A Tricky Situation

Posted: September 30th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on A Tricky Situation

The job of a coach is simple. Win as many games as possible. The job of a general manager is simple. Build as strong a roster as possible. Those descriptions are true under normal circumstances. The Eagles 0-2-1 start has muddied the waters.

Doug Pederson needs to win games. But he also has to think about developing the young players on his team. Losing games with a veteran roster is a waste of everyone’s time. When things go wrong, you want to make the most of the situation. In a bad year that means playing the young guys.

Howie Roseman is normally studying 31 other rosters, looking at potential trade targets. His job is to see if he can find some in-season help for the team. When the season falls apart, you have to make the switch from buyer to seller.

The challenge here is that the season isn’t lost yet. The NFC East is bad (again). Pederson owes it to his coaches and players to focus on winning for now. This could be the final season for Brandon Graham or DeSean Jackson, among others. You need to do what you can to get them back to the playoffs.

If the Eagles win this week and Dallas and Washington lose, the Eagles will be in first place. That is sad for the NFC East and the NFL in general. Still, if you can find a way to get to the postseason, you do it.

It is hard to look at the schedule and imagine the Eagles winning 8 games. This is a very banged up football team. They are a sloppy team. Right now, they are playing like a dumb football team. That’s not a good combination.

The craziness of football is that you never know when things will change. I’ve seen Eagles teams play like garbage and then come alive. The difference is that there are usually special circumstances (coach in his first season, switch at QB, etc.). This team has a veteran coach and QB. I’m not sure what spark would change things for this team.

Still, if the Eagles can stay near the top of the division, Pederson and Roseman will have to stay focused on winning.

If this team starts 0-5-1, which is possible with the Niners, Steelers and Ravens up next, that changes things. You have to then focus on the future. As much as it would hurt, put vets like Graham and DeSean on the trade block. Bench/cut/IR Jason Peters and get a young OT on the field. Find out if Jordan Mailata, Jack Driscoll or Prince Tega-Wanogho can play.

When you are dealt lemons, don’t try to make a 6-9-1 pie. Play the kids. Build for the future. Don’t let this be a season where you come away with questions on the young talent. Old, slow and bad is…wait for it…bad.

This team sure doesn’t seem to have strong chemistry right now so it sure feels more likely for the wheels to come off than this group going on a run.

Then again, this is the Eagles. They love to get hot when you’ve given up on them so that they can drag you back in and remind you just what an emotionally exhausting addiction this franchise is.

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More bad news today.

Butler was a terrific wide receiver in college. Some people really loved his tape and thought he could be a Top 50 pick. Butler slid to the 4th round. He spent 2019 on IR with the Cardinals. They cut Butler a few weeks back.

Now the Eagles are taking a chance on him as a TE. I like the move. With Goedert out, the Eagles could have signed a veteran. Instead they are taking a chance on a young guy with upside. This might not pan out, but I do like taking a chance on young talent.

Butler has a big frame. He’s fast. He can go up and get the ball. Butler is tough to tackle after the catch. We’ll have to see if he can block. That’s the biggest challenge for most guys going from WR to TE.

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The Eagles will get some help at WR soon. Alshon Jeffery will practice this week and will get back on the field in the coming weeks.

Watkins will need time to practice and get some conditioning time in. He’s another young player with explosive potential. I don’t know how ready he is to contribute, but this offense needs all the speed it can get.

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