What’s Going On?

Mack Hollins has struggled all year. When the media asked about Hollins, Eagles coaches stood up for him. They threw a variety of hollow, awkward answers out in support of their player. All coaches do this so it was hardly a surprise. Coaches criticize behind closed doors and show a positive front to the outside world. That’s just Coaching 101.

But there are some cases where the coaches have to let reality creep in a bit. And Hollins was absolutely one of those cases. Hollins might be a fantastic person. He might work hard in practice and be a lovable teammate. What he’s not is an NFL receiver right now.

But the Eagles stuck by him. They kept giving Hollins snaps. He failed to produce, but would still manage to have costly penalties. It was maddening.

That all changed on Tuesday. The Eagles finally came to their senses and cut Hollins, a move that should have been done weeks ago.

The reason for the move is almost as frustrating as watching Hollins play this year.

Roster Move: #Eagles have waived WR Mack Hollins and agreed to promote G Sua Opeta from the practice squad to the active roster. pic.twitter.com/TP0Ic3aO6Y

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 3, 2019

Another team reportedly wanted to sign Sua Opeta. The Eagles decided that they didn’t want to lose him so they cut Hollins. They cut a player who has played every game this year and been on the field on a regular basis for a rookie backup who isn’t likely to play this season.

That is both crazy and the right thing to do.

It is crazy because it took some other team wanting Opeta for the Eagles to finally give up on Hollins. They should have seen this themselves. Weeks ago. Roster spots are earned, not given. Hollins simply hasn’t earned his this year.

I get the Eagles hesitance to give up on a young player they think still has good potential. Hollins looked good as a rookie. He was valuable on STs and solid on offense. There was a lot to like. Injuries cost him 2018. The hope was that he would be a good role player now that he’s healthy. That just didn’t happen.

I’m all for being patient with young players, but they have to show you something or this has to be at a position where the guys ahead of them are playing well. That just hasn’t been the case in 2019. The Eagles were desperate for WR help and Hollins never showed anything.

I’m glad they let him go. It had to be done, even if the timing and reasoning were less than ideal. Bring Hollins back in the offseason if you want, but this should be a desperate team right now. Only contributors should be playing. Keeping Hollins around had to be odd to some of his teammates. How was he helping? Greg Ward has shown more in two weeks than Hollins all year long. Stevie Wonder knows Hollins should have been cut.

I hate being critical of Hollins because he seems like a good guy, but this is the NFL. You produce or you get cut.

Opeta is an interesting young player so I can see why the Eagles wanted to keep him. He could be a backup G or even C in the future. The team liked what they saw from him in the summer.

As you think about the Hollins situation, it isn’t encouraging. Why was he here this long? The Eagles could have cut him weeks ago and put him on the practice squad. I can’t imagine any other team was going to claim him. His tape this year just wasn’t good.

Was the personnel department pushing for Hollins to stick around? Maybe, but the coaches kept playing him so that would make you think they wanted him on the field. Was that Doug Pederson’s call? Mike Groh or Carson Walch?

If it was the coaches, that makes you question what they are seeing/thinking. Hollins may have been great off the field, but at a certain point you need players who produce. You have to play the best players. If guys aren’t getting the job done, get rid of them. I know that sounds harsh, but this is the NFL. You cannot keep a team of guys you like.

The Eagles erred in bringing back some veterans the past couple of years and they seem to be players the coaches have a strong bond with. That’s not ideal. You must be able to be ice cold when it comes to making personnel decisions. Ice F’ing cold.

Johnny Unitas the Charger.

Ronnie Lott the Raider.

Reggie White the Carolina Panther.

Forget about past accomplishments and who you like the most. Find me guys that get the job done. I’m not saying to go sign Antonio Brown. Clearly you need players who can function as part of a team and within the organizational structure. But there has to be middle ground between him and having likable underachievers.

The Eagles roster looked great on paper back in August. It really did. Unfortunately lists of names don’t always translate well to reality and that’s certainly the case this year. Maybe there was just too much hype and the players bought into it. The vibe hasn’t been right with this team all year. Chemistry hasn’t been good.

I would say this. Be careful about playing the blame game with this team. Swap Frank Reich for Mike Groh right now and you’ve still got problems. Replace Carson Wentz with Nick Foles and the Eagles might be worse than 5-7.

The 2017 Eagles won the Super Bowl as an organization. A lot of people had a hand in that. And the 2019 Eagles are a mess of mediocrity as an organization. That includes Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson, the coaches and the players. Everyone has a hand in this mess. You could argue Zach Ertz is the team’s MVP for the season, but his drops on Sunday were killers. There isn’t just one guy to blame or one thing wrong.

A lot needs to be fixed.

I am curious to see how this team finishes out the season. Have the Eagles finally hit rock bottom or will they grab a shovel and keep digging?

A strong finish won’t be enough to wipe out the stink of a 5-7 start, but it might give us a few clues about who is worth bringing back for next year. If guys can’t play with a sense of desperation at this point, I don’t know why you’d want them around in the future.

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