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Another week. Another loss. This week was very expected but my oh my did we get an unexpected game. Did we witness the beginning of the Jalen Hurts regime or was it a wakeup call for Carson? There are grades to go around and here they come:
Coaching: D
Was Jim Schwartz's defense woefully underprepared again? Yes. Did Doug abandon the run game against the 24th ranked rushing defense? Yes. Did he wait too long to replace Carson Wentz? Maybe. Fact of the matter is when your team is 3-8-1 and you are having a QB controversy between your franchise player and a 2nd round draft pick, your grade here isn't good.
I said on the post-game show last night, that 12 weeks into this season I still don't understand who this team is. I know they aren't a good team. Coaching is a colossal problem not to mention lack of player development. In fact, player regression has come to the forefront.
OFFENSE:
QB: D
If it was just Carson, its an F. He played exceptionally poorly for 2.5 quarters. Accuracy was awful and his one deep pass was lucky to get where he threw it. Some of the sacks he took were almost exclusively on him for holding the ball too long and some were because of a decrepit offensive line.
Jalen Hurts came in and didn't light the world on fire but he looked significantly more comfortable than Wentz did. He moved in the pocket and completed some deep passes. He was the only QB for the Eagles that looked capable of leading the team yesterday. Still threw a bad INT but played well in relief.
The big concern here comes from the post game. Carson looked like a defeated man who didn't stand up and clearly say 'this is my team and I'm QB 1.' The lack of leadership is apparent and problematic.
RB: C
16 carries combined for 59 yards. Not good enough and not nearly enough chances. I can't keep grading this group low when Doug or whoever is calling the plays refuses to utilize the best position group on this team. The fact that Miles Sanders only touched the ball 10 times yesterday against the number 24 ranked rushing defense in the NFL speaks volumes for how out of touch this coaching staff is.
WR: F
4 combined catches for 91 yards. Are you kidding me? No separation from the line and bad route running. Alshon has zero speed anymore and no catches for another week. Ward and Reagor finally got started when Jalen Hurts came in. Not ever going to be good enough. You need to expect more from your first round pick than 1 catch...
TEs: B-
Combined 7 catches 97 yards. Good routes, open a lot. Solid options for Carson and Jalen. They need to take some of the flack for the sacks allowed but Goedert and Ertz were good contributors yesterday.
OL: F
"10 straight games with 3 plus sacks." First time since Randall Cunningham was QB of the Eagles. This group is bad and often injured. Mailata played well. Kelce played well. Peters can't stay on the field and the right side of the line was wek yesterday. Carson held the ball too long and the time between snap and pressure is on the Oline. He is only getting 3 seconds to get the ball out and the Oline needs to do a better job. Period.
DEFENSE:
DL: D+
Outside of the first drive when Hargrave had the big sack on Rodgers, the D line was relatively ineffective yesterday. Rodgers had a lot of time to throw and pick apart a bad linebacking corp and secondary. This Eagles defense was built around superior line play. It didn't happen yesterday.
LB: F
The HUGE TD pass right before the half and the even larger 77 yard TD run were the kisses of death for this team and they could be placed on the shoulders of the linebacking corp. Singleton did what he could but with TJ Edwards and Davion Taylor coming out, this group got worse than they already were. This position group needs a massive overhaul.
Secondary: F
Another bad week for Darius Slay. Except knowing that he was going against another top tier reciever, Schwartz shouldn't have left him isolated all game. I don't put Adams' career day on Slay alone. Maddox was hurt, Mills was ineffective, McLeod was out of position. How is this group so woefully underprepared each game? Because they aren't a good group..
Special Teams: A-
Elliot kicked a field goal!! Also missed an XP. Jalen Reagor with the gigantic punt return for a TD and the kickoff team was destructive on defending returns. But the kickoff return team still needs work. Also Cameron Johnston is a Pro Bowler and placed a BEAUTIFUL punt down on the 1 which was fielded to perfection.
IN CONCLUSION:
The first and second round picks finally contributed. Howie's job is saved. The players who have been here have regressed drastically. Doug might be gone. The second string QB outplayed the first. Carson might be following behind Doug.
IF the Saints start Taysom Hill next week, the defense can't stop a running QB. If the Saints start Brees, the Eagles defense can't stop a passing QB. The Eagles won't be New Orleans next week. The only question is: how ugly will it be?