Eagles continue to lock up current coaches..sign OC Childress to a 3 year extension

sportsbet · Feb 13, 2005

While NE coordinators head for jobs elsewhere...

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=head2>Eagles sign Childress to extension</TD><TD align=right><SCRIPT language=JavaScript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/sponsorships.nfl.com/fs/stories;arena=nfl;feat=stories;type=psa;team=PHI;user=Anonymous;seg=nonaol;ctype=lan;lang=en-us;lang=en-us;vpmp=yes;cust=no;vip=no;u=;sz=150x30;tile=5;ord=853051108339928?"></SCRIPT>

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD noWrap>NFL.com wire reports </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 11, 2005) -- Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him in Philadelphia through the 2008 season.

Childress' squad helped lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in 24 years, a 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots.

Childress joined the Eagles as quarterbacks coach on Jan. 12, 1999 -- one day after Andy Reid was named head coach -- and was responsible for teaching the West Coast offense to then-rookie quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Childress, 48, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2002. The Eagles set a team record with 415 points that year, despite losing McNabb and backup Koy Detmer to injuries. Third-stringer A.J. Feeley compiled a 4-1 record down the stretch.

sportsbet · Feb 13, 2005

More on the season:

REWRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>February 13, 2005
By CHRIS McPHERSON
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The Eagles definitely had a memorable season that will not be forgotten for some time. In fact, the Eagles may have left some records to stand for all time. The Eagles rewrote the history books this season and here is a list of some of those amazing stats and ridiculous records as the page starts to turn with an eye towards the 2005 season...

<TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=0 width=201 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=V1>QB Donovan McNabb </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Eagles are 59-21 since the start of the 2000 season (not including playoffs), the best record in the NFL
The Eagles became the fifth team in NFL history to have reached the conference championship game in four consecutive seasons (Oakland twice, Buffalo and Dallas were the others)
Second team in franchise history to reach the Super Bowl
Nine players voted into the Pro Bowl
13 regular season wins, a franchise record
7-0 record to open season, a team record
Four straight division titles, a team record
It took only 11 games to win the division, third team to do that since the schedule went to 16 games (Chicago in 1985 and San Francisco in 1997)
First team in franchise history to sweep the NFC East Division
For third-straight season had best record in the NFC
Nine wins in the regular season by 10 points or more, another two in the playoffs
Held back-to-back opponents (Washington and New York) without a touchdown for first time since 1990
Won four straight games by 20 points or more for the first time since 1953
The Eagles were 11-0 this season when leading at the half
Tied franchise records for most points in a quarter (28 vs. Dallas and Green Bay) and half (35 vs. Dallas and Green Bay)
The Eagles became the fifth team in NFL history to either equal or improve their record for the sixth straight season, starting with three wins in 1998
The Eagles participated in the first-ever Super Bowl to have been tied after three quarters
<LI>The Eagles became the fourth team in NFL history to have won a playoff game in five consecutive seasons, only Dallas has done it six straight seasons Jeffrey Lurie

<LI>Eight playoff wins since taking over as owner is most in franchise history. Andy Reid

66 wins, most by a head coach (including playoffs) since the start of the 2000 season
His 71- 36 career record (including playoffs) is the best win percentage amongst all active coaches with at least 20 wins
Seven playoff wins, most by any coach in franchise history
71 wins most by any coach in franchise history
<LI>Has never lost a regular season game after a bye week Donovan McNabb

Became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 30 touchdown passes in a season (31) and fewer than 10 interceptions (8)
Set the NFL record for consecutive completed passes with 24, breaking the previous record of 22 held by Joe Montana
Became fifth player in league history to throw five touchdown passes in one half (vs. Green Bay)
3,875 passing yards this season, a new franchise record
464 passing yards vs. Green Bay, a team record
Completed 64 percent of his passes this season, a franchise record
<LI>Had a quarterback rating of 104.7, a franchise record Terrell Owens

