Can the Eagles improve at cornerback, receiver?
Stefon Diggs catches a 62-yard scoring pass as the Eagles’ Rasul Douglas trails on Oct. 13. Philadelphia faces a tough Week 7 matchup with Dallas.
You want the Eagles to find someone, anyone for their beleaguered secondary, and for their wide receiver corps that can’t seem to get open deep anymore.
If only it were that simple. The Eagles can’t magically snap their fingers and get that shutdown cornerback to control opponents such as the Vikings’ Stefon Diggs, who ran through the Eagles’ secondary for 167 yards and three touchdowns in Week 6.
Or, wham, there’s that deep threat at wide receiver who can get open and convert the kind of long passes that Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, and others, have completed against the Eagles this season.
And really, how do you decide what to prioritize, with the trade deadline coming Oct. 29?
After all, the problems were widespread in the Eagles’ 38-20 loss to the Vikings .
It went much deeper than cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones, who combined to give up three TDs.
Douglas’ miscues were more egregious as Diggs beat him for 62 yards and 51 yards, both in the second quarter.
Would Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey, or someone else, make a difference, when the defensive line couldn’t get much pressure on Cousins?
Or when Douglas didn’t get any needed safety help, a coverage Malcolm Jenkins said he blew on Diggs’ second touchdown.
Then here’s Fletcher Cox, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle the past four seasons. He has played six games and has zero sacks.
Would a trade help the Eagles as soon as Week 7, when they have a first-place showdown – such as it is with two 3-3 teams – in Dallas?
Perhaps the Eagles are stuck for now with what they have at cornerback. That means Douglas and Jones have to put this debacle behind them, and quickly.
“It’s not hard at all,” Douglas said about moving on. “You watch film . ... Once we go over the mistakes, then what can you do to get better? Just practice. At the end of the day, you’ve got a game next week. You gotta forget about this one. It’s already over. … We got the Cowboys, a divisional team. Just looking forward to that.”
At this rate, so are the Cowboys, for obvious reasons. They have Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup at wide receiver.
It’s not going to get better soon.
Head coach Doug Pederson said that cornerback Jalen Mills (foot), who’s on the physically unable to perform list, is expected to practice this week and might have a chance to play some against the Cowboys. Mills would have to come off the PUP list before that can happen.
Ronald Darby (hamstring) and Avonte Maddox (concussion, neck) have missed three and two games, respectively.
Pederson added that wide receiver DeSean Jackson (abdomen) is still day to day.
Jackson played in one full game this season before suffering an abdominal injury.
The Eagles, other than running back Miles Sanders, haven’t been able to complete long passes since.
Last year, the Eagles traded for Golden Tate at the deadline, and he wasn’t very effective.
“We had some opportunity to get down the field,” Pederson said. “We stretched the field a little bit a few times. We got creative with it, with moving some guys around. Obviously, DeSean helps that when he’s out there. But that’s something we’ve got to continue to work with and work through and find ways to be creative that way.”
So the Eagles will keep looking for that creativity while hoping that Jackson can return.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman could give up multiple draft picks, including firstrounders, to address the issues at cornerback and wide receiver. Or he could prioritize one spot over the other and hope the one he doesn’t address works itself out.
Or he could hope the Eagles adjust, get their injured players back at some point, and go on a run down the stretch of the season and get into the playoffs like they did last season.
In a surprising move Oct. 14, the Eagles released starting linebacker Zach Brown, three days after he said Cousins is the “weakest part” of the Vikings’ offense. The Eagles will likely look to add another linebacker with the open roster spot, and it could be Paul Worrilow. He was with the Eagles since the spring of 2018, when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, until he was released before the season started.
“People on the outside of this building are thinking the sky is falling and everything is crumbling,” Pederson said. “You put the tape on and you watch it, and we’re just missing on a couple little detail things.
“There’s enough good and positive that came out of this game to get better, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The stakes are usually high when the Eagles and Cowboys meet, as they will be in a Sunday night game Oct. 20 in Dallas with first place in the NFC East on the line.
The team’s intensity for that game should be ramped up.
Pederson, speaking on radio station 94.1 WIP, said, “We’re going down to Dallas, and our guys are gonna be ready to play. And we’re gonna win that football game, and when we do, we’re in first place in the NFC East.”
Asked later if he guaranteed a win, Pederson replied, “I never said that. I never said, ‘Guarantee a win.’
“I would never do that.” Did he regret giving that impression?
“No, because it shows confidence in our football team,” Pederson replied. “I promise you (Cowboys coach) Jason Garrett is going to say the same thing to his football team, that they’re going to win the football game as well.
“I’m not going to stand up here and go on record and say, ‘We’re going to try to win a game.’ ... It just doesn’t show confidence . ...
“As the head football coach, I’m going to show confidence in my football team because that’s what I have.”