Eagles debate table: How do we grade Dallas Goedert’s progress?
Let’s all open the debate table for this one. Does the Eagles’ second-year tight end Dallas Goedert deserve more criticism?
Sometimes, stepping back for a moment to re-evaluate things gives us all a little more clarity. After two ugly losses by the Philadelphia Eagles in weeks 11 and 12, we all needed a day off. Unfortunately, none of us took the time to take one. Most of us took to Twitter to attack everyone from Doug Pederson to Carson Wentz. Fans have brought the hammer down on this entire roster and coaching staff, but for whatever reason, Dallas Goedert seems to always avoid much of the criticism.
Why is that? Does he deserve more credit or a lion’s share of the blame? You can argue both sides successfully.
We attack the defense when there’s no pressure on the quarterback. We’ve gotten on the team’s best player, Fletcher Cox. Mack Hollins is a bust. Sidney Jones is a bigger bust. Boston Scott was never the next Darren Sproles, and all of a sudden, some of the stories have been Malcolm Jenkins can’t play anymore.
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We’re now well past eleven games of the Eagles’ 2019 season, which means we have 26 games worth of film to watch on Dallas Goedert. Are we all being too lenient in our critique of where he is? He was a second-round draft choice, and we clamored for more ’12 personnel’, which means Philly would have two tight ends, two wide receivers, and a running back in the offensive formation.
We were told the Eagles could literally swap Goedert and Zach Ertz in and out of the lineup, and there would be no dropoff. That obviously wasn’t true, but that’s not a knock on Goedert. That’s more of a testament to how good Ertz is.
Still, if we kill JJ Arcega-Whiteside for dropping what should have been a game-winning touchdown catch and we kill Nelson Agholor for dropping another, shouldn’t we also discuss Goedert for dropping one versus the Detroit Lions? That was the same game in which Arcega-Whiteside’s snafu occurred, and Goedert’s drop was just as costly.
If we’re going to jump all over Wentz for the fumbles, don’t we have to do the same for ’88’? Putting the ball on the turf versus the Dallas Cowboys killed all of the momenta on one drive, and putting the ball on the turf versus the Seattle Seahawks did the same in another.
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The long and the short of it is this. We say quarterbacks need time to develop. We say cornerbacks and linemen need experience. Tight ends need the same. In the long run, we’ll all look back on the selection of Dallas Goedert in 2018, and we’ll all agree that his selection was one of those selections that the Eagles nailed, but as of right now, would it be wrong to say Goedert is behind schedule in his development? Would that statement be accurate or false? The debate table is wide open for this one.