Run, Andy, run!

But Reid's strange mix of recklessness and conservatism is not his biggest flaw as a coach. That distinction goes to Reid's well-established aversion to running the football. The West Coast offense that Reid employs is predicated on the short passing game. And to a certain extent, coaches who run any version of the West Coast offense substitute short passes for runs. But none of the coaches who have wielded the West Coast offense with any great success since Bill Walsh established it in the 1980s have eschewed the running game as much as Reid has in his six years as coach of the Eagles.

Being able to run is critical to a team's success. A team that runs the ball allows its offensive lineman to go on the aggressive and pound the other team's line, wearing it down, rather than backpedal in pass protection. A successful running game keeps the opposing defense off-guard: Rather than charging straight upfield at the quarterback, the other teams's defensive linemen have to be prepared to hold their ground. Success in the running game opens up passing lanes by forcing opposing linebackers and safeties to cheat up to the line of scrimmage, creating opportunities for the play-action pass.

Reid runs the ball less than all his West Coast counterparts except for Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren -- and less than all the coaches who ran Super Bowl-winning dynasties in the '80s and '90s. According to the unofficial statistics at pro-football-reference.com, 56 percent of the plays that Reid has called during his six years with the Eagles have been passes. Holmgren also averaged 56 percent during his seven years with the Green Bay Packers, but Holmgren's offense was less radically anti-run than Reid's. For one thing, the Eagles run stats are inflated by the fact that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has averaged 65 rushes per season over his career, about 25 more rushes per season than Packers quarterback Brett Favre. And Holmgren's offense featured the power running of Dorsey Levens, as opposed to Reid's finesse approach.

The three most successful West Coast offense head coaches -- Bill Walsh, who won three Super Bowls in 10 years with the San Francisco 49ers; his successor George Seifert, who won two championships in eight years; and Mike Shanahan, who won back-to-back titles with the Denver Broncos -- all ran the ball more than Reid does. And in all seven of those Super Bowl seasons, their teams ran the ball more often than they did in non-championship years. Shanahan ran the most balanced attack of the three in his Super Bowl victories in '98 and '99. With Terrell Davis slashing downhill through the defense and John Elway throwing over the top, the Broncos passed the ball on just 50 percent of their plays.

And the same logic applies to the other coaching dynasties of the past two decades: Jimmy Johnson's Dallas Cowboys, who won Super Bowls in 1993 and 1994; Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins, who won championships in 1983, 1988 and 1992; Bill Parcells' New York Giants, Super Bowl champs in 1987 and 1991; and Bill Belichick's Patriots, who have won three of the last four Super Bowls. All those teams ran the ball more often than Reid's Eagles, and they ran the ball with even greater frequency in the years they won the Super Bowl.

There are a couple of exceptions to the rule that stand out. West Coast acolyte Jon Gruden took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 and led them to the championship in a season in which they passed the ball 58 percent of the time. But with bruising running back Mike Alstott, Gruden's Bucs could run the ball when they had to. And they had the advantage that year of a dominating defense, which returned three interceptions for scores in their Super Bowl rout of the Oakland Raiders. The St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000 after a regular season in which they passed the ball 55 percent of the time. But that team was loaded with a sickening array of talent -- two All-Pros at receiver in Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce; a future Hall-of-Famer in his prime at running back in Marshall Faulk; and a quarterback, Kurt Warner, having one of the best seasons of all time. While running the ball a lot doesn't guarantee victory, teams that can't run the ball don't win championships.

Reid's offensive philosophy is not without merit. The way he "flexes out" Brian Westbrook, for example, using him as a wide receiver, creates mismatches that opposing defenses struggle to parry. And Reid has myriad other positive qualities as a coach and general manager. But his disinclination to incorporate a power running game into his offensive philosophy runs counter not just to football wisdom but to the football gods, who ultimately award NFL championships to the teams that are most adept at kicking the snot out of their opponents, not tiptoeing around them.

Reid's run as coach of the Eagles represents the third time in the past 25 years that Philadelphia has controlled the NFC East. It happened first in the early '80s with Dick Vermeil, then for a brief period in the late '80s under Buddy Ryan. But none of that dominance has yielded a Super Bowl trophy. In that same period of time, the Eagles' division rivals, the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants, have won a total of eight Super Bowls. Today, Reid runs the risk of becoming the NFC equivalent of AFC coach Marv Levy, whose Buffalo Bills lost four straight Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994. None of Reid's success will count for much if the Eagles don't win it all while he's here. And unless he changes his offensive philosophy, that could be his legacy.

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