In Roob's Observations, an underrated area the Eagles have to improve

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

An underrated area of desperate need, a first-time Pro Bowler in 2022 and legendary sports writer Red Smith’s take on the 1960 Eagles-Packers NFL Championship Game.

We’re all over the place in this week’s Roob’s 10 Random Offseason Eagles Observations! 

1. One of the more surprising stats from 2021: The Eagles only allowed 16 touchdown drives of 75 or more yards last year, and only eight teams allowed fewer – the Bills [7], Saints [10], Dolphins [11], Giants [12], 49ers [13], Titans [14] and Patriots and Bucs [15 each]. So why were they 18th in points allowed? Field position. Thanks mainly to poor special teams (and to a lesser extent turnovers deep in their own territory), the Eagles had to defend a short field more than almost anybody last year. Their opponents’ average drive started between the 36- and 37-yard-line, which means they started out less than 64 yards from the end zone. That was 8th-worst in the league. That also explains the disparity between the Eagles ranking 10th in yards allowed but 18th in points allowed. Why was field position so bad? First of all, the Eagles had a terrible punter. After a promising start, Arryn Siposs was awful, and he finished at 43.9 yards per punt – 29th out of 33 punters who had at least 32 attempts – with a 38.7 net, which ranked 31st. He was last in both categories the last six weeks of the season. But it was more than just bad punting. The Eagles ranked 24th covering punts and 28th covering kicks. They were one of only three teams ranked in the bottom 10 covering both punts and kicks. We talk so much about receivers and corners and edge rushers and safeties, but the Eagles have some work to do on special teams, too. Starting with a new punter and some young guys who can run around and make a tackle on cover teams.

2. The Eagles have drafted 42 quarterbacks. Only five of them had a career winning record: Donovan McNabb [98-62-1], Randall Cunningham [82-52-1], Carson Wentz [44-40], Nick Foles [29-27] and West Philly High School graduate Bill Mackrides [2-1]. Jalen Hurts goes into 2022 with a 9-10 record.

3. One thing to keep in mind in the wake of the trade with the Saints is that even with unloading one of their three 1st-round picks, the Eagles still have two top-20 picks – which they haven’t had since 1973 – and five picks in the first three rounds – which they haven’t had since 1995. They’re one of only two teams with four 1st-round picks over the next two years (the Lions do also). And if they stay where they are, this will be the first time in franchise history they’ve had three picks in the first two rounds in three consecutive drafts. They had 11 picks in the first three rounds before the trade. Now they have 13.  That’s the beauty of this trade. Roseman created a 2nd-round pick and 3rd-round pick out of thin air without compromising the Eagles’ ability to upgrade immediately.

4. That said, all these picks also give Roseman the flexibility to trade up if it makes sense. And I think it will make sense. I figure guys like Jermaine Johnson, Jordan Davis and Garrett Wilson are really good candidates for a trade-up. If they slip out of the top 10, don’t be surprised if Howie starts working the phones trying to move up a few spots to snag one of them. That extra 3rd-round pick in this year’s draft the Eagles got in the Saints trade could come in handy. That 3 and maybe one of the Eagles’ 5th-round picks could probably get the Eagles in range to strike. I just don’t see Howie sitting at 15 and waiting around if he can move up for a top-10 type of talent.

5. From 1982 through 2000, the Eagles didn't have a single offensive lineman make a Pro Bowl. Nobody. That’s 19 consecutive years without a Pro Bowl offensive lineman. In the 21 years since, they’ve had nine different offensive linemen make a total of 29 Pro Bowls. In franchise history, eight Eagles o-linemen have made at least three Pro Bowls. Four of the eight were coached by Jeff Stoutland. The Eagles have had at least one Pro Bowl offensive lineman in each of Stoutland’s nine seasons. His linemen have made a total of 17 Pro Bowls since he got here in 2013.

6. Landon Dickerson will be a Pro Bowler in 2022.

7. Boston Scott has 13 rushing touchdowns on 228 carries in his first 45 NFL games. No other running back in NFL history has ever had 13 rushing TDs on 228 or fewer carries in his first 45 games.  

8. How crazy was Randall Cunningham’s NFL record of 8.0 yards per carry in 1990? He broke the previous record by more than a yard per carry. Bobby Douglas of the Bears averaged 6.9 yards per carry on 141 rushing attempts in 1972, and that stood as the NFL record for yards-per-carry with a minimum of 100 attempts for 18 years, until Randall destroyed it in 1990 with 942 yards on 118 carries. That stood as the NFL record for 16 years, until Michael Vick averaged 8.4 yards per carry in 2006 for the Falcons on 123-for-1,039. Randall also threw 30 touchdowns in that 1990 season, and he should have been MVP over Joe Montana, who had four fewer TDs, three more interceptions and 780 fewer rushing yards. 

9. Nick Foles is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw 2,000 passes but never start 12 games in a season.

10. Why is Red Smith considering the greatest sports writer ever? Here’s the first few paragraphs of his syndicated column the day after the Eagles beat the Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game at Franklin Field:

"The clock seemed to race and the players to crawl. In the stands of Franklin Field, 67,352 witnesses - more than the proudest civic booster could claim for the entire population of Green Bay, Wis. - swiveled heads like watchers of a tennis match, apprehensive eyes shifting from the struggle on the field to the dial on the upper deck, back to the field, back to the clock.

"For 59 minutes plus, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, 1958 dogs of the National Football League but now champions of their sections, had heaved and hauled and grappled and threshed across the squashy turf for $2011.41 per Hessian, the difference between winning and losing the title of world’s toughest mercenaries.

"One minute, 20 seconds had remained when the Eagles, leading by 17-13, punted for the last time and the Packers started their last grinding advance toward the goal line, 65 yards away. Painfully, they hacked out gains, and every yard seemed like a city block as the seconds melted away.

"Now the clock’s hands were barely split at the top of the dial. From the Philadelphia 22-yard-line, Bart Starr, the Green Bay quarterback, passed to Jim Taylor. That wonderful runner ducked his head like a charging bull, bolted like an enraged beer truck into Philadelphia’s congested secondary, twisted, staggered, bucked and wrestled on, a step at a time, to go down at last in a sprawling pileup nine yards from victory.,

"Jess Richardson, 270 pounds of courtly Alabama violence playing tackle for the Eagles, helped the big fullback to his feet and stroked his torso compassionately. 

"They started off the field together, a winner and a loser after a genuinely first-rate clambake.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-observations-underrated-area-where-drastic-improvement-needed

3 hours ago, time2rock said:

After a promising start, Arryn Siposs was awful, and he finished at 43.9 yards per punt – 29th out of 33 punters who had at least 32 attempts – with a 38.7 net

That 43.9 yards per punt is made all the worse when you consider he did make a promising start! So things must have gone from good to very very bad. 

7 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

That 43.9 yards per punt is made all the worse when you consider he did make a promising start! So things must have gone from good to very very bad. 

Hoping for either Araiza or Stout with our 7th (or UDFA).