Rough Start

The Eagles are 1-2. This is not the start anyone expected, especially with all the praise for the team possibly having the most talented roster in the NFL. Clearly that was wrong. Good teams don’t make mistakes and lose two games early in the season. Perfection or nothing.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but for a reason. It is easy to get caught up in the summer hype surrounding a team. When things don’t go as planned, some people go to the other extreme and start making harsh conclusions.

“These guys can’t play.”

“This staff can’t coach.”

“This front office can’t find talent.”

We are three games into the season. You can start to get an idea of what’s going on with a team, but it is too early to really know anything for sure. The Skins started 5-2 last year before falling apart. The Eagles were 4-6 before finishing hot and almost getting back to the NFC championship.

There are no guarantees that this team will turn things around. They will face the Packers, Vikings, Cowboys, Bills and Bears before the bye. Those are some tough teams. The Eagles are talented enough to play with anyone in the league, but as they’ve shown the last two weeks, they can also blow games to anyone if they make enough mistakes.

I think this team will be fine for a couple of reasons…Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz. The two most important people on a team are the quarterback and head coach. Pederson has established himself as one of the best coaches in the league. He has dealt with adversity in each of his seasons with the Eagles and his teams have responded well. Pederson knows how to scheme up X’s and O’s, but more importantly, he knows how to handle his team’s emotions.

As for Wentz, he is one of the better QBs in the league. If his receivers caught key passes the last two weeks, the Eagles might be 3-0. Wentz hasn’t been perfect, but he’s put his team in position to win. He just needs some help from his supporting cast in key moments.

I’m not telling you to ignore the problems with this team. The Eagles were supposed to dominate the line of scrimmage. That hasn’t happened. The DL has been disappointing. They have one sack in three games. Beyond that, the pressure hasn’t been good enough. The OL has been up and down. Not good enough.

There are other problems as well. Pass defense has been an issue. The LBs haven’t been good. STs gave up a KOR for a TD. Penalties have come at critical moments. Fumbles have hurt. And on and on.

Are these fixable problems?

That’s trickier.

I think the DL will get better. Fletcher Cox is normally one of the best players in the entire league. This year he’s been a mere mortal. I think he’ll round into form. Pederson compared him to Brandon Graham last year, who got off to a slow start and then played his best late. It still drives me crazy that the coaches aren’t playing Daeshon Hall. He probably wouldn’t make a difference, but I’d love to see him get the chance.

The OL struggled in Atlanta mainly due to Isaac Seumalo. They struggled against Detroit in part because of a revolving door at LT. If JP can stay on the field and Seumalo can improve, the line should be fine.

The receivers should play better when Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson return. Still, the other guys need to do their part.

I hope the return of Kamu Grugier-Hill helps the LBs. Someone needs to make plays in the middle of the defense.

I have no idea what to make of the secondary. Ronald Darby is hurt and that might be a blessing in disguise. We’ll see what Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas can do as starters for several games.

One of the biggest issues for this team is making clutch plays. The 2017 team did that and it helped them to win a Super Bowl. Last year’s team didn’t make those clutch plays early in the year, but they did down the stretch. This team is off to a poor start. They can turn that around, but we have no idea if they will.

Thursday night is going to be tough test for this team, but this is the NFL. Things aren’t supposed to be easy. A win in Green Bay would do wonders for this team and getting the season back on track.

Huge challenge.

Huge opportunity.

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