him his job. This year's Castillo decision still could.
***
Note to people who might read a couple of the comments below: The Eagles' ranking of 8th in defense pertains strictly to yardage, which is close to meaningless. Ask the Patriots, who ranked 31st there.
The Eagles gave up 27 touchdown passes last season despite having rich talent at the cornerback position. That figure ranked 24th in the NFL, and that stat DOES mean something. They were 30th in red zone defense. They tied for 17th in the league in interceptions, despite tying for the league lead in sacks. When you're getting such good pressure, it ought to convert into turnovers. It didn't.
And I don't think I'm the one bending stats to fit an agenda.
Comments (77)
This team is built in the image of the ownership, not this city. They are soft, arrogant and not concerned with the opinions of its fans. They will continue to give the fan base the finger by drafting some reach players and Letting Desean walk. By the way , didn't Lurie state that he thought his team was behind the theackers and the Saints? THENSAINTS JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT BETTER!!!!!! (HTML deleted)- This team is built in the image of the ownership, not this city. They are soft, arrogant and not concerned with the opinions of its fans. They will continue to give the fan base the finger by drafting some reach players and
Letting Desean walk. By the way , didn't Lurie state that he thought his team was behind the theackers and the Saints? THENSAINTS JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT BETTER!!!!!! - "UNACCEPTABLE", Welcome back Guys! The Insanity continues!— younged
- Andy Reid and the Eagles brass have blamed the lack of off-season OTAs, the hiring of new Coaches, the signing and trading for new players, etcetera for their dismal performance this past year.
To that I say just one thing: "San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh."
A good Coach can overcome a lot of issues; a bad one makes excuses. - bs articles is why philly will always be negative because the media thrives on negativity i guess if juan should be fired the giants skins and cowboy coordinators should be fired too he mentioned where the patriots ranked with yardage but they were second in forcing turnovers and the other team that one 15 games with that porous yardage defense green bay lost because the giants moved the ball and didnt turn it over so dont just pull comparisons to make a point like i said bs article— positive eagle
- I think this one of the better columns I've seen Les write. Presented several good points, with some good facts to back them up. There were some real bottom of the rung QB's that they played the last 4 games. I think realty is what you saw in games 1 thru 12.— watsonmr
- When reading the Philly sports writers essays, it's always a benefit to remember theses are the same writers who convinced you that Kevin Kolb was the answer in replacing Donavan McNabb.— Dexter
- changing coaches now would be insanity! Anybody with any football sense had to see what happened this season coming, I only hoped things would jell in time to make the playoffs but expected a slow start. New line coaches new def. coord. and all those new players no matter how talented can't come together in one season let alone the stike short off season. To change any coach now would be to start over again with similiar results next season. Could we get Phil Sheridan to be traded to the Tampa Tribune?— weso
- Juan may be a great guy. He may work hard. He may stress fundamentals....But a good to average OC is always thinking several plays ahead. Juan nor Andy seems to have the football acumen to keep pace during a close game.
We need change. I'm convinced that that must start with ownership. Lurie has showed he is afraid to make necessary decisions because of any perceived perception nationally. What a wuss.— Lil Ratman - Spag is a loser and Bowen is a little wimp. He hates real men like Juan that can build a TOP 10 D in one year. He likes little wimps that look like him.— Dallasrulez
When the season started- I was appalled by Castillo appointment to Def Coord. But as the season wrapped- I was seriously convinced that he should remain Def Coord! The Defense is implementing the wide9 and the other stuff Castillo put in place and you can see the thing gel -ing. Don't change a damned thing! That Eagles team there at the end of the season- is one I'd pay to watch next year... People are scared of that team of Eagles who won those last 3 games!
