Better But Still Bad

[time2rock]

Better But Still Bad

Posted: October 4th, 2021 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

No one expected the Eagles to pull off the upset on Sunday when the Chiefs came to town. And they didn’t. The game was an offensive battle where both teams moved the ball up and down the field. The Chiefs scored touchdowns. Too often, the Eagles settled for field goals. That’s how  you lose 42-30.

Last Monday’s loss in Dallas was ugly. The Eagles fell behind early and failed to keep the game close. That wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Eagles trailed by 12 points at the end of the third quarter. Prior to that, it was a one possession game. The Eagles were trading punches with the Chiefs and keeping it close. KC extended the lead to 19 with 2:30 left before a last second TD made the final score 42-30.

This was the Eagles third loss in a row. The defense never forced a punt and gave up 5 TD passes to Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles gave up 41 points on Monday so this is back-to-back stinkers for Jonathan Gannon’s unit. Ugh.

There were plenty of good signs from the offense. The Eagles gained 461 yards and scored 30 points. Jalen Hurts threw for 387 yards and a pair of TDs. DeVonta Smith had his best game so far, going 7-122.

All of this happened behind a makeshift OL.

LT Andre Dillard
LG Landon Dickerson
OC Jason Kelce
RG Nate Herbig
RT Jack Driscoll

There are a lot of good things to build on.

There are also issues that need to be fixed, some of them continiuing from pervious games. Penalties were once again a problem. You can add 9 more to the Eagles season total. Nick Sirianni has talked about the need for this to be fixed, but the penalties haven’t gone away. It isn’t just the amount. The penalties come at crucial moments. The Eagles lost a three TDs to penalties. One of those was highly questionable, but still. The defense wiped out a sack with a penalty and had another couple that came on third downs and made conversions much easier.

Some people will be upset by the lack of a running game. The offense worked well for the most part. I would have preferred a few more runs, especially in the Red Zone, but the overall gameplan worked well.

The defense once again played a bend-but-don’t-break style. The back seven did come up with the team’s first INT of the year, but they struggled to make plays. The run defense was bad, giving up 200 yards on the ground. Gannon played with a light box and the Chiefs took advantage of that. The DL got pushed around more than they should have. It feels like the biggest issue is the LBs and their inability to get to the ball quickly. Too many tackles are being made downfield.

Situational football continues to be a problem. The Eagles were only 3 for 6 in the Red Zone. That isn’t good enough for beating the Chiefs. There was a 4th down play where Hurts threw the ball away. He’s got to know that can’t happen. Take a chance. KC was 5 for 5 in the Red Zone. One or two stops would have made a world of difference.

Game management continues to be an issue. Sirianni wanted to go for it on the opening drive, but was slow to get the play in. There was confusion between Hurts and him and someone burned a timeout. The Eagles kicked the FG. Ugh. They were in easy FG range so there was no reason to take the timeout. If you take it, you ought to go for it on fourth down. Beyond all of that, Sirianni should have had a play ready faster.

The Eagles completed a short pass on the final drive of the half. They rushed to the line to get a play off. KC hit Hurts and the ball went flying out. The Eagles recovered, but lost a bunch of yards on the play. I thought Sirianni should have called a timeout after the completion. He said after the game that he’s studied this situation and thinks he made the right decision. The Eagles seemed rushed and a blitzer came free. Maybe that would have happened even after a timeout, but the OL would have had a better chance to read the defense if they weren’t in a hurry to get the snap off.

If you want a positive spin, the Eagles did get better on a short week and when going up against one of the best teams in the league. There are some real positives to take away from this game. The defense is a mess, though. Gannon is playing a style that doesn’t fit his personnel. That was okay against mediocre offenses, but Dallas and KC shredded it.

Is some of this due to the loss of Brandon Graham? I think that is a factor, but I don’t know that he would have made a substantial difference. The back seven just isn’t good enough.

The offense is headed in the right direction. The defense needs a ton of work. And maybe a good LB or safety.

http://igglesblitz.com/2021/10/better-but-still-bad/

[birdman#12]

The eagles offense is doing exactly what a young offense does......it's making mistakes, mostly unforced, that keep them from scoring more. 

Penalties, composure and inexperience has plagued them in the red zone.  Proficiency will come with more and more opportunities.

The problems they've shown over the last 4 weeks are fixable things.  They left a lot of points on the field.  But I think as the year progresses, the eagles offense is going to keep improving and a very dangerous offense.

Sirianni's play calling hasn't been good and they've gotten no help from the defense.

[EricAllenPick6]

4 hours ago, time2rock said:

pervious games

I normally I wouldn't point out a misspelling, but this one is pretty darn funny.  

"Pervious" means a substance that allows water to pass through.  Our defense can definitely be described as being pervious.

4 hours ago, time2rock said:

he defense is a mess, though. Gannon is playing a style that doesn’t fit his personnel.

And there's a big problem here.  You can't always count on having "your guys" to run "your style" of defense.  A good coach can make do with what he has.  He's got to fix this and fast.