September 18, 2024
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Nick Sirianni wasn't too aggressive Monday night. He wasn't aggressive enough.
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.
Here's where people around the country have the Eagles ranked after Week 2 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
Everything appeared poised for a get-right finish on Monday night, with Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith doing enough without A.J. Brown (hamstring), who said he'll be out a few weeks. And then Barkley dropped a wide-open third-down pass that could have iced the game. Was it the best-odds call throwing the ball in that spot? I might have run it twice with Hurts and kept the clock rolling. But Barkley simply must make that catch. Hurts' heroic night goes down as a loss. He showed emotion. He took over at times with his legs. There were clutch, on-schedule throws most of the evening. But Hurts' final desperation ball was picked in the waning seconds, and Lincoln Financial Field was church quiet. Philadelphia's defense generally needs to clean things up -- tackling, run fits, penalties wiping out negative plays. The late fourth-down stop was encouraging, but the lack of pressure or coverage on Atlanta's final possession -- when the Falcons marched 70 yards in just over a minute for the game-winning touchdown -- was wild.
#JimmySays: I'm curious to hear what Vic Fangio has to say about that final drive, but the Eagles' coordinators aren't being made available this week until Thursday.
Most important backup/role player: DE Brandon Graham
The 36-year-old Graham has long been a tone-setter in the Eagles' locker room, serving as a mentor for a few younger players. He continues to make an impact on the field as well. In Week 1, he played 32 snaps -- more than Nolan Smith Jr. (31) and Bryce Huff (30). Graham plans to retire after this season, but Philadelphia needs one more productive campaign out of him to bolster an edge rush group with some question marks. "I've told him several times, he's not on any ceremonial last-year retirement parade," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "He's going to play. He's still playing good."
#JimmySays: As noted in our snap count notes, his role on this team at this stage of his career is to be a role player and culture setter. He shouldn't be the best edge defender on the team.
They looked more comfortable in South America than they did in South Philly given the ways HC Nick Sirianni's decision-making, RB Saquon Barkley's hands, the secondary's general "coverage" and QB Jalen Hurts' game-sealing interception produced a collective failure Monday night.
#JimmySays: I think that if you reversed the outcomes of the Eagles' two games (loss to the Packers, win over the Falcons), the local mood around this team wouldn't be so harsh, but it's hard to take them seriously as Super Bowl contenders when things like Monday happen.
The Eagles' loss on Monday night brought up bad memories of blowing games late last season. Maybe the Eagles should have taken the points early instead of going for it on fourth-and-4 from the 9-yard line? Either way, the defense made it look way too easy for Kirk Cousins on that final drive.
#JimmySays: I thought they were absolutely right to go for it on 4th and 4 early in the game. They won a Super Bowl in 2017 because they were the most aggressive fourth-down team in the league, and that aggressiveness also helped them get there in 2022. I think the criticism should be that they didn't go for it on 4th and 3 to seal the game after Barkley dropped the pass.
That was a big-time choke late by the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni. Why did he throw it late? Then they let Kirk Cousins go the distance in just under a minute for the game-winner?
#JimmySays: The Eagles are certainly more than ripe for criticism, but 18? Lol. They're not worse than teams like the Raiders and Bears.
The collapse could start a lot earlier than it did last year.
#JimmySays: They have road games upcoming against a pair of 2-0 teams that have looked very good so far in the Saints and Bucs.
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