December 29, 2023
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and Brian Johnson have struggled to get the Eagles' offense looking fully in sync this season.
Nothing comes easy.
Not in Philadelphia and not with the Eagles. It’s becoming more evident that people aren’t just feeling pressure – see last week – but that walls are starting to close in on an 11-4 team. They won a double-digit amount of games with two to play, yet the feeling around here is like the Eagles are barely above .500.
Good.
The in-fighting, arguments on the sidelines, Nick Sirianni addressing having fun – what is this, New England? – and a coach getting benched; All part of the bigger issue that has become apparent inside this organization, they just don’t have it. It’s not just A.J. Brown staying away from the media or Jalen Hurts sounding broken after a third straight loss, it’s how this team got there on the field.
With Hurts struggling at times, it’s hard to think this team will recapture the same level of belief they had last year on the road to the Super Bowl. Think about what it took for the 2017 team to win? Belief was everything. There was no room for doubt when Nick Foles took over for Carson Wentz. That level of trust and belief took that team right through a Brandon Graham Super Bowl-saving play. This after the defense was shredded by Tom Brady.
It took an unwavering sense of confidence and belief last year to make it back to the Super Bowl. Nothing could get in this team’s way, and it showed on the field. Their identity was punching teams in the face, both from pressuring QBs and establishing second-quarter leads.
That stuff is long gone, cuz. Instead, it seems like this team’s dysfunction continues to be masked by the fact they are so damn talented. It’s one of the most fascinating dichotomies we’ve seen in professional sports. No team dealing with such a terrible pass defense, lack of pressure up front, turnovers on offense, stale coaching, and now inner turmoil should be in the hunt for the top seed. Not this deep into the season.
Yes, the Eagles are that good to survive the regular season, even thrive, but even they know this isn’t the same team as last year. They don’t have the same level of trust and belief in the product.
Neither do you.
Nobody out here thinks this team is geared up and ready to win the Super Bowl. Instead, there’s some weird belief that they will somehow figure this all out ahead of time. Somehow, against two awful teams, the Eagles will fix their issues on both sides of the ball and be “ready” for a rematch with San Francisco or Dallas.
If last week against the Giants didn’t prove to you who this team is, nothing is going to get through to you. Things may look like they are getting better on paper, but that’s what paper champs think. This isn’t about the regular season, it’s about the Super Bowl. The same game this team lost last year. They basically guaranteed a spot back with their incredible start to the season. Things evened out a little, and tapered off some, but nothing about this team changed. In fact, the only actual change was replacing the defensive coordinator.
So that’s it. There’s nothing more this team can do but the same thing on the offensive side of the ball. It’s rather insulting that this Eagles team would make a change with Sean Desai, then look us in the eye and tell us there’s nothing similar going on with their offense. The playcalling is a disaster and much like with Desai, not the main reason but still one of the root causes.
The offense is predictable, found out, and yet it seems like nobody is doing anything to innovate it any further. This feeds the narrative that players continue to bail out this coaching staff. That may be the case here on a second level, where maybe it’s Hurts who wants his long-time friend to stay in this role. Maybe not. But someone needs to go, and it’s not going to be the QB or head coach.
I don’t believe Shane Steichen was a mastermind in getting both Sirianni and Hurts a ridiculous game plan where all they needed to do was follow. The former Eagles OC certainly looks better in Indy than the current one does here, but it was the decision after he left that was most puzzling. The team’s head coach was heralded as a genius and an up and coming superstar because of what they did on offense. Jonathan Gannon ran the defense and Sirianni ran the offense. Hurts benefitted and dominated, as the two offensive minds helped each other reach stardom.
Then they just handed it all over to Brian Johnson like keys to a car. A 16-year-old getting a new license with nothing more than practice runs took over the family car, the only vehicle in the house. Sure, every now and again a parent is there to help guide through some mistakes, and Johnson isn’t an idiot, so he’s figured some things out. It’s just not enough.
It wasn’t enough with Desai, and it’s not enough with Johnson. The Eagles continue to hurt only themselves until they remove Brian Johnson from all playcalling duties. There is still time to get back to a level of comfort and belief, trust, that they haven’t had all year. There’s nothing that can change on the field without change on the sidelines.
It might simply be restoring trust in the game plan, the process – if you will.
