What Bill Belichick did Sunday night has happened before. It justifiably earned Barry Switzer the nickname "Bozo The Coach'' for failing TWICE on fourth down in the late stages of a tie game. And the Eagles' Andy Reid did the opposite of the New England coach on Sunday, eschewing fourth-and-short twice to kick field goals in what turned out to be an eight-point loss. Switzer's mistake didn't prevent Dallas from winning its third Super Bowl in four seasons in the early '90s, but it left Switzer at the top of the oft-debated list of worst coaches to win a title.
On Nov. 15, 1995, the Cowboys were playing in Philadelphia and faced a fourth down and 1 on their own 29 with the game tied 17-17 and just over two minutes left. Switzer decided to go for it and sent Emmitt Smith left over the massive Nate Newton.
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He was stopped but it didn't count. The officials blew the whistle for the two-minute warning. No problem. The Cowboys tried again. Same play. Stuffed again. Three plays later, Gary Anderson kicked a 42-yard field goal that gave the Eagles a 20-17 win.
Headline in the New York Post the next day: "Bozo The Coach.''
The result brought the Eagles to within a game of the Cowboys in the NFC East with two games to play. But Dallas won its next two games, won the division, won both its playoff games and beat Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl -- the one in which Larry Brown ended up as the MVP on a team that featured Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders.
But it was the end of an era. The Cowboys beat the Vikings in a wild-card game the next season, then lost next week to second-year expansion team Carolina. That win over Minnesota was the last postseason victory they've had.
Reid?
In Sunday's 31-23 loss in San Diego, the Philadelphia coach decided to kick a field goal trailing 14-0 in the second quarter with the ball perhaps six inches away from the Chargers' goal. In the third quarter, trailing 21-6, he had fourth and one at the San Diego 7 and had David Akers kick again. The Eagles lost, 31-23.
"There was too much time," Reid said of his decision on the first, the most obvious. "I thought it was important to come out of there with points."
That was four points. The second fourth-and-one kick was four points.
The Eagles lost by eight.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I just cannot understand Reid anymore. Yes he has the most wins as an Eagles coach but he loses more games through bad play calling and especially time management. Injuries have also hurt this team but it is not an excuse. The Eagles seem to have some success running the football but Reid will not commit to it consistently. He plays a still hurting Westbrook who now is probably done not only for this season but for his carrer. McCoy is the future and should be out there. The D did not come through when it needed to but that is the way it has been. It was a nice run but this team will not win a championship with the management team they have in place
not to mention mcnabb at qb.
I agree..how much more do the fans have to endure with this team and its coach. You look at the Giants game a few weeks ago and they were unstoppable with balancing the plays with the run and pass. It keeps the defenses in check and allows you to open up so many options with your play calling. But then they turn right around and call pass play after pass play ignoring the run all together. It doesn't make sense. If it works with the balance,why not stick to it. That and the stupid penalties this team commits. They have to be one of the most if not THE most undisciplined teams in the NFL. I believe its these two factors that cause this team to lose. While Reid and McNabb have done this team justice throughout their tenure it just isn't getting the ultimate job done. I believe change is necessary because quite frankly I'm tired of hearing every week "It's my fault,it's my responsibility to have my players ready and put them in the right positions to win." Well its been over ten years..when are you going to learn?
I think Reid and Mcnabb have shown us the best this team is ever going to be.It's time to shed the dead wood and rebuild with a new head coach and QB. You have a QB who in his first two outings threw for almost 900 yards. Why not let him have the torch. The team has proven, it can't do any worse!