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Tag: Roob's Observations

  • In Roob’s Eagles Obs: Trying to make sense of mystifying A.J. Brown situation

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    Growing weary of A.J. Brown drama, understanding Howie Roseman’s cornerback additions and a historic stretch for Jalen Hurts. That’s a taste of what’s in store for you with this week’s Roob’s Random Eagles Observations.

    There’s no bye week for Roob’s Obs! 

    1. This constant A.J. Brown drama is exhausting. Hey, the dude is a top-five wide receiver and he’s higher than fifth. I love watching him play. Guy’s a beast. But the social media stuff isn’t helping anybody and I can’t imagine Jeff Lurie, Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni are thrilled with it. He never comes out and says what he’s thinking, he just keeps sending out these cryptic tweets that leave everybody guessing and force the media to run to his locker and ask what he meant. Does he just crave attention? Is he unhappy being an Eagle? Does he want to play elsewhere? Does he have issues with Jalen Hurts? Nobody has any clue because he never comes out and actually says anything, he just hints at it, then either apologizes or says he was misunderstood or just smiles and says he doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s so tiresome. It’s this endless cycle of A.J. sending out social media posts and everybody trying to figure out what he means. How about this: Get rid of social media and just play football and if you have something to say, just come out and say it instead of playing this game of hinting at it with enigmatic tweets. Hey, Brown is not a bad guy. This isn’t T.O. here. This is a dude who plays hard whether he’s running a route or blocking and has never gotten into trouble off the field. But the constant drama is just silly and unnecessary. Brown isn’t getting traded this year, but if it doesn’t stop I wonder when it will just be too much for the Eagles to deal with.

    2. The Eagles have faced 841 regular-season passes by opposing quarterbacks since their last interception by a cornerback.

    3A. With slot corner Michael Carter and outside corner Jaire Alexander both in the fold after two more Howie Roseman trades, the Eagles still have question marks at cornerback but they also have options. Carter in the slot and Cooper DeJean is an option. Alexander at outside corner is an option. But those are hardly locks. The 1-7 Jets gave up on Carter and the 3-5 Ravens gave up on Alexander, so we’re not talking about guys at the top of their game here. The Eagles basically gave up a couple late-round picks in the hopes that Carter and Alexander can help a secondary that needs help. But neither one is a lock. Carter is here in case Vic Fangio wants to move Cooper DeJean to outside corner full-time so they have an experienced slot to replace DeJean. But that’s hardly a lock. And Alexander is here to see if he can revive his career to the point where he’s a better option at outside corner than Kelee Ringo, Adoree’ Jackson or Jackorian Bennett. And that’s hardly a lock, either. Carter and Alexander are no-risk moves. Howie didn’t give up much for either one, they’ve both been very good players in the past – a few years in the past – and if they don’t work out, no harm done. They give Fangio options. But it could very well be that the Eagles’ strongest cornerback lineup is still Quinyon Mitchell and Ringo outside and DeJean inside. 

    3B. With these trade-deadline type of moves, it’s never as easy as just sticking a new guy out there and saying, “Go play.” There’s a reason most of these moves don’t work. Robert Quinn? Kary Vincent Jr.? Kevin Byard? Genard Avery? Golden Tate? Jay Ajayi certainly helped, but that was eight years ago now. It’s just really challenging for a player to change teams in the middle of a season, learn a new scheme, get used to new coaches, move to a new city, build a rapport with new teammates and go out and play at a high level soon after uprooting his life. 

    4. It’s been 38 years and I still can’t wrap my arms around what Reggie White did in 1987. In a strike-shortened season – three games were played by replacement players and a fourth was cancelled – White had 21 sacks in just 12 games. At the time, that was the most sacks in a season and to this day, nearly four decades later, it’s still 6th-most in NFL history and also remains the Eagles’ single-season record. And he did it in just 12 games, the most sacks ever by an NFL player in a 12-game span within one season. What may be even crazier is that from Week 13 of the 1986 season through Week 12 of 1987, Reggie had 24 sacks in 12 games – an average of two per game. In those 12 games, he had four sacks once, three sacks twice, 2 ½ once, 2.0 sacks four times, 1 ½ once, 1.0 sack twice and no sacks just once – in a win over Washington at the Vet. 

    5A. First six weeks of the season, the Eagles ranked 28th in the NFL with 4.68 yards per play. The last two weeks, they rank second with 7.43 yards per play. 

    5B. That 4.68 figure was the Eagles’ worst through Week 6 since 2003. The 7.43 figure is their best in any two-game span since Week 15 and 16 in 2013.

