Watching Daniels yesterday he made some throws with ease that I don’t see Hurts making. Seems much more comfortable in the pocket and can go through his reads. And this is week 4 of his rookie season. 

Also, he has Terry McLaurin and pretty much no one else. Hurts has the best weapons in the NFL when healthy. 

1 hour ago, Alphagrand said:

He's not.  It's Moore's scheme, Moore's offense, and Moore calls the plays.

Sirianni only kept his job on the condition that he and Howie get on the phone and hire two experienced coordinators -- that was widely reported and verified.  Sirianni keeping playcalling and/or vetoing scheme would be the express lane to unemployment.  That's why Doug was fired; the plan Doug laid out in his meeting with Lurie was to retain Press Taylor and Undin and install Hurts as full time starting QB.  That's what got him fired.  Sirianni likely would have been fired if he took a position of keeping Brian Johnson and Desai/Patricia.

The NFL has adjusted to Hurts and have slowed down/shut down what he wants to do.  The NFL does that.  Defensive coordinators are paid very well to force the QBs to adjust.  Until Hurts starts learning defenses at an advanced level we're going to continue seeing what we're seeing at the QB position.

And yet, he's on the record saying that he did just that.  🤔

40 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I don't think anyone here thinks Belichick is a bad coach.  I just don't trust him to hire a good OC and to not push for an undue influence on free agency and the draft.  

Tell him Moore is the OC and tell him he’s not making final decisions on free agency and draft.

We have good offensive players and talent in the secondary finally, if this was a rebuild I wouldn’t want him. Brown, Smith, Goedert, Barkley and a good Oline and we aren’t serious contenders? … F’ing A man.

I wonder how many turnovers Hurts will have this week. 

For starters today, I would have immediately stripped Slay’s captain spot after his tantrum yesterday and given it to Barkley or any other adult in the room. 

36 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Damn, Mutumbo passed away from brain cancer. Just 58.

What's the deal with brain cancer and this city?!      So many, mostly Phillies, but this stings.

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

What’s amazing that might not even be the worst trio of eagles WRs we’ve seen in the last 5 years. I’d argue JJAW, reagor and Hightower was worse. 

End of the year in 2019 was the absolute worst, I think.  

 

 

Here’s the thing with the aspects of the offense we keep seeing and don’t like…the common denominator is NOT Siriani.

Siriani ran the offense in 2021.  Didn’t go great and turned over a lot to Steichen.  Hurts wasn’t great, or even good, in the second half of that year, but the offense was pretty good as they turned into an elite running team.

2022…everyone was awesome.  We heard the rumblings that they didn’t have Hurts reading the whole field.  But regardless, it was a great year.

2023…Brian Johnson was calling the plays and running a lot of the offense.  (how’s he doing in DC?).  But things were bad.

2024…it was a running joke all offseason that we all know Siri does NOTHING.  Kellen Moore is running this offense.  We know this.  Blame Siri for being a useless HC, but don’t credit or discredit him for the performance of the offense.

Anything you see in this offense that is repeating itself over the years…that is each and every one of the OC’s compensating for Hurts’ limitations as a qb.  That’s the common denominator here.

4 minutes ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

For starters today, I would have immediately stripped Slay’s captain spot after his tantrum yesterday and given it to Barkley or any other adult in the room. 

Team has a very bad leadership problem from coaches down to players. Barkley, Smith, Graham, Lane seem to be only level headed leaders on the team. Hurts can think he’s a good leader but IMO he’s selfish and him coughing up the ball so much has to lose confidence of his teammates. He’s constantly putting them in tough positions.

17 minutes ago, Texas Eagle said:

Tune in on black Monday

We will have wasted more prime years for our best players by then 

3 minutes ago, Texas Eagle said:

Team has a very bad leadership problem from coaches down to players. Barkley, Smith, Graham, Lane seem to be only level headed leaders on the team. Hurts can think he’s a good leader but IMO he’s selfish and him coughing up the ball so much has to lose confidence of his teammates. He’s constantly putting them in tough positions.

The thing I’ll give Hurts credit for is he’s always been the same guy through good and bad. He was using the same platitudes in his press conferences when times were good in 2022 and people ate it up. He’s still the same guy now through his struggles. I think he has a talent issue, not necessarily a leadership issue and he won’t lose his guys… for now. 

9 minutes ago, twistr said:

I wonder how many turnovers Hurts will have this week. 

Seeing as he already fumbled his press conference at least one!

I want to see this offense without Nick because we have too many offensive players in their primes to not at least see what it looks like.

