Classic Andy Reid Helps Birds to Big Loss
Not even in the box score. Brent Celek does not even appear in the box score of last night’s Eagles 36-31 loss to the Giants.
That would be the same Brent Celek who caught 6 passes for 131 yards – the most yards ever by an Eagles tight end in a regular season game – just last week. But this week L.J. Smith, the regular starter at tight end and a major disappointment throughout most of his career, was ready to play after a concussion. So, he started and caught 3 passes for 36 yards.
And you thought Andy Reid couldn’t adjust.
No, I don’t think Celek is the second coming of Keith Jackson (my best reference for an Eagles pass-catching tight end), but I know for damn sure Smith is not. I also know the Eagles had a chance to win a game that would have put them one game behind the Giants for the lead in the division, and that maybe a tight end making some plays throughout the game could have made a big difference.
By the way, I’m not pulling that out of my butt the way Reid does with answers at press conferences. Anyone watching the Bills game earlier in the day heard how Bill Walsh had tutored their quarterback, Trent Edwards, while he was at Stanford not to ignore his tight end or running back in the west coast offense. That would be the same Bill Walsh who invented the west coast offense that Reid has bastardized in Philadelphia.
As if to drive home the point, the game essentially ended when the Eagles failed not once but twice to run for one yard to pick up a first down. Any offensive lineman will tell you that you need to establish the run throughout the game to get the line into a rhythm. As usual, the Eagles failed to do that, and when they needed it most it was nowhere to be had.
The fact is the Giants are probably just the better team, and that’s why they won the game. They shutdown Brian Westbrook. They ran all over the Eagles, dominating time of possession in the first half and wearing down the defense. Donovan McNabb was horrific in the first quarter. And the Eagles threw in some stupid penalties while the referees botched a few calls. Reid even threw in back-to-back challenges, the first of which was as bad as it gets, to waste a timeout or two.
But this was a classic game to point to for Eagles’ fans that want Reid gone. With the playoffs back in serious question, that crowd should be growing.
That would be the same Brent Celek who caught 6 passes for 131 yards – the most yards ever by an Eagles tight end in a regular season game – just last week. But this week L.J. Smith, the regular starter at tight end and a major disappointment throughout most of his career, was ready to play after a concussion. So, he started and caught 3 passes for 36 yards.
And you thought Andy Reid couldn’t adjust.
No, I don’t think Celek is the second coming of Keith Jackson (my best reference for an Eagles pass-catching tight end), but I know for damn sure Smith is not. I also know the Eagles had a chance to win a game that would have put them one game behind the Giants for the lead in the division, and that maybe a tight end making some plays throughout the game could have made a big difference.
By the way, I’m not pulling that out of my butt the way Reid does with answers at press conferences. Anyone watching the Bills game earlier in the day heard how Bill Walsh had tutored their quarterback, Trent Edwards, while he was at Stanford not to ignore his tight end or running back in the west coast offense. That would be the same Bill Walsh who invented the west coast offense that Reid has bastardized in Philadelphia.
As if to drive home the point, the game essentially ended when the Eagles failed not once but twice to run for one yard to pick up a first down. Any offensive lineman will tell you that you need to establish the run throughout the game to get the line into a rhythm. As usual, the Eagles failed to do that, and when they needed it most it was nowhere to be had.
The fact is the Giants are probably just the better team, and that’s why they won the game. They shutdown Brian Westbrook. They ran all over the Eagles, dominating time of possession in the first half and wearing down the defense. Donovan McNabb was horrific in the first quarter. And the Eagles threw in some stupid penalties while the referees botched a few calls. Reid even threw in back-to-back challenges, the first of which was as bad as it gets, to waste a timeout or two.
But this was a classic game to point to for Eagles’ fans that want Reid gone. With the playoffs back in serious question, that crowd should be growing.
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