Eagles
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I came across a viral video of a young girl in a grocery store struggling to pick up a shopping basket. She needed two hands to lift the handles, but a toy occupied one hand. When she tried to pick up the basket, she’d get halfway there, but the handles would eventually slip again.
Eventually, she used both hands, and it was incredibly satisfying to see that, after failing over and over, she ultimately solved the puzzle.
The Philadelphia Eagles are still trying to decipher their own puzzling season.
Eagles fans have echoed at least one sentiment so far this season: “If we could just get a little something, if anything, from our offense, our defense will deliver on their end.”
Last season, I would feel confident in this statement. This year, not so much. Though I can understand the team’s health and offensive deficiencies offer no optimism for contending this season, it would still be damning of Nick Sirianni and Vic Fangio if this group has given up, because that’s what it looked like Monday night.
It was Dallas week! That typically means something. Instead, the Dallas Cowboys rode into South Philly and looked like the Greatest Show on Turf. Dallas had a season-high 416 yards along with 38 points. The team scored 16 and 13 against Tampa Bay and Green Bay, respectively. Philadelphia has arguably more talent than both defenses and gave up more than both combined.
The Dallas offensive line has three Tylers, and that’s three more than the TFLs the Philadelphia defense had all night. Philadelphia’s defensive line was bullied all night, and Vic Fangio had no answers. If not for 2 scrambles where he gave himself up, Dak Prescott’s uniform wouldn’t have needed to go in the laundry.
The stars aren’t showing up up front, and it’s trickling down to the second and third levels of the defense. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter didn’t show up last night. Tyler Smith had Carter in Hell all night long, even on reps where Carter wasn’t double-teamed. That’s unacceptable. Carter’s ceiling should be defensive player of the year, but his inconsistent effort caps him at “good, not great.” Riq Woolen had his worst game as an Eagle, and DeJean continues to struggle. I could list more Eagles defensive players that played poorly, but I don’t want to take away from the time you’ve put aside to fire up 2027 NFL Mock Drafts.
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Vic Fangio’s “no big plays” style and infrequent blitzing haven’t worked. The four-man pass rush is inefficient. At times, Dak Prescott could have held a tea party in the pocket. No rush gives shifty route runners like Lamb and Pickens too many opportunities to get open, as they did. Typically, Fangio makes adjustments at halftime, and the defense tightens up, the polar opposite of our offense, but this year he hasn’t had the answers when it matters. The same defense touted as a top-5 unit in the preseason hasn’t held a team to under 375 yards in its past 5 games.
What happened to tough, detailed, and together? I see no toughness. I see no fundamentals. I see no complementary football. An unfortunately familiar theme of Sirianni’s era is that when things get bad, they get worse. Fangio’s defense has largely been unaffected, but not this year.
Are they missing veteran leadership after Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship left? Has Fangio’s scheme been figured out? Did Howie Roseman simply fail to build the roster?
I assume we’ll learn the answer soon enough.
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Categorized:Eagles
