2015 Philadelphia Eagles Will Be Mosaic

Dec 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tight end

Zach Ertz

(86) catches a pass against the New York Giants during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

2015 Philadelphia Eagles Will Be Mosaic

Mosaic. A beautiful artisan assembly to offer the best visual experience necessary. A collection of chips, pieces, or small items assembled into a larger more functional item which represents something useful. As the team releases, cuts, or trade key starters from the 2014 team, keep the term mosaic in mind. A team is a collection of individuals that are better as a whole then the sum of the parts. A mosaic is a collection of individual parts whose appearance is a more valuable setting then the appearance of individual pieces. The 2015 Philadelphia Eagles will be mosaic.

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Wait a minute. I’m usually Oscar the Optimist. I’m usually the guy who gives players a break if they have a down year. Why am I coming down on a team that has yet to play a single down in 2015?

Well, first of all, I’m not coming “down” on the team. I’m simply admitting that I have professional skepticism. Anyone who follows professional sports knows that each individual’s performance in totally dependant upon the performance of their teammates, and their trust in their teammates performance. Think about it. When an offensive lineman is injured, teams often suffer. Is it always because the next man up is so awfully bad? Hardly. There is an unspoken language in the NFL: anticipation, intuition,
intelligence. Much of what a player’s responsibility for each play is the understanding of what other player’s will do. It’s that ability to know that the safety is picking up the

On an end run, the first defender knows that he must take on the player from a point closest to the sideline, and turn the play inwards. But if that defender does not trust his teammates, he will take an angle at the ball carrier to attempt to stop the play.

Trust.

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That’s what NFL players learn by playing together, practicing together, facing gameday situations together. Collectively learning who takes the deep receiver, when to hand off that receiver to the next guy, where in the field the defensive lineman needs to set up to give the linebacker playing behind him optimum opportunity to make the play… all lessons learned together by playing over time.

Now that the team is down eight starters from the 22 man offense and defense squads, the team will be reassembling no less than eight new individuals to the team. That is a full third of the team standing on the field of play, each of whom have no experience in understanding what the other members of the team do on any given play.

Likewise, even the 14 remaining players have no clue what the new players will do. They might try to overcompensate. They might assume a reaction to a play that never happens. Of course, it will eventually work itself out. But the key word is eventually. Initially, mistakes will be part of the learning process. Trust building is not easy, and it takes time. Time is something fans who are eager to see immediate results seldom give away willingly.

The defense needed improvement. I get that and I’ve written numerous articles about that fact. But I don’t want to see eager fans set themselves up with expectations which all of these new players, moving parts, new schemes simply cannot deliver. I do not want to sit back and witness fans set unrealistically high expectations that the team will come out of the gate as a 12-4 playoff bound team or better this year. If it happens, all the better.

But with so many new faces, it’s time to focus on what that means now, before the truckload of new free agents arrives, and before the blockbuster trades happen.

If the Philadelphia Eagles truly are following along according to a master plan, then we must be patient and take what the team gives us. That could be a better team in 2015, but it could be a step backwards as well. Until the new players on the roster assemble themselves into that cohesive, selfless, and efficient team, mistakes will happen.

It’s something we should discuss now, before we see a mistake from a new player and start the calls for them to be benched or cut. At some point, we have to stick with the players we have and ride it out. Perhaps some day, we will. Regardless of what any of us think about who we need to become a champion, one thing is clear. We need stability. Players need to play together to become a team. Individuals do not win championships, teams do.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles Defense Blows Up

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