Since 1999, Andy Reid has been the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. In the 12 plus seasons since taking over, he’s told us how he needs to do a better job of putting this team in a better position to win. At first, it seemed like a very honorable thing to do. To fall on the sword for the players who failed to succeed. As each year passed and the Reid’s winning ways increased, each loss, especially in the playoffs, became more gut wrenching than the last. For the last couple of seasons, many fans would call in to sports talk radio and insist that Andy Reid should be removed from his position. At the same time, members of the national media kept referring to Reid’s winning ways and how the fans were “misguided”, to put it nicely, for thinking other wise.
Many of you who know me, or have read my work, know that I am not exactly a person that bleeds Midnight Green and Silver. It’s not that I am a fan of another team, or just don’t like the Eagles. In general, I am just not a fan of what the game is, or has become. There are too many players that need a celebratory dance or signature move, for doing their job. To me I see a guy make a tackle, not for a loss mind you, or make a catch that results in a first down, not a touch down, and they jump to their feet and are just short of doing the electric slide. I try to look at the Eagles and the NFL with an unbiased approach, so that I can make a partially educated guess on the subject.
That being said the purpose of this article is to create an in depth look in to the actual success, or possibly the lack-there-of, of the Eagles during Andy Reid’s tenure. To find out how good this team really was/is. I’ll do this by observing three areas in each of the twelve plus seasons in which Reid has been at the helm. The areas include record versus sub-.500 teams, record versus over-.500 teams, and record versus teams that made the playoffs in that particular season. Teams that currently have or had a .500 record or have finished with at least a .500 record in any given season will be added to the “Over .500” category. Hopefully we can put to rest the validity of the success be it fact or fiction.
As of the time of this post, the Andy Reid Era is being defined by the success between 2001 and 2004. Four solid years that all culminated in Conference Championship games. If you follow the records, its no surprise that the Eagles failed to reach the Super Bowl. Of the four seasons, the Eagles played .500 or worse three out of four years against teams that were .500 or better. It is very clear that the Eagles took advantage of a weak conference early in Reid’s tenure, but since 2005, the league has more than caught up with the Eagles.
Tags: Andy Reid
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