2023 = 2018 All Over Again

[NOTW]

There could also be comparisons to a couple of Reid's teams that would eat in the regular season then regress.  Good enough to make the playoffs or win the division, and went to a string of NFCCGs but then exposed for the weaknesses (personnel and coaching) that would prevent them from getting over the top.

It's why winning last year was so important.  Lost by only 3 to the Chiefs.  2 of their TDs the receiver was wide open, thanks Gannon.  And the holding call at the end, etc.  So close.  

[Kz!]

2 minutes ago, NOTW said:

There could also be comparisons to a couple of Reid's teams that would eat in the regular season then regress.  Good enough to make the playoffs or win the division, and went to a string of NFCCGs but then exposed for the weaknesses (personnel and coaching) that would prevent them from getting over the top.

It's why winning last year was so important.  Lost by only 3 to the Chiefs.  2 of their TDs the receiver was wide open, thanks Gannon.  And the holding call at the end, etc.  So close.  

And the joke field surface that kept our pass rushers a mile away from Mahomes all game long, negating probably our best matchup on paper. Eff, still bitter about that game.  

[NJWolverEagle11]

1 hour ago, Sack that QB said:

Reminds me more of 2014 than 2018. 2014 the team was 9-3 and missed the playoffs. They similarly lost 3 straight games to end the season and the whole year never looked right and everyone knew they were a fraud 9-3 and then got exposed at the end of the season.

Pretty sure that was Mark Sanchez starting those games in 2014

[brkmsn]

2018 (season) is over. 2023 isn't. 

I understand ... a 3-game losing skid in December will rattle even the biggest of optimists. But we really can't compare it to any season until we see the final outcome. I doubt anybody employed by the Eagles cares about 2018 at all at this point. Hopefully they are all working to make the best of the upcoming postseason. 

But if you really want to compare the two seasons to date, we started 2018 with a 4-6 record, then closed out the regular season winning 5 of our last 6 games. This year we have 17 games, but started 10-1. We have lost the 1st 3 of our final 6 games. No real similarities to date. 

[JournalistMic]

Panthers are releasing four-time Pro-Bowl LB Justin Houston, per source. Houston wants to play again this season, but only for a contender.

[time2rock]

On 12/19/2023 at 10:06 AM, EaglesAddict said:

I think Sirianni is the main issue.  The talent on offense is being wasted by his lack of creative play designs.  Either that, or he designs the offense he does because he doesn't have faith that Hurts can run anything more complex.  And watching Hurts continually not be able to stand tall in the pocket, go through progressions, find the open guy, etc...that could certainly be part of it.  But a better, more creative offensive designer and play caller would be able to come up with something to get Hurts going.

Exactly ... most of the blame needs to lie at the feet of the HC.  It is obvious he needed someone in 2021 to help with the general scheme (going more run heavy) and play calling (the offense got leagues better once Sirianni handed off the play calling duties to Steichen).  The offense now looks so much like those early days (while Nick was still calling the plays) ... it is obvious we needed a seasoned, experienced veteran offensive mind as an OC (bumping up Johnson was not the answer and I guess I was in the minority then that I didn't think it was the right move ... had he gotten poached then so be it).  We weakened 2 coaching positions with that one move as Hurts clearly has regressed since Johnson was replaced with Tanney.  Gut says we would be in a much better position (offensively) had we hired externally.  

[Kz!]

10 hours ago, JournalistMic said:

Panthers are releasing four-time Pro-Bowl LB Justin Houston, per source. Houston wants to play again this season, but only for a contender.

Dang, would have been a nice pickup. 

[The Norseman]

21 hours ago, LacesOut said:

Hurts is way worse this year. Totally has regressed. He's a turn over machine. I watch the games and just wait for it to happen.

This can not be overstated.  Not defending Brian Johnson or anyone else here...but a new OC isn't going to fix Hurts' terrible play of late.

[time2rock]

EDIT:  this photo needs to be added to post #1 (it perfectly sums up the topic  )

[Kz!]

13 minutes ago, time2rock said:

[time2rock]

For the record, I can not take credit for creating that.  I stumbled upon that this morning on one of the fan pages and was like wow, someone else thinking the exact same (but I'm sure plenty are) and felt it worth sharing in this thread.  

[NOTW]

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

Exactly ... most of the blame needs to lie at the feet of the HC.  It is obvious he needed someone in 2021 to help with the general scheme (going more run heavy) and play calling (the offense got leagues better once Sirianni handed off the play calling duties to Steichen).  The offense now looks so much like those early days (while Nick was still calling the plays) ... it is obvious we needed a seasoned, experienced veteran offensive mind as an OC (bumping up Johnson was not the answer and I guess I was in the minority then that I didn't think it was the right move ... had he gotten poached as OC then so be it).  We weakened 2 coaching positions with that one move as Hurts clearly has regressed since Johnson was replaced with Tanney.  Gut says we would be in a much better position (offensively) had we hired externally.  

Yep.  They should have hired an experienced OC.  When you lose by only 3 points in the SB and you have a window, you don't get someone to learn on the job.  You can afford to do that (maybe) if you're rebuilding, not when you have a short SB window.

[time2rock]

Just now, NOTW said:

Yep.  They should have hired an experienced OC.  When you lose by only 3 points in the SB and you have a window, you don't get someone to learn on the job.  You can afford to do that (maybe) if you're rebuilding, not when you have a short SB window.

^^^^

EXACTLY!!  

