Present, But Not Permanent

Posted: October 25th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

The Eagles are 3-4. That means they’re a bad team, right?

Not so fast.

This team has a bad record. A disappointing record. We talk a lot about the close games and how the Eagles are a few plays away from a good record. Some see that making excuses. The truth is that this is simply life in the NFL. Most games come down to a few plays. Make them and you go 10-6. Don’t make them and you go 6-10. Make a few of them and you go 8-8.

Check out this brilliant piece of writing by Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.

It’s cliche to say that NFL games come down to a single play or two, but it’s a cliche because it’s true. I don’t think any differently about the Panthers and Eagles after Sunday’s game. They look like two roughly even, rugged NFC teams with defined strengths who have the goods to improve their weaknesses and make a playoff run with a little fortune. Similarly, little separated the Bucs and Brownsthe Chargers and Titansthe Saints and Ravens and the Cowboys and Redskins on Sunday, but there will be grand postgame conclusions and meaning drawn, blame and credit assigned until we do it again next week.

There is something unsatisfying and uncomfortable about recognizing what a massive, perhaps dominant role randomness plays every NFL Sunday in determining the latest standings. It’s as if we want this sport that we invest so much time in to make more sense than it really does, to apply some order after the fact where it doesn’t. I choose to embrace the chaos, accept that many teams are roughly equal, and try to separate the trends with staying power from the things we can’t possibly know ahead of time. Which is most everything.

There are rare seasons like 2017 when the Eagles were great all year long. Enjoy them with all your might. They are rare.

There are epic disasters. The 1994 team started 7-2 and looked great. Then they fell apart and lost the final seven games. Think about the misery of that. The Eagles were one of the best couple of teams in the league in October and never won again. That season took years off my life.

The 2012 team started 3-3. Andy Reid then fired Juan Castillo and turned the defense over to Todd Bowles. That Eagles team finished 4-12.

The 2003 Eagles started the year 2-3. They went 10-1 after that, with the only loss being in OT. There were injuries and sloppy play early on. Then the coaches tweaked things, we found out Brian Westbrook was a stud and players started making plays.

The 2006 team started 5-6. Jeff Garcia settled in at QB and the Eagles went 5-0 down the stretch. They won a playoff game and almost another.

The 2008 team was 5-5-1. They went 4-1 to close out the season and made it to the NFC title game. They were a few plays from being in the Super Bowl.

We don’t know how things are going to play out this year. The Eagles could get hot and win five games in a row. They would get the attention of the rest of the league. The team could continue to win one, lose one and hover around .500.

I don’t see this team falling apart and finishing 6-10 or something like that. Anything is possible I suppose, but I think there would have to be even more injuries.

This team has Carson Wentz, one of the best QBs in the league. Wentz is playing at a high level. You aren’t going to win without good QB play unless you have a spectacularly good defense or a lot of fluke plays going your way (see the 2017 Bills).

The Eagles still have plenty of other talent. The OL is good. Jeffery and Ertz are terrific pass catchers. Cox, Graham and Bennett give them a trio of very talented pass rushers. Bradham and Hicks are talented LBs. Jenkins is still a good safety.

Takeaways. The Eagles only have six of them all year. The team had 12 of them at this time last season. I feel pretty confident in saying that if the Eagles had an extra six takeaways, they would be at least 5-2. But they don’t so they sit at 3-4.

History tells us that takeaways tend to come in bunches. That would tell you the Eagles are due for some multi-takeaway games in the future. There are some seasons when the takeaways never come. That awful 2012 team had 13 takeaways for the entire season. That’s one of the ways you lose big. Takeaways are game-changers.

The Eagles are playing like a 3-4 team right now. That doesn’t mean they have to stay at that level. If they can start making a couple of key plays in each game, they will start winning. That doesn’t put them back to the level of the 2017 team, but it certainly would get them headed in the right direction.

*****

I talked about takeaways above. That’s how the defense can help.

The offense needs more explosive plays.

*****

I’m not a big fan of talking smack like this before a game, but the Eagles have lost some games when they said nothing but nice things.

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One Comment on “Present, But Not Permanent”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Philadelphia ranks last in touchdown passes longer than 15 yards - Football News Latest said at 11:07 AM on October 25th, 2018:

    […] Present, But Not Permanent – Iggles BlitzWe don’t know how things are going to play out this year. The Eagles could get hot and win five games in a row. They would get the attention of the rest of the league. The team could continue to win one, lose one and hover around .500. I don’t see this team falling apart and finishing 6-10 or something like that. Anything is possible I suppose, but I think there would have to be even more injuries. This team has Carson Wentz, one of the best QBs in the league. Wentz is playing at a high level. You aren’t going to win without good QB play unless you have a spectacularly good defense or a lot of fluke plays going your way (see the 2017 Bills). The Eagles still have plenty of other talent. The OL is good. Jeffery and Ertz are terrific pass catchers. Cox, Graham and Bennett give them a trio of very talented pass rushers. Bradham and Hicks are talented LBs. Jenkins is still a good safety. […]