Modern Art

Experts throughout the NFL universe agreed that the Eagles had a stacked roster, arguably the best in all of football. That was before the season. Six games into 2019, that sure looks like a grand illusion.

The Eagles lead the NFL in dropped passes. The defense is ranked 28th against the pass, and they’re only that high because they faced the awful Jets in Week 5. Derek Barnett has more penalties than sacks. Mack Hollins has one catch in the past three weeks, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside can’t beat him out for playing time. You get the point. There are problems all over.

It is easy to be down on this team right now. Anyone who saw the team play on Sunday has serious questions.

Doug Pederson feels differently. He is very confident in his team, noting the film shows they are just a few plays away. While there is some truth in what he says, there are legitimate problems with this team. Is the secondary a fatal flaw?

Let’s say DeSean Jackson comes back and is lights out. The rest of the receiving corps stars making plays and stops dropping passes. Let’s say the Eagles average 28 points a game. Can the secondary keep good offenses under that on a regular basis?

Rasul Douglas lacks the pure speed to handle fast receivers. Sidney Jones has confidence issues and can’t stay healthy. Avonte Maddox isn’t healthy. He could be a few weeks away. Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby are getting closer to playing. Darby was getting targeted left and right before he got hurt. Mills hasn’t played in a year and he wasn’t exactly Deion Sanders when he was healthy last year.

So exactly who is the answer?

The Eagles were able to win a Super Bowl with Darby and Mills starting outside. The Eagles were 17th in passing yards allowed that year. To be fair, the pass rush was better and the LBs were playing at a higher level. Right now the whole defense is at fault. Aside from the run defense, nothing is working consistently right now.

I do think this team can get things turned around. As Pederson pointed out, the Eagles are 3-3. This isn’t the 1-5 Falcons or the 2-4 Chargers, who have lost 4 of 5, with the only win coming against the Dolphins. Those teams are having disastrous seasons.

The Eagles are disappointing and there is no question about that. I still believe that having a coach like Doug Pederson and a QB like Carson Wentz means you have the most important pieces in the NFL and that gives you a chance to win.

Something is just off right now. I don’t know what. The coaches don’t know either.

Roster Move: #Eagles have released LB Zach Brown.

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 14, 2019

Good move.

Listen, I was a fan of signing Brown. I thought he was a talented veteran who would help the LB corps. Brown struggled all spring. He was better in the preseason, but that really didn’t translate to the regular season. Then he ran his mouth prior to the Vikings game. To make matters worse, he didn’t play well.

When the Eagles are at their best, they have a great locker room and winning culture. The players bring out the best in each other. Clearly Brown wasn’t part of the solution.

Nigel Bradham isn’t 100 percent right now so you can question the timing, but this is a sign from the coaches and front office that they want the right guys and not the biggest names. They trust Kamu Grugier-Hill, Nate Gerry and rookie T.J. Edwards to get the job done. Another LB will be added to replace Brown, but I’m not expecting a big name.

There will be a lot of talk about who the Eagles should trade for. Do they go for a CB, DT, WR or DE?

I think adding talent from another team could be a big help, but no outsider is going to solve all the problems. The biggest answers are going to come from within. The dropped passes have to stop. The dumb penalties have to stop. Missed blocking assignments have to stop. Blown coverages have to stop.

Players need to hold each other accountable. The coaches need to hold the players accountable. Doug Pederson needs to hold his staff accountable and Jeffrey Lurie needs to hold Pederson accountable.

I am curious about Pederson. He got snippy with the media on Monday. That’s not a good sign. He’s usually at his best when he’s loose. When Pederson is uptight, the players can sense that. Then again, maybe that is what this particular team needs. Pederson was loose last week and that didn’t work too well.

There will be a lot of talk this week about his “guarantee”. Pederson said the Eagles would win this week in Dallas and the media ran with that. He tried to explain he wasn’t guaranteeing anything, but just showing confidence in his team. Talk radio and Twitter rarely parse words that carefully. They’ll be obsessing on the guarantee angle. To me, that’s much ado about nothing. I’m more focused on whether Pederson can solve his team’s problems than worrying about one comment on a radio show.

Pederson doesn’t panic. There were real tough stretches in 2016 and 2018. Pederson kept his team together and was able to right the ship. He handled all the injuries of 2017 and kept that team playing at a high level. He’s got another big challenge on his hands right now.

Trying to figure out the Eagles right now is like looking at a piece of modern art. Is this blur of lines and colors a unicorn riding into the sunset or Satan hurling a ball of fire toward New Jersey?

Pederson sees the Eagles as a fixable team. He believes in this group of players. He sees the unicorn.

Time will tell if he’s right.

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