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Both sides had to suck terribly for it to get as far out of hand as it did early.  24-0 doesn't happen just because the defense sucked.   The offense was completely and totally inept, and then Isaiah Rodgers decided to chip in with a bonehead play to top it all off!

True but in my mind the D had to keep us in the game today as i expected the O to struggle.

3 minutes ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

The thing I’ll give Hurts credit for is he’s always been the same guy through good and bad. He was using the same platitudes in his press conferences when times were good in 2022 and people ate it up. He’s still the same guy now through his struggles. I think he has a talent issue, not necessarily a leadership issue and he won’t lose his guys… for now. 

Yeah but it’s gotten old. Also him not having Sirianni’s back on softball questions, or at all (as much as I can’t stand Nick) isnt a sign of a good leader. Him playing selfish hero ball in crucial moments isn’t a sign of a good leader. Him not ever holding a tablet on the sideline looking to improve isn’t a sign of a good leader.

Long post, but it's Monday so you don't want to be working anyway. Every week people debate who's to blame, often based on their bias. People who hate Hurts blame him and downplay the rest. People who hate Fangio's scheme blame the defense and ignore the offense's mistakes. People who hate Howie blame him for drafting only from Georgia and signing weak linebackers.

There's a whole list of problems with the team, and they all point to leadership, philosophy and coaching. They talk about standard, culture, accountability...but are not holding themselves or anyone else accountable, until it's time to scapegoat someone and fire them. Yes Hurts is a problem, what are the coaches doing about it? Yes the defense is a problem, what are the coaches doing about it? Yes some of the players are soft, what are the coaches doing about it?

Let's go through the list of problems. Coaches first. 

• Fangio: he doesn't even speak to the other coaches, doesn't share "his" special analytics with the other coaches. He has said that in press conferences. Wait, what? What kind of setup is that? He is a grumpy stubborn old man set in his ways and isn't going to let anyone tell him what to do. He throws players under the bus in the media - some fans celebrate that as tough talk and telling it like it is - but players from other teams reported not liking him and responding to him. That would be fine if they were doing well. They surprised in the Saints game but have sucked otherwise. Fangio needs to put up or shut up.

• Moore: he was supposed to take all the talent on this roster, and be the savior of OC by designing plays to their strengths and making better calls in the games. I was willing to give him 4-5 games to adjust and review film and see what's working and what's not. It's unfortunate that he's lost his 2 top WRs and now Lane. They did manage to use Goedert and Barkley against the Saints. Siri says he calls the plays...except the times Siri says he called the play. We already know in 2022 Siri started off calling the plays and the offense was bad, then he let Steichen call the plays and they excelled. One thing that has continued is the strange use of the RB position. Barkley is a star, leading the league in rushing going into last week. And they limited his carries. When your two star WRs are out, you lean heavily on your star RB. So far Moore hasn't saved the offense but I do think we need to see them after the bye and with AJ and Smith back. He should be spending the bye tweaking the offense to what works and doesn't...and telling Siri to let him cook.

• Siri: I have no problem with a HC who doesn't call plays. Other teams do it. The HC doesn't call defensive plays and no one ever complains about that. The CEO HC model is supposed to free him up to manage the game and make in-game decisions and adjustments. He has absolutely failed at that. His 4th down decisions, his situational football are severely lacking. He goes with analytics...until he doesn't and goes with his gut to be aggressive. He chooses to be aggressive when he should be conservative and when he should be aggressive he gets hesitant (IMO that rubs off on the players decision making). He is overly emotional and childish and should be the leader of men. He has been an embarrassment taunting other teams and their fans. He should be holding these men accountable and not tolerating some of the nonsense we see. He wasn't ready to be a HC. The NFL plucks coordinators after 1 or 2 seasons and makes them a HC too early. He should be fired as his leadership trickles down and effects the entire team. There are some good things he does, and some players like him and stick up for him. But maybe they like him because he's their cheerleader and emotional support instead of leader. I see him as the #1 problem, and getting a better Head Coach would help address the other problems.

Players.

• Hurts: I've both defended him and criticized him because I don't think he's as bad as his haters say, but he's not elite like homers say. It's been enough years that we know what he is. He is erratic and you don't always know what you get. Sometimes he makes great plays, sometimes he makes dumb mistakes and turns the ball over. I do like that he doesn't panic and stays calm. He has led game-winning drives in pressure situations. He has also forced dumb turnovers in pressure situations. He's a mixed bag. There are certain plays and designs that play to his strengths and his running ability is a great asset...other times he is running slow and hesitant. There are times he makes very accurate throws, goes through more than 1 read (despite fans never admitting he ever does that), there are times he throws accurate deep passes, times he uses his eyes to move the defense off a defender, times he calls audibles that create a successful play. Then there are also times he makes the wrong read, he too often misses open receivers, he too often fixates on the first read. He doesn't actually do well scrambling. People criticized him in his early years for not being able to stay in the pocket, but this year everyone is admitting he throws best from the pocket, not scrambling. In the last 2 seasons, he's done more bad or average than he has great. I don't know the answer, but he and the coaches have to figure out how to get the better performance out of him, because he's capable and has proven to do some great things...just not consistently enough.

