December 19, 2023
If the average Eagles fan thinks the team's offense has gotten predictable and stale, that certainly carries over to the professionals.
During the Eagles' Monday Night Football loss to the Seahawks, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey joined the "ManningCast" ESPN broadcast of the game with Peyton and Eli Manning. McCaffery is a part of a San Francisco team that torched the Eagles a couple of weeks back, as the All-Pro back totaled 133 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in a South Philadelphia thrashing.
Before one play in the second quarter, based on alignment alone, McCaffery knew what play the Birds were running and called it out to the Manning brothers:
https://t.co/V9cDUMYX7f pic.twitter.com/HtdpEDjWUb
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 19, 2023
"Jalen Hurts is running a QB draw to the left. Tight end's gonna pull... tight end's deep, so he's sifting backside," McCaffery said.
While Hurts ran right on this specific play, it was in fact a QB draw with tight end Dallas Goedert pulling as a blocker.
The elder Manning brother seemed in awe of McCaffery's "prediction," but prediction might be underselling how formulaic this once high-flying Eagles offense has become. It feels reminiscent of the crash and burn of the 2015 Eagles where defenses were calling out Chip Kelly's limited playbook before the ball was even snapped.
With fans' focus no longer on the demoted Sean Desai, that anger throughout the Delaware Valley is falling on the shoulders of offensive coordinator and play-caller Brian Johnson.
If the Birds remain stuck in the mud offensively against a bottom-bin Giants defense on Christmas Day, that fury will only persist.
Follow Shamus & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @shamus_clancy | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Shamus' RSS feed to your feed reader
