Effort Isn’t Enough
Posted: November 29th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 119 Comments »It is amazing how one word can get abused by so many people.
Fans – “Pathetic effort by the Eagles.”
Doug Pederson – “The players gave good effort.”
Let’s start with something that should be an obvious fact in sports, no matter what level. Effort is a minimum. Forget about size, talent and everything else. Anyone on Earth can play hard. And they should.
Doug Pederson is sending the wrong message by talking about effort as if it is a big selling point on this team. I have no problem when a coach mentions effort. I can live with “We played poorly, but I liked our effort.” There is only so much a coach can say publicly after a tough game. Standing in front of the media and ripping the team to shreds just isn’t going to happen. I really don’t understand why some fans would even want that.
On Monday Tim McManus asked Pederson about the fact he went out of his way to praise the team’s effort. McManus pointed out that the Eagles have been in playoff contention all year. Why should effort be the standard for this team to shoot for? Why does the fact the team is still playing hard tell Pederson that the team is heading in the right direction? Great question and dead on the money.
Stammer. Deep sigh. Stammer. Stammer.
Pederson then eventually got into discussing that this team is building for the future. There is a plan. There is a process. He talked about where Seattle and Oakland are currently and that they’ve been building to this over the course of years. Pederson sees the Eagles there in 3 or 4 years. I sure hope he’s right.
The problem with Pederson right now is that he’s mixing his messages to the media. Just a few weeks back this was a “great team’. Now he’s publicly lauding their effort. See the difference? Pederson should have never referred to this as a great team. He also shouldn’t be talking about effort as a key point for believing in this team.
The Eagles are 5-6., but there is plenty to like about this team. This is a young, building group. They are going through a tough stretch right now, but the Eagles have either had the lead or been close in every game. This team has a mental and physical toughness about them. They don’t panic when things go wrong. They keep grinding away. That kind of attitude is important in a young team.
The Arizona Cardinals are a veteran team that expected to compete for the Super Bowl. They just lost to Atlanta 38-19 on Sunday. The Cards are 4-7-1, but 2 of those wins came against the Niners, who are beyond awful. The Cardinals have a veteran QB, talented receivers, a stud RB, a good front seven and some star DBs. And somehow that team is worse than the Eagles.
Carson Wentz has the same number of wins this year as Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Andrew Luck. Stop and think about that for a minute. All 4 of those QBs could some day be in the Hall of Fame.
The Eagles are struggling right now, but the problem is the 3-0 start skewed expectations and too many people can’t get past that. Doug Pederson didn’t help matters by over-praising the team along the way.
While there is plenty to like about this team, there are also more than a few issues. Putting Julio Jones on the Eagles doesn’t make this a 9-2 team. Putting Richard Sherman on the Eagles doesn’t make this a 9-2 team. There is a need for a talent upgrade, but the current group of players has other issues to deal with. Last night more than a few fans were griping about effort. I think that is ridiculous.
This team plays hard. You want to see guys slacking, go watch DRC and Nnamdi in 2012. There were legitimate effort questions with that bunch. This team is playing hard. But go back to my earlier point. Effort is a minimum.
Jeffrey Lurie doesn’t pay millions of dollars for effort. He pays Fletcher Cox to make plays. He pays Zach Ertz to make plays. He pays Vinny Curry to make plays. This team has holes in the roster, but the talent currently in place isn’t playing well enough. If anyone knew why, they’d be a genius. Sports history is filled with players who slump or have an off-year.
Good players grind away and work their way through the struggles. Aaron Rodgers was struggling earlier in the year. People started to really wonder if he was seriously declining. Anyone who watched him last night would disagree. Cox got paid to be a dominant defensive lineman. He started off pretty well, but has slumped in recent weeks. He is still disruptive and still eats up blockers, but the Eagles didn’t pay him mega-bucks for that. They need direct results.
Everyone wants to blame someone. Pederson can’t coach. Schwartz isn’t doing a good job. Maybe it’s DL coach Chris Wilson. Maybe the money ruined Cox. I don’t know that there is a smoking gun here. Sometimes players just go up and down. That’s just a reality in sports. Very few players are legitimately great every week for years and years.