Leave it alone- let your impulse for changing things rest! leave that team alone for this entire coming year- its obviously starting to work well. Don't make this season in vain! Leave it alone. I want to see all the coaches we can keep- staying on and the team staying with this system in place- no changes! @ the end of next season- we can revisit- don't mess with it now.- Lurie is the problem and he is the owner. The Eagles will go nowhere. Lurie insist on keeping Reid when he obviously cant get the job done. He will draft poorly again. The defense will be mediocre at best and we will be back at this same point next year. So frustrating— Mikedub
- Great piece Les. Hopefully this blowhard will be outta here after this year. Hearing Brian Dawkins interviewed on the radio made me remember why I once was a die hard Eagles fan. Not so much anymore. Don't know your relationship with 975 and Mike Miss, but the two of you together could sure create a great public view of how we as as former die hards despise the Franchise's approach. keep up the GREAT WORK!— finkel
- Blah, blah, blah. Who cares what you think Les? I've read and heard your crappy take on things for too many years. How about this? The Eagles have a head coach has been very successful and two of the main tools he has is (over)preparation and having the hardest hitting training camps in the league. He was stripped of both, and in a year of many new faces. I liked what I saw in the last 4. Not just the wins, but how they played. I hope they keep it together so we can see what happens.— reek3232
- Needs a QB that doesn't turn it over at a league leading rate.— Sidewinder7
- Needs a QB that doesn't turn it over at a league leading rate.— Sidewinder7
- Les, you're totally right about the bogus defensive ranking based on yardage; the late, great Jim Johnson never cared about yardage, he focused on points allowed. I'm sure you have some of his quotes in your files.— chesapeake
- This team needs more ball security and LESS BOWEN!— Eddie Spaghetti
- I think Andy actually wants to get fired, he has his dream job waiting for him in San Diego and I can't wait till he gets it. He will be totally exposed as a fraud out there. Too bad he can't take Banner with him
- You CANNOT go into a season where both coordinators DO NOT adjust their play calling throughout the game... If I can correctly guess the plays a team are going to run 80% of the the time, what is a seasoned NFL coach/coordinator gonna do? There is a reason we are not in the playoffs.... ANDY REID and JUAN CASTILLO!!! Period.— MarvelousMCNJ
- Love it, Les. Nailed it.— jbrett23
- ALL I CAN SAY IS, OH ANDREW, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?— Pete60
- Les, I like the way you qualified some stats as important and others as meaningless at the end of your piece. Especially when they don't support your argument. Why did you omit overall pts allowed? That's important,right?
Must be a slow week, first the TO article relating to a 7 year old story and now the 15th article in the past three weeks about what the Eagles must fix to win the SB next year. There's a couple of coaching oenings, you know so much, why dont you put your name in.— AngryGregR - @psuchuck: I agree with pretty much everything you said, my only point about the last 4 games is that every other team in NFC East played them, so they beat some of the teams on their schedule they were better than, lost to a few they were better than , and lost all to teams they were worse than. I agree about the talent on D. Which brings me to my overriding point: How was any of that Juan Castillo's fault?— drbob1
- The farther the Giants go in the playoffs, the more likely you will hear "We(Eagles)beat the Giants easily, and look how far the Giants went. We're not far away" You also have some national writers(e.g. Jason Whitlock)predicting that the Vick-led Eagles are going to the Super Bowl next year. Expect to hear this spin(and more)up to and including training camp.— 76erfn
- They can do any freaking thing they want. As long as it will hasten the departure of Andy Reid. Unfortunately, with that said, we will still have the losers in the FO (Banner & Roseman) and the chicken ish owner.— Unstable1
- Don't worry Jeffrey Lurid, these silly Philly fans are whining, but they'll keep wasting their money on Birds tickets and assorted memoragarbaga!— BEMiller
PSU_Chuck - Dallas plays a 3-4 Jets play a 3-4 dude are you serious? In years past we have done well against the AFC North. You must be thinking about preseason games. With our defense getting better and next year with DRC and Nnamdi on the corners it'll be tough for Brees plus Hanson in the slot is not push over plus he tackles well. Dude don't believe the hype, plus our offense has to be on the field at some point during the game and the Saints defense scares absolutely no one. Cam Newton is good but there is tape on him now he keeps running like the NFL is the SEC he's gonna be on IR real soon.
Comment removed.- Hey Less-
Every season is a "Super Bowl or bust" season, for every team.
The Eagles also missed the playoffs because of a ridiculous turnover that wasn't Vick's fault, and because Tony Gonzales and that Cruz guy on the Giants made some outrageous plays against them. And yes, because the linebacker play was poor and the defense came together too late.
So the competition at the end of the season was not the best, but the Eagles defensive performances would have beaten better teams. Washington, the Jets, and Dallas all had pretty high hopes for their teams this season, and none had a prayer in their late-season meetings with the Eagles. That is not insignificant.
The Eagles were better than the Giants at times this year, and NY may just be going to the Super Bowl.
