New Season, Same Lousy Defense
On the night the Eagles honored Super Bowl hero Nick Foles, they also showed everyone just how far they have fallen in the past seven seasons. Anyone still harboring thoughts of playing in the NFL’s biggest game this year is delusional.
There are lots of people responsible for the meltdown late in the devastating 22-21 loss to Atlanta in the home opener, but there is only one true villain. The defense.
That defense, for want of a better word, stinks.
It has been bad for nine straight games now, and never worse than in the biggest moments.
The saddest part is that the Birds have a new defensive coordinator, lots of new players and a whole new attitude, supposedly. Did you ever believe any of that hype? Do you still believe it after that final drive by the Falcons?
Here’s a simple test: When the pass that would have clinched the win bounced off Saquon Barkley’s hands, did you feel confident that the defense could stop Kirk Cousins from driving 70 yards with no timeouts and 1:39 left on the clock?
Let the record show, I did not. I figured if backup quarterback Drew Lock could drive Seattle 92 yards in 1:28 (using no timeouts) to beat the Birds near the end of last season, Cousins should have no problem carving up the pitiful Eagles pass defense with an extra 11 seconds.
My guess is, only the stalwarts thought someone – anyone – would come up with a big play.
The new kid, Quinyon Mitchell? No, he got burned for two huge pass catches by Darnell Mooney on that decisive drive.
How about Bryce Huff, the $51-million edge rusher who is supposed to replace Haason Reddick? Not a chance. He didn’t register anything on the stat sheet. Nada. He has one assisted tackle in two games.
And then there’s Darius “Big Play” Slay. Since he turned 30 – old for a cornerback – he has become No Play Slay. The touchdown pass he allowed to wide receiver Drake London was grounds for dismissal. Or at least retirement. Slay hasn’t just lost a step. At 33, he has lost his way.
I can hear the murmurs on the street this morning – even without the benefit of working the morning shift at WIP – and they are all missing the point if they blame anything else for this egregious loss.
Yes, Barkley should have caught that ball. It was a simple swing pass – a great a play-call – and a soft, accurate throw by Jalen Hurts. The running back just dropped it. But let’s also not forget that Barkley had another excellent game (116 combined yards and some terrific blocks) before the gaffe.
And yes, Hurts threw an interception to end the game, giving his critics something to whine about after an otherwise fantastic performance (85 rushing yard and a touchdown and 183 more via the air, including a laser TD at the back of the end zone to DeVonta Smith.)
If you want to deflect some of the blame, the only other place to look is coach Nick Sirianni, who had a look of utter shock as he walked off the field a loser on Monday night, despite the fact that he has now lost seven of his last nine games.
Both broadcaster Troy Aikman and I thought the coach was insane to pass up a chip-shot field goal in the first quarter in favor of a 4th-and-three pass to Dallas Goedert that fell incomplete. Then the ESPN broadcast showed that the analytics said going for it was a better play than taking the field goal.
Oh, OK. Now I know why Sirianni did it. He makes no strategic decisions. The stat nerds do all of that anyway. If the chart says go for it, Nick goes for it. Sirianni is the closest thing to a human robot, an AI creation programmed to screw up every close game.
But all of those excuses are digressions. The only real story is that regrettable defense, a conglomeration of players too old and too young. When the best edge rusher on your team is 36 (Brandon Graham), you have a flawed roster. Howie Roseman deserves the blame for that, now that the national media has finally stopped reporting how much smarter he is than the other GMs.
Vic Fangio was brought in to provide experience and aggression. So far, the new defensive coordinator has brought in close to 800 yards of opposing offense, and neither Green Bay nor Atlanta are considered elite offenses.
No, the best offense is next up on the schedule. New Orleans already has 91 points in starting the new season 2-0. Can you imagine how eager Derek Carr and his arsenal of dangerous offensive players are to welcome that putrid Eagles defense into their dome on Sunday afternoon?
And the worst part, at least for me, is that I will be there with 170 avid Birds fans watching what promises to be an even more dramatic indictment of an Eagles defense that, well, just plain stinks.
Do you think it’s too late for me to weasel out of that trip?
Some other thoughts. . . .
- I met Johnny Gaudreau only once, when he made an impromptu appearance on our WIP radio show at the Borgata. He was a already a hockey superstar, though he hadn’t celebrated his 26thbirthday yet. He came across as humble, kind and friendly. Johnny and his younger brother Matthew died earlier this month when a drunk driver plowed into both of them while they were riding bikes near their homes in Oldsman Township, NJ. Words cannot begin to capture the sense of loss, not only to the victims but to their families, which included two pregnant wives. The driver, Sean Higgins, faces 20 years in prison. The families face a lifetime of devastation. In other words, 20 years is not nearly enough.
- Let’s all get on the same page before the baseball playoffs this year. Failure is simply not an option for the Phillies. Anything short of a world championship is not good enough. They are arguably the best team in baseball right now, with the record and the stats to prove it. They need to play better than they have the past two years in the postseason. And if they don’t, they will need some changes, starting with the manager. It’s now or never. If the kind-hearted media of today is already preparing a new set of excuses for these playoff underachievers, here’s some advice. Move to Buffalo. Philadelphia holds its players accountable. OK?
- Maybe it’s just because I loathe Andy Reid but am I the only one who thinks the Kansas City Chiefs have been receiving preferential treatment from the refs for several years now? I’m still trying to find the holding penalty against James Bradberry that cost the Eagles the Super Bowl two years ago. Last year, the refs handed the Super Bowl to KC by ignoring countless obvious holding calls. (Check totalprosports.com if you don’t believe me.) And then on Sunday, they saved the Chiefs by ignoring a mugging against WR Ja’Marr Chase on the key drive of a one-point Chiefs win. Chase went berserk after the non-call. So did I. If the late, great Sen. Arlen Specter were still here, I would demand a congressional investigation.
- I have already let it be known that I’m not confident of a win Sunday in New Orleans, but the fact is, I do not feel good at all about the next two games, including a visit to Tampa on Sept. 29. I said yes to the New Orleans trip because I anticipated a big Birds win. Since then, the Saints have put up 47 and 44 points, the latter number in Dallas. (Hurrah!) Win or lose, of course, I will have a full report on my first road trip in seven years here next week.
- As a retired guy myself, I was worried that we would all forget my all-time favorite Eagle, Jason Kelce, now that he has left the field for good. Ha! I saw much more of Kelce on Monday night – on the field, in the broadcast booth, and everywhere in between – than ever before. My only complaint is, he’s not doing enough commercials. I counted only four different product endorsements during the game. How am I supposed to decide what chip to eat without his input?