We’re only four weeks into the season and already things have gotten fairly dicey for the Eagles. Once more, the play calling and disciplinary struggles of first-year head coach Nick Sirianni have taken center stage, the defense has imploded, injuries have ravaged the offensive line, and questions seem to permeate every position group. Much of it can be very frustrating, especially with the seemingly-simple solutions to the problems, such as the three words that could have meant a better-balanced offense in week three against Dallas: RUN THE BALL.
Two carries. Two stinking carries. That was all that Miles Sanders, the third year running back, got in the game against Dallas. Fantasy football implications aside, Sanders should not be getting a measly two carries if he is the franchise back. All indications pointed to a breakout year by Sanders after having compiled a string of solid first two years in the pros, but for some reason, Sirianni has been extremely hesitant to feed number 26. In fact, there have been rumblings of rookie fifth round pick Kenny Gainwell usurping the presumed starter as the king of the backfield. Now this is no knock on Gainwell, who has undeniably shown his importance to the offense through his hard style of running and his excellent catching out of the backfield. That being said, Miles Sanders has shown no signs of regression as he continues to dominate the league in yards per carry, and his home run ability has always been among the elites. If he hits a hole, the safeties better be ready because he will turn on the jets and make a house call in the blink of an eye. Just ask Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington and other teams we faced throughout his still-budding career. The man has a knack for the end zone, feed him!
As for the passing game, I thought Hurts has had a solid start to his first year as the true number one quarterback. The game against Dallas aside, he has been very efficient, and rarely has he thrown a reckless ball to shift momentum in a game (something his predecessor had become accustomed to doing late in his career here). Now, he definitely has some things to work on before we can deem him better than other draft options or trading for a quarterback next season — such as his, albeit improved, but not consistent accuracy. There are plenty of plays in which receivers have had to come back and attempt a reception at the underthrown ball, lest it be intercepted. To counter this, of course, Hurts has thrown some beautiful deep balls to his receivers, such as the two beautiful touchdown passes to Reagor in week two and Smith in week four. Oh wait! I forgot! Those two beauties were wiped away by a penalty on the receivers for stepping out of bounds!
Yes, that’s right folks, not once but TWICE were we treated to the utter agony of seeing a yellow flag rip away a fantastic touchdown, which ended up becoming a field goal attempt because the receiver on each play stepped out of bounds, and thus was not legally allowed to touch the ball in the field of play. The first of these was Jalen Reagor who, again, shows flashes of his first round pedigree but then brings out these Agholor-esque frustrating moments which cause us to continually question why we have him and not Justin Jefferson donning the number which Jeremy Maclin made sacred in this city. Reagor’s penalty was more so his lack of focus and inability to stay in bounds, whereas rookie DeVonta Smith’s identical flag was more a tussle with the defensive back, who ended up forcing him out of bounds, thus drawing the flag. Despite it not being entirely his fault, Smith should have created more room on the outside to prevent this very thing from happening. It is one of the fundamental teachings of route running that one would assume a head coach, who prides himself on his wide receiving coaching, would have drilled into his proteges’ minds. This is the biggest and scariest issue with this team: the lack of discipline.
Everyone wants to talk about “accountability” and “doing better next time,” but then no one will put those words into action on the field. Through four weeks, the Eagles have dominated the league in penalties, quickly nearing historic numbers, which, if it weren’t for the subject matter, would be quite impressive. Fifth-year defensive end Derek Barnett continues to draw unnecessary roughness penalties, false starts pile up negative yards, ineligible receivers downfield wipe away touchdowns, and encroachment penalties give up crucial third down stops. This is very concerning, given that the consistency of these occurrences seems to imply that the team has not been able to make the necessary adjustments of disciplining each other. Most concerning of all, the coaching staff is showing an inability to get these players set straight by having the continued ineptitude of penalties plague the team.
And then there’s the defense. After two weeks, the Jonathan Gannon-led defense seemed solid. Sure, there were flaws, but they made adjustments in-game and were able to choke offenses such as the Falcons and the 49ers. When they rolled into Dallas, every flaw reared their ugly heads on primetime television in the form of 41 points. The linebackers missed tackles, the pass rush couldn’t get home, and the secondary was left alone to fend off one of the most talented receiving groups in the league. The very next week, Kansas City rolled in and hung another over-forty performance on the birds.
The injuries have, once more, begun to pile up and the missing Brandon Graham may be a culprit in the defensive decline. His presence as a pass rusher was only one of many crucial aspects to his game. His run-stuffing ability was the best on the team and his leadership and energy were incomparable after Malcolm Jenkins left two years ago. That being said, much of a coordinator’s job is to adjust for injuries and make the most out of who is on the field. This was something the now-retired Jim Schwartz was very much so able to do on a regular basis. Given how many times his roster was in shambles, Schwartz ran a very effective defense that made the most of its players. Sure, he would be stubborn about who started where and there were definitely frustrating moments, but throughout his tenure under Doug Pederson, his squad put their heads down and went to war for the veteran coach. Gannon and Sirianni need this to be the case if they want to establish themselves as long term solutions at the coaching positions.
A lot must change if the birds want to dig themselves out of this hole. Yes, the season (and this team) is young, but there needs to be signs of consistency in the right direction or else they will only be spinning in circles searching for an entirely new staff relatively soon. Fly Eagles Fly.