Pederson may have lost the Eagles’ locker-room – Tim Sullivan
From the looks on the faces of the players, the reports of some defensive players having to be restrained, to the final product on the field. What happened at the end of the Eagles season ending loss to the Washington Football Team, shouldn’t ever happen.
When the announcers, Cris Collinsworth specifically, are suggesting that they could never be part of something like what was going on, that’s a real problem. The reaction around the league has been anything but nice. Giants Head Coach Joe Judge spoke out about it, while both opposing and allied players have also made comments. It’s just a bad look for a team that recently won a Super Bowl.
The team looked distraught after the benching of Hurts. Jason Kelce had a look of disbelief on his face. He spoke recently of other teams battling poor culture and the fact that the Eagles do not have a losing one. That changed on Sunday. Zach Ertz joined the veteran center and QB Carson Wentz on the sidelines long after the game in a scene that was cinematically heartbreaking.
When Pederson decided to go with Jalen Hurts and bench Carson Wentz, he let the team know that he thought the best chance to win and salvage the season, in a weak NFC East, was to have Hurts under center. While the team didn’t achieve any sort of success with the move, they were behind the decision and they played well under th rookie.
To pull this young man, at the end of a winnable game is a slap in the face to all that he’s worked for in order to become an NFL quarterback. No one will forget the look on that young mans face at the end of the game, knowing that he could be out there, giving his all, in order to win a football game.
Either way, there are problems in Philly and they don’t revolve around the quarterback, lineman, cornerbacks, etc. They come from the top. They come from a coach quitting on his team, clearly losing some of their respect at the end of a trying season.
A good coach will get his players to believe in the system, in him, in his philosophy, and have them willing to run through a wall for himself and the team. That was once the case here. Underdogs. Hungry Dogs. After what Pederson did on Sunday, I think those Dogs won’t mind starving a little longer.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
