The Curious Case of Andy Reid or This article is not Sponsored by Rolex

Is he though? Is he?-

One of the most infuriating movie tropes involves the villain giving away his scheme to the hero instead of just killing him. It’s rare for an action movie not show the hero captured by his nemesis. The villain, celebrating his genius, puts the hero in some sort of elaborate, convoluted death trap. Then, when it’s all but assured the villain will win, he takes 20 minutes to explain every detail of his plan, offer blueprints to his secret base, and lists weakness of all his henchmen. Then, to be the surprise of only the villain, the hero escapes at the last second, thwarts the evil plans, and gets some heroine booty.

You know what have been a more effective use of your time, Joe Villain? Maybe killing the hero and then using the 20 minutes of exposition to drink some celebratory champagne. That seems like a better use of your time. Also, why don’t you save the money spent on the death trap for something practical, like accurate henchmen? I mean, all the Stormtroopers shoot like me in Call of Duty. These were the best death soldiers available? Not one of them is a marksman? Maybe the problem comes from the evil recruiters*. All I know is something needs to change in this industry.

Unfortunately for sports fans, coaches tend to mirror action moves villains far more than anything competent. Every single game , coaches make decisions that lead to head shaking and swears instead of leads and… well swears, but of the joyous kinds. Few coaches make a difference in the wins and losses of a team. While the preparation matters, in-game managing is overrated. Most games are decided by the players. You know, the guys actually on the field. In fact, I’d argue the majority of coaches are far more likely to lose a team a game via a poor decision, than win due to a great one. I’m not saying in-game decisions have never won a game, but just watching recaps of a weekly NFL slate, you’ll see about 10 decisions a week that make you wonder “Wait, he’s the head coach and not a janitor?” God Bless American, right?

Bad coaching is nothing new to a Mets and Jets fan. The Mets have just completed the Terry Collins era, and it was certainly a mixed bag. While the Mets had success in 2015 and 2016 (considering the injuries), they never reached the height they should have under Collins. Partly, injury is to blame, but nothing was ever done after the abhorrent training staff. Some of the blame for all the DL stints has to fall on the manager for not demanding a new staff. Collins messed with his lineup too much, and temporarily stunted the growth of Michael Conforto, who assuming he can recover from his shoulder injury, is the team’s long term 3 hole hitter (and my avatar picture, not that I’m a rabid fan or anything). Collins was also a huge fan of finding a reliever he liked, then pitching him every single day until you heard the elbow ligaments snap through the TV. I mean, it’s incredible how many relievers were washed up within a month of their breakout. Plus he relied on over matched bullpen arms regularly. Terry Collins was the only man alive who was not stunned when Hansel Robles recorded an out, let alone escaped an inning without surrendering a run. And that includes Robles.

I don’t think it’s fair to blame Collins for everything. Plenty was beyond his control. I mean, the evidence was there that he was just a puppet for Sandy Alderson to make the decisions from afar. But I’m not sad to see Collins go. I don’t want to talk too much Mets for now though. That’s what February-October is for.

The Jets coaching history have been all over the map, but consistently terrible. My memory starts with offensive coordinator Paul Hackett calling so many run plays, the team philosophy avoided talented QBs for the next 30 years. There’s so much misery at the helm of the team, including hiring Pete Carroll before he was any good, Todd Bowles who has the personality of a cold bowl of soup, and Bill Belechick, the franchise’s best coach, even though he was only in office for a day. Rex Ryan, the Jets most beloved coach, couldn’t draw up an offensive play for a two hand touch game, and despite his personality and defensive prowess, fizzled out as quickly as he busted on the scene. There’s a reason he’s on ESPN now.

Looking back on it, I think Eric Mangini was the Jets most puzzling coach. He received a lot of praise for his inventive coaching ideas, including showing the team “March of the Penguins” prior to playing the Patriots. This was all well and good until the team lost at a furious clip. Then, it was ok for people to question why grown men watched penguin documentaries instead of preparing for their job. After being fired, Mangini moved to the Browns, where he immediately traded considerable assets to the Jets to acquire his favorite players that never developed beyond bench fodder. It was an impressively bad strategy for a league that still had Senile Al Davis calling shots. Today, Eric Mangini is a sandwich artist at Subway, where he won employee of the month in June of 2011.

