On Sunday, The Eagles fell to the Cleveland Browns 22-17, dropping their record to 3-6-1 for the season. Carson Wentz once again had a bad game going 21/35 for 235-yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, with one of them, returned for a touchdown.
Wentz has struggled this year. The writers and fans see this, but the coaches nor the GM don’t seem to see anything and/or still blinded by one shimmering Super Bowl ring. Is anyone concerned about this team?
The last time an Eagles quarterback was benched was when in 2008. Donovan McNabb was benched in the game against the Baltimore Ravens. Kevin Kolb would take over for McNabb, and the Eagles would lose to the Ravens 36-7.
That season, the Eagles record was 9-6-1, and they made it to the NFC Championship game, losing to the Arizona Cardinals 32-25. McNabb would play one more season with the Eagles in 2009 before being dealt to the Washington Redskins in 2010.
This is all too familiar with Philadelphia fans. In 2008, the Phillies won the World Series. The following year, they went back to the World Series and lost to the Yankees four games to two.
From there, it was all downhill as the Phillies reached the playoffs in 2010, losing the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants, and again in 2011 in the Wild Card game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies have yet to return to the playoffs ever since.
The Eagles are precisely on the same path as the Phillies. Both teams have personal problems, poor drafting, and remain loyal to older players whose time has passed. There is no question that this Eagles team has talent, but the lack of effort, no accountability, no leadership, and lousy play-calling have hurt this team.
After the game on Sunday, members of the Philadelphia media asked Pederson questions about some of the plays, and he didn’t remember a lot of them. He told them that he would have to watch the tape. It is frustrating to hear a head coach respond by saying they don’t remember the play.
After all, isn’t he the one calling the plays? Unlike Andy Reid, who was not afraid to bench players for poor performance, he remembered every play he called. Doug, on the other hand, will keep players in, hoping for a different outcome.
After watching other games, you can see the connection a quarterback and the head coach should have. When Brady came off the field after an interception, his coach walked over to him on the bench, said a few words, then Brady watched the replay on the tablet. The head coach coached. Carson made an interception, and there was no follow up by Pederson.
There was no rewatching it on a tablet, only Carson sitting by himself. He did look to gather his receivers to go over a play, but there was no coaching. The Seahawks game the same thing; you see the coach and quarterback going over the play. Carson looks like he is just out there on his own. I could go on and on, but when a player struggles, he needs some direction and encouragement. At least admit it was a bad play and suggest a different route, something.
Another frustration is that for the last 6 weeks plus, when addressing the team’s problems, Pederson says, “It’s on me, I have to better prepare them.” After weeks of practice, why aren’t they prepared? The fundamentals are missing, and he says he hasn’t prepared them?
What is practice for if you are not going to hit, throw, tackle, and running routes? I could go on and on with questions like, why don’t the receivers come back to Carson if they see he is in trouble? Why can’t guys make tackles? You hear this over and over from former players who are just as frustrated as the fans.
What is the head coach’s job? Isn’t he supposed to prepare a team for the contest? If not, who is supposed to do that? The problem is, nothing has changed; it’s the same ole same ole. The only thing that has changed is that some of the Eagles players are getting worse each game.
While Doug is part of the problem, Howie Roseman also deserves blame for this team’s construction. For many years, fans have defended Roseman for his wheeling and dealing style. Making moves and acquiring players while also being cap friendly.
However, he and his scouting team have done a poor job drafting players that could have helped the team in the long run, like DK Metcalf. Instead, they hand out a new contract to players like Carson Wentz, who signed a 4-year, $128 million deal with $32 million guaranteed in 2019, when he has been injury-prone after his rookie year in 2016.
Because of Wentz’s injury history, the Eagles went and used a second-round pick on Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, raising even more questions about this team’s future. So far, Hurts is only used in running situations. Opponents know what play is coming with him in there.
If Pederson is not going to allow Hurts to play more snaps, then why did they draft him in the first place? Because of Wentz’s struggles, fans and writers are calling for him to be benched for Hurts. So far, Pederson will not change quarterbacks.
The results of this season would get any coach and GM fired. However, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has yet to make a move to improve his team. Is he content with these results, after all, fans were told after Super Bowl 52 that this would be the new normal? Clearly, this is not the new normal, and instead, they are going backward.
What will it take for Lurie to fire both Pederson and Roseman? Does this team need to hit rock bottom before any changes are made? This year, the Atlanta Falcons, who appeared in Super Bowl 51, fired their Head Coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff after the team started 0-5. Since their firing, the Falcons have won three games.
If Jeffrey Lurie is content with this performance, nothing will change. The only way to send a message to him is by not going to the games, which you can’t anyway due to COVID. Stop buying their merchandise, and stop buying from anyone who sponsors the Eagles. Once fans take action and affect Lurie’s pockets, then you will see him make a change. Until then, what you see is what you get.
Sometimes the people close to the action are blind to see what those who watch them objectively. They are hurting themselves by not changing.