Eagles fans are no stranger to times of trials and tribulations. Over the last decade, they have been exposed to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Philadelphia fans are often lauded for their quick-to-judge, quicker-to-react, rough-and-tumble approach to their sports teams. The truth of the matter is, from head-scratching decisions to underrated and unexpected surprises, there isn't a lot this fan base can't handle. If nothing else, the passion in the City of Brotherly Love is never questioned.
The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles have been a test of that fervor. Global pandemic and Presidential election aside, it's been a deflating year for the Birds and Eagles football in general. Rattling off the names on the extensive injury list and mentioning Carson Wentz's struggles might encapsulate the problem to an extent. Contrasting the current state of affairs with the enticing hype surrounding the team this summer perhaps gives a better idea of the picture. Still, there seems to be just something more about this year's team that is so truly - disappointing.
From the outside looking in, you may think this to be another one of Philadelphia's overreactions. Sure, the team is terrible at times and just flat-out hard to watch at others, but they currently lead the NFC East and are primed for yet another playoff spot.
Aside from all the dumbfounding mistakes Carson Wentz has made, he has put together some periods of play that remind everyone what makes him so good. There have definitely been some bright spots on the roster: growth from young players scattering the roster, sparks from the new class of rookies. At the end of the day, it would truly be unfair to expect a stellar outcome of a roster so littered with injuries.
So, why is this team so difficult to cheer for?
Frankly, it's because we don't know what we're cheering for. Coming into the season, the Eagles were tagged as Carson Wentz's team -- finally. This was the year that the team would go out and get weapons for their franchise quarterback, even if it meant forgoing upgrades at other positions. Howie Roseman wanted to get younger, faster, and take advantage of his QB's best years.
The draft highlighted exactly that. Three receivers with blazing speed were added to the roster to take advantage of Wentz's rocket arm. The offensive line, although missing Brandon Brooks, looked as stalwart as ever. Miles Sanders was hitting stride in his second year. Everything was primed for a big year from Wentz.
Then injuries began to take their toll.
So what? The Eagles have been there before. Frankly, the Eagles have been there at one point or another for the last half a decade it seems. The offensive line was decimated, the receiving corps took some hits and Miles Sanders was in and out of the lineup. Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz were lost to injuries. The list goes on.
Nevertheless, the team has been here before, just last year they strung together a handful of wins to sneak into the playoffs. Even with a shaky start, I think we would all have been up for a repeat of last year. Save for a bad hit on Wentz, the Eagles may have been fighting for a shot at the NFC Title.
Still, this year just felt different. Travis Fulgham tried his best to reiterate that never give up attitude that Greg Ward's addition to the lineup last season sparked. Even Ward himself has looked more steady in his role at the slot position. That fortitude was apparent in close games against the Steelers and Ravens. Philly fans all over started to rekindle a hope that maybe we can compete.
Then came the Giants game -- which the Eagles escaped by the skin of their teeth -- and the Cowboys game -- we don't have to talk about the Cowboys game. Philadelphia came screaming down back to Earth. Yet again, it was important to understand that this is an incredibly injured team that is focused on getting younger.
The injury bug excuse has worked for the 49ers. The youth movement excuse has been coaxing hope from a lifeless Miami fanbase.
So, why don't these excuses work for the Eagles? Should they?
The 49ers are coming off a Super Bowl appearance and now have an offense in which none of the players that took the field on Thursday night touched the grass in the Super Bowl. It's shocking. And yet, it's not far off from what the Eagles have experienced this season. The Cowboys have given up on their season after watching just their quarterback get injured. That's okay for the 49ers and Cowboys -- but the Eagles never quit. It's why we won the Super Bowl; it's why Doug Pederson and Nick Foles have a statue outside the Linc. It's why Pederson, Roseman, Wentz will never admit this isn't actually a good team.
Kyle Shanahan has no problem saying beating the Green Bay Packers will be a challenge. His roster is in shambles -- it's understandable. The message from the Eagles brass is that they still expect to be competitive every week. Why shouldn't they be? They're currently in a playoff position, they are slowly getting pieces back from injury. They may just be a few key players away from a legitimate run at the Super Bowl, especially in the Covid-19 year.
Then the trade deadline came and went. There were no moves from the Eagles.
The message was sent that despite an injury-ravaged roster and some major questions about the actual makeup of this team, the Eagles expect to compete and they expect to do it with the roster they have. Even a casual fan can see Philadelphia is not in the same league as the Seahawks, or the Bucs or the Packers. Sure the Giants came close to stealing one from Brady, but he's a different monster come playoff time.
This isn't a team that can compete for a Super Bowl, barring a miracle.
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So let's circle back to the youth movement.
The Birds have a couple of exciting young pieces that have tangible excitement surrounding them. They have gotten younger at a lot of key positions and the pieces are starting to fall into place in some regards.
Jalen Mills has fared pretty admirably in his time at safety. Will Parks had a monster game against Dallas. The defensive line has been dominant and the young defensive ends have continued to improve. I actually really like the pairing of TJ Edwards and Duke Riley. TJ was stellar against the Cowboys and Duke has been one of the unsung heroes of the entire season.
