Zone Read: Eagles-Washington, the Day After
GAME BALL OFFENSE: ZACH ERTZ
The second-year tight end caught 15 balls on 18 targets for 115 yards. He averaged just 7.7 yards per reception, but was Sanchez’s security blanket all game long, helping the offense move the chains. And not all of those throws were on the money. Ertz showed good hands throughout, consistently plucking the ball out of the air for positive yardage.
Ertz has played 49.3 percent of the snaps this season. That seems downright silly after watching a game like yesterday’s. I understand Brent Celek is the better run blocker, but sometimes football isn’t that complicated. In the passing game, you need receivers who are capable of getting open. Ertz does that consistently. Other Eagles do not. He should have gotten on the field more in Year 2.
GAME BALL DEFENSE: MYCHAL KENDRICKS
He was easily the Eagles’ best defensive player. Kendricks finished with 10 tackles (seven solo), a sack, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup and two QB hits.
The most encouraging thing to take away from the Birds’ defense this year was that Cox and Kendricks both made the leap. Both appear to be cornerstone players you can build around. Now the question is: Will the Eagles extend both guys this offseason since they’re eligible for renegotiation?
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THAT’S WHAT HE SAID
“It’s not about that. Stop asking me about that. It’s not about that. We’ve got the guys in this locker room that are on this team, and that’s what it is. No, it’s not about that.” – JEREMY MACLIN
Maclin was asked about if he’d imagined the possibility of playing alongside Jackson in this offense.
He continued: “He’s a great talent. We all know this. He’s one of the best deep threats in this league. We all know this though. So as far as talking about what the offense looked like, me and DeSean played together for five years. I understand not under this system, but we did play together for five years. We aren’t together anymore and that’s that. I can’t rewind and go back in time and put us on the same team. That’s not what it is right now.”
I totally understand the DeSean fatigue around these parts. But let’s be fair. It was the biggest Eagles story of the offseason. Kelly parted ways with a receiver who currently leads the NFL in yards per reception and has gone over 1,000 yards. The Eagles’ offense, meanwhile, has struggled throughout.
There have been plenty of factors: erratic quarterback play, a banged-up offensive line, defenses having a second year to prepare for Kelly. But to pretend that the loss of Jackson has nothing to do with it is silly. Given how well Maclin has played, a Jackson/Maclin combination with Jordan Matthews in the slot very well could have produced different results in a couple of these games.
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FIVE THOUGHTS AND LEFTOVERS
1. I thought the sequence to start the third quarter was huge. Jenkins forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, and the offense took over at the Washington 16. A LeSean McCoy run for 1 yard. A short pass to McCoy that lost a yard. And what appeared to be a miscommunication between Sanchez and Cooper on third down. Three plays, zero yards. Cody Parkey then missed a 34-yard field goal.
I have to blame the offense more than Parkey. The rookie kicker has been dealing with a groin injury and has been so good all season. The offense has to punch it in and take advantage of a huge opportunity against a terrible defense. Instead, it came up small, and the red zone issues that have been a problem all season resurfaced.
2. I think it’s difficult for me to look at this defense and not acknowledge that fatigue could be a factor. Think about it. All the training and sports science stuff is supposed to make the Eagles the freshest team in the league down the stretch. There is very little evidence of that though. They have lost three in a row, and the defense is playing its worst football of the year.
The players and coaches, however, disagreed.
“Absolutely not,” said Davis. “We’re in better shape than most teams we’ve played. We’re not tired legs, no.”
Added Jenkins: “No. I think if you look at why we haven’t been great, we’ve had penalties on third down and we’ve given up the deep ball. Everything else in between has been pretty dominant. We stopped the run. We do a good job in matching up with the pass, minus the big plays. And so it’s two plays down the field and penalties. You look at the stats and you say, ‘Oh they had a bad day.’ But when you look at the game, we match up well vs. everybody we play. And if we can’t fix those things, we won’t be successful.”
We’ll have to agree to disagree there.
3. I took an informal poll of reporters in the press box before yesterday’s game and asked: Who is starting at QB for this team in Week 1 of next season? Pretty much everyone said Nick Foles.
Foles is already under contract for 2015, and there’s no other obvious option for this team right now. But it sure seems to me that people’s opinions of Foles have changed because of how poorly Sanchez has played. Foles was completing 59.8 percent of his passes, averaging 6.96 YPA and had turned it over 13 times in eight games. I know he was dealing with a banged-up offensive line, but he did not play well by any measure.
I don’t have an easy solution in terms of what the Eagles should do. But it appears the QB cloud is going to continue to hang over this franchise going into 2015.
4. There are plenty of other offseason issues that need to be addressed as well. Will teams come after Tom Gamble? Given how this year has gone, how much control is Jeffrey Lurie willing to give Kelly?
On the personnel side, Maclin is a free agent. The Eagles clearly can’t afford to lose him, but he figures to have a big market, given how well he’s played this year. The team has to make decisions on veterans like Todd Herremans, Trent Cole and DeMeco Ryans. Brandon Graham is a free agent.
And then there are holes that need to be filled. The most glaring? Safety opposite Jenkins and cornerback (maybe two?).
It is going to be interesting to see what this team looks like in Year 3 under Kelly.
5. Leftovers: It was clear early on that there were a lot of Eagles fans in attendance. The video board at FedEx Field showed Jackson offering a “Happy Holidays” message, and he received quite a few boos. …Did you notice McCoy imitate Jackson’s TD celebration after he scored? Maclin and Jackson shared a laugh on the field during a break in the action at one point too. … If you’re wondering about playoff scenarios still, the only way the Eagles get in is if the Cowboys lose the next two (against Indianapolis and Washington), and the Birds beat the Giants next week. … Credit where credit’s due: Cooper came up big with two touchdown catches. Nice job using his size on the second one, specifically. … Offensive line struggles have been an under-the-radar issue during this three-game losing streak.
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