Matt Barkley fumbles in the second quarter of the Eagles 15-7 loss to the Giants on Sunday. Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com
Everyone got so caught up in the comments. Phil Simms ranked
the Eagles’ offense as 60th of 64 offenses and defenses combined
among the 32 teams. Merril Hoge called it the “most vanilla” offense in the
game.
If the only two games of the season you watched were the
last two, you would fully believe those statements. Perhaps they are more
factual than it was originally perceived.
The Eagles offense has sputtered into a 3-5 record after
starting with a defining offensive showing in Washington.
Sure, the Eagles offense was a dominant part of the game in
the loss to the Chargers and it was known the Eagles didn’t stand much of a
chance in Denver. But what about against Kansas City? What about last week
against Dallas? What about the 15-7 final to the Giants on Sunday? Something is
not right with this team.
Perhaps the first flaw was letting Michael Vick start. It
wasn’t a matter of choosing Vick. It was a matter of preparation. If he wasn’t
going to be able to last more than one quarter of football, then why did he
take the majority of first-team snaps?
For the most part, Matt Barkley didn’t play a terrible game.
In fact, despite the fact that he has four interceptions and one lost fumble in
roughly four quarters of action, he has only thrown for 18 incompletions on 46
attempts.
But enough with the quarterback talk. That hardly seems to
matter. The last two games cannot be pinned on one player. This is a collective
effort, and 11 players have not done their part when on the field.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has been shining
in tight positions. It is a work in progress at the very least. But despite
allowing 368 yards to the Cowboys and 325 yards to the Giants, they have
allowed just 32 points in the last two games.
If not for the total lack of offense, the Eagles may have
won both games and be looking at a 5-3 record, already surpassing last season’s
win total.
But instead, there is little reason to believe things will
change. The offense is led by whoever starts at quarterback. Will Vick or Nick
Foles be healthy enough to start again? Would you trust Barkley?
As the Eagles move forward, with games against the Oakland
Raiders, Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins all before a bye week, there
is a decent chance the Eagles could lose another two of the three or even all
three.
Understand now how bad this team is. If you don’t believe it,
watch a replay of Sunday’s game.
With the production in the last two games, there is no
reason to believe the Eagles will sustain what they started at the open of the
season. It worked in the early going. It is starting to be solved.
Teams are adjusting to what the Eagles do. Then again, it’s
also not hard to adjust to poor play.
The Eagles have now gone from being the team with no defense
to the team with just simply no players. LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson are certainly
playmakers, but at the moment, they are easy to eliminate on the field.
With the Eagles top weapons weakened and the rest of their
offense exposed, there is no answer. And until Chip Kelly figures out the proper
adjustments, the offense will continue to stall.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
