48 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Can’t tackle. In terms of plus physicality on defense, it’s Carter, Blankenship and Brown. Maybe Cunningham.

I’d agree. Just seems like we really don’t have any guys who play with an attitude on D. I really believe it’s a mentality, punish ball carriers. It’s almost as if we finesse Oplayers to the ground. 

The only thing I have left to look forward to is seeing dallas get eliminated from the playoffs. Hopefully the eagles do enough to win the division just so they don't get a home playoff game. 

Sydney Brown has some flashes when he's out there, but I get the feeling that injuries are going to plague him. If he can get through that, I think they're going to have a very good player in him. 

Just now, Casey @ Bat said:

I’d agree. Just seems like we really don’t have any guys who play with an attitude on D. I really believe it’s a mentality, punish ball carriers. It’s almost as if we finesse Oplayers to the ground. 

Attitude is hard to come by when the defensive philosophy is to play prevent/scared. If you had an aggressive defensive scheme then I think you'd see more physicality and attitude. 

5 minutes ago, RLC said:

Ultimately, the offense will be "fine" given our stars. But the inconsistency is baked into the offense. I don't think this changes until we get new voices in the building. There's no magic switch to run better as Swift is just not a foundation back (he's still good though). Have to hope Jalen, Devonta and AJ get hot.

While it is true that 'players make plays'.  It is equally true that the best coaches put their players in position to make those plays.  I'm not going to pretend that Shanahan is a great coach, because he's not.  But, what he is, is a great play developer.  He knows how to scheme open his guys, he knows how to get the ball to them in space so that they can make plays AND he seems to be pretty good at identifying the types of players needed to make those plays.  (His game management skills are atrocious and why he didn't win a Super Bowl, but as far as a schemer and an X and O guy... he's right at the top.).    Sirianni, et al, aren't great at drawing up plays to maximize the talent on the team.   Brown should be used on slants and crossing patterns, where his YAC ability would be maximized.   Smith should be running timing routes and things were his technical skills are on display.   Watkins should be operating the valet station in the parking lot.  When was the last time we saw a wheel route from Swift?  He'd be great in that role if they are able to isolate him on a LB.  

 

But... this team does what they do, and they are absolutely frustrating to watch.

23 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

In other words...   

 

COACHING.

We have no masterminds :( Or at least none that have the power to do anything. It's so cool to see like Shanahan, Bieniemy, or McCarthy or somebody knowing that they're going to dial up some cool ish. We run the same ole boring BS every week thinking we're just going to out talent folks. 

7 minutes ago, RLC said:

Decided to watch the offense this morning (I'm a masochist) and I see the disconnect.

a) We moved the ball pretty consistently
b) We committed bad turnovers. The AJ one was easily the worst of the three. He did the same thing last year vs. the Colts too.
c) We had back-breaking drops (2 by Smith, 1 by AJ, another that AJ would have caught had he not slowed down)

So while I hate the static, uncreative offense...it worked? So if you're an optimist, we should have put up 30. If you're a pessimist, you're asking for elite-level play every week from your stars which is a tough ask when your defense can't bail you out when you're not. Even the 49ers have won games this year where the D balled-out.

What bothers me the most about the offense is the lack of answers vs. the blitz. On those 3rd and long blitzes, there's no way for Hurts to throw the ball. I love Devonta Smith, but he's not a YAC guy. We don't have a single WR who is a top 20 percentile in speed. So he gets tackled by Gilmore on the drag route (yes the throw wasn't great given the free rusher in his face from the blitz). This is a Sirianni problem, not a Brian Johnson problem as it was an issue last year. The difference is that Hurts' isn't as mobile so he can't evade pressure to give himself more time.

Ultimately, the offense will be "fine" given our stars. But the inconsistency is baked into the offense. I don't think this changes until we get new voices in the building. There's no magic switch to run better as Swift is just not a foundation back (he's still good though). Have to hope Jalen, Devonta and AJ get hot.

How is this measured? As far as I know Smith never ran an official 40 because the combine was deep sixed the year he was drafted, the sole measurement recorded on the net appears to be a half assed 40 he ran for fun his second year in college when he wasn't putting up numbers for a draft stock.

This team needs fresh eyes from outside the organization on offense and defense. Barring a turnaround both coordinators have to go aftet the season and I say that as a Brian Johnson defender. But I think they just need a person from outside the Sirianni tree to come in and provide a fresh perspective. Just rotating from the same staff isn’t going to fix the issues because they’re Sirianni’s scheme and design. We need someone to come in(if they’ll allow it) and recommend some new and different things to Sirianni. Same with the defense. Howie and Lurie need to realize that this preferred defensive scheme isn’t it. 

