On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles were defeated by the Los Angeles Rams 37-19 in the Eagles home opener at Lincoln Financial Field, dropping the Eagles record to 0-2. Carson Wentz completed 26 out of 43 passes for 242, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a rushing touchdown. Eagles running back Miles Sanders carried the ball twenty times for 95-yards and a rushing touchdown. Desean Jackson led the way in receiving yards with six catches for 64-yards. The Eagles defense gave up 449-yards as Rams quarterback Jared Goff went 20 of 27 for 267-yards and three touchdowns, all to Ty Higbee. The Eagles defense managed to sack Goff only once.
The biggest takeaway from this game was Carson Wentz missing wide-open receivers. He forced a throw into double coverage to hit JJ Arcega-Whiteside but was intercepted in the endzone. Wentz has missed several receivers wide open in two games, and that is very concerning. It seems like he is overthinking a lot, and he is having trouble seeing the whole field. Ever since he took that hit from then Seahawks defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, he has not been the same.
"The Eagles have a problem. They have a problem at quarterback." Seth Joyner is fired up on Eagles Postgame Live. pic.twitter.com/RyB6X5ExMN — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 20, 2020
On Monday, Zach Berman of The Athletic asked Pederson about Wentz regressing. Doug’s response was, “You know for us it’s a matter of continuing to work as coaches and players, we continue to strive to get better every single day,” Pederson added, “You know I just don’t want Carson to feel like he has to make all the plays every single time. I just want him to just be Carson, you know, and you guys know him, you’ve been around him, you’ve heard him, you know his demeanor, and he wants to do everything right, and we’ve given him control to do that.”
The problem with Carson is he has a banged-up offensive line that has not helped him at all. Wentz is talented, but it also doesn’t help that Wentz has been injury-prone since 2017. Because of this, the Eagles drafted a backup quarterback in Jalen Hurts to go along with Nate Sudfeld. Oh, and they have Josh McCown as an emergency quarterback. Last week against Washington, Wentz was sacked eight times, luckily against the Rams, he was not sacked at all. Wentz was trying to make magic, and for the most part, it failed. One thing Pederson learned of Andy Reid is not to bury players out in public. The problem is, he is buddies with the players instead of a coach. Reid, on the other hand, is a father figure to a lot of the players. Pederson needs to hold the players, coaches, and himself accountable. Pederson’s play-calling has not been good since Frank Reich left for the Colts head coaching job.
For two years, Mike Groh was the offensive coordinator before being fired after the season. The Eagles did not hire an offensive coordinator in the offseason and instead tapped Jeff Stoutland as the offensive line/running game coordinator, and Press Tayler as the passing game coordinator/quarterback coach is also concerning. Doug continues to make questionable play calls and should not be calling plays anymore. He needs to let Tayler and Stoutland do their jobs, and after the season, go back and hire an offensive coordinator.
The Eagles also have a loyalty problem. They brought back Jason Peters to play guard, and now he is back at left tackle. Peters was a free-agent, and all of the teams passed up on him due to his history with injuries and his age. Peters is one of several players the Eagles are loyal too, and that has hurt them. They are not giving the young players a chance to play. If you are going to be a championship contender every year, you need to know when it’s time to let go.
Howie Roseman, who has been with the Eagles since 2000, is the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the team and has done a poor job drafting players. Sometimes fans wonder what do they see in those players that others don’t. Fans wanted them to take other players because they have seen them in college making big plays and know that they can be a difference-maker for the Eagles. The problem is, they are making a difference for other teams. Take Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf; the Eagles passed up on him twice in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. They took Miles Sanders at number 53, and that was a good pick. But, at number 57, they took Stanford receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside instead of DK Metcalf. Metcalf was taken seven picks later by the Seahawks. So far, Metcalf is looking like a better receiver than Whiteside. Metcalf has caught 66 passes for 1,087-yards and nine touchdowns while Whiteside has caught ten passes for 169-yards and one touchdown.
As for Whiteside, he has not gotten a fair chance. While he has played eighteen games so far, Wentz has not targeted him a lot. On the other hand, when Wentz does throw to Whiteside, he tends to drop the ball. He still has a lot of growing to do, and hopefully, he will come around and be a reliable receiver down the road.
The Eagles should just let the fans do the drafting for them. They seemed to know better who the team should take and avoid. While it would never happen, what if you got several die-hard fans that watch college football at a table along with two Eagles writers to come up with players the team should draft. They could come up with a better list than Roseman. Because Roseman fails to draft quality players, the team has no choice but to spend money on high price free-agents.
Right now, the Eagles are grounded. They have not found a way to fly or fight on the road to victory. Lurie and other members of the Eagles staff must have a serious conversation about where the team is headed because right now, all the fans are seeing is a road full of missed opportunities.
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