• Coaching Hurts: I have been trying to understand his mentality. He is a coach's son and people have always said he's a coach's player, meaning he respects his coach and follows what he's told to do. In his interviews he's always saying the players have to execute and he doesn't take the bait to blame coaches. Except, in the last couple years comments have crept in where you can tell he's frustrated by the coaches but either won't say so, or alludes to something. He was confident and played at an MVP level in 2022...ever since, he seems hesitant and not as confident. It's been reported he and Siri don't get along. He was asked yesterday if he and Siri talk about the game plan and strategy through the week and he said "We have our moments." When you read between the lines, he doesn't trust Siri. But what about Moore? He came here with no ties, completely from the outside and what's his relationship like with Jalen? Hurts seems to have confidence issues, or he's not comfortable in the scheme, or they're not completely coaching to his strengths to set him up best for success? Hurts has to take ownership of his reaction and relationship to coaches, and they also need to take ownership of designing and calling plays that cater to his strengths. But something has been "off" for the last 2 years. Maybe he really liked Brian Johnson but also was frustrated by his performance. Something hasn't been right and the coaches should be able to see what it is and fix it. 

• What is best for Hurts going forward? Hurts is not elite. There is really only 1 elite QB in the NFL right now anyway. We were used to the days of Brady, Manning but also having Brees and other good QBs who were just below that tier. Now the NFL has a lot of streaky QBs who have up and down games. Hurts can be a good NFL QB with the right scheme and decisions. He has an elite offense around him. This offense should be dominant. It sucks that AJ and Smitty are out. Even without them, against the Saints they used Barkley and Goedert. Paris Campbell had a TD yesterday. There is talent there to utilize. Siri and Moore need to hold themselves accountable and stop forcing things that don't work. They need to not think Hurts is McNabb or Mahomes, he's not a magician that's going to make plays and throw off the defense and make great things happen on his own. Last year I felt like they were just playing street ball tossing it to the WRs. The offense needs to be about the playmakers and scheming to put the ball in the hands of Brown, Smith, Barkley and Goedert, and mix in the other guys. Hurts running needs to be used sparingly as designed QB draws or to escape pressure and just run up the middle to gain positive yards (instead of scramble and cause a fumble or interception). They need to run more plays from under center, reduce the RPOs (or get rid of them? I know fans have had different opinions on that). If it means Hurts essentially becomes a game manager, so be it. They have so much talent around him.

• The other players: This team has overall a good roster. There are issues and weaknesses of course. I've criticized Howie a lot over the years, but he's built a good roster overall. There are still some issues. They continue to devalue LB, but he did add Baun who has been good. There's the Huff vs Reddick thing, Nakobe Dean and Nolan Smith and other issues. Jalen Carter everyone agreed was a great pick and should be an elite player. Jordan Davis was a gamble, they admitted that. Mitchell is a hit, people liked the DeJean pick, and he rebuilt the secondary with some good moves. They rely on small pass rushers, Sweat regressed badly and BG is great but he's supposed to retire (or is he?) and we love him but in a way it's sad that he's our best defensive end still, because they haven't added anyone else. Slay and CJGJ are entitled and overhype themselves, but on the field they do at least bring some swag...when they're not missing assignments and giving up TDs. All that to say, there is enough talent on the team that the coaches should be able to scheme to their strengths. They should also be benching players to hold them accountable and teach the team a true lesson on culture, standards and accountability. I think one reason is they feel pressure to play guys they gave a contract to, used high draft position or at one time had potential. Forget all that, hold these grown men accountable for real. While there are some problems with some roster positions, overall the coaches should be able to win with this roster. They always talk about putting guys in the best position...yet too often they don't. Too many of the players also lack leadership and maturity. I'd like to see a Head Coach elevate the level of maturity, accountability and demand more out of the players.

