"Eagles Respond to Bombshell ‘It Could All Be Blown Up’ Report"

[EricAllenPick6]

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Eagles Respond to Bombshell ‘It Could All Be Blown Up’ Report

 

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• By Mike Greger

• Updated Nov 16, 2020 at 9:55pm

GettyEagles coach Doug Pederson gets input from franchise QB Carson Wentz on a play-call.

Has any first-place team in NFL history ever endured this much drama? The Eagles are sitting pretty in the NFC East at 3-5-1 with seven games left. However, it has been painful to watch at times as the offense continues to stall out and plod along at a snail’s pace. One reason being attributed to Philly’s struggles is "sloppy practice habits” from Carson Wentz.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Silver, the Eagles quarterback has been "allowed to perpetuate” some sloppy practice habits, like "not checking the ball down, or knowing when to give up on a play, forcing the ball to predetermined receivers, and maybe overestimating his once elite athleticism.”

It’s a loaded gun full of unfounded accusations but Silver is a plugged-in national reporter, perhaps there is some truth behind his bombshell report. He also thinks if the Eagles’ "downward spiral” continues, then the team may decide to blow it up and start over with second-round pick Jalen Hurts.

"Listen, they drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round. That was clearly a signal that they are not necessarily standing pat at that position,” Silver said. "So I think organizationally, they would like to continue to build this around Carson Wentz but I think if this downward spiral continues, there’s a sense it could all be blown up.”

 

In terms of Doug Pederson, Silver emphasized how "well-liked” the head coach is inside the building but he may have too many voices in his headset. Remember, the organization never named an offensive coordinator choosing instead to build a collaborative coaching staff — Rich Scangarello, Marty Mornhinweg, Press Taylor, Duce Staley, Andrew Breiner — all have significant input on the gameplan.

 

"Doug Pederson is extremely well-liked in that building but the facts are facts,” Silver said. "There’s a feeling that Pederson may be listening to too many voices. There are a lot of offensive assistants on that staff and Pederson is amenable to their suggestions and the gameplan doesn’t really fit together … a lot of frustration swirling in the air in that building.”

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Pederson Denies Bombshell NFL Network Report

The first thing Pederson wanted to address about the report citing bad practice habits by Wentz was the fundamental flaw in how the information was mined.

For starters, reporters aren’t allowed in for the detailed portions of practice. They don’t get to see what really goes on behind closed doors. Even so, the head coach admitted he hadn’t heard Silver’s remarks anyway.

"Well, first of all, I did not see the report and secondly, you guys are only out there for a short period of time, so I don’t know where the information is coming from,” Pederson said. "Practice is where we perfect our craft and we do the things with all of our players to detail their work.

"Whether it be fundamentals in the individual periods, all the way through to even for me sometimes even stopping practice and repeating a play because we’ve made a mistake. So I don’t understand where that’s coming from, and we’re just going to continue to coach and make sure we hold everybody accountable.”

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Intensive COVID-19 Protocols Played Factor in Brutal Loss

Pederson was making the media rounds on Monday and tried to shoulder the blame as much as possible. The head coach admitted his players are "pissed off” and "upset” and "frustrated.” You can pretty much use any synonym for anger and it’ll describe the mood in the Eagles’ locker room right now.

However, look at the NFC East standings and there is a legitimate opportunity for the Eagles to make a serious playoff push.

"Listen, I’m disappointed. We’re all disappointed,” Pederson told reporters on Monday. "The guys in the locker room at the end of the game, they were frustrated. They were mad. We’re all frustrated. And we know we’re so much better and we just got to buckle in this week and everything is still right in front of us and we got a great opportunity on Sunday.”

 

The Super Bowl-winning coach didn’t want to make any excuses for the brutal loss, although he did reference last week’s "intensive” protocol and coming off the bye. Once safety Marcus Epps and assistant defensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn tested positive for COVID-19, the Eagles had to lock down their practice facility and conduct all meetings virtually. It had an impact on the way they prepared.

"We’ve had 14 days since we played a game and, of course, we went into the intensive protocol last week and things were a little different for us,” Pederson said. "It’s still my responsibility to have the team ready to play and we came up short. And the guys are mad, they’re disappointed because of that.”

