In case it wasn't already apparent, head coach Andy Reid confirmed Monday that the Eagles have a lot to work on before their next game, which looms 13 days away when the Eagles, fresh off their bye, welcome in the 6-0 Atlanta Falcons, who also will be coming off their bye week. After a bitterly disappointing 26-23 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Reid used words like "pathetic" and "ridiculous" to describe the team's play in certain areas.
So while the players will have the next few days off, as has been Reid's custom throughout his tenure as head coach, Reid and the rest of his staff will be busy figuring out what the next step is for the Eagles as they look to rebound in the final 10 games of the season.
From the personnel decisions on the offensive line to the playcalling responsibilities on offense and defense, from his confidence in Michael Vick's ability to limit turnovers to giving Vinny Curry some playing time, everything is under review.
"Listen, I'm going to look at everything," Reid said, when asked specifically about Curry, who has not been active for a game yet this season. "I'm going to cover it all and make sure that we fix the problem here. That's my number-one goal so I'm going to look at everything. He's one of the guys who's not playing. I'll look at that. That's one of the areas I'm going to look at. That's what I'm going to do with this time."
With regard to Castillo's duties as the defensive playcaller, Reid said he expects that to remain status quo, but there is nothing he won't rule out.
"That's not where I'm at right now," Reid said. "But listen, I look at everything during the bye, but I'm not here to stand before you and tell you that. That's not what I'm doing."
On offense, Reid knows there's a lot of work to be done. That the Eagles lead the league with 17 turnovers is "ridiculous," Reid said, while he deemed the team's final two offensive drives against the Lions as "pathetic from a coaching standpoint" and "pathetic from a players' standpoint." But the offense hasn't started well either, as the team has only seven points combined in each of their six first quarters this season.
"We're not executing," Reid said about the team's slow starts. "And then I have to go back and look at, are we giving the guys the right plays to get that done against whatever defense they're playing?
"We go back and we evaluate and tear things apart during this bye week and look at how we get ourselves better in both areas - as players and coaches. You evaluate everything and that's what we'll do from that standpoint. With 10 games left, we know that there are a lot of games left. Anything is possible in the National Football League, and I still believe that we have a good football team. We just have to get a couple of things together here."
For bookkeeping's sake, Reid said that safety Nate Allen has a hamstring strain, though he, along with the rest of the 53 players on the active roster, should be fine and ready to go by the time the team returns to practice after the bye. With an eye on the future, Reid also said that offensive lineman Jason Peters and defensive tackle Mike Patterson have not yet been cleared for football activities.
"Neither one of the guys has been cleared," Reid said. Peters "is getting better. He's made progress. He's moving around now outside the pool and the treadmill where we reduce the body weight of the players. He's able to move around (and) do some agility things and push it a little bit. Not to the extent where he's near being cleared yet."
"We've got to see here. The next few weeks we'll be able to tell."
Make sure to follow us on Twitter @EaglesInsider.