No, I will not add another slice of cheese. I’m the Sandwich Artist here!

This is the problem with coaches. It’s a very thin line from being a good coach or just a coach. There’s a reason the same pool of coaches keep getting hired, fire and rehired.** I mean, there’s also a reason Jeff Fisher coached for 20 years despite having just one good season. Typically, a team who takes a chance on a new coach who fails will want to dip into the pool of established guys. Once that one risk fails to pay off, teams decide to play it safe and hire veteran coaches. These are the guys who only have experience losing 10 games a year or failing to win a playoff game after 9 seasons. Every so often, this risky hires work out, and the team soars because of it. Look at Sean McVay, who’s either turned the Rams around due to his innovation, or by not being Jeff Fisher. Either way, it’s a huge improvement***.

This of course takes us to our subject of today’s rant, Andy Reid. 2017 was a very typical Andy Reid season. He started off exceeding expectations; the Chiefs began the year 5-0, including a dominate victory over the Patriots in Foxboro. Kansas City was predicted to be a bottom feeder, but seemed primed for a Super Bowl run. Then, the team blew close game after close game, failed to establish the run (shocking!) and Reid looked to be on the hot seat. Reid decided to give his Offensive Coordinator play calling duties, and the team went back to looking great. Rookie running back Kareem Hunt dominated, much like he did in the opening quarter of the season. The team was humming on all cylinders and received a very favorite first round matchup. What could go wrong?

Did I hear groaning from Missouri?

The Chiefs opened the 2017 playoffs with the Tennessee Titans at home. Truthfully, the Titans had no business being in the playoffs, and were expected to lose by double digits. The game put all of Andy Reid’s traits on display. The Chiefs began on fire, utilizing all of their best offensive weapons – Hunt, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce – to their fullest potential, and took a 21-3 lead at half. There was no reasonable way the team could lose.

All that could go wrong, was everything. It started when Travis Kelce got hurt. Then, Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass to himself. No, really, he did. Here’s a clip if you buried your head in dirt since Sunday and just decided life is worth living:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XwmIhZbQfM

The team began to fall apart. Reid, who decided to call plays for the game, and break up what was working, forgot that running was an option. Kareem Hunt, who looked great in the first quarter, only received 5 carries in 3 quarters. 5! The team had a lead for most of the game and didn’t try to run with one of the best backs in the league. Losing Kelce was a huge blow, but the Chiefs could not get first downs for the entire second half. Here’s a list of their drives beginning in the third quarter:

3 Plays, 8 yards, punt (They would recover a muffed punt)

4 plays, -2 yards, missed field goal (This probably wins the game and makes this article moot).

5 plays, 21 yards, punt

9 plays, 29 yards, turnover on downs.

That’s 56 total yards in the second half against an inferior team. They dominated the first half. I don’t think Kelce is that drastic of loss for the team to completely deteriorate. After the game, Andy Reid was “regretful” that he didn’t give Hunt more carries. The Chiefs Offensive Coordinator high tailed it out of dodge, became the head coach of the Bears, and quickly threw Reid’s play calling under a bus. Reid had lost yet another playoff game he should have won.

The Status Quo has been returned.

You know, having a big lead in the playoffs and blowing it sounds awfully familiar. In fact, I think the Chiefs did this once before. Oh that’s right! They did it against Andrew Luck and the Colts in 2014! In that game, Reid’s team had an insurmountable 28 point lead, but don’t tell Andy Reid what he can’t do! Although injuries did begin to decimate his team, they tightened up at the first sign of a threat, and let the colts win the game. This game is also the reason Andrew Luck is incredibly overrated, but that’s a blog for another day (It’s coming, trust me).

Nobody outside of the biggest, blindest Kansas City fans believed the Chiefs could win the Super Bowl. I think they had an outside shot to beat the Steelers, and the Patriots (I mean, they did beat the Pats already…), but it was unlikely. It would be a fluke for the Chiefs to have beat either team, and they could not have beaten both to make the Super Bowl. This team best case scenario was the AFC title game. Granted, their annual floor seems to be a playoff berth, but is having that high floor of a playoff berth worth never truly having a change to win? Honestly, I’m not sure.

