Tony Cutillo
While watching the Philadelphia Eagles go head-to-head with the Kansas City Chiefs, I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve seen this story play out many times before. I sat in front of the big screen wondering if déjà vu was setting in, or if, like the Geto Boys once said, “My mind is playing tricks on me.”
All things considered, the Eagles continue to make the same mistakes week after week, with the running game becoming the main focus. Doug’s answer? “We have to fix that part of the game.”
No, Doug. We have to fix you.
After I snapped back into reality, I came up with my list of quick hits for Week 2. Let me know where you stand on my observations:
• Carson Wentz has to work on his pocket presence. He becomes to lackadaisical at times, which leads to hurried throws or unnecessary pressure. It’s not all on the offensive line.
• Speaking of the O-line, the interior was turned around quicker than a revolving door at your local bank and offered no push when needed. What can be done to fix it?
• The running back position is a real problem. We watched Week 2 consist of many young runners while our best back is playing like it’s his last year. We’ve seen this before and the story ends with Darren Sproles being overused and broken down. Thanks for the ammo, Howie!
• Besides Wentz’s pocket presence, his inaccurate throws and bad decisions under pressure need to be corrected. How can that happen? You run the ball and take some pressure off the young man’s shoulders.
• The Eagles’ defense stepped up once again, but wore down when the offense couldn’t stay on the field and score points. Maybe a consistent running attack might have helped them stay fresh?
• Why weren’t any starters on the D-line present when Kareem Hunt scampered for a 53-yard run for a touchdown? Did Jim Schwartz have to take out the whole line at one time? Couldn’t he alternate? Just a thought.
• Mychal Kendricks seemed to give the defense a spark. Tell me … why he isn’t playing more snaps again?
• Did we see an Eagles receiver use a toe-tap to score a TD? Mike Groh has earned himself his salary already.
• How many times this year is the phrase “flow of the game” going to be used as an excuse not to run the ball? Didn’t Chip Kelly use that same phrase before?
Over the course of Big Red’s tenure in Philly, the running game was always in question. He constantly put the burden on #5 while using the excuse of screen passes or short outs being the same as a called running play. It was always predicated on the West Coast offense. Stop! Pederson was supposed to run a hybrid version to keep the league off guard. How’s that working out?
Overall, the Eagles were in this game and had every opportunity to win. Unfortunately, we’ve been in the same place many times before. It’s called mediocrity and too many people are accepting it as code. We have waited too long to play this run/pass ratio game all over again. Until this miracle comes to fruition, we’ll be mired in the 8-8 pool, hoping for a Hail Mary to push us into the playoffs.
Final thought: After yesterday’s loss, how many came to Pederson’s defense? It all seemed like frustration to me. Maybe there’s some truth to the Schwartz report after all…
Until next week!
As always you can stop by my Facebook page (FantasySportsAddiction) or tweet me (@TCutillo23) for questions or some nice fantasy debates. I can also be heard weekly via the internet stream live at WengRadio every Monday at 4:00pm EST for a weekend sports wrap. But most importantly, you can catch me here at Pi!
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For fantasy purposes, all my articles are predicated upon a PPR-based system.