    6. The win over the Giants last weekend was the Eagles’ 11th consecutive home win against NFC East opponents, the longest streak in franchise history. The Eagles’ last loss at the Linc within the division was 32-21 to Washington in November of 2022. Their previous longest home winning streak within the division was 10 in a row over the 2001 through 2004 seasons, a streak that ended with a 21-20 loss to the Cowboys in November 2005. The Eagles led by two touchdowns in both the Dallas loss in 2005 and the Washington loss in 2022.

    7. Jalen Hurts Stat of the Week: Hurts’ 155.2 passer rating in his last two games is 5th-highest in NFL history by a player in any two-game span (minimum 40 pass attempts). In wins over the Vikings and Giants, Hurts was 34-for-43 for 505 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s nine incomplete passes, seven touchdowns. The only players with a higher passer rating in a two-game span: Jared Goff (157.5 in 2024), Brock Purdy (157.3 in 2023), Nick Foles (155.3 in 2013) and Kurt Warner (155.3 in 1999). 

    8. This is the first year since sacks became an official stat in 1982 – that’s 44 seasons ago – that the Eagles haven’t had an edge rusher / defensive end with at least two sacks through eight games. Their leading edge rusher remains the retired Za’Darius Smith with 1 ½ sacks. Jalyx Hunt and Patrick Johnson have one each. There have been four seasons where their leading edge through eight games had 2.0 sacks – Clyde Simmons in 1993, Hall of Famer Richard Dent in 1997, Ndukwe Kalu in 2003 and Vinny Curry in 2013. 

    9A. I think it’s pretty cool that Mack Hollins, the Eagles’ 4th-round pick back in 2017, is still playing. Hollins is in his first year with the Patriots, his sixth team, and playing with Drake Maye he’s got 18 catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns. What’s impressive is that Hollins has only been targetted 21 times, and his 85.7 catch percentage is tied for best in the NFL among receivers with at least 20 targets. Stefon Diggs is also at 85.7. 

    9B. Hollins has played in 120 games, 6th-most ever by a wide receiver drafted by the Eagles. He trails DeSean Jackson (183), Harold Carmichael (173), Nelson Agholor (149), Jason Avant (148) and Tommy McDonald (140). 

    9C. Hollins was a 4th-round pick in 2017, No. 118 overall. There were 32 wide receivers drafted in 2017 and Hollins was 17th. But he’s one of only 10 who’s still active. Only five of the 16 taken ahead of him are still playing. Hollins has outlasted all three top-10 WRs taken in 2017 – No. 5 pick Corey Davis, No. 7 pick Mike Williams and No. 9 John Ross, the former (briefly) Eagle. His 2,277 career yards are 10th-most out of those 32 receivers taken in 2017 and his 17 touchdowns are 9th-most. The only other WR the Eagles have drafted in the fourth round with 17 TD catches? That would be good ol’ Billy Dewell, the Eagles’ 4th-round pick (but 29th overall) out of SMU in 1939. Billy also had 17 TD catches but they were all for the Chicago Cardinals. 

    9D. Where else are you getting freaking Mack Hollins stats? 

    10. It’s crazy what kind of impact one big game can have on a player’s or team’s stats. Going into the second Giants game, Saquon Barkley ranked 23rd in the NFL with 369 rushing yards, and his 3.3 average was 37th of 38 backs with at least 50 carries. One 150-yard game against the Giants moved him up to 10th in the league in rushing with 519 yards and tied for 25th with a 4.1 average. As a team, the Eagles ranked 29th in rushing yards and 31st in yards per carry before Sunday. Now they’re all the way up to 14th in yards and 20th in yards per carry at 4.1.

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  • Roob’s Eagles Observations: Jakorian Bennett helps himself in cornerback battle

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    Thank God that’s over.

    The Eagles’ three-game preseason ended Friday night with an 19-17 win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium in a game that seemed like it might never end.

    Some good things happened. Some bad things happened. Best of all, the preseason is over, and Eagles-Cowboys is less than two weeks away. Here we goooooo!

    But we do have one final edition of Roob’s Instant Observations with roster cuts coming on Tuesday and a lot of interesting decisions coming for Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni.

    Let’s take a look at what we learned Friday night.

