In a move that I found borderline shocking, Andy Reid cancel a planned press conference by Donovan McNabb in which he was going to talk about his rehab and the season in general. What's even more surprising, the usually very close to the vest Reid fully admitted to doing it on Howard Eskin's show on WIP.
Bob Brookover wrote about the interview.
Reid, however, decided yesterday that the quarterback would not meet with the media. He discussed that decision during an interview with WIP-AM (610) in the afternoon.
"I saw nothing that would be beneficial for him to stand up there," Reid said. "I wanted him focusing on taking care of his business and his leg, and that's all that matters right now. He doesn't need to talk to anybody. He needs to take care of his business. That starts with his leg and that's where it ends. I'm the head coach and I get to make those decisions."
At the very least, it's an interesting approach to handling a 30-year-old man who has eight years of experience in the NFL.
I agree with Brookover. In the end it's Andy's decision as the coach who gets to speak with the media and when... but this is the leader of your team. This is your franchise QB. He's been in the NFL for 8 years, he's been through some of what has been the craziest media storms we've ever seen. He knows how to deal with the media. What's even more annoying to me is that I'm used to hearing what McNabb has to say after the season, this is something he's done for a few years now and frankly I usually find what he says very interesting and revealing.
It's just hard to figure why now, after a season where the controversy has died down and despite the loss in the playoffs, the attitude of the fans toward the team has generally turned around... that Andy would decide to circle the wagons and muzzle his QB to the media? We know full well that his excuse is just ridiculous and untrue, so what is the real reason? Clearly one press conference some afternoon is not going to derail McNabb's rehab program, so is Andy worried about what he might say?
From what Reid says, we probably won't hear from McNabb until mini camps. I don't get that.
Basically confirming what we already knew that Eagles fans are more dedicated to their team than any other fan base in football, Marc Narducci wrote a pretty interesting article in the Inquirer about the staggering ratings the Eagles pull when they play.
Even when the Eagles performed poorly, such as in 2005, when they went 6-10, the team's television ratings still were the envy of any other local team, or show for that matter.
This season, the Eagles averaged a 31.8 rating and 55 share. The share was tied with Chicago for the highest in the NFL among top-10 markets, according to Mark Donovan, the Eagles' senior vice president of business operations.
Some of the highs and lows he goes on to quote are pretty amazing. Just to put the Eagles 31.8 averaged rating in perspective, "A local rating for any other sport over a 5.0 is considered strong."