A little Football Strategy 101 for Andy and Co...

With the Raiders trying to ice the game with 2:14 left in the game at their own 44 and the Eagles having only 2 timeouts, here's the play by play.

1st and 10 - Justin Fargas, 2 yard gain to the Raiders 46.  Timeout #2 Eagles at 2:10.  Fine.  So far, so good.

2nd and 8 - Justin Fargas, -2 yard loss to the Raiders 44.  Here's the dumbest coaching move of the week in the NFL.  Timeout at 2:02.  WHY ANDY?!?!?  Why?

It's now 3rd and 10.  Here's the scenario if they hadn't called timeout...

- The clock is stopped 2 seconds later at the 2 minute warning.

- Philly still has 1 timeout.

- Oakland now has the choice to run the ball, knowing that the Eagles will be loading up to stop the run, but you burn the Eagles' last timeout.  Or... they can take a HUGE gamble and pass, risking an incompletion, stopping the clock and leaving the Eagles with their final timeout. But at least you force them into that decision.

-  What would have happened?  Who knows, but my best guess is they run the ball for a couple yards, Philly calls timeout, Oakland punts.  Oh and by the way, we happen to have a returner by the name of DeSean Jackson, and if he can't pop one, the offense gets the ball back with about 1:45 left on the clock.

So what DID happen?  Well, the Eagles called a timeout, and left the Raiders with this scenario...

- Eagles have no timeouts left.

- With 2:02 left, no matter what happens on the next play (run, incomplete pass, triple reverse, Statue of Liberty, fumbleroosky, whatever...) NO MATTER WHAT... The clock still ticks down to the 2 minute warning.  So what does that mean?  It means the Raiders are now going to be aggressive and go for the first down to end the game, and they have their entire playbook at their disposal.

- They call a pass play, they find a mismatch with Jeremiah Trotter on a RB (which on a totally unrelated gripe, why is Trotter on the field on 3rd and 10?), throw an easy pass and Gary Russell basically walks for a first down.

2 seconds.  Andy Reid put his defense at a major strategical disadvantage to save 2 freaking seconds.  That's absolutely disgraceful coaching.