Dave Uram
Dave Uram is a sports anchor and fill in host for SportsRadio 94 WIP. You can follow him on Twitter @MrUram. [Editor’s note: Completely disagree with Dave here. Please feel free to throw tomatoes at him on Twitter.]
Forgive me, I’m about to pull a Michael Wilbon.
The Pardon The Interruption co-host said this week on ESPN that he didn’t overrate Carson Wentz, unlike “every other dope in the world.” It was basically a complete 180 from after Week 2 when Wilbon declared on his show that he’s “really impressed with Wentz.”
Following Week 3’s 31-point victory against the Steelers, I figuratively came forward to eat a giant plate of crow after I felt l was completely wrong about my six-win prediction for the Eagles this season.
That mea culpa towards the Eagles was premature, because I was right the first time. They aren’t good.
What separates me from Wilbon is that I believe Wentz is very good, going to be great, and isn’t overrated. The team, however, was being overrated during the longest bye week in NFL history.
My biggest problem with the Eagles before the season was Howie Roseman – who I publicly apologized to on 94 WIP and FOX 29’s Good Day Philadelphia after the team started 3-0 – as he didn’t put any playmakers on this team to contend for a playoff spot.
It turns out Wentz is a playmaker and Darren Sproles is as well when sparingly used. But, other than those two, their starting running back Ryan Mathews is mediocre at best and injury prone, while their wide receivers are slightly more talented than James Thrash and Todd Pinkston.
Yeah, I went there.
Jordan Matthews is decent, but not a number one wideout. Nelson Agholor is becoming more and more of a bust everyday. He just can’t get open. Dorial Green-Beckham is naturally talented, but hasn’t broken out. And it’s very easy to forget about Josh Huff. Not to mention they drop balls in costly situations way too often.
Zach Ertz is overrated. It’s his fourth year in the NFL and every one is apparently going to be a break out season. When is that going to start? When is he going to stop dropping the ball?
For the third year in a row, the offensive line is disrupted, either by injuries or an irresponsible performance enhancing substance suspension.
Thanks, Lane Johnson.
But in reality, this line hasn’t been consistently great since Nick Foles fooled people with 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in 2013. One of my worries going into the Washington loss was Halapoulivaati Vaiti. His insertion as a starter affected the entire chemistry of Wentz’s pass protection.
Then there’s the defense, who I believed was going to be one of the team’s strongest aspects going into the season. For the first three weeks, they absolutely were. But after allowing 737 yards of offense since the bye week, with 230 coming on the ground from Washington, I might be very wrong.
Bennie Logan said Wednesday night on WIP that their scouting reports didn’t feature Redskins running back Robert Kelley, who rushed for 59 yards on five carries. How does that happen?
For six of the past eight quarters, the defense hasn’t tackled, hasn’t gotten off the field on third down and has completely underperformed. Fletcher Cox went without a tackle in the loss to Washington. Connor Barwin’s numbers are significantly down and the position change might be the reason why. Jordan Hicks is possibly out of position in this new 4-3 defense as he is less of a playmaker than he was as a rookie. The secondary is struggling in pass coverage.
And I can’t forget about the coaches, who I praised after Week 3 For their aggression and unpredictability.
However, Doug Pederson unfortunately reverted to “Andy Reid Mode” with a questionable timeout to punt the ball late in the 4th quarter against Washington, then in postgame press conference repeated how it’s on him to fix the team’s struggles. Jim Schwartz is no longer an early head coaching candidate, as allowing 230 rushing yards to one of the worst running teams is football will make those declarations go away.
This isn’t ‘Overreaction Thursday.’ For the most part, this is what I predicted was going to happen. The past two weeks are the play of a six-win team. The Eagles are halfway there with 11 games to go on a very difficult schedule.
The 5-0 Vikings are up next with the best defense in football in terms of points allowed and second best when it comes to total yards allowed. Not to mention, Sam Bradford and company don’t make mistakes on offense despite featuring the worst rushing game in the NFL. Their running game might look exponentially better after this week.
I’ve picked against the Birds every single game. I thought the Browns were going to take advantage of a rookie quarterback who played a small part of one preseason game. Wrong!
I had my doubts with Wentz going into Soldier Field in prime time for his first road game. Wrong!
I didn’t believe the Eagles could top a Super Bowl contender in the Steelers. Wrong again!
I actually thought the Eagles would beat the Lions Week 5, but I had to pick Detroit because I couldn’t start picking the Birds at that point. Mistakenly correct!
And then, there’s Week 6, which I thought Washington’s pass attack, Josh Norman and Big V’s first game would work against the Eagles. Legitimately right for the first time this season!
So this week, with the Bradford storyline line and the Eagles returning to The Linc, I think Eagles-Vikings will be a close game. However, the Birds just aren’t that good and, in the end, a Super Bowl contending team in the Vikings will take advantage of a broken offensive line, subpar wide receivers and a defense that’s severely underperforming.
Minnesota will win 23-20 and the long, slow road to 6-10 will continue for the Eagles. It’s the sixth straight week I’m picking against the Birds.
I hope I get to eat another plate of crow, really soon.