If anyone who isn't the single best person in his profession should be fired, you should go before Castillo.— Section 730 - All is well folks...Pee Wee Roseman & Joey Nickels are on the job. The city should start making plans for the Super Bowl parade after the end of next season. Pee Wee Roseman & Joey Nickels are the gold standard of NFL management.......times yours.— kelprod2
- things will get better when we sign a 5 foot 7 inch 180 lb middle Line-Backer to start.— bill the pill
- Juan? They're done.— iceman
- I'm so tired of the stupid stuff. I really am. Castillo faced Bill Bellichick without his best CB and Vince Young ruining drives for the Eagles' offense and they did no worse than more experienced DCs have done this year. What's the excuse for the rest of the damn league that's getting lit the hell up by Brady/Bellichick?
Green Bay's defense let Manning go up and down the field on him. The Eagles' defense made him and that offense look pedestrian. The Eagles should have beaten the Giants both times, but Vick got hurt and Young was awful in relief.
Look at the numbers Castillo was able to produce. What did Spagnuolo's defense look like after 3 seasons of him having the keys to populate and implement that defense? If Castillo was able to wind up with numbers like that, 8th in yards, 10th in points, tied for 1st in sacks and near the top in a number of other categories, what happens when they get improvement in personnel, an entire offseason to review film of what works and what doesn't, what position players are best in and a full off-season to teach scheme? Knowing how hard the man works and the exciting things we saw at the end of the season, shouldn't that lead to some positive thoughts? ANY? I'm so sick of the Negadelphia BS, from fans and from this media contingent. The level of negativity is not warranted if facts take hold. For some reason, people act like the 1st 5 games represents what this Eagles' defense is and that's flat wrong.
— Phila Phans - Get a top LB and a decent journeyman QB. 11-5 next year.— Willysoup
- the time is all Andy's now— David Sirkin
- Comment removed.
- Hey, I want to see the player upgrades that everybody else is complaining about around here, certainly without better linebackers and safeties they're not going anywhere next year. But who among you thought the Giants were going ANYWHERE this year after Vince & the Eagles beat them? Huh? My point is, there's no more certainty of better results next year no matter who is replaced, both coaches and players. All the bitterness is because they didn't perform to YOUR expectations? Get a life. Lurie & co. successfully raised the bar and the expectations of Philly football fans and they should be commended for it. Don't be surprised if Andy gets dumped that we stumble back to being perennial doormats like the 70's teams.— Slidewell
- If we dont make the NFC Champ game next year- They are all gone! Reid, Juan and Vick. See ya— fman727
- Sing Curtis Lofton, Tyvon Branch and Draft LB in 1st. Trade back into the first (giving up our 2 second) and get Kendall Wright... DONE!— fman727
- The on-the-job training didn't work. The Eagles need a new D-coach and several new players. Demote Castillo and hire a true Defensive coach. Then, GET SOME LINEBACKERS AND SAFETIES THAT CAN HIT. Stop the hand-wringing guessing game.— billtfla
- basically the entire season was lost because this 'rookie' couldn't figure out that you dont cover Fitzgerald in the 4th qtr with an undersized late-draft pick rookie safety when you supposedly have shut down corners acquired for just this purpose... something any casual fan could have told you— warbiscuit
- Also, this team led the league in missed tackles, you can only COACH that aspect for so long, after a while, it comes down to the players having the guts to tackle, and they didn't. Thats not on Juan.— SilliBilli
- Dr Bob - no one is going to read all of that.
