EaglesFanCast

There was a great deal of debate during the last season surrounding Andy Reid’s play calling. In my opinion, his reluctance to run the ball meant that we didn’t hurt teams as much as we could and should have done. We didn’t shorten the field and unlock our deep weapons DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin as often as a genuine Championship contender needed to.

Obviously there’s more to winning a Super Bowl than just the offense, but would we be more likely to succeed with a better balance between run and pass? Let’s look at some numbers.

Over the past ten years during the regular season, the eventual Super Bowl champions opted for passing plays 51.58% of the time. The highest percentage over that time belonged to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 57.8% during the 2002 season and the lowest was the Pittsburgh Steelers with 40.84% in 2005.
What about our Eagles? Well, the average regular season passing play percentage over the decade was 57.60%. The highest season saw 62.94% in 2005 and the lowest was 52.84% in 2002, the only year of the past ten that the Eagles’ passing percentage has been below that of the eventual Super Bowl Champions.

The Eagles made it to Super Bowl XXXIX after throwing the ball 59.26% of the time during the regular season, more than any Super Bowl winner of the last decade. What happened in the big game? 75.00% of plays saw Donovan air it out and the game was lost. That wasn’t the sole reason for losing the game of course, but in my opinion it was definitely a factor.

Another indication of the Eagles’ weakness on the ground is that the average time of possession over the past decade during the regular season is only 29:28 per game. That’s over 2 minutes less than the Super Bowl winner of each year, 31:33. Even those pass-happy Buccaneers managed to hold onto the ball for 32:07 during the 2002 season.

If you look at team rankings, the Super Bowl winners over the past decade have been ranked #14.7 passing and #13.5 when running the ball. The Eagles fare better with their passing ranking of #12.3 and slightly worse when it comes to running the ball, #16.0. Hey Andy, pass the ball less and run it more! It works!

It’s interesting to note just how many high-powered passing teams have lost the Super Bowl. Over the past ten years, the #1 or 2 ranked passing team over the regular season has ended up as the Super Bowl runners up on 5 occasions – that’s half of them! The #1 ranked team hasn’t won at all, with only the 2006 Colts managing a win as the #2 ranked team. Maybe a passing game will get you to the big one, but it isn’t enough to go all the way. The last two years the losing team, Colts and Cardinals, were the #2 ranked passing team during the regular season but #32 when running the ball.

An effective running game opens up so many options. Everything from running the clock down to protect a lead, to pounding a defense and tiring them out before hitting them with a long pass play. It sounds backwards, but don’t we owe it to our talented receivers to run the ball more?

Cheers from the UK and GO BIRDS!

I can’t say I was overly surprised that Brian Westbrook was released by the Eagles this week. Maybe it would have been more of a shock if Brian Dawkins hadn’t left for Denver last year, but Andy Reid showed then that he won’t allow sentiment to interfere with his vision of a winning formula.

The word ‘legend’ is thrown about all too casually these days, but can anyone argue that Brian doesn’t deserve this accolade? No Eagle has ever gained more yards from scrimmage than he has and his eight years with the team have largely been successful, with only one losing season in that time.

Even legends have to call it a day eventually; that includes Brett Favre at some point too! The cost of keeping Westbrook for another season would have been a gamble after his ankle injury and, of course, the two concussions.

I believe that the Eagles’ roster over the past eight years has been one of, if not the strongest, not to have won a Super Bowl. This is highlighted when you compare Brian’s stats with the Super Bowl winning running backs of his time. I’ve identified the highest ranked running back of each Super Bowl winning team over the past eight years (regular season only) and compared them with Brian’s achievements.

Brian averaged 4.6 yards per rush during his eight years against the Super Bowl winner’s average of 4.4 yards. His receiving yardage averaged 8.8 against 7.7. He scored an average of 8.2 touchdowns per season and the running back of the Super Bowl winners only managed 6.2. Perhaps most impressive of all though, is Brian’s ball security. In eight years he lost the ball nine times. NINE times in EIGHT years!

Will Brian Westbrook win the Super Bowl ring he so clearly deserves? Well, if the Eagles don’t win in 2010, then I sincerely hope so. My only reservation with that is he hasn’t ruled out playing for another NFC East team. Pleeeaaase not Dallas!

Andy Reid was asked during the Westbrook press conference if he’s short of leaders on offense. He reminded the reporters present that he still has Donovan McNabb as quarterback, but with Dawkins and now Westbrook gone is the time for another change upon us?

Cheers from the UK and GO BIRDS!

