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.
PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Vick has all but disappeared, since the season began, into the Eagles' multifaceted offense and Andy Reid's secret future plans for it. But he is still MIchael Vick, convicted dogfighter and NFL lightning rod. So when he said in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas on Sunday that he'd have a hard time returning to the Eagles in his current role next year, he wasn't surprised that it became big news.
But on Wednesday, before the Eagles took the field for practice, Vick spoke briefly to reporters in the locker room and wanted to make it very clear that, while he'd obviously like to be playing more than he is, he's still enjoying the Eagles' bench much more than he was enjoying federal prison.
On the eve of a Sunday night NFC East showdown in Philadelphia, the Cowboys have gotten some bulletin board material via a comparison of their franchise and the Eagles. Strangely enough, the inflammatory statements weren't made by anyone with current ties to the Eagles, but by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Harbaugh, a former Eagles assistant, was asked for a new book what made the Eagles more successful than the Cowboys over the last 10 years. Matt Mosley of ESPN.com shares the answer.
PHILADELPHIA -- You don't think of the Eagles along with the Saints or the Colts or the Patriots in terms of the number, the variety and the explosiveness of their offensive playmakers. Teams like that set the standard, and the Eagles don't feel like they fit into that kind of conversation. And that's fine, because they're not there yet.
But if you watched the Eagles score on big play after big play Sunday afternoon against the Giants, you got the feel that they might very well be there soon. Andy Reid's Philadelphia offense remains a work in progress, but with the number of different weapons he has at his disposal on any given play, we could soon be talking about the Eagles as one of the most exciting and dynamic offensive teams in the league.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?
First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.
Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.
The move to add a quarterback isn't particularly surprising. The Eagles don't have a third quarterback available for Week Two thanks to Michael Vick's suspension and if McNabb is too hurt to start you'd understandably want to shield him from playing at all. On one hand, Garcia's not a surprising choice since he spent 2006 with the team and knows the offense.
On a couple of other hands, though, the move is awfully intriguing.
PHILADELPHIA -- I don't know, I mean, I guess it's a nice story if it works out the way they'd all have you believe it can/will/should. Everybody loves a good redemption story, and Michael Vick is surely set up to be an all-timer. Few have ever started from deeper behind and with a more complete and devoted public support system, that's for sure. If the man is truly reformed, truly dedicated to being an active, positive societal force for good, there are plenty of people around to steer his efforts in the right direction.
But I don't know. As I stood there today, listening to all of these people talk about how Vick had convinced them he was a changed man, I couldn't shake this Emperor-Has-No-Clothes feeling. Why should any of us buy this? What has this guy done to deserve this much support? I'm not in the camp that says he shouldn't be allowed to play -- I actually think he should. But what I don't get is why he gets all this help. Of all the people who have screwed up royally and threatened to fall through sport celebrity's cracks, why does this particular person deserve this much benefit of the doubt?
PHILADELPHIA -- Jeffrey Lurie made it clear very early in his press conference that he didn't want to sign Michael Vick. The Eagles' owner was emotional as he addressed the media at the team's training complex here, and explained how hard it had been to make the ultimate decision to bring in the troubled quarterback, who will suit up and practice with the Eagles on Saturday.
Lurie described himself as an "extreme dog-lover" who has rescued dogs from abuse, and described the actions for which Vick just served two years in prison as having a "complete disregard for any definition of common decency." But in the end, Lurie did approve the signing of Vick, as personally difficult as it may have been for him to do so. And his words and his demeanor here today left everyone in attendance to wonder if this was really, in the end, all about a desire to win football games.
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. 
PHILADELPHIA -- 
On the eve of a Sunday night NFC East showdown in Philadelphia, the Cowboys have gotten some bulletin board material via a comparison of their franchise and the Eagles. Strangely enough, the inflammatory statements weren't made by anyone with current ties to the Eagles, but by Ravens head coach 
PHILADELPHIA -- You don't think of the 
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