The Eagles are 3-4-1 at the halfway point of the 2020 NFL season, but are somehow still in the thick of the playoff race. It’s time to make some adjustments. Let’s take a look at what those might be.
Get Healthy
The Eagles are starting to get some players back. Miles Sanders and Alshon Jeffery are reportedly slated to return to practice. Sanders will provide a much-needed boost in the run game and help take some of the load off Carson’s shoulders. Alshon will…actually, no one really knows, but if he can provide another reliable target I don’t mind him being out there in a limited capacity. I definitely don’t want him taking away significant snaps from Fulgham or Reagor though. They are the future of the franchise at the WR position. Still, having a savvy veteran for critical third downs or in the red zone certainly won’t hurt.
On the offensive line, Isaac Seumalo’s 21-day window has been opened. He’ll presumably return to practice this week, and maybe even get back on the field on game day this weekend. With Peters already back, the left side of the line could be pretty solid once again. On the right side, we’ll have to wait and see. Lane Johnson has been struggling to stay on the field all year. Is he finally ready? Is Jack Driscoll available? We’ll know more later this week. In the meantime, Australian phenom Jordan Mailata is ready to step in if need be. I’d prefer to see Mailata getting the starts at LT when everyone’s healthy, but with Peters not exactly known for reliably staying on the field these days he’ll likely still get some reps at some point. Regardless, getting the line healthy will go a long way towards helping this offense out.
On defense, the secondary is a little banged up, but the pieces are slowly returning. Malik Jackson appears to be healthy once again as well. Javon Hargrave doesn’t appear to be hurt, but he sure has been ineffective. If he can improve in his role, the defense should be fine. Linebacker is the biggest position of concern, but they actually looked better without Nate Gerry who will miss at least two more weeks. Addition by subtraction here.
So, the team is getting healthier. Now, they just have to stay healthy. That alone should significantly improve the product on the field. I know teams don’t like to blame injuries, but we all know key injuries to important players can sink a team’s playoff hopes. Get healthy. Stay healthy. Rule #1 for the second half of the season.
Stop Turning the Damn Ball Over
I’m looking at you, Carson.
Carson Wentz has turned the ball over 19 times (12 int, 7 fumbles). He’s always fumbled a lot, which is a problem he needs to be addressing, but the interceptions are already almost double what he throws in a typical season. Hopefully his time off sneaking around in the wilds of North Dakota (or wherever he was) searching for animals to kill has given him the time he needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop giving the ball to the other team. If it did, then maybe he’ll help his team put up a few more points and stop putting his defense in bad spots. The defense has done a good job bailing out Carson at times, but no one can reasonably expect them to bail him out every time.
Consider Giving Up Play-calling Duties
This one is for Doug Pederson. If the team gets healthy and Carson stops stupidly turning the ball over multiple times a game, but the offense continues to struggle, it might be time for Doug to let someone else call the plays. Who? I don’t know. They seem to have about 20 offensive coaches this year. Pick one. Marty Mornhinweg has experience. Seems like a logical choice to me.
Let the Kids Play
Alshon Jeffery, Jason Peters, DeSean Jackson (inj), Nate Gerry (inj). What do they all have in common? They aren’t the future at the position, and there are already replacements on the roster. It’s probably a pipe dream at this point, but really, Doug needs to let the kids play. They need the experience, and in some cases are likely the better option anyway.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize
Some Eagles fans think they should be tanking. The idea here is to force the team to realize they have a problem and address it rather than pretend making it to the playoffs means everything is ok. The high draft pick would be nice, too. I disagree. Sure, the high draft pick would be nice, but it’s not like having a high draft pick suddenly makes your team a contender. Let’s take a look at who drafted early in the 2020 draft:
| Pos | Team | record (division place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2-5-1 (4th) |
| 2 | Washington Football Team | 2-6 (2nd) |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | 3-5 (4th) |
| 4 | New York Giants | 2-7 (4th) |
| 5 | Miami Dolphins | 5-3 (2nd) |
| 6 | Los Angeles Chargers | 2-6 (4th) |
| 7 | Carolina Panthers | 3-6 (4th) |
| 8 | Arizona Cardinals | 5-3 (2nd) |
| 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-7 (4th) |
| 10 | Cleveland Browns | 5-3 (3rd) |
Outside of Miami and maybe Cleveland there are no real contenders in this list. Drafting in the top 10 doesn’t automatically lead to success the following year. I don’t want the Eagles picking in the top 10 because it means they are probably a bad team. I want them to be a good team. I don’t even necessarily want a top 20 pick. It doesn’t really get any better there.
As for forcing the GM to realize there are problems…frankly, if he can’t see that by now he should probably not be a NFL GM.
The Eagles have a 1.5 game lead in the division, and realistically probably only need to win 2-3 games to clinch it. As pathetic as that is, they have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. The NFC appears to be wide open this year. Green Bay can’t stop the run. The Seahawks defense is leaky, at best. Tampa Bay is rotten on the inside (rumors of a power struggle between coach and QB is not usually a good sign). New Orleans has utterly destroyed Tampa Bay twice, but all four of their other wins have been of the single-digit variety and usually against less-than-great teams. That’s not to say that any of these teams are bad, but they are certainly beatable. If the Eagles can get their crap together, they are more than capable of beating any one or more of these teams.
From weeks 12-15, the Eagles will face, in order, Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans, and Arizona. All four are pretty safely playoff teams. This will be a real test that will show us what the Eagles may or may not be capable of come playoff time. Odds are they will face at least one of them if they are to make any kind of run.
Forget the first half of the year. Focus on the second half. Make some adjustments, and get at it. The first test is against a New York Giants team that has shown some fight of late and will be hungry for a win against their nemesis. Go kick their ass and show the NFL world the first half was just a warm-up.
Go Birds.