The Eagles DL has been disappointing recently.
In their first 6 games, the Eagles had 20 sacks. In their last 5 games, they have 6 sacks.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 29, 2016
Part of what happened early is that the Eagles played more with the lead and that let them rush the passer more aggressively. They’ve also gone up against good OLs and mobile QBs in recent weeks. You have to look at a variety of factors.
You also have to be honest. The DL has been disappointing in that stretch. They have not made big plays and have made some big mistakes. You could live without the sacks if they were playing disciplined football, but penalties and missed assignments are hurting the defense.
Pederson said nice things to the media, but his message to the team was more aggressive. He talked about the rest of the season as a time for players to show who wants to be here and who can get the job done. I think that is the right thing for him to do. He’s been patient. He’s been upbeat. This is the time to let players know there will be changes in the offseason. The players control who stays or goes by how they perform. That’s not a threat. That’s reality. You have to show that you are part of the future. Potential is okay for rookies, but just about everyone else should be held to a different standard.
Forget effort. We need to see results.
_
This fanbase has been through so much disappointment. I think that’s the root of a lot of the frustration. Everytime something good happens (2010 Vick, 2013 Chip), it’s followed by a massive letdown.
Things will feel much better in February when only one team is left and the rest of the league is with us watching.
as long as that team isn’t the vikings or a team in the nfceast
Or the P*triots.
especially the P*triots
SB Champ Eric Rowe?
I’d be fine with the Vikes, that would give us a second or third round pick in ’18 (2nd if Super Bowl, 3rd if NFCC). We need high round talent, getting it without losing out every year would be good.
about time you have admitted this team is just not that talented
The one positive is Howie tends to get what he wants. What he did last off-season to get rid of those bad contracts was incredible.
If he can improve the talent level around Wentz, next season might be pretty special.
At least the team let go of Chip and started in a new direction with Pederson and Wentz. This team is good, but not good enough to overcome big mistakes and still win. They are fun to watch. I wonder how many people before the first game pegged this team to make the playoffs this year. Now just making the playoffs would be a major achievement for a team that would need to over-achieve the rest of the way. Talent-wise, this team cannot match up against the elite in the league. How this team rebuilds through key free agents and good draft picks — how about starting with the offensive line — will be the indicator by the end of this season whether next year’s team and beyond will be a legitimate playoff contender. I for one am being patient.
Chip’s team was a dumpster fire last year but i almost think the offense was better – we also beat the Pats which made the season not a total loss for me.
On the quote from the last article, I guess Zach Berman doesn’t watch Eagles football because I saw Treggs catch more than one pass, and Treggs didn’t commit a penalty that cost the team a touchdown. That’s improvement (sadly).
For me, the worst aspect of watching the game last night was the inability of the defense to create a big play (fumble, interception, sack) followed by their inability to get off the field on 3rd (or 4th) down.
I expected the oline to be straight trash. I expected the WRs to look like failures. I expected (to some extent) penalties to hurt the team.
But man, watching a good defense play at a mediocre level really got me down.
makes you realize how much this team has relied on the defense this season
Not a excuse for the D-line, but the Packers did change their offense up to a short, quick pass, no huddle offense to beat the Eagles D. The defense should have had an answer to this but didn’t and that’s the disappointment.
The Eagles CBs gave the Packers 10 Yard cushions all game. Defeats the purpose of a blitz when you give the other team a 6 yard completion every time.
got beat deep a couple of times early (and late)
I’m wondering why the DL didn’t try to get into Rodgers’ passing lanes instead of rushing at him since Rodgers had no interest in holding the ball
There is no answer to Best Quarterback in the Game. That’s the way this league is rigged. And I do mean rigged…
rigged, explain please
Well, one could start with the shaky officiating. And foolish decisions by coaches. And key players making foolish errors at inopportune times. Keep in mind there is a lot of betting money involved with the point spreads and now with fantasy football.
Look at how emotionless many of the players and coaches are when they lose. Further, one can’t even celebrate a touchdown anymore without getting penalized.
How about Peters getting penalized time and again.