    1. It wasn’t a perfect performance, and he was facing an undrafted rookie free agent quarterback, so you have to consider that. But I just see Jakorian Bennett making plays when he’s out there that Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson haven’t been making. Bennett had great coverage on receiver Arian Smith on an early incomplete pass by Brady Cook deep in Jets territory, then had back-to-back big-time tackles for short games on Cook passes to receiver Brandon Smith and tight end Jeremy Ruckert. Bennett and had a pass breakup and allowed three short gains before leaving the game. I still think Adoree’ Jackson is going to start the season as CB2 across from Quinyon Mitchell, but I like what I’ve seen from Bennett, especially considering he just got here two weeks ago. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s a starter by week three or four. Or earlier.

    2. Kyle McCord had a few nice throws, notably an 11-yard pickup to Ben VanSumeren on a blitz, a 19-yarder to tight end Kylen Granson and a 14-yarder to new acquisition John Metchie III. But let’s be honest. McCord is not ready. He had one bad interception – a deep ball down the right sideline to Darius Cooper, who was draped in double coverage – and threw three other passes that could have or should have been picked off. Final stats: 15-for-35 for 136 yards with no TDs, one INT and a 42.1 passer rating. Final stats for the preseason: 24-for-56 for 191 yards, one TD, two INTs and a 43.1 passer rating. McCord, who led the BCS in passing yards and touchdowns last year at Syracuse, is a 22-year-old rookie 6th-round pick and there are going to be ups and downs for any rookie QB who doesn’t get many reps in practice. But the downs are drastically out-numbering the ups, and it’s a little scary right now because Tanner McKee has been out since Monday with a finger injury and we don’t know how serious it is, opening day is 13 days away, and the thought of McCord having to play in a meaningful regular-season game is scary. Now, most likely McCord won’t have to play. But I can’t imagine Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman are thrilled about going into a season with an erratic rookie 6th-round pick as the No. 3. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been significantly worse than McCord, and he didn’t even play Friday night, so he’s certainly not the solution. I don’t know how you’re going to find a quarterback on the street who’s better suited to playing now in this offense than McCord. So I’m not sure the Eagles have options here. Not an ideal situation.

    3. Veteran edge rusher Ogbonnia “Ogbo” Okoronkwo keeps showing up, both in practice the last week of training camp and again Friday night at the Meadowlands. Okoronkwo is another older veteran who, like Nickerson, has bounced around the league (Rams, Texans, Browns, Eagles) but has had some decent production, with 12 ½ sacks the last three years in limited playing time. Ogbo has been better than Azeez Ojulari this summer and at least as good as Josh Uche, who’s now hurt. Ogbo had a couple hurries against the Jets and he also had a hurry against the Browns. The Eagles are going to keep five edges, and there are no locks after Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. I figure rookie 6th-rounder Antwaun Powell-Ryland is headed to the practice squad, and especially if Uche isn’t ready for the opener, I think Okoronkwo and Patrick Johnson – who’s had a very nice summer and is a terrific special teamer – will probably both wind up on the 53.

    4. Kudos to Mac McWilliams for being the only guy to realize that a loose ball late in the third quarter was a fumble and not an incomplete pass. Jets quarterback Adrian Martinez dropped back and Eagles rookie Antwaun Powell-Ryland smacked the ball loose before his arm motion went forward. The ball came loose and a bunch of Eagles just kind of stood around and watched, thinking it was incomplete. These guys are all taught to jump on the ball no matter what. If it really is an incomplete pass, no harm done. If it’s a fumble, now you have the football. McWilliams scooped the ball up and returned it eight yards and the refs indeed called it a fumble and a change of possession. That led to a field goal. Just heads-up play by the rookie from Central Florida, and was great to see that his head was in the game when a few others had no idea what was going on.

    5. How about that Parry Nickerson? I just wrote about Parry’s wild NFL journey and how he’s really elbowed his way into the 53-man roster picture as a slot corner who can also play outside. Nickerson showed why the oldest defensive player on the roster has a shot at sticking Tuesday with his tumbling 1st-quarter interception. Nickerson, covering Jets slot receiver Malachi Corley, anticipated Brady Cook’s pass to Corley, jumped the route, batted the ball up, secured it as he was flying through the air, then plunged to the ground, turning his body to keep the ball safely away from the turf. It was a big-time play and the kind of play that gets the coaches’ attention four days before roster cuts. Nickerson has been good all summer. I don’t know what’s going to happen Tuesday, but I really believe he’s earned a spot on the 53. (Full disclosure – Nickerson had a terrible missed tackle on Lawrance Toafili’s 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.)

