• March 29, 2024

Reid Is Emphasizing The Positive With His Young Football Team

One of the keys to quality coaching is balance.  There has to be the proper balance between focus on offense, defense and special teams.  There’s a proper balance which must be struck offensively, when it comes to throwing and running the football.

On the defense side, it’s important to achieve balance in stopping the run and the pass.  On special teams, you’ve got to be both effective covering kicks as well as returning them.

On a different note, it’s very important with a young football team that the correct balance of correction and encouragement be meted out by the coaching staff.  You don’t want young players to be discouraged, but you also don’t want them to think they’ve arrived.

Obtaining this balance is one of Andy Reid’s strengths.  He does a nice of job of incubating his football team from outside criticism, but inside that bubble which he forms around the team, he challenge’s young players to step up their games.

I heard him defend a player in front the media, then challenge that player to get his game together during practice.  At times Reid makes challenging comments to his young players as they run by him during practice.  You’ll see him pull a guy over to correct him on an incorrect route or coverage.

He’s been known to wrap the criticism in some encouragement, when he’s dealing with his youngsters.  Reid knows that mistakes comes along with young players.  Regardless of their talent, young players will make their share of mistakes before mastering the game.

Notice the way he emphasized the positive when he talked to the media yesterday on a couple of days after the game.

“I had a chance to look at the film”, Reid said. “Obviously we saw some good things and we saw some things we need to work on. I thought the ones, particularly on the defensive side, did a very nice job. Always room to improve, but they played very emotional, aggressive football. Had some turnovers in there against what I consider a pretty good offense there. Offensively we’ve got a couple things we need to work on and we started that today. We will get better.”

Personally, I haven’t been surprised by the mistakes which have handicapped the young Eagles in their first two preseason games. There’s so much inexperience in different positions on this team that these early mistakes should have been expected.  The key will be how soon they make the corrections.  This team should be much better in the tenth week than they’ll be in week one.

Notice the comments of the following two young players.  Checkout how they emphasize the positive in much the same way as their coach.

Young wide receiver Jeremy Maclin isn’t concerned about the offense not getting into the endzone because their problems have been self-inflicted.  “No. I think a lot of stuff we’ve done, we’ve stopped ourselves. We’ve been in the red zone numerous times, but haven’t been able to convert. I had a fumble going in last week on third down. It’s inexcusable. Little stuff like that we’ve got to eliminate. Other than that I think we’ve moved the ball pretty well.”

First round pick Brandon Graham is being challenged to rush the passer from both the defensive tackle and defensive end positions, so he has a lot to learn, “Once you know one spot, you know everybody else’s spots, because you know where you have to be, and you know the way the defense runs, you pretty much know everything on the d-line. They can move me anywhere on the d-line.”

Behind the scenes, you can believe that Reid knows that time is of the essence, when it comes to getting this team ready to play against the Packers in a few weeks.

GCOBB

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scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
August 23, 2010 11:45 am

I don’t care what they say. It’s about what they do. Reid has been the same for 11 years so what he says to the media means nothing to me. He can say all the positive stuff as much as he wants but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen on the field. Same thing with the players. This team is too young to win anything. Talented yes, but the holes on the o-line is too big and you win in the NFL with a healthy mixture of veteran players ON BOTHS SIDES OF THE BALL. They will be exciting at times and frustrating at times which I think is expected but shouldn’t be acceptable.

dawkplex1221
dawkplex1221
August 23, 2010 12:04 pm

Defense looks pretty good thus far…… reid is politically correct always….on a side note did anyone catch the last episode of shaq vs….i say this because d-jax beat chris johnson on track race

Iggles
Iggles
August 23, 2010 12:12 pm

Correction: INSULATING his football team from outside criticism, NOT “incubating.”