Link: https://heavy.com/sports/eagles-carson-wentz-sloppy-practices-blow-it-up/?fbclid=IwAR1S9_v76fbDSv66sEK93D_oZUh1HewlShocFuY8YVQJK7a9pj_0BL81Qsg

Some of this may be clickbait, but where there's smoke, there's fire.  "Sloppy practice habits" doesn't surprise me.  He has sloppy game skills.  This need to hold onto the ball too long, to make the big play, never check down, never accept a sack.  We've all seen that.  Sloppy practice leading to sloppy games should surprise none of us.

This might be a warning shot.  Forget the playoffs.  We need to get Carson going.  We need to figure out if he's our guy going forward or if it's Jalen Hurts time.

 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

At this point in the season I think the team need to forget that they are in with a good chance of winning the division.

With the run of games coming up, with the way this team has played all year, there's no harm in changing things at QB. 

At best it gives Wentz a major kick that he needs or gives the offense the shot that it needs. At worst? Well it can't be much worse than the dross offered up so far. 

They are in the position they are in not because they are a good team but because they've had a fortunate schedule and the division is historically bad. They aren't likely to be out of the race to win the division until the final game of the year because every team in this division sucks. 

[time2rock]

In the words of the comedic genius Eddie Murphy impersonating the late great Michael Jackson  ...  "Germaine, stop teasing!”

[time2rock]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

At this point in the season I think the team need to forget that they are in with a good chance of winning the division.

With the run of games coming up, with the way this team has played all year, there's no harm in changing things at QB. 

At best it gives Wentz a major kick that he needs or gives the offense the shot that it needs. At worst? Well it can't be much worse than the dross offered up so far. 

They are in the position they are in not because they are a good team but because they've had a fortunate schedule and the division is historically bad. They aren't likely to be out of the race to win the division until the final game of the year because every team in this division sucks. 

I was going to post the same about being in a good position to win the division ... they focus on that and completely ignore the fact that it is ONLY because it is a historically crappy division and not that we only have 3 wins.  That like saying you aced an exam that you scored a 68 on (while everyone else in class failed).  As is usual with this franchise, they like to delude themselves into thinking they are better than they really are.  

And Doug can STFU about the COVID protocols .... every team is dealing with the same.  That’s just a super lame excuse.

[birdman#12]

What you guys just don't want to grasp is the fact that NFL owners, GM and head coach don't give a sh-- about how they get into the playoffs or their chances once they get there.

If the eagles actually do go 5-10-1 and win the division, get into the playoff and by some miracle, they win 3 playoffs games and somehow win the super bowl, do you think Lurie, Roseman, Pedersen or anybody in Philly will give a sh-- if they were in the worst division in history?

The NFL is all about winning the Super Bowl and nobody gives a sh-- what they look like doing it.  And you can't get there without qualifying for the playoffs either as a division winner or a wildcard team.  It's the structure that the NFL set up and everybody plays within those same parameters.

If a 11-5 team has to come to the Linc and they lose, then I say to them, f--- you, win your division next time......maybe that 11-5 record was just an illusion.

Now obviously, this is an almost impossible scenario.  But my point is that ANY NFL owner, GM or HC would rather make the playoffs than get a better draft spot.

[time2rock]

1 hour ago, birdman#12 said:

What you guys just don't want to grasp is the fact that NFL owners, GM and head coach don't give a sh-- about how they get into the playoffs or their chances once they get there.

If the eagles actually do go 5-10-1 and win the division, get into the playoff and by some miracle, they win 3 playoffs games and somehow win the super bowl, do you think Lurie, Roseman, Pedersen or anybody in Philly will give a sh-- if they were in the worst division in history?

The NFL is all about winning the Super Bowl and nobody gives a sh-- what they look like doing it.  And you can't get there without qualifying for the playoffs either as a division winner or a wildcard team.  It's the structure that the NFL set up and everybody plays within those same parameters.

If a 11-5 team has to come to the Linc and they lose, then I say to them, f--- you, win your division next time......maybe that 11-5 record was just an illusion.

Now obviously, this is an almost impossible scenario.  But my point is that ANY NFL owner, GM or HC would rather make the playoffs than get a better draft spot.

Well sure, of course.  But how often do you think a team playing as poorly as we are with a record that reflects it can expect to make the postseason to then try to go on a roll??  I would think most owners, GMs, HCs would want to be in a position to remain legitimately competitive over a long stretch in much the same way teams like Seattle, Pittsburgh, NE, NO, etc have managed to do.  Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to take 2 (or more) steps forward.  

