Reid Opens Up His Playbook

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Running backs Brian Westbrook and Brian Mitchell have touchdown passes, kicker David Akers has run for a first down, and safety Brian Dawkins has a touchdown reception.

Those are just some results of the trick plays the Philadelphia Eagles have used this season as coach Andy Reid opens up his playbook.

In just the last two games, Reid has called a halfback option, a double reverse, a fake field goal, a wide receiver option and a fake punt. His multiple formations often include no one in the backfield and he's had a wide receiver line up behind the quarterback at least once.

"We do them to try to get a positive play," Reid said of the gadget plays. "I don't know what the other team is going to think. I don't know that side of it. We would like to get a big play out of those if we can, that's the No. 1 reason we do it."

Reid often has gotten a positive result.

James Thrash ran 32 yards on a double reverse in the first quarter of Philadelphia's 44-13 victory over Dallas two weeks ago. Later in the quarter, Akers ran 10 yards on a fourth-and-4. Westbrook then threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston on a halfback option to put the game away in the third quarter.

"I think the guys have fun with them," offensive coordinator Brad Childress said. "You can't just run them just to run them. You have to have a chance to have success with them. It's something that we looked at in the offseason. There's a lot of research that we did and liked things and found things that worked for us, things that we could do. We can't do them all. Then you have to have the right time to call them and the right defense to call them against."

In Sunday's 35-17 victory over the expansion Texans, wide receiver Freddie Mitchell threw an incomplete pass in the second quarter after an interception gave the Eagles the ball at Houston's 30.

With a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter, the Eagles faked a punt on fourth-and-7 from their 43. Mitchell took the snap directly, ran to his left and shoveled a pass to Dawkins, an All-Pro safety, that turned into a 57-yard touchdown.

"Hopefully we'll continue to put ourselves in a position to run plays like that," quarterback Donovan McNabb said.

Reid's knack for calling trick plays puts defenses on guard. Opponents already have plenty to worry about when they play the Eagles because the offense has averaged 35 points a game this season. Now, teams have to be concerned about defending gadget plays, too.