Pederson capable of finding path to success for Birds
His team a half a game out of first place, a difficult part of the schedule behind, questioned, criticized and diminished, Doug Pederson is exactly where he will be at his best.
He is about to lead the Eagles out of trouble again.
He has been fortunate, for there have been few moments in modern NFL history where one division is so loaded with stumbling outfits as the one the Eagles remain in position to win. And he has been unfortunate, as just about every one of his players who has accomplished a bloody thing on the professional level is injured. Yet such is the flowebb reality of his industry. And that is the situation Pederson faces with 10 games to play, including one Thursday night against the visiting Giants, a bumbling crowd that rarely wins at the Linc, on a Thursday, on a Sunday, on a Monday, in daylight, under the lights, early in the season or late.
He has the Eagles positioned to careen into the playoffs. Again.
“We are in control of our own destiny,” Rodney McLeod said after a 30-28 loss to Baltimore Sunday. “We just have to take it one game at a time. Fortunate enough for us, it’s a division opponent coming up next, at home, for a Thursday night game. And so we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
That destiny-control dynamic may have been mentioned once or twice previously in or around a locker room. But it’s not always used by teams that finished their last regular season with a four-game winning streak to win a division. It’s not always expressed by a team that, two years ago, won five of its last six to seal a playoff berth. Nor is it casually thrown around by many teams that within the last three years were told their season was over because the quarterback had a season-ending injury and then dumped a 41-spot on the New England Patriots to win the championship of the world.
Because the Eagles have reached Week 7 and have won exactly one more game than the Sixers just did in their postseason, the questions about Pederson and his staff have arrived on schedule. Some, though, have been cheap and unreasonable.
Pederson was blasted for not attempting a tape-measure field goal in a tie with the Cincinnati Bengals, yet was also blistered for attempting one in a loss in Pittsburgh. No one would have a job in sports if not for the chance to question decisions or results. It’s kind of why people follow along in the first place. But badgering a coach over such rudimentary choices is to imply that he can’t count to three.
In other recent instances, Pederson has been praised for his courage when a twopoint conversion worked, yet ridiculed when one didn’t. He’s a risk-taker. And if it helps in deciding whether that is a good policy or not, check the number of Nick Foles career Super Bowl touchdown receptions.
Pederson is imperfect. Something broke down late in the Pittsburgh game, Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and he was caught without an explanation. But in a 16-game season, even the coach will lose the occasional fumble. The trick is to recover.
And recovering is what the Eagles do best under Pederson.
“We know where the division is at,” Carson Wentz said Tuesday, before a walkthrough practice and after the Cowboys looked inept in a Monday loss to Arizona. “We don’t have the record we were hoping for. But we have a divisional game coming
up, and they always have a little more on the line.
“We know the division is up for grabs for everybody.”
As sitting NFC East champions, the Eagles have the roughest schedule in their division. But if they beat the Giants twice, split with the Cowboys and catch Washington at home in the final game of the season, that will activate the GPS for a route to eight wins, even if they still have to play the Seahawks, Packers, Saints and Cardinals. Will that be enough? With seven losses, it just might.
There are teams with injury problems, and then there are the Eagles. Last year, Pederson virtually was down to minor-league pass-catching talents, yet designed plays to allow them to thrive. This year, his offensive line has been butchered, and his better skill players have been or will be unavailable. Yet he discovered Travis Fulgham, who is on his way to winning some Pro Bowl votes.
Pederson has proven that if he can keep whatever players he has confident during troubling times, they can work themselves
back into satisfying moments.
“We’re just a couple plays away from having a winning record,” McLeod said. “What’s encouraging is the fight. And that’s the character of this team: Not to quit, to continue to believe in ourselves no matter what’s going on in the game or throughout the week. We stick together. And that’s what you’re seeing.”
In another year, in another division, that would hardly be enough. But sports success requires adapting to the situation at hand. And the Eagles are in a division they can win, no matter what their record is two games before Halloween.
“Our record is right where we should be,” acknowledged Pederson after the Ravens game, accepting the cost of pro football imperfection. “We’re 1-4-1.”
The injury-troubled Eagles are in a rough spot. But Doug Pederson has the chance to steady his team again. It wouldn’t be the first time. Second or third, either.