The Long Haul

Posted: September 16th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on The Long Haul

Week One was great for about an hour. Then the wheels came off and the Eagles turned a 17-0 lead into a mind-numbing 27-17 loss. Sunday turned from a day of excitement (Football is back!) to a day of misery (Damn, football really is back).

Things got a little better on Sunday night when Dallas lost and then on Monday night when the Giants lost. Misery loves company.

As frustrating as Sunday was, you have to remember that this is the start of a long season (hopefully anyway). The Eagles have gone 13-3, 9-7 and 9-7 in the last three years. Doug Pederson is far from perfect, but he’s always found a way to right the ship.

On Sunday we saw one good half of football and one bad half. The good half involved an impressive passing game, stifling defense and solid STs. The bad half involved poor blocking, poor QB play, turnovers, sloppy coverage, a missed FG and questionable coaching decisions.

I came away feeling the Eagles problems were fixable. Adding Lane Johnson and Miles Sanders to the offense will help. The run game will get going. The Red Zone defense should get better. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic. This team is a mystery with new faces and a very weird offseason. I just believe a team with Pederson, Wentz and a good defense should get things sorted out.

The biggest issue is injuries. You can’t fix those.

Curry and James are expected to be out 3 to 4 weeks.

The Eagles lose a pass rusher and a CB/STer. They add a pair of guards in Opeta and Brown. We don’t know if Lane Johnson or Jack Driscoll will play this week so I get wanting to add bodies. It is just interesting that they chose two guards. I guess Matt Pryor will focus all of his time on OT this week.

No matter who starts, the OL must be better. Jason Peters did not play well on Sunday. The young guys got the attention, but it was the oldest guy who struggled. I don’t know if he was rusty or Chase Young is just that good. Jeff Stoutland has a busy week ahead of him.

Brown does have 47 games of starting experience. He’s played LG and RG. He has started for the Rams and Falcons. Brown gives the team someone who could start or come off the bench and contribute.

The last few weeks have been brutal on the injury front. Don’t the Eagles deserve some good injury news?

*****

Getting Driscoll back would help. He showed real potential in the opener. Driscoll is also versatile. The Eagles have had him play C, G and T this summer. He’s at RT for now, of course.

Driscoll has things to work on, but he looked good at time on Sunday. He showed real talent.

*****

Sunday wasn’t great for a few teams.

SF lost to the Cardinals. The Niners receiving corps was decimated by injuries and their passing game was a mess.

Detroit somehow became a team that people thought could surprise this year. The only surprise on Sunday is that they blew a big lead and lost to the Bears.

The Saints beat Tom Brady and the Bucs 34-23, but that was a weird game. Drew Brees wasn’t impressive. The Saints only gained 271 yards and star receiver Michael Thomas got hurt.

The Colts and new QB Philip Rivers lost to the Jags.

Dallas lost to the Rams. They also lost their starting TE and MLB for the season.

Time will tell who the good teams are. Anybody can start hot. Football is a marathon. You’ll know who the good teams truly are by the end of the season. I think the Eagles will be one of them, but boy they have to play better and in a hurry.

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