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A sense of urgency - and execution
After telling us for weeks that “I have to do a better job of putting players in position to make plays,” Andy Reid on Monday repeated the obvious, only with different words.
The Eagles’ boss took the time to point out to the assembled media that wide receiver Reggie Brown was in fact not in the right place when he caught that last-second pass from Donovan McNabb. Reid said Brown needed to be in the end zone. Instead, he gathered the ball in mid-air just short of the goal line, and was immediately thrown backward by two swarming Redskin defenders.
Game, set and match, as the clock expired on the game – and likely the Eagles season.
It’s ironic that Reid, who rarely gives specifics when it comes to critiquing his team, singled out Brown. The wide receiver has been perceived to be in Reid’s dog house. The only reason he was in the lineup Sunday was because of injuries to Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett. Brown had not even dressed for games the previous couple of weeks.
One other word struck me from Reid’s press conference. He lamented the team’s execution, especially on offense.
Which brings to mind the famous quote from then Tampa Bay coach John McKay, the USC legend, during the team’s horrible first year in the NFL. A scribe asked what McKay what thought of his team’s execution.
His pithy response: “I’m in favor of it.”
Such a response is clearly beyond Reid’s grasp.
Things didn’t get any easier for the Birds after the Monday night game, though there was a lesson to be learned from it.
The Bears won, thus keeping their playoff hopes alive and making the Eagles’ odds just that much longer.
But there was something very similar – and at the same time very different - about the way the Bears went about their business last night.
For the first three quarters they mimicked the Eagles, seemingly content to throw their season away as they trailed the Green Bay Packers.
Then suddenly, they seemed to realize what was at stake. They played with heart in the fourth quarter, blocked a last-second field goal by the Packers, and eventually won the game in overtime.
They displayed a sense of urgency.
Which is something most of the Eagles, especially those on offense, never did on Sunday.
The Eagles’ boss took the time to point out to the assembled media that wide receiver Reggie Brown was in fact not in the right place when he caught that last-second pass from Donovan McNabb. Reid said Brown needed to be in the end zone. Instead, he gathered the ball in mid-air just short of the goal line, and was immediately thrown backward by two swarming Redskin defenders.
Game, set and match, as the clock expired on the game – and likely the Eagles season.
It’s ironic that Reid, who rarely gives specifics when it comes to critiquing his team, singled out Brown. The wide receiver has been perceived to be in Reid’s dog house. The only reason he was in the lineup Sunday was because of injuries to Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett. Brown had not even dressed for games the previous couple of weeks.
One other word struck me from Reid’s press conference. He lamented the team’s execution, especially on offense.
Which brings to mind the famous quote from then Tampa Bay coach John McKay, the USC legend, during the team’s horrible first year in the NFL. A scribe asked what McKay what thought of his team’s execution.
His pithy response: “I’m in favor of it.”
Such a response is clearly beyond Reid’s grasp.
Things didn’t get any easier for the Birds after the Monday night game, though there was a lesson to be learned from it.
The Bears won, thus keeping their playoff hopes alive and making the Eagles’ odds just that much longer.
But there was something very similar – and at the same time very different - about the way the Bears went about their business last night.
For the first three quarters they mimicked the Eagles, seemingly content to throw their season away as they trailed the Green Bay Packers.
Then suddenly, they seemed to realize what was at stake. They played with heart in the fourth quarter, blocked a last-second field goal by the Packers, and eventually won the game in overtime.
They displayed a sense of urgency.
Which is something most of the Eagles, especially those on offense, never did on Sunday.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:06 AM
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