5 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Some of this is lack of talent or talent not being ready yet. Milton Williams is on a milk carton. Cox is near the end and relying on him to be apart of this rotation playing significant snaps. Nolan smith is just not ready yet to make the leap. And we are relying on an older graham. Linebacker they have no depth. They aren’t good. Slot corner they have 1 in Roby who’s old and at the end. Safety has solid depth of brown plays like he is but byard hasn’t been better than mediocre this year here and with titans. On offense we’ve had the same depth issues behind our starting WR and TE. we’ve needed a better no. 3 for 2 years now. Our backup tight ends are JAGs 

You overestimate them.

5 minutes ago, mayanh8 said:

DGunn now receiving texts from Eagles players complaining about the route tree. This is a powder keg waiting to blow if players are starting to complain about coaching anonymously via the media.

Time to fire Aaron Moorehead.  Also, why can't we fire Matt Patricia. Clearly, he's the problem. 

Just now, mayanh8 said:

Attitude is hard to come by when the defensive philosophy is to play prevent/scared. If you had an aggressive defensive scheme then I think you'd see more physicality and attitude. 

I agree and I’d like to get back to that. I know it’s to prevent against the big play but we don’t create many turnovers. 

I’m pretty sad I logged on today and didn’t see any news about firing either coordinator. 

The Eagles have a habit of not playing well in Dallas over the past 7-8 years, so I wasn't as bothered as some fans.  I basically quit watching after they called Dickerson for another imaginary offside penalty, then gave DAL 35 yards on a 7 yard completion.  I've never seen the rule enforced that way before, and I never will again.  Give a team credit for the completion, tack on the PI yardage, then tack on the personal foul for a 3-dipper?  Nonsense.

The game went exactly how I was afraid it would go.  I said it on Saturday; another 6 or 7 points in the first half means they will be down more than two TDs by halftime.  This is four consecutive weeks now:

Chiefs -- 7 points and down 10+; came back to win 21-17

Bills -- 7 points and down 10+; came back to win 37-34 in OT

49ers -- 6 points; got blown out

DAL -- 6 points again; got blown out

 

Something has to drastically change on offense.  I think everyone knows the defense is mid-tier at best, but the offense should be a top 5 unit.  The scripted plays to start the game simply aren't working, and the current NFL games are basically a race to 30 points.  That means 17-20 points are needed in the first half if you want to play with the lead.  6-7 points in an entire half of football is just terrible.  The Eagles going 2-2 in this stretch is fortunate.

The obvious answer is to bring in an offensive consultant.  Frank Reich is the logical choice, but  a) he might be burnt out from getting fired two years in a row, and   b) he and Sirianni together might just be an echo chamber and not generate any new ideas.  Something has to change on offense, though.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

How is this measured? As far as I know Smith never ran an official 40 because the combine was deep sixed the year he was drafted, the sole measurement recorded on the net appears to be a half assed 40 he ran for fun his second year in college when he wasn't putting up numbers for a draft stock.

This is eye test + he was running a 4.5ish in training for the draft. Keep in mind that 4.5 with a very low BMI. 

This is not a knock on Smith. He's good! He's just not a speedster, so asking him to win on crossing routes on a blitz and run away from guys is just not his game.

For all the issues...
We're still a top 5 offense by EPA/play. 8th in DVOA.

11 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Honestly the issues with slay in social media started back in the offseason with his contract. Slay is still playing at a solid level but they never should’ve extended his contract at his age and while they would’ve been worse at corner this year, long term not tied to him past this year. It’d have been really nice to not have to pay him what he’s gonna make 2024 and shift that money to let’s say a FA like jaylon Johnson. 

I honestly don't care about his social media presence.   What bothers me is that he's making it clear where his priorities are.  His priorities are all about him.  He didn't come to the defense of his teammates when Joyner called out their tackling (not that it was truly defensible), but all about distancing himself from the criticism.  

 

Hard to believe he's a captain on this team.   Blankenship would be a better choice.  Same with AJ Brown.  Simple answer for him after last night's game.   "Offensively, we can't have the turnovers.  It is inexcusable, and falls on me for my part in that.   We need to take better care of the ball.  We cost ourselves points and gave our defense no margin for error.  We didn't score a TD offensively, in large part, because we fumbled 3 times.  We can't do that.  Fighting for an extra yard here or there isn't worth losing the football.   Have to make protecting the ball the top priority."    Instead, he points the finger elsewhere.   Leaders take responsibility AND make corrections.   All we get, at most, is lip service.   

