Reid Is Still Retarded

Andy Reid has suffered my ire this season, but his effective coaching the last two weeks has given me hope that he's changed. I was willing to give him a second chance. Well, he blew it.

I don't know if it was Andy Reid or Marty Mornhinweg who called the DeSean Jackson pass from the "Wildcat" formation, but it was incredibly stupid.

Jackson is a rookie Wide Receiver, not a veteran Quarterback. He shouldn't be throwing the ball. If you ask me, he shouldn't be lining up under center either, I'm not a big fan of the Wildcat formation.

Boneheaded move, no matter how you look at it.

Ashley Fox: Eagles need action, not Reid's hollow words

Ashley Fox, a Philadelphia Inquirer NFL columnist, is getting pretty sick of Andy Reid's excuses.

I see the merit in her argument. Andy Reid has done an excellent job with this franchise, but his effectiveness is slowly waning. Opposing coaches and players have become accustomed to the Eagle's schemes and they're finding more and more effective ways to dismantle them.

It's easy for Andy to sit in his post loss press conferences, take responsibility for the loss and throw around a handful of cliches, but it's not helping the Eagles reach the playoffs.

Reid needs to fix what is ailing this team: the lack of a run game and poor play calling. The defense has been put into some tough positions this season because the offense has been unable to put together sustained, clock-eating drives. If the defense is on the field almost 40 minutes a game they're going to be ineffective.

Poor play calling has led directly to losses against Chicago and New York. The run game hasn't been on track all season and trusting it in the clutch instead of giving the ball to your superstar quarterback is not working.

McNabb has carried this team deep into the playoffs plenty of times before. Give him a chance to do it again.

Andy Reid is Losing Games

Andy Reid's seat wasn't warm before, but it should be burning hot now.

Reid made some baffling coaching decisions in the Eagles 36-31 loss to the Giants Sunday night that ultimately led to an Eagles loss.

Reid challenged two consecutive plays in the 4th quarter with the Giants on the goal line, threatening to score.

The first play came when Brandon Jacobs gashed the middle of the Philly defense for a first down, taking the ball inside the five. The ball came out well after Jacobs was down, but Reid still decided to challenge. He lost - obviously - and the Eagles were docked a timeout.

The following play Jacobs plows the ball up the middle again and it's stripped at the goal line. The refs called a touchdown, but it was questionable. This - in my opinion - was a worthwhile challenge, even though the replay proved that Jacobs was indeed in for a touchdown. Reid lost again and the Eagles lost another timeout.

McNabb managed to orchestrate a quick, effective scoring strike. The Eagles closed the gap to 36-31. The Eagles kicked the ball deep and the defense force a 3-and-out. The Eagles had the ball back with about 3 minutes left on the clock, plenty of time to win the game. Until Reid screwed it up again.

McNabb is the Eagles' best offensive player. (Most of you are going to argue Westbrook is the best, but you're wrong. No offense.) The Eagles' drive got bogged down when Reid took the ball out of McNabb's hands.

On a third and two Reid called a run to the outside. The Eagles' run game was virtually non-existent up to this point. Reid must have thought they would miraculously put it all together at the end of the game. Westbrook barely gets to the corner and picks up one. Maybe.

Then, with John Madden and Al Michaels both claiming Reid needed to put the ball in McNabb's hands - and referring to the Chicago game earlier this season, where the Eagles failed to punch the ball into the end zone from the one yard line - Reid dials up a run up the middle. The Eagles were stopped. The Giants ran the clock out and the Eagles lose another winnable game.

Reid made the mistake of taking the ball out of his best player's hands. McNabb was solely responsible for the 4th quarter touchdown drive. He made plays running and throwing and hit open receivers for big gains. Westbrook ended the game with 26 yards on 13 carries. McNabb had 35 yards on three carries to go along with his 3 TDs. McNabb was playing better and should have had a chance.

I have defended Andy Reid up to this point, but I'm getting sick of his stagnant play calling. If you change a couple of Reid's playcalling decisions from this season (like this game and the Chicago game, for instance) the Eagles could easily be 7-2 or better.

Andy Reid has been great for this franchise over the last decade, but if Tiki Barber can sit in the Sunday Night Football studio and predict your play calls it says a lot about your effectiveness as a coach. If Barber knew, you can bet Coughlin knew. Reid has hit a point of stagnancy where he is no longer helping this franchise win.

The only issue I have is that I don't think there will be a coach available who will be better than Reid. But I can no longer sit idly by and watch Andy Reid run this franchise out of contention.

Sorry Adam Schein, but I'm off the Andy Reid bandwagon.