Quote:
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower
To state the obvious, it's about getting over a rough start.
Andy Reid has had a team at or below .500 through the first six weeks in the following seasons:
1999 (5-11)
2000 (11-5; 1-1)
2001 (11-5; 2-1)
2003 (12-4; 1-1)
2007 (8-8)
2008 (9-6-1; 2-1)
2011 (8-8)
2012 (4-12)
In 2005 the Eagles started out 4-2 and finished 6-10, so that could be an outlier type of season which come on the hells of their SB loss to the Patriots.
For the most part, however, Reid's teams start off with winning or non-losing records and finish the season with an above even tally on the year. But there are three years that aren't so.
1999 was his first season as HC, of course, so that's at least defensible given they started Doug Pederson for the first part of the season before going with the rookie McNabb for six of the last seven games.
2007 the Eagles had the misfortune of being in the division the year the Cowboys were the #1 seed in the NFC, playing two other division champs in the Seahawks and Packers along with Redskins as a wild card and the coup de grace of playing both SB participants in the Patriots and Giants. Yikes.
2011 was a clone of 2007, except this time their losses to post season teams came in three successive weeks (@ATL, NYG, SF) and were accompanied by a loss to the Bills. They went 7-4 after that point with losses to the Patriots, two other 8-8 teams (ARI and CHI) and on the road in Seattle. Yet the Eagles swept the Cowboys and Redskins and beat the Giants on the road too.
2012 Eagles lost eight in a row before winning their fourth game and proceeded to lose their last three games. That was also the season his son died and the carousel at defensive coordinator and what ultimately led to his dismissal from Philly.
If there's anything I've gotten from reviewing his history with rough starts is that Reid's teams don't seem to quit on him, they generally win the games they should win against inferior or equal teams but will lose to superior teams that turn out to be playoff caliber squads.
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Nice research there.
I haven't ever seen numbers on it, but I've always felt that the best teams in the league do basically that (which a good portion of times, Reids Eagles teams were league best type teams) in that they beat the teams they should (teams they're better than/equal too) and go about .500 against playoff caliber squads.