14 receiving touchdowns was a franchise record
Seven 100-yard receiving games, a franchise record
Five straight 100-yard receiving games, a franchise record
Joined Brian Westbrook to become the first Eagles tandem to each have 150+ receiving yards since 1962
<LI>Has touchdowns in seven-straight Monday Night Football games, a record Brian Westbrook

<LI>Led all NFL running backs with 73 receptions and 703 receiving yards Jon Runyan

<LI>16 postseason games played, most in the NFL since 1999 Lito Sheppard

<LI>His 101-yard interception return against Dallas was the longest individual return in team history David Akers

His 17 field goals from 40 yards out or further, set an NFL record
His 122 points led the NFC in scoring
His 50-yard field goal against Cleveland was the longest game-winning overtime field goal in team history
Became first player in team history to nail four field goals of 40 yards or more in a single game (Chicago)
<LI>Holds the team playoff record in points (79), field goals (17) and converted extra points (28).

Player of the Week Awards
Here is a list of the Eagles who took home player of the week awards this season...

David Akers - Special Teams Player of the Week (Chicago)
Sheldon Brown - Defensive Player of the Week (Dallas)
Jevon Kearse - Special Teams Player of the Week (Giants)
Donovan McNabb - Offensive Player of the Week (Green Bay, Playoffs vs. Minnesota) and was the Offensive Player of the Month for September
<LI>Lito Sheppard - Defensive Player of the Week (Carolina) and was the Defensive Player of the Month (October)

RobFunk · Feb 13, 2005

they need to get a new QB coach. get mcnabb to get rid of the ball sooner. everyone will pressure him next year just like the pats did. the blue print is out, mcnabb cant think quickly and get the ball out like a marc bulger and the entire world knows it now.

i like mcnabb becuase syracuse is my favorite school but you know its true

Fishhead · Feb 13, 2005

Thanks for the report Sportsbet

FISH

sportsbet · Feb 13, 2005

RobFunk said:
they need to get a new QB coach. get mcnabb to get rid of the ball sooner. everyone will pressure him next year just like the pats did. the blue print is out, mcnabb cant think quickly and get the ball out like a marc bulger and the entire world knows it now.

i like mcnabb becuase syracuse is my favorite school but you know its true

I hear you Rob...it's time to work on accuracy under pressue.

N/P Fish...go NFC

sb

Muddy · Feb 13, 2005

sportsbet said:
While NE coordinators head for jobs elsewhere...

When you keep losing evey year nobody wants you. I think they should fire Reid today.

Muddy · Feb 13, 2005

If you are the Eagles owner after reading this article, how can you say my team is in good hands, Andy knows what he is doing? I think he has made a bad investments and shoud fire this idiot!

Reid's Eagles bird-brained: Coach can't recall 'what's the hurry?' drive
BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - There was a moment during the Philadelphia Eagles' penultimate drive of Super Bowl XXXIX when Eagles center Hank Fraley rushed up to the line of scrimmage to get ready to snap the ball. Then he looked behind him and saw his teammates waving him back to the huddle, as the clock continued to wind down.

So at least someone was attacking the Eagles' comeback effort with a sense of urgency. It just wasn't coach Andy Reid.

Even yesterday, 11 hours after the Eagles lost, 24-21, to the New England Patriots, Reid still had no explanation for why his team wasn't in its no-huddle offense, trailing by 10 points with 5:40 remaining. It was a mind-boggling decision that even left some of his own players speechless, and probably cost the Eagles a chance to win their first championship in 45 years.

"Well, you know, I'm trying to remember back on that. I put that away a little bit," Reid said a few hours before the Eagles checked out of their hotel. "But we did try to get it going. I can't remember. I can't detail the circumstances why it didn't work as well as it should have."

Chances are there are many Eagles fans who can help refresh his memory. The Eagles were trailing 24-14 and had two timeouts left when they got the ball at their 21 with 5:40 left in the game. But instead of trying to move downfield quickly, they went on a long, methodical drive filled with short passes. And they huddled before almost every play.

