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The Eagles head coach knows that a lot needs to improve after the team’s 2-2 start to the 2018 season Womens Rodney McLeod Jersey , and with the Minnesota Vikings making their way to Philly this weekend, they are in for big test. Doug Pederson spoke to the media on Friday and gave a few injury updates, as well as talked about the need for urgency from his team, and whether they’ve deciding to make any personnel moves yet.Here’s what the head coach had to say:On the state of the offensePederson was asked if he’s seen a greater sense of urgency from the players this week, and he admitted he has, but that they need to play with that same type of intensity. He specifically pointed out the way the team has started games this season, and talked about offensively they know they need to get things into a higher gear quickly. The head coach cited their production on first drives in the past two seasons, and missing that type of momentum boost early on.Carson Wentz had said that he needs to do a better job protecting himself, and Pederson acknowledged that the big picture — both in terms of a full season and career — is something that needs to be a point of emphasis. The head coach talked about how the health of the quarterback is essential, and you’ve seen throughout NFL history when the injury to a quarterback can derail a team’s season.Pederson was later asked about missing Corey Clement and Darren Sproles and whether that’s one of the reasons they’ve been less productive on third downs. The head coach noted that those two backs aren’t just missed on offense or in third-down situations, but their absence is also felt on special teams.He did say that the offense as a whole knows that they need to get better on third downs, and that’s something they know as a team — it’s not just one guy. They are addressing that as a staff, and making sure things are correct schematically and that the game plan is sound. Ultimately, Clement and Sproles could help in that situation, but it doesn’t come down to just them.Pederson did laud the effort by Wendell Smallwood, and noted that he felt really comfortable with the running back coming out of training camp. The head coach said Smallwood’s running style was a little more aggressive and that he’s a physical guy and “quite honestly probably had something to prove, maybe felt there was a little heat on him.”But, Pederson said Smallwood rose to the challenge and has done a good job for the team, so they’ll keep him coming.He went on to talk about some of the protection issues with the offensive line, but agreed that some of that has to do with re-adjusting the timing from Nick Foles to Carson Wentz. Sure, these guys have played with Wentz before, but he may hold onto the ball a little longer so the protection needs to go a “tick” longer, and also pointed out the cadence is different as well.On Jalen MillsHe was asked about the coaching staff’s loyalty and commitment to Jalen Mills — particularly this week — and whether it was because he’s the best player available for them right now or whether the loyalty is for what he’s done for them in the past. Pederson admitted it’s a little of both.“No. 1, he is the best player for the positions http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/zach-ertz-jersey-authentic , and No. 2, his body of work, and what he’s done over the course of 2-plus years, and so we have a ton of confidence in him.”Pederson went on to compare it to when a quarterback gets into a slump; the coaches put their arm around him and build him up and keep coaching him. He continued to say he doesn’t kick guys to curb and tell them they’re done, but rather work to build them up.Personnel decisionsThe head coach said they haven’t looked to make any personnel moves at this point. He talked a little about with so many injuries and moving pieces, they are just trying to get the group of guys they have ready for Sunday.Pederson also noted that guys like Jason Kelce are getting some extra rest during the week, not necessarily related to any injury concerns, just as a veteran player they’re trying to be smart with how much they give them during the week.He wouldn’t answer directly about whether they were looking to bring in someone at left guard, but repeated that they are constantly evaluating everyone and will do whatever is needed to put the best players available on the field, but they haven’t made any changes as of yet.Pederson did point out that this week in practice they’ve been rotating players more than usual, with guys like Isaac Seumalo taking reps at left guard and center.It was the second week of rookie Avonte Maddox lining up in the safety position, and Pederson said he looks more comfortable and confident back there, and it’s great to have guys like Corey Graham and Malcolm Jenkins who can talk him through game reps in practice.Injury updatesPederson said they are going to see how Derek Barnett does on Friday in practice and make a determination as the day go. The injury happened during last week’s game — not falling off the team bus or anything.Both Corey Clement and Darren Sproles are going to practice a little bit on Friday and try and give the coaches a sense of whether they can go on Sunday against the Vikings. If those two can’t play this weekend, it’ll mean more carries for Wendell Smallwood, Jay Ajayi and Josh Adams. Welcome to another installment of Crunching The Numbers, a weekly, stats-based game preview I do for Bleeding Green Nation. For more about the stats I use (and why I use them) to make my “armchair coach” observations, check out an archive of previous posts in this series here.Week 7 In HindsightI’ll be honest - I didn’t devote any attention to football for the rest of Sunday and all through Monday. I didn’t watch the late games, or Sunday Night Football. I barely checked my fantasy scores. I didn’t read a single football-related article on Monday. I don’t think I’ve ever been as disgusted with an Eagles loss as I was yesterday. Not even the Titans game earlier this year or the Joe Webb game in 2010. Or the Redskins game in 2008. I could go on, but you get the idea.What’s so frustrating is how hard this team is to figure out. On offense they look efficient and methodical. The defense gets pressure. Carson Wentz is having a better start to this season than he did in his MVP-caliber season last year. And yet, they fail to play complete games against scrappy teams. They’ve blown two 17-point leads. They haven’t beaten a team with more than 2 wins. The offense has only managed to score more than 21 points on one occasion. None of these facts feel right. But they are.It’s easy to blame yesterday’s loss on the defense for giving up 3 fourth quarter touchdowns. They definitely deserve their fair share of the blame, but at the same time, this “three score lead” was 17-0. Can we really expect to win games scoring 17 points in today’s NFL? Are the replacements in the secondary good enough to play a complete game? With their experience, should we expect them to be?This is a complicated issue Youth Jay Ajayi Jersey , but the two biggest problems seem to be the lack of the big play (where have you been, Aggy?) and the unreliability on defense. In other words, this team is bland. They are effective, but lack the capability to give themselves a shot in the arm when they need one. The closest they came on Sunday was when Wentz baited the Panthers into a pass interference call deep down the field. It wasn’t even a completed pass. This, coupled with an injured and young defense that simply does not have the talent or experience to make plays consistently, has the makings of an efficient team that will beat you in the most boring way possible. The natural side effect of this is that if you can actually make the game interesting, you’ll probably beat them.
