Posts Tagged ‘Philly Sports Muse’
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
You going in to take a hit or is it my turn?
Andy Reid said on Monday that Mike Vick suffered a “pretty significant” concussion in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This fact sets the stage for Nick Foles to be the Eagles’ starter against the Redskins in Week 11, which is reportedly set to occur.
Said Reid,
“I’m just telling you Michael is hurting right now. Nick is going to step in and be the quarterback until that point comes, and we’ll take it all from there. Listen, I can’t project the future. I’m just telling you what I’m telling you. Mike is the quarterback. Nick comes in, and he is a relief pitcher and does his thing.”
Yesterday I asked the question if Vick’s early exit from Sunday’s game is how things will end for the quarterback in Philadelphia. Will that be his last appearance on the field as a starter? After all, it’s how Vick got his own opportunity to start for the Birds in 2010, beating out Kevin Kolb for the role after Kolb suffered a concussion.
If Foles shows promise against the Skins on Sunday, how could Reid justify pulling him? He wouldn’t have to because he wouldn’t do it. And let’s say Foles does poorly and the team falls to 3-7 (UGH). The season would be a wash at that point, with Vick virtually guaranteed to be gone at the end of the year. So why not see what you have in the rookie?
Vick will focus on resting and getting better, but will the move to Foles mean any improvement for this Eagles team? A squad already in desperate need of leadership now needs to get clamor behind a new quarterback. Will that transition be the final piece to make the wheels come off of the 2012 Eagles or will Philadelphia finally make a play to stop its five- game losing streak?
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports, Washington Redskins
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Monday, November 12th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
A tough hit, a tough loss.
(Image via the Philadelphia Eagles)
With each successive loss, hope for this Philadelphia Eagles team was harder and harder to come by.
Five straight losses, the most in Andy Reid’s tenure in Philadelphia. The last time the Birds saw a win was on September 30 — the non-playoff Phillies saw a win more recently than Philly’s football team.
Perhaps more disturbing, there were no signs of improvement anywhere on the squad. You know the talent is there, but the hope of putting it together in a meaningful way?
Gone.
Then came just the slightest glimmer of hope on Sunday in the form of the implosion of the New York Giants against the Cincinnati Bengals, which resulted in a 31-13 loss for the current NFC East leader.
Suddenly, if the Eagles could somehow pull out a win they would still have a shot in the division.
There was hope in the first Philadelphia opening drive of the season that resulted in a touchdown, with a one-handed, 2-yard beauty caught by Riley Cooper to take a 7-0 lead. Vick was off to a strong start — 6/9, 70 yards and a 127.1 QB rating.
But then came former Eagle Ernie Sims to make a play, a tremendous irony as he neglected to do that his entire time in Philadelphia. With 11:29 left in the half Vick was down for the count, out of the game with a concussion and an eye injury.
And finally, it was time. Time to see what Nick Foles could do to help this team.
He made some good plays, he made some ugly plays. For a rookie quarterback who’s gotten no snaps in practice he made a good shot, finishing 22/32 for 219 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Those numbers just so happen to make Foles the highest total by any Eagles rookie QB in his NFL debut. He connected with teammates Jeremy Maclin for a 44-yard TD and Stanley Havili went up the middle for a yard with 1:57 left in the game. And that would be all she wrote for the Eagles in their 38-23 defeat.
The defense was able to put some pressure on Romo and notched 3 sacks, tying a season high. But tackles were missed, and the Eagles again performed their specialty of allowing a team with little running game before the meeting to find a successful one against the Birds.
If any segment of the game captures this five-game losing streak and this defeat in particular, it’s that 2:35 stretch in the 4th quarter where the Cowboys scored 21 points in all phases of their team — offense, defense, and a 78-yard punt return by Dwayne Harris? Which showed a total meltdown on all aspects of the Eagles squad. A streak of total humiliation to put a cap on an unbelievably awful outing against a hated Dallas team that just isn’t good.
Sunday demonstrated that for as bad as the Cowboys are, the Eagles are worse. That’s a hard pill to swallow. But it’s reality.
