Critic of Doug Pederson’s way out of line
Let’s get to the point. Mike Lombardi, who used to be a general manager, has trashed the head coaching credentials of the Eagles’ Doug Pederson.
And trashed is being kind.
“Now, everybody knows Pederson isn’t a head coach,” Lombardi said on a podcast for The Ringer. “He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL.”
Lombardi says stuff like that for a living. There’s a reason he’s an ex-GM. What you have here is a guy who’s no longer in the league taking shots at someone who is.
A few months ago Lombardi ripped the coaching skills of Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. While Eagles fans, based strictly on hate, would agree with such an assessment it’s entirely possible this critic with the famous Lombardi name but no link to the man they named the trophy after is just working his way through the NFC East.
At any rate, do a search for Lombardi and Pederson and you’ll get the former dismantling the latter. (Centennials alert: It helps to be a dinosaur to appreciate the imagery Lombardi uses as he compares Pederson to Roy Rubin, the coach who was fired during the Sixers’ infamous 9-73 sea-
son in 1972-73).
How can anyone so unqualified almost coach a team with a rookie quarterback to the playoffs? A few breaks here and there and the Eagles would have made the playoffs last year. They might have been in if Lane Johnson avoided a 10-game suspension. We’ll revisit that later.
But back to Lombardi and the way he soiled Coach Doug. It’s just mean. And we won’t besmirch the warm and fuzzy qualifications of Rich Kotite, Kevin Gilbride, Romeo Crennel and Steve Spurrier, among numerous others over the past 30 years, to back up our point.
The only real question in our mind is where Lombardi heard this. It doesn’t sound like an original thought because if he researched it, he would have found all of those names. Maybe even Marty Mornhinweg, who led the Detroit Lions to a winless season. Earth to Lombardi: Who took the wind, not possession, in overtime?
Someone with an ax to grind put that in Lombardi’s ear. It’s someone who wants Pederson to fail. Lombardi is parroting someone. Who is it, Mike?
There’s no question this is a huge season for Pederson, the Eagles having given him probably the most well rounded roster in the division.
Think about it. Once the Eagles warm up, they should be able to score points with Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith and LeGarrette Blount. The offensive line is intact. If the Eagles can stop the run, they have a chance to be solid defensively despite the weakness at cornerback. The special teams should at least be decent.
The Cowboys, providing Ezekiel Elliott gets less than a six-game suspension, are offensive heavy. The line is the best in football and quarterback Dak Prescott returns with experience. The defense is ridiculously inexperienced, the special teams always pretty good.
The New York Giants will go as far as their top shelf defense and Odell Beckham Jr. take them. OBJ already has a high ankle sprain. That offensive line
The Washington Redskins are in trouble and the Eagles open the season against them. The defensive line is a train wreck except for first round pick Jonathan Allen. The linebacker corps is solid but the secondary is unproven with the exception of superstar Josh Norman.
The Redskins’ wide receiver corps has been decimated by free agency. Quarterback Kirk Cousins still doesn’t have a reliable running back. The starting center is hurt. The Skins will go as far as Cousins and the tight ends, assuming Jordan Reed stays healthy, take them.
Even Johnson’s assertion in The Players Tribune that the Eagles are going to Washington to whip some you-knowwhat won’t do the home team much good once the game starts. That’s because Johnson, not Hal Vaitai or Allen Barbre, will be starting at right tackle for the Eagles.
“I just said we’re fired up to play them,” Johnson said of his bold Players Tribune statement. “Their guy said what he said and I said what I said. But hell, that’s the rivalry. That’s what we play for. Everybody is excited. They beat us twice last year. I wasn’t on the field. So I’m ready to play.”
Unless we’re totally wrong, Pederson will have the Eagles ready to play as well. Pederson guided the team to a 3-0 start. The Eagles were 5-1 with Johnson, 2-8 without him.
Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden thinks Pederson, the long ago NFL backup quarterback, will get the most out of Wentz. ESPN analyst Gruden believes the Eagles are looking at a fun season and eventually, the opportunity to be the first Philly team to bring home a Lombardi.
That’s the trophy, not the critic.