Paul Domowitch: Reid's teams traditionally get better as season progresses

FOR A GUY whose team had self-destructed the afternoon before and blown a golden opportunity to head into the bye week with a 5-2 record, Andy Reid was in a pretty good mood Monday at his day-after news conference. And that was before Tony Romo broke his left clavicle and Brett Favre was diagnosed with two fractures in an ankle.

Any truth to the rumor that Peyton Manning has appendicitis?

If this had been a couple of years ago, when his roster wasn't filled with quite as many toddlers as the current edition, Reid's innards still would have been churning up acid from Sunday's second-half collapse against the Titans.

But it's not. This is the youngest team Reid has had since he arrived in Philadelphia 11 years ago, and he knew going in that he would have be a little more patient with this peach-fuzzed group. The Eagles have 14 rookies and five second-year players on their roster, along with another six players who are in their first year with the team.

The average age of the Eagles' 31 starters and key role players against Tennessee was 25.5 years. Just four of those 31 players are 29 or older.

When they make a mess like they did in the second half against the Titans, you don't do the drill-sergeant thing. You tell them what they did wrong, then clean it up and hope they'll know better the next time.

"As long as we keep learning and getting better, that's a good thing," Reid said. "I trust that this group is going to continue to do that. And then we'll continue to do a better job of coaching and get better as it goes on."

For a young team that figures to get better as this season goes along, 4-3 isn't a terrible place to be right now. No, it's not as good as 5-2, but with five of the last nine games against NFC East opponents, their destiny still is very much in their own hands.

"It's tough to win in this league," safety Quintin Mikell said. "I don't find any solace in the fact that we're a young team. We're a talented team and we should be winning these games.

"The games that we've lost, really, we beat ourselves. Even the Packers game [in Week 1], we had a chance to finish that game out. Defensively, we're giving up stuff. The Redskins game [a 17-12 loss] we gave stuff up. Young, old, whatever, when you're giving games away, that's the tough thing."

The Eagles clearly have some significant issues. An offensive line that may or may not ever mesh this season. A schizophrenic pass defense that is seventh in the league in opponent passer rating, yet already has given up 13 touchdown passes, eight in the last three games.

But Reid's teams historically have been very good finishers. Since 2000, they have a .675 winning percentage (54-25-1) in the last eight games of the regular season compared to .612 (49-31) in the first eight games.

As summer becomes fall and fall becomes winter, Reid's teams get better. They have a .550 winning percentage in September (22-18), .587 in October (27-19), .628 in November (29-17-1) and .681 in December (32-15). If you believe in the premise that young players will be better tomorrow than they are today, than this season should be no different.

"That's not an automatic thing," Reid said. "It's important that the players and coaches understand that that just doesn't happen. That you have to go back and you've got to focus in.

"You put yourself in striking distance, really, in the first half of the season. But you've got to get better. I've got to get better as a head football coach, and our football team has to get better. I'm talking coaches and players. So we're going to focus in on making sure that happens."

As with every team, injuries - or lack of them - will dictate a lot. The thin offensive line can't afford even a hangnail from here on in. Same thing with running back, defensive back and middle linebacker. Oddly, the one place they could survive a major injury is quarterback.

Based on their opponents' combined 2009 records, the Eagles have the ninth toughest schedule in the league this season. But it fell nicely for them, with a softer early schedule and five of their six division games backloaded into the final 8 weeks when their young players will be much more battle-tested.

The only team they've beaten so far that currently has a winning record was the Falcons (5-2). The combined record of the four teams they've beaten: 10-17. The seven teams they have faced so far have a combined winning percentage of .479 (23-25). Their next nine opponents have a .517 winning percentage (30-28).

The key to success down the stretch for the Eagles will be their ability to defend the pass. The caliber of quarterback they will be facing from here on will be much better than it often was in the first 7 weeks, though it will get significantly easier if Romo and/or Favre aren't able to play against them.

The collective season statistics of the quarterbacks they've already faced: 82.6 passer rating, .611 completion percentage, 6.9 yards per attempt, 62 touchdowns, 47 interceptions.

The collective numbers for the quarterbacks waiting for them in Weeks 9 through 17, including Romo and Favre: 88.4 passer rating, .645 completion percentage, 92 touchdowns, 67 interceptions.

None of the seven quarterbacks they faced in Weeks 1-7 currently is rated in the top 10 in the league in passing. The Falcons' Matt Ryan is 11th and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is 12th. Four of their final nine games will be against current top-10 quarterbacks - Peyton Manning (first), Romo (sixth) twice and the Texans' Matt Schaub (seventh).

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