The Hits Keep Coming

Posted: November 13th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on The Hits Keep Coming

The Eagles lost a heartbreaking, torturous game to Dallas on Sunday night. The optimist in me wanted to forget Dallas and look ahead. If Sidney Jones and Tim Jernigan came back, maybe the Eagles could pull off a big upset.

And then…

Really? When is this going to end?

The secondary for the opener was:

CB Ronald Darby
CB Jalen Mills
NB Sidney Jones
SS Malcolm Jenkins
FS Rodney McLeod

There is a chance the secondary this week could be:

CB Rasul Douglas
CB Chandon Sullivan
NB Avonte Maddox
SS Malcolm Jenkins
FS Corey Graham

Does that group stand a chance against Drew Brees and the #1 scoring offense in the NFL? Don’t bet your rent check on it.

The high hopes of September are vanishing at an alarming rate.

Doug Pederson didn’t exactly have a lot of answers at Monday’s press conference. Then again, Pederson hasn’t exactly had many answers this year. The coach who was so brilliant a season ago, calling the right plays and knowing exactly how to lead his team, has not called the right plays or pushed the right buttons this year.

The players who made so many big plays last year can’t seem to make any of them this year.

The personnel department made key move after key move a year ago, haven’t come close to those results this season.

There seems to be a competition…Team Blame Pederson vs Team Blame the Players vs Team Blame Howie. The truth is that everyone owns a share of this disappointment. Just like they all deserve credit for winning the Super Bowl a year ago.

Pederson isn’t suddenly dumb. Howie didn’t forget how to find talent. Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox and the other key players didn’t lose their ability. You just see this some years in sports. On paper, everything makes sense. But reality proves to be very different.

The players and coaches will still try to salvage this season. That’s going to be a major challenge, but what else can they do? They have to keep grinding away and hope that whatever has been missing finally clicks.

The coaches and the front office people need to study the 2018 season carefully. They must learn lessons. This season will be a complete waste if they can’t come away understanding some of what went wrong. They won’t know everything. Sports doesn’t work like that. They do need to figure some key things out.

Think about the position of LB. Dallas was missing their star, Sean Lee. Young guys Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch flew around the field, making key plays all night long. The Eagles had Nigel Bradham, who played at a Pro Bowl level a year ago, and Jordan Hicks, who we thought was a star on the rise. Hicks and Bradham couldn’t deliver one key play all night. They couldn’t get off blocks. They didn’t show up in coverage.

Did anyone have doubts about Hicks and Bradham in April or August? I sure don’t recall them. We thought the Eagles might have their best set of LBs in years. Instead, both guys have been disappointing.

Same coaches. Same scheme. Both guys are healthy. But something isn’t clicking. Did Bradham turn into a “fat cat” after getting paid? Is Hicks worried about getting a contract this offseason? Those of us on the outside can only guess.

If the Eagles can figure out the answer this year, that would be great. They need to definitely come up with an answer by the offseason.

The Eagles need to come away with answers from this mess of a season.

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