zeketombar
Veteran
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Folks,
My first post on this forum (I've been here since 2000 or so) is compelled by the class and effort put forth by the Eagles during the game and just after it.
Yes, some of their fans have not been--um--kind, but the fight in that team and their classy way of handling defeat--their well wishes for our guys in the post-game interviews just blew me away--was really impressive.
Teams that have close games in the wildcard round rarely provide much fight in the NFC divisional match-ups (in fact, if you look at the data, the 4 upsets since 1990 have come on the heels of two touchdown+ wins). Congratualtions to Coach Reid and his team on a great run from 5-6 to 10-7 and their fierce performance on Saturday night.
Regarding our team, I think it was pivotal for Coach Payton to begin his playoff record on a positive note. I think there is something to this notion of coaches having success or a lack of success in the playoffs that is dictated by their approach and how they motivate and manage a team. It is possible for coaches to adjust their styles over time
(see Cowher, 2006 and Vermeil, 2000), just as we find that the same approach, when applied over and again, can continue to fail (see Mora 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000).
There is a problem when a coach loses after having enjoyed a bye (Schottenheimer, 1995, 2007) because it is a severe defiance of the odds through wasting leverage (tired opponent) and opportunity (home field). (Mora only had this problem once, in 1999). Let us give thanks that Payton's Saints played the odds and the conditions, pounded Deuce--despite that we might have asked for 5 - 8 more carries for him--and reached the next step.
Zeke T.
My first post on this forum (I've been here since 2000 or so) is compelled by the class and effort put forth by the Eagles during the game and just after it.
Yes, some of their fans have not been--um--kind, but the fight in that team and their classy way of handling defeat--their well wishes for our guys in the post-game interviews just blew me away--was really impressive.
Teams that have close games in the wildcard round rarely provide much fight in the NFC divisional match-ups (in fact, if you look at the data, the 4 upsets since 1990 have come on the heels of two touchdown+ wins). Congratualtions to Coach Reid and his team on a great run from 5-6 to 10-7 and their fierce performance on Saturday night.
Regarding our team, I think it was pivotal for Coach Payton to begin his playoff record on a positive note. I think there is something to this notion of coaches having success or a lack of success in the playoffs that is dictated by their approach and how they motivate and manage a team. It is possible for coaches to adjust their styles over time
(see Cowher, 2006 and Vermeil, 2000), just as we find that the same approach, when applied over and again, can continue to fail (see Mora 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000).
There is a problem when a coach loses after having enjoyed a bye (Schottenheimer, 1995, 2007) because it is a severe defiance of the odds through wasting leverage (tired opponent) and opportunity (home field). (Mora only had this problem once, in 1999). Let us give thanks that Payton's Saints played the odds and the conditions, pounded Deuce--despite that we might have asked for 5 - 8 more carries for him--and reached the next step.
Zeke T.