When they did finally score on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to Greg Lewis that cut their deficit to three points, they had eaten up almost four precious minutes and left just 1:48 on the clock. By the time they got the ball back after a three-and-out by the Patriots, the Eagles were stuck at their 4-yard line with just 46 seconds to go.

After the game, no one seemed to have a reasonable explanation for the clock mismanagement. Reid said they were trying to hurry up, but "it was the way things worked out." McNabb said they couldn't do it because they were waiting for receivers to return from their deep routes. And right tackle Jon Runyan said the Eagles didn't want to rush because they didn't want to make any mistakes. He added, "It wasn't a big deal."

Tell that to the Eagles fans who were moaning at the game or at home screaming "Hurry up!" at their TVs.

At some point, maybe, Reid will have an answer for what happened, but he didn't have one yesterday. Asked if he wished he had handled that drive better and left the Eagles more time for a comeback, he said, "Well, you know, you'd love to have back the second-to-last interception there. It might have been a little different if that were the case." He was talking about Tedy Bruschi's pick that ended the Eagles' previous drive.

The drive he can't remember, incidentally, doesn't represent Reid's only bizarre decision. He mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half, too, when the Eagles had three timeouts and the ball with 1:10 remaining. Reid didn't use a timeout until there were 10 seconds left. Asked about that after the game, Reid said, "I don't remember that at all, to be honest with you."

There were also issues with his play-calling, which included just six running attempts in the second half. ("I need to go back and kind of reevaluate what I was doing from the play-calling standpoint," he admitted.) And then there was his decision to rush 11 men at the Patriots' punter with 55 seconds left in the game, leaving no one back to return the football, which rolled dead at the Eagles' 4.

"We made an attempt to stay aggressive with him and go after him and try to block the punt and put ourselves in even better position to get a field goal or a touchdown," Reid said. "It didn't work out."

For Reid, in his first Super Bowl as a head coach, not many of his decisions did.

A bad Reid

Eagles coach Andy Reid left a lot of unanswered questions with some of the decisions he made in losing Super Bowl XXXIX to the Patriots. Below are five of the biggest that will be torturing Philly fans for a while:

1. What's the rush?
Trailing by 10 points, 5:40 remaining, 79 yards away from a touchdown, two timeouts left...sure, what the heck? Take your time. Huddle up. Call short passes. That helped the Eagles move a whole 15 yards in the first 2:08. By the time they finally scored, there was only 1:48 left and their championship dreams were all but done.

2. What's the rush, Part II?
With 1:10 left in the first half of a tie game, the Eagles get the ball at their own 19 with all three timeouts left. Plenty of time to get into FG range. But instead, they open with a run and don't use their first timeout until they get near midfield. By then there are just 10 seconds left in the half, and the Eagles come away with no points.

3. What's the rush, Part III?
The Eagles get the ball back at their own 4 with 46 seconds left, they have no timeouts and are about 60 yards from a shot at a game-tying field goal. But miracles can happen, right? Not this way. They start with a 1-yard pass to Brian Westbrook, followed by an inexplicable pass into the middle of the field. It fell incomplete, but if Terrell Owens had caught it, there wouldn't have been time for another play.

4. Where's the rush?
The Eagles don't run much anyway and it didn't work well in the first half, but Reid gave up on the ground game entirely in the second. RB Brian Westbrook rushed two times (for minus-4 yards) in the final 20 minutes. And QB Donovan McNabb (above), whose legs worried the Patriots, rushed one time (for no yards) all game.

5. Why the rush?
With 55 seconds left, Reid took a gamble by sending 11 men at the Patriots' punter to try to get a block. The problem was, when they didn't get it, there was no one back to return it. The punt was good and the ball was downed at the 4-yard line, leaving the Eagles a long way from game-tying FG range.

Originally published on February 7, 2005