What’s Going On?

Two games gives us hints, but not enough information to really know what a team is. Football is a process sport. You train and develop, train and develop. Being hot in September doesn’t mean a thing in December. Some good teams are good all year long. Others can get off to a slow start and then will improve as the season progresses.

The Eagles sit at 0-2. That hardly means the season is over. There is a ton of time left. Think about how different the run game looked from the opener to Sunday. Think about different the O-line looked from the opener to Sunday. You can fix things. You can improve.

Carson Wentz is off to a slow start, but think about the first half from the opener. He looked terrific until the late interception. Last December he carried the team on his back. We know this guy can play.

Doug Pederson is 38-28 as coach of the Eagles. He’s 4-2 in the postseason. He guided the team to a Super Bowl win while missing his QB, LT, MLB and PK. The Eagles have been to the playoffs the past three seasons. Winning in the NFL isn’t easy. Pederson has proven to be a winner.

Jim Schwartz has been a successful defensive coordinator for a long time. He’s had Top 10 defenses in three different stops. The man can coach.

There is every reason to believe the Eagles can turn this season around. They have the QB. They have the coaches. They can get this done.

That is what a glass is half-full person would say.

I’m an optimist and tend to see the glass as half-full, but this team worries me. There is 0-2 and then there is this 0-2.

https://twitter.com/FO_ASchatz/status/1308060565995216896

https://twitter.com/FO_ASchatz/status/1308060791237730306

Yikes.

The Eagles started 0-2 back in 2003. They finished that season 12-4. The first two losses were to the Bucs and Pats. Tampa had just won the Super Bowl and New England would win it that season. There was no shame in losing to them.

Blowing a 17-point lead to Washington and losing by 10 points? That’s bad with a capital B. I’m still at a loss for how that happened. Getting blown out by the Rams on a day when Aaraon Donald was a non-factor? That’s not good at all. This is not a good 0-2. This is troubling.

I do believe this team can still turn things around, but it is also possible this season could really fall apart. Wentz has to be a bit of a head case right now. He’s struggling in a way that’s foreign to him. He’s had a bad game before, but he’s not played this poorly in consecutive weeks. He could snap out of it right away or this could be a lingering issue. Did drafting Jalen Hurts bother him more than we know?

Chemistry might not be ideal with this team. Jason Peters made it clear where his head was when he refused to play LT without a raise. Zach Ertz is worried about his contract. Alshon Jeffery isn’t in an ideal situation. Brandon Graham knows this could be his last year with the Eagles (age/price). DeSean Jackson is likely playing his last season with the team. Throw a bunch of rookies into the mix and you have a lot of different agendas and mindsets. That could lead to issues.

Pederson was hired by Jeffrey Lurie in part because of his emotional intelligence. He inherited a team from Chip Kelly that needed to be fixed both on and off the field. Pederson did that and delivered amazing results.

This is a different challenge. Pederson has to fix his own team. He’s not here to clean up someone else’s mess. Pederson’s press conferences have always been bad and that trend continues. He was offering up excuses on Monday and that’s not the right message to the public.

Cam Newton missed those reps and had 397 passing yards yesterday.

Stefon Diggs too – 153 receiving yards.

DeAndre Hopkins? Yes. Leads NFL with 22 catches.

Justin Herbert found out he was starting 10 minutes before kickoff. The Chargers outscored the Eagles yesterday. https://t.co/XRkOhULE6X

— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) September 21, 2020

Ugh.

Pederson’s message behind closed doors has been effective. Can he keep that going? Can Pederson push the right buttons to fix this team? He won’t be using excuses when talking to his players. He will defend them publicly, but privately he will be honest and let them know this is unacceptable.

I honestly don’t know what to expect from this team moving forward. I’ve lowered my expectations and now am more curious than anything else. It will be interesting to see if I get mad when watching them on Sunday or if apathy has set in. That has never happened to me in September, but this is a very unusual Eagles team.

*****

I haven’t had a chance to rewatch the game. Fran has his All-22 piece up so make sure to check that out.

_