 

 

Hey Eagles... prove me wrong.

2 minutes ago, RLC said:

For all the issues...
We're still a top 5 offense by EPA/play. 8th in DVOA.

That's very reassuring...

 

 

Except that it isn't.  Most meaningful statistics are on the scoreboard.   And this team has had it handed to them in back to back matchups.   Advanced metrics don't mean a thing when obvious metrics are horrid.   Too many turnovers.   Too many 3 and outs.   Not enough points scored.   Bad in the red zone... AGAIN.  

16 minutes ago, judunno said:

We have no masterminds 😞 Or at least none that have the power to do anything. It's so cool to see like Shanahan, Bieniemy, or McCarthy or somebody knowing that they're going to dial up some cool ish. We run the same ole boring BS every week thinking we're just going to out talent folks. 

You don’t even have to dial up cool plays, just more than 3 different run plays 2 of them being designed to  your QB and passing concepts that put stress on the defense anywhere.
 

The last two teams were played make us throw over the top, yet our defense gives you free 8 yards per play before getting touched lol. We’re playing football like it’s 1990 but with zero physicality. Our stuff coaching and schemes are so rudimentary  

 

Completely inept staff. 

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I honestly don't care about his social media presence.   What bothers me is that he's making it clear where his priorities are.  His priorities are all about him.  He didn't come to the defense of his teammates when Joyner called out their tackling (not that it was truly defensible), but all about distancing himself from the criticism.  

 

Hard to believe he's a captain on this team.   Blankenship would be a better choice.  Same with AJ Brown.  Simple answer for him after last night's game.   "Offensively, we can't have the turnovers.  It is inexcusable, and falls on me for my part in that.   We need to take better care of the ball.  We cost ourselves points and gave our defense no margin for error.  We didn't score a TD offensively, in large part, because we fumbled 3 times.  We can't do that.  Fighting for an extra yard here or there isn't worth losing the football.   Have to make protecting the ball the top priority."    Instead, he points the finger elsewhere.   Leaders take responsibility AND make corrections.   All we get, at most, is lip service.   

 

 

Hey Eagles... prove me wrong.

Slay isn't the problem. Far from it.

4 minutes ago, RLC said:

For all the issues...
We're still a top 5 offense by EPA/play. 8th in DVOA.

F the stats. What do your own two eyes tell you about the Eagles offense?

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

Except that it isn't.  Most meaningful statistics are on the scoreboard.   And this team has had it handed to them in back to back matchups.   Advanced metrics don't mean a thing when obvious metrics are horrid.   Too many turnovers.   Too many 3 and outs.   Not enough points scored.   Bad in the red zone... AGAIN.  

DVOA and EPA/play are more predictive than all the metrics you mentioned.

I'm not absolving the offense. They should be top 4, not top 8. But there's a path at least for us winning out.

13 minutes ago, pisceschica said:

The only thing I have left to look forward to is seeing dallas get eliminated from the playoffs. Hopefully the eagles do enough to win the division just so they don't get a home playoff game. 

Only team that can beat them in the NFC right now is SF.   Better hope SF doesn't pull a choke job and lose in the playoffs.  Then Dallas will have an easier route to the SB.

Of course Dallas could choke in the playoffs as well.

Just now, GoEagles614 said:

You don’t even have to dial up cool plays, just more than 3 different run schemes 2 of them bring to  your QB and passing concepts that put stress on the defense anywhere. The last two teams were played make us throw over the top, yet our defense gives you free 8 yards per play before getting touched lol

 

Completely inept staff. 

What you just explained for an offense is cool to me... lol. I miss the jet sweep looks and all that is all. I think we're giving Hurts too much flexibility to check out of a RB run. They should be killing undersized teams with two high safeties on the ground. They did avg over 4 yards a carry yesterday. They just started off with the wrong approach of making Hurts the initial focal point of the run game. I'm starting to think he's calling his on number on those. If you know your QB is a turnover machine this year and not quite 100% why would you risk the exposure. That's what RBs are for. I just don't get it.

Hurts is a major problem. He plays hero ball vs advancing. That pass to Smith could have been a first if he ran but he constantly wants the big play vs moving the ball. Same with him checking the run and passing often.

17 minutes ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

Sydney Brown has some flashes when he's out there, but I get the feeling that injuries are going to plague him. If he can get through that, I think they're going to have a very good player in him. 

Kid's gonna be a player. He flies to the ball and brings the wood. He's already caught up to the speed of the game. Now it's about repetition, practice, and fully grasping assignments.