Better Than Nothing

Posted: February 10th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

I watched the Amazon series All or Nothing over the weekend. This year they focused on the Eagles and I was hoping this would be really interesting content. The series certainly had some excellent moments, but overall it was disappointing. We just didn’t see behind the curtain enough, so to speak.

My biggest frustration with the series was way too much WIP. You can’t do a show on the Eagles without mixing in some WIP and I certainly get that. But it was featured in every episode, multiple times. That was more than I wanted.

I could have lived with that if we got more behind the scenes material, but that was too superficial. I loved All or Nothing when they covered the Cowboys a few years ago. You could really get a feel for the players and the assistant coaches. You could see how difficult it was to deal with Dez Bryant on a daily basis. He was delusional and selfish. You could see what a terrific leader Sean Lee was. He was like a player-coach, sometimes running meetings by himself. You got to see inside the meeting rooms on a regular basis. We didn’t get that kind of stuff this year.

I’m sure the Eagles and NFL shared control of the content. The Eagles are more protective than Dallas and I’m sure they limited the access of the show. I certainly understand that, but as a viewer it would have been great to get more of a peak at what goes on behind the scenes.

I would loved to have seen more football stuff, like game reviews or gameplan discussions. Others wanted more open discussion of the controversies the Eagles faced in 2019. The show did cover the losing streaks and the Orlando Scandrick situation. But there wasn’t any talk of the hit piece on Carson Wentz. There wasn’t any discussion of Alshon Jeffery allegedly leaking critical comments to Josina Anderson. There was no discussion on DeSean’s decision to delay surgery, nor the controversy over Ertz playing with a lacerated kidney.

There were some really interesting parts to the show.

Brandon Graham

Graham might be the most likable Eagle. He’s incredibly positive and always seems to be happy. He was the star of the show, always with a great smile or funny line. This clip is NSFW and had me cracking up. Great trash talk.

https://twitter.com/britttlifts/status/1226708649181138947

The Wives

We did get to see the women behind some of the Eagles and they came across really well. Julie Ertz is the most prominent and was great in the episode that featured her. Graham’s wife was entertaining, but it was interesting to see her watching BG deal with an injury. If you followed the team all year, you knew it wasn’t all that serious so that took away some of the drama. Still, it did give you a glimpse into how a spouse deals with a tough situation.

We didn’t get to see Doug Pederson’s wife, but she had one of the best moments via a story from Doug. After the Eagles lost to MIN and DAL in blowouts, Pederson was in a foul mood at his house. They had family in town and she wasn’t happy with his demeanor. She told Doug to “pull his head out of his ass and go lead the team”. Doug told that story to the players in a meeting. I think things like that are what help him and the players bond. Not every coach is sharing a story like that. And good for her for telling Doug what he needed to hear.

The Odd Couple

Dallas Goedert and Avonte Maddox trained for the draft together in 2018. Both then got picked by the Eagles. They decided to be roommates and watching them is like the Eagles version of The Odd Couple. I enjoyed seeing the two of them interacting.

Nelson Agholor

The show did not do Nelson Agholor any favors. It showed him arguing with DeSean about their speed/playmaking ability. Somehow Nelson thought they were similar players. Yikes. Just yikes. We got to see the great fan video.

And then there was video of Agholor helping volunteers load/unload turkeys near Thanksgiving. Sounds great, but he kept telling them to make sure to tuck them away. Very odd joke. It didn’t come across to me as self-deprecating so much as completely unaware. That was weird.

Malcolm Jenkins

I have incredible respect for Jenkins as a player and as a person. The series didn’t change that at all. You can really see the presence he has on the field and in the locker room. There was one brief moment when he was getting on Sidney Jones. You could tell Jenkins is frustrated by a guy with that natural talent being so timid. Jalen Mills isn’t physically gifted, but he has truckloads of confidence and the players around him see that, like that and respect that.

Carson Wentz

We see and hear a ton about Wentz already so I can’t say the series did much for me when showing him. The highlight is when a kid at a school event grilled Wentz about the Dallas loss and his fumbling issue. Kids don’t hold back. I also did laugh when Wentz was giving a hard time to Goedert and Maddox about their Christmas tree.

It was cool to see Wentz really take over the team late in the season. He was missing blockers and weapons, but somehow led the team to a 4-0 record down the stretch and a division title.

Brandon Brooks

It was great to see Brooks talk about his condition and to be so up front about the situation. I have incredible respect for him. He also seems like a really good guy.

Boston Scott

Man, you can really see how much the other players love this little dude. It is always fun to root for the underdog, but this isn’t some Rudy story where a dude had one moment. Scott carried the team on his back in the season finale. The other players loved it.

Seeing Scott in action reinforced my belief that he absolutely needs to be part of the offensive plan in 2020.

Josh McCown

If Graham was the star of the show, McCown was number two. You could see how much fun he had throughout the year. You could see how he bonded with the other players. It felt like he had been an Eagle for a while, not just a few months.

You got to see him fly to Charlotte to coach a high school game and spend a brief moment with his kids. Then it was right back on a plane to Philly to resume his backup QB duties.

It was great to see McCown get to play in the playoff game. I hated the result obviously, but just being part of that game was something special to him. McCown was devastated at the end. He felt that he let his teammates down. Ertz had to console him on the field.

McCown then went in the tunnel, but paused before rounding a corner to where people were. He dropped to his knees and broke down again. That moment really got to me. That’s why I love sports. You see guys do everything they can to win and when it doesn’t happen, it is soul-crushing. That game wasn’t about money or fame or glory. McCown got a chance to compete in the postseason. He got a chance to lead a team in a playoff game.

Sports can deliver some amazing feel-good moments, but there are plenty of devastating moments as well. McCown was on the wrong side of the ledger. But I’ll be grateful that I got to watch him play. That was special. That will stick with me.

The series also showed us that McCown is very much ready to be a coach. He might not be ready for offensive coordinator, but he should be someone’s QBs coach when he’s ready. He’s smart and is great with players. All I could think is that he’s going to be the next Doug Pederson. Long time backup QB who becomes an assistant coach and then takes over an NFL team.

MISC

I completely forgot the Eagles were up 10-0 on the Patriots when Lane Johnson got knocked out of the game.

I forgot about the missed FG in the Dolphins loss. Those three points would have helped.

I forgot just how bad the loss to Dallas was…37-10. Ugh.

Watching all the Miles Sanders clips got me excited for 2020. When does the season start?

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One Comment on “Better Than Nothing”

  1. 1 Better Than Nothing | SportSpyder - Pro Football BLOGGER Latest Football News said at 5:05 AM on February 11th, 2020:

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