If you read any sort of sports article, you know Andy Reid is a popular target right now. People have pointed out his bumbling qualities, and his inexcusable play calling but he deserves some credit. Before I inevitably bash his faults, let’s remember this is an accomplished coach. He’s at worst, one of the ten best coaches in the league, and he’s probably closer to the top five. I don’t know if that’s to Reid’s credit, or an insult to 23-27 NFL head coaches.

Reid has been successful with not 1 but 2 franchises for a decently long time. He may have lucked into Donovan McNabb, but he sure got the most out of him. The Eagles had a lot of talent, but in the NFL, teams consistently under perform if egos aren’t kept in check. Reid did well enough to take the Eagles to 5 consecutive conference title games. Yes, there will be a huge, rapper girlfriend sized but coming in a few paragraphs, but let’s keep in mind how difficult it is to be that good every year. That’s an accomplishment.

Relax. We’re getting to the but though I think there’s a misunderstanding.

His winning continued with the Chiefs, who have had multiple 10+ win seasons with Alex Smith as his QB. I think like Reid, Smith has gotten an unfair reputation, but he’s not a top-tier QB anyway you look at it. Reid has found a way to use Smith’s strengths (Accuracy, risk aversion) to parlay into multiple playoff berths.

He also has consistently gotten great performances out of his weapons. If you give Andy Reid a versatile running back, he’ll give you a star. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few, but Reid has had Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, and Kareem Hunt. Each of these backs has several seasons of dominance in Reid’s system, except for Hunt, a rookie who will join this class early next season. His prowess for using his best weapon isn’t just limited to backs, as Terrell Owens, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce, and now Tyreek Hill have all completed oustanding seasons with Reid at the helm. He finds clever ways to get his best players the ball and they respond with big time statistics. Again, that giant but will return soon, so keep your pants on Sir Mix A Lot.

Reid does offer stability too. He really doesn’t rock the boat asking for any outlandish signings, and does wonderful things with the pieces he’s given. There’s clearly something about having a winning culture, which Reid always brings with him. Why then was Philadelphia just as happy to run Reid out-of-town as Kansas City was to sign him? There’s a couple of reasons I can think of.

I won’t beat around the bush for long. Andy Reid is possibly the worst clock manager in football history. Nearly every game, he will waste multiple timeouts in horrific situations. While this doesn’t sound like a big deal, it partly explains his shortcomings in close games. Sometimes, he’ll need to stop the clock, either to preserve time or design a play, and he won’t have the capital to do so. Reid is the type of coach who will challenge an 8 yard gain was really a 9 yard gain on 2^nd down. He will lose the challenge. He will then burn a timeout after an incomplete pass. Suddenly, he will be flabbergasted at the end of the game that he can’t stop a dwindling clock as he team trails. I can only imagine how he struggles to make team flights.

It’s not just the timeouts though. At times, his overall game flow is perplexing. In the Eagles Super Bowl loss, the Eagles took all the time they could to run plays while losing by 14 in the 4^th quarter. The media took shots at McNabb for not working faster, and actually accused him of being out of shape. I think the coaching staff needs equal blame for not pressing the urgency. This has been an unfortunate staple of Reid’s game plans, either passing when ball control is necessary, or running when a quick strike is essential. It’s as if he looks at his watch and it says “good luck”. Perhaps he is a time traveler, and his perception of time is different from ours…

No, no, it’s probably not. Perhaps he should have hired a guy to shout the remaining time in the game with each passing minute. That actually could have given him about 25 more wins in an already successful career.

