October 22, 2019
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 Birds ranked after the seventh week of the 2019 regular season:
Recalibrated expectation: Dial it back and win the NFC East
The Eagles entered with expectations of being among the NFC's elite, but at 3-4, the focus needs to be on capturing the division. They are a game back of the Cowboys following a blowout loss in Dallas on Sunday night. As bad as that was, they still have four division games remaining, including a home tilt against the Cowboys in December. The clearest path to the postseason is through a division title in a down NFC East.
#JimmySays: Yep, just like last season around this time, the only reason for any sort of optimism about this team was that the division as a whole stinks.
Foot, meet mouth. Coach Doug Pederson told the world last week that his Eagles would beat the Cowboys in Week 7. "We're gonna win that football game, and when we do, we're in first place in the NFC East." Pederson surely wishes he had that moment back after his Eagles pulled a total no-show at Jerrah World, in a 37-10 defeat that was every bit as non-competitive as the final score indicated. The Eagles are 3-4 and looking like one of the NFL's biggest disappointments as we near the season's midpoint. No one played well on Sunday night: Carson Wentz was inaccurate, his skill players were sloppy with the ball, the defense was totally overwhelmed (again) and Nelson Agholor couldn't be bothered to lay out. If this isn't rock bottom for the Eagles, we have a Halloween horror story unfolding in Philadelphia.
#JimmySays: I personally didn't think there was anything wrong about what Pederson said, and I don't think he necessarily wants that moment back (or at least he shouldn't), but whatever.
I do agree, obviously, that the Eagles are one of the league's biggest disappointments of the season so far.
They have a ton of issues and are in the midst of a brutal stretch of schedule. Can they turn it around after two straight losses?
#JimmySays: CBS brings the analysis like Nelson Agholor tracks deep balls.
We knew the defense was bad, but Carson Wentz and the offense didn’t do themselves any favors by losing two first half fumbles during the most watched SNF game in five years. Doug Pederson’s confidence appears to be been badly misplaced.
#JimmySays: Oof, I didn't realize it was the most-watched SNF game in a half-decade. That makes their trash performance even more embarrassing.
The Eagles have been sloppy all season and one could say unprepared as well. Doug Pederson goes under the microscope as he tries to get the Eagles back on track, and his failed win prediction might put even more pressure on him.
#JimmySays: I do think Pederson deserves a little microscope action, but again, not for trying to be confident in his team.
The Eagles have trended from good to average to bad in a hurry. Their defense gives up too many big plays, their offense doesn't make enough, and now everything is breaking down in a crumbling wall of poor complementary football. Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz haven't adjusted well with their talented team.
#JimmySays: It's funny to me that they're bad (an assertion I agree with at the moment), but five of these publications still have them in the top half of the league.
Yes, the Eagles are beat up and yes, it hurt them to be missing WR DeSean Jackson and left tackle Jason Peters against the Cowboys. But they simply need to play better and QB Carson Wentz, in particular, must step it up. The Eagles recommitted to Wentz in the offseason with that big contract and the decision to allow Nick Foles to leave. He’s being treated like a franchise QB. He needs to play like one.
#JimmySays: Congratulations to Joe Giglio for landing a writing gig with the Washington Post.
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