    6. This game is so funny sometimes. Lewis Cine has probably been the most invisible guy in training camp. He hasn’t made one play. Hasn’t come close to making one play. He’s been banged up, ineffective, missed time, limped around and just hasn’t looked remotely like the guy that the Vikings drafted in the first round in 2022. If you ranked the training camp performances of all 90 guys on the roster, he might have finished 90th. So what happens in the third quarter? Cine makes this incredible, athletic, acrobatic, diving interception on a pass by Adrian Martinez. One of the Eagles’ best defensive players of the preseason. The Eagles liked Cine enough to bring him late last year and stash him on the practice squad so he could get a head start on learning the defense. Maybe they’ll keep him there for another year. Maybe a play like he made Friday night will help his case. It really was impressive. Good for Cine. But try to figure this game out and you just can’t do it.

    7. Interesting that Matt Pryor didn’t dress for this one. That generally means you’ve made the team. Pryor, originally the Eagles’ 6th-round pick in the 2018 Dallas Goedert / Josh Sweat / Jordan Mailata draft, has bounced around the NFL the last few years – Colts, 49ers, Bears – mainly playing guard. But he spent most of this training camp at tackle, and it sure looks like he’ll take over that swing tackle role that Fred Johnson held last year. The Big V role. There wasn’t a ton of competition for that swing tackle role. The Eagles signed Pryor this offseason but they also signed 10-year veteran Kendall Lamm, who’s been exclusively a tackle with the Texans, Browns, Titans and Dolphins, but Pryor’s been better this summer. Rookie 6th-round picks Cameron Williams and Myles Hinton aren’t ready. So looks like the job belongs to Pryor, whose only five career starts at tackle came with the Colts in 2021. Doesn’t seem ideal, and I still think Pryor is a better guard than tackle. But Jeff Stoutland knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t have him out there if he wasn’t ready.

    8. Nice to finally 22-year-old running back Montrell Johnson finally get some room to work. Johnson, an undrafted rookie from Florida, missed about a week and a half of camp and preseason opener with a hamstring injury and didn’t have a lot of opportunities to run in the Browns game, finishing 6-for-20. But he looked very good Friday night with a couple twisting 13-yard runs and then a 15-yarder up the middle for a touchdown. Johnson came in as a pretty intriguing free agent thanks to his college production – over 3,000 yards, 33 TDs and a 5.4 career average in one year at Louisiana and three at Florida. But the injury really cut into his summer, and this was his first chance to show what he’s all about, and he really took advantage. Johnson finished 14-for-59 with that TD and looked good for the most part. What happens now? I don’t think the Eagles will keep a fourth running back behind Saquon Barkley, A.J. Dillon and Will Shipley. If they do, it’s Johnson. If they don’t, they’ll try to sneak him onto the practice squad. He’s an impressive kid and you’d hate to lose him.

    9. Who was that No. 78 running around in the fourth quarter on the Eagles’ defense? That was Jereme Robinson, a rookie defensive end from Kansas who the Eagles signed … earlier in the day? Robinson took the roster spot that opened up when they placed wide receiver Johnny Wilson on Injured Reserve with knee and ankle injuries suffered at practice on Tuesday. Robinson, 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, is with his third team this summer. He started training camp with the Bears and then spent some time with the Patriots before joining the Eagles. He actually went out there and ran around and did some good things just a few hours after signing with the Eagles. Gotta give credit for showing up.

    10. My favorite play of this game came on the Jets’ two-point conversion attempt after Donovan Edwards’ touchdown run brought the Jets within two at 19-17 with 3:10 left in the game. On the conversion attempt, Edwards ran up the middle and was stood up by linebacker Dallas Gant, the Eagles’ other former Toledo player. Jacob Sykes helped Gant clean up, but it was impressive stuff. Edwards was just inches away from the goal-line but Gant just stuffed him, and a replay review confirmed that Edwards didn’t get in the end zone. Does it matter? Nah. Was anybody still watching? Nah. Does anybody care? I care, dang-it! That was a monster stuff by Gant.

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  • Roob’s Observations: Eagles drop home opener in horrifying last-minute loss to Falcons

    Roob’s Observations: Eagles drop home opener in horrifying last-minute loss to Falcons

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    Welcome back to 2023.

    After blowing three games last year that they led with two minutes left, the Eagles did it again Monday night.

    A nightmare last minute after the Eagles took a six-point lead with 65 seconds left turned what looked like a dramatic comeback win into a horrifying 22-21 loss in the home opener at the Linc.

    Here we go with our 10 Observations.

