Eagles’ Dependence on Talent Is Troubling

By Justin Giampietro

When the Philadelphia Eagles were down A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson in their Week 4 clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, some were expecting a loss (atypical for a team as good as the Birds).

Not only did the Eagles lose, but they did so pretty emphatically—the game was never close.

Philadelphia, looking like they were playing a completely different sport than Tampa Bay, had their biggest weakness exposed to the world.

That weakness is that they are utterly clueless without a drastic talent advantage over their opponent.

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Eagles Crumble When There Isn’t a Talent Gap

Ordinarily, losing three top-tier players in a road matchup against a team that won a playoff game is a death sentence. But talent-wise, the Eagles were still objective neck-and-neck with Tampa Bay, if not better. People had every reason to think they’d win.

With almost even defenses in terms of expected points average per play (EPA/play), the better offensive line still objectively belonging to Philadelphia, and the top two playmakers in the game being members of the Eagles (Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts), it’s almost like those three studs weren’t needed.

But in practice, they were because the Eagles depended on their talent to win football games. When two sides are more or less even, they get crushed.

Last week was not the first time this happened.

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Counting Theme from the 2023 Season

The best roster Philadelphia faced last season was the San Francisco 49ers, and the result was a 42-19 whooping. Without Brown in the playoffs against the Buccaneers, it was a 32-9 whooping. If an enormous talent advantage isn’t present, the Birds play like they did in Week 4 way too often.

It has been a theme both last season and this one that the Eagles get outplayed by basically everyone. Vastly superior talent has been hiding the team’s struggles for a long time now—it is finally starting to show record-wise (2-2 isn’t bad by any means, but it’s certainly a disappointment).

Now, every team needs a good core of players to win football games. It’s just not feasible to win weekly with zero talent. However, teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders, and Pittsburgh Steelers manage just fine. Even the Green Bay Packers won two games with Malik Willis as their quarterback instead of the previously highest-paid player in NFL history, Jordan Love.

The Eagles weren’t always the way they are now, though. Between play-calling and consistently losing the turnover battle, they have severely fallen from their glory days in 2022. The good news is that all of this is fixable, at least in theory—much of the same faces are present.

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But until smarter football is played, expect the same result. Confidence should be fading.

The Eagles still have the potential to be one of the best teams in the NFL. Home-field advantage in the postseason is very much in play, and a first-round bye week is also in the cards.

But something has to click for this team.

The way Philadelphia operates now will make them lucky to see the playoffs. And that’s assuming the key players stay healthy.

This team is way too good to play like they are—something has to change. Head coach Nick Sirianni’s seat isn’t just hot; it has gone up in flames.

https://phlsportsnation.com/2024/10/04/philadelphia-eagles-dependence-on-talent-troubling/

 

5 hours ago, time2rock said:

With almost even defenses in terms of expected points average per play (EPA/play), the better offensive line still objectively belonging to Philadelphia, and the top two playmakers in the game being members of the Eagles (Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts), it’s almost like those three studs weren’t needed.

Ignore the stats the eye test tells us that our defense gives up a lot of yards and is going to give the opposition chances to score points. 

And to say Hurts is one of the top play makers? Seriously? He’s a turnover machine and has been since the start of last year.

Without AJ we know Hurts struggles and is one of the worst QBs in the league. Take away Smith and Johnson too and put him against a defense that feasts on him? I mean there was no chance from the off.

On 10/6/2024 at 9:05 AM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Ignore the stats the eye test tells us that our defense gives up a lot of yards and is going to give the opposition chances to score points. 

And to say Hurts is one of the top play makers? Seriously? He’s a turnover machine and has been since the start of last year.

Without AJ we know Hurts struggles and is one of the worst QBs in the league. Take away Smith and Johnson too and put him against a defense that feasts on him? I mean there was no chance from the off.

Correct, though this isn't the narrative you're going to hear. Lol.

This topic should really be talked about more by the team's beat writers.  They rely on talent so much that they never appear to have a game plan/strategy for their opponents.  They just want to "out talent" them.  It's absolutely criminal.

I mean, if we keep losing eventually we might have to acknowledge that our "talent" isn't that great. Sure, Brown, Smith, and Barkley are studs, and there's no question we've got talent at O-Line. But can we say our defense is that talented at the moment? There are some guys that have potential, sure, but if you let the Bucs embarrass you for a full 60 minutes the way they just did, maybe that unit isn't filled with "talent." And of course, most of it comes down to Hurts. He had an amazing and magical year three, but eventually you might have to acknowledge that that year was the outlier and he's more the turnover prone, slow decision maker we've seen in years 1,2, 4, and 5 than the guy he was in 3.