Changes

Posted: October 22nd, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Changes

Yesterday I wrote about the state of the Eagles and how one thing I would do is go on a youth movement. The Eagles decided to make a few changes.

Scandrick and Spence were both older role players. Both struggled in the loss to Dallas. Both are gone.

Scandrick was great against the Jets. That seems like an eternity ago. It reminded me of 2009, when the Eagles traded for MLB Will Witherspoon. He debuted on MNF against Washington and had a spectacular game. Witherspoon had 8 tackles, a FF, a sack and a pick-six. Sadly, he never came close to that level the rest of the year. Scandrick went from a great debut to a sad finale.

Spence was brought in to be a backup DT and just didn’t do much.

We don’t know exactly what will happen in the slot. Jalen Mills had a good game in his 2019 debut. Rasul Douglas bounced back from an awful showing against the Vikings. Ronald Darby should be able to play soon, if not Sunday. Do you move Mills to the slot? That doesn’t seem likely.

Sidney Jones didn’t play on Sunday. Doug Pederson said he was fine when asked about Jones at the Monday press conference. That tells you that Jones was getting a message from the team. Maybe the coaches will move him back to the slot, where he did show potential early in 2018.

Avonte Maddox is still hurt and Cre’Von LeBlanc is still on IR.

I like the re-signing of DT Anthony Rush. He’s huge at 6-5, 350. Rush played for the Eagles in the spring, but was cut in July. He then played well for the Raiders in the preseason. I think teams are smart to take chances on big DTs. You see guys like Akiem Hicks and Linval Joseph looking dominant at times. Those type players are hard to find so you have to take chances when you find big guys with potential.

Let’s see what he can do.

The Eagles also signed DT Albert Huggins. He was a backup at Clemson, but has NFL ability. Huggins is 6-3, 305 and is more of the athletic type DT the Eagles usually go for.

Hassan Ridgeway hurt his ankle in Dallas. The Eagles just added a pair of rookie DTs. That may sound crazy, but I like it. This is a mediocre team right now. Go get young players and let’s see what they can do. These guys might fail, but you have to take a chance on young talent at some point. We know they’ll be hungry.

The moves made by the Eagles aren’t going to magically change the team. I do think they are a step in the right direction. Find young, hungry guys and see what they can do.

These moves could also signal that Tim Jernigan is closer to returning. If you can get him back to pair with Fletcher Cox and then rotate in the young guys, you could have a solid group of DTs.

I’m sure this isn’t the last of roster changes. That’s what happens when you get blown out two weeks in a row.

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I’m sure plenty of you are frustrated with Doug Pederson for his repeated message of “This starts with me” or “This is on me”.

That’s Coaching 101. Andy Reid said it. He learned it from Mike Holmgren. Holmgren learned it from Bill Walsh. Go read Walsh’s book and you’ll literally see a part where he talks about the value of taking the blame to shield your players.

Of course, Walsh also explains that things are very different behind closed doors. That is when the coach is critical of his guys and holds guys accountable. I’m sure that is what Pederson and his staff are doing with the players.

It is concerning that the message didn’t get through after the Vikings loss. I hope Pederson is ready to change what he’s saying because that wasn’t working.

Pederson usually has a great feel for the locker room and knows what his players need to hear. We’ll see if he can find the right message this week.

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I do agree with Pederson that this isn’t the time to panic. The Eagles are 3-4 and just a game out of first place. The season is still wide open.

At the same time, a talented, veteran team shouldn’t be underachieving like this. That’s what worries me. If it was a bad game or two, that would just be an in-season lull. Happens to every team. This team has been sloppy all year long.

While the season is absolutely savable, Pederson better figure out what needs to be fixed and come up with the right solutions.

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