The Eagles have officially been eliminated from the playoff race and could be entering the draft with a top 5 pick depending on how next week turns out. No one expected the season to end this way. Doug Pederson’s offense has been regressing since 2018 no matter the QB under center. The Eagles never successfully invested in weapons for their QB outside of a running back but don’t even know how to use him. The lack of self-awareness has led all of Philadelphia to this very moment.
A moment that should be fully taken advantage of. A moment of clarity per se. The key to self-awareness is that you have to be mentally prepared to understand and accept your flaws. The Eagles haven’t done that in many years with their poor drafting being a prime example. The second key is that you have to formulate a plan to help yourself get out of “quicksand”. Which the Eagles have not. Instead, they embraced the chaos and allowed themselves to believe they weren’t drowning. This is the current state of the Eagles. Let’s name this chapter “Buried beneath the New Norm”.
A regressing Head Coach
Doug won’t come out and say it, he’s too prideful to call it what it is. The former Chiefs offensive coordinator has never found the route to being an excellent coach. Lurie and Roseman tried to help the offense out by hiring Marty Mornhinweg, Rich Scangarello, and several others. This only added weight to the body that was already sinking. Pederson had to deal with the embarrassment of standing up for Groh and Walsh just to have them fired the next day.
The Eagles head coach tried to show his authority but instead was shown that he has no say in what goes on around him. This led to this season.
The Eagles had a sure thing in Carson Wentz but even that fell apart. The offensive line was so inconsistent health-wise and play-wise this season that Carson Wentz was on pace to being placed on a stretcher by week 16.
The QB’s regression was also the product of a poor gameplan week in and week out. Pederson showed a lack of creativity all season long until Jalen Hurts did what the front office told Carson not to do: make plays with your legs.
People around Wentz have treated him as a fragile QB due to their fear that he won’t make it out alive. So instead they tried to transform him into a pocket QB that can never be settled in the pocket due to the inconsistent offensive line.
Pederson never gave Wentz a chance when it came to play-calling. Now whether Wentz was checking out of Doug’s plays or not, we’ll never know, but the disconnect between the two is very obvious and has to be addressed one way or another this offseason.
Continued on the page below.
Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire
Awkward QB situation
In the second round of this year’s draft, the Eagles did something that no one was expecting. Instead of addressing a team need, they went full throttle with initiating chaos by drafting QB Jalen Hurts. They followed the pick with the declaration of wanting to be a QB factory. The team with the declining offense dared to make themselves look like an elite organization when they were never heading in that direction.
Eagles QB Carson Wentz had to deal with the Hurts drama all season until he was unseated by the rookie QB. Hurts came in and created such a unique spark that it had fans and media members alike clamoring for the rookie to be the franchise QB. Hurts was proving them right until last night when he hit the inevitable rookie wall. Jalen had three turnovers in a pivotal game that could’ve put them in position to make the playoffs but the Oklahoma product ended up revealing the truth about the Eagles offense: Carson Wentz wasn’t the issue.
Now, the Eagles will head into the 2021 season with a huge decision to make. Who is their franchise QB? Which one will they move to? A decision that will surely come with consequences in the future.
Lack of talent
If the Eagles have a top 5 pick in the draft or even a top 10 selection, then they’re finally in a position to acquire some talent on offense. The Eagles need a big-time receiver for whichever QB they decide on keeping.
Chase and Smith should be on top of their list of priorities when it comes to selecting early on. The Eagles passed on Justin Jefferson for Jalen Reagor to only use Reagor the way that the Vikings are using Jefferson. A bit confusing isn’t it? Justin Jefferson was passed by the Eagles because they felt like Reagor would be the better fit but instead, they misused Reagor and played him against what he does well.
It’s a recurring theme for this staff. Fulgham was benched because Pederson said Alshon was playing better. Even after Fulgham exploded on the scene, the Eagles coaching staff stuck with their agenda of making Alshon look better than what we all have known him to be. News flash: The Eagles don’t know what they’re doing.
Hightower has been inactive for weeks due to reasons that have not been disclosed. Watkins finally got some playing time in week 15 but then disappeared shortly after. Fulgham has been getting garbage time snaps and even though he’s been productive, the coaching staff have still favored Alshon and Ward. The wide receiver rotation in general has been terrible.
The Eagles have big questions to answer
Then, there's the offensive line. Ravaged by injuries, the unit has now seen 14 different iterations in a single season, with Jason Kelce being the only remaining starter. That should change next year with Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson returning, but what about the Left Tackle battle between Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard? What about Jason Kelce's heir to the throne? Do the Eagles have a reliable backup guard?
This isn't even taking into account the Zach Ertz contract debacle alongside Dallas Goedert's final contracted year approaching, or the fact that the team are $65M over the salary cap. Fun.
A long offseason ahead for the Eagles
Usually, by the end of the season, there’s more good to take away than it is bad but the Eagles have been on a downward spiral since the 2018 offseason. It’s been a poorly managed roster from top to bottom. The continued interference of GM Howie Roseman and Owner Jeffery Lurie has led Philly to this post. The disconnect between Wentz and Pederson was doomed since the 2018 injury. There’s too much bleeding coming from this organization and the powers to be aren’t the ones that can stop it. There needs to be a better evaluation process this offseason, better self-awareness.
Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire
