Philadelphia Eagles Thread

Bowles Named Defensive Coordinator
October 16, 2012 09:32 AM | PhiladelphiaEagles.com
The Philadelphia Eagles today announced they have dismissed defensive coordinator Juan Castillo from his duties with the Philadelphia Eagles and named secondary coach Todd Bowles as the team's new defensive coordinator.

"I want to make it clear that I have nothing but the ultimate respect for Juan Castillo as a coach and as a person," said head coach Andy Reid. "He's one of the finest football coaches that I have ever worked with. He has served this organization extremely well for 18 years and letting him go was a difficult decision. I know he will continue to be a successful coach in this league and wish he and his family nothing but the best.

"We're six games into the season and average isn't good enough. I know the potential of our team and insist on maximizing it."

Not suprised to be honest. I was stunned he got the gig in the first place.

Had to happen. Was typical Andy Reid "i'm smarter than everyone else" appointment. An o-line coach with no experience of running a D as D Co-ordinator. Mental stuff...

Thats a big start and tbh a bit of a sign that Andy knows that he's seriously on the hot seat. The bye week will help the O-line imo and by all accounts the D have tons of respect for Bowles and rightly so, he's had good success with the secondary in Miami. Not sure it's going to help enough to save Andys job but at least he's trying something.

Itssoeasy wrote: »

No it won't but the defense was horrible last season and yes it has got better this season but on Sunday the eagles were up by ten with five minutes left and they couldn't get the job done. We blew so many fourth quarter leads last year that I was shocked he kept it there till the start of this.

Yeah exactly. We have loads of talent on D but no discipline. Every game for the last year and a half has seen us unable to stop teams in the crunch because of bad mental errors. Look at Sunday as a prime example. There was lots of issues all over the team but Cox getting thrown out of the game for trying to punch someone showed the ill-discipline of the unit. They dont do their jobs and have been prone to making lots of mental mistakes.

The D is far from our only concern as this strikes of Andy Reid looking to make some moves before he gets under crazy pressure from within the organisation as opposed to from the stands.

It's bad to say, and Reid has been a tremendously successful coach for us, but it looks as if his message is getting lost now after so long in charge and a change might be the best thing for us long term (but obviously Im getting ahead of myself on that one)

I've seen quotes from Brent celek saying the eagles needs to play better. How many times can andy Reid and the players keep saying it before they actually don't believe it ?

Second lowest passer rating allowed, run defense middle of the road. The problems only lie on one side of the ball. And Andy Reid's coaching. I'm a huge Reid fan and I love the pass but truth be told game management on offense would get the job done rather than getting Michael Vick the ball constantly and seeing what he can do. He can show off his stuff in the 2 minute drill, but let shady do the work for the first 58 minutes. The team really isn't bad, the wins over Baltimore and NYG prove this. Still very much in contention for the NFC East. If Reid calls the game he called against NY or Baltimore you should beat Atlanta

Eagles will win. No good reason really. maybe its my hangover and the clock going back.

Apparently it's going to be windy at the linc. Maybe big red will remember that he has shady on the sideline.

I respect Reid as much as any Eagles fan but it was time for him to go a few years ago..Some of the playcalls in big games over the last few years have left us all wondering.

I think you guys need to just bench Vicks, I posted in here during the preseaon that I really liked the look of young Foles. He just really impressed me during his game time. Certainly the kind of player the Eagles should build with, rather than the high risk and inconsistent style of Vicks. Reid should swallow some pride and make the bold move, otherwise I think his days are numbered.

Thinking back on what I said earlier, ye are probably better off not playing Nick Foles right now with your O line being so poor. Poor kid would probably be crippled playing in such a dangerous environment like last night.

The o line are just not good enough. end of. unless that changes this season is over.

Reid is definitely done in Phillie at the end of the year and Vick will be released too (16 million next year is too big a number to carry for no 7) but I wouldnt be surprised to see him released and resigned to a more accommodating number, especially if someone like Gruden would take the job. I think Chuckie could do really good things with Vick and he would defintely provide the fire and constant attention that Vick needs to excel.

Two years ago Vick was under pressure from the coaching staff to play well and avoid mistakes it has seemed for sometime that he hasnt been under the cosh at the Eagles so a change in management could see him pressured to perform and regain the form of 2010. Otherwise we turn the team over to Foles and see how he does.

Our problems have been apparent for a couple of years now and it all comes back to poor drafting from Reid and the front office. We used to pride ourselves on our O and D-line and we drafted accordingly by making sure we built from the front. Somewhere along the way we started to struggle with the line and our scouting of linemen has clearly been way off base.

We need to get back to basics and that starts with the line. Next year we'll have Peters back at LT but we need to strengthen the rest of the line. Right now we have 4 backups across the line and it means that there is nothing but pressure in Vicks face. He's gunshy now because he's been hit so much (perfectly understandable) so if we can strengten the line and restructure his contract going forward we still can be a contender but clearing house now has to be the priority

Man, just watched the Saints game again...really depressing. 3rd quarter looked like something was really happening for the Eagles. Serious mess ups in the red zone unacceptable. DeSean should have made more of an effort for his end zone mess up...JuMP AT THE F***ING THING!!!!

Truth be told we have to give the ball to Shady if we gonna do anything this season.