This is one the oldest teams in the league (28th), so why should I hang my hat on 3 or 4 years down the road? The defense in particular is built to win now– they will be declining by then even if they get the offense up and running.
Statistics without analysis is very misleading. Is that you Kempski?
http://study.com/academy/lesson/misleading-statistics-definition-examples.html
Stats have nothing to do with it. The team is young and talented at one position — QB. Just go position by position. This is not a young roster going through growing pains.
I’ve got news for you, saying the team is ranked 28th in age is a statistic.
And links to “Study.com” does not qualify as analysis.
I assume you are/were not a very good student.
You have no idea how poor an assumption that is.
The answer is really simple when it comes to understanding Doug as a coach, he believes in positive reinforcement. I’m sure he can get on players in private, but overall, he seems like a positive guy. The whole situation with Ags should have made this clear. He is the antithesis of Tom Coughlin.
I read this chatter on effort and think, who effin cares? The team is talent deficient at several key positions, but all McManus and Tommy seemed concerned with at this time is what the coach says in his press conferences. Really?
I just hope he chews a few players out in private then.
Hate to tell you Dougie, the good guy role will put you on the street
Pete Carroll, one of the biggest rah, rah, coaches in the league, disagrees with that assessment. So does Dick Vermeil.
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Pete-Carroll-slogan-rah-rah-approach-changes-Seattle-Seahawks-011311
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/sports/scoffed-at-in-new-england-pete-carroll-s-rah-rah/article_ebcb86bb-c4f9-5f86-afdf-4827e0f39db8.html
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/10/03/pete-carroll-2016-seahawks-have-a-chance-to-be-his-best-team-yet/
But then again, I dont think Bill Bellicheat is a touchy feely type coach.
And Seattle plays with a nasty edge that I dont see in The Eagles yet
Belichick is an asshole and he doesn’t try to hide from that. He is the exact opposite of Pete Carroll when he was the coach of the Patriots. That’s why I linked the New England article on Pete Carroll for you to read. They both succeeded in very different ways. Neither is right or wrong.
What does Seattle’s apparent nastiness have to do with Doug and Pete being rah, rah coaches?
I just dont see the Eagles being coached like that.
Obviously Seattle is coached to win a fight.
So you’re saying Jim Schwartz doesn’t coach his defense to be nasty or to win a fight?
cox did give rodgers a flying clothesline last night
Bingo
Give me one example
“He pays Zach Ertz to make plays.”
I really don’t want to be that guy but how many difficult or clutch plays has Ertz made in his career?
zach makes a ton of a catches that no one else on this team could make. he’s not rob gronkowski – i mean you’d think after 3 seasons people would stop expecting him to be a player he’s not.
He makes some hard catches occasionally but a ton? That’s not really right.
I’d venture to guess those expectations stem from Gronkowski making $9,000,000 a year and Ertz making $8,500,000 a year.
https://twitter.com/tallmaurice/status/803427425199751168
You’re not wrong.
Ironic to talk about rebuild when sproles and peters are our favorite players.
When Nick Perry sacked Wentz 1v1 on Peters i thought wow! This OL is getting handled out there.
yeah that was depressing
Also Jenkins! But yeah, it’s only a “rebuild” because they’re losing…
I don’t understand why Sproles, a great playmaker, isn’t used more in the offensive scheme.
Amen, Tommy…A-Fucking-Men
“This is a young, building group.” This is a regressing group. Other than Wentz, who else is really worth building on?
that’s a moot point. We have who we have, and we have to try to build them, because you can’t get rid of everyone and replace them with UDFA’s. Most teams don’t have a ton of players show progress in year 1 of a new scheme. Particularly this offense whose players went from a 20 play scheme (plus or minus 5 or so plays) to a 200-something play scheme.
The efforts will continue to be to build the guys we have up, on top of injecting the team with as much talent as we can get.
Wentz is a QB. It’s the position you want to build on. It will take 3-4 years of hitting on draft picks in order for this team to be a contender. The Eagles wasted 1st and 2nd round picks on Nelson Agholor, Eric Rowe, Marcus Smith, and Sam Bradford. The only thing keeping this team from being the Browns has been our free agent signings.
