Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Changes Andy Reid Needs To Make

Andy Reid has been the Philadelphia Eagles head coach since the Clinton administration's last year in office in 1999. Reid became the longest tenured head coach this past offseason after Jeff Fisher and the Tennessee Titans parted ways.

The man who has led the Philadelphia Eagles to its most successful era of football in the team's history has a myriad of things he does right, but every head coach has his flaws. Andy Reid has 118 wins and has won 8 division titles, including a NFC Championship to add to the resume.

One thing that has been a glaring absence on Andy Reid's resume has been a Super Bowl championship. This list will take a look at the five changes Andy Reid needs to make as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles to finally get over the hump and win the Super Bowl trophy he and the city of Philadelphia deserve. 

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1. Game Management

If there has been one issue under the Andy Reid era in Philadelphia that has had fans cursing at their televisions more than his deplorable time management skills, I would like to hear what it is. Andy Reid's mysterious timeout calls have baffled Philadelphia since before Y2K.

Normally I would give any head coach the benefit of the doubt for a questionable call here or there. It happens. Football is a game played at an extremely fast pace, which could create a difficult situation for any coach to make a judgment call on the fly.

Andy Reid, however, seems to make these errant calls a bi-weekly routine on Sundays. As the head coach you should be able to delegate to your coordinators and position coaches different tasks throughout the game. This allows what the head coach to do what he is paid to do: manage the game.

A big aspect of football tactics, especially in the NFL, is how you use the clock and manage the game. Philadelphians have been screaming year after year for Andy Reid to run the ball more. Running the ball takes more time off the clock, rests your defense, and most importantly keeps the ball, and the game, in the control of your team's hands.

Andy Reid has relied upon his defenses and quarterbacks throughout the years to mask this particular deficiency in his coaching ability. The only problem with that has been the unpredictable play from the two.

One example of this was last season in the opening game versus the Green Bay Packers. Kevin Kolb goes down, Michael Vick rose to the occasion like a "phoenix" and brought the Eagles back from behind. Coach Reid, after the Eagles climbed back to within 7 points, calls all three second half time outs with 5:11 left on the clock leaving the team no leeway to make a challenge until the two minute warning.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been in the playoffs 9 out of 12 years under Andy Reid, which is a testament to his consistency. It behoves one to wonder if the Eagles would have won a Super Bowl by now if the countless game management blunders throughout the regular and post seasons had been rectified early in his head coaching career.

2. Challenges

There may be no other thing that confuses the living daylights out of Philadelphia Eagles fans more than Andy Reid's knack for screwing up challenges. Whatever it is about that little red flag that he tosses, it has an affect on his brain's normal functioning capabilities.

This flaw refers back to the game management a little bit as well. The head coach of a football team must know his personnel, time on the clock, and what is happening on the field of play. To Andy Reid's defense, no coach in the NFL has a perfect challenge record. If they did, they should refer all referees to his optometrist.

Although there may not be head coaches in the NFL that have perfect records, some coaches have proven themselves to be extremely wise and cautious when it come to throwing the flag. Andy Reid has been neither.

His timeout management could take second fiddle to the way he uses challenges. They have been used at the wrong time. Thrown away for an obvious play. Misused for an arbitrary occasion. The list of challenge mishaps run as long as Reid is wide.

Unfortunately, the only thing I could find researching for hard statistical evidence was a piece from Philly.com in 2009.

Andy Reid up until November 9, 2009 had been 15 of 46 in challenges. A whopping 32.6 percent success rate at the time. That may have increased slightly over the course of last season, but not by much.

In today's NFL with all the technology and the ability for coaches in the press box to look over replays that challenges would have a higher success rate league wide. Especially the success rate at home when team's have their game day video staffs putting replays in slow motion on 50 foot wide jumbo trons.

Nevertheless, "Big Red" needs to get search out some counseling on the sideline before tossing that red flag on to the field.

3. Run-Pass Ratio

This may come as a surprise to most, but the Philadelphia Eagles do not like to run the ball. In fact, they love to throw the ball. Andy Reid's idea of running the ball consists of a swing pass to the flats or a delayed screen.

Andy Reid showed his coaching savvy early into his Philadelphia tenure. Making four consecutive NFC Championships can be attributed to several things: Donovan McNabb, Jim Johnson's defense, or even the fans influence. I would argue that Andy Reid was a few years ahead of the curve with his heavy emphasis on the pass.

There was a time in the NFL when the majority of the league ran the ball first and passed the ball second. The league has transformed into a passing league over the past decade as it catches up to the Andy Reids and Bill Belichicks.

Andy Reid's success of being a step ahead has gotten to his common sense. The big guy has a fascination with pass the ball and seems to be allergic to pounding the rock for a tough two to three yards.

In 2011 the Philadelphia Eagles ran 1,038 total plays on offense. Of the 1,038 plays 428 were running plays and 610 of them were designed passing play with only 561 actually being attempted. Of the 561 attempted passing plays, 348 were completed giving the Eagles offense a 62 percent completion rate. An above average completion rate.

