By: KO Kelly
Changes are Coming
In golf they use the term mulligan to denote a stroke following a poor shot that will not count against the golfer on their scorecard. This whole season is a mulligan for our Birds.
I cringe to think how the city and sports writers (present company humbly included) would be reacting if we had not won the Super Bowl earlier this year. We would be calling for Doug’s head (some already are), turning on Wentz (a small minority of morons are), and questioning Lurie’s decision to put Howie back in the driver’s seat (a handful are diverting the glory to Joe Doulgas instead).
Luckily, most of us are still able to recognize and appreciate the amazing run we had last year and are willing to give the organization a pass this year. Obviously, this is not the title-defending campaign we hoped for and my theory on the psychology of winning begetting more winning did not pan out. However, aside from the Saints’ game – this team continued to fight hard each week and although I hate to say it (because close only counts in horseshoes & hand grenades) – oftentimes they were just a handful of plays away from winning the game.
Do not misunderstand me, they were miles away from dominating teams like they did last year but generally they were in most games in the 4th quarter and could easily have 5 more wins (Carolina, Titans, Vikings, and both Cowboys games). Having said that, they were also close to losing a handful of other games (Falcons and Colts).
So what do they need to get back into 2017 form, here’s my Christmas wish list:
• Sit Carson for the rest of the season. He is banged up and needs time to relax and reflect. Statistically he is having a solid season but it does not feel that way. He has been a bit sloppier with the ball this year and his timing seems off. I still have faith in him as our franchise QB for the next decade but he needs time to get out of his head.
• Fire Mike Groh. I understand Doug calls the plays but Groh is not bringing anything to the table. He has a track record of dismal offensive production, so I have little confidence he will eventually become some guru here. We have too many offensive weapons for us not to be putting up 30 points a week.
• Bring back 2017 Doug. Last year, Doug would have gone for the 2-pt conversion after the late touchdown in last Sunday’s Dallas game. He would have trusted Carson to get it in there and then for the defense to shut down Dak & Co. Instead, he played it safe just like he saw the Jags play safe against the Patriots, which he swore he would not do and
we suffered the same fate: the big L.
• Fire the medical staff. Even before the most recent reports concerning Wentz’s back injury and the murmurs of concerns regarding our medical staff, I was calling for the firing of our strength and conditioning coaches. After the slew of injuries over the past two seasons, something needs to change in this area of player health. I am not sure if players are being rushed back from injury, misdiagnosed, improperly trained, or what but a full house cleaning would not be a bad start. While the fans want to see wins and stars on the field, we do not want to see Wentz go the route of Luck and lose him for a whole season.
• A lineman heavy draft. Howie dropped the ball on the Tate trade. We did not need another receiver, we needed better play-calling and a defensive tackle. The success of our defense is almost solely predicated on the pressure generated by the front four. We need a better and deeper front four than we had this year. Bennett has been an amazing addition and it would be great to see him return another year since we will likely lose Long but Ngata next to Cox is doing just that – nada. Jernigan and Barnett will be returning but I could see us potentially moving on from Graham, so we need to focus on defensive lineman (and offensive ones as well) in this year’s draft.
• Run the ball with Adams – full stop.
Luckily I know Jeffrey Lurie is an avid reader of Eagles Lincs, so these wishes are bound to come true. In truth, a lot of these are just obvious adjustments that will naturally manifest in their own unique way. I have trust in this organization to right this ship. In fact, I am of the belief that this down and depressing season will actually lead to a better long-term outcome for the franchise. If we were to have won some of those earlier but still sloppy games and had a chance to sneak into the playoffs only to get blown away by the Rams or Saints, we would not have as much impetus to make the changes we need to make. Changes will come from this disappointing campaign and they will be for the better.
As for this week’s game, it will likely be a bloodbath unless the legendary Nick “The Brady Slayer” Foles decides to dial up one of his signature head-scratching performances. Come to think of it, with a simplified game plan and a focus on the run game, we just may have a chance . . . nope, we will likely be destroyed again like in the Saints game.
Eagles Lose score not fit to print
Record 6-8
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