    1. That last drive Kirk Cousins – who can’t move – needed only 65 seconds to drive the Falcons 70 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Eagles got away with some really bad defense much of the game, but it all caught up to them on the final drive. Bad coverage. Bad tackling. Bad everything. They didn’t put up a fight. You really want to think that the way last year ended was out of this team’s system, but this is a game that if you want to call yourself a Super Bowl contender, you just can’t lose. In your own building? In your home opener? Against this team? This was inexcusable. And until the Eagles prove that it’s not 2023 anymore, until they prove they have the mental toughness to win a game like this, until they make the plays to finish a game, that shadow of last year’s disastrous 2023 Eagles finish will loom large over Nick Sirianni and the 2024 Eagles.

    2. It’s hard to be too critical of Saquon Barkley. The guy is a beast. A flat-out beast and for two weeks in a row now he’s produced in a big way. In his Eagles debut against the Packers he had 132 scrimmage yards and added 116 Monday night. Some huge plays. But he’s got to catch the football. He just has to. There’s no excuses for that drop. Catch the ball, fall down, ballgame. It’s over. Third-and-3. Eagles up 21-15 with 1:46 left. Ball on the Falcons’ 10-yard-line. Nobody near him. At the sticks. Easy first down. I mean, the game is over as soon as he catches it and falls down at the 7-yard-line. Barkley plays so hard and has been so good. But that just can’t happen. That’s not the only reason the Eagles lost Monday night, but, man, that was just a terrible drop.

    3. OK, we have to talk run defense. Two weeks in a row now they’ve gotten gashed. Just obliterated. The Eagles escaped São Paulo with a win in the opener, but they allowed 163 rushing yards and 7.8 yards per pop. On Monday night, they allowed 152 more and 5.4 yards per pop. What’s the issue? Everything. They’re getting pushed around up front. They’re missing tackles in the second level. They’re allowing backs to build up a head of steam before they even get touched. The Eagles have now allowed 316 rushing yards and 6.5 per carry in two games. It’s the most rushing yards they’ve allowed through Week 2 in 38 years – since 1986, Buddy Ryan’s first year as head coach, when they gave up 403. Also the first time since 1986 they’ve allowed 150 or more rushing yards in each of the first two games. And that 6.4 yards per carry allowed? That’s the 8th-worst since the merger in 1970 and worst in franchise history. What’s scary is that there’s no help on the way. They drafted Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter with top-13 picks to be forces against the run, but it’s not happening. Tackling has been horrible, and that’s everybody. I don’t know how you fix this. I don’t know if it’s fixable with the personnel they have. I know one thing. You’re not going to win very many games giving up 6 ½ yards per carry.

    4. Just as concerning – and related – is the astonishing lack of pass pressure. Zach Baun got a couple sacks blitzing vs. the Packers and interior lineman Milton Williams had a huge sack on a 3rd-and-4 from the Eagles’ 8-yard-line that forced a Falcons field goal Monday night. But the edge guys? Invisible. Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham still have no sacks this year, and Sweat is the only edge that even had a hurry Monday night. Going back to last year Eagles edge rushers have four sacks in the last 10 games – three by Haason Reddick, one by Brandon Graham – and none in the last six games. How do you go six games without a sack by an edge rusher? Huff still hasn’t gotten close to a quarterback this year. Like he’s not even in the frame when you watch the game. You don’t see him. It’s only two weeks, but he is starting to look like a $51 million mistake.

    5. One encouraging thing to come out of this game is that Jalen Hurts looked … fast? Yeah, really fast. This is as well as we’ve seen him run in a long, long time. Fast. Powerful. Elusive. Tough. And most of all, making good decisions with the ball in his hands while also protecting the football. His 23-yard run on a 4th-and-3 in the second quarter was his longest in his last 15 games and matched his entire total of runs from scrimmage of at least 23 yards in his previous 20 games. He followed it up with scrambles of nine and 15 yards, which means he had more rushing yards on that drive – 47 – than in 16 of his last 20 entire games. Hurts looked sluggish running the football last year – most likely due to injuries that were never officially revealed – and also on opening day – most likely due to indecision and maybe a lack of comfort in his first game under a new offensive coordinator. Honestly, it was a concern that Hurts seemed to have lost a step. He can be a very good quarterback without running, but his legs add such a dangerous dimension and one we really haven’t seen much of since 2022. But he ran when he took off Monday night he looked decisive, confident and quick. He finished with 85 rushing yards – 5th-most of his career and most since late in 2022 – along with a touchdown on a tush push and six rushing first downs. I wasn’t sure we’d see that Jalen Hurts again.

