Philadelphia Eagles Blame Game – Arrogance Fails All
17 November 2020 Opinion
The Eagles continue to hold onto first place in the NFC East with a record of 3-5-1. Sorry to break it you, but the road isn’t getting any easier. Their next five games come against CLE, SEA, GB, NO, and ARI; these are all teams that will find themselves playing playoff football come January.
So, the million dollar question: Who’s to blame for the Eagles struggles?
Football is unique in the way that no one member can single handedly win or lose a game. Hence, Carson Wentz does not deserve the flak he is getting. The sheer arrogance of Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman that has slowly started to develop following the Super Bowl in 2017, has dug our Birds into a hole.
Now when I say the “arrogance” of Doug and Howie, I am not saying that they are rude or unappealing in their physical behavior or demeanor. Its more so the arrogance and stubbornness of the two to continuously try things both on the field and in the draft that just simply have yet to work.
Here are some factors that have lead to the destruction and demise of the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles at the bloody hands of Pederson and Roseman:
1.) Not Hiring an Offensive Coordinator
The main difference between 2017 and 2020 is that Doug Pederson is now the play caller every down. In 2017 he was the overseer, the head honcho that allowed his brilliant team of offensive gurus to implement their own schemes while keeping the playbook uniform. Fast forward three years and Doug has surrounded himself with “offensive assistants” otherwise known as positional coaches. Interestingly enough the Eagles are the only team in the NFL without an Offensive Coordinator; Pederson and Roseman try to reinvent the wheel instead of using basic strategy that has worked in the past and won this city’s first ever Lombardi trophy. Instead, we are forced to watch Doug continue to outsmart himself.
2.) Constantly Going For It on 4th Down or 2PT Conversion
Jake Elliott began to struggle kicking the ball a few weeks back, so Pederson, much like a mid-major NCAA Head Coach, decided he never wants to kick the football again. Let’s reiterate, Pederson is completely lacking a Coordinator to bring things back to Earth a bit. Elliot is a perfect 12-12 on PATs and 9-13 on FGs, that is just four missed kicks on the year. This number is much lower than many of the other Kickers in the NFL. Ryan Succop, the NFL Kicker that leads in total points scored, has also missed four kicks on the year. Yet, Pederson would rather go for two and seem ingenious upon conversion.
3.) Maintaining the Same Failed Draft Strategy
This one falls on Howie much more than it does Pederson, however it’s hard to know how much say each party has come draft night. So far this year’s rookie class is panning out to be one of the worst draft classes in quite a while. Reagor, regardless of injury, hasn’t been producing like the other Receivers selected before or immediately after him. Then we get to Jalen Hurts and that may have been the biggest mistake in years. Then Howie has the audacity to sit at a press conference and sell the idea by saying, “We are trying to build a Quarterback Factory.” Newsflash Howie, I can drive by the Wawa on Rhawn and the Boulevard and find a better Linebacker than Nate Gerry. It’s ok though, Howie and Jim Schwartz don’t value Linebackers…hmmmm, maybe that is why your hook-curl zones are torched by any team with a decent Tight End and a quicker over-the-middle Receiver. Yet for some reason Howie thinks he’s the smartest man in the room, even though his past draft history is infamously atrocious.
This list could go on for hours, but the last and most infuriating example of the arrogance is the play calling.
4.) Pederson’s Play Calling
It is well known that Doug Pederson is the play caller; he said in his presser today, “I feel good about the plays that have been called. I even looked at the game and felt I was in rhythm.” This goes to show Doug’s inability to remedy his stubbornness that he has so oddly recently incepted. It seems like he is more hesitant to take blame for mistakes although he is not doing a great job of maximizing the team’s talent. Carson Wentz has found tons of success early in his career when getting outside of the pocket and throwing on the run. Pederson has yet to implement some schemes that work Carson outside of the tackle box a bit more and have him less worried about a collapsing pocket. Instead of modifying the playbook and tailoring it towards his Franchise Quarterback, he continues to drill a square peg into a round hole with his Two Quarterback formation. Hurts has thrown the ball two times this season, and only once out of this formation. Yet Pederson doesn’t feel like he is becoming predictable, instead he just keeps heading to the well.
In conclusion, if there is one group of people to blame for the Eagles blunders so far, it is most definitely not Carson Wentz nor any other players. It is the arrogance of Pederson and Roseman that was most likely developed post-Super Bowl that has impacted the Eagles the most in 2020.
Luke Stansfield Eagles, NFL playoffs, Pederson, Roseman, Wentz