Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Intrigue at RB

Posted October 9th, 2018 | Comments Off on Intrigue at RB

Big news on Monday.

Jay Ajayi tore his ACL in the game on Sunday. He somehow played through it, but he’s now done for the season.

That means the revolving door at RB continues. The Eagles have five different RBs who have at least five carries this year. The Boys, Skins and Giants have a total of seven RBs with at least five carries. That should give you some idea of how crazy the Eagles RB situation has been.

And it looks like there will be a sixth RB in action for the Eagles.

We don’t know exactly who the Eagles are going after, but clearly they restructured that contract to go after someone with a decent cap hit.

Le’Veon Bell is the big name out there and he certainly would be a terrific addition. The Eagles could deal a 2019 draft pick for him and then hope to get a comp pick back in 2020. That would soften the blow of giving up a high pick for Bell (2nd or 3rd rounder).

The Ajayi injury means the Eagles will be in a tough negotiating spot. The other 31 teams have all the leverage. They know the Eagles need help at RB.

Johnson would be a terrific fit for the Eagles offense. I just can’t imagine the Cardinals would be willing to deal him. That’s the kind of player you build your offense around.

Howie Roseman did a great job of putting together the roster last year, making moves all season long. This year has been incredibly challenging already, with injuries piling up. The Eagles could try to go with the group of RBs they already have in place, but they obviously feel that a move needs to be made.

It also seems like they must feel a move can be made.

Roseman is arguably the best trader in the league. He works reasonable deals for both sides. He also has strong relations with agents so players want to come to Philly. They feel they will be treated fairly. It will be interesting to see what Roseman can pull off.

The Eagles pro scouts have likely been studying RB trade targets for a few weeks, in case someone became available or an emergency occurred. Well, it is emergency time.

The Eagles won’t have all their hopes on Bell. They’ll have multiple options, knowing that some teams will be open to dealing and others will want to keep their guys. Here are some names worth speculating about.

  • Le’Veon Bell – PIT
  • David Johnson – ARZ
  • Tevin Coleman – ATL
  • Ameer Abdullah – DET

If there is one RB I’d have interest in, it would be Bilal Powell of the Jets. He has always impressed me. I just don’t know if they’d be willing to part with him.

The Eagles could also look to the Dolphins for more RB help. They have good depth at RB. You wonder if Kenyan Drake might be available. He had 25 carries over the first two weeks and only a total of 14 in the last three games.

The Eagles need Roseman to work his magic, whether that is coming up with a splash move like Bell or finding the right guy.

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A Broken Machine

Posted October 8th, 2018 | Comments Off on A Broken Machine

The 2017 Eagles got off to a 10-1 start. They were 11-2 when Carson Wentz got hurt. That team was a machine.

The offense, defense and STs all fed off each other. Some key defenders missed the Chargers game so the offense played at a high level and found a way to win. They ate up the final six minutes of the game and never gave the Chargers a chance to win. The offense struggled in the 1st half at Dallas, but the defense kept the game close. The offense then woke up in the 2nd half and the Eagles dominated.

The offense and defense were both sloppy in the two games against the Giants. In the first game, the Eagles managed to pull out a win on a last second 61-yard FG. In the later meeting, a blocked punt helped the Eagles make a big comeback.

The 2017 Eagles were outstanding, but they certainly weren’t perfect. When part of the machine was struggling, the other parts took over and helped out. The team won a defensive battle vs the Falcons in the postseason and then a shootout in the Super Bowl. You don’t see many teams that can play two such different games in one postseason.

This year the team is struggling. It might help you to understand if you also think of this team as a machine. A broken machine.

Some people want to talk about heart or effort. Did the Eagles want that game as much as the Vikings? I know it can be fun to talk about which team wanted it more, but that’s overly-simplistic and just not accurate. Do you really think Jason Peters effort is an issue? Do you really think Alshon Jeffery dropped the pass on 3rd and 20 due to a lack of heart?

NFL games are won and lost by performance. Skill. Execution.

Lane Johnson got sloppy with his technique and let a DE get to the inside too quickly. That resulted in a strip-sack and defensive TD for Minnesota.

If you want to talk about a lack of focus, I’ll buy that. Last year’s team lived in the moment. They played each game one play at a time. I know that’s a trite cliche, but it is true. This team hasn’t shown the same ability. They are so eager to get the big plays that they are making mistakes and creating big problems.

The Eagles had two penalties on Sunday for illegal formation. A receiver lined up covering a tight end. That’s dumb, but it will happen from time to time. For it to happen twice in a crucial game tells you just how dumb this team can be at times. The 2016 Eagles made those kinds of mistakes. The 2017 team didn’t.

Doug Pederson is right to take the blame for this. It is his team and he’s responsible, good or bad. At the same time, the coaches are not telling players to line up incorrectly. This is a simple mistake. This is sloppy football. Some receiver is so focused on trying to make a big play that he can’t even line up correctly. How the hell are you supposed to make key plays when you can’t even line up?

Pederson pushed all the right buttons last year. This year things are different. I’m sure he’s tried yelling at the team. I’m sure he’s tried being positive. For some reason, things just aren’t clicking. Pederson will keep coaching the players and trying to find the right buttons to push.

This is the final year for proud veterans like Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, Corey Graham and possibly a couple of others. These guys want to win in the worst way.

The key to winning just might be focusing on the play right in front of you and forgetting about winning. If you focus on the process and not the results, you’ll get the results you want.

That’s not happening right now and the Eagles have the same number of losses as they did all of last year. This is the first team to have a 2-3 record the year after winning a Super Bowl in more than a decade. There are all kinds of reasons for that (injuries, coaching changes, possible SB hangover, etc.).

Someone needs to find a way to fix this broken machine and in a hurry. A third of the season is gone and this is not a good team right now.

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