Man in the Mirror Time

Last night’s embarrassing loss in Dallas has a lot of people talking about the Eagles lack of talent and need to make moves. Whether trading for a corner, pass rusher or receiver, there are a lot of suggestions out there. The trade deadline is still more than a week away and there will be a lot of speculation between now and then.

I say pump the brakes on that.

The first thing the Eagles need to do is look in the mirror and really figure out what this team is. Are they a player or two away from getting back to winning? Or is this simply not the team we thought and trading for players would be like putting lipstick on a pig?

Should the Eagles be buyers…or should they be sellers?

I know that is a wild thought, but Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson need to have a long talk and really decide what they think of this team. Forget about Pederson’s postgame comments. He’s not going to rip his players publicly. He’s going to state that he’s confident in them. Anything else would be dumb.

Behind closed doors, he better be a hell of a lot more honest. Who can play and who can’t. Is this season fixable?

It is easy to pile on the Eagles right now. They deserve all the criticism they get. You do have to remember that football evaluations constantly change. Remember that days after the 2017 season finale the media was asking Pederson if he would bench Nick Foles and play Nate Sudfeld in the playoffs. Pederson said it was a consideration. He obviously stuck with Foles and the rest is football history, but Foles was so shaky in the final two games that there were serious questions about him.

The Eagles just played their two worst games of the year. You do have to be careful about judging a team at that time, just as you would after their best game. You need to figure out what a team really is. And that’s why the discussion between Lurie, Roseman and Pederson is so important. They know these players. They know who’s practicing well. They know who has good work habits. They know the medical reports. They must make a sound evaluation and a smart decision.

We’ll find out soon enough just what they think. Luckily, there is one more game between now and the trade deadline so they can use that data to help them make a decision.

One of the keys to all of this is looking both short and long term. If the Eagles use resources to add players, they’ll be hurting the upcoming draft. Can you afford to do that with an older team that needs young talent? Of course, Roseman needs to answer for why the team isn’t getting more out of the last couple of draft classes. You need to be patient with young players, but you also need to be honest. This isn’t the time to be a cheerleader.

I don’t know what to make of this team right now. I still like a lot of the pieces and I think DeSean’s return will help a lot. But the team has been disappointing overall and that’s beyond the absence of one or two players.

I do think the Eagles ought to consider a youth movement. Put Darren Sproles on IR. Give his time to Boston Scott, who has flashed the last two weeks. Cut Vinny Curry. Play Josh Sweat and Daeshon Hall as your backup DEs. Sign a young DT to fill the spot. Cut Andrew Sendejo and give his spot to Avonte Maddox. Hopefully Cre’Von LeBlanc will return and he can replace Orlando Scandrick.

These changes won’t all work out, but I’d rather get some young guys on the field and let’s see what they can do. Sticking with older players who aren’t performing at a high level just seems like a waste of time. I know the coaches love these guys and I know they are respected in the locker room, but this is a business. Tough decisions have to be made. If the Eagles are a Super Bowl contender, I’m fine with older players. If this team is middle of the road, go with youth and let’s see what they do.

If the young players do struggle, you know they need to be upgraded in the offseason.

There is no magic solution for this team. The thing to figure out is how best to right the ship for now and what is also best for the future.

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