The Philadelphia Eagles continue to appear to be in disarray
The Philadelphia Eagles are in a tailspin that appears to have no end in sight.
The Philadelphia Eagles embarrassed themselves for the second straight week on Sunday. This time the opponent was the Washington Redskins. The team is in complete disarray as they once again were unprepared, undisciplined, and overpowered. The play-calling was poor, the defense was atrocious, and the offense couldn’t find its way into the end zone. The Eagles finished with 13 penalties for 114 yards. Next week they take on one of the best teams in all of football, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings will be coming off of their bye week.
It was not that long ago that the Eagles looked like a legitimate contender. Since that time, though, they have proved to be anything but that. This team really is similar to the 2012 team in terms of how the season has started. The Eagles have a tough road ahead and they will not be winning many games if they continue to play even remotely close to this level. Next week figures to be a shellacking against arguably the best team in football right now.
Eagles
Head coach Doug Pederson is starting to show some signs of being a first year head coach. The play calling late in the game was bad, but there was one particular decision that stands out. With around 1:40 left in the game, facing 4th and 24, Pederson called a timeout…to punt. To reiterate: he used a timeout to punt. That is unconscionable. The decision ended up not affecting the Eagles or the outcome, but that is a worrisome sign from the team’s leader. At a time where he needed to be calm and cool, Pederson was far from it. He panicked. That really makes you wonder how he may react in future late-game scenarios.
That is, of course, if this team is able to find themselves in position to win close games late. It was a miracle that they were even within seven points near the end of this game. This should have been a blowout, but the Redskins made enough mistakes to keep the game close. Carson Wentz did everything he could to help his team win, but there were just too many mistakes being made around him. Rookie right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai played just as poorly as one would expect him to. His technique was obviously lacking. He was manhandled all day long by Ryan Kerrigan. It wasn’t pretty.
Running back Wendell Smallwood once again made the most of his limited touches. At some point, the team has to start getting him more involved. This is starting to look like this may end up being a lost season for the Eagles, so playing the young guys may be the way to go. The Eagles may be 3-2, but they are playing like a team with five losses. It’s not an overreaction to say that hope is beginning to dim.
One player the Eagles should consider giving some playing time to is cornerback C.J. Smith. Smith was recently added to the 53-man roster. While he is a rookie, the playmaker from North Dakota State was impressive in the preseason. He’s worth a look in some live action.
Wide receiver Bryce Treggs is also worth taking a look at. It’s no secret that the Eagles are lacking a legitimate deep threat at the receiver position, and Treggs is reported to be insanely fast with great top-end speed. The Eagles have nothing to lose by switching Treggs with Josh Huff on the inactive list next week. While Huff does provide the team with some nice special teams help, the Eagles need more assistance on offense. Treggs could allow the Eagles to take some deep shots in the game if for no reason other than to keep the defense honest.
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The Eagles simply have too many holes to fix at this point. Next week’s game against Minnesota could get ugly in a hurry. Pay close attention this week to see if Coach Pederson makes any roster moves or decisions with the depth chart before Sunday’s game against the Vikings.