Eagles fire defensive coordinator Juan Castillo

16 Oct
2012

When the Philadelphia Eagles return from their bye week, they'll do so with a new defensive coordinator. Head coach Andy Reid announced on Tuesday that Juan Castillo has been dismissed from his duties as defensive coordinator and will be replaced by secondary coach Todd Bowles.

"I want to make it clear that I have nothing but the ultimate respect for Juan Castillo as a coach and as a person," Reid said in a statement released by the team. "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."

[Watch: Can Ravens win without Ray Lewis?]

Castillo, 53, has been with the Eagles organization since 1995, working as an offensive assistant before moving up to tight ends coach in 1997, and was the club's offensive line coach from 1998-2010. Reid named Castillo the defensive coordinator on Feb. 2, 2011, replacing Sean McDermott who had been fired on Jan. 15, 2011.

In Castillo's first season as a defensive coordinator, the Eagles ranked eighth in total defense, allowing an average of 324.9 yards per game. Through six games this season, the Eagles are 12th in total defense, allowing 330.8 yards per game, but have just eight takeaways and their seven quarterback sacks rank 30th in the NFL, despite the presence of Pro Bowl pass-rushers Trent Cole (1.5 sacks) and Jason Babin (2.5 sacks). The Eagles have lost three of their last four games, the defense has been held without a sack for three straight contests, and according to ESPN's Stats & Info, the Eagles have blown an NFL-high seven fourth-quarter leads since the beginning of the 2011 season.

The internal blame game began following the Eagles' 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, a game they led by 10 points with less than six minutes to play. Someone had to go and despite the improvement the Eagles defense has made on third downs and in the red zone, where the unit ranks in the Top 5 in the NFL this season, the obvious scapegoat was Castillo.

As for Bowles, this will be his first opportunity to coordinate an NFL defense, but is not his first experience taking over a unit midway through a season. The 48-year-old former NFL defensive back with the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers finished out the 2011 season as the Miami Dolphins' interim head coach, leading the team to a 2-1 finish. Bowles' name has surfaced among NFL head coaching candidates and he was reportedly in the mix for the Dolphins' full-time job and drew interest from the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams, as well. If the wheels continue to come off the Eagles bus, and Reid either walks away or is fired in Philadelphia, Bowles could be the replacement.

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Eagles fire defensive coordinator Castillo – Eagles Defense | PHI

16 Oct
2012
Eagles fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.
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As frustration rises, Eagles begin the internal blame game

15 Oct
2012

It probably isn't a good sign when you're playing the Detroit Lions and you're the most undisciplined team on the field. But that's what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, when they wasted a 23-13 lead attained with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter, allowed the Detroit Lions to tie the game, and lost in overtime as Lions kicker Jason Hanson booted a game-winning 45-yard field goal with four minutes gone in the extra frame.

This is the second year in a row in which the seemingly abundantly talented Eagles have been as Jekyll-and-Hyde as any team in the league, but their record in that time is as middle of the road as you can get -- they're 11-11 in that time. On Sunday night and Monday morning, the blame for these little failures started at the top, and worked its way on down.

"I'll take responsibility for it -- I just know that it wasn't good enough all the way around," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said after the game. "There are times and places when everybody's got to look at themselves in the mirror and get better -- me included."

But it didn't stop there. Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, whose schemes have been under fire since he took the job before last season started, was questioned by cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha when he chose to blitz late in the Lions game and put cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie on Calvin Johnson, when more straight coverage and Nnamdi on Megatron seemed to be working well enough before.

From Sheil Kapadia:

In the fourth quarter and OT, [Lions quarterback Matthew] Stafford was 3-for-4 for 36 yards against the blitz. When the Eagles didn't send extra pressure, he was 12-for-20 for 184 yards. In other words, he was lighting up the defense against four-man rushes too.

Perhaps more significant is that Rodgers-Cromartie was on Johnson for both of those 17-yard completions, and it's tough to figure out why Juan Castillo ... made that decision. Asomugha had done a good job on Johnson for much of the game, and on both those routes, he lined up in the slot. We know from last year's failed experiment that Rodgers-Cromartie struggles in the slot. Asomugha, meanwhile, had been lining up inside all game. He said afterwards that the idea was to give Johnson different looks, but clearly those looks didn't work in the end.

Asomugha was asked after the game whether you want to have an offense prove that it can stop what's working before you start to re-set, and whether players go to their coaches and ask them to stay with what's working.

His reply to both questions? "Um, yes."

It isn't just Castillo's fault, and while it's the obvious tack to take to blame Michael Vick and his 13 turnovers for this mess, there are more troubling issues afoot. Rookie defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was ejected from the game after punching a Lions player on a point after touchdown attempt, and receiver DeSean Jackson got away with hitting another Detroit player in the face on a punt return.

"It's just undisciplined," veteran receiver Jason Avant said of his team. "That's the bottom line. It's undisciplined football. An undisciplined team at this point. Six games in, it's embarrassing. That's the word. Embarrassing. For coaches. And veteran players.

"With the mind-set of, 'Me before the team,' in certain instances. And we need to address that before we play another ballgame."

"The interesting thing about it is, coach Reid is such a disciplinarian," Asomugha told Philly.com. "And there are times in the game where that becomes an issue. It makes no sense."

The Eagles, who have won their three games by a total of four points, could easily be 0-6 right now. They have a bye this week, and they next play the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 28. If things don't rebound quickly, the domino effect could be severe. The calls for Reid's job, seemingly a staple in Philly even when things were going well, are growing in volume and frequency. Team owner Jeff Lurie has already said that another 8-8 season would not be an acceptable result.

"There's no question what I said — we need substantial improvement," Lurie said in August. "We have a very good team, I think, on paper. Paper doesn't get you that far if you can't maximize it."

Many believe that Vick won't be back in 2013 if the team fails to make the playoffs.  And a supposedly dominant defense that hasn't picked up a quarterback sack in the last three games could look very different down the road, as well.

The Eagles are skirting the edge, but they're pushing themselves over. It's just as confounding now as it was in 2011.

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Eagles could move on from turnover-prone Michael Vick following Super Bowl XLVII

14 Oct
2012

The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, blowing a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter to lose 26-23. It was the Eagles' third loss in four games, dropping them to 3-3 on the season. Contributing to the loss was the play of quarterback Michael Vick, who completed 28-of-46 pass attempts for 311 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice, fumbled once and took two of his three sacks of the night on back-to-back plays in the Eagles' one and only possession of overtime.

Vick now has a passer rating of 77.7 on the season, he's accounted for 13 of the team's 17 turnovers — including five lost fumbles, which explains why he's been carrying a football around the team's facilities — and only three quarterbacks have taken as many sacks (17). Vick has been under constant pressure, but the turnovers and overall subpar performance this season leads one to wonder how much longer Vick will be the Eagles' starting quarterback. Head coach Andy Reid has continually backed Vick, so even though the Eagles are entering the bye, a change right now appears unlikely. But a change of some kind could be coming.

As noted on Sunday morning by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Eagles will have a brief window to break free from the Vick contract. Here's how:

Vick is currently scheduled to earn $15.5 million in base salary in 2012, the third year of a five-year, $80 million contract he signed on Aug. 30, 2011. (Vick's contract was reported as a "six-year deal," but the sixth and final year voids if Vick has 35 percent playing-time in any season. Vick played in 77.17 percent of the snaps last season.) Currently, $3 million of Vick's contract is guaranteed "for injury only." If Vick is on the Eagles' roster on the second day of the 2013 waiver period, which begins on the day after the Super Bowl, the $3 million that is currently guaranteed "for injury only" will become fully guaranteed.

Should the Eagles release Vick before that date, they'll save $15.5 million in cash and free up $12.7 million in salary cap space. 2012 third-round pick Nick Foles is currently No. 2 on the depth chart and would presumably get the first crack at the starting job, though competition could be added in free agency or next year's draft.

