Andy Reid ended his month-long silence to finally speak about what went awry in the Eagles’ 2011 season, coaching changes made in the offseason, and how he will ensure that everything is better for 2012.

The coach that spoke from the NovaCare on Tuesday is not the Andy Reid that we have come to know and…well, you know. He wasn’t grouchy.  He answered all questions in complete sentences. You could tell that he was really making an effort to be humble.

Did Jeffrey Lurie have a chat with Reid about his tense relationship with the Philadelphia media? Probably. And for at least this one time, it worked.

The lengthy 49-minute session wasn’t the anticipated obligatory talk to spin the drastic disappointment that was the 2011 season. Instead, it was a more frank and forthright Andy Reid who spoke openly about matters that usually he would evade.

Reid came right out and said that Juan Castillo would be the defensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2012. After confirming what had already become pretty clear, Reid addressed the most talked about bit of speculation from the past month: The rumor that Steve Spagnuolo would come to the Eagles as defensive coordinator. » Continue reading “The Surprisingly Interesting Words of Andy Reid”

Eagles players reflected on the season that was and took the opportunity to highlight the best among them.

LeSean McCoy was named as the MVP of the team’s offense for obvious reasons–breaking team records and leading the league in number of touchdowns will do that for you.  Jason Babin was named the most valuable for Philadelphia’s defense for his 18 sacks, the most for an Eagle since 1992.

And though he missed the last four games due to injury, Colt Anderson was given special team MVP honors for his importance to that unit this season.

One year later: No looking back

David Akers is one of those players who, regardless of where they go, will always be a Philadelphia Eagle. The former Eagles kicker showed Philadelphia several times this season that he is the fabulous player that he always was, earning yet another Pro Bowl berth this year.

A year after being let go by the team that was his home for a dozen years, Akers is doing just fine in San Francisco. In fact, one could argue that he got the better end of the deal, as the 49ers went 13-3 on the season (including a defeat of the Eagles) and earned a bye for the first week of the playoffs, now preparing to face the Saints in the NFC Divisional round.

More important than all of that? Akers’ young daughter Hally, who had a tumor on her ovary discovered around this time last year, is now cancer free.

Good on ya, David.

Who do you want back in 2012?

As the Birds are done for the season, fans have plenty of time to think about who they want to see back in Eagles green next season. And who they overwhelmingly do not.

Philly.com conducted a poll of Eagles fans and the results are in. A number of offensive players are overwhelmingly wanted back by fans for 2012 by overwhelming majorities: 98.1% want to see LeSean McCoy back (um–duh. Who exactly were the 1.9% who said otherwise?); 98.4% want to see Brent “tough guy” Celek return; and 97.8% are looking forward to seeing what Jeremy Maclin can do in 2012.

On defense, the players who fans said they most want to see return include Trent Cole at 98.4%; Cullen Jenkins with 98.1% of votes; and  95.5% saying they want to see Jason Babin back in an Eagles uniform.

On the other end of the spectrum, only 7.5% of fans want to see Vince Young back (again I ask, who are these people?). The next lowest scoring Bird was Victor Abiamiri, who has been extremely unlucky with regard to injury, with only 7.8 wanting to see him back next year.

The full results are featured and broken down here. The article features a comparison of, where applicable, support for a return for the 2011 season versus that for 2012.

Also featured is fan support for Philadelphia’s front office, including owner Jeffrey Lurie. Which seems a little silly to me, as he’s never going to un-own the team based on what we think, but I suppose the point of the exercise wasn’t to bog things down in reality/fact.

As I’m sure you’re wondering, 49.3% of respondents want to see Andy Reid return in 2012–which is actually almost an 8% increase over last year.

Go figure.

Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/phillysportmuse.

The Philadelphia Eagles fired cornerbacks coach Johnnie Lynn on Saturday after having the position for only one year. Is this the start of bigger moves by the team?

It’s no secret that the team’s secondary was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2011 season. Talented corners Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and the most valuable free agent of the year, Nnamdi Asomugha, struggled all year in Philadelphia’s defense. CSNPhilly provided these two interesting and damning points on the trifecta of CBs:

the Eagles allowed 27 touchdown passes — sixth-most in franchise history and only four fewer than the franchise-record 31 the Eagles allowed last year.

Samuel, Asmomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie, who have all had at least six interceptions in a season, combined for only six this year.

As head coach Andy Reid has yet to speak and with no indication of when we can expect to hear from him, all anyone can do is speculate. Are the Eagles making room for another defensive coordinator to come in and bring his own assistants? Or is room being made at the bottom to demote Juan Castillo?

One popular view is that the moves will allow the Eagles to acquire  Steve Spagnuolo and allow him to bring in his own team. This perspective makes a lot of sense. But that’s why I don’t buy it. Andy Reid doesn’t often do what makes sense, or what is expected.