    6. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith so far through two games: Two solo tackles, one quarterback hurry, no sacks, no big plays. When are these guys going to start making plays? When are they going to show up? Carter hasn’t played close to the level he was playing at early last year, and that’s been really surprising. I expected a lot more from him. Davis has been invisible. He just doesn’t show up. Smith hasn’t either. The Eagles spent 1st-round picks on all three Georgia guys, top-13 picks on both Carter and Davis. When you devote those kind of resources to anybody on either side of the ball, you expect significant contributions as a rookie and a big jump in Year 2. Carter’s first six weeks or so last year were fantastic, but where’s it been since then? It’s still early. Week 2. But it’s not that early. Davis is now in Year 3, Carter and Smith in Year 2, and we just haven’t seen it. When are they going to start looking like what the Eagles expected when they drafted them?

    7. I think Kellen Moore is a very good play caller and has a nice flair for keeping defenses off balance. But this is what I don’t get: Saquon Barkley’s first four carries looked like on the Eagles’ first drive: 9-yard-gain, 9-yard-gain, 10-yard-gain, 11-yard gain. It was the first time in Barkley’s seven-year career he’s had four runs of at least nine yards on the same drive and the first time he’s had four runs of nine yards or more in the same quarter since the third quarter of a game against the Bears in 2018. The Falcons couldn’t stop him. So what happened on the last four plays starting with 1st-and-10 from the Atlanta 15-yard-line? Two Kenny Gainwell runs for six yards, a pass in the end zone to Johnny Wilson – who’s never caught an NFL pass – and then an incompletion on 4th-and-4 to Dallas Goedert. Saquon’s SHORTEST run on the drive was nine yards. His LAST run on the drive was 11 yards. I’m not saying give Barkley the ball every snap, but it’s hard for me to believe he wasn’t the best option on any of those four plays in the red zone. Sometimes you just have to ride the hot hand.

    8. Jahan Dotson had an early six-yard catch on his only target but really wasn’t a big part of the offense, which left DeVonta Smith as really the only experienced wide receiver on the field for the Eagles. Britain Covey caught six passes and it was good to see him contribute, but those six catches went for only 23 yards. So Smith had 76 of the Eagles’ 105 wide receiver yards. And it’s tough to have an explosive offense with one real wide receiver on the field. And while I don’t blame Dotson, I think a big part of the issue is that the guys Howie Roseman hand picked to compete for the third receiver spot in training camp – Parris Campbell and John Ross – just weren’t good enough. You could see pretty early they weren’t the answer, and while Roseman may have been looking for help throughout the summer, by the time he traded for Dotson, camp was over and opening day was about 2 ½ weeks away. So now A.,J. Brown gets hurt and the Eagles just don’t have a legit backup wide receiver on the roster. Campbell was a game-day elevation, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of juice. Maybe Dotson will develop some chemistry with Hurts and get going, but right now the Eagles just don’t have a legit backup if one of the starters gets hurt. Brown really needs to get that hammy healed quickly.

    9. I’m not sure what Darius Slay was looking at on that last Falcons touchdown, but he has to be better. He was nowhere near Drake London. What was he thinking? On the pivotal play of the game, half a minute left, game on the line, you turn to your five-time Pro Bowl superstar big-money cornerback to make a play. But Slay was so far out of position it was probably the easiest touchdown Kirk Cousins has ever thrown. Slay is one of the few guys on defense that you felt really confident in going into the season, but he is 33 and in Year 12 and it’s a little scary facing the prospect that maybe one of your best defenders is slowing down. I’m not sure that’s the case, but he hasn’t been great these first two games, and the Eagles need him to be great.

    10. A peek ahead to next Sunday, and the Eagles are going to be on the road on a short week against a Saints team that’s scored 91 points in wins over the Panthers and Cowboys. That’s the 4th-most points any NFL team has ever scored through Week 2 and the 2nd-most since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. How are the Eagles going to stop Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave and Derek Carr? You’re talking about a historically bad defense through two weeks facing one of the highest-scoring offenses in history through two weeks. It sure looks like a mismatch. We’ll learn a lot about the Eagles down in New Orleans Sunday afternoon because this looks ominous. If you can’t stop Kirk Cousins and Drake London and Bijon Robinson, how do you expect to stop Carr, Kamara, Olave and Shaheed? Maybe the Eagles will bounce back in a big way and come up huge and turn the season around. But after what we all saw at the Linc Monday night, it’s hard to be real confident.

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