And media guys are supposed to evaluate, opine, and give readers something to think about and debate - that is their role.— Mr. Magee - The Eagles are fooling themselves if they do not get an experienced defensive coordinator.— reveugene
- How the hell would a media guy know whether Juan's "learning curve" was an issue? Did you ever think that it might have been the learning curve of the players? Maybe when Reid went back to evaluate the season he said, let's see.. Babin got 'it'right away, so did Cole, Patterson, Jenkins,even Brian Rolle, a rookie, figured things out fast; whereas Nnamdi, Chaney, Samuel, Jarrett, Allen; maybe they're not the sharpest tacks in the drawer...They all seemed to play well once they figured out the word 'gap'; and Castillo changed some of the zone coverages to blitzes with man to man coverage. And stop trying to eliminate the last 4 games from the evaluation.. yeah, the Eagles were 4-8 after 12 games and deserved to miss the playoffs, but they played the same schedule as the other NFC East teams in a different order, except for the 2 games determined by finish. The Giants weren't ashamed to beat the Jets or Dolphins, and they were swept by the Redskins and Rex Grossman; unlike the Eagles, who found a way to beat them twice. They finished 8th in total defense, and only 9 teams surrendered fewer points than the Eagles. That's before you even look at how many turnovers the opposition converted to points with the Eagles defense having little to no chance to do anything about it. If you're keeping Washburn, you have to keep Juan; the Eagles best chance to compete next year is for the defense to pick up where they left off; and for the offense to move the ball without turning it over; it's actually a similar theory to Lurie keeping Reid; if Vick is your QB next year, their best chance of winning is with Reid and Mornhinweg as his coaches, and it's the same with the defense. If they don't have a big year( Supe, NFC Championship) next year, Reid, Vick, and all of the assistant coaches will be gone the day after the season. All Reid has to tell the media is that he never even considered firing Juan.— drbob1
- drbob1
Let's be honest. The last four games were absolutely meaningless! Look at the schedule next year. Do you truly think Juan has a chance to beat Drew Bees in New Orleans next year? No. They play the AFC Central next year, and historically this team doesn't match up well with 3-4 defensive alignments. Also, I frankly don't think the learning curve had anything to do with it. If we are honest...I think some guys on the defensive just aren't good enough, will never be good enough. I think Nhamdi is a one trick pony who lacks the football acumen, to play any other defensive scheme other than bump and run. Also, the Eagles offense turned the ball over at an alarming rate. True. However, don't exonerate the defense for failing to hold the opposition to field goals instead of points. Also, going into the Jets game, the Eagles were dead last in red zone defense before the parade of 'stiffs' came up on the schedule. The Eagles were a mediocre team. Period. They were 8-8 on merit. They were 3-5 at home! More importanly there is a talent gap on that defense.— PSU_Chuck - Don't worry about the defensive scheme; Juan will be getting a bright assistant. Howie has a call in to Sheldon Cooper as we speak.— dasher
- Well done Les - like the fact that you're going with your gut instincts; plus, your arguments are well supported.
I wanted the Eagles to stick with Juan (and still do), mainly because of the continuity argument, and the desire to have Andy live or die with Juan without creating another excuse for giving Andy "one more year." But you've convinced me that they need to give Juan some help, as you put it. Will be interesting to see if they decide to do that, and if so, how they structure it so that Juan (and Andy) save face....— Mr. Magee - Juan will definitely be better, but will he be excellent? I would think you'd want excellent if your job was on the line.— hillbillybirdsfan
- Comment removed.
- >> Les - Eagles were 8th in total defense. I wonder how many years those Defensive Coordinators 9-32 have under their belts. <<
Dude, get a clue... back out of the last 4 jokes of the season, and the eagles rank at the bottom half of the league in total defense.— jl4045801 - Comment removed.
- The worst part of the Eagles this season was their defense, coached by Castillo.
The best part of the Eagles is season was the steady and improved play of the offensive line.... no longer coached by Castillo.— Iron Giant - It is sooooooo funny that all the Spags talk was brought up. There was NO way he was coming back here. We have our defensive coordinator and the "D" will be fine next year.— Tozmanian
- No playoffs again!— phillynupe4
- No playoffs again!— phillynupe4
- Comment removed.
- come on les write about management real position. The 2011 season was sucessful, the net worth of the orginzation increased ,all tickets were sold all parking spaces filled and all jerseys sold. oh yea they were in the race and finished second. All goals met .
