In this week’s episode of ‘Flippin’ the Birds’, we were fortunate enough to have Michael Kist of the Bleeding Green Nation on to discuss the current state of the Philadelphia Eagles. You can find this weeks episode below:
One thing that really stuck to me was the moment Mike questioned if the Eagles have become complacent after winning their first Super Bowl. The Eagles are 12-11 since winning their first Super Bowl championship. That’s not an ideal record for a team that was expected to embrace the new norm as Doug Pederson promised. Speaking of promises, has the Eagles head coach lost trust in his team?
While appearing on a local radio show, Doug Pederson stated:
“I know the sky’s falling outside. It’s falling. I get that. ” Pederson said Monday on WIP Radio. “But we’re going down to Dallas and our guys are going to be ready to play. And we’re going to win that football game, and when we do, we’re in first place in the NFC East.
About a day later or so, the Eagles head coach retracted that statement saying that he would never “guarantee” a victory. Could that have been due to a lack of confidence in his team? A team is the reflection of their head coach and current this Eagles squad is exactly that. Doug Pederson was once fearless but now it seems he’s become lost ever since February of 2017.
The coach’s fearless ability isn’t the only thing that seems to be lost right now, apparently, the fire, the hunger, and fight that this team once had is also lost. Week in and week out, you can truly count on one hand the number of players that are giving it their all for this team and that’s become a tough take for me to state.
Philadelphia sports is not defined by the players in but the heart they bring to their respected sports. Philly will fight with you and for you 24/7 without hesitation as long as they can see your heart. Some may bail and tell the world that the Eagles should’ve stuck with Nick Foles while others will show you how Carson Wentz is not the problem.
Wentz has apparently become the scapegoat that Donovan McNabb once was which is odd to me. because this kid has been nothing but a playmaker for this team since year one and this year he’s 7 games in with NO injury. He’s passed for 1,649 yards on 61% completion with 13 TD’s and 4 interceptions. All four interceptions have come from Wentz trying to make something out of nothing. Not ideal but he’s trying to will this team as much as he can.
The team is aging, the defense is nowhere near elite unless it’s against the run, and the offense is as compressed as your salami and chess sandwich in a Ziploc bag. It’s on Howie, Doug, and Carson to find a way to ignite this team again and stir a fire from within. This team can’t continue to play as if the league owes them anything. Teams have figured out how to play against Schwartz’s defense, he needs to change. Defenses have figured out how to play this offense, the play-calling has to be better. It’s something Orlando Scandrick mentioned on ‘Undisputed’ earlier today:
“It’s different. These guys are still riding the high of a Super Bowl. That’s over, some guys are still living in the past and can’t deal with success.”
Right now the Eagles have to make a huge decision. They need to figure who they want to be from now until the end of the season because who they thought they were doesn’t exist right now. They’re no longer the defending Super Bowl champs, they’re not even the NFC East defending champions. So here’s my question now: Who are the Philadelphia Eagles?
Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