Perhaps it’s the perpetual pessism of a Philadelphian in me speaking, and I hope I am wrong. But I can’t shake the flashbacks to this time last year, after Reid fired then-DC Sean McDermott. Articles were written about all of the defensive coordinator candidates that the Eagles could go after. Meanwhile, Andy Reid went on vacation and those candidates were taken by other teams. And then we got….well, you know how that story ends. » Continue reading “Eagles Fire Cornerbacks Coach; More Moves To Come?”

Jeffrey Lurie. Image via 6abc.com

Lurie’s remarks were incredibly well organized–he must have been an English teacher’s delight in college. He began by acknowledging how horrid the season was, and how there were no acceptable excuses and his own anger and disappointment. He then went on to outline how he goes about evaluating each season in terms of the team’s overall performance, the players, and the team’s coaches. Once this began, you knew the endorsement of Reid was coming.

The remarks were what most had anticipated: A formality that would signal no major changes to the Eagles organization. In fact, it signaled none.

Lurie stated that he evaluated coaching staff on three criteria: 1. Overall track record; 2. Recent record; and 3. Intangibles. He outlined where Reid fell in all 3 areas, citing his respect from players and coaches around the league as a notable intangible for Reid. He also cited the team’s short and long term success in making it to the playoffs. With regard to not winning a Super Bowl, Lurie stated that Reid has gotten the team to the tournament, and if you’re not in the tourney you can’t win the big game.

And what of Juan Castillo? People were perhaps more eager to hear of his status than Reid’s. And Lurie made it clear that he will not make that decision–he trusts Andy Reid to make decision regarding his coaching staff. » Continue reading “Jeffrey Lurie: “I Want Andy Back””

Here’s the thing with DeSean Jackson. He can be a good guy. As much as he has made me dislike him for the way he has behaved this season, both on and off the field, I can’t forget how much he touched and clearly was touched by the brave young man who was a victim of bullying in Upper Darby.

DeSean knows how to be a decent, mature individual–when he wants to be.

And that’s what I don’t like about him. It’s almost easier to deal with someone like TO who is just an over the top, selfish, outrageous butthead 24/7. But DeSean tries to embrace the diva wide receiver persona almost to the core–and then he backs away. And to be honest, I don’t think it’s because the good angel on his right shoulder tells him he’s behaving like a jerk. It’s because he senses public sentiment–and perhaps the goodwill of the Eagles organization–slipping away from him.

DeSean Jackson is not good at the whole PR thing. I just don’t think he’s aware of it. Effectively managing one’s image does not mean acting up to the point that no one likes you anymore and not performing your job well and then reeling in your off-putting behavior. He will learn that eventually, I hope.

DeSean Jackson apologized for his behavior this season on Sunday, after the season was said and done for the Birds. His remarks, courtesy of CSNPhilly:

“I can admit to certain things affecting me during the season. I just kind of want to apologize or whatever the case may be,” Jackson said after the Eagles finished their lost season with a 34-10 rout of the Redskins (see story). “I probably could have handled it a little different, but now sitting here after the season’s over, I can just say I was able to put it behind me and really just fight for my teammates. Fight for this organization – just really knowing something good out of this situation was going to happen. I was able to finally get to that and just move forward. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Hmm. He was able to “finally” get to that. Very interesting.

Had DeSean said something like this early in the season, or even midseason, it would seem a lot more genuine. Right now, it sounds like a man who realizes that his brattiness and immaturity may have run him out of town. » Continue reading “DeSean Jackson’s Apology Too Little, Too Late?”

Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie continues to garner accolades this offseason. First it was an Oscar, now it’s a nod as one of the NFL’s top owners.

What’s a sports network to do for football news in the midst of a lockout? Come up with power rankings up the ying-yang is what.

That’s right, ESPN issued a power rankings list of the NFL’s top 10 owners. Lurie was smack-dab in the middle of the list at number 5.

1. Rooney family, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Robert Kraft, New England Patriots
3. Packers’ executive committee
4. Mara/Tisch, New York Giants
5. Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Steve Bisciotti, Baltimore Ravens
7. Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts
8. Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
9. Arthur Blank, Atlanta Falcons
10. Woody Johnson, New York Jets

The NFC East is well represented in the list, with the Giants ownership featured at #4, Lurie and #5, and Jerry Jones at #7 (we beat you again, Dallas!). The most entertaining owner on the list, tweeting Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts, made the list at #7.

ESPN’s rankings took into account the team’s success, the owner’s level of influence around the league and stability.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie finally won something. Hey, if you can’t win a Super Bowl at least someone with the team now has a golden statue to display and call their very own.

Lurie executive produced a winning documentary, called “Inside Job,”  which IMDB describes as “a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008.”

I have not seen the film but I’m sure it’s great. However, the win is laden with irony.

Dan Gross, aka @PhillyGossip on Twitter, perfectly pointed out this fact when the winner was announced.

Indeed. You just can’t make this stuff up.