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Lions rally to beat Eagles 26-23 in OT (Yahoo! Sports)

14 Oct
2012

Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson, center, is congratulated by Dylan Gandy (65) and Nick Harris (5) after kicking a 45-yard field goal to give the Lions a 26-23 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Nnamdi Asomugha sat at his locker stall in full uniform with his head down long after the Philadelphia Eagles blew one they had in their grasp.


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2 Eagles vs Bengals Thursday Night Football Tickets

13 Oct
2012
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Suisham drills winner as Steelers top Eagles 16-14 (Yahoo! Sports)

07 Oct
2012

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham (6), celebrates kicking a game winning field goal over the Philadelphia Eagles with Pittsburgh Steelers holder Drew Butler, left, and Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Doug Legursky (64) at the end of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012. The Steelers won 16-14.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Backed up deep in their own territory, their slow start to the season in danger of turning into a legitimate freefall, the Pittsburgh Steelers did what they always seem to do when things get tight.


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Steelers’ injured stars all set for Eagles (Yahoo! Sports)

05 Oct
2012
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Steelers will be at full strength on Sunday for the first time this season.
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Discount Cowboys Vs. Eagles Tickets 12 02 12

02 Oct
2012
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Final minute of Giants-Eagles gives everyone something to debate

30 Sep
2012

The Giants and Eagles could have played just the final minute of Sunday night's game, because that minute will give everyone enough to talk about until next week.

Where to begin? The ticky-tack pass interference calls, one on each side? How about questionable decisions from both coaches, including the continuation of the inane icing the kicker strategy that almost made Andy Reid the most second-guessed man in America?

The teams were already engaged in a thrilling game when Philadelphia kicked a field goal to grab a 19-17 lead with 1:49 left (actually, the questionable coaching probably goes back to Reid's decisions to run with Bryce Brown and not LeSean McCoy on second down, then running a give-up play on third down to settle for the field goal).

Then, the fireworks really started. On fourth down and 1, Philadelphia cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was called for a pass interference penalty, allowing New York's drive to continue. That call seemed justified. The next two were far more controversial.

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On third-and-10, Eli Manning threw incomplete, but Philadelphia cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was called for pass interference. From whatever angle the replay was shown, it was tough to see a foul serious enough to draw a flag. NBC's Cris Collinsworth just kept groaning and repeating that he wouldn't have called it. Welcome back, regular officials.

Was the next call on Giants receiver Ramses Barden a makeup call? Perhaps. On a deep pass downfield — which was a curious call because the Giants were already in line for a 44-yard field goal, but we'll get to Tom Coughlin in a second — Barden was all over Asomugha. Still, it isn't a call that gets made too often. The flag on Barden put the Giants back 10 yards.

After an incompletion, things really started to get strange.

First, Coughlin decided to attempt a 54-yard field goal on third down with 15 seconds left. He had no timeouts left, but a sideline route could have gotten Lawrence Tynes closer. A completion in bounds wouldn't preclude the Giants from running on the field-goal team. But Coughlin played it safe.

Tynes missed, the Philadelphia crowd started going crazy — oh, but wait. In 2009, Mike Shanahan called a timeout just before Sebastian Janikowski made a field goal. Janikowski missed the follow-up attempt, spawning a craze of coaches calling a timeout a moment before a kicker tries a field goal, despite no evidence it works (last week Miami coach Joe Philbin nullified a blocked field goal in overtime by his team, a particularly embarrassing example of the strategy). Reid had done the same to try and ice Tynes. The miss didn't count. Tynes got to try again.

Tynes was at the absolute edge of his range and his retry was just short, meaning Barden's pass interference penalty cost the Giants immensely. So did Coughlin's decision to play it safe on third down and kick. Reid's timeout went from a full-blown controversy in Philadelphia to a footnote in the Eagles' win, which moved them to 3-1.

Hope that was enough late Sunday night excitement for everyone.

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