I said the exact same back in 2018 after Reich got poached.  I wanted to hire Caldwell then.  And for the exact same reason you just stated ... you were just in the SB ... you're window is as wide open as you can possibly get.  Why not maximize the chances of returning by bringing in someone to better help you get there.  I absolutely hate that we are in this exact same frustrating as all hell position once again.  

[NOTW]

23 minutes ago, time2rock said:

^^^^

EXACTLY!!  

I said the exact same back in 2018 after Reich got poached.  I wanted to hire Caldwell then.  And for the exact same reason you just stated ... you were just in the SB ... you're window is as wide open as you can possibly get.  Why not maximize the chances of returning by bringing in someone to better help you get there.  I absolutely hate that we are in this exact same frustrating as all hell position once again.  

Yes, in both situations they thought continuity hiring from within would keep things going.  And that can work if it's the right person. It seems in both cases the OC who left was the main reason the offense performed well.

[bitbased]

2 hours ago, The Norseman said:

This can not be overstated.  Not defending Brian Johnson or anyone else here...but a new OC isn't going to fix Hurts' terrible play of late.

We literally just watched the Bills take a complete 180 on the offensive side from switching OCs. It's pretty much a joke to not put a chunk of the blame on the offensive scheme. We've seen time and time again where routes are literally running right into each other and we completely neglect the middle of the field for some reason while Hurts made his best throws into the middle of the field this game. AJ never gets any balls up the middle except for slants.

The offense has literally been stuck in mud all season. Our situational playcalling is absolute garbage.

[The Norseman]

38 minutes ago, bitbased said:

We literally just watched the Bills take a complete 180 on the offensive side from switching OCs. It's pretty much a joke to not put a chunk of the blame on the offensive scheme. We've seen time and time again where routes are literally running right into each other and we completely neglect the middle of the field for some reason while Hurts made his best throws into the middle of the field this game. AJ never gets any balls up the middle except for slants.

The offense has literally been stuck in mud all season. Our situational playcalling is absolute garbage.

Don't disagree one bit.  But Hurts is also making bad reads, telegraphing passes, bailing out of the pocket to soon and holding on to the ball too long.  I don't think those things are all due to the offensive scheme. 

[eagle45]

On 12/19/2023 at 10:56 AM, Gannan said:

In 2018 we had one of the best coaches in the NFL. It was our QB who was horrible. Now its the opposite. 

Wentz was decisively better in 2018 than Hurts in 2023.

[Gannan]

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Wentz was decisively better in 2018 than Hurts in 2023.

Wentz couldn't hit miles Sanders on a basic dumpoff when he was 8 yards away in 2018. 

[[TSM]_PimpDaddyPain]

On 12/19/2023 at 10:06 AM, RunItBAck said:

you think a couple coaching changes is the result we see? 

It's a blend of aging players declining, young players not developing, and not filling holes from free agency. 

Having Bill Belichick at DC wouldn't fix the fact that Bradberry has fallen off after a good first year with his team. Did it with the panthers, giants, and now the Eagles. We lack talent and coaching now...team is mid

There are definitely some holes on defense due to losing a few key players to FA that we did not really replace.  The offense is loaded and there's no reason they shouldn't be scoring 30 points a game. 

But yes, coaching is also a significant factor in the decline from last year to this year.  Nick is clearly in over his head with inexperienced coordinators.  BJ was clearly a better QB coach than an OC.  There's no way we lose to the Jets and Seahawks with last year's coordinators. 

[RunItBAck]

2 hours ago, Gannan said:

Wentz couldn't hit miles Sanders on a basic dumpoff when he was 8 yards away in 2018. 

and he was still better, put that in perspective. 

[Iggles_Phan]

Will we get the repeat of the Double Doink?   That might actually make all this worth it.

[EaglesAddict]

On 12/20/2023 at 9:22 AM, time2rock said:

Crazy!  If this pattern holds true, then we have one more year of BJ as the OC.  Then in 2025 we go without an OC and do some convoluted passing game coordinator crap and draft a QB with a premium pick.

[EaglesAddict]

On 12/20/2023 at 8:09 AM, time2rock said:

Exactly ... most of the blame needs to lie at the feet of the HC.  It is obvious he needed someone in 2021 to help with the general scheme (going more run heavy) and play calling (the offense got leagues better once Sirianni handed off the play calling duties to Steichen).  The offense now looks so much like those early days (while Nick was still calling the plays) ... it is obvious we needed a seasoned, experienced veteran offensive mind as an OC (bumping up Johnson was not the answer and I guess I was in the minority then that I didn't think it was the right move ... had he gotten poached then so be it).  We weakened 2 coaching positions with that one move as Hurts clearly has regressed since Johnson was replaced with Tanney.  Gut says we would be in a much better position (offensively) had we hired externally.  

I hear ya, and perhaps that would have been the better way to go.  Personally, I didn't mind promoting BJ, thought it made sense.  Not sure who we could have gotten at that time of year to replace Steichen though. 

Wonder if there will be any thought to bringing in Frank Reich for next season.  Although, Reich did say after he was fired by the Panthers that was "probably the final chapter of his NFL career".  So, who knows if he will want to coach again.  That said, he'd be a solid addition.  I doubt they'll fire BJ in the offseason, but I could see Reich being some kind of "senior assistant" or consultant or whatever.  Hopefully he would be heavily involved in designs and game plans.

[Gannan]

19 hours ago, RunItBAck said:

and he was still better, put that in perspective. 

For one game maybe. Hurst won the KC, Buffalo, and first Cowboys games almost single handed. 

[NOTW]

This repeat pattern would be ok if last year also was a repeat of winning the Super Bowl.