Don’t make quick judgments on Sirianni, staff during rebuild
PHILADELPHIA » The math says the Eagles have time to turn this season around.
Ten games remaining in a 17-game season is an eternity when you’re chasing the NFC Eastleading Dallas Cowboys (51). Don’tcount on a dramatic finish, though, or any of the three conference wild cards. Not with this roster and coaching staff.
Wouldn’t count on Jalen Hurts finishing the season as the starting quarterback, either. At some point, Gardner Minshew, the Baker Mayfield clone, is going to get an opportunity.
We knew this was a rebuilding year. That hasn’t changed. The Eagles (2-5) actually are on pace to win five games, a slight improvement over a 2020 season that oh, by the way, was almost equally full of penalties and mistakes and cost the franchise quarterback and a lot of good coaches their jobs.
That said, the critics who contend there is nothing to be hopeful about with this Eagles team haven’t been watching the games. Dallas Goedert would be an elite tight end if he was playing with an established quarterback. Rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith would have twice as many receptions playing with a proven passer, although he still has to show he can regularly make some of those contested catches.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata and guards Landon Dickerson and Jack Driscoll are a solid, young offensive line nucleus with extreme position versatility.
Quez Watkins is one of the fastest receivers in the NFL. Running back Miles Sanders was a mystery before he got hurt. Rookie running back Kenneth Gainwell has promise.
All of those guys are tradable, too. What the fanbase has really failed at is believing you can be successful blending youth with a young coaching staff not much more proven than the players.
You don’t win that way in the NFL. For all practical purposes the Eagles are a twoor three-year rebuilding project. That’s why no one really wanted the job that Nick Sirianni grabbed. Bad is good, just like the tanking days of the 76ers.
Though there’s a lot of young talent to work with, there’s just so much the young players need to learn to win games regularly.
Then there is the quarterback. Hurts did some promising things operating out of the pocket last week and has some stellar red zone stats but the run-pass option is still his main deal, and it’s a college offense easy to defend.
Too much of the time Hurts is getting ambushed, which also is due to his decisionmaking. It’s not Oklahoma. It’s going to be next to physically impossible for Hurts to make it through the season healthy. It’s incredible he made it through the last game after taking an early one-two shot from a tag team of Raiders linebackers.
The minute that Joe Flacco was dealt to the New York Jets for a conditional thirdday draft pick was the moment Minshew has awaited. If the Eagles keep losing (or Hurts is injured) Minshew is going to get his shot with those young receivers and running backs. And that’s going to be interesting because what he does more proficiently than Hurts is get rid of the football quickly.
The defensive side of the ball is a mess. Face it, the Eagles got old. Old and in the case of Fletcher Cox, cranky. He’s going to rush the passer and not much else because that’s why he signed his big contract.
Cox is angry about the defensive scheme he believes marginalizes his talents and enables teammates to get sacks. And he’s not worthy of a trade because of the dead money he would drop on the Eagles’ salary cap. Hopefully veteran voices will succeed in getting Cox to hold the vitriol in so he can exit gracefully at some point.
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is playing at a Pro Bowl level with six sacks in seven games. Josh Sweat hasn’t exactly lived up to the contract extension he signed, the edge having just 1.5 sacks. If Derek Barnett stars, it will be in another town. The 2017 first-round pick has 19.5 sacks and 22 penalties in his Eagles career. Rookie defensive lineman Tarron Jackson has game and should get more playing time.
Cornerback Darius Slay leads the Eagles with two interceptions, but as he approaches 31 years old, is not the impact player hoped for.
Defensive backs Steven Nelson, Anthony Wilson and Rodney McLeod are one-year contract guys.
That and a coaching staff that connects and is accountable and all that other stuff is what the Eagles are trying to win with.
This a rebuild, folks. Instead of blaming the coaching staff, work with them. The reality is that Bill Belichick couldn’t win with this Eagles team.
Just hope that the Eagles do the right thing with the draft capital they’ve built up, which includes two possible top 10 picks and potentially a third first-rounder.