For those who wanted to see what Foles could do in the regular season, there will be plenty of opportunity to do that now. Despite Reid’s assertion that he’ll have to see how Vick’s health is before deciding who will be the Eagles’ quarterback against the Redskins next week, you and I know that there is no longer any reason to play Vick. While Vick gave Philadelphia the best chance to win when there was some chance of contending, that time has passed. And sadly, there is just nothing to play for at this point.
It certainly can’t be for heart and pride. We haven’t seen that out of this team in weeks. So might as well make it about seeing what you have in your rookie quarterback.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Jeremy Maclin, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports
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Sunday, November 11th, 2012
by Brandon Campbell
Today’s showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field marks a battle of desperation. Two organizations who entered the season with high expectations now see their teams sitting at a disappointing 3-5, with already slim chances of contending for a playoff spot on the line this week.
Both Philadelphia and Dallas are teams more similar than we’d like to admit. Two squads filled with talent that can’t seem to put it all together on the field. Two quarterbacks in Mike Vick and Tony Romo plagued with turnover troubles whose fanbases are coming to the painful realization that they are not the ones who will lead them to the promised land of a Super Bowl ring. And growing calls for the end of the coaching tenures of Andy Reid and Jason Garrett.
In facing the Cowboys’ 5th-ranked defense, Philadelphia’s decimated offensive line catches a slight break with the injury of ILB Sean Lee. But they will have their hands full with the force that is DeMarcus Ware, who is tied with Clay Matthews for the most sacks in the NFL with 9. Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will move Ware around but anywhere he goes, Philadelphia’s o-line will struggle.
Demetress Bell will start at left tackle, where he will hopefully be slightly less of a disaster than he was when he stepped in for the injured Todd Herremans on the right in New Orleans. King Dunlap will fill Herremans’ former roll at RT this week. Dallas Reynolds will return at center, as will Evan Mathis at LG and Dennis Kelly at RG.
The Birds saw Vick sacked a season high 7 times and only managed a meager 13 points against New Orleans, the worst defense in the league. Philadelphia must find a way to protect Vick, and the QB’s decision-making must help the line and keep him out of harm’s way as well. For the Eagles to have any success they must involve LeSean McCoy and the run game prominently in their game plan to ease the burden of pass protection off the line.
Philadelphia, who went 0-5 in the red zone against the Saints last week, must make trips down the field count and get points on the board in order to begin to right the ship and win this game.
The Eagles D faces a quarterback in Romo who has the most interceptions in the NFL and a team that can’t get its running game going in light of an injured DeMarco Murray, who isn’t expected to play. Wideout Dez Bryant has 42 catches this season and is a talented but inconsistent target. Nnamdi Asomugha, who has struggled mightily since signing with the Eagles last year, was very successful against Bryant in the last meeting between Dallas and Philadelphia, so we’ll see if that success can be replicated today.
WR Miles Austin is neck and neck with Bryant with 41 catches, but Romo’s favorite weapon is tight end Jason Witten, who has 58 catches on the season. The Eagles defense has gotten worse since changing to DC Todd Bowles. If there is any game to step up and show improvement, it’s against the Cowboys. The Eagles know that with Murray down the Cowboys have no option but to pass. Romo has 10 TDs and 13 interceptions and, while throwing with 66% accuracy, he is killing the Cowboys offense with poor third down efficiency and turnovers. Faced with a turnover machine and a decent but not fierce Dallas o-line, can the defense finally get the job done?
No predictions this time except for an ugly game between two woefully underperforming teams. If the Eagles can’t pull this off at home we are in big, big trouble.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Austin Miles, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, DeMarco Murray, DeMarcus Ware, Dez Bryant, Football, Jason Garrett, Jason Witten, LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Nnamdi Asomugha, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Rob Ryan, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Bowles, Tony Romo, War Room Sports
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Friday, November 9th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Will Jon Gruden put on a coaching headset again for the Philadelphia Eagles?
The fact that Andy Reid is in the midst of his last season as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles seems to be a foregone conclusion. With a 3-5 record and a team in disarray, Reid has shown no ability to remedy the problems plaguing the squad or light the needed spark within his players.
