I don't get it, but I guess Andy Reid has a logical reason to want Mike Vick as his QB#1 in a "meaningless" final game of the 2012 season on the road against the Giants.
New York (8-7) is still alive in the playoff mathematics, but only by the slimmest of algebraic margins.
Meanwhile, this is the ultimate U-Haul game for the Birds.
I want to be respectful to Mr. Reid this week. He's at the end of an epic run with the Eagles. But I don't get the decision to start Vick… Is he trying to give Vick some bonus game tape to sell to the rest of the league? If so, why? The rest of the league already knows what they would get with signing the erratic veteran Vick. Why not showcase Trent Edwards as a rehab project instead?
That said, let's give Andy Reid his due.
As it is, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg believes that his boss will be enshrined in Canton.
"Andy's got Hall-of-Fame numbers, and really the only thing we haven't done here and he hasn't done here is win a Super Bowl," Mornhinweg said. "He's been to one [Super Bowl] and five NFC championships, so he's had a heck of a run."
Those five conference championship game appearances came in a span of eight seasons.
Reid has won 130 regular-season games and 10 postseason games in his 14 seasons. Only four of his active peers have won more career games and only two have more playoff wins.
Since taking over in 1999, Reid is 130-92-1 in the regular season and 10-9 in the postseason. Solid, but not great without a Super Bowl win, especially considering what some of his peers such as New York's Tom Coughlin, New England's Bill Belichick, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Indianapolis' Tony Dungy, New Orleans' Sean Payton and Green Bay's Mike McCarthy have been able to accomplish in the same span.
With a ring, Reid definitely belongs in that company. Without one, he belongs at the very top of the next tier.
Still, he's been good enough to win more regular-season and postseason games than any coach in franchise history.
And though he may have ticked off more fans in the last two years than the last two coaches (Ray Rhodes and Rich Kotite) combined, as Nick Fierro observed for the Allentown Morning Call, Andy's never allowed the fury to affect how he coaches or change his thinking in any way about what it's like to work in what can often be a vicious crucible.
"We have great fans," he said for like the 3,000th (and perhaps final) time on Sunday. "I've always said that we're kind of on the same page. When you stink, they let you know you stink, and when you're doing good, they're going to let you know you're doing good.
"I got it. I understand. I understand the situation. I appreciate everything."
That statement, however, was as far as Reid would go on the subject of Sunday's game perhaps being his last in Philadelphia as the home team's coach.
"I don't know that," he said. "I have nothing to tell you on that. I'm the coach right now and I'm just coaching. That's what I'm doing — the best that I possibly can.
"Those are good stories, but when you're in the process of getting ready for a game and then when you're playing the game, your mind doesn't go there, especially a game like that, which comes down to the last second. That's not where I'm at."
But it's where the organization is, unfortunately. Since losing the Super Bowl in February 2005, the Eagles have won just three playoff games and have now missed the playoffs two years in a row for the first time ever since Reid became coach.
Time for a change.
But not without a silent salute from the press box, where there's no cheering allowed— but personal feelings cannot be checked at the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Just when you think Jimmy Kempski (of Blogging the BEast fame) was done for the season, he comes up with this little pictorial analysis of the Eagles' defensive breakdown last Sunday against the Redskins.
On the Redskins' first drive of the 3rd quarter, they scored on a 10 yard TD run by Alfred Morris. Morris might never have an easier 10 yard TD run for the rest of his career, as no Eagles even breathed on him as he strolled into the end zone.
Of the 8 Eagles who had a reasonable chance to stop Morris, or at least cause some sort of disruption on the play, not one player won their individual matchup. Here are the 8 players to whom Kempski is referring:
- LDE Phillip Hunt
- LDT Cedric Thornton
- RDT Derek Landri
- RDE Vinny Curry
- LB DeMeco Ryans
- LB Mychal Kendricks
- S Colt Anderson
- S Kurt Coleman
They are circled here:
I figured for this exercise, we'd just show each player individually, and what happened to each of them on the play:
1) LDE Phillip Hunt vs. RT Maurice Hurt
Hunt sprints upfield at the snap, and Hurt is more than happy to let him. Hunt simply ran himself completely out of this play:
2) LDT Cedric Thornton vs. RG Chris Chester
At the snap, Thornton hits the A gap with authority, which is fine with Chester, who simply shuttles him right down the line of scrimmage and puts him on the ground:
3) RDT Derek Landri vs LG Kory Lichtensteiger
Lichtensteiger gets inside position on Landri, and walls him off from the direction of the play:
4) RDE Vinny Curry vs. TE Logan Paulsen:
Curry gets an OK push on Paulsen, but Paulsen always maintains good position on Curry, who never factors into the play from the weakside:
5) LB DeMeco Ryans vs. C Will Montgomery
Ryans has been one of the few bright spots on the Eagles' defense this season, but not on this play. Montgomery puts him on the ground as Morris runs right by him:
6) LB Mychal Kendricks vs. QB Robert Griffin III
This is subtle, but watch RG3 with the ball in his right hand as he turns to hand the ball to Morris, as if the run is going to the left side:
He then switches the ball to his left hand and hands the ball to Morris as he comes to the right:
When Morris receives the handoff, Kendricks has already been taken in by the fake and his momentum is heading in the wrong direction:
That little hesitation by Kendricks is enough to let Morris run by him without Kendricks ever getting close:
7) S Colt Anderson vs. LT Trent Williams:
Trent Williams will be pulling from his LT position all the way around to the right side on this play, and he'll find that Colt Anderson is the only player left to block, which he does:
Trent Williams is 6'5, 325, and athletic. Colt Anderson is 5'10, 194. Colt Anderson is supposed to lose this matchup, and he does, although I will give him credit for at least making Morris bounce his run back to the inside:
8) S Kurt Coleman vs. WR Santana Moss
At the snap, Moss will immediately hustle upfield and block Coleman, who is the last defender to have a shot at Morris:
"Is there anyone in the stands that wants to try to tackle me?"
Eight defenders, and not one won their individual battle on this play. That's embarrassing.
You can follow Jimmy Kempski on Twitter: @Jimmy_Beast
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