National Football League

Eagles' Reid not afraid of short week

Published Dec. 27, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Andy Reid thrives on order and organization. The Philadelphia Eagles coach also is a fan of consistency.

So when the team’s Week 16 home game against the Minnesota Vikings was rescheduled because of inclement weather, the move presented a unique challenge: For the first time since 1946, the NFL will play a game on a Tuesday.

But don’t tell Reid it’s an issue.

“Listen, really, nothing. We’re OK with it,” Reid said just hours after finding out that the game was being moved from Sunday to Tuesday evening. “We’re organized and prepared for this, and we completely support what the league did from a safety standpoint for everybody. We got the guys out of the hotel and home, and they’ll come back for a walk through tomorrow and then to the hotel, and it will be just like a Saturday night before a Sunday game, just a normal Saturday night-Sunday schedule.”

While Reid might feel his team will be able to deal with the additional two days of waiting to play, they’ll have to operate on a short week for this Sunday’s season finale against the visiting Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles will be playing two games within six days.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. I think we’ll be all right. We’ve had Monday games, Sunday night games, we had a Thursday game, so we’ve been through a lot of this already, and that will help us. We’ll be fine,” Reid said in response to a question about facing Dallas on a short week.

Reid is correct. The Eagles actually played two games within a five-day period earlier this season. They played against the host Chicago Bears in Week 12 on a Sunday, then turned around four days later in Week 13 to host and beat the Houston Texans on a Thursday evening.

If the Eagles defeat the Vikings and Cowboys, and the Bears lose at home this week to the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia will earn a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

The move from Sunday to Tuesday, however, has changed the usual routine for the players. They had meetings Monday, which is typically a day off or a day to rehab injuries from Sunday’s game.

“Meetings on Monday seems a little funny,” cornerback Asante Samuel said via his Twitter account.

The two-day pushback doesn’t seem to be an issue with other players.

“Just a few more days to get ready,” quarterback Michael Vick said via his Twitter account.

“I'm good either way. Doesn't really matter now tho,” guard Todd Herremans said via his Twitter account.

The extra two days to prepare for the game actually could give some injured players a better chance of playing.

Vikings starting free safety Madieu Williams (concussion), who did not practice at all, could be upgraded from questionable. Vikings interim head coach Leslie Frazier said that Williams has made progress. Had the game been played Sunday, Williams likely wouldn’t have been able to play. And Vikings starting running back Adrian Peterson gets two more days to rest his injured right knee.

After Tuesday's game, things will have to speed up for both teams in order to get ready for the next game.

Reid, now in his 12th season as head coach of the Eagles, isn’t one to stray from the normal routine. He’ll keep the practice schedule the same as he has all season for the Cowboys game – with one exception. The players will have a rare Wednesday off to regroup from Tuesday’s game.

“We’ll be off Wednesday, then we’ll come back Thursday and do a little more (than a normal Thursday), then we’ll have a normal Friday, bring them to the hotel Saturday, and go Sunday.”

It’s that consistency that has earned Reid and the Eagles their first division crown since the 2006 season.