Eagles 2018-2019 Season

[zambonir]

Well, you can't say they weren't good enough to win that game. Easy to forget there was a missed XP too.

[Squire]

I would at least like an explanation as to what the heck our TD celebration was supposed to be

[allentown]

And a chance, with a tired defense, to take a chance to win in regulation with a 2-point conversion from the 1-yard line.

[Purduke]

I think I would have gone from the one after the penalty too. I think the explanation will be that Pederson was convinced that we were going to score a touchdown when we got the ball in OT -- and that the D was gut checking up front and therefore he didn't want to take a 50% chance of losing it with the two. Guessing that will be the explanation.

The thing that bugs me the most this season is why is it taking Wentz so long to become effective during games. There used to be the sense the Pederson's pre-scripted plays consistently gave us a chance to score on our first possession. It is the opposite now. I know the standard rub is always "play calling" etc, but to me the early failures point more toward a lack of ideas coming out of the film work during the week. Last year you also saw TD's and big gains coming clearly from offensive schemes and isolations; this year far less so. That and the "difficulty integrating Tate into the offense" makes me feel as if we are reliving through the reincarnation of the Dana Bible year with Groh. I just think he's over his head and the loss of Reich and DeFillippo's relationship with Wentz this year, and am certainly hoping for that area being upgraded for next year. I was pleased when the brought Groh in last year, but I just think Reich especially is being missed in the film room.

[zambonir]

Yeah. Of course we are saying that now that we know the Eagles lost the coin toss and the Cowboys held the ball for almost 10 minutes (even if they'd only gotten the field goal not sure we would have won). Lose the game on a failed two in regulation and the headlines would be even worse tonight.

[Lawman]

Even with a severely banged up secondary, the Eagles forced an overtime against a decent, but not great, Dallas team.

Again, though, lather, rinse, and repeat. The offense started slow and out of sync. The run game was non-existent. They played a great 2nd half and, if they had played a good first half may have actually won.

I also think part of Wentz's problem is that he had no off-season. I think we minimize that. I think having a real off-season will help him tremendously.

[Lawman]

Reuben Frank (RoobNBCS)

[Lawman]

That may be the case. But, do you replace Groh for next season, or do you think that continuity is more important for Wentz's development and that Groh, given the offseason to reflect, will figure things out?

[Purduke]

I would make a change. The Eagles got delivered a bad hand with the way Reich and DeFillippo left last year -- first because it happened so late after all the empty chairs had been filled, and also just that DeFillippo went first and Reich second. Had Reich gotten the first call I have no doubt that DeFillippo would still be here as the OC. So I don't fault, per se, the team for giving the job to Groh, but in a performance culture like the NFL, after a disappointing outcome, the default option has to be to fire the HC, DC, or OC. Position coaches maybe survive because there's two levels of oversight, but not a new co-ordinator.

I realize there is an argument for staying with a young guy that you think just needs a bit more seasoning (call it the Sean McDermott option), but I think the default option has to be to bring somebody else in and the situation should be attractive enough that we should be able to get a good candidate.

[EastFallowfield]

I do think Andy Reid was a better (regular season) coach, he'd take a team with much less talent to the playoffs quite often. It's kinda weird how less bold Peterson's coaching this year, with nothing much to lose.

[Purduke]

After posting this I realized that if they do remove Groh then they will almost certainly have to promote Duce to OC. I don't know how I feel about that. Unless someone grabs Duce first though, I think that is what will have to happen.

[xogfog]

It feels a little weird that we are all doing postmortems on the season, since technically, the can still leak in as the last wildcard, maybe even at 8-8, even though that is a long shot too. The Vikings have the Seahawks, Dolphins, Lions and Bears left, the Panthers are in free fall and have the Saints twice and the Falcons left. The Redskins are done.

The Eagles would have to finish better than the Vikings and Panthers. The Vikings have the best chance, but they have three games that they could lose on their schedule. If Vikings go 1-3, Panthers go 1-2, Eagles go 2-1, the Eagles would be in the playoffs, as weird as that would be.

[Lawman]

Winning the SB last year does sort of take the sting off the mediocrity that is this season. Of course, ti also raises the bar as well.

[allentown]

I agree with that, which makes the plays in which Wentz can be the runner all the more puzzling. The run game with Adams started the day just fine, but it became impossible to run after Wentz showed he wasn't able to hit on even somewhat longish passes during the first half. There was no deep threat so Cowboys put all their focus on the short stuff and the run. We have a depleted secondary and fear the long pass, but week after week, especially this week, it is beyond obvious how much tighter our short/intermediate receivers are covered than we cover the other team's guys. Our guys do pop open on deep routes.

To Zambonir: since a loss effectively ended the season, Pederson was going to get pilloried by media whichever choice he made, if the choice didn't lead to a win. Still, it seemed that our defense was spent and, as at the end of many games, we weren't going to be able to stop a late drive. A 2-point conversion seemed our best chance of winning. Yes, the run lanes were bound to be blocked up, so it would have to be a pass for conversion or a freak run on a busted play. With Jernigan out for the season, along with Barnett, our D has really collapsed at the end of many games. Trying to play so much prevent defense doesn't help either, but the depleted secondary and lost MLB probably is why we do that. The opposing team really has to make a big, or multiple small, mistakes for us to stop a drive late in games.

[Lawman]

Yeah, I can't kill Pederson for not going for it there.

[Lawman]

Andy Reid, 2.0:

Reuben Frank (RoobNBCS)

[allentown]

It is a very positive thing for the coach to take the blame and not point fingers at the players, but much of the blame really does fall on the coaches' game plan and inability to adapt until half time. I don't know why Wentz's first half accuracy was so poor or why after wasting a 3rd round pick on him Tate was so invisible. He had a good game against the Redskins. That is the only positive which can be said about his time with the Eagles. I can't blame the wideouts too much. When they got open, Wentz missed them. If you can't script an initial set of plays which work, you ought to stop using the script. Our fairly consistent lack of first-half production, and with as many 3-and-outs as we've had it takes quite a while to exhaust the script, seems proof positive that the script is hurting the team. Too predictable or somehow it's leaking outside the organization.

I do fault Doug for not trying the two pointer. The odds, even at 1 yard, were 50-50 at best, but a coach needs to know when his team doesn't have another 10 minutes of good football left in the tank.

[xogfog]

Vikings lost last night, the first domino that had to fall in order for the Eagles to get a long shot crack at a wildcard birth into the playoffs.

[Squire]

Minnesota Vikings fire OC John DeFillippo.....let the clamoring for his return to Philly begin.

[Lawman]

Now if Frank Reich suddenly became available I'd be more interested,