For all intents and purposes, Reid is a lame duck coach.
He’ll keep talking but, like his team, we’ve stopped paying attention.
A true indication of the fact that Philadelphia fans and media are already thinking ahead to life after Reid are the reports about possible contenders to fill the expected-to-be-vacant coaching slot. FOX29′s Howard Eskin kicked it all of on Thursday by saying that Jon Gruden is interested in a return to coaching.
More from Eskin, via Sports Illustrated,
“He enjoys working Monday Night Football in the ESPN Monday Night booth, but he is a coach and has the itch. I’m told he wants to go to a team that can win and the key has a quarterback.”
So, Eskin said that puts two teams in the mix, the San Diego Chargers, where Gruden is tight with general manager A.J. Smith, and they have a good quarterback with Phillip Rivers.
“And the Eagles are also a good fit for the Gruden requirements,” Eskin said. “He loves Philadelphia, thinks the Eagles will be a good team next year, and the keys here: He likes the backup quarterback, Nick Foles, who he has already worked out while working for ESPN.”
How much is Gruden liking Foles? In a conversation about the performance of rookie quarterbacks this season, after talking Luck and Wilson and RGIII, the conversation turned to Foles (via Birds 24/7):
“I had Nick Foles in the preseason against New England. Michael Vick got hurt on the fifth or sixth play, and Foles went the distance, on the road in Foxborough. If you like prototype pocket passers with some functional mobility and a tremendous amount of toughness, Foles is interesting.”
“What really impressed me in the preseason was they weren’t running generic formations. They ran about 30 different formations out of about eight different personnel groupings in successive plays. So I see him recognizing coverages. I see him getting to second and third receivers, just like you’d want a quarterback to do in that system, and I love his NFL size. He reminds me a lot of Brad Johnson, from his football character to his ability to decipher a lot quickly, and we won a championship with Brad.”
Birds 24/7 co-author Tim McManus gave this caution about Gruden’s remarks:
“These quotes suggest he is high on Foles, though as anyone who has listened to his Monday Night Football broadcast can attest, he sounds high on everyone at one point or another.”
So very true…
Gruden last served as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was fired in January of 2009 after spending seven seasons with the team.
Could Jon Gruden be the next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles? It certainly sounds like a reasonable possibility. But does anything ever go as predicted with the Birds? It’s just going to get more interesting from here.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brad Johnson, Brandyn Campbell, Football, Howard Eskin, Jon Gruden, Michael Vick, Monday Night Football, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Illustrated, Sports Talk Radio, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The War Room, Tim McManus, War Room Sports
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Thursday, November 8th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Todd Herremans is out for the season.
(Image via Barstool Sports)
The issues for Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line got even worse on Wednesday when right guard Todd Herremans was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot, ending his season.
We knew the situation wasn’t good when Herremans was carted off the field on Monday night. He appeared in the locker room on crutches following the game. But as the Birds’ season grows more and more desperate, we needed some measure of hope. Surely, somehow, Herremans would be okay.
Perhaps he will be, but not this season. Official word from the Novacare Wednesday afternoon confirmed our fears: Todd Herremans would go to IR. In his place, the Eagles promoted Julian Vandervelde from the practice squad, a lineman the Eagles had cut just before the start of the regular season.
Evan Mathis is now the only starter still standing on the line. The Daily News’ Paul Domowitch called the mix-and-match mayhem “Evan Mathis and the Pips.” To call them “porous” almost sounds too positive. They can’t block a thing.
Mike Vick continues to take a beating behind them each and every time he gets on the field. Monday night marked a season high 7 sacks on Vick with the line yet again performing abysmally against the blitz. Which means that the Eagles had better be prepared to see a lot of it from Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Sunday.
Mike Vick is surviving as best he can. “I just gotta believe in the guys in front of me,” he said on Wednesday.
For the season, Vick has already been sacked a whopping 27 times. That’s four more than all of last year and we’re just past the halfway point of the season. And that number doesn’t include the dozens of hits the quarterback has taken.
