tr1 Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Eagles' ground swell Eagles coach says balance important on offense By LES BOWEN bowenl@phillynews.com MOBILE, Ala. - Like you, Andy Reid has been watching the NFL playoffs. And it hasn't escaped his notice that all the teams playing last weekend in the conference championships featured balanced offenses that run the ball effectively. The Eagles' coach isn't looking to radically change his team's approach, but he did acknowledge yesterday that success in the post-Terrell Owens era is going to require more of an emphasis on the ground game. "We've got to get back to what we did a few years ago, where we were running it close to 50 percent of the time," Reid said yesterday as he prepared to leave Mobile, after watching 3 days of Senior Bowl practice. "The more you can keep it close to 50-50, the more you keep people honest defensively." The Eagles' mix was more than 70-30 in favor of passing through the first half of last season, before Reid dismissed Owens and before quarterback Donovan McNabb finally sat down for sports-hernia surgery. The Eagles ran the ball more down the stretch, when they had fewer weapons. Reid's Eagles have never really been 50-50 pass-run; the closest they've come was in 2002, the last time they had a 1,000-yard rusher (Duce Staley, 1,029 yards on 269 carries). That year they ran the ball 489 times (including 63 runs by McNabb, many of them designed as passing plays), and threw it 548 times. The last two seasons, the Eagles have run the ball fewer than 400 times (376 in 2004, just 365 last season) and thrown it considerably more than 500 (547 in 2004, a whopping 620 last season). http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/13714456.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y100Rocks Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 at least the eagles get a normal off season length to evaluate the draft where the rest of the nfc east usually gets that advantage, Reid is actually at the senior bowl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 I can't wait to see the Eagles if they are a 50/50 pass/run team. A lot of rumors on how he tried to keep TO happy with tons of passes and how DM's injury had a lot to do with the playcalling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isifhan Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 I can't wait to see the Eagles if they are a 50/50 pass/run team. A lot of rumors on how he tried to keep TO happy with tons of passes and how DM's injury had a lot to do with the playcalling. Are you guys targeting a running back in the draft with your first round pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Are you guys targeting a running back in the draft with your first round pick? Yes. They're looking for a third scat back to compliment Westbrook and Moats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Are you guys targeting a running back in the draft with your first round pick? If the Eagles took a RB in the first round, well, I don't know what I'd do. I'd have no faith in anything anymore because AR just never does stuff like that. He ALWAYS prefers the boring lineman pick over the sexy RB pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 If the Eagles took a RB in the first round, well, I don't know what I'd do. I'd have no faith in anything anymore because AR just never does stuff like that. He ALWAYS prefers the boring lineman pick over the sexy RB pick. They need to pick Chad Greenway and use him incorrectly. Yea picking LB in the first round for Reid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 They need to pick Chad Greenway and use him incorrectly. Yea picking LB in the first round for Reid. I don't see them doing that since we just took McCoy in the second round last year and there is a lot of talent out there in FA. Okinoyle and Witherspoon would look great in Eagles green. Eagles will draft an OT or a DE. Write it down now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 I don't see them doing that since we just took McCoy in the second round last year and there is a lot of talent out there in FA. Okinoyle and Witherspoon would look great in Eagles green. Eagles will draft an OT or a DE. Write it down now. Eagles picking Greenway was a joke; that Reid can't pick LBs. They will decide who to draft after they make a splash in free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinzWin88 Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I laugh when I hear Reid mention balance. He said he was committing to offensive balance about three times this season and he was blowing smoke every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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