[PoconoDon]

If this is the new normal, I want to go back to the old normal.

[wyote]

How about we see if we lose the actual games before giving up? 

Someone needs to take the Rocky statue out of Philadelphia. This fan base is an embarrassment.

Do you guys give up on stuff this easily in your real lives, or do you work and persevere after failure and try to overcome obstacles? What do you do when life hits you?  

[wyote]

12 hours ago, time2rock said:

Well sure, of course.  But how often do you think a team playing as poorly as we are with a record that reflects it can expect to make the postseason to then try to go on a roll??  I would think most owners, GMs, HCs would want to be in a position to remain legitimately competitive over a long stretch in much the same way teams like Seattle, Pittsburgh, NE, NO, etc have managed to do.  Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to take 2 (or more) steps forward.  

Maybe. But no one will ever be a winner until they stop being a quitter. 

The day Doug or Howie or anyone else takes the "let's go ahead and lose now to try to gain some hypothetical strategic advantage in the future" is the day that I will agree with you that they need to get fired or cut or whatever. 

[time2rock]

2 hours ago, wyote said:

Maybe. But no one will ever be a winner until they stop being a quitter. 

The day Doug or Howie or anyone else takes the "let's go ahead and lose now to try to gain some hypothetical strategic advantage in the future" is the day that I will agree with you that they need to get fired or cut or whatever. 

I am not suggesting we lay down and purposely tank.  I'm merely suggesting that there could be some good that comes out of a really bad season that could potentially (operative word ... since there is no guarantee that if you do blow things up everything will automatically be better) put us back on an upward trajectory (we've been on a downward one since 2017). 

I don't see this team quitting which is a really good sign that Doug hasn't lost the team.  No, it appears they are still fighting hard.  We got here more because of poor coaching, poor QB play (which is partly on poor coaching), and overall poor talent level, relatively speaking (which is on talent evaluation as much as it is injuries). 

I just don't want the top decision makers to delude themselves into thinking this team is OK as is should we make the playoffs completely ignoring the fact that we did so only by winning a historically bad division with a record that, in any other year, wouldn't come close to getting us in, and fail to recognize that there are a lot of problems that need to be addressed if they really aspire to bring the concept of "new norm" to fruition (to be legitimate contenders annually).  

[time2rock]

3 hours ago, wyote said:

How about we see if we lose the actual games before giving up? 

Someone needs to take the Rocky statue out of Philadelphia. This fan base is an embarrassment.

Do you guys give up on stuff this easily in your real lives, or do you work and persevere after failure and try to overcome obstacles? What do you do when life hits you?  

If we somehow win 3 or 4 of the next 5 then absolutely that is the best case scenario for the team and hopefully it does happen.  But just how realistic do you think the odds are that we flip a switch to go from playing like one of the worst teams in the league to being one of the best?  Not giving up ... no, not at all.  I just don't believe this team can do it as currently constructed (between the players and the coaching).  I do hope they prove me wrong.  

[EricAllenPick6]

 

I'm not saying 'give up, we can't win'.  I'm saying Carson is a big problem.   When he was young, he had a ton of raw athleticism to go with crazy arm talent.  The athleticism is gone, but the arm talent is still there.  He needs to adjust his game, to be more disciplined and smarter about what he does with the ball.  He makes sloppy decisions.  He is not disciplined and does not seem to be concerned with improving himself as a QB.  I live in DC and watched RG3 first hand, and he looks a lot like RG3 did in the last year as a starter. 

It's not quitting to identify your flaws in order to better yourself.  We may be better off losing a few games giving Jalen Hurts experience then to continue to watch Carson regress.

[wyote]

51 minutes ago, time2rock said:

If we somehow win 3 or 4 of the next 5 then absolutely that is the best case scenario for the team and hopefully it does happen.  But just how realistic do you think the odds are that we flip a switch to go from playing like one of the worst teams in the league to being one of the best?  Not giving up ... no, not at all.  I just don't believe this team can do it as currently constructed (between the players and the coaching).  I do hope they prove me wrong.  

I don't know man. Surprising stuff happens in sports. I don't make predictions. I don't need to be proven right or wrong because it's not about how smart I am. 