Hello Eagles fans in Philadelphia and all around the world. My name’s Steve Brown and I’m delighted to be able to introduce myself as the latest contributor to EaglesFanCast.

I’ve been following the Birds since 1989 when the team traveled to London for a pre-season exhibition game against the Cleveland Browns. At that time, us Brits couldn’t enjoy more than an hour of NFL TV coverage every week and the only way to learn the game was from paperback books which took a great deal of patience!

Thankfully, the advent of the internet has revolutionised the NFL for fans abroad. We can keep right up to date with all the latest news via various websites and, of course, blogs and podcasts. We can also watch every Eagles game online, though it does sometimes require staying up all night because of the time difference!

I was lucky enough to witness the Eagles victory at the Meadowlands in 2001 as well as all three NFL International Series games at Wembley. I’m especially looking forward to Brian Dawkins’ trip over here in October when the Broncos take on the 49ers. Hopefully, a trip to the Linc isn’t too far away. I managed to take in a Phillies game last summer, but it can’t compare to the atmosphere across the street, surely?!

I’d like to thank Chuck, Eric and Todd for this fantastic opportunity. I’m a bit of a stats geek and I love to discover interesting tidbits which now I’ll be able to share with all of you.

Cheers from the UK and GO BIRDS!

A Champion. One who is clearly superior to all others. One who fights to defend or support a cause greater than one individual. Until as recently as 2008, “champion”, was a word hardly uttered when a Philadelphia sports team was mentioned. Yes, two seasons ago, the Phillies broke a long-standing streak of big-game losses which were beginning to seemingly ascend to the heavens. However, a fire still burns in the stomachs of fans in that city. A fire perhaps intensified by the immense success the Eagles franchise has enjoyed over the past decade:

Record? 103-56-1 in the regular season and 10-8 in the postseason. Pro Bowlers? 58. Highlight reel moments? An unbelievable amount . And lastly, Super Bowl victories? ZERO.

Scanning back over the decade we’ve just closed out, there are some truly amazing things that have taken place, but most of us feel that the few memories we still shake our heads over far outweigh the positive ones. True Eagles fans will tell you that they are proud of the Eagles for accomplishing the things they did, and everyone is gracious to Andy Reid for winning the team back the respect of the league. However, in this city, those achievements quite simply are not, and never ever will be, good enough.

The big picture is that despite having immense success, the Eagles have become, in effect, the poor man’s Buffalo Bills of the 1990’s. Almost worse than losing 4 Super Bowls is facing the realization that you were good, pretty damn good in fact, but you just weren’t quite good enough to have anyone remember you. This is, in my opinion, the end of an era for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Yes, we do still have Andy Reid press conferences to look forward to for at least four more years, but the youthful energy and enthusiasm that carried this team in the early 00’s is clearly gone. Replaced, instead, by a stale, burdened look that seems to suffocate the veteran members of the team. It seems as though players such as Donovan McNabb are being squeezed like the last ounce of toothpaste out of the tube. It may be that his time is up here, but that is a different discussion for another day. Overall, the chances the Eagles have let slip through their fingers (literally and figuratively) over the past ten years have increased the never-ending desire of us, the often ridiculed and misunderstood, yet unwavering and passionate, fans, for a championship.

So, naturally, as I was looking back at the New Orleans Saints recent victory over the favored Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, I found myself wondering, what made the Saints different from the Eagles teams that almost won it all? What is the recipe for a Super Bowl Champion?

This, along with many other questions, will begin to be answered next week as the first installment of the series is posted. Look for “Part I: Building A Champion” to be posted soon.

Have a great EAGLES day everyone!

Birds Fans,

Holden Fulco here, and I’m proud to say that I am a newly minted contributer to EaglesFanCast. This is the first of what I hope will be many more posts to come, so I just wanted to give a few details on what I hope to bring to the blog.

First of all, I am an Eagles fan, through and through. I truly believe that as a “displaced” fan from Louisiana, I have a unique viewpoint on and a great appreciation for the football team we all bleed green for. I aim to bring a southern flair and a little bit different perspective on anything and everything that involves the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as provide some useful historical background for anything that I may ramble about on the website.

My philosophy is that history repeats itself until changes are made, so, with the conclusion of the Super Bowl just over a week ago, my first series of posts will be titled: “The Perfect Recipe: What Does It Take To Be A Champion.” This will be an in-depth look at past successes and failures of the Eagles over the decade, as well as the winning formula for that elusive Lombardi Trophy.

That’s all I have for now. Thanks again to Chuck, Eric and Todd for this amazing opportunity. You can look for the first installment of “The Perfect Recipe” by this weekend.

GO BIRDS!