Watching Drew Brees and it amazes me how much time he has in the pocket. If Vick had that, added to his scrambling and rushing we would be pushing for play offs.

If they sack Andy Reid now and go for Sean Payton, I will personally empty my bank account right now to help fund it. Horrible. I've never seen a team that can so regularly get a glimmer of hope, then have it crushed almost instantly (prime example: Dallas' last TD after we'd just got the ball back to try and force overtime). Tonight was painful but so typical for the 2012 Eagles. We need to push the reset button.

I don't actually blame Vick. He's still a dangerous weapon when protected, as we saw at the start of tonight and in the 1st quarter against the Saints. But he's simply not getting that protection. We switch off too, which is a simple motivation problem and the blame for that, ultimately, lies with the coach. Because players of that quality don't switch off when they have good reason to switch on and believe in the cause. You can almost literally see us deflate when we have even a minor setback. It happened again when Vick went down, nobody believed in Foles until the 44-yard TD. Then a few plays go awry (as is to be expected when you bring in an unprepared rookie) and we're right back to being sluggish and sloppy.

Reid is playing each week for his job, which represents a conflict of interest as he's now making decisions out of desperation more than anything (come back Juan Castillo, all is forgiven. At least at the start of the year people could say we were a mess of a franchise with a decent defence). With nothing else to play for (a 3-6 team with no signs of improvement isn't reaching the play-offs), can we please just wash our hands and start afresh? Not having Reid mope around, making bad call after bad call in his panicked state, might even see us ending the season on a bit of a high.

I know, agree that Payton is a long shot and that Vick will probably be shown the door with Reid. Just to wipe the slate clean and start afresh.

The one thing we have in our favour, though, is that we're perhaps more ready to make a play-off run than the Saints, if we can attract a good QB in Vick's place (or keep him and get the most out of him under a good coach for 1-2 more years, which is my - albeit unlikely - preferred option). LeSean is a machine when he's given space to run, and our receivers can do damage from DeSean's spectacular plays when he comes on fire, to the consistency of Maclin and Celek at TE when they're fed the ball well. Plus we've got a great D...when it's actually co-ordinated!

I know they've just beaten Atlanta and are on a run, but realistically the Saints are still a one-man team and still very vulnerable in certain areas (i.e. DEFENCE!). They're not the force they were when they won the Superbowl and not even the force they were last season. If I'm Payton, I'd look at it as a chance to make a fresh break and go somewhere with prospects. But I'm not, nor do I know how much he actually wanted to go back to the Saints next year, so that could definitely be an option if they can pony up the cash. But can they afford what would probably need to be a massive pay rise, with Brees' new contract? Is he worth that financial squeeze when his most recent season ended at the Wildcard Round? Or could the money be put to better use re-structuring the team itself?

As for the Cowboys, yeah they could offer the money, but Jerry Jones is probably waaaaayy too hands on for a coach like Payton. Could he make the changes he needs to get the job done? Would Jones give him the respect he deserves and freedom if things didn't go perfectly from the get-go?

And the Chargers are a mess, as we saw from Norv Turner's meltdown last night. Would you like to coach that team after watching that? The kicker there is they probably won't even get a high enough draft pick to make the changes needed, they're 2-3 years of excellent management away from being a force again.

The Eagles are Superbowl ready with the right coach...aren't they? Or am I just talking myself into believing this is possible?

Yeah, I'll get ready for the Gruden and Foles era. Sure at least I'm used to watching Eagles games through my hands now, that's something...

I liked what I saw from Foles last night but I couldnt help but think that the playcalling was much more similar to what we used for most of the 2010 season with Vick. But he definitely showed a lot of promise and made some very good decision.

I like what I saw and given that Andy Reid said that Vick had a serious concussion it's pretty clear that we'll be seeing a lot of number nine for the next couple of weeks!

Cassius Easy Burglar wrote: »

i dont know if there superbowl ready i think we are like the cowboys in that we seem to have a lot of talent but do we really 2 years solid now we have not performed

Yeah, I get what you mean, and maybe I am being a hopeless optimist here.

I just think back to the end of last season when we got rolling, but it was too little, too late. I think of the glimmers of brilliance and how dangerous we can look on offence, while staying solid on D when on-form. And when I see this, I think we can beat any team on our day and have the depth to get a great run going that can take us through to the play-offs. Get into the play-offs with momentum and who knows what can happen.

I genuinely wouldn't have the same confidence in Romo doing the same, he switches off waaaayy more than Vick does (and Vick has been harshly criticised due to our poor O-Line), and the Browns can't even seem to get sustained momentum together in a single game, much less a season (granted you could say the same thing about us right now). Under a top coach that the likes of Vick could respect and believe in, I still see us as having potential to do serious damage. Just sort out the offensive line and build with what we've got.

Either way, I think we need to cut our losses with Reid now and begin rebuilding immediately. He was told to get us to the play-offs, or else, and we're not going to get there. If we lose to Washington next week, put him out of his misery.

Outsider's perspective:

Fire Reid, bring in Gruden. Payton would be great but unlikely. Norv as OC, Castillo back as DC. Start Foles or trade into the top 5 next year, it's a solid team talent wise, O-Line aside so losing picks wouldnt be the end of the world.

Cassius Easy Burglar wrote: »

We may not need to trade up if things keep going as is

Time enough throwing Foles in then. He loses, then fine, ye pick high. He wins, happy days.