Could Andy Reid just kick himself?

I didn't watch a whole lot of NFL playoff action yesterday. I missed all of the Colts-Ravens game, though when I looked at the box score and saw that Indianapolis won without Peyton Manning throwing a touchdown pass, I began to think that this might be their year.

My long-term memory might be failing me, but I don't recall the Colts winning too many games like that in their years of assorted playoff disappointments. Less than 200 yards passing for Manning? And only 100 yards rushing - as a team? Winning ugly can get you a long way...

But I did get home in time for the fourth quarter of Eagles-Saints. And based on what I was able to see, I really have only one question:

Why in the name of Ron Jaworski did Andy Reid decide to punt with less than two minutes left in the game?!?

Even with two time-outs to burn, did he really think the Eagles could get the ball back with time to drive for a game-tying field goal? With the way New Orleans (especially Deuce McAllister) was running the ball?

Maybe Marty "We'll take the wind!" Mornhinweg has a greater influence over Philadelphia's play-calling than we could ever have imagined.

And this was after Reid had opted to go for it when it was 4th-and-10, only to see Jeff Garcia's pass to Hank Baskett (which would've gotten a first down) wiped out by a false start penalty. At that point in the game, how much of a difference does five yards make?

"In hindsight, I guess maybe we should have [gone for it]," Reid said after the game, "because we didn't get the ball back. I thought we would be able to get the ball back."

It was an utterly baffling decision. Had he made such a call during the regular season, maybe it would've been understandable. Maybe it would've been a valuable exercise in seeing what your defense is made of. But with the season on the line? How could a team that played with such urgency on the way to a surprising NFC East division title suddenly turn so conservative when it needed to be most daring?

That's a hell of a question for Reid, his team, and Eagles fans to chew on from now until the beginning of training camp in late July.

Friday Follow-Up #2: Those Frisky Philly Fans

Ever since the story about the two grad students who were willing to have sex for a voyeur in exchange for Eagles playoff tickets broke last weekend, I've been wondering how things ended up. Did they end up performing their way to seeing the Eagles beat the Giants last Sunday?

(Thanks to all of you who stopped by to read about that, by the way.)

According to the Eagles' AOL Fanhouse blog, the answer is... well, maybe. I suppose we should commend these kids for not kissing (or, well, you know...) and telling. But their proposal certainly drummed up some interest.

From Philadelphia Will Do (via Philly Edge - who changed his name to protect the, um... kinky?):

“We (had several) offers,” Peter said, declining to divulge details of any encounter. He said he had been contacted by five newspapers, and men’s magazine Hustler, with requests for more on the story.

He admitted to being “(un)comfortable with all the commotion this has caused.”

Peter, though, had no regrets about the posting, which was first reported on by Philebrity.com, and then subsequently by the Daily News and several national Web sites. The results of the game, however, did disappoint him.

I'm a Giants fan. She’s the Eagles fan…. This was a big game for the both of us. (It was for) bragging rights.”

So wait - she wasn't an Eagles fan, but a Giants fan? Wow, that's kinda hot. (For an early Friday evening, anyway.)

Surely much more fun than scalping

As we've heard all too often, the playoffs are a whole different game. And apparently, that applies to scoring playoff tickets, as well.

According to today's Philadelphia Inquirer, there's an ad on craigslist.org from two "very attractive" grad students who will let you watch them have sex in exchange for Eagles-Giants seats.

Even better, these kids will let you do more than watch. You can even script the plays, if you know what I mean.

And if you're bringing your own play calls, you might want to make sure that Denny's menu-like play sheet is laminated. (Sorry - that was over the line, wasn't it?)

Just before you think this couple doesn't have any standards, there are certain plays that you wouldn't be able to call. Again, if you know what I mean. (And I really probably should leave it at that. You can go ahead and fill in the blanks yourselves. Pervs.)

So if you're at the game tomorrow, just for $#!+s and giggles, it might be fun to ask the guy next to you how he got his seats. Or maybe not. You might be eating at the time. Or with your son.

Meanwhile, you can always try those ticket brokers we bloggers have listed on our sidebars...