Eagles Season in Review: First Half
8 November 2019 Eagles News
At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to include the Bears game as part of “first half” of the Eagles season. Yes it makes the Eagles record an odd number, but in retrospect it made sense to include that game before the Eagles bye week so here we go.
Right now the Eagles have a Week 10 bye. Their record is 5-4. Did people have higher expectations than this? Absolutely. It’s the Eagles fanbase. So let’s dive in to what’s transpired since being 2-2 after the first quarter of season play from the Eagles.
Currently trying to keep pace with the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles are still 2nd in the division, trailing by only half a game behind. The competition for the division lies solely between the Eagles and Cowboys this season and the way the season has panned out so far it can only mean the rematch between the two teams in Week 16 will be a huge decider.
The second quarter of the season though didn’t say much about the status of the Eagles. Their identity remains to be seen and they haven’t won against “good” teams yet. Winning against the Darnold-less Jets, the skewed Bills, and the offensive trouble-ridden Bears vs losing to the Vikings and Cowboys doesn’t pose well. Winning against the bad teams and losing to the good teams still makes it uneasy when looking at the future schedule for the Birds.
Dealing with an anonymous source controversy doesn’t help, but maybe it was what the team needed to bond more closely. Orlando Scandrick can have his career game against the Jets. The Eagles locker room chemistry is far more important. What hasn’t been addressed are the weaknesses.
Eagles fans found out quickly at the trade deadline that Howie Roseman was essentially banking on the players currently on the Eagles roster that were recovering from injury. Names like Darius Slay, Robby Anderson and even Mike Evans were thrown into the Eagles trade rumor list, none of which were ever realistically considered.
One positive thing that was discovered was how the Eagles offense could be successful while having one of the worst wide receiver drop rates in the league. Carson Wentz, by the way, is not the issue, just to make that clear. The Eagles offense is a run-first offense. Period. Jordan Howard has emerged as a clear starter for the Birds with Miles Sanders as a supportive role in the passing game and change-of-pace back. Howard is very much deserving of a contract extension at the end of the season and Sanders has panned out well for being the Eagles 2nd round pick this past draft. In addition, Ertz and Goedert need to be used more. Wentz’s favorite target is Ertz. Add Goedert to the mix and that is a dangerous tight end duo to pass to over the middle of the field.
Coming up after the bye week, the Eagles face their toughest opponents the following two weeks plus Miami: vs Patriots, vs Seahawks and at Dolphins. This quick little three-week block will be a huge decider coming up. Best case scenario would be winning both games at home and then handling the Dolphins in Miami. My prediction is that the Eagles split the Patriots and Seahawks games.
Stats through Week 9:
Offense
Points: 24.9 (14th)
Yards: 347.0 (18th)
Pass Yards: 219.7 (21th)
Rushing 127.3 (12th)
Defense
Points: 23.7 (19th)
Yards: 326.3 (10th)
Passing Yards: 239.0 (18nd)
Rushing Yards: 87.3 (5th)