Patrick Causey, on Twitter @InsdeTheHuddle
The last time I was this consistently frustrated by the Philadelphia Eagles, Vince Young was talking about Dream Teams, Ronnie Brown was throwing laterals at the goal line, and Nnamdi Asomugha was eating lunch by himself in his car.
Or maybe it was 2005-06, when a certain wide receiver was doing sit ups in his driveway and his smug agent was at a press conference saying "next question" as often as a criminal defendant pleads the fifth at trial.
In other words, this season sucks. I wish I had something more profound to say right now. But the words have escaped me. This season sucks, this team sucks, and the worst part of all is I don't see much way that this gets better in time to make a difference.
Let's remove the emotion from the equation for a minute and look at this awful loss by the numbers:
That is how much money Chip Kelly invested in the running back position, good for third highest in the NFL. That is more than the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals combined, who are a collective 14-1 this year.
The teams in the top four of money spent on running backs? Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans, who are a combined 5-11.
Kelly invested heavily in a position that the rest of the league has devalued. Many expected the Eagles to be a run first team. But that simply has not been the case yet, as the numbers show.
2. 89, 280, 3.1
Here are the main numbers for the Eagles rushing game, and they are not pretty:
89 total rushing attempts in four games, which ranks 24th in the NFL.
280 total rushing yards in four games, which ranks 29th in the NFL.
3.1 yards per carry, which ranks 31st in the NFL.
The decision to invest an inordinate amount of money into the running back position was a questionable decision. Simply failing to use those running backs is borderline coaching malpractice.
DeMarco Murray was asked after the game whether he is getting enough carries, and had the following to say:
Is DeMarco Murray getting enough touches? Murray: "No, I'm not. I don't think I am."…Said he knew what he signed up for, but expected more
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) October 4, 2015
I don't have an issue at all with what Murray said here. But I do find it interesting that Murray was supposed to fit the mold of a Chip Kelly player that buys into the culture. Yet in the first four weeks in the season, he has openly challenged Kelly — once against the Falcons (where he visibly yelled about needing the ball twice) and now this. I wonder what the reaction in Philadelphia would be right now if LeSean McCoy or DeSean Jackson had said or done the same things.
3. 2o
The number of draft picks since Chip Kelly has drafted an offensive lineman. The last time the Eagles selected an offensive lineman was with the 4th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, when they selected Lane Johnson, who has the makings of a Pro Bowl caliber right tackle. But since then, the Eagles have had 20 draft picks and have not spent a single one on an offensive lineman. It was the first time in franchise history that the Eagles have gone two drafts without taking a single lineman.
Needless to say, the neglect is starting to show and explains why the Eagles are running the ball so infrequently. The line cannot get a push or open lanes, forcing the Eagles to abandon the run. It is a trickle down effect that impacts the entire team.
4. 18:52 to 41:08
That is the Eagles time of possession for the game, compared to 41:08 for the Redskins. Against the Falcons, it was a 24:33 to 35:27 disparity. And against the Cowboys, it was 19:35 to 40:25.
The only game in which the Eagles were close in time of possession? You guessed it, their victory over the Jets, where it was a 28:11 to 31:49 in favor of the Jets. This defense is simply going to be gassed by the end of the season.
5. 51 to 79
That is the number of plays the Eagles ran compared to the Redskins. Chip Kelly says that he isn't concerned with time of possession, but instead focuses on number of plays run per team. I agree with his logic, since you aren't exerting energy between plays standing in the huddle. But even by this measure, the Eagles came up woefully short.
6. 32.9
That is the percentage of Eagles drives which have ended in a 3 and out, which is worst in the NFL. The Eagles inability to sustain drives has been the primary culprit for the lopsided time of possession and plays run numbers. I hate to channel my inner John Madden here, but the Eagles need to start converting more third downs to stay on the field.
7. 4-12 v. 9-17
That is the third down efficiency of the Eagles versus the Redskins yesterday. The Birds converted only 4 of 12 third downs, or 25% of their opportunities. The Redskins, on the other hand, converted 9 of 17 opportunities, or 52%. While the offense did not help the defense out yesterday, the defense still failed to get the Redskins off the field. There were critical mistakes made on third and longs that allowed the Redskins to sustain drives. Billy Davis needs to get his guys playing better on third downs.
8. 1 v. 5
The difference in sacks between the Eagles and Redskins. As bad as the Eagles offensive line has been, the defensive front seven was just as bad in the pass rush category. Kirk Cousins had all day to throw back there.
9. 61/94, 717 yards, 4 tds, 1 int, 97.6 QB Rating
Those are Kirk Cousins stats in two games against the Eagles. Cousins has been successful against the Eagles because he has been able to get rid of the ball quickly and accurately before the pressure has gotten to him. But Davis has not helped the Eagles out much, as he has refused to blitz. This gives Cousins more time, which in turn leads to a better game. It was a frustrating game plan from Davis yet again.
10. 18-182
The number of combined penalties and yards called in the game. It seems like penalties are up against early this year, much like they were last year. Referees are becoming a huge part of the game, sometimes when they absolutely should swallow their whistle.
And while the Eagles have no one but themselves to blame for the loss, two decisions late in this game undoubtedly impacted the outcome.
On the Eagles final offensive drive of the game, they were faced with a third down. Bradford dropped back to pass and had Jordan Matthews open. The only problem? Matthews was tackled before the ball got close, which obviously led to the drop.
This isn't pass interference how? #Eagles #EaglesTalk pic.twitter.com/EeDQU4F1mv
— Patrick Causey (@InsdeTheHuddle) October 4, 2015
But the refs never called it.
On the next possession, the Redskins got gifted a first down by this curious defensive holding call against Nolan Carroll:
Apparently this is defensive holding. #Eagles #EaglesTalk https://t.co/rA3JuGDwLy
— Patrick Causey (@InsdeTheHuddle) October 4, 2015
Again, the Eagles lost for a myriad of reasons, most of them self-inflicted. But these decisions did not help matters.
The Eagles are 1-3 and 0-2 in the division. So any talk about making a comeback should be tempered by the fact that they have serious ground to makeup in division play. Up next is the Saints, which will bring a whole new set of challenges, including Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees.