The question is always, What can this team do to improve. Are there any answers to turn this thing around?
Vick says all he and his teammates can do is to keep on keepin’ on.
“Keep fighting. Preparation is very important. Don’t let up. We’re going to catch a break here sooner or later. This week has to be the week.”
“It’s not the funnest thing in the world to get hit over and over and over again. But I keep getting up. And I thank God that he blessed me with the ability to keep getting up, keep fighting, keep battling for this football team.”
“That’s why I continue to go as hard as I can and continue to make each and every play that I can. Even though I sometimes find myself doing too much and overcompensating.”
The Eagles’ o-line woes point to one of the biggest conundrums for the Birds for the remainder of the season. Many want to see Vick benched in favor of rookie Nick Foles, and that may well happen at some stage. But even if Foles displays the same promise now as he did during the preseason, how long do you expect him to hold up behind this line?
With four straight losses, things clearly weren’t going well for the Eagles even with Todd Herremans in the lineup. His season-ending injury adds to a long list of issues that makes it hard to see how there is any realistic possibility of the Eagles having anything but a miserable remainder of the 2012 season.
But if they can just get a win against Dallas it will all be just a lil’ easier to handle.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Herremans, War Room Sports
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
LeSean McCoy ran for 119 yards in Monday night’s game but his efforts weren’t enough to help his team overcome defeat.
(Photo via the Philadelphia Eagles)
Nothing like a Monday Night Football embarrassment. The Philadelphia Eagles could only assemble 13 points against the worst defense in the league. The Birds notched 447 yards of offense and yet only came out of the game with 13 points.
Where do you go from here?
The Philadelphia Eagles have now fallen to 3-5 in the 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints with absolutely no signs of improvement in sight. The fourth straight lost for the Birds.
Mike Tirico called it, “The night of the red zone nightmare.” And that about sums it up. The turnover issues returned, and in the red zone, no less.
The offense was 0-5 in the red zone. Mike Vick was sacked 7 times. The offensive line got even worse when Todd Herremans left the game early with an ankle injury and Demetress Bell put in an absolutely atrocious performance at right tackle.
On defense, Eagles fans may be wondering if Juan Castillo is available to return as coordinator as things on that side of the ball were a mess once again. Getting pressure on Brees was absolutely essential this game, so of course the D did as little of that as possible, though Jason Babin and Brandon Graham had a sack a piece. The secondary, the unit that now-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was brought in to the team to coach, was as it has been for much of the season – a problem.
Andy Reid said that Mike Vick would be the quarterback next week against Dallas, and why not? Nick Foles would get killed behind that line. Heck, it’s a miracle that Vick has lasted this long.
So what now?
The last game the Eagles won was on September 30 against the New York Giants. More than a month without a win. It’s astounding.
Andy Reid’s postgame presser showed a man who no longer believes his words but is desperately trying to put on a brave face. Mike Vick seemed shell-shocked. Brandon Graham expressed utter frustration at wanting to save his coach’s job and play a good season to honor Garrett Reid but having no idea what’s going wrong.
The Eagles’ loss rounds out a complete week of suckitude around the NFC East, with each and every team in the division suffering defeat. That at least means that the Giants haven’t been able to increase their lead over the Eagles. Up next for Philadelphia are the Cowboys at home, an always-intense battle. If the Birds suffer an embarrassing loss to Dallas at the Linc, the boos heard against Atlanta in Week 8 will seem soft as lullabies.
It’s clear that no one knows how to fix the problems with the Eagles because if they did, the issues wouldn’t keep reappearing. They would be fixed by now. Maybe there won’t be the dramatic wave of changes this week as many have predicted if the Eagles lost in New Orleans. Perhaps the team is resigned to the reality of their woeful and habitual under-performance. And maybe we all have to face the fact there are no more excuses – this is just not a good football team.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Atlanta Falcons, Brandon Graham, Brandyn Campbell, Dallas Cowboys, Demetress Bell, Football, Jason Babin, Juan Castillo, LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick, Mike Tirico, Mike Vick, Monday Night Football, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Todd Bowles, Todd Herremans, War Room Sports
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Twitter was created for moments like this.
