Reid: Watkins' Day Will Come ... Maybe Not Soon
Here is some of what Andy Reid had to say today in his day-after news conference.
Reid: Watkins' Day Will Come ... Maybe Not Soon
Daily News staff and Les Bowen
Asked about making rookie guard Danny Watkins inactive yesterday in the season opener, Andy Reid said it wouldn't have been fair to Watkins to play him. Reid reiterated his belief in the firefighter-turned-football player, but he did not indicate there was any plan to get him on the field anytime soon.
Reid seemed to hint that the five workout days Watkins missed while his contract was being worked out this summer pretty much doomed the first-round pick's starting prospects, although Reid never said that at the time.
“I thought he could take a step back to take a big step forward," Reid said, repeating what he said last week. "And with that, I thought he missed some crucial time in particular in our install period .. the first week or two are very important weeks or days and each one is crucial, and you get that down pat and have an opportunity to practice … [College to NFL, tackle to guard, left to right] Those are three things there that are tough to get acclimated and then you add in there the lockout, minicamps and then missed times by holding out. He’s been playing catchup since he got here. It’s not fair to stick him in there. I wanted to give him as many reps as I could get him and then pull back. DeVan knows the offense. He’s a veteran player. Danny’s day will come. He’s a talented kid. There is too much catchup there.”
In his opening remarks, Reid made it clear he understands and the team understands that Sunday's win is not a blueprint for the rest of the season, or even for this coming week's game at Atlanta.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on after the game yesterday. The players, you had a chance to talk to them and from seeing what they said, they were humble and that they understand the situation. We’ve got to continue to get better and get better against a good football team this week playing down there at their place," Reid said. "That is what we will do as players and coaches. On the other hand we understand how tough it is to win games in this league.”
“In general, from our return game to our offense to our defense, we continued to get better throughout the game. Some of our young players got better throughout the game. Specifically, I thought our young linebackers improved with every opportunity to play. They started off playing cautious football at the linebacker spot, sort of checking things out. As the game went on, they picked it up. That was a nice run by Steven on the first play. The hole was pretty big. I might have been able to fit through that hole. As the game went on, they tightened things up. The seams, the lanes for runners to run through were tightened up and progressively got better.
“The O-line, they look like they worked well together. It was a good test for them right off by playing in a stadium that is a dome and is very loud. I was encouraged by the way they handled the noise. We have a young center in there, who actually I thought played well. We’re asking him to do a lot of things and I thought he handled it well for the most part. The communication got better between him and Mike as the game went on. We had a couple of stumbles early where we had to use some timeouts. In the second half, the process was pretty clean there.
“I thought LeSean (McCoy), we’re asking him to do a couple of different runs from the last couple of years. We used some of them in this game. The opportunities he had, he took advantage of them, was very patient, waiting for the pulling lineman and then was bursting off them .. .The first couple of steps tell the story. I thought he did a nice job bursting through there.
“Normally, this early, your third down percentage is a little lower than what we had here. That was a positive here in the game on both sides of the game.
“Good to get Maclin and Steven Smith through the game and get them actual game time and reps. I thought they help up, Jeremy had a more snaps than Steven. Good to get them through and both of them come out healthy.”
“I thought our d-line consistently put pressure on the quarterback. I thought as the game went on, I thought they used their hands well to transition to the run game. We’re an up the field, charge team and at the same time have to use their hands to shed.”
On how this is different than after Week 1 last year, when the Eagles had injuries to Jamaal Jackson, Leonard Weaver and Kevin Kolb: “The name of this game is going to injuries that will take place. It’s important to have the depth. Howie (Roseman, the GM) has done a good job to give the coaches an opportunity to have good players and the second team players work their tails off for opportunity. If something were to happen, we feel good about those players.”
On success running the ball in the fourth quarter: “Over the years, I’ll take you back to Bill Walsh days of this offense, with Mike Holmgren in Seattle … you see the second half and in particular that fourth quarter be productive for that runner. That’s the way you want to do it. If you have the lead ,you want to keep the clock moving.”
On LeSean McCoy in the fourth quarter (95 yards rushing): “I think in his rookie year, he came in and didn’t quite understand the demands. Brian Westbrook was a good helper there in the demands of playing running back in the National Football League. He came back the next year in much better shape and maintained that during the lockout. He came to camp in shape … That matters in the fourth quarter of games … Really comes down to the shape he is in.”