The young receiving corps looks like it might actually work. The young group of depth offensive lineman has been impressive given the circumstances. Miles Sanders has looked like one of the best young athletes in the league when he's healthy.
Yet, the coaching staff has repeatedly moved away from developing these players, these relationships, this team. After finally getting a hang of the safety position, Mills was dumped at corner where he looked awful. Granted he was the only option at times, but the Eagles soon activated other options and still kept bouncing Mills back and forth. Parks just returned from injury to open his inbox to rumors of the Eagles wanting to trade him. (He found out on Instagram of all places). Nate Gerry continues to get playing time, and will likely return to his starting role once he is healthy.
At what point has Gerry played bad enough that we start to see what Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley have to offer? At the very least Alex Singleton's play should put pressure on Schwartz to question Gerry's role.
On offense, there seems to be an internal battle concerning just who the playmakers are. Should the team stick to what's tried and true or give the young additions an opportunity?
By force, Travis Fulgham has made Pederson and Carson look his way. Still, when DeSean Jackson came back from injury, he was seemingly the primary option on every play until he limped off. It will be interesting to see how often Alshon Jeffery is featured when he finally returns.
Again it goes back to the question of what this team actually is: a veteran roster with a heap of injuries that expects to compete, or a young, developing roster that needs to give their up-and-comers some run.
Time and time again, the coaching staff have opted for the former.
Jordan Mailata played admirably at left tackle before Jason Peters returned to stink up the joint. The team threw Mailata to the right side, which he played as well as you could expect. Granted the JP is a legend, he should be afforded a long leash, but there is no world in which letting the future Hall of Famer figure out how much he has left is better than Mailata getting steady playing time at a single position.
The coaching staff has consistently made it difficult for their young guns to develop. Whether cross-training players, moving them in and out of the lineup. The list goes on.
For example, Dallas Goedert made his return to the lineup last week. It was assumed he would be on a snap count and would receive limited looks. The latter was true, but the stellar young TE was on the field for 85% of offensive snaps. He had one catch for 15 yards. There were no TE screens to manufacture touches, no simple completions to allow him to pick up the yards after catch he has become known for. In the early part of his career, Goedert has eaten the Dallas Cowboys for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and he wasn't even given the opportunity last week.
John Hightower was ripped from the lineup to make way for Jalen Reagor's reintroduction. That much is par for the course. Reagor was able to show off a bit of what he has to offer, but if this was a window into how he will be used in the offense, it left a little to be desired. The man needs the ball in his hands to make plays. In a game that Carson Wentz struggled to throw the ball downfield, both Goedert and Reagor -- two young YAC studs -- should have been made available for dump-off and screens: something that Doug Pederson has featured a ton in his offenses.
Now, this was just one game, but it has been a long season of unfulfilled anticipation for the young Eagles players.
The offseason began with a vow to take the pressure off of Wentz by adding playmakers to the roster. Instead, they have mounted pressure onto their QB. There is the inescapable shadow that injuries have cast on the roster. In such chaos, whatever consistency there is must be held at a premium.
Carson is at the center of what has been pegged as a perennial playoff roster surrounded by a very young offense peppered with aging veterans that just don't have that much in the tank -- save for Jason Kelce.
The Eagles could easily shift to a moniker of a young developing team. Such a move could come with further, more difficult decisions. Perhaps they let Lane Johnson, who just can't seem to overcome his injury sit the rest of this year to recover. Maybe we see more of Jalen Hurts and less of Vinny Curry.
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Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
So, what do we cheer for?
As fans, do we expect to compete in the playoffs with a roster that continues to get healthier? The rest of the NFC East has collapsed and the Birds have a straight shot to a playoff birth. However, each of their NFC East opponents may have a top 5 pick in the upcoming draft. The Giants' young roster has shown signs that they can compete given a few more pieces. The Washington defense is smothering and the offense could get rolling with consistent QB play. Dallas's defense is in shambles, but their offense may be the most star-studded in the league when Dak returns next season -- if they can re-stabilize their offensive line. So yes, the Eagles may make the playoffs this year, as they also watch every other team in the division secure a top-five player in the 2021 draft.
All of that matters little if the Eagles can actually make a deep run in the playoffs. It seems as if the coaching staff and front office believe that to be in the cards. In which case, it would have been nice to see Howie Roseman make some moves at the deadline. Even if they were minor, it would have sparked some hope in the fanbase, that yes, we can compete.
Or do we hope that the young players get their time to shine and we start to look to next season? They may make the playoffs, they may watch one of their opponents sneak into the last spot (unlikely). One thing we will know for sure is whether or not this offense, this defense, can actually function going forward. No team in the division is a legitimate contender for the 2020 Super Bowl, so why not look towards 2021 and beyond?
Let's see what the young secondary and linebackers look like as a unit. Give up on Alshon Jeffery, even if he still is a true #1. Let Jason Peters play the Josh McCown role -- a mentor on the sidelines. Let the fan base get a glimpse of the future and get excited about what's to come.
Frankly, until the Eagles pick one of the directions -- I'm leaning towards the latter -- they will be a confusing and difficult team to root for.
But let's be honest -- that won't stop any of us.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
