What the Eagles’ running back rotation should look like, Avonte Maddox’s future and an obscure former Eagles assistant who’s now one of the most successful head coaches in college football.
Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations kicks into Week 3 with an all-over-the-map collection of anecdotes, tidbits, stats and leftover thoughts.
1. Kenny Gainwell got just about all the touches against the Patriots. D’Andre Swift got almost all the touches against the Vikings. And as effective as Swift was Thursday night, I still believe this offense works best with a rotation that makes the offense unpredictable and keeps the opposing defense guessing. I like Gainwell and I think he should have a significant role on the offense. But I also don’t think he’s a lead back. In the opener, Gainwell had 10 touches for 50 yards in the first quarter and eight touches for 24 yards the rest of the game. I just think there’s a point of diminishing returns with Gainwell. Make him part of a rotation with Swift – and Boston Scott or Rashaad Penny in some cases – and now you’re really onto something. Swift isn’t going to run for 175 yards each week and he better not get 28 carries each week. All these backs are talented, and every one of them would benefit from mixing it up. Look what happened Thursday night. Before he got hurt, Scott entered the game as a change of pace and ran for 40 yards on just six carries. More of that. This offense needs more juice and a true running back platoon is a great way to provide some.
2. Only four sixth-round picks in NFL history have started more games than Jason Kelce. Tom Brady started 333, long-time Colts and 49ers safety Antoine Bethea started 200 through 2019, Browns left tackle Doug Dieken started 194 and Vikings center Matt Birk 198. Kelce is at 178 and could get up to 193 this year.
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3. Two games into the season, there are only four defensive tackles who have a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 89.8 or higher. Two of them are Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. Chris Jones (92.8) and David Onyemata (91.5) are in the top two spots, followed by Carter at 90.2 and Davis at 89.8. Still wonder why the Eagles focus on the two lines in the draft and not linebacker or safety or running back? These guys are flat-out beasts. Jones is 29 and Onyemata is 30, and Carter and Davis are 22 and 23. The Eagles just might have the top two young interior linemen in football. They’re both monsters against the run, they’ve both made an impact pressuring the quarterback and they’re both getting better every day. Try to find a point in franchise history where the Eagles had two interior forces like Carter and Davis who were early in their career at the same time. You can’t do it. Jerome Brown and Andy Harmon never started at the same time. Corey Simon and Darwin Walker? Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley? The Eagles have never had anything like this. Few teams have. And those guys aren’t going anywhere and they’re only going to get better and, man, this is going to be fun to watch for a long time.
4. The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to open a season 2-0 despite allowing seven passing touchdowns through two weeks. Nine teams allowed six, from the 1955 Washington Football Team through the 2018 Chiefs. They’re also the first team in NFL history to go 2-0 despite allowing 300 or more passing yards while being held to 175 or fewer yards in both of their first two games. Last year the Eagles didn’t allow their seventh passing touchdown until their sixth game. This year they allowed it in Week 2.
5. Avonte Maddox is such a talented slot corner, but I don’t know how the Eagles can continue to count on him after this latest injury. Assuming Maddox misses the rest of the season, and that seems likely, he will have missed all or part of 36 games because of injuries since 2019 and started and finished just eight games over the past two years. He hasn’t played more than three games in a row without getting hurt since late in 2021. Maddox plays a ferocious, physical brand of football that you love to see, but at 5-9, 185 pounds, it just seems his body can’t hold up under that style of football. Maddox is due $6.85 million next year in the final year of his deal with a cap hit just above $10 million, and there’s no way that’s going to happen. If he comes back it has to be at a much lower salary. Maddox will be 28 this spring and he hasn’t had a healthy season since he was 25. I’m not sure what the long-term solution is when it comes to the slot. Which is really a starting-caliber position. Zech McPhearson was the backup slot in training camp but didn’t do anything to inspire confidence that he could be the guy. Mario Goodrich and possibly Sydney Brown will get looks the rest of this year. James Bradberry will probably get some reps inside but he’s too valuable outside to move inside permanently. Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks didn’t practice inside this summer but could get a look next year at camp. The Eagles could draft a slot-specific corner in the spring or sign a veteran. But it’s just a shame Maddox can’t stay healthy because he’s a fun player to watch, he’s got a perfect blend of physicality and smarts to play the slot, and he’s been really productive when he’s been healthy. But those healthy moments are just too rare anymore.
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6. DeVonta Smith already has nine 100-yard games, fourth-most by an Eagle in his first three seasons. And he’s got at least 15 games to go. Mike Quick and DeSean Jackson had 11 in their first three seasons and Fred Barnett had 10.
7. It’s mind blowing to me that the Eagles have only 12 passing first downs after two games. Fewest in the NFL. Last time they had 12 or fewer passing first downs after two games was 1999, when their starting quarterback was Doug Pederson. This time last year they had 25. They’re only the seventh team in the last 14 years with 12 or fewer passing first downs through two games (and the first to go 2-0 since the 2010 Steelers). Incredibly, only four of those 12 first downs have come before halftime. Jalen Hurts has passed for only 131 yards before halftime – only Desmond Ridder and Joe Burrow have fewer. And 54 of those 131 came on one pass. Such a weird start to the season for Hurts.
8. It’s been cool to watch an obscure Eagles position coach under Chip Kelly transform into one of college football’s most successful head coaches. Ryan Day was a quiet, humble, professional quarterbacks coach for the Eagles in 2015, working with Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez – and Thad Lewis, who’s now the Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach (and Tim Tebow in training camp). Day had spent a year in 2006 as Temple’s wide receivers coach under Al Golden (Sean Desai was also on Golden’s staff that year) and later served as Steve Addazio’s offensive coordinator at Temple in 2012 and in the same role under Addazio for a couple years at Boston College before coming to the Eagles. When Kelly was fired, he brought Day with him to San Francisco, and when Kelly was fired after one year in San Francisco, Day joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State as offensive coordinator. When Meyer was suspended in 2018, Day was named interim head coach, and when Meyer was forced to “retire,” Day took over for good. Since then, he has a 49-6 record (.891). Only Georgia (.914) has a better record than Ohio State since Day was named the Buckeyes’ head coach.
9. The two-highest completion percentages among active quarterbacks on Monday night: 1) Marcus Mariota [66-for-84, 78.6 percent] and Jalen Hurts [69-for-97, 71.1 percent]. The lowest? Baker Mayfield [83-for-163, 50.9 percent].
10. It’s not just Jalen Hurts. If it seems like passing numbers are down across the league, they are. It’s only two weeks, but NFL teams are averaging 216.4 passing yards per game, which would be the lowest over a full season since 2008. Yards per completion so far is 10.3, which would be by far the lowest in NFL history. The lowest on record is 10.9 from last year. And sacks are up to 7 percent of pass plays – the highest since 1998. Teams are averaging just 1.3 passing TDs per game, which would be the fewest again since 2008 and equal the fewest since 1993. Some rushing numbers are down too. Teams are averaging 109.1 rushing yards per game, which would be eighth-lowest in NFL history, and just 4.1 yards per carry – almost half a yard worse than last year’s 4.5 and the lowest since 2005. Overall, yards per play is 5.1, lowest since 2005 and matching the lowest since 1999. It’s early, but these are really fascinating trends to keep an eye on as we get deeper into the season.
