So if the Eagles lose to the Skins and then 15 in a row…what does that mean? I know, I know. The Eagles aren’t going to win 15 in a row. So let’s say the Eagles go 10-5 the rest of the way. That’s possible. The point is that saying the Eagles MUST win this game is silly.
But it’s a statement game!!!
Remember when the Eagles beat Dallas in the 2000 season opener? The score was 41-14 and the game wasn’t even that close. What a statement, right? People actually forget that the Eagles lost the next two weeks and fell to 1-2. The Giants beat them 33-18 and the Packers won 6-3. That was some putrid offense. The win over Dallas showed how good the Eagles could be when things went right, but it didn’t show the Eagles were a great team and would be playing at that level all season. It also showed how far the Cowboys were about to fall.
The Eagles dominated Dallas on Thanksgiving in 2014. That put the team at 9-3 and people saw them as having a possible shot at the top seed in the NFC. Chip Kelly was asked if that was a statement game. He responded by saying that’s not how the NFL works. What you do in one game only means something if you make it mean something. The Eagles lost three in a row after the Dallas win and ended up missing the playoffs. Clearly that wasn’t a statement game.
This can be a statement game, if the Eagles win it and then back it up in the coming weeks.
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Be careful about making too much of what happens today, good or bad.
The NFL season is a marathon. One game is one game. Last year the team began 3-0 and finished 7-9.
The season is short enough that every game means something, but it is long enough that no one game is everything. In college football, every single game is life and death. In the NBA, NHL and MLB, one game means virtually nothing. The NFL is in the middle of that.
The key is to stay as healthy as possible. That gives you the best chance to finish the marathon in good position.
The Eagles go to Washington on Sunday to take on the Skins, the team that has been a nemesis for two and a-half years. There are a lot of storylines in this game. Finally beating Washington is probably the biggest one for me. The last time that happened, Nick Foles was the starting QB and Chip Kelly still looked like a coach on the rise.
There were a lot of changes for both teams this offseason. It does feel like the Skins are more dysfunctional right now. I have no idea if that will follow them onto the field on Sunday. I don’t have a good feel for their team right now. They went 2-2 in the preseason and really struggled to move the ball and score points. That could be an anomaly or a sign of things to come. They have major changes at WR and a new offensive coordinator. There is not guarantee the offense will thrive as it did in the past couple of seasons.
The Eagle who should be most fired up for this game is Lane Johnson. He missed both meetings last year due to the suspension. Johnson talked a lot this summer, but honestly didn’t play consistently well. The whole O-line had their issues. I think they’ll play better now that the offense will be on the field for 50 to 70 plays and they can get into a rhythm. It also helps that the group is healthy.
As much as we want to see what Wentz does in Year 2 and how the improved skill group performs, none of that matters if the Eagles don’t do a better job of blocking that they did in last year’s two losses.
Reese showed how Jim Schwartz blitzed more in the rematch game last season. That’s interesting. If the Eagles want to blitz more, that might mean that Mychal Kendricks plays a bigger role than expected. He was great this summer and is a good blitzer.
The Eagles played better defense in the rematch. Maybe Schwartz figured some things out and that will help the Eagles finally slow the Skins down. I’m sick of the Eagles making Kirk Cousins look like a combination of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
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Speaking of Schwartz, we have to talk about Jeff McLane’s report. His contention is that Jim Schwartz is trying to undermine Doug Pederson so that he can take over as the head coach.
At the very least, the optics aren’t favorable. One Eagles staffer said the only coach who probably doesn’t think Schwartz is trying to undercut Pederson is Pederson. Three players, who requested anonymity, said that it has become well-known in the locker room that Schwartz is waiting to usurp power.
“He walks around the building like he thinks he’s the head coach,” one player said.
“Eagles staffer” doesn’t necessarily mean someone from the coaching staff. I can easily see someone in the building having their doubts about Pederson and reading the situation this way. If it was someone on the coaching staff, I think that would be different. McLane is a smart guy and good writer. I think he chose that phrase for a reason.
As for the player comment, I can see that being completely legit. When you combine the two thoughts it does sound bad. I just don’t think there is a direct connection. This feels more created than legitimate.
The bottom line is this. If the team wins, Pederson keeps his job. The only question for Schwartz is whether he gets offers from other teams. If the Eagles don’t win enough, things could interesting.
Schwartz was out of a job in 2015 and didn’t have a ton of teams knocking on his door early in the 2016 hiring process. I’m sure he’s a cocky guy, but I can’t believe he’d be crazy enough to actively go after Pederson. If word of that got out, it would give him a toxic label. Is that worth the risk? The fast track for him is to put together the best defense possible and try to impress whoever might have an opening in five months.
