Mr. December

Reggie Jackson, is known throughout the sports world as "Mr. October". Derek Jeter, because of his feats during a November World Series is "Mr. November". And now Brian Dawkins, recently named NFL Player of the Month is playfully being called "Mr. December". Sure the name fits and the he is very deserving of the award, considering his recent play and being the motivational leader behind the resurgance of our beloved defense. Congratulations to all his accomplishments. However, if we're going to use the nickname, "Mr. December", I think we owe this moniker to another one of our Birds; Andy Reid.

First, consider Andy Reid's record in December. Since 1999 under the Andy Reid regime, the Eagles are 22-10 in December. This includes one playoff win over Tampa Bay in 2000, and a horrid 1-3 showing last year. He even managed to get a December win in his innaugural 5-11 season.

Even though December is over, for this season at least, you have to like the focus this team has late in the season. This regime has never lost an opening round playoff game. Let me repeat that. This regime has NEVER lost an opening round playoff game. In fact, they've NEVER lost their FIRST playoff game. Never. Our worst playoff record for any season, is 1-1.

Additionally, Reid and the Eagles have a 47-26 mark (including playoffs) in games in November and later.

You've got to like our chances.

So, are we still calling for Reid's head on a lance? Nah... not since the win streak. I for one have always said that I do not question anything that he does. He and his staff have done nothing but great things from the beginning. Below is Reid's approval rating from each week this season.

A big step Big Red took this year is delegating a little more and trusting his staff. Giving the play calling to Marty seems to be working pretty well. I'm not sure if the new balanced offense is a result of the play calling switch or because of the absence of McNabb. Either way, whatever they're doing now is working.

For more about Andy Reid, go to ESPN.com. (chart above is from ESPN), or check out his bio on the Eagles website.

I found a lot of the stats, on an awesome site Eagles Millenium. If you're nostalgic and like statistics, you'll love the site. I'll definitely be referencing this site more often.


On a side note, here's an excellent article about Westbrook on ESPN.com