Dallas is where they are because in the last 6 drafts they’ve taken Dez Bryant, Sean Lee, Tyronn Smith, Terrence Williams, DeMarco Murray, Traveris Frederick, Zach Martin, Byron Jones, Demarcus Lawrence, Ezekiel Elliot, Jaylon Smith, and Dak Prescott
oh god dammit are we being forced to consider that Jerry Jones actually knows what he’s doing? GFDI
I believe his son runs the draft?
I’m just going to say it’s because Satan has Jerry’s soul, or Jerry is Satan. Don’t try to stop me with facts.
I mean we can hate on the guy who’ll be dead in the next decade or hate the guy actually running the show. Why not both?
you are wise sir. I must learn to hate with Wisdom.
Your point is valid and well taken, but can Jaylon Smith even walk yet? Not sure he belongs on a list of great decisions.
Lol @ Lawrence and Smith.
We have a talent deficit at WR and CB, but other than that this is an above average roster. To me, that’s what’s so frustrating. If we had the roster that the Colts have, you can understand and almost tolerate the struggles. But this group should be better.
It was pathetic to watch the impotent GB defense keep us to 13 points. It was pathetic to watch our expensive defensive line get no pressure whatsoever on one of the worst O-lines in the league. I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t play more press coverage and disrupt the WCO timing routes that Rodgers was picking us apart with.
That game cut me deep, if I’m being honest.
Rodgers put on a clinic. A lot of moaning about the ineffectiveness of our DL. Obviously Green Bay didn’t think so. They knew they were over matched, so their game plan was to get the ball out in under 2 seconds consistently. Schwartz gave that to them all day. At some point you have to let your crappy CB’s challenge their crappy WR’s to make him hold the ball a moment and give our guys in the trenches a chance. That was the hardest thing to watch. Green Bay over matched so hard by personnel, but they used basic fundamental football concepts to dismantle us.
Yes, exactly. I don’t pretend to know a lot about CB technique when you can barely see them during the game, but I feel that challenging WRs at the LOS wasn’t really happening.
I started watching closely after that first drive, at one point Mills went rogue and charged from 10 yards deep at Jordy and nailed him. Has to be careful because if that happens past 1 yard it is a free first down, or worse if he misses it is a TD, but I applauded his aggression in a gutless game plan
Perfect summary. It was so frustrating. The only chance we had was to press, and hope the DL could get home. If we got beat over the top then so be it, but GB showed enough on the first drive to know that we were never going to stop playing 10 yds off and letting Rodgers just deal it out in under 1 second on every play.
“this is an above average roster”
But for how long? Most of our good players are on the older side now. We were at that point during the end of Reid’s time here and then the window shut after a few years.
Definitely can’t argue that point. I was more referring to roster as it stands today. Very hard to predict future roster composition and performance.
I don’t agree with that. Only Peters is a good player and old. Malcolm and BG are at their peak, but have a few good years left. Cox, Hicks, Lane (if he isn’t suspended), B Brooks, Ertz (if you want to include him), J Math (if you want to include him), McCloud, and obviously Wentz are all on the younger side of their primes. Now, if you want to talk about the fact that there aren’t enough good players on that list I can agree with you there. I would also add that I think that Big V, Smallwood, DGB Bradham, hopefully Seumalo, and Mills can play roles on a good team and are all reasonably (or very) young.
Edit: Forgot Sproles, he belongs with Peters, but I still say we just need turnover at CB,WR and OL to be very competitive – probably 2018 season.
sproles?
Is the edit not showing up?
I think the team is competitive now, they just haven’t figured out how to win close games or come back in the fourth quarter. We have to hope that magic is something Wentz will grow into, it’s clear he has the talent.
1 above average receiver and corner would do wonders for this team
I agree. Especially with a little improvement from our young players. And contingent on Wentz rising.
“Never as good as you think or as bad as you look” etc.
We have a QB.
At that point you’re never more than 2 years from serious contention.
And it’s not a completely bottom of the barrel roster either.
talent thin at RB, TE too
Not too many teams have a TE duo better than Celek and Ertz, definitely not 16 teams (i.e. above average).
RB with Sproles Mathews and Smallwood is also probably at least average, if not better.
rbs are also best return team in the league – except for kc now.