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 23, 2010 1:02 pm

4 Areas to address in the 2 weeks of Preseason
#1) Address the RG position- S Andrews is not cutting it as a Starter
#2) Address the # 2 TE position – Does Ingram go on IR to get him another year of rehab, (which I think will happen, he simply is not 100% healed) ,Can Harbor be ready to be a back-up TE in the NFL, Can Celek continue to take the pounding as he has the last 2 seasons…
#3) Address the #2 RB postion – If RB M Bell can’t stay healthy to get on the field, or disappoints with his lack of knowledge of the Schemes, his teammates,and assignments, then who becomes the back-up to McCoy
#4) Address the OLB spot.. Is SIms the answer, is he big and strong enough to become a 3 Down LB, can his cover in passing situatuions, I have not been that impressed with him so far.. He appears to jump up aind into the line of scrimmage before diagnosing plays and has a difficult time shedding a blocker at the point of attack…

drummerwinslow
drummerwinslow
August 23, 2010 1:16 pm

After 11 years, I remain ambivalent about Reid. He does many things extremely well. Yet, he also overlooks the obvious, time after time. I still believe that between he and McNabb, Reid was the biggest problem.

I’ve watched Reid change for the better albeit slowly, and probably, reluctantly. Finally, he has acquired adequate receivers, linebackers, and a fullback and he plays his youngsters. Reid’s been an excellent motivator and his teams generally peak at the right time of year, which is probably attributable to his regimented training camps. For the most part, he has also kept distractions from destroying his team. The most notable exception was with T.O. I like that he initially drafted a franchise QB (McNabb), built the offensive line (starting with Runyan), then focused on the remainder of the team. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why he abandoned that philosophy this year. Reid ignored the center position, despite the fact that he had a young QB taking over the helm. It is my opinion that a QB’s career can be greatly influenced by his initial introduction to playing in the NFL. I like that he brought Kolb along slowly, but if he has to run for his life this year, it could ruin him.

Still ambivalent.

phillywill
phillywill
August 23, 2010 1:51 pm

let graham rush from the end please
y put him in the middle
please dont experiment with that joker package again it was a complete joke with jevon kearse
if we need pass rushing dt’s find 1

phillywill
phillywill
August 23, 2010 2:13 pm

hey G come 1st reg season game can we have our comments box back
just a thought

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 23, 2010 2:37 pm

Is it me or why does it seem that there were many articles written how well the Eagles DT’s were playing this camp in Bunkley,PAtterson,LAws,Dixon and then when it gets to passing sitautions
we are relying on undersized/inexperienced rookies (Graham/Teo) who naturally play the DE position
Are Graham and Teo that good from rushing the QB from the DT spot or are the Eagles Current
DT’s just not very good at Pass Rushing…

phillywill
phillywill
August 23, 2010 2:47 pm

amen pman amen
sadly enough i think its the latter
and i do like bunk
but still this is sad

erock
erock
August 23, 2010 3:35 pm

Wasnt that great of a performance by the o-line. And i think Todd back solves some of that. There’s time too get the chemistry better and the rungame is vanilla.Defense helds its own with those guys and Sante was out. Laws rushed the passer pretty well and lets not forget the stunts and schemes are basic in preseason. Every team in the East has looked mediocre at best sometimes and pretty good at some point. Cowboys safety is hurt for a few weeks.

No season ending injuries from the game and thats a plus.

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 23, 2010 3:35 pm

The way the O/Lines are for the Eagles and Redksins this season
I think it’s safe to say that all QB’s Kolb,Vick and McNabb won’t last past the 3rd Week of the season for the beat downs they will face each other in Week #4 on a Sunday Night Match-Up
How does future HOF QB’s Kafka vs Rex Grossman sound to everyone… Good Grief…
(we may all have to join PW,Songs and McNabb in Phoenix to that Jacuzzi Party…)

EagleBeliever
EagleBeliever
August 23, 2010 4:07 pm

I don’t think the problem is Buck or Patterson at all. I think the problem is Laws/Dixon. Once you start leaving Bunk and Patt out there on 3rd down then on longer drives you may see them leaving the game on 1st or 2nd down, opening up holes on the run game. Regardless of what anyone says, Bunk and Patt shut down the run game pretty damn well. It’s worth having them fresh if you can get a guy who is only coming in on 3rd down to get after the QB. The problem is they have to be successful at it. But if Laws/Dixon could step up and fill in on a 1st or 2nd down then maybe we will see Bunk in there pushing the center and collapsing the pocket.

