Four years ago, the Eagles did something great. They moved on from a coach that was ruining the franchise with every move he made. He traded one of the best running backs that this franchise has ever seen for a linebacker that nobody knew. He released one of the best deep threats that football has ever seen, and he also traded Nick Foles for Sam Bradford.
Jeffery Lurie came to his senses and fired Chip Kelly; he then brought back a very motivated Howie Roseman to help restore this franchise. Later on, they hired Doug Pederson to be the next Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, a moment that left many fans a bit underwhelmed due to the other coaches that were out there at the time but their very thorough search left them with slim pickings.
All of this led the Eagles to their next franchise QB, Carson Wentz, who they selected 2nd overall in The NFL draft after a flurry of trades to put them in that position. It was a moment that felt glorious to Eagles fans. They finally felt like this was it. The organization was prepared to win at all costs, well that’s the unfortunate truth now. They want to win through expenses that may just cost them more than they’re prepared to pay.
The Eagles will enter Sunday’s game against the Saints with a new QB leading the charge, one that cost the team a 2nd round pick which could’ve been used on a player like Jeremy Chinn. The Eagles front office drafted Jalen Hurts to be a change of pace player for an offense that’s been on a steady decline.
The same front office that placed all their marbles on Carson Wentz was now willing to risk damaging their franchise QB because they wanted to be viewed as a forward-thinking franchise. They crave to be innovators during a time where every other franchise is recreating how football is played. The Eagles front office thought they were ahead of the curve but instead, they were greeted with a false depiction of who they are.
See, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. When I say something like this, I’m speaking of the team benching Carson Wentz after his first bad season with the team. Yes, you read that right, his first bad season. His rookie season was a rookie season, that’s just a longer preseason for players who are just learning how to find their footing at this level. Every year after, he’s been consistent with his numbers. Yes, he suffered two injuries but one came 13 games in during a possible MVP season and the other came as a result of Wentz rushing back from that brutal injury.
That’s just who he is, a competitor who just wants to win as bad as the next guy but Wentz is also a God-fearing man who refuses to put football above anything else. It’s just a job for him and it should be, that just shows the level of respect he has for the game. Now, during a season where every position group is struggling, Doug Pederson has decided to bench Carson Wentz. The man who just signed a huge extension, the same guy who’s been taking the blame for the team’s offensive woes even though he knows it’s not just him but sees the issue with taking the blame is that you allow the real culprits to survive while you drown. That’s just how it works.
In this case, the culprits are Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman. Howie’s guilt is connected to a terrible ability to surround Wentz with the right supporting cast. Building this team around his skill set instead of fitting a circle peg in a square hole. Ironically that’s what Howie has done. He’s tried to make Wentz fit every player that he’s drafted in hopes that Wentz would make them look good, well you failed Howard.
He gave Wentz the worst possible shot at anything great especially after you committed to Alshon Jeffery for another season. He’s supposed to be the wizard Howie, what gives? Why is your his player taking all the blame and being made example of? Was he not the reason that this franchise has a Super Bowl now?
Then there’s Doug. The head coach who thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room and could you blame him? That’s what helped him navigate to his first Super Bowl win as a head coach but the days of being unpredictable to opposing defenses are over. Everyone runs the RPO and they also know what to expect from him.
They know that he’ll pass for about 90% of the time and barely establish a run game with the other 10%. That’s just who he is. It’s what made him fearless, right? Well, it’s also what made him clueless.
Clueless to the fact that this offense is nowhere near a modern-day NFL offense. Pederson runs three to four verticals on almost every down and leaves Wentz on an island. His offensive line can’t block long enough to wait for the reason to get open 20 yards down the field. It’s pitiful how far he’s fallen in record time.
Here’s the brutal truth to it all. In a year where politics has divided the country, masks have become a reason to argue, and the very existence of a deadly virus is debated; the Eagles have managed to divide their fan base into two groups. One being the folks that see this team for what it is this year: a bad overall roster. The other being the group of fans that have been suckered into believing that a QB change will fix everything.
Think about it, the Eagles are going to send Jalen Hurts out on Sunday against the number one defense in the NFL for his first game as a starting QB. Now while this all could go well and Jalen could ball out, the issue at hand is that the Eagles were willing to give up on a 27-year-old QB that has yet to reach his ceiling. How long would they wait until they did the same to Jalen? I mean the Detroit Lions haven’t drafted the replacement of Matt Stafford and he’s endured several rough seasons. Even Brett Favre had his rough years but he still managed to be one of the greatest of all time. So what gives?
How have the Eagles managed to destroy a perennial talent in less than 6 seasons? How could Jeffery Lurie allow Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson to play with his franchise and his money like this?
It’s a sad truth to know that the Eagles veterans and young players all stand beside Carson Wentz and claim that he isn’t the blame while Doug throws up the white flag on his way to possibly destroying another QB. I love the idea of Jalen Hurts but I also love watching Carson Wentz play every Sunday. Unfortunately, all of Philadelphia may have to witness the beginning of the end come Sunday, one way or another.
Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
