At this moment, we should all feel for Andy Reid, the father, who will bury his oldest son tomorrow.  I cannot even imagine the pain that the Eagles coach is feeling, pain that will stay with him beyond his coaching days.  The tragic death of Garrett Reid, Andy’s eldest and most troubled son, will put an imprint on the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles season and I expect to see the team and the city rally around their coach- much like it did with the loss of star DT Jerome Brown in 1992.  As painful as the loss may be to coach and his players, I do think the tragedy will lead to great results for the 2012 season.

It is going to be nearly impossible to root against Andy Reid in 2012

There is no need to relive the Eagles 2011 season.  The “Dream Team”  had an extremely disappointing season with only Jason Babin and LeSean McCoy living up to the huge expectations that were placed on the team.  The players and coaches seemed to crumble under the tremendous pressure being placed on them, and, despite earning 7 division titles in 13 seasons, many Eagles fans were calling for Reid to fired.  The Eagles chose to stick with Reid although he entered his 14^th season with more pressure than ever before to win, or at least he did until yesterday.

Philadelphia has long been known for having a rapid fan base that will boo anyone at any time.  They booed Mike Schmidt, widely considered the greatest 3^rd baseman of all-time, numerous times during his career.  They booed Santa Claus.  But will they boo a coach who led them to 5 NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl who just lost his son?  I do not think so.

Jeremy Maclin is one of several skill players who could shine in 2012

All the pressure is now off of Reid.  He has always been a coach who prepares extremely well but does not respond well to pressure- have you ever seen Andy handle the game clock or mismanage his timeouts?  He has surrounded himself with a tremendously talented group of players and if Reid is able to simply put together solid game plans without feeling like he resides in a pressure cooker, the Eagles should have a great 2012.
With draft day right around the corner, it may make some sense to bump a few of the Eagles offensive skill players up on your draft board.  Andy Reid is going to be in a more comfortable situation to lead is team which can only mean good things for the Eagles players you put on your roster.