When asked last week why the Eagles’ defense has been unable to come up with more sacks, Todd Bowles pointed to four specific things.

“Part of the time, the ball is coming out quick,” he said. “Part of the time they’re max protecting. Part of the time we have to beat one-on-ones. Part of the time, coaching-wise, we have to scheme it better and help those guys get free.”

Today, let’s take a look at those four things individually.

Here’s a breakdown of what we saw from the coach’s tape in what ended up being Juan Castillo’s final game as coordinator.

Donovan McNabb knows what it’s like to hear the whispers. Has felt the sting of getting benched. And experienced the joy of proving his coaches wrong when he was inserted back in the lineup.

With Andy Reid loose in his commitment to Michael Vick lately, McNabb — a guest on Daily News Live Thursday — was asked about his benching against Baltimore in 2008 and high-end play upon his return.

“Well I played pissed off. I played pissed off because I felt like I was the Juan Castillo of the football team,” said McNabb.

Andy Reid’s next shake-up will not include Michael Vick or Marty Mornhinweg, according to a report.

Vick will be the starting quarterback a week from Sunday when the Eagles host the Falcons, and Mornhinweg will continue with play-calling duties.

Investigators have concluded that Garrett Reid, the son of Andy Reid, died as a result of an accidental heroin overdose.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli and Coroner Zachary Lysek held a press conference Thursday to share their findings.

Offensive lineman Chris Williams visited the Eagles yesterday, but was not signed. The Cardinals will check him out today, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.

Given everything that’s happened this week, and because it’s the bye, now is a good time to assess the state of the Eagles. From Marty Mornhinweg to Andy Reid to Michael Vick, here are three thoughts on the Birds.

A day after the loss to the Lions, a  fed-up Andy Reid had some harsh words for his offense.

“The last two drives offensively were pathetic. They were pathetic from a coaching standpoint and they were pathetic from a players’ standpoint,” he said.

What drove Reid to this level of irritation? We took a look at the coaches tape to find out.

The area where the Eagles are most likely to shake up personnel during the bye week is the offensive line.

The problem? They don’t have a lot of options. We’ll see if they sign someone or even make a trade. But given the way the roster currently stands, let’s take a look at all five spots to see where things could be headed in the final 10 games.

Here’s what I saw from the Eagles’ offense after having reviewed the All-22 tape.

Andy Reid, upon completion of his bye-week cell toss, may very well come to the conclusion that the Michael Vick Experience is a flop.

He knows the majority of the 17 “ridiculous” turnovers fall on the quarterback’s shoulders. Reid said Tuesday that he was in the process of reviewing all the season’s offensive miscues. It will be a reminder — as if he needed one — of just how many points were sacrificed and how much momentum was handed over because of carelessness with the football.

Reid also may have thrown on some preseason tape of ol’ Nicky Foles and spent the afternoon daydreaming of a rhythmic, steady and opportunistic offense that would take the Eagles off the high wire.

Tempted as he may be to get off the Michael Vick roller coaster,  Reid will almost certainly come away from this evaluation period having determined that he is stuck with Seven. At least until things get truly desperate.

Eagles coach Andy Reid is taking a pounding from the national media this week. Here’s a roundup of what they’re saying.

The Eagles are bringing in former Bears offensive lineman Chris Williams for a visit Wednesday, a league source has confirmed.

Williams, a first-round pick in 2008, was cut by the Bears on Tuesday.

“Now, I will get an opportunity to go play somewhere, and I’m excited about that,” Williams told the Chicago  Tribune. “The Bears are a good team, they will do well and I will miss the guys. It sucks being released and that type of thing. But sitting on the bench here for the whole year wasn’t going to help me in free agency. Now, I’ll get a chance somewhere else.”

The link between Todd Bowles and Bill Parcells goes back to the defensive coordinator’s playing days.

While Parcells was making a name for himself as the head coach of the New York Giants, he faced Bowles, a safety out of Temple, twice a year.

“I noticed that he was making their secondary calls and adjustments and and all those things as far back as those days,” Parcells said during an interview with Jon Marks and Brian Baldinger on 97.5 The Fanatic.

Andy Reid’s 14-year odyssey has come down to the next 10 hours.

Ten games, 60 minutes of game clock a pop. In that time he has to prove to owner Jeffrey Lurie that “substantial improvement” has been made, and that he at the very least has his first Lombardi surrounded. At the current rate, the 2012 club will end just like last year’s bunch did — at .500. Lurie has already deemed that outcome unacceptable.  A playoff appearance — and maybe a playoff run — seem necessary to re-establish job security. The Eagles will have to go  7-3 the rest of the way to put themselves in proper position for a playoff berth.

That is the reality Reid is operating in. It is a driving force behind his intensive bye week evaluation, one that has already resulted in the firing of longtime friend Juan Castillo in favor of Todd Bowles.