• Lurie/Howie: A lot has been said about Howie as a GM, debate over how much he and Lurie meddle in coaching decisions and all that. One thing we have to keep in mind is the Eagles almost never have back to back losing seasons. They are usually winning regular season games and making the playoffs. That doesn't happen by accident, over different coaching regimes. So they are doing something right. There are some organizational philosophies they do well: building the lines, how they manage the cap, extend players early to get them on cheaper deals, etc. They're not cheap and players want to come here to play. They are doing something right overall. They did finally win a SB and then get back to another one with a different coach and mostly new players. However, they should be able to win more and take the next step. I think they need to let go of their love of the Fangio scheme, prioritize drafting solid LBs, quit the small fast ball pass rushers and get some beasts on the edge. The defense needs players the other teams fear...Jalen Carter and Q are a good start. I think they also need to evaluate their relationship with the Head Coach. It's great to get along with them, but are they not holding Siri accountable? Howie seems to be buddies with him. Doug won them a SB and they fired him, they weren't afraid to fire Reid and pull the trigger on Chip when it got bad. So what will they do with Siri this year? It will tell us a lot.

You’re either of the opinion that Moore, who averaged the second most points scored on offense during his tenure with Dallas and who was voted as a top 5 OC after last season in an NFLPA poll has completely lost his ability to coach…. or maybe it’s the quarterback who has been the one constant through every OC change the past few years who is the issue. 

59 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Anyone with a brain (apparently that excludes the Eagles' coaching staff) knew that they were going to have to rely on the running game, and specifically on Barkley.   Yet, they ignored him pretty much the entire time.  He gets one carry to start the second half, breaks off a 65 yard run, sets them up for a TD... and then gets only 1 carry the rest of the game.   10 carries total.  WITH A BYE WEEK coming up!    Barkley was easily the best (only?) playmaker on the field for the team, and yet they put him on ice.   It's criminal.

 

You can't put this only on the D.  This was on the coaching staff, on all 3 sides of the ball.  ST sucked.  OFF sucked.  DEF sucked.

Yeah, I'm not giving the O a free pass here but to me the D absolutely had to keep things within reason while we figured out how to move the ball.  Yes to Barkley but it was going to take something more as well as TB was going to stack the box.

47 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Anyone with a brain (apparently that excludes the Eagles' coaching staff) knew that they were going to have to rely on the running game, and specifically on Barkley.   Yet, they ignored him pretty much the entire time.  He gets one carry to start the second half, breaks off a 65 yard run, sets them up for a TD... and then gets only 1 carry the rest of the game.   10 carries total.  WITH A BYE WEEK coming up!    Barkley was easily the best (only?) playmaker on the field for the team, and yet they put him on ice.   It's criminal.

 

You can't put this only on the D.  This was on the coaching staff, on all 3 sides of the ball.  ST sucked.  OFF sucked.  DEF sucked.

Go back and watch the game. Now count how many Bucs are within 5 yards of the LOS.

To start the game they had 9 in the box, they were basically daring Hurts to beat them passing b/c they could cover Campbell and Dotson man to man.

After the Bucs went up 24, they went to a more standard defense, Barkley had some successful runs and Eagles scored a couple TDs.

So they went back to 9 in the box with a heavy dose of blitzing.

 

Which isn't very surprising. Dotson is really bad, worse than Mitchell (another miss in the 1st rd).

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

What’s amazing that might not even be the worst trio of eagles WRs we’ve seen in the last 5 years. I’d argue JJAW, reagor and Hightower was worse. 

So convenient you left out future HOF Travis Fulgham off that list of our 2020 WR room.  Always an agenda with you  

16 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

End of the year in 2019 was the absolute worst, I think.  

the end of 2019 wentz was probably his best stretch outside of his 2017 year. 

Is Jeff Lurie good at hiring head coaches since Andy Reid? Or has he just gotten lucky with his last two head coaching hires that they each had one lightning in a bottle great season and turned out to be total duds?

Doug Pederson was a disaster after 2017 and has been a disaster with the Jags. Sirianni has been a disaster since 2022.

Chip Kelly was also a disaster.

Do you trust Jeff Lurie picking the right next head coach?

Which camp are you more in:

Camp 1: 2017 and 2022 were great years, you just can't write them off and pretend they didn't happen, so you have to say he's good at hiring head coaches. And most head coaching hires fail, so this in comparison have been successful and that's the only way to judge it.

Camp 2: He got lucky with his hires that each had one good fluky year and turned out to be bad coaches and him keeping Sirianni this year shows the flaws in his process when deciding what to do with head coach.

12 minutes ago, RLC said:

I want to see this offense without Nick because we have too many offensive players in their primes to not at least see what it looks like.

You are seeing it right now.  This is the offense without Nick.

4 minutes ago, paco said:

So convenient you left out future HOF Travis Fulgham off that list of our 2020 WR room.  Always an agenda with you  

Then man, the myth and 4 game legend!!!