with that record, why change anything?— tnjoe - I'm looking forward to another crappy draft and a so-so season, hoping that Andy and Howie both go. Laurie and Co. have turned me into a "I don't care" fan until major change happens.— jimmymack
- Les is on point with this. The reality is, though, it would not matter who the defensive coordinator is as long as the unqualified front office is allow to make the player selections for the draft. Short of a complete house-cleaning from Banner on down (which I have long advocated on these pages) the two most pressing needs are a GM who knows how to scout and draft NFL LEVEL TALENT and a defensive coordinator who know how to put that talent to use. It is really that simple.— coloradoeagle
- Where was I when Juan was lighting up the league as the O line coach? He was average at that and can only hope to be average as DC.— zfaber
- If Juan stays, that means no SB next year. With Reid, Castillo and Vick, the Eagles have 3 strike on them. This mean the Eagles are out of any hope for a SB. It is that simple— oneway
- I'm with 5NOT4 above. While I agree with Les's big picture point that the decision to elevate Castillo in a shortened off-season ought to be the thing that gets hung around Reid's neck when they FINALLY kick him out the door, I can't see how any other option at DC now that Spags has been hired elsewhere doesn't bring a lot of the same drawbacks - Castillo seemed to be finding his feet near the end of the year and they'd found a nice balance between "Wide-9 all the time" and "Wide 9 never" - give them one year to see if they really can take a big step forward, otherwise flush the lot of them.— JLB
- Les, you make some good points. If he's back I think its safe to say Juan will be better next year. The question is how much so and will it be enough as you point out. I really think the biggest problem on the defense is the linebackers. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think their safety play improved as the year went on as Nate Allen started looking more like his first year as his knee got better and Curt Coleman is although undersized a hitter who will continue to get better. I think Jaiquan Jarret may be a bust though and they probably should get more depth. The linebacking is horrible. They really need 3 new starting linebackers. There's not a starting caliber linebacker on that roster now. Fix that and suddenly Juan looks a lot smarter— 09
- 09
The problem with the Eagles secondary as a whole is that they are soft! Nate Allen cannot hold Earl Thomas's jock strap. If the Eagles were smart...he should be in midnight green instead of that stiff Brandon Graham. Also, I agree with you that Jaiquan Jarret is going to be a bust. He was predicted to be drafted no earlier than the third round. However, in true Eagles fashion they reached for a guy that would have been there.— PSU_Chuck - well said!— connorjr
- Don't look for an experienced Def Co-ord to come here. Everybody knows AR is is on a short string. We are screwed for the next 3 seasons at least— rustypop58
- Don't confuse Les with facts when he's got a good agenda to push.— Elbarad
- Les - Eagles were 8th in total defense. I wonder how many years those Defensive Coordinators 9-32 have under their belts.
- I know that the numbers look good. However, let's be honest...The quarterbacks the Juan's defense beat were the following: 1. Matt Moore/J.P. Losman, 2. Mark Sanchez, 3. Tim McGhee 4. Rex Grossman. Also, after listening to Ray Didinger and Bryan Baldinger both reiterated incessantly, that after watching the tape, the Eagles blew several defensive assignments, and a better quarterback would have destroyed this defense. Good defensive ranking? Yes. Does that mean he has what it takes to be a competent defensive coordinator? No. Question...how did Juan respond against the likes of Tom Brady? It took Brady and Belichick one quarter to see what he was doing and after that it was over. Better yet...how did you like the fact that Tavaris Jackson carved this defense up. Let's all applaud Juan for simplifying the scheme, but what does that say about some of your players? By the way, I know my handle says PSU_Chuck, because I went to school there. However, I hope that they put Sandusky under the jail, and yes...Joe Paterno deserved to get fired. Just putting this for anyone that thinks I am drinking the koolaid coming out of State College. — PSU_Chuck
- Dude you are talking about Tom freakin Brady, not many defenses contain that guy when he's feeling it. Every team in our division played similar teams. If I recall Seattle beat NY and Cowboys lost a few games also to some of those same QB's, so what makes those other defenses any better? We made Dallas' defense look like a division 2 squad twice and NY's defense wasn't all that in either game and we split with them. You think they deserve kudos and say the Eagles suck? Dude stop reading and listening to these so called experts. It got blown out of proportion because Juan was a rookie DC, the players just didn't make the plays. If we had won just 2 of those 4th quarter collapses we'd be 10-6 and all yall following the media would be on Juan's jock. Probably calling him a genius and saying how Andy knew it when no one else did.
- I think they are going to keep Castillo. Personally I think Castillo is a great coach. He's very football smart, works very hard, has that fire that makes players wratched things up, and most importantly he has players who want to play for him. I just don't think he is a good Defensive Coach, but if the Eagles bring in a proven defensive mind who works with Juan as an Asst Coach of some type, I think we will be ok. Juan just needs experience, but right now he doesnt have time to accrue it. Keep Juan but get him some help.— BleedPhilly
- Comment removed.
- I choose to look at the bright side of all of this. After next season craters - and it WILL - FF Andy Reid will DEFINITELY be fired! That's the only thing that will get us Eagles fans through the next year.— 5NOT4
- Finally someone who is talking real sense here!— Eaglefan1991
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