Eagles in Danger of Becoming Extinct

It seems a little over zealous to start talking panic button six weeks into the NFL season. But if the firing of Eagles Defensive Coordinator, Juan Castillo, is any indication Philadelphia seems to be quickly approaching a code red situation. 

Without the hype of the “Dream Team” the Eagles entered this season with a lot to prove. An aging quarterback struggling to stay healthy, a tenured coach reaching the end of his rope within the organization, and a revamped defense once again. The decreased amount of high expectations for the team seemed like a welcomed change. The Eagles perform best when they can stay under the radar and when faced with cold hard reality.  

Philly’s victory over the New York Giants in week 4 is a perfect example. Leading up to the game, I theorized the Eagles would defeat the Giants because the loss to Arizona the previous week would act like a kick in the balls to their moral. (You can reference the article “Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants: Snikt!!!”) What do you know, by the skin of their teeth and shit ton of luck they pulled off the W.  But karma, as PSS contributor Ray will tell you, is a horrendous bitch.  After barely scrapping by the first four weeks, Philadelphia has loss their last two games bringing them to an even 3-3 second in the NFC East.

 

In all honesty, the Eagles shouldn’t have a single win let alone three. Their “high powered” offense has scored 103 points over the first six games, which is 31^st (second to last) in the NFL.  How does a team that has LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Michael FREAKING Vick not put more points on the board? Well in all honesty it’s pretty simple; no offensive line.

 

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Jason Peters and when he tore his Achilles I smiled from ear to ear. Oh how naïve I was. Despite being good for a holding and false start penalty every game, Peters was the anchor of a mediocre OL. The loss of center Jason Kelce increased the lines instability. The Eagles have allowed 13 sacks thus far. Five of the sacks occurred in less than three seconds. (These wonderful stats can be found at Football Outsider) This blame falls squarely on the offensive line. The O-line needs to regroup and find a working formula. If it cannot then it's not going to matter who is behind center for Philadelphia because they are going to get smeared by defenses every game.

 

Speaking of quarterbacks, Michael FREAKING Vick needs to shoulder more responsibility for Philly’s 3-3 start. The same amount of times Vick has been sacked is the number of times he has turned the ball over this season. When he does get time in the pocket from his OL, Vick takes far too long releasing the ball. Vick is like the last drunk person to leave the party, he overstays his welcome.

 

Also, Michael, can I call you Michael? Thanks. Now Michael, when you run with the ball, TUCK THE DAMN THING! Use two hands and part of your privates as a third hand if you have too. There is no reason to have the football all loosey goosey as your charging head first into a defense.

 

By firing Castillo, it seems like Philadelphia are trying to create the illusion that the defense is the only issue keeping the team from reaching their true potential. After surrendering a ten point lead in less than five minutes to Detroit, they clearly need to improve and perhaps a coaching change will help. However, compared to last season the D is holding its own. It’s not their fault the offense has not been able to score more than 24 points a game all season.

 

Andy Reid tried to deflect some criticism to the former defensive coordinator by letting Castillo go. However, the fans realize that the problem does not lay with the defense alone. The Eagles dysfunction as a team stems from turnovers and not nearly handing the ball off enough to Shady McCoy. During this bye week Philly needs to work on not only protecting Vick, but realizing they need to establish a run game. Otherwise, the Eagles could be entering a DefCon 1 sort of panic and Vick, Reid, and who knows who else will be packing their bags at the end of the season.

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