Should the Eagles just let it all burn? | Best of unCovering the Birds
Decisions about coach, quarterback and draft strategy are all interconnected within the Eagles' world.
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings?
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Jeff McLane: I don’t think they’re gonna go full-bore tank like the Colts are, but it’s just better sometimes in the NFL if you like just completely sink to the bottom, instead of being one of these kind of middling teams that just like, you know, scrapes into the playoffs every year. And I think that’s kind of the argument, or how Jeffrey [Lurie] and Nick [Sirianni] and Howie [Roseman] are gonna look at this.
Especially when they come to evaluating Nick at the end of the season. It’s like, OK, if we finish 4-13, this is a perfect opportunity to start over and and that involves the quarterback as well. Or do we give Jalen Hurts an opportunity with an offensive-minded head coach that can call the plays?
David Murphy: Well, here’s my thing. What offense is the offensive line coming from? I’m with you on the injuries, except if you actually go back and look at that offense [Sunday] night, who are the guys that that are missing that are gonna be here next year? I mean, Drew Kendall allegedly is your center of the future, Landon Dickerson was there, Jordan Mailata was there, Tyler Steen was there. [At right tackle] it’s Markel Bell or the next guy you draft or sign.
[Also in the lineup was] Makai Lemon, your first-round draft pick from this year, who was brought in to be a guy. So they didn’t have DeVonta Smith, essentially. They certainly have gotten hit hard by injuries, but the team that they threw out there on the field [Sunday] was not all that different from a lot of teams around.
The Lions have had offensive line injuries this year. I mean, the Ravens just lost Lamar Jackson again. When Lamar was out, they played respectable football at least, you know? The Bucs just won a game without throwing a pass. They’ve completed seven passes over the last two weeks and won two games by a combined total of like 50 points...
McLane: If I can interject, these last two losses are so devastating because the Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in the league, as do the Commanders. Like these are bad teams that they’re getting blown out by.
Murphy: The week after the Eagles lost to the Panthers, the Bucs beat them by 40, completing seven passes. You know? And the Bucs weren’t exactly, you know, God’s gift to football through the first six or seven weeks of the season. So I’m not saying... look, these are bad losses. What I’m saying is they might just be a bad team more than an injured team.
Lane Johnson ain’t walking back through that door. Cam Jurgens isn’t walking back through that door. Younger Landon Dickerson isn’t walking through that door. I don’t see how this team really is going to be all that different on paper next year, as it is right now. So yeah, all that is to say the coach is the only fungible variable.
When I brought up the quarterback, I didn’t mean to suggest that they should be looking to move on from Jalen Hurts, but they have to answer that question. You know, think about the scenarios in play. Let’s say they get the No. 1 overall pick, right? The Jets have three first-round picks this year, and there’s a world of difference in your draft if you’re committed to your quarterback at No. 1 overall or not.
If you’re committed to your quarterback at No. 1 overall, you could walk away with all three of the Jets’ first-round picks, draft the offensive tackle from LSU (Jordan Seaton); Jamari Johnson, the tight end from Oregon, and somebody else. You know?
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni’s Eagles are burning. Jeffrey Lurie may prefer his Eagles rise from the ashes of Sirianni’s tenure.
And then on the flip side, if you weren’t committed to your quarterback, you have to move on from him. Because I will tell you, Jalen Hurts is not going to the kind of guy that can usher in the next generation, you know, walking him through the the paces. And frankly, Jalen Hurts is still a darn good quarterback who will get you at least one first-round draft pick from a team.
It’s almost like you can’t separate all this stuff, because then you’re gonna need to know, what scheme are we gonna be running? You know, what can this offensive line do? What is the best scheme for them? My viewpoint right now is the issues that they’re facing, the questions that they’re facing are far more existential in nature than just should Sirianni return, should Hurts return, is it Howie’s fault?
If you’re drafting where they could end up drafting, you’re at a point where you need to know what your three-to-five year plan is. I think all that fits together.
McLane: Right. And and there’s one person who can sell that, and that’s Howie Roseman, because he’s done it before. And typically, really honestly in the NFL, this is why you kind of want to burn it all down, is that you can turn it around in a year or two. They did it after 2020.
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings? Listen here.
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