I just want the Eagles to win this week. 

Then I'll want them to win the week after that. 

And so on. 

 

[wyote]

I don't know if a C. S. Lewis allusion is welcome here, but what we have here are men without chests. It looks like we have big heads -- oh, we're so smart about football -- but it's really because we have such small chests, so little courage and loyalty. 

We all know that fan that says, "I told you we wouldn't win." We've got a lot of them here. And some, I assume, are good people. 

[time2rock]

3 minutes ago, wyote said:

I don't know man. Surprising stuff happens in sports. I don't make predictions. I don't need to be proven right or wrong because it's not about how smart I am. 

I just want the Eagles to win this week. 

Then I'll want them to win the week after that. 

And so on. 

 

Every time I turn on an Eagles game I root for them to win.  I am simply not wired to do otherwise.  

[wyote]

9 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Every time I turn on an Eagles game I root for them to win.  I am simply not wired to do otherwise.  

Me too man. I want every Eagles player, coach, administrator, whatever to succeed. As long as they are an Eagle, I'll have their back. The day they leave, I mean, I guess I hope they go on to have decent lives. 

[time2rock]

2 hours ago, wyote said:

Me too man. I want every Eagles player, coach, administrator, whatever to succeed. As long as they are an Eagle, I'll have their back. The day they leave, I mean, I guess I hope they go on to have decent lives. 

I think we are all (or most of us, at least) are on the same page here.  Where we may differ is how optimistic we feel about our current chances of succeeding with the current structure (players, coaches, etc.) and the likelihood of an honest evaluation of everything being performed at season's end.  Not feeling optimistic about our chances is not the same as wishing to fail.  Anyway, fingers crossed for the best possible outcome.  ☮️

[wyote]

42 minutes ago, time2rock said:

I think we are all (or most of us, at least) are on the same page here.  Where we may differ is how optimistic we feel about our current chances of succeeding with the current structure (players, coaches, etc.) and the likelihood of an honest evaluation of everything being performed at season's end.  Not feeling optimistic about our chances is not the same as wishing to fail.  Anyway, fingers crossed for the best possible outcome.  ☮️

I'm not optimistic at all.

But who cares?

Feelings almost always suck. 

 

[time2rock]

41 minutes ago, wyote said:

I'm not optimistic at all.

But who cares?

Feelings almost always suck. 

 

Obviously it is the honest evaluation at season's end is most important factor for determining future success - not the level of optimism any of us (or they) have.  I mean every week they present an optimistic message that they can and will turn things around ... but they haven't.  So optimism means nothing.   

[wyote]

22 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Obviously it is the honest evaluation at season's end is most important factor for determining future success - not the level of optimism any of us (or they) have.  I mean every week they present an optimistic message that they can and will turn things around ... but they haven't.  So optimism means nothing.   

Of course they present an optimistic message -- they're great athletes with a winning mentality. They expect to win. They believe in themselves. 

It's our job as fans to tear them down, to make sure they know that we don't believe in them, that we've already given up on them again this year. If we don't drag them down, maybe they'll win an extra game and that'll be the margin that means someone won't get fired and we won't get our scapegoat.  

[time2rock]

19 minutes ago, wyote said:

Of course they present an optimistic message -- they're great athletes with a winning mentality. They expect to win. They believe in themselves. 

It's our job as fans to tear them down, to make sure they know that we don't believe in them, that we've already given up on them again this year. If we don't drag them down, maybe they'll win an extra game and that'll be the margin that means someone won't get fired and we won't get our scapegoat.  

 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

39 minutes ago, wyote said:

Of course they present an optimistic message -- they're great athletes with a winning mentality. They expect to win. They believe in themselves. 

It's our job as fans to tear them down, to make sure they know that we don't believe in them, that we've already given up on them again this year. If we don't drag them down, maybe they'll win an extra game and that'll be the margin that means someone won't get fired and we won't get our scapegoat.  

I can see what you're trying to say here but I don't necessarily agree. 

Hey I'm not arguing I'm just saying that I don't completely agree. I mean I think our job as fans is to support the team right? But I think support can come in many forms. I think we are seeing a team that's starting to fall apart and that in the next couple of years probably will be torn down. And as fans we are just saying what we see aren't we? But come Sundays I think most of us get behind this team. I was livid on Sunday watching that game because despite knowing this is a bad team right now I still want to see them win.

