Own Worst Enemy

One of the things that impressed me so much about the Eagles win in Week 1 was how smart they played. Despite having so many new faces and a new coaching staff, the team went out and executed at a high level. They played smart football. You could see how well-coached they were.

Week 2 was a different story. The Eagles had multiple unforced errors that hurt them. Here are some examples.

• Arryn Siposs put a ball down near the goal line. One DB kept it from going into the end zone and tossed the ball backward. Rookie Zech McPhearson inexplicably dove on the ball, which pushed it into the end zone for a touchback. Just touch it. Or heck, leave it for the next guy. That handed SF 19 yards of field position.
• The Eagles had a blown coverage that led to the Niners first TD. It looked like Steve Nelson was the player at fault. One WR was left wide open and had an easy TD.
• Derek Barnett had the dumbest play of the season. The RB fumbled the ball and there was a wild chase for it. Barnett was away from that and after the ball went out of bounds, Barnett went and hit a Niner in plain sight. SF was facing 3rd-and-15, but he turned that into a 1st down. The hit accomplished nothing. It was pure stupidity. I was beyond livid, largely because Barnett has done this type of thing before.
• The Eagles had 1st-and-Goal from the 6-yard line after the long bomb to Quez Watkins. Isaac Seumalo got a false start penalty that pushed the team back five yards. A SF penalty put the team up at the 1, but that is still the kind of penalty Seumalo has to avoid.
• A few plays later the Eagles tried a trick play, where Greg Ward got the ball and was looking to throw to Hurts. SF used a different coverage than expected and Hurts was covered. Ward threw the ball away. It was 4th down. You can force it into coverage. You can try to run it in for the TD. The one thing you can’t do is throw the ball away.

Ugh.

We know Nick Sirianni hates this stuff because he has a saying for it.

“Be great at the things that don’t take talent”

In other words, play smart. Don’t beat yourself. Winning in the NFL is hard. There are tremendous athletes and incredibly gifted players. There are some brilliant coaches. If you make unforced errors, you are helping the other team for no reason.

Some teams can get away with being sloppy. The Eagles aren’t one of them. The margin for error for this team is pretty thin.

It is critial to remember that the Eagles aren’t anywhere close to being a finished product. Sirianni and the staff are figuring out the players. The players are figuring out the scheme. SF won the game in large part due to the fact they are a veteran team. Kyle Shanahan knew how to use his players in key situations. The defensive players knew how to help each other on the back end.

*****

Jalen Hurts found out what it was like to go against a good defense. The Falcons made life easy for him in the opener. Things were very different this time around and he didn’t handle it so well.

The Eagles punted 3 times in the second half on 4 drives. Jalen Hurts was 4-of-8 for 39 yards in the second half. #49ers' defense (especially against the pass) isn't getting enough credit for what they did on Sunday.

— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) September 20, 2021

Hurts ran well and led the team on one scoring drive. He gave the Eagles a chance.

But he’s got to be a better pocket passer. The offense can’t be quick screens and QB runs. You must be able to sit in the pocket and complete intermediate passes on a consistent basis to move the ball. The Eagles love RAC yards and didn’t get many of them on Sunday.

Give SF credit to be sure. Their back seven played well.

Still, Hurts and the Eagles passing game have to be better. I would think that will be a point of emphasis for the coaches this week.

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