Bye? There's a Bye? Do Tell!
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Bye? There's a Bye? Do Tell!
Les Bowen
One thing you didn't hear much about in the Eagles' locker room this week is the fact that the Birds have their annual bye next week.
Most players are well enough versed in the conventions of the NFL to know that you don't acknowledge you're looking forward to a break when you still have a game to play before the break arrives.
Wideout Jason Avant went so far as to proclaim he has made no bye-week travel plans, because he doesn't know what the practice schedule might be.
Avant has been here since 2006. If Andy Reid has held a practice during the bye week at any point in the past six years, I sure don't remember it. Avant said he did remember one, wasn't sure what year it occurred. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players must have at least four successive bye week days off, including Saturday.
"I'm not really looking forward to the break, I'm trying to get to 4-2," Avant said Friday.
The only Eagle who acknowledged the looming bye might be a bit of a distraction was the corner who always marches to his own drummer, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
"It's a danger. It is tough, because you're going home," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "You've been out here, five weeks of hard football, some of us are thinking about going home, but more important, you got to get that win, you got to get that game in."
Rodgers-Cromartie said he'll be heading home to Florida, "take all that time off, just relax, give my body a break."
Tight end Brent Celek said focusing for the pre-bye game "isn't tough at all."
"Going into the bye week,, you want to win, you want to have a good taste in your mouth that whole week," Celek said. "Guys know how serious it is. This is a big game for our football team. There's a huge difference between being 3-3 and 4-2. If we want to go a long way, this is a big step."
Reid, 13-0 the week after the bye, is 6-7 the week before, but the Eagles have won in that situation three of the past four years. They lost six of seven going into the bye from 2001-2007.
***
Earlier this week, I saw Michael Vick carrying a football from the team's public relations offices to the locker room. I took a playful swipe, didn't dislodge it. Turns out I wasn't alone. Vick, who has lost five fumbles in five games, said Friday he carried the ball with him as a reminder much of the week, but everybody kept trying to knock it out. "They tried every time. The stakes got pretty high, and I had to put it down," Vick said.
"Breakfast, to the meetings, lunch," Vick said when asked where he'd carried the ball. "Everyione thought it was funny, but I didn't. That's how much I care about this team and that's how much I care about our success and winning on Sundays. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I take care of my responsibilities."
***
Asked Friday about DeSean Jackson returning punts this week, Andy Reid said: "We'll see. We'll see how that goes. That's not necessarily where I'm at right this moment."
Reid said Riley Copper has been inactive so far because of his healing broken collarbone, not because Reid feels other WRs have bypassed Cooper.
Celek is right. The bye week has a whole different feeling if they're 4-2. And then they can feel good about game number seven, given Andy's record after the byes.
Detroit is down. The Eagles need to go in, stop their run, intercept a questionable throw in the first quarter, and show them plenty of McCoy and Celek. Then hit them deep on the second drive to go up 14-0. If we get up 21-0, a 1-3 team is at a big disadvantage. Time for Castillo to make sure the rush works, whether it's four guys or five.— armchairGM- I hope that bit about Vick is true, and they should try even harder to knock it out.— gjgreen3
- Love this story. I could imagine the guys sneaking up behind him and trying to punch it out. I especially like how the other guys are laughing about it if it makes Vick a little paranoid it's a good thing. (To quote Freud "just because your'e paranoid doesn't mean they're out to get you.")
Was he wearing that vest that seemed to make the ball slip out, despite the denials? - whats a bye have to do with a team..which already stinks in this league????? NOTHING!— MRD
- What make you think this team already stinks in this league? I don't know if you noticed but we are 3-2 and we have beaten two top contenders in the NFL so far. We are first place in the division and have a really good chance of going into the bye at 4-2. Top ten defense and the offense will get better with less turnovers. If you think this team stinks so bad then why don't you go be a fan of someone else. — CarolinaGreen
- Vic, Juan, Reid, Howie = replaced 2013. yaaaaay!— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
- So let me get this straight. You want to get rid of the winningest coach the franchise has ever had, a 2nd year d coordinator who happens to have a top 10 defense right now depsite haivng to continuously bail out our offense and our GM who has done an excellent job of putting together and maximizing the talent on this team at almost every position. Howie had one of the best drafts in the league in 2012! Let's get rid of him!! Smart guy. Let me ask you this. Who is so much better that you would replace them with? — CarolinaGreen
- you need help! lol. — With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
- wins don't matter titles do....— kramer1965
- you got that right kramer195 — With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
