Eagles' coach Reid to crack the books for this test
PHILADELPHIA -- Andy Reid is known for his emphasis on organization and record-keeping. Reid was hired as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 partly because he presented an extension "book" reflecting his research on the team and possible ways to improve its play.
And the Eagles are especially grateful for Reid's thoroughness now, as they begin preparations to meet the Patriots in the Feb. 6 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. Reid is one of the few Eagles with Super Bowl experience; he was a Green Bay assistant coach when the Packers played in the 1998 Super Bowl.
"I understand the distractions that take place," Reid said yesterday. "I've gone through that. I made sure I kept all my stuff from the Super Bowl so I was able to go back through that. It refreshes your memory, things that you can communicate with the players and coaches, so it might ease some of the unknown going down there.
"You have a notebook for each Super Bowl. I kept that with all the itineraries in it and notes that I made on different things that happened during the Super Bowl. I wasn't looking at it before, but I looked at it [yesterday] morning. It's handy to have."
Reid said he kept the notebooks closed as the Eagles lost three successive NFC Championship games, a streak they broke with a 27-10 win over Atlanta Sunday. And Reid likely will need every advantage against the Patriots. The Eagles easily solved the Falcons' threats, containing quarterback Michael Vick in below-freezing, windy conditions in Philadelphia. The Patriots might not be as simple a proposition.
"I like the idea of having two weeks," Reid said. "With one week, with all the distractions -- as far as the tickets, hotels, and players' families -- all those things that need to take place takes time. It's good to get rid of that this first couple days, then you can concentrate on the game and get yourself right.
"You get a little bit of the chaos taken care of. All the things you have to get done to get the whole team down to Jacksonville and the families."
The Eagles will be missing tight end Chad Lewis, who sustained a foot injury while scoring the final touchdown in Sunday's game, but could have wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has been out since Nov. 19 with a broken left leg and sprained left ankle.
"We're still up in the air with Terrell Owens," Reid said. "We'll let you know when we find out which direction this thing goes. He hasn't run on it yet. He was jumping around [Sunday] but we'll see how he does once that starts.
"He was going to play [against Atlanta] if he had his choice. He's very confident and he's making great progress; he really has. He's chomping at the bit to play. Somewhere in the next few days, he's going to try to run on it and jog on it and see what he can do. We'll progress from there. He's coming in every day for treatment and he's been working in the pool and running in the pool.
"He'll be in touch with the doctor and we'll see what happens there. Then it comes down to, can he do it? He has a couple different things in there. He has the pain from the broken part of the leg; he really doesn't have much with the ankle. He has to run on it. We have to see how that holds up when he runs."
Mike Bartrum could replace Lewis at tight end, but Reid is concerned about risking Bartrum, who is also the long snapper. Lewis was the backup long snapper.
"He initially thought somebody fell on it, but it twisted as he went up for the ball," Reid said of Lewis. "He came off and I called a timeout right there. He struggled to get off the field. He told me, `I think I broke my foot.' He said he felt something pop.
"I have full confidence in Mike Bartrum. The only hesitation I have is, he's also our long snapper. We just lost our second long snapper. Michael, I know, can play the position. I'm not worried about that part."
