Big Picture Stuff

Nick Sirianni did a pretty good job of talking about his controversial decisions in Monday’s press conference. He explained that you really have to focus on the process and not the results. He’s right about that. He also said it gets lonely when the decisions don’t work. He is 100 percent right about that.

Go back to 2016. Doug Pederson was roaming the sidelines in Philly and had the team off to a 4-3 start. The Eagles played the Giants and lost 28-23. Pederson went for it on fourth down twice in the game inside the 15-yard line. Both attempts failed. More than a few people pointed out that Pederson might have won if he just kicked the FGs and quit taking chances.

Some hack named Brandon Lee Gowton (no idea what happened to him) wrote about this for PhillyMag. Here are some thoughts from Pederson on his decisions.

“This is my job,” said Pederson. “This is the National Football League. I trust in our team. I trust in my guys. I trust that locker room right now. And they’re hurting. I’m hurting. There’s a fine line, obviously, between being kind of crazy — borderline crazy — and doing the right thing. But at the same time, I felt like at the time it was the right thing to do. It was momentum. It was an opportunity the way we were playing and moving the ball to really show confidence in our offense.

Pederson also made it clear he doesn’t plan on changing his mentality moving forward.

“I think I’ll stay aggressive,” he said. “I think I have to. I think, again, there’s opportunities there to be had and plays to be made. And these are all part … again, this is part of our growth process on offense. Rookie quarterback, young receivers, got a veteran offensive line. So at the same time, we’re trying to build this thing, we’re trying to do it right. By putting them in these situations, they’re going to be better for this. They’re going to be better down the stretch. Somewhere, it’s going to pay off for us. It’s going to pay off for all of us. So I’m going to continue to be as aggressive as I can and try to send a message to our football team that way.”

Seems like good thinking. I wonder if that ever paid off for Pederson and the Eagles?

Still can’t believe the audacity and gigantic balls it took to call the Philly Special on 4th down in the Super Bowl. Go birds pic.twitter.com/jcjqaBamCv

— Sixers Octavian (@SixersOctavian) July 26, 2022

Okay, but that’s just one play.

Tomorrow will be the 5-year anniversary of the Eagles’ Super Bowl win.

The Zach Ertz 4th and 2 conversion down 33-32 late in the fourth quarter doesn’t get enough love. pic.twitter.com/SD8j6JVj4v

— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) February 4, 2023

Oh yeah.

The Eagles want to be an aggressive organization. Taking chances means embracing failure. The Eagles lost that game in 2016, but Pederson’s aggressive style paid off in 2017 when he had a more talented team. He took chances and it helped deliver a Lombardi Trophy to Philly. Al Michaels said “Do you dare?” in regard to going for it on that fourth down. Doug dared. Ask the SAS and they will tell you “Who dares wins”.

Pederson got his team accustomed to going for it on fourth down. If you’re a young fan, you don’t understand how foreign this fourth down stuff is. Just 10 years ago it would have seemed nuts. Going for it on fourth down got you super nervous. Now teams look at it as a weapon. Pederson embraced it. Sirianni has as well.

You should be happy you have a coach who is willing to take chances. I certainly don’t agree with all of them. Kick the extra point when you’re up 16-0. You want to make that a three-possession lead. Getting two points there isn’t worth the risk. But I’d rather have a coach who is too aggressive than one who is too scared.

There are times when Sirianni drives me nuts. Still, I think he’s right to be aggressive and to teach his team to embrace those moments. Let’s hope it pays off for him the way it did for Pederson.

*****

The Saquon Barkley fumble still bugs me. If that is ruled down, the Eagles might have won that game comfortably. Instead the game went down to the wire and took another few weeks off my life.

That situation ruined my Sunday, but could help the Eagles down the road. There is more benefit to winning a close game than relaxing in a blowout. The Eagles had to overcome a bad break. They had to execute on offense and make key plays on defense. We saw good runs from Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. We saw some impressive throws from Hurts and one sensational catch from DeVonta Smith. Nakobe Dean sealed the deal with a great catch of his own.

I didn’t get to relax and enjoy my Sunday afternoon, but the Eagles might be a better football team. I’m just glad they were able to make those plays and win the game. That would have been a torturous loss.

*****

The trade deadline is Tuesday. I don’t anticipate the Eagles making a move. There aren’t any holes on the roster that can be filled with a reasonable move and I don’t see the Eagles trying to pull off a huge deal.

At least one national reporter mentioned Bryce Huff as a trade candidate. That doesn’t seem likely to me, but it was weird that he played a handful of snaps on Sunday. Sirianni said it was because of a hand issue. Maybe. The whole thing felt odd. We’ll see if anything happens. The emergence of Nolan Smith might have changed their thinking on the edge situation.

_