This week, the Eagles reached a new low for the season, as things got a little too intimate and personal.
Fletcher Cox’s personal life is riddled with chaos. We won’t learn many of the details of the “burglary attempt” on his home on October 16th, and that’s probably for the best. When Doug Pederson was asked for further explanation of the situation, he steered clear, stating, “We all have personal lives and things are going to come up”.
What we can piece together about what transpired is horrible. This is awful for Fletcher and the team. It’s unfair that we zoom in so closely on NFL players’ private lives in an effort to better understand what happens on the field; however, now that we’ve gotten a peek behind Fletcher’s off-field curtain, I think we all recognize his world can be tumultuous, even terrifying right now. It’s not surprising he hasn’t played to his All-Pro standard this season. I’m certain the turmoil in his life outside of football has a ton to do with that. After listening to the 911 call he made, I’m more concerned for Cox’s safety than about his performance against the Bills. And here we are, prying and preoccupied about his play, when we should be praying for the guy.
Orlando Scandrick despises Howie Roseman and Malcolm Jenkins. It’s personal. He took to the TV-waves to talk trash and explain his feelings of betrayal after he was released and the Eagles kept a group of young cornerbacks, who have been shaky at best, in his stead.
I understand why Scandrick lacks trust in Howie. I mean, he just cut you after enticing you back to the team after cutting you after training camp. Mixed messages there. That’s how it goes in the NFL when you’re nearing the end of a career.
So Scandrick realized the playing gig’s pretty much up when a team thinks Sidney Jones is better than you are. Twice. He took the opportunity to start building his media resumé with a spot on a studio show that requires strong opinions. I’ve been in those production meetings and I know what they’re asking of these former players— have a take, make it contentious if you can. I’m certain Orlando Scandrick got himself another job by saying what he said, but I’m not sure he said much at all.
He doesn’t like Malcolm Jenkins. I get the feeling he’s not alone on that island. Malcolm is bristly. That can be a good thing when we’re taking about playing defense.
The Eagles “are having a tough time dealing with success”. Not the first time we’ve heard that. Self-evident.
Nick Foles is missed by many players in that locker room. Makes sense.
I do wonder who Scandrick was targeting when he referred to “accountability issues there and it starts from the top”. It’s not #11. Scandrick had only positive things to say about our quarterback.
I don’t understand why Eagles fans try to make it so personal when they talk about Carson Wentz’s weekly performances. I’ve heard some assert he “doesn’t know what he’s looking at” and that he’s “confused by defenses”. Come on now. Carson hasn’t consistently played elite QB the last couple weeks, but this assault on his football IQ is taking it too far.
Wentz’s medium performances are because of everything EXCEPT his understanding of defenses. Yes, Wentz sometimes has issues with his throwing mechanics. Those issues can become exacerbated when he feels pressure around him in the pocket. His offensive line has failed to consistently protect him, and as a result, the clock in his head, when he drops back to pass, is ticking a little faster than it should. He’s rushing his throwing motion and he’s not always throwing the ball from the ground-up, using his legs. When he doesn’t nail his footwork, he occasionally gets erratic with accuracy.
His receivers are failing to get open in the time allotted, especially because that time is constricted with the spotty pass protection. And then when they do get open, they’ve got the dropsies.
Why not move the pocket a bit, Doug? Keeping your QB clean has been a problem. Let him roll out to where the defensive linemen aren’t! He’s plenty athletic enough to throw on the move!
Don’t forget to factor in the game scripts when the Eagles spot opponents with early leads— Doug gets away from running the football when he’s playing catch-up. Less run support for Carson hurts his bottom line.
But this guy was precociously advanced at decoding coverages and fronts and defensive schemes, from the first moment he took the field as a rookie. He has not somehow forgotten how to understand what he’s looking at in his fourth season. I guarantee he football-thinks faster now than ever before, especially since he just spent a portion of the last two seasons over-scrutinizing game film and a veteran backup’s heady play because he couldn’t physically play himself. The “Carson got dumber at football” assertion is absurd.
Eagleland was up-close and personal this week, and this team has a slew to work through. Personally, I believe beating a good Bills team in Buffalo is too much to ask, based on what the Eagles have shown us so far this season.