What the heck is up with Golden Tate? Another Hall of Fame travesty? Who deserves more blame than Mike Groh? What about Dallas Goedert?
We answer these questions and more in this week's edition of Roob's 10 Random Eagles Observations!
1. This whole Tate thing is baffling to me. Every aspect of it. I understand that getting a new player up to speed in the middle of a season is a tricky process. But when you give up a third-round pick, you better have a sense of exactly where a new player is going to fit in before he even gets here. I don't think it's a coincidence that the offense has actually looked less smooth since Tate got here. And 4-4 has turned into 4-6. The supplemental pick is great in case the Eagles don't re-sign Tate, but the Eagles won't get that until the 2020 draft. They have a lot of needs right now, and they could sure use that third-round pick this spring. I liked the trade when the Eagles made it because I thought they desperately needed a playmaker. But maybe that was the problem all along. They already had playmakers, this staff just couldn't figure out how to get the most out of them. And now they have one more playmaker that they can't get the most out of. I don't blame Tate for any of this. He's a talented wideout. We just haven't seen it yet, and I'm starting to wonder if we will.
2. What a travesty that once again Seth Joyner and Eric Allen have failed to make the Round of 25 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame balloting. The voters ought to be absolutely ashamed of themselves for being so woefully uninformed about the history of the NFL to continually exclude Joyner, the only player in NFL history with 50 sacks and 20 interceptions, and Allen, who has the third-most interceptions among cornerbacks in the last 40 years and more INT return TDs than all but one corner in the Hall. In-freaking-excusable.
3. When Doug Pederson said this Friday: "You have to, as a play-caller, get back to kind of who we are on offense," I honestly have no idea what he means. Who are the Eagles on offense? What's their identity? What's their philosophy? Ten games into the 2018 season, I have no clue.
4. As easy a target as Groh is, it's important to remember Pederson calls the plays, not Groh. It's clear the Eagles miss Frank Reich but don't let Pederson off the hook. It's his offense. It's his team. It's his gameplan. It's his play chart. He's ultimately responsible for this mess.
5. Then there's this:
• The Eagles have one interception all year by a starting defensive back. That was Ronald Darby in Week 2.
• The Eagles won't have any defensive back in uniform Sunday against the Giants that has an interception this year.
• They've faced 189 consecutive passes without an interception.
• Their four-game streak without an INT is the franchise's third-longest ever. Their seven takeaways are the fewest in franchise history after 10 games.
• Their streak of eight straight games with one or fewer takeaways is one of the 20 longest streaks in NFL history.
Mind-boggling.
6. When you look at how much all the Eagles' players in their 30s are either struggling or injured, there has to be a correlation with the short offseason. The only guy in his 30s who's played well is Michael Bennett, and he wasn't on the team last year. Malcolm Jenkins hasn't been bad but certainly not up to his usual standard. Not one older guy on the roster who was part of the Super Bowl run has played anywhere near where he did last year. It makes sense that the significantly shorter offseason would have more of an effect on older guys, who need more recovery time. If there is a Super Bowl hangover, this is it.
7. I'd like to see the Eagles get both Alshon Jeffery and Dallas Goedert going Sunday. Jeffery has just 12 catches for 116 yards the last three games and Goedert has just one catch the last three weeks - the 32-yard TD against the Jaguars. Both are weapons. Both need to get the football more.
8. Amazing that four Coach of the Year candidates - Matt Nagy, Frank Reich, Sean Payton and Andy Reid - are all former Eagles offensive coaches. All are running units that are operating at a completely different level right now than the Eagles' offense.
9. The Eagles most likely aren't going to have a running back with 100 carries. Last time that happened was 1971.
10. This may be an unpopular opinion, but Jim Schwartz is doing as much as humanly possible with what he has. He's a very good defensive coach. If last year didn't prove it I don't know what will. The Eagles are now down five defensive backs, and he doesn't have one cornerback available who was on the roster a month ago. It's hard enough slowing down Drew Brees with experienced veteran corners. Now try doing it with a bunch of practice squad guys. This isn't a perfect unit and it definitely needs an infusion of young talent. The late-game collapses against the Titans and Panthers were inexcusable. But the bottom line is the defense has kept the Eagles in every game but one. And in a league where scoring is higher than ever, not one NFL team has held more opponents below 28 points than the Eagles. You want him fired? It's not going to happen.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