The Philadelphia Eagles, while embroiled in a battle for their season against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, did not need any more drama directed their way. Enter Marcus Vick, brother of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick. Marcus doesn’t like how the Birds’ o-line has been playing and he doesn’t care who knows it.
He deleted the tweet that started the national furor, but here is a screencap from what I retweeted during the game.
Why that singular tweet was removed and the rest of his rant against the Eagles is a mystery. Read from the bottom up.
Oh but wait. MV the non-NFL player had more to say.
Great going, man. Exactly what your brother needs right now – more drama.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, ESPN, Football, Marcus Vick, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, Monday Night Football, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, Twitter, War Room Sports
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Sunday, November 4th, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
On three!
(Image via sportsphotographymashup.com)
With each loss, the issues grew more pressing for the Philadelphia Eagles: where was the leadership?
In the first loss following a bye week in the Andy Reid era, the team accomplished the appalling feat of getting worse instead of better.
Where was the leadership? Players hung their heads in shame and vacated the locker room quickly. But there was a strange detachment to the third consecutive loss on the part of Eagles players, it seemed.
LeSean McCoy came out and said what every fan and casual observer alike was thinking.
“How we played, how the game ended, I didn’t see any pride. I didn’t see any heart. This is the whole team, myself included. We didn’t get it done today.”
Three straight losses and no fire. A new defensive coordinator and no improvement. An embattled head coach and yet they continued to show little fight. What could save this Eagles team?
For the first time this season, a players-only meeting was held on Wednesday. According to Yahoo! Sports,
“meeting was productive even though it was not always pleasant. Players implored each other to talk amongst themselves, man-to-man, rather than go straight to the media.”
Which, of course, meant that an unknown player on the defensive ran to the media to give his perspective on the meeting and the team’s situation.
“Mike ain’t the problem. Look, we all know he’s struggling. That ain’t some secret. But we’re not helping him and that’s the problem. The defense isn’t helping him, the offensive line isn’t helping him. None of us. We all gotta help each other and that’s what we talked about.”
The unnamed player continued,
“This ain’t time to be throwing people to the street. We already had that with [Castillo’s firing] and that didn’t work,” the defensive player said, referring to a 30-17 home loss to Atlanta in the first game after Castillo’s dismissal. “We gotta hang together.”
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie didn’t hide behind anonymity. Typically a quiet presence in the locker room, he felt that the meeting was an important opportunity to speak up.
“Yeah, because I don’t really say much. I’m not into the talking game. I just believe in going out and playing ball, regardless of what goes on. Not a lot to be said.”
DRC knows that times are serious and that his teammates needed to hear his voice.
“It was a team thing. I’m part of a team. So I felt like if I speak, guys would listen. I didn’t speak on much; I just said, ‘Let’s just play ball and see where that gets us.’”
Other players who reportedly spoke up in the meeting were Vick, Trent Cole, Jeremy Maclin, Cullen Jenkins, DeMeco Ryans and Jason Avant.
Will the meeting and the man-to-man discussions make a difference on Monday Night Football in New Orleans? For a Philadelphia team all out of answers, it must. With the level of dysfunction on this team, if the record falls to 3-5 things will be torn apart at the NovaCare – including a change at the quarterback position – and the chances for victory will diminish even further. Half the season will remain, but the outlook is bleak if the Birds don’t even up their record at the Superdome.
Perhaps now isn’t the time to throw people on the street, to paraphrase the unknown player, but with a loss in New Orleans it will happen again. The Philadelphia Eagles are playing to save their season, their quarterback and their coach. Is the burden too much to bear? We’ll find out on Monday night.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Atlanta Falcons, Brandyn Campbell, Cullen Jenkins, DeMeco Ryans, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Football, Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin, Juan Castillo, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, Superdome, The War Room, Trent Cole, War Room Sports, Yahoo! Sports
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Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Pointing to the increasing levels of drama and dysfunction on the Philadelphia Eagles team, there have been more meetings than usual at the NovaCare these days. This week saw the first players-only meeting of the season as well as an unusually long meeting between Andy Reid and Mike Vick a few days following the quarterback’s comments acknowledging the possibility of being benched.
Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that
“Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and coach Andy Reid had a particularly long one-on-one meeting this week to help clear the air about a number of issues, two team sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The sources indicated that the meeting, which occurred a few days after Vick publicly suggested he might be benched, was extremely productive. Ultimately, Reid came to the conclusion that he might have lost his players psychologically had he benched Vick.”
Cole also revealed a nugget that provides some insight into what led to Vick’s surprising comments on Sunday.
“One of the internal issues was tension between Vick and the coaching staff, with the quarterback believing some of the assistant coaches were pushing to have him benched, according to a source familiar with the situation. After the loss to Atlanta, Vick said he thought he could be benched in favor of rookie Nick Foles.”
A team divided cannot succeed. This, in so many ways, is the battle the Eagles are desperately fighting. Beating opponents on the field each week is essential, but so too is understanding and overcoming the obstacles that are leading this team to defeating itself week after week.
A lack of discipline. No leadership. In-fighting and back-biting. It certainly isn’t a recipe for success.
At the halfway point of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot to prove. Once again the Birds have not delivered on lofty expectations for the team. Monday Night in New Orleans the Eagles must prove that they can put together a win. This team has many doubters, and at this point they need to prove to themselves more than anyone else that they have the fire to reclaim their season. Because if this team stops believing in itself, there’s no coming back.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Atlanta Falcons, Brandyn Campbell, Football, Jason Cole, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, Monday Night Football, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Nick Foles, NovaCare, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports, Yahoo! Sports
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Friday, November 2nd, 2012
by Brandyn Campbell
Andy Reid continues to stand alongside quarterback Mike Vick.
(Image via Lehigh Valley Live)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Thursday following the unconventional move on Wednesday of issuing a statement in support of quarterback Mike Vick.
Reid tried to clear the air about his initial comments about Vick following Sunday’s failure against the Falcons, which were widely construed as a wavering support for Vick.
“I know a lot’s been said in regards to [QB] Michael [Vick]. I learned a long time ago from you guys that there’s a time and a place when you’re upset and I was upset after the game. Not at Michael Vick; I was upset, starting with myself and not getting my team ready to play and then working from there. But I’ve learned to step back and evaluate, so that was my point to you. My point wasn’t that I was going to bench Michael Vick; it was that I needed to step back and evaluate before I came to you with something.”
In fact, Reid went on to say that he felt Sunday was one of the quarterback’s “better games” this season. The coach typically addresses the media on Monday but was unable to do so this week because of the threat posed to the region by Hurricane Sandy. But like the superstorm, he saw the winds of gossip about Vick swirling out of control and wanted to end the fury.
Regardless of what he says, Reid’s remarks will continue to be dissected and second guessed because, frankly, soft support by the coach one day quite frequently turns into job loss down the line under his regime. Just ask Kevin Kolb or Juan Castillo.
When asked pointedly if Reid considered making a change at the quarterback position, his response was simple and to the point.
“That wasn’t my intent. No, not at all.”
Would Reid commit to saying that Vick would be the team’s starter for the remainder of the season?
“Michael’s the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.”
The rumors have been put to rest – for now. It’s really more like they’ve gone below the surface and will hover, waiting to re-emerge should Monday Night’s game against the Saints go sour.
Vick’s own comments on the controversy were intriguing, with the quarterback admitting that his confidence was impacted by the rumors and that he has to get his “swag” back. Vick also revealed that the team finally had a closed door, player’s only meeting on Thursday to try to pull itself together. It’s a small but needed step.
Who knows, perhaps it can help to stop – or at least slow – the steady unraveling of this Eagles team. Not much else has worked and with Reid’s inability to motivate his team, it’s time for players to be accountable for themselves and to each other both on and off the field.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Tags:All's Fair in Sports and War, Andy Reid, Brandyn Campbell, Football, Juan Castillo, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Mike Vick, New Orleans Saints, NFL, NFL Football, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Philly Sports Muse, Sports Talk Radio, The War Room, War Room Sports
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