A Messy Situation

Dak Prescott got hurt in Sunday’s game against the Giants. The camera showed Prescott grabbing the back of his lower leg. “Maybe that’s a cramp”, Tony Romo uttered, probably knowing it wasn’t but hoping so anyway.

That ain't no cramp.

— Tommy Lawlor (@lawlornfl) October 11, 2020

I am never going to be happy seeing a player get hurt. Injuries are the worst part of football. While I would never be happy about an injury, normally the first thing going through my head is “How does this help the Eagles?”

I didn’t have that moment on Sunday. If anything, it was the opposite. Dallas is the most talented team in the division. But they have lost both OTs for the season and now their star QB. They still might win the division, but it is completely up for grabs. And that’s not a good thing.

The Eagles are not a good team. I’m sure many of you are shocked to learn that 1-3-1 isn’t good (unless it is a zone defense in college basketball). The Eagles aren’t a hard luck 1-3-1 either. There haven’t been terrible calls that gave a game away. They haven’t lost on a fluke Hail Mary. The Eagles just haven’t played well.

Injuries have hurt this team, but they lost when many of the injured players were on the field. I’m certainly not dismissing the injuries, but this team had flaws back before the season ever started.

Jason Peters made it clear where his priority was. He wanted money and the Eagles played a ridiculous game with him. Pay the guy and have him practice at LT or cut him. Wasting time with Matt Pryor at LT was bizarre. He clearly isn’t meant to play that spot. Apparently even an all time great like Peters can’t just roll out of bed ready to play LT. Practice is important.

Zach Ertz is worried about his contract and it sure looks to me like it has affected his play. I don’t think he’s ever gone through a stretch like this. He’s got 5 catches for 15 yards in the last two weeks. If you take away the Cincy game, Ertz hasn’t done much this entire season.

The Eagles had a talented slot corner in Cre’Von LeBlanc. Instead of embracing him, the team went out and signed Nickell Robey-Coleman, who was awful the first few weeks. LeBlanc started getting more snaps and looked good against the Niners. Like the rest of the defense, he had his issues in Pittsburgh. It can’t be good in the locker room to have a popular player backing up an outsider who was terrible.

Instead of putting Alshon Jeffery on PUP, the Eagles kept him on the active roster. He has yet to practice. His roster spot could have been spent on keeping a young TE the team liked, Noah Togiai, or some other player. The Eagles seem to be delusional with injury timelines. They almost never know when a player will actually get back to action.

The front office gave contract extensions to Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks. Both guys are studs on the field and highly respected off it. Johnson is 30 and Brooks is 31. As much as you love them, you have to be careful about embracing older players. Both guys are hurt, with Brooks out for the year. Fingers crossed that Johnson makes it back soon.

For a team that talked all offseason about a youth movement, the Eagles sure sent mixed messages. Bringing back Vinny Curry and Jason Peters also went counter to that. Play the young guys. Give them a chance.

The middle of the defense has been a major issue. The Eagles have Rodney McLeod as the only real veteran in the middle of the field. Jalen Mills was playing safety, but this is his first time there in the NFL as a regular starter. Will Parks was going to be the #3 safety, but he was new to the scheme.

The LB corps of Nate Gerry, Duke Riley and T.J. Edwards was all young. The guys behind them are young. Gerry has been awful in coverage. Riley has been a major disappointment. Edwards has played the best, but that’s not saying much. It’s the equivalent of being the sexiest Lawlor.

A lot of things needed to go right for this grouping of players to work out. You needed someone to have a breakout year. Clearly that hasn’t been the case. The middle of the defense has been wide open far too often this year. You know the Ravens have to be licking their chops.

Here we sit with a team of guys in their 30’s or early 20’s. Not many players are in their prime. That’s not how you want a football team. Howie Roseman wanted a balance of youth and winning now. That’s tricky to get right. And he missed pretty badly.

One of the most frustrating things about this team is that they make so many critical mistakes. If LeBlanc makes an easy tackle on third down, the Steelers have to punt. Instead, he whiffs and that turns into a TD drive. John Hightower catches a ball near the sideline late in the half. Instead of going out of bounds, he tries to get extra yards. Pederson had to burn a timeout and that likely cost the Eagles three points. Carson Wentz threw costly INTs in the first three games. All turnovers hurt. Those really hurt. They were game-changers.

Not just mistakes. Critical mistakes.

I don’t think you can say this is just coaching. There is something wrong with this team in terms of chemistry. Instead of bringing out the best in each other, too often they seem to bring out the worst in each other. This feels like a collection of individuals rather than a team.

Maybe that’s just me overanalyzing a 1-3-1 team with limited weapons. I just watch a team like the Panthers, who I thought would be awful, find a way to win. They are 3-2 with a rookie coach and without their star player. That team has a good vibe.

Heck, look at the Rams. Did you know they have the third youngest roster in the league? Sean McVay has done a terrific job with that team this year.

The Eagles feel bloated in comparison, and that’s not good.

I’m not completely down on this team. Carson Wentz played his best game on Sunday and if he gets going, that changes a lot. Good Wentz can carry mediocre players to wins. Still, this team has a lot of issues. Getting Wentz hot and getting players back from IR will certainly help, but it sure feels like there are fatal flaws. I hope Pederson, Roseman and most importantly, Jeffrey Lurie, see these flaws and act accordingly.

Sell at the trade deadline and focus on young talent. Do not fall into the trap of trying to win the division. If the young guys get you there, great. This is clearly not a true contender so winning the division would be for bragging rights, nothing more.

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