Celek is a shell of his former shelf and really just a blocking TE at this point.
Hard to say whether that’s because he can’t be a passable receiver, or if he’s needed too much to help out in pass protection. From what I’ve seen, more likely the later, but I certainly want them to start grooming a big TE that can replace him.
“It was pathetic to watch our expensive defensive line get no pressure whatsoever on one of the worst O-lines in the league. I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t play more press coverage and disrupt the WCO timing routes that Rodgers was picking us apart with.”
This was far and away the worst part of the game. The D played weakly and was lined up stupidly.
“Forget effort. We need to see results.”
We got neither against a team who we should have beaten. Complete dog turd effort/result vs. a team that has been slapped around for weeks on end. I cannot overstate how disgusting it was to see a complete and utter failure to in such an important home game in a playoff run.
I don’t want anybody fired or cut over this game, but the entire organization should be ashamed of themselves for that crap last night. They deserve every boo, derisive comment, and/or humiliation possible.
Have to agree. One of those games where by the end you say ‘they deserve to lose this’. I said that anyway.
Agreed, you know your team dropped a turd when the officiating hoses you, and it just doesn’t matter. You know we were going to lose any way you slice it.
letting GB hold the ball the whole 4th quarter…
One might say it was simply the Packers’ turn to win.
It was their turn to win when they played Dallas and Washington. It can also be their turn to win when they play the Giants. It is not their turn to win when they play us.
ha! we been rebuilding so much you’d think we’d have the great wall of china by now.
Great Wall du Mejico
Completely brutal.
Sadly yes. Likely home for the 5th time in 6 years in Jan. No playoffs win since ’08.
I expected that this year so that tempers my outlook on this year though. It was a rebuilding year before they traded Bradford.
I wonder what Cleveland would have.
Legend say one man die for every meter of Great Wall.
Between the Eagles and Sixers, the wall should reach the moon.
Great post, Tommy..
However, forget about bloody effort, forget about bloody coaching, forget about bloody game planning for a minute.
It’s all about TALENT. And that talent the Eagles are missing about. Especially at WR, CB and OL. As simple as that. Good night.
Think OL is struggling due to lack of continuity rather than talent. Peters is declining but outside of penalties has been a solid LT this year, Johnson is the best RT in football and Brooks is a good guard especially in the run game. Kelce is exceptional at some things even if he can struggle with power tackles. Starting a game with a backup pair of guards and your LG playing RT on short notice is not a recipe for success.
CB is a problem – we have limited talent there and no obvious easy fixes, although generally this defence has held up even with the lack of quality at CB. WR is even worse with only Matthews an NFL WR frankly and even then he is better as a no.2 type.
Roster does have holes, but we will be able to address some in free agency and a good draft should resolve a lot of the needs. Last night sucked because the defence turned up cold with a poor game plan, and the offence is starting to really struggle with a rookie qb, limited run game, makeshift OL and one of the worst WR groups in the league – but those issues should improve significantly pretty quickly.
Wholeheartedly agreed.
I think RB is a bigger problem than CB. I think they’re devalued in this system – Schwartz wants playmakers in the front 4 (and possibly 7, will have to see how this evolves) and they’ve sunk a fair amount of resources into safety. If the DL gets pressure, or causes the O to keep extra blockers in, the CBs, LBs and safeties can play complex zone schemes that can cover some for the lack of talent.
On the other hand, I think Pederson wants to have a feature back, but doesn’t have one yet. This appears to be a ball-control offense. I’d say that they’ll devalue WR, but this group is SO bad that I’m sure that they’ll be looking for value FAs this offseason. OL and RB I expect to get some serious resources this offseason. But they also just need playmakers everywhere but safety and QB. They could use an edge rusher on the DL, they could use a SLB, a stud CB (despite what I say above) is always useful (though very, very hard to find), a stud WR, RB, OL, and even TE (personally, I want them to spend a 5th on a mountain to groom, or flat out replace Celek; a guy who is slow but huge, blocks well, and can function as a possession/safety valve) are all in a state where a difference maker would, well, make a big difference. I actually think the talent level isn’t that far out of whack – the problem is the lack of elite talent to take the burden off of the guys who play their role well. This has been exacerbated on the defensive side by Cox massively underperforming the last few weeks. He’s the centerpiece around which the defense is designed. When he craps the bed like he has recently, the defense is going to look pathetic.
