Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Hot seat is defi nitely here for Wentz and Pederson
The Eagles rolled into the Meadowlands Sunday prepared, they believed, to win a game. They rolled out with the realization that they are about to lose an era. So soon. Too soon. But over. That’s what a 27- 17 loss to the Giants indicated. That’s what another week of ineffective football revealed. That’s what is going to be underlined in the next seven weeks, the schedule about to turn cruel.
The thrill of 2017- 2018 has vanished. The novelty of Doug Pederson as a coaching rebel is stale. The reality that Carson Wentz is not going to be a superstar is clear. The momentum from that Super Bowl championship has been spent.
There will still be some stirring, a surprise victory here, a highlights play there, the occasional Player of the Week certifi - cate arriving in the mail. The NFL is kind that way. The Eagles will collect a few more ties, and maybe even some wins. They may even laugh themselves into a playoff spot.
But if a lackluster, ineffective loss to what was a two- win disaster proved anything Sunday, it’s that the Eagles offi cially have begun their U- turn. That will be offi cial as soon as Pederson replaces Wentz with Jalen Hurts, a move that was destined the minute Howie Roseman took the Heisman Trophy runner- up in the second round of the last draft. From there, there will be more rebuilding, a coaching change, and a long, long wait for Jeff rey Lurie to deliver on his long- ago vow. Remember: He didn’t promise a championship. He went all plural with it. Championships. That was the goal.
Though Pederson is guaranteed to be swarmed by the Selfie- razzi every time he is seen in public in or around Philadelphia for the rest of his life, he has been having a miserable season. That was obvious Sunday. With two weeks to prepare, with the ever- creaky offensive line at least familiar at both tackle spots, with just about all of the playmakers eligible and with command of NFC East there to be claimed, the Eagles were unable to convert even one third- down situation for the first time 2004.
Appearing befuddled, as he so often does after games, Pederson blamed too many third- and- longs, as if that explained the flubbing of the third- andshorts. Then, as if to throw into question who exactly is coaching the team, he was asked about attempting a twopoint conversion down by four points. What? Did he think he might be able to force an overtime with a safety?
“The thinking there, obviously,” Pederson said, “was just to trust my guys upstairs.”
The thinking everywhere else, obviously, is that the guy downstairs makes that decision.
Earlier in the week, Pederson was pestered by questions about his old friend and teammate, Brett Favre, who decided to bark that the Eagles should have kept Nick Foles, not Wentz. It’s a tired argument, and Pederson was right to smother the conversation. But as for Hurts or Wentz, that is relevant. Though Wentz was able to sneak through a game without adding to his
16 turnovers, he was inaccurate, uninspired and ineffective, even with recently injured Alshon Jeffery, Miles Sanders, Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert all available.
“That’s a good defense over there,” Wentz said. “They made it hard on us.”
That was a 2- 7 defense, and to expect Eagles fans to accept that rationalization is a sign of a quarterback disinterested in figuring out what really happened. If so, it’s time for Pederson to find a less- dismissive one.
With the NFC East still a mess and its automatic playoff bid still available, Pederson will be slow to make the move to Hurts. But the head coach was not as willing Sunday to smear Wentz with praise as he had been when the quarterback was widely believed to be on a Favre- like career arc. Pederson was asked why he did not try a field goal on fourth- and- 10 with 4: 56 left at the Giants’ 36, and instead allowed Wentz to throw an incomplete pass to Reagor.
His telling response, after explaining that the wind was too uncooperative for the three- point attempt: “The play is obviously part of the progression. We thought we had an opportunity there to make a play. I’ve just got to look at the tape to see, because it is part of the progression. But this is also based on the decision of the quarterback to go there too. So I have to go to the film and take a look.”
That sounded like a head coach weary of covering for a quarterback that the Eagles invested max money and five draft choices to acquire.
“I thought he played OK,” Pederson added later. “He played good. There were obviously some throws that we’d like to get back from the standpoint of just accuracy. He managed run game very well. He put us in some really good situations. Hung tough. Did what he’s capable of doing. We just have to keep working with him and working with our young, skill guys to get them on the same page. Because everything matters when you get in games. “I thought, overall, he played well.” The Eagles didn’t lose because of Wentz. Or Pederson. Or that Guy Upstairs who apparently decides when to attempt two- point conversions. They lost because of all of that.
The next five games, all against winning teams, seem unforgiving. After that, there will be a trip to Dallas and a home game against Washington.
“We have to find a way,” Jalen Mills said. “In this locker room, we definitely felt like we let this game go.” They let a game go. They let a lot more go, too.