On Michael Vick sliding: “We’re making progress. This is one of the most competitive guys you are ever going to meet.”
On the miscommunications that led to timeouts: “We’re going to try to work on those things and get that cleared up. We’ll get that covered. That’s my responsibility and we’ll get that done.”
On whether the O-line is protecting the way he wants them to: “Teams are going to blitz you. You’re not going to hit on every one. When you do hit, you want to make them productive. The best quarterbacks in the league, and I put Michael in that category, they are going to get hit. That’s how this works. It’s what they do with the ball. You make the defense pay, they’re not going to blitz as much. He made some big plays, just like he did last year. Not everyone is going to be perfect, but the great ones find a way to get that done and that’s what he did.”
On Vick’s return to Atlanta as a starter: “You have to put that part out of your mind and focus on the game plan. He’ll do that, he played in big games before.”
On the injury front:
*Akeem Jordan has a slight labral tear in his right shoulder. “He’ll struggle this week. We’ll see how he does. We’ll take it day by day.”
*Juqua Parker had his foot X-rayed after waking up with some soreness. “He’s fine. It’s negative. He’s doing OK.”
*Darryl Tapp has a pec strain. Reid said Tapp “tore it pretty good” and is sore, although he did not expect it to be a long-term injury. On Twitter, Tapp said: "Even though I am banged up a lil, I am blessed."
*Vince Young (hamstring) “is making progress. He was out running today. Again, we’re in that stage where it’s a day by day thing.”
*
To read Domo's report card from yesterday's game and make your grades, click here.
Vote: Grade the Eagles
Times yours— wearepsu00- Love the comment about timeouts...like that's EVER going to get better.— abacab
- I love Reid: “We’re going to try to work on those things and get that cleared up. We’ll get that covered. That’s my responsibility and we’ll get that done.”
— Leegles - Reid said the exact same words when he gave Kolb the kiss of death. How does Reid get away with the same OLD tired responses...over and over. He has made the same "Put players in position to win" comment 63 times in press conferences. When is he going to be pressed for a real response?— Carlos2
- I've got to do a better job...Listen, I'm not going to get into that...times yours— THE-KID (WI)
- Hmmm... A lot of criticism for a coach whose team just scored over twice as many points as their competition. Yup, there were hiccups, but using up the timeouts in the first half were not all Andy's fault. The Eagles had a rookie center starting in a dome. He'll do much better in the future.— dlscholt
- As usual Reid drove the media and everybody commenting here crazy with his press conference cliches, and as usual the Eagles won. I'm shocked.— sla6yer
- Watkins might be 40 before he gets in there— Luriesucks
- So, what he basically said was, we screwed up the #1 pick. He isnt worth it. SHOCKER....
Not the first high draft pick Andy threw away trying to outsmart everyone else.
— Pat c - every year, timeouts, clock management, getting plays in too slow, wasting opportunities. nothing has changed there after 13 years of trying to do a better job at it. they need the Vick to step up and make the timeout calls when they have to, otherwise, andy is on a brain freeze and cant get it done.— J T
- Funny stuff. As usual, the Eagles had a relatively impressive victory. Played a good young team and, in the end, beat them pretty handily. Yet when reading the comments, they are 90% negative. Why? - Mostly because of the way Andy answers questions. Get over it people, it's been 13 years and isn't going to change. He protects his players and isn't going to give straight answers. The timeouts weren't his fault that the center wasn't making calls fast enough in his first game. Give the OL and LB's a couple of games to get better and catch up to the rest of the team. The rest of the team which is obviously very good.— andrewc23
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BTW, JT, as far as I could tell Andy called every timeout as the play clock was expiring because he didn't want to lose the 5 yards on more delay of game penalties. These were the result of line calls and/or audibles not being made quick enough. They will get it straight.— andrewc23 - You guys stand in front of your refrigerator for two minutes and can't figure out what you want to snack on during the game. Reid has 45 seconds to make up his mind on the next play,over and over again. Give it a rest.— wildwood guy
- If he knew Watkins was behind why did he treat him like a veteran in preseason and pull him and Matthews out after a few series with the other veteran starters?— dinsdale
- Sit the 26 year old rookie in favor of the 26 year old journeyman? The draft consensus on Watkins was he had less upside than the O-tackles like Sherrod and Carimi but was "NFL ready." Well he isn't NFL ready and he has zero upside thanks to his age and Canadian-ess. Howie is zero for two on first round picks.— dragoon6
- Man it's a good thing they grabbed Watkins instead of Gabe Carmini or Derrick Sherrod? I mean, they played in their games fine, got to camp with no issue, and look like starters. Watkins kinda looks like the guy on the Mr. Softee truck...— KingHoser
- What was the specific problem with Matthews play yesterday? Matthews was credited with 4 Tackles, the highest total was 6 by the Safety Page. The Jackson touchdown run was a typical beginning of the year explosion created by over pursuing linebackers. At the center of the Eagles run defense was the lackadisal play of the Defensive Tackles at the beginning of the game.
