The Coaching Nightmare
23 October 2020 Uncategorized
Well, happy victory Friday Eagles fans. Enjoy this feeling. It’s been a few weeks, it’s been a down season, but enjoy these victories when we have them. I love a good Eagles victory, especially one to round out my week, but here comes your neighborhood negative Eagles fan this season. In this article, I want to talk about the bad, the ugly and the nightmare that has been Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz’s atrocious season.
Remember back to 2017 when the Eagles had some of the most creative play calling in the league? The team ran a double reverse pass on 4th and goal in the Super Bowl. Where have those times gone? The personnel were probably better than those that we have right now, but that doesn’t mean you run a read option or designed quarterback run from the 3 yard line in consecutive games. The call against the Ravens probably cost the Eagles an opportunity to assume momentum and get a potential game winning drive in overtime going. Regardless, Doug is not the only problem.
Jim Schwartz has consistently put our defenders in bad situations. Don’t get me wrong, the talent at the linebacker position and in certain spots is inexcusable. However, I just want to point out the resurgence of Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas on their new teams respectively. Sidney Jones has been nothing short of stellar in his time with the Jaguars, logging 4 passes defensed and an interception in just two games, while Rasul Douglas is the PFF consensus number one graded cornerback. Want more? Nathan (#CutNathan) Gerry has yet to force an incompletion on the season, is allowing a perfect QBR when targeted, has missed the most tackles by any linebacker in the NFL and continues to look completely lost every time he sees the field. Like I said earlier, this isn’t all Jim Schwartz’s fault. The personnel we have are not good but, when you see defenders leave the team and shut down one of the best wide receivers in the business in their first start with their new team, it leaves little to be desired in terms of the defensive scheme in place either.
On offense though, what is the real problem here? Doug’s play calling has been his favorite flavor of ice cream, vanilla at best. If you look a little deeper though, the personnel just aren’t there. Through seven games this season, Jeff Stoutland has had to roll out six different offensive line combinations because of injuries to this line. Our week 1 starters at offensive line were, Jason Peters, Isaac Seumolo, Jason Kelce, Matt Pryor and Lane Johnson. Since then? Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll, Sua Opeta, Jordan Mailata, Brett Toth, and Jamon Brown have all seen action at various positions. As for the offense as a whole, Carson Wentz and Jason Kelce are the last remaining healthy starters. However, this absolve Doug Pederson of any plan. A read option on the 3 yard line will not work with the current limitations the team is facing. A team will be collapsing on the run almost every time but are in such a confined area that there will almost always be a defender waiting for Carson regardless if he hands it off or not. We saw the offense move the ball with ease on several drives last night, only to stall inside the ten yard line because the play calling went conservative, which brings me to my next point.
Doug Pederson is in desperate need of an offensive coordinator and is too proud to give up play calling. We’ve seen these plays before, other defenses have seen these plays before. The Eagles’ offense has become something it rarely has under Doug Pederson, predictable. Doug, it’s time to bring an offensive minded play caller who can focus solely on play calling into the building. There’s no reason Doug needs to completely handoff the offense, as I still believe he has the ability to scheme great plays, but he needs a mind like Frank Reich on the offensive side of the ball to help him play to the strengths of the players on his roster. Will he do it? Absolutely not. Doug is a proud coach, as he should be as a super bowl winning coach, but he has to know when to say “enough is enough.” Your plays are stale, your offensive line is buried in injuries, your wide receivers are injured, your running back is injured, your quarterback is carrying your offense of practice squad players and it’s time for you to be a coach, rather than a coordinator.
As always, follow me on Twitter at @SokoFFB for all your fantasy tips and nuggets.
Brennan Sokowoski Brett Toth, Carson Wentz, Doug Pederson, Frank Reich, Isaac Seumalo, Jack Driscoll, Jamon Brown, Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, Jeff Stoutland, Jim Schwartz, Jordan mailata, Lane Johnson, Matt Pryor, Nate Herbig, Rasul Douglas, Sidney Jones, Sua Opeta