Sam Donnellon: Eagles always taking 'the next step' but going in circles

Nov. 9, 2009 - Eagles head coach Andy Reid blamed himself for Sunday's debilitating, 20-16 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, saying, "It is my responsibility to make sure that we win those games.

"All in all, it was a tough NFC East loss," he said yesterday.

Reid added that there were too many penalties called on his team, that he could have given DeSean Jackson "a few more opportunities" and that losing two second-half timeouts to unsuccessful challenges "were my responsibility."

He said the Eagles' 1-8-1 record in their last 10 games decided by six points or less was "a pretty good stat, so there probably is some form of a link.

"I'm not sure what that link is other than that stat," he said.

The loss dropped the Eagles to 5-3. Four of those victories have come against teams with a combined record of 7-25.

Of the game, Reid said, "We can learn from it and we will learn from it. We'll move forward here rapidly."

* Feb. 2, 2010 - Announcing a 10-year extension for Andy Reid, Eagles president Joe Banner said yesterday on Comcast SportsNet that the team last season was "one or two bounces away" from its first-ever Super Bowl championship, and he is optimistic that free-agent acquisitions and the draft will give the Eagles more talent for the upcoming season - an even better roster than last year's "best roster in the league."

The Eagles were 10-6 in the 2009 season and trampled the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings by large margins before succumbing to eventual Super Bowl runner-up New Orleans, 23-18, in a turnover-plagued, penalty-marred NFC Championship Game. In the game, Donovan McNabb completed 31 of 50 passes for 450 yards but was picked off four times, sacked seven times and fumbled twice.

Banner refused comment on McNabb's assertion afterward the loss that he needs more running backs, more receivers and more blockers if the Eagles are to reach the Super Bowl next season. Of his quarterback's performance in the game, Banner called it "a lot of rotten luck" and added, "There are dozens of NFL teams who would be happy to have Donovan McNabb as their quarterback and Andy Reid as their coach."

He mentioned Washington, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland. Asked about the Eagles' 1-6 record in NFC Championship Games, Banner called it "a pretty good stat, so there probably is some form of a link.

"I'm not sure exactly what the link is other than that stat."

Of the NFC Championship Game loss, Banner said, "I think we learned from it. It will help us take the next step."