The Day After – Still Frustrated

Posted: January 2nd, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 5 Comments »

The Eagles are 13-3, which is good. They have lost two games in a row, which is bad. Jalen Hurts didn’t play in those games. Is getting him back all that needs to happen for the team to get back on track? Are there concerns?

There is no formula for winning the Super Bowl. The 2017 Eagles didn’t finish red hot. Their last three games included two ugly wins and an ugly season finale. They fell behind the Giants 20-7 before coming back to win 34-29. That loss dropped the Giants to 2-12. The next week the Eagles trailed the mediocre Raiders 10-7 late in the 3rd quarter. The Eagles eventually kicked the go-ahead FG with 22 seconds left in the game. The starters barely played in the season finale, but Nick Foles was awful, going 4-11-39 with a pick. He was bad enough that there was speculation about whether he should start in the postseason.

The Eagles were a completely different team in the playoffs. They played good football and Nick Foles got red hot. That led to the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Last year Tampa won 7 of their last 8 games, including the final three games. They didn’t reach the NFC Championship.

Buffalo rode a 6-game winning streak into the 2020 playoffs. They lost in the AFC title game.

It is hard to get a read on the Eagles right now. Last week the offense played well and the defense struggled. This week the defense played well enough to win, but the offense was terrible. Then again, that’s 2017. The shootout against the Giants and the defensive struggle with the Raiders. The difference is that the Eagles won those games. They lost them this year.

That team had to rely on Foles and he turned out to be the right man for the job. This year the starter will come back. Hurts has a chance to play on Sunday. He won’t solve every problem, but his return makes the Eagles a contender again.

Honestly, there isn’t any team I fully believe in this year. Buffalo has shown the best A-game, but we haven’t seen that in a while. Injuries have been tough on them. KC has been very good, but think about their last four games. They won all of them, but barely beat the awful Broncos twice and needed overtime to beat the Texans. That’s hardly inspiring. Dallas struggled against the Titans backups. Minnesota was blown out in GB and really looks like a fraud.

The Eagles might be one and done in the playoffs. They might go win it all. There is no juggernaut team this year. The Eagles were the closest thing to that before the injuries to Hurts and Lane Johnson. Maybe the return of Hurts will get them back to that level. It won’t be him alone. The rest of the team has to play better. But the return of Hurts can be the spark that helps that to happen.

This really is a wide open year.

*****

Gardner Minshew struggled on Sunday. His numbers look okay (18-32-274), but he didn’t pass the eye test at all. He never looked comfortable or confident. He held the ball too long. His decision-making wasn’t good.

The pick-six was on him. You can’t make mistakes like that. If the defense makes a great play, so be it. That was on Minshew.

Minshew is now 1-3 in starts as an Eagle. Not all of that is on him. He beat the Jets last year and then led Eagles backups to 26 points against Dallas in the season finale. He led the team to 27 points in last week’s 40-34 loss in Dallas. Yesterday was the only bad game of the bunch. He had a rough day.

Most of us expected Minshew to pursue a starting job in free agency when March rolls around. I don’t think he’ll have that possibility any more. Even in the Dallas game, you could see his limitations. He needed a lot to go right to have the Eagles there at the end. And then Minshew didn’t handle the final plays well.

I think he’s been fine as the backup, yesterday aside. All QBs are going to have bad days. His was yesterday. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out. Do the Eagles want him to come back? Does he want to come back, knowing he’d be the backup?

Some people think the Eagles must get a backup who is a mobile QB and similar to Hurts. That would be ideal, but isn’t a necessity. The key is to have a good backup.

The Eagles offense does not require a running QB. Hurts ability makes the offense more dynamic, but it can certainly function without him. The coaches did a good job with the gameplan in Dallas. Yesterday’s plan left a lot to be desired.

Ian Book is a good athlete and more of a playmaker type at QB. We don’t know how much the Eagles like him. I’d find it hard to believe this franchise would go with such an unproven backup QB, but cost will be a factor when they give a big deal to Hurts.

*****

The Eagles racked up 7 sacks on Sunday, giving them a team record 68 for the season. The NFL record is 72. The Eagles could break that with a big showing on Sunday. Of course, they would have an extra game so that wouldn’t quite be the same thing. On the flip side, pass protection is more advanced these days. QBs also focus more on getting the ball out quickly. No matter what happens, the pass rush has been terrific this year.

Haason Reddick had a pair of sacks and now has 16 for the season. He’s got 5 FF to go along with that. Reddick has been worth every penny the Eagles paid him.

The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to have 6 or more sacks in five straight games. It is crazy to think the Eagle have four different players with 11 or more sacks. Last year the whole team had 29. Amazing turnaround.

Great news on Josh Sweat.

https://twitter.com/SweatyJ_9/status/1609743259391385601

We’ll see exactly what that means, but great that he’s okay.

*****

One of the major complaints from yesterday is the lack of a running game. I think we all agree the Eagles didn’t run it enough.

That said, the best skill players are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You have to get them the ball to let them make plays. The way to do that is throwing the ball. The Saints have a very good pass defense so I think the coaches erred by throwing too much, but you can’t ignore the passing game. You have to trust your QB and give him a chance to make plays.