I didn’t mind the comment about effort as much as saying this team played hard until the end of the game in his post-game press conference.
They didn’t. Joyner called them out after the game and even Didinger added that a few guys on defense didn’t stick & wrap in the 4th qtr along with the lapses in OL protection resulting in a number of hits and sacks on Wentz late.
They rolled over.
Turnover ratio
First three games: +6
Last eight games: -3
Still not bad (Eagles are t-9th with five other teams) but it certainly hurts on a team that has its share of offensive issues and mounting long drives.
TO/TD ratio plummeting too
Effort definitely isn’t enough especially when the team is A) lacking talent (not a lot you can do at this point) and B) playing stupid. Point B is really killing the team. It’s not just the penalties either, it’s the little things, like Mills running himself out of the gap that Prosise would take to get a 74 yard TD. Or obviously Agholor lining up wrong and nullifying a long TD. DGB blocking before the screen pass. Just dumbass players doing dumbass things.
Agholor no excuse. Mills is a rookie CB. Rookies make mistakes.
Those are just the examples off the top of my head. You go back through the games and I guarantee you you’ll find stupid plays from veteran players as well as rookies. Stupid plays that either extend plays for the other team or kill our drives early.
Your right. Mathews fumbles, Jmatts drops, Cox’s continually reoccurring game changing personnel fouls due to frustration. It’s like he chooses to do it on 3rd down. Gives up 7 points every time.
Maybe I haven’t noticed anyone say it, but it wouldn’t be surprising that if he didn’t commit tjose fouls we could possibly have another win or 2 under our belt. No telling how the games could have played out.
He is right up there with Ryan Mathews game altering fumbles.
Keep Agholor away from Ricky Watters
DGB blocking the screen is idiotic lazy , he mustve been sleeping in meetings for years
I just don’t understand why Schwartz was playing so much off coverage.
Or why he didn’t make the adjustment.
nothing gets you to stop playing press man than giving up deep balls throughout the game.
His front 4 were getting no pressure, even when the Packers called a deep shot. He was able to stay on his spot and cleanly step into his throws on the few “shot” plays that they called in the first half. Can’t play press when your DL is getting dominated.
Actually I think if we put Julio Jones on this team we would be 9-2.
I was hoping DGB would rise to the occasion on his new team.
he was rocking packers — then we went away from him.
We’re all pretty disappointed after this game (I think me being sick actually helped with perspective, it’s hard to be pissed at the birds when you’re puking.)
Let’s all keep in mind:
After Jordan Mathews went out, our WR core was DGB, Bryce Treggs and Paul Turner.
Their is such a thing as asking too much of a team, you can’t squeeze blood from a stone.
But yeah fucking Fletcher Cox, dude has been on my shit list for way too many weeks in a row. Back up the Brinks truck and suddenly he’s not who he was.
who are the chiefs WRs? they consistently make the playoffs w/ no talent at that spot. we have probably the best te trio outside of NE. get them the ball
You’re kidding, right? About the TEs. So far this year I think the Ertz moved maybe 3 times after managing to hold on to the ball. Celek is only permitted to block and number 3 is um?
mr. hands himself trey burton.
If we had a better OL, or one that didn’t have an idiot who gets suspended, and/or lack of significant injuries, then the TEs would be able to shine more. Celek having to block (which is a legit part of being a TE of course) hides the fact that he’s a really talented, touch, great YAC guy. And you can bi*** about Ertz and YAC all you want, the dude can consistently make plays.
With the eagles down to Treggs, DGB and Turner at WR its hard to understand why Burton doesnt get more opportunities in this offense. It seems to me that a few weeks in a row now, they have come out on the first series and hit a really good pass over the middle to Burton for a first down. Every time, he immediately jogs off the field and we dont see him again for another 2 quarters. In don’t understand it, and I am feeling Chippishly angry about it. Just use your good players. How hard can it be?