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Where to begin with this one? The fact that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s offense ran the ball a grand total of one time in the first half? Or the maddeningly inconsistent play of quarterback Jalen Hurts? Last night’s 28-22 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers personified everything we’ve come to learn about the 2021 Eagles. And it isn’t good.
Let’s start with Sirianni. The Eagles are a woefully under-coached football team. Sirianni’s pass-only offense is ineffective and downright bizarre. Why a first-year head coach would choose to defy basic football principles and completely abandon a rushing attack is beyond comprehension. Even Pop Warner league coaches realize the importance of establishing a running game to dictate pace and control time of possession. Sirianni, seemingly, never got this playbook.
Or, one wonders, if the Eagles laughable offense is the result of an influence above Sirianni? Exactly how much pull does Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie have when it comes to play-calling? Some suggest that Lurie, ever the Hollywood showman, adores the spectacle of passing and forgoes football logic in favor of offensive fireworks. But Eagles fans know that the most entertaining aspect of fandom is experiencing victory, not marveling at ill-conceived, pass-happy offenses. Sirianni, and perhaps Lurie, have insulted the fanbase by rolling out an offense that resembles something closer to the Philadelphia Soul than the Philadelphia Eagles. And for what purpose?
Tom Brady picked apart the Eagles defense for most of the night. After the game Brady’s uniform remained unsullied as he rarely felt a whisper of the Bird's pass rush. Brady and Company seemed to slow in the 4th quarter, probably because of boredom rather than anything Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon drew up. Gannon, who complained earlier in the week about his inability to implement a defensive scheme because of the short week of preparation leading up to Thursday’s game, played soft on Brady all night. Brady, for his part, carved up the Eagles defense with the precision we’ve come to expect from the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
Last night wasn’t all bad. But it certainly wasn’t good. Jalen Hurts had what can now be considered a typical Jalen Hurts game. Flashes of brilliance, followed by long stretches of forgettable football. It’s difficult to decide if Hurts is the future of the Eagles. Every game under Hurts is rife with conflicting information. Is he the quarterback with tireless legs and a lion’s will to win? Or is he a mediocre quarterback with some serious accuracy issues?
The truth is he’s probably both.
And neither.
Nick Sirianni’s play-calling is so deplorable that it’s impossible to rate the Eagles second-year quarterback. Hurts is probably as confused as the rest of us.
And that would mean he’s very confused.
So where do we go from here? As the Eagles drop to 2-4 general manager Howie Roseman is surely eyeing the potential of three first-round draft picks in the 2022 draft. With Hurts looking like less than a sure thing, the possibility of acquiring a blue-chip quarterback must make Eagles brass salvate.
Is now the time to use the remainder of the season to evaluate players? Probably.
Is it also the time to evaluate the coaching performance of Nick Sirianni? Definitely.
Would it benefit the Eagles to tank the season? It’s difficult to say.
But with Sirianni at the helm, it feels like they already have.
