Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid called Sunday’s 30-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons an embarrassment and now has Reid searching to see what other areas they can improve on as a team.
“That was an embarrassing performance,” Reid said. “I’m stating the obvious. We have to get better. I need to do a better job. This is fixable. We have the talent.”
The Eagles defense allowed Matt Ryan to finish 22 of 29 for 262 yards and three touchdowns with his first win against his hometown team in three tries and move the Falcons to 7-0 record on the season. They are the only undefeated team left in the NFL. The Eagles defense allowed the Falcons to score on their first six possessions before punting with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Last week defensive coordinator Juan Castillo was fired by Reid and was replaced by Todd Bowels after starting the season 3-1 and blowing a second straight fourth-quarter lead in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions.
Under Castillo’s guidance the defense allowed 18.5 points per game, but Bowles defense allowed 21 points in the first 24 minutes and could not get a stop against the Falcons until the fourth quarter.
“I did what I did and what I thought was right at the time,” Reid said about changing defensive coordinators. “We need to get better there.”
One of the positives, if there was one in the loss, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was able to protect the ball and did not have any turnovers for the first time in seven games. Vick finished the game 21-of-35 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
With Sunday’s loss, Vick is now on the hot seat and could lose his starting position, which he is prepared for.
“It’s tough when you know everything is up in the balance, but that’s the decision that coach is thinking about making, and I’m going to fight until he says, ‘Come on out,’ and he takes me out of the game,” Vick said. “Despite everything that’s been said the last couple weeks, I still continue to put in the hard work and the effort and try to do everything I can to prepare and win football games, man. I can’t do it by myself. I would love to stay in there and finish what I started. It would mean the world to me. But, hey, that’s not my decision right now.”
With owner Jeffrey Lurie focusing on the team, Andy Reid and his coaching staff will sit down and go back to the drawing board as they take on the New Orleans Saints Nov. 4. For right now Vick and Reid still have their jobs, but that could very well change in the days to come since Lurie made it known that finishing 8-8 would be “unaccetable.”