Another unfortunate hallmark of Reid’s coaching career is forgetting about his star players. I don’t understand how this continues to happen to his teams, but boy does it. Reid will altogether abandon the run, which is alarming when you look at the list of backs he had. This is one major issue with the Chiefs. Even in Jamaal Charles’ best season, there were games were the star only received 10-12 touches, an offensively low number for a player of his caliber. Herm Edwards gave some of his running backs that many touches on individual drives. This year, Kareem Hunt looked like a star for the first 7 games of the season, then became an altogether forgotten player. In the game against the Jets, the Chiefs ran with a running back once in the first half. How does that happen? When the Chiefs gave their Offensive Coordinator play calling duties, he made sure to feed the ball to Hunt and they won. What happened in the post season? Reid snatched that playbook and made sure that everybody touched the ball except his star running back. Did Kareem Hunt steal Andy Reid’s girlfriend or something? God I hope not. The play calling in the Titans loss was unacceptable.

This also happens to his best receivers too. Terrell Owens always called out Reid when he felt he wasn’t getting the ball enough (Expected, but sometimes true). Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill had both experienced minimal involvement in huge games, which just doesn’t make sense. Hill also seemed to disappear in the second half of the recent loss, which makes you wonder who exactly did they throw to? Was Alex Smith trying to match Mariota and complete passes to himself? We can only assume yes.

Reid also has a penchant for calling trick play at the worst time. This became one of his calling cards for the 2017 season. He’s called for multiple passes from Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce that have resulted in interceptions. When Andy Reid decides to give Hill the ball, he likes to do so on reverses or handoffs, sometimes starting as deep as 12 yards in the backfield. That’s not ideal for a running back, let alone a receiver. He’s even ran direct snaps to Kelce, a TE who should never be mistaken for a backfield threat. In the aforementioned Jets game, Kelce started the game catching 2 long TD passes and looked unstoppable. Reid responded to this clear weakness by… not throwing the ball his way the rest of the game. So, he didn’t give the ball to Hunt or Kelce. I can’t imagine how this team didn’t win the Super Bowl multiple times.

More concerning is Reid’s failure to break through with his teams. It’s impressive to win 10+ games nearly every season, but the bad playoff losses continue to stack up. When the Eagles went on their magical run to five straight conference championships, they only managed to make the Super Bowl once. Additionally, his Chiefs teams are fine, but never pose a serious threat. Again, even if they won last weekend, they’d be clear underdogs against either Pats or Steelers.  I think at this point, Reid is in his own head. All of his weaknesses magnify themselves in playoff games. The unfortunate thing is Reid is a very good coach, but he can’t get out of his own way.

There’s a theory that some players can’t win the big game. The moment gets to them. Wouldn’t the big game theory apply to coaches? Andy Reid might just be the type who’s great for the regular season, but won’t ever take home a Super Bowl trophy. He’s got the track record to verify this theory. Reid finds a way to both be too conservative, but still not give the ball to his best running back. Plays are designed for his 4^th or 5^th best offensive weapon, and he seems to get outcoached by an inferior talent. He either burns through his timeouts immediately, or forgets he has any. Andy Reid is the physical manifestation of Murphy’s Law, and it’s depressing, but man, I don’t think he’s got it in him to win a title.

So who would I rather coach my team – Andy Reid or a new hot coordinator? It’s a difficult question, but I think I’d take the upstart. With Reid, you have consistency and a winning culture, but you also have the kiss of death in your locker room. Reid’s teams always, ALWAYS finds a way to blow a game, and play to the level of their competition. For every player Reid helped get to the next level, he’s also found a way to exclude them from the game plan or be let down by them in the playoffs. You’re also tied to Andy Reid if you sign him; it’s tough to fire somebody winning 9-11 games every year, winning division titles, and giving you a chance, whoever miniscule, to be a Super Bowl Champion.

By choosing the upside coordinator, you get to roll the dice. Sure you might have an outmatched bust of a coach (likely even), but you also could have the next Bill Walsh. What you do have is upside you can’t get from a veteran coach. Hell, with your new hiring, you might even get the next Andy Reid. Wouldn’t that be ironic? The point is, as a fan, I don’t want to be locked in to Andy Reid. Then again, I could be a Bengals fan and locked into Marvin Lewis. Talk about a disaster. Kansas City probably feels great right now. Ok, maybe not great after this article, but they’re at least crawling off the ledge, right?

You would have gotten smoked by the Patriots anyway.

*This implies there are HR departments that are not evil, which is incorrect.

**I wouldn’t count on your phone ringing Bob McAdoo.

***Jeff Fisher sucks.