Eagles Struggle Early: Is There Hope?
As the Eagles struggle, their lackluster performance can be traced back to
stubborn coaching and disappointing players.
stubborn coaching and disappointing players.
October 2015
Matt Kodish '17
It's simple to say that the start of this year's Eagles season has been a disaster and it is hard to take any positives out of their play so far. For the second time in the last few years, this Philadelphia team was built up with a tremendous amount of hype, only for their on field play to be a huge letdown.
It is apparent that Head Coach Chip Kelly was deemed a genius way too early. His experiment is simply failing, failing miserably. He has consistently gone with the concept of culture over talent but the start of this 2015 NFL Season has proven that you need talent to win at the professional level. It is premature to say that other teams have figured out Chip's system, but in order to be successful, a head coach has to be willing to adapt to give their team the best possible chance of winning. And it is very fair to say that Chip is as stubborn as it gets. Though most problems of a team arise from a coaching standpoint, the players are not performing up to par. It's not like it is just a quarterback (Sam Bradford) issue either. There is not one player on this roster who has truly played at a pro bowl level, which is just disappointing given the talent assembled in the off-season.
Here is an analysis of each position:
Sam Bradford (QB): Sam needs to step up and become a leader for this team. To win in the NFL, you need a great quarterback and he has flashed elite potential. He needs to be more poised and less hesitant in the pocket.
DeMarco Murray (RB): No player on this roster has struggled more than him. He needs to use his vision and power to create holes, even when there seems to be none.
Jordan Matthews (WR): The team's #1 wideout needs to be more sure-handed in order to reel in a higher percentage of his targets. We have seen a surprising number of drops from Matthews.
Nelson Agholor (WR): He certainly is raw. Needs to also cut down on drops and use his explosiveness to get open down the field.
Offensive Line: This unit has been disastrous. Both the pass block and run block have been extremely poor and have made it difficult for Bradford and Murray to produce. This may be a scheme problem or just a lack of talent at the guard position, but all 5 starters have consistently been dominated in the trenches. The only way to solve the issues is to be more effective and hold their blocks and take less penalties.
Front Seven (D-Line, Linebackers): Quarterbacks have all day to tear apart our secondary due to a lack of pass rush. A positive for the defensive line is run defense, where the Eagles have had much success in containing opposing backs.
Secondary (Cornerbacks, Safeties): This unit has been up and down. Early on, Byron Maxwell the $63 million dollar corner has been torn apart and has been rated 97th out of 99 qualifying corners by Pro Football Focus. The rest of the secondary has been solid and much improved.
Special Teams: Eagles have continued to have a great return game, but kicking has been a major issue. Caleb Sturgis replaced the injured Cody Parkey and has struggled mightily.
This past Sunday’s strong 39-17 victory against the New Orleans Saints revealed a glimmer of hope, but the Eagles must develop consistency. Hopefully the Birds can turn their season around before it's too late, or else we might be looking at a high draft pick this coming April.