Nivraga, on 25 December 2012 - 01:22 AM, said:
@PoconoDon
I agree with what you said whole heartedly - and I think highboy expressed my position well. Sorry if it seemed I was reducing the evaluation of a HC to the talent of the QB that played for him. You are 100% right that there are a multitude of other factors. But specifically in the case of Belichick - Brady was the missing link - the season in which Bledsoe got hurt, the Patriots had started 0-2. Sure they could have turned things around with Bledsoe - we'll never really know - but Belichick hadn't done much previously with Bledsoe - stunk it up as HC in Cleveland and Bledsoe did little to impress after leaving New England - so it's reasonable to suggest that had Bledsoe not been injured, no one would be talking about the genius of Belichick and questioning whether Andy Reid was as good a coach if not better.
again
To not acknowledge that is stubborness.
To not recognize it is just stupidity.
I've already said I think Belichick is the better coach but I also believe that the difference is marginal and the greatest difference is circumstance. Andy Reids original coaching staff was a pretty talented staff - beyond just Jim Johnson - one of Belichicks strengths has been his ability to continue to replace departing staff members with quality. Andy Reid was not able to do the same which to me is the biggest factor in his struggles over the last 8 years. A couple bad drafts and bad draft luck (see Shawn Andrews) didn't help either.
I am all too familiar with Archie Manning - one of my all time favorite non Eagle players. Probably the best player that will never make the HoF. But that illustrates my point more than it refutes it. The initial argument against my assertion was that it's all about results. If that's true than how can anyone assert that Archie Manning was one of the best QBs of all time? We both know he is - but the records suggest otherwise. You and I are smart enough to look at the circumstances around Archie Manning and realize his talent.
Yes the player can make the coach as much as the coach makes the player. Would anyone argue that Andy Reid and the Eagles would not have won multiple Super Bowls with Tom Brady instead of Donovan McNabb - and if they would have then how can you not accept that the difference between Reid and Belichick is not a lot.
My "name calling" (which was actually a question and not an accusation) was in response to Pat blaming Andy Reid for not having a better QB than McNabb - as if all you have to do is wish for a HoF QB and one magically appears.
Successful coaches don't "wish" for anything. They go out stake their claim and develop them. Do you think its an accident that the Redskins went out and mortgaged all those picks to get RG III? Do you think Green Bay wished that Favre and Rodgers would be great QB's? Do you think the Belichick would not have kept searching for a QB if Brady did not work out? Do you think Reid has had enough opportunities to draft and develop franchise QB's in 14 years?
Fact is Reid tied his hitch to McNabb who was a good but not great QB... you can blame that on McNabb or the coaching staff charged to coach and develop him....fact is, the ultimate responsibility falls on Reid and he and the owner have been very clear about that. Once Reid finally came to the realization that McNabb had taken the team as far as he was ever going to take them, he had no successful back up plan and instead Marty and him have installed a ridiculous scheme over the last several years that has made them turnover prone, inefficient, and among the worst red zone teams in the NFL.
Reid track record here shows that he has been a good, but not great, coach. Inspite of the record, they have only gotten to one Superbowl and never over the hump..... over the last 5-6 years however, the team has digressed in a major way.
You can call me a moron, an idiot or anything you want. The records speak for themselves. Reid will be gone and the other "lucky" coaches as you call them, will continue to lead their franchises.
And its also your right to believe the Eagles have just been "unlucky" and that's the only reason why they have not won a Superbowl in the Lurie-Banner-Reid era.
I happen to believe firmly that successful leaders and coaches make their own luck, through scheme, strategy and by surrounding themselves with winners.... and I think history backs me up.
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