The OL let the whole offense down yesterday. They were too erratic in pass pro and had way too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the protection he needed. Not all of the sacks were on them, but they needed to play better to win that game. They certainly know that. You can tell by Jason Kelce’s postgame comments. He was frustrated and disappointed.

*****

Field position certainly didn’t help matters. The Eagles had six drives start at their own 14-yard line or worse. That made things even harder on Minshew and the offense. Driving a long field requires big plays or 3rd down conversions. The Eagles struggled in both areas.

Give the Saints credit for keeping the Eagles backed up.

They played good team football on Sunday. It wasn’t pretty, but that’s how a banged up team beats a more talented team. You do the little things right and when as many battles as you can.

*****

Still no word on the starting time for next week’s game.

There is also the question of whether the Giants will play their starters. They are locked in to the 6th seed.

On Sunday Daboll said guys could rest in the offseason. Today his comments were more measured. That might be a hint that he’s going to sit them or only play starters for part of the game.

_

5 Comments on “The Day After – Still Frustrated”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Philadelphia players show support for Damar Hamlin - Wgopharmacy said at 10:45 AM on January 3rd, 2023:

    […] The Day After – Still Frustrated – Iggles BlitzOne of the major complaints from yesterday is the lack of a running game. I think we all agree the Eagles didn’t run it enough. That said, the best skill players are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You have to get them the ball to let them make plays. The way to do that is throwing the ball. The Saints have a very good pass defense, so I think the coaches erred by throwing too much, but you can’t ignore the passing game. You have to trust your QB and give him a chance to make plays. The OL let the whole offense down yesterday. They were too erratic in pass pro and had way too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the protection he needed. Not all of the sacks were on them, but they needed to play better to win that game. They certainly know that. You can tell by Jason Kelce’s postgame comments. He was frustrated and disappointed. […]

  2. 2 The Linc - Eagles gamers present assist for Damar Hamlin - Philadelphia News Station said at 11:23 AM on January 3rd, 2023:

    […] The Day After – Still Frustrated – Iggles BlitzOne of many main complaints from yesterday is the dearth of a working recreation. I believe all of us agree the Eagles didn’t run it sufficient. That stated, the very best ability gamers are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You need to get them the ball to allow them to make performs. The best way to do this is throwing the ball. The Saints have an excellent go protection so I believe the coaches erred by throwing an excessive amount of, however you’ll be able to’t ignore the passing recreation. You need to belief your QB and provides him an opportunity to make performs. The OL let the entire offense down yesterday. They had been too erratic in go professional and had means too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the safety he wanted. Not the entire sacks had been on them, however they wanted to play higher to win that recreation. They definitely know that. You’ll be able to inform by Jason Kelce’s postgame feedback. He was pissed off and upset. […]

  3. 3 Eagles News: Philadelphia players show support for Damar Hamlin - Tnspills said at 12:04 PM on January 3rd, 2023:

    […] The Day After – Still Frustrated – Iggles BlitzOne of the major complaints from yesterday is the lack of a running game. I think we all agree the Eagles didn’t run it enough. That said, the best skill players are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You have to get them the ball to let them make plays. The way to do that is throwing the ball. The Saints have a very good pass defense so I think the coaches erred by throwing too much, but you can’t ignore the passing game. You have to trust your QB and give him a chance to make plays. The OL let the whole offense down yesterday. They were too erratic in pass pro and had way too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the protection he needed. Not all of the sacks were on them, but they needed to play better to win that game. They certainly know that. You can tell by Jason Kelce’s postgame comments. He was frustrated and disappointed. […]

  4. 4 Eagles News: Philadelphia players show support for Damar Hamlin - Fitness Formula X said at 1:30 PM on January 3rd, 2023:

    […] The Day After – Still Frustrated – Iggles BlitzOne of the major complaints from yesterday is the lack of a running game. I think we all agree the Eagles didn’t run it enough. That said, the best skill players are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You have to get them the ball to let them play. The way to do that is throwing the ball. The Saints have a very good pass defense so I think the coaches erred by throwing too much, but you can’t ignore the passing game. You have to trust your QB and give him a chance to make plays. The OL let the whole offense down yesterday. They were too erratic in passing pro and had way too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the protection he needed. Not all of the sacks were on them, but they needed to play better to win that game. They certainly know that. You can tell by Jason Kelce’s postgame comments. He was frustrated and disappointed. […]

  5. 5 The Linc – Eagles players show support for Damar Hamlin - Balance Sportscast said at 1:14 AM on January 4th, 2023:

    […] The Day After – Still Frustrated – Iggles BlitzOne of the major complaints from yesterday is the lack of a running game. I think we all agree the Eagles didn’t run it enough. That said, the best skill players are AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. You have to get them the ball to let them make plays. The way to do that is throwing the ball. The Saints have a very good pass defense so I think the coaches erred by throwing too much, but you can’t ignore the passing game. You have to trust your QB and give him a chance to make plays. The OL let the whole offense down yesterday. They were too erratic in pass pro and had way too many penalties. They didn’t give Minshew the protection he needed. Not all of the sacks were on them, but they needed to play better to win that game. They certainly know that. You can tell by Jason Kelce’s postgame comments. He was frustrated and disappointed. […]