There is on effective linebacker in the nfl without a complimentary defensive Tackle playing immediately in front of him. It's not like Matthews or this Eagles Linebacker crops is any worse than the linebackers who have played in philly since seth joyner's leaving.
— Dexter - The holdout did hurt Watkins for sure. Also, with an injured LB, they should consider adding some veteran depth even more now. Tapp is playing well. Hopefully, it's not bad.— HandNik
- Don't know about Carmin but Sherrod didn't play either. Relax. Nothing like jumping the gun on things.— tpizza
- dinsdale good comment... that would have been a good question to answer. I can see mathews getting pulled because he is going to start. If reid new watkins wasn't going to start then he should have played more in the pre-season. Very good point— missurichie
- Carimi played well for the Bears. He only got outmuscled on one play, where he was pushed deep into the backfield. He didn't give up a sack or anything otherwise. Don't give up on Watkins; but, Carimi was a better choice.— momeara001
- Carimi was the pick two months prior to the draft if he was still on the board...That's why he's not an Eagle, the Birds have that incessant desire to go against conventional wisdom, play the "genius" card...Not only is the near 27 year old to be not ready, but he plays a position where you can pick up someone off the waiver wire (DeVan) or a list of free agents (Mathis) and plug them in as capable starters...That rarely can happen at the tackle position...Even when Watkins develops, so what?...The fact that Jaiquan Jarrett has not pushed Coleman out of a job irks me even more...Gotta keep that talent base high..looked like Mikell can still play. — bearsfriend
Comment removed.- Yeh, they won cause Mike Vick's still a freak athlete, but conventionally, they left alot to be desired...Thst middle linebacker position has to be upgraded with Chaney moved over. — bearsfriend
- To dexter--matthews constantly get blown-up by NOT using his hands to throw player out of way and "guessing" on plays, besides missing 20 plus takcles— thechief
- You're dead on . — bearsfriend
- wildwood guy, isn't that true of, like, ALL coaches in the NFL? Because I don't see any other coaches who have no-timeouts-left trouble as frequently as Andy does.— 1980
- Comment removed.
Move the fireman to middle linebacker.- The Tonner's not getting his hopes up. The season will end with Reid getting out-coached. You can bet a pallet of Genny Cream Ale on that.— hunglikeaton
- the link to the phillies article keeps directing readers to this page....philly.com wake up....mistakes as usual.— psualum
- Comment removed.
- God/Andy is so smart— outta work
- i think it is time for me to find another spot for me to read the "fans'" thoughts after a game. You sure would think the Birds got blown out reading this vitriol. I am so sick of you so-called fans. Go root for the Cowboys and Giants. Oh wait, they did lose yesterday. And when it gets to crunch time every year down the stretch when the Eagles always win, those teams always lose then too.— andrewc23
- I would like to know why Steve Smith was not even targeted yesterday. I thought when the game was settled they would try to have him catch a pass or two to get him in the flow. Andy must have spilled sauce on the part of his chart that had plays for Smith on it.— eldiablodelsol2009
- How bout that candy arm? Eat your heart out Philly.LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL— obergruber
- How long can you sit Watkins?? If he sits too long he's going to be drawing Social Security! Nice 1ST RD pick!...again!! Geezzz!— jordan8
- Shame how many high draft picks they waste— Ssteve115
- The purpose of drafting a 26 year old was that his "time" was now - not some day....— Bobphxville
- Can you people comprehend the English language? He told everyone why he had Watkins in there. "I wanted to give him as many reps as I could get him and then pull back." That explains it doesn't it? And there are almost 20 other 1st round picks NOT starting... Don't call Watkins a bust because he didn't start the first game.. or the second. Hell.. Jemarcus Russel got 3 years before the Raiders tossed him away. at least give him half a season. Loser fans!
— Cr0we - V. Young strained his hammy while hitting on the sideline cheerleaders.
-not bob levy— remyy