Unless you’re the Colts. Because they’re bad.I’m not ready to blame Doug - he hasn’t shown any signs of being less aggressive than he as last season - but it seems obvious now he really misses the brain trust of Reich and DeFilippo. If things don’t turn around soon, he might need to shake things up with how he delegates game-planning responsibilities to the coaching staff. It’s becoming quite apparent that this team is lacking an “X” factor that they had last year in spades.With all that being said, it’s my turn to play coach as the team prepares to play the Jaguars in London. Bold-faced statistics indicate that team has the advantage, while numbers in parenthesis are the league rank.Game Preview: Jacksonville JaguarsThe Eagles have a decent advantage (almost) across the board, with the exception of sack percentage, and even that’s not that big of a difference. YPA is about even, although the Jaguars quarterback situation is in flux and the Eagles started Nick Foles for two games, so that might not be reliable. And while the Eagles’ 16.5 Y/PT is nothing to sneeze at, Jacksonville’s 21.4 Y/PT is downright abysmal. They are essentially needing two drives starting as touchbacks just to score a touchdown. There is also one more factor to consider not mentioned here: the Wembley Effect. This will be the fourth straight year the Jaguars play in London. They know the routine and how to deal with the time change. They have won their last three games at Wembley, including a total thrashing of the Baltimore Ravens last season. It’s not a “real” stat, but it is a real advantage at this point that we must consider going into this game. But now, for the actual game plan.Eagles OffenseIt’s tough to discern exactly what the Eagles should do on offense. The stats tell one story, and it’s clear that recently the eye test reveals the Jaguars have been struggling, but at the same time Jacksonville has one of the most talented defenses in the league. Do you plan around what they have been capable of historically? Or do you throw that to the wind and go off what we’ve seen in recent weeks?Personally, I think the Eagles need to risk a shock to their system. The Jaguars have been generating pressure at a rate similar to the Panthers and I felt the Eagles handled that very well. Carson often had time to throw and a clean pocket. As long as the early returns are similar in London, dial up some deep passes to liven up the offense and let the Jaguars know you’re not afraid to attack them. I know this has been the opposite of what I’ve been saying for the past month, but now that the offensive line has shown demonstrable improvement, I think they can afford to change things up a little bit.Of course Youth Destiny Vaeao Jersey , this isn’t Madden. I’m not suggesting they go “four verts” on every play. The screen game proved effective last Sunday against Carolina and I think that’s something they should continue to develop, especially since the Jaguars have the talent up front to bottle up a traditional ground game. Screens and bombs also complement each other quite well, and I think they can work in tandem to mitigate the aggressiveness of the defense.Eagles DefenseIf the Eagles need “a shot in the arm” on offense, the Jaguars need a punch in the face. I cannot overstate how bad their Y/PT is. Their figure of 21.4 is a full yard more than the next-worst team, the Oakland Raiders. If there was a team that needed a big play to reinvigorate themselves, it’s the Jaguars, which means that preventing long passes should be the Eagles’ top priority. In recent weeks they’ve done much better at defending the deep routes, but have still given up large catch-and-runs, including old friend Torrey Smith’s devastating fourth down reception last week. Dede Westbrook is very much in the Torrey Smith mold, so a focus on surer tackling in practice should be a focal point of game preparation. Blake Bortles seems to be hot-and-cold with his confidence, so keeping everything in front of them and forcing him to dink and dunk his way down the field should help them in the red zone, where the Eagles are either “very good” or “very bad.” They’ll need the very good red zone defense to win on Sunday, especially if the Jacksonville defense suddenly wakes up.Closing ThoughtsOverall, this has been a disappointing start to the season. It sucks that, for some reason, they have to figure out how to close out and win games all over again. The offense just isn’t scoring at the rate we’re accustomed to - even with Carson’s improved play - and the defense simply does not seem to have enough talent on the back end to play a complete game. As weird as it is to say, maybe the Eagles suffered all the “right” injuries last year, and all the “wrong” ones this year. It might be easier for Schwartz to adjust for injured linebackers than it is for him to adjust to a banged up secondary. Likewise, Pederson might be more adept at covering for injured linemen and quarterbacks than he is at making up for injuries at other skill positions. We won’t know for sure until we see how they fare in the second half of the season.On that note, not all is lost. This is certainly not the start we wanted - or expected - but the NFC East kind of sucks again this year. They have 5 division matchups in their last 8 games to take control of their path to the playoffs. It’s also important to remember that the NFL season is often a tale of two halves. The 2013 Eagles started 3-5 before going on a 7-1 tear to close out the season, and in as recently as the 2016 season the Falcons were 5-4 before steamrolling their way to a Super Bowl berth that they reasonably should have won. This Eagles team is as talented as both of those (if not more), so there’s no reason why they can’t turn the corner for the home stretch. I still have faith that we can see the Eagles hosting a playoff game at the Linc in January.Do you? |
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