A Decade of Andy Reid

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

If we say yes, will you leave?

[stalker]

Ha, ha, ha funny reply............douche.

[rjs246]

No, seriously. Answer the question.

[stalker]

No.

[Wingspan]

So, let's address this. At what point this season did Andy Reid hand over play-calling responsibilities? Was that the best coaching decision he made this year? What are the run/pass numbers since Marty took over?

My dislike of Reid is so ingrained at this point that I don't want to give him any credit for solid offensive or team performances but as the reality of the situation sinks in I'm looking for someone to make a compelling argument about why he should be credited for their wins...

What if no one cares what you're convinced of?

Marty's been calling the plays for 2 seasons now. They both hold charts, but Marty is the one with direct communication to the QB. I actually think Reid made marty call more running plays...it's not like MM is some kind of football genius.

[rjs246]

Everyone should care because I farging rule.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Marty took the wind in OT.  Still hilarious.

[reese125]

yeah when you win the coin toss in OT and elect to kick off, its amazing if you can even get a job as a Pop Warner coach--but whatever

[stalker]

Everyone should care because I farging rule.

I care, I care big time.

[PhillyPhreak54]

'Tight as a drum' Reid is triumphant

By Ashley Fox

Inquirer Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Yesterday morning, long before the Eagles team buses snaked through the concrete maze that leads into the Meadowlands, before the team took the frigid field and before it walked away with a defiant 23-11 victory over the New York Giants, Andy Reid was tight.

"Tight as a drum," said one team official.

It's the playoffs, and even though Reid had coached in 15 postseason games before yesterday, they're always nerve-racking affairs. High pressure, high reward, huge potentially disappointment. Add in a division rival for an opponent and a trip to the NFC championship game on the line, and, of course, the 50-year-old Reid was tight.

What transpired over the course of the morning and afternoon, however, made the tightness and the worry dissipate. When the divisional playoff game was over, the scruffy-faced Reid was relieved, reflective (for him), and ready to make his fifth trip to the NFC championship game, where the Eagles under his leadership are 1-3 and where, this time, they will face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

"I'm glad to be here, and I want to keep going," Reid said. "This football team wants to keep going. We're going to work our tail off to do that."


Pregame.

A little before 11 a.m., with two state troopers leading the way with sirens blaring, the Eagles team buses arrived at Giants Stadium for the third game against New York this season. The Eagles' six-point win over the Giants on Dec. 7 was part of the reason the team was here. It had gained confidence that blustery day, not to mention a much-needed December win.

Still, Reid was nervous. The Giants had a huge running back in Brandon Jacobs, a slithery back in Derrick Ward, and a challenging defense with Justin Tuck particularly dangerous rushing up the middle.

At 12:56 p.m., Reid jogged onto the field behind his team, then paced the sideline until it was time for the national anthem about five minutes later. He watched the singer, Jordin Sparks, belt out the familiar song, with rookie returner Quintin Demps to his left and veteran safety Brian Dawkins to his right.

As soon as the song was over, Reid shook his hat at Dawkins, then spoke to Donovan McNabb before the coin flip. McNabb called heads. The flip was tails. It was Reid's only bad call of the day.

First quarter. The Giants took a 3-0 lead, which only had to make Reid tighter early in the game. But after an Eagles' punt, Asante Samuel for the second straight week picked off a pass, giving the Eagles phenomenal field position at the Giants' 2-yard line. After Brian Westbrook took a 1-yard loss, the Giants got flagged for holding, giving the Eagles a new set of downs. Westbrook gained 1 yard, and then Reid made a call he wouldn't make earlier in the season: quarterback sneak.

McNabb took the ball, pushed forward through the Giants' defensive line and extended his arms out so that the ball went into the end zone. Touchdown.

"That was real big for him, to just stick with it," veteran offensive tackle Tra Thomas said of Reid. "We got it done."

Second quarter. The Eagles' offense sputtered in the second quarter. McNabb got flagged for an intentional grounding call, when he threw to an empty spot on the field with Giants rushers in his face in the end zone. It resulted in a safety. Then, McNabb threw an interception on a deep ball intended for DeSean Jackson.

When the Eagles' offense got the ball back, they trailed by 8-7 and only 1 minute, 24 seconds remained in the half. The Eagles went no-huddle, and Marty Mornhinweg and Reid started calling for maximum protection from the offensive line and quick passes so that McNabb could get rid of the ball quickly.

Brent Celek dropped McNabb's first pass, but McNabb completed the next five, and 6 of 9 overall, driving the Eagles to the Giants' 7-yard line. After another incompletion to Jackson, Akers kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Eagles a two-point halftime lead, and some momentum. "They were blitzing like crazy," Reid said. "We just thought we needed to get the ball out of our hands a little quicker."

Halftime. Reid wanted to build on the momentum from that drive in the second half, when the Eagles would start with the ball. He told the team the game was there for the taking, as long as they executed.

Third quarter. The Eagles handed the momentum back to the Giants on the second play of the third quarter, when Chase Blackburn tipped a McNabb pass for Kevin Curtis, and Fred Robbins intercepted it. After another John Carney field goal gave the Giants an 11-10 lead, McNabb took a shot down field for Curtis, who shook his defender, was wide open on the left side and had nothing but green and a safety between him and a touchdown.

But Curtis momentarily took his eye off the ball, resulting in a drop. He was devastated, but two plays later McNabb went back to him for a 15-yard gain. When Curtis got to the sideline, Reid told him "to watch that thing in." Curtis didn't drop another ball, and finished with four catches for 40 yards. "Nothing he told me was anything I didn't already know," Curtis said, "but it's a powerful reminder knowing that you always watch the ball in. I'm a receiver and my job is to catch the ball. You can't ever relax and lose that focus. I was going to make sure I didn't drop another one."

Fourth quarter. Early in the quarter, with a nine-point lead, the Eagles faced fourth and 2 from the Giants' 37. Reid elected to punt, because he thought Sav Rocca could pin the Giants inside the 10-yard line and make them drive the entire field for a score.

"That's pure confidence in the defense from Andy, and that's what we love," linebacker Chris Gocong said.

The decision worked. New York started at its own 11, but couldn't get past the 47. The Eagles scored one more field goal, and that was that.

Postgame. Afterward, Reid told his team to celebrate, but not to forget that their jobs aren't done. In his postgame press conference, he compared defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who coached from the press box because his back was bothering him, to Penn State's Joe Paterno. And he smiled. A couple of times. "I'll tell you what," Reid said, "I'll take this one."

[rjs246]

For the record I am not looking forward to licking Andy Reid's back hair.

[stalker]

For the record I am not looking forward to licking Andy Reid's back hair.

I forgot about that. Would you rather lick his back hair or lick the soup out of his beard?

[General_Failure]

What kind of soup?

[stalker]

Mormon Chowder.

Oh and keep in mind that I don't believe Andy is ever allowed to wash his magical mormon underwear. So his back might be pretty ripe. The hair is probably matted down like a Grizzly that just woke up from hibernation.

[rjs246]

I'd rather lick neither but would volunteer to lick both if he delivers a superbowl.