All the Answers

The Eagles are on a three-game losing streak. This is a team that has problems. And there are a lot of people out there with the answers.

I wrote about what’s wrong with the Eagles offense https://t.co/nEYGkhZat9

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 21, 2023

Teams are defending the Eagles offense like colleges have defended the spread for years & they've failed to adjust. They're just recycling their greatest hits & are void of new ideas.

Plus, they miss Steichen, who had the answers they needed in week 1https://t.co/DtuXaFI63n

— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 22, 2023

Those are interesting pieces with some good points.

But what is scheme isn’t the problem? Maybe it is something else.

There was a report about the Eagles having internal concerns about Jalen Hurts being too stoic.

There is an episode of the TV show House where the doctors are trying to figure out what’s wrong with a challenging patient (isn’t that all of them?). Someone shows a scan to Wilson and asks for his opinion. He says “I’m an oncologist. I see cancer. Go talk to Foreman (the neurologist) ahd he’ll see something with the brain. We see what we know.”

That feels like judgment of the Eagles right now.

People who write about schemes think that’s the issue. People who focus on organizational leadership will see issues with Lurie, Howie and/or Nick. Others will focus on player personalities and locker room issues.

This team has a lot of issues. I don’t think any one fix is going to magically solve everything. Think about the scheme talk. If the Eagles used more motion or mixed in some different plays, the players still have to execute them. Last week in Dallas the Eagles had three fumbles in scoring territory. Those mistakes potentially cost them 21 points in a game the Eagles lost by 20 points.

The biggest issue with the offense this year isn’t scheme, it is Jalen Hurts. He played at a very high level in 2022 and the team got to the Super Bowl. Hurts has  been erratic this year. He’s great at times and struggles at others. He failed to see wide open receivers on multiple plays, instead forcing the ball downfield. Those throws resulted in a turnover and an incompletion that led to a punt. The design of the play worked, the execution didn’t.

Hurts made those plays work a year ago.

TOUCHDOWN Eagles 🦅 Jalen Hurts throws a deep pass to AJ Brown 😳 #eagles #chiefs pic.twitter.com/4L4tiz6H8x

— Brandon Mason (@BrandonMasonSho) February 13, 2023

That is a pass that probably shouldn’t have been thrown. But it ended in a TD. This year those passes hit the ground or get picked off.

Hurts threw 892 passes in 2021 and 2022 combined. 15 of those passes were picked off. This season Hurts has thrown 461 passes. 12 of them have been picked off. Fumbles have been an issue as well. The Eagles did a great job of protecting the ball last season. This year has been very different. Nick Sirianni and his coaches still preach and teach protecting the ball, but it hasn’t worked as well this year. Beyond execution, there was some good luck with turnovers last year and there has been some bad luck this year.

I’m not sure this team can be fixed during the season. Some seasons just feel flawed, like it isn’t meant to be. This season has been odd from the start. The Eagles jumped out to a 16-0 lead on the Patriots and then had to hang on for a 25-20 win. Those Patriots are 3-11 and easily the worst team Bill Belichick has ever coached. That game had a weird vibe and set the tone for a weird season.

I think it is fair to wonder if success came too quickly and easily last year. Think about the Andy Reid era. The Eagles were 5-11 in the first year. They started 5-4 the next year before getting hot and winning 6 out of 7. The Eagles didn’t reach the NFC title game until Year 3 and got to the Super Bowl in Year 6. That team built up a lot of scar tissue and that gave them a toughness that helped them through tough times.

Sirianni started 2-5. The Eagles went 21-6 after that and made it to the Super Bowl in Year 2. I’m sure Sirianni and Hurts thought they had all the answers. This year is teaching them that no one has all the answers. They are both eating a lot of humble pie.

It will be interesting to see how this team plays over the last three weeks and in the postseason. I think their flaws are going to limit what they can do, but the team needs to make the most out of the games they will play. There are lessons to be learned that can serve them well in the future.

Jalen Hurts is still a good QB. He is a good leader. But he has things to work on. I think he’ll be fine in the long run, but he must embrace his mistakes and learn from them.

I still believe in Nick Sirianni, but NFL coaches are hard to evaluate. Dan Quinn got the Falcons to the Super Bowl in his second season and the team regressed each year after that. He was fired after an 0-5 start in 2020.

Think about Sean McVay. He was Boy Wonder the first two years, getting to the Super Bowl in Year 2. Then Bill Belichick put out the strategy for shutting down his offense. The Rams missed the playoffs the following year. They made it back in 2020, but still had issues. McVay traded for Matt Stafford and the Rams won the SB in 2021. Then talk focused on him being burned out and maybe retiring. The Rams were a disaster in 2022. This year they are re-born and McVay is back to being a guru.

Sirianni has shown that he can be a good coach. But sustaining success is hard. You must be able to adjust and adapt. Sirianni hasn’t done a good enough job of that this year. Like Hurts, he needs to learn from his mistakes. A strong finish to this season would certainly be a good look for him.

*****

If you need a good breakdown of the battle for the NFC East.

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙄𝙀𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙀𝙍 𝘽𝙀𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙈𝘼𝙎
A complete breakdown of the Dallas Cowboys tiebreaker scenarios, and how they can steal the NFC East title from the Philadelphia Eagles

(brainchild of @ACelySports) pic.twitter.com/EQPuVqpo6d

— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) December 23, 2023

*****

If you need some Tommy Cutlets entertainment, enjoy this.

What happens when @Bo_Wulf orders a DeVito Special? pic.twitter.com/TMCHUU5KpX

— PHLY Eagles (@PHLY_Eagles) December 22, 2023

*****

Do  you remember when Cameron Dicker kicked for the Eagles last  year? This is fantastic.

don't be a d*ck, repost to #probowlvote for cameron dicker pic.twitter.com/042uaDfNcT

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 20, 2023

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