The yards per play differ by just over two yards. Running plays averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and the passing game averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. To put in perspective the passing yards are a tad bit inflated due to the big play offense that the Eagles have,

One oversight that Reid has continued to make is throwing the ball on short yardage conversion downs. Third and two or fourth and one situations have brought out the artistic side of Reid as he fools himself trying to out think the opposition.

Reid has seemingly ran every type of play under the sun in short yardage situations except for handing the ball off or running the quarterback up the middle. Sometimes it has worked. The pitch out to Lesean McCoy that turned a one yard need into a 50 yard score against the New York Giants is the exception.

Andy Reid needs to tweek his run-pass ratio in 2011. The addition of Ronnie Brown should allow him to make the simple play call when the situation calls for it.

4. Linebackers

If there has been one hole in the roster of the Philadelphia Eagles it has been the linebacker position. Andy Reid has produced multiple pro bowl players at practically every position: offensive tackle, defensive tackle, offensive guard, running back, safety, cornerback, wide receiver, and etc.

The linebackers have only been represented by a single individual during the Andy Reid era in Philadelphia. The "axe man" himself, Jeremiah Trotter, being the only Eagle to make the trip out to Hawaii. Trotter represented the Eagles four time in the pro bowl during his career: 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2005.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Andy Reid have tried, albeit mildly, to acquire linebackers through the draft. Matt McCoy, Chris Gocong, and Quinton Caver give you a taste of the horrendous scouting abilities of the Philadelphia Eagles and Andy Reid at the position. The highest draft pick used on a linebacker under Reid was the 55th pick for Quinton Caver in 2001 for the former Arkansas Razorback.

The tide might have changed for Reid though with the promising play of Jamar Chaney towards the end of the 2010 season. Chaney showed a burst and tenacity in chasing down ball carriers that hasn't been seen in a player wearing midnight green since the "axe man" donned the wings on his helmet.

Reid is banking on Casey Matthews' pedigree to shine through as the weak link in a newly renovated defensive unit. Reid's lack of desire to pick up a linebacker through free agency, even a veteran stop gap, despite all the aggressive moves made tells you the importance placed on the position by Reid and the organization.

If the Eagles, after going "all in" this year, lose games because of the lack of experience at linebacker Andy Reid could begin to feel some heat. Philadelphia always has something to criticize when it comes to an Andy Reid decision, but the national media might chime in if he loses any games due to his neglect to address the linebacker position up until this point.

5. Mobile Quarterbacks

 

The Philadelphia Eagles have had a long history of mobile quarterbacks. From Randall Cunningham to Donovan McNabb to Michael Vick there have been several to come through the city of brotherly love. All of whom have brought an exciting style of play and aesthetically pleasing display on Sundays.

Andy Reid made his first big decision as a head coach in the NFL, and the correct decision may I add, when he drafted Donovan McNabb over Ricky Williams in the 1999 NFL Draft. Donovan McNabb spent a decade in Philadelphia under Andy Reid and became the franchise's most successful quarterback of all time.

His planned successor was to be the carefully groomed Kevin Kolb; a pocket passer that could distribute the ball all over the field, make all the necessary throws accurately, and throw the deep ball to a wide open DeSean Jackson. A big arm has always been a must in Reid's offense.

Not all plans go as intended. Kolb gets his head driven into the ground by Clay Mathews (there's that pedigree I talked about earlier) in the first game as the franchise quarterback. Michael Vick steps in and takes full advantage of the opportunity and the rest is history.

Vick seems to have all the intangibles McNabb had and then some. He can run. He's athletic. He has a cannon of an arm. All things McNabb had as well. Except I would argue Vick's skills set, once fully refined by the "quarterback car wash" that is Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg, far outweighs McNabb's during his hay day.

The problem is, like McNabb and Cunningham, Vick is not a natural pocket passer. McNabb could sit in the pocket and shift his feet, but if there was a receiver running a crossing patter over the middle McNabb would throw it two feet behind him or at his shoe laces.

A pass happy offense that Andy Reid likes to run would be utilized greatly with an accurate quarterback. Vick is incredible and fun to watch, do not get me wrong, but until he can be as accurate as a Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Phillip Rivers this offense will not reach its full potential. Despite all of Andy Reid’s flaws, had Tom Brady or Kurt Warner been the Eagles quarterback during the past decade the Eagles might have a championship or two to brag about.

Michael Vick brings a dynamic style of play that creates one of the most explosive offenses that the NFL has seen in years. The problem with that is when it comes to December and January when games are played in the winter how does a quarterback with Vick's reckless abandon style hold up.

Steve Young for the San Francisco 49ers has been the only naturally, mobile quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship. Andy Reid may be better suited with a pocket passer if he wants to win more than just regular season games and division titles. However, that would call for a solidified offensive line.

 

 A sobering fact that Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick have all had to try and over come is that only three African American quarterbacks have been to the Super Bowl. Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins being the only one to win the Super Bowl when he was the Super Bowl XXII MVP in 1988.

As out of this world Vick played during the first three quarters of the regular season last year, he must overcome the odds and prove his fearless style of play can win a championship for Andy Reid.