With all that being said….i agree…please keep Graham on the outside. He’s looked good for his first two preseason games. In the first game I thought he was getting a little to ahead of himself and tripping himself up before he got a chance to turn the corner. Played a lot better last game.

schiller
schiller
August 23, 2010 4:12 pm

I think the idea is that OGs can’t handle speed and finess – hence, use DEs. That’s all. I think the coaches think you can get to the QB that way – see Darren Howard – that certainly worked.

phillywill
phillywill
August 23, 2010 4:14 pm

yea its like let the man learn to crawl 1st before he can walk or in eagles case run all over the dam field

phillywill
phillywill
August 23, 2010 4:19 pm

darren howard had about 4 sacks from the d tackle position
schill u named 1 that worked a little bit 1 of those sacks were screens 1 was like a fumbled snap
i understand their thought process behind it but they tried with kearse
they tried last yr with cole more so 2 yrs ago lining cole up over the a gaps or just moving him around
its horrible it doesnt create any mismatches u need really good d ends to do this i just dont see the personnel on this team to do it
now if u could line cole up over the middle and have 2 brandon grahams on the edge fine but u move graham to the middle for parker cmon
like i said when u have tuck and osi on the edge u can move strahan and kiwi inside we dont have this

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 23, 2010 4:39 pm

I heard Graham will be taking some reps over at the Center Position tuesday and then off over to the
Right Guard position on Wedesday.. Howie was right, this man (Graham) really is Superman..

schiller
schiller
August 23, 2010 5:03 pm

PhillyWill – you’re way off – from wikipedia “Howard led the Eagles in sacks (10.5), most of which came from the defensive tackle position in passing downs.” 4 aint close. He had 6.5 last year. So by my count, he had 18 sacks total as an Eagle – I’m guessing at least 15 were from inside. At least 10 were, I know that.

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
August 23, 2010 8:12 pm

Reid , will say the same thing when this team struggles to win “5” games

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
August 23, 2010 8:27 pm

Watch out folks!!!!!! After telling everyone they are not looking to take a step backward and will expect this young team to operate with no fall off….WE ARE NOT REBUILDING is what they said!!!!

Now, they’re prepping us to expect ups and down and saying the team is young after getting whupped.

Here comes the spin machine for every lost.

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 23, 2010 10:51 pm

Well I guess it’s a good thing that they don’t have to drag McNabb through the mud anymore Songs..

phillywill
phillywill
August 24, 2010 9:20 am

i was talkin about last yr i said about 4 sacks from d tackle 1 on a screen 1 a fumbled snap he recovered

phillywill
phillywill
August 24, 2010 9:25 am

and i believe with his recent cut status darren howards eagles didnt believe the hype either
u named 1 that worked slightly no1 else has and darren howard used to line up as a dt in new orleans he came here as a dual player he’s not a speed rushing end that we were moving inside

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 24, 2010 10:14 am

McNabb with a protective boot on his left foot..
R Grossman taking over the #1 offense for the Skins and by all reports, has handled himself well
(Owner D Snyder may be reluctant to give McNabb a contract extenstion since it’s the same ankle he sprained that he had surgery a few years back on…)

schiller
schiller
August 24, 2010 10:31 am

Actually, the guys they’re trying at DT who are native DEs are not speed rushers at all. Parker, Tapp, Graham, Abiamiri, Teo, all those guys are effort/bull guys. Graham has speed, but it’s never been his only tool and he’s not just a speed rusher buy reputation.

phillywill
phillywill
August 24, 2010 11:04 am

i wont keep going i disagree with it
and clearly i’d keep graham on the outside if any1 moves inside for a play or 2 it would be parker
if we need pass rushing dt’s find some draft some dont try to invent any

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 24, 2010 12:27 pm

To PW,
If McNabb is placed on IR and Rex Grossman man takes over as the Starter, will you still be a Redksin fan…

phillywill
phillywill
August 24, 2010 2:40 pm

p man ignored ur 1st comment about grossman doing well or what have u clearly that was aimed for me and ignored it
d5 is getting a huge ext with the skins
he has a twisted ankle will miss a cpl practices and u start with this bs please
worry about the qb u root for throwing a freaking td
he has his favorite team to do it against if he dont score vs chiefs cut em