[birdman#12]

21 hours ago, time2rock said:

Well sure, of course.  But how often do you think a team playing as poorly as we are with a record that reflects it can expect to make the postseason to then try to go on a roll??  I would think most owners, GMs, HCs would want to be in a position to remain legitimately competitive over a long stretch in much the same way teams like Seattle, Pittsburgh, NE, NO, etc have managed to do.  Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to take 2 (or more) steps forward.  

Draft position isn't going to change a team's long term future.......drafting well could.   A super bowl winning teams still gets their draft picks.

Staying legitimately competitive not only involves the draft, but free agency, trades, managing the cap, developing young players, UDFA and getting guys healthy. 

Roseman has a lot of work to do, but I just can't see Lurie telling Roseman and Pedersen that he'd rather have a higher draft pick than get to the playoffs.

Steelers haven't won a super bowl in 10 years, New orleans, 12 years and seattle 7 years.  NE obviously have won 3 super bowls in that same span. 

Steelers were 8-8 last year, New Orleans folded again in the playoffs and Seattle lost a tough divisional game to GB after knocking Wentz out of the game.   Now they're all in the hunt this year but they've had they're down years over the last 12 years too.

The point is that the eagles are not as bad in talent as so many fans and media make them out to be.  Talent isn't the problem, Wentz and the coaching are the problem right now.  They need to make hard decisions.  And to answer your question, the NFL is long season and we've seen teams start out great only to fall off a cliff and we've seen teams look like sh-- in the first half of the season, only to make a hard run to the playoffs.  

We can't see it until we actually see it.  They given no indication of turning it around.  But until they are eliminated from the playoff race, they need to try anything to get back to winning games.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 minute ago, birdman#12 said:

Draft position isn't going to change a team's long term future.......drafting well could.   A super bowl winning teams still gets their draft picks.

Agreed. My one comment would be that the higher you draft the better the change you have of hitting? But more than that, for this team a bad year likely means to a change in the next couple of years at GM and that's i think the key. 

2 minutes ago, birdman#12 said:

Roseman has a lot of work to do, but I just can't see Lurie telling Roseman and Pedersen that he'd rather have a higher draft pick than get to the playoffs.

No I don't think that's going to happen. Lurie wants to win just like Howie and Doug. But I do think a bad year is more likely to result in there being changes. 

3 minutes ago, birdman#12 said:

The point is that the eagles are not as bad in talent as so many fans and media make them out to be

I don't necessarily agree with this. I mean we can debate this all day but I see a flawed team that overall lacks talent. And especially young talent at key positions. The OL is ageing and has struggled this year. The secondary is, to be honest, a mess. The DL is the highest paid in football but I'm not sure has been the best? It's played very well at times but I think we all hoped for more? Plus Cox and BG are ageing (though BG seems to want to defy father time). 

[time2rock]

16 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

Draft position isn't going to change a team's long term future.......drafting well could.   A super bowl winning teams still gets their draft picks.

Staying legitimately competitive not only involves the draft, but free agency, trades, managing the cap, developing young players, UDFA and getting guys healthy. 

Roseman has a lot of work to do, but I just can't see Lurie telling Roseman and Pedersen that he'd rather have a higher draft pick than get to the playoffs.

Steelers haven't won a super bowl in 10 years, New orleans, 12 years and seattle 7 years.  NE obviously have won 3 super bowls in that same span. 

Steelers were 8-8 last year, New Orleans folded again in the playoffs and Seattle lost a tough divisional game to GB after knocking Wentz out of the game.   Now they're all in the hunt this year but they've had they're down years over the last 12 years too.

The point is that the eagles are not as bad in talent as so many fans and media make them out to be.  Talent isn't the problem, Wentz and the coaching are the problem right now.  They need to make hard decisions.  And to answer your question, the NFL is long season and we've seen teams start out great only to fall off a cliff and we've seen teams look like sh-- in the first half of the season, only to make a hard run to the playoffs.  

We can't see it until we actually see it.  They given no indication of turning it around.  But until they are eliminated from the playoff race, they need to try anything to get back to winning games.

Well of course.  My post wasn't about getting a higher pick.  It was entirely about the person in charge of making those picks (or in our case, too often squandering them) and a coaching staff that, for whatever reason, cannot get the best out of their players.