Les Bowen: The Bottom Line: Making playoffs a big plus for Eagles coach Reid

As the Eagles clambered down the stretch, there were fans who said they really hoped their team would miss the playoffs, because they figured that was the only way Andy Reid was going to get fired. And they very much felt Reid's departure was necessary for the franchise to move forward.

Once, this group was the lunatic fringe. This year, it was more than that. A whole lot more. Even the nonhaters had to understand the rationale, and wonder, at least a little. Over and over again, slogging along with the third-and-1 follies, the time-management debacles, living and dying with Brian Westbrook's health, and most infuriatingly, the out-of-sync offensive imbalance, culminating in the 16 called pass plays in a row at Washington. You read in the Daily News last week that the Eagles were on the cusp of missing the playoffs two seasons in a row, despite ranking in the NFL's top 10 in both offense and defense in 2007 and 2008, an amazing feat that would seem to speak to coaching.

But the Eagles did not miss the playoffs. They battled through one of the roughest weeks, emotionally, since the days of the T.O. circus, and with some help, they redeemed themselves. When the dust cleared, they were a 9-6-1 wild-card playoff team, uncannily close to what most of us thought they would be 4 months ago, before so many teeth were gnashed.

So when Reid met with reporters yesterday, in a setting quite different from the one he'd faced a week earlier, surely he had to be tempted, just a little, to go the "how do you like me now?" route. Hey, even Donovan McNabb, Andy Jr. when it comes to press conferences, indulged himself a little in that area after Sunday's rout of Dallas.

But the only thing that bristled behind the NovaCare podium yesterday was Reid's good-luck beard.

"Listen, that's not how I operate," Reid said. "I know it's crazy, but we're all in this thing together, trying to make a living at doing what we're doing, and I know it's not an easy job, day-in and day-out. We're blessed to be here in Philadelphia, with a great fan base that's knowledgeable about the game. I mentioned to somebody that in a lot of cities, it's game-to-game. In Philadelphia, it's play-to-play, and you have to love that . . .From play to play, you're criticized for the bad and praised for the good. It's a great atmosphere for football."