After another disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, criticism is snowballing for the Philadelphia Eagles coaches. Even off the back of a great road win last week against the New Orleans Saints, fans are upset at the lack of consistency the team has shown for almost a year. Nick Sirianni and company are on the hot seat, and they must look at their identity before it’s too late.
This isn’t to say that none of the Eagles players need to be criticized. There’s plenty of criticism between the players, coaches, and even the front office. However, the Eagles are still a talented team that shouldn’t be this inconsistent. It starts with the identity of the team and the coaches need to start adjusting some things.
Kellen Moore and the Offense
Albeit, the Eagles were down some crucial offensive players against the Buccaneers. Many offenses around the league would struggle without their two top receivers and right tackle. However, two aspects stand out with this offense that Moore will need to adjust.
First, the Eagles cannot go into any game without making sure Saquon Barkley is not heavily involved. It’s understandable why they abandoned the run when they went down so early. However, in that scenario, there must be more creative plays and ideas to get the ball in Barkley’s hands. He’s been their best player through the first four weeks, and he can take any touch to the endzone.
Secondly, Moore needs to make some adjustments to help Jalen Hurts. For the last two years, the Eagles have changed their offensive identity without Shane Steichen. Thus, Jalen Hurts has been playing like a true pocket quarterback. Hurts can be an awesome quarterback, but he still needs someone to cater to his strengths. It’s not as if Hurts cannot play out of the pocket, but as we seen he’ll make mistakes in some crucial moments at times. Moore needs to find some ways to get Hurts on the move more with play-action boots and such. It will give him more opportunities to use his legs and provide easier reads at times. Most evidently, it will also allow him to play some more backyard football, like his touchdown throw against the Buccaneers.
Vic Fangio and the Defense
There is no debate, the defense is the biggest problem with this team. However, the Eagles coaches need to find ways to minimize some of their deficiencies. The clearest one is the Eagles defensive line. They were successful against the Saints by going with more five and six-man fronts. Yet, they didn’t do this nearly enough against the Buccaneers and suffered. They need more bodies towards the line of scrimmage to stop the run and they need to blitz more to get pressure.
Another thing that Fangio mentioned to the media was his philosophy of sitting back in coverage. It didn’t work this week because the Buccaneers were hitting them on quick throws the entire game. Regardless, this method won’t work well this year, because the Eagles haven’t been able to tackle well when the offense catches it short. They need to bring up the corners and defensive backs, they need to blitz more, but in reality, they need to take more risks.
It’s a hard pill for Vic Fangio to swallow because his defensive philosophy is to play safe and limit big plays. Yet, the Eagles defense just is not good enough to play that way and not get diced up like what happened versus Tampa Bay. They need to take risks, and they will give up some big plays with these risks. However, they will be able to make more plays and get the ball back to the offense. It’s an uncomfortable position for a veteran head coach like Fangio, but he needs to realize that the Eagles cannot play the way he’s accustomed to.
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles Coaches Final Thoughts
At this point, many Eagles fans and media are counting the days until Nick Sirianni is fired. He hasn’t done a good job recently, and he deserves a lot of the criticism. In general, Nick Sirianni and the rest of the Eagles coaches need to realize, that the Eagles are not good enough to consistently turn down punts and field goals. They are also not good enough to just make any situation work against any team in the league.
Overall, the Eagles are 2-2, and they have a bye week to get things going in the right direction. The season is far from over and they have some time to work things out. The coaches need to get together and figure out the way the Eagles want to play football and what plays to their strengths. Their next three opponents after the bye week are the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and Cincinnati Bengals.
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