Up in smoke….
Acceptance of the 2016 Eagles as an also-ran 14 weeks into the season comes with less anxiety and resistance than I anticipated. Despite the progress we saw in how this team came together in the post-Chip rebuild, the W’s just refused to stack up. To some degree we were out-gunned by the rest of the NFC East, especially in the trenches. But overall, we were overcome by a long laundry list of pesky in-game breakdowns—seemingly minor individual errors or mistakes committed with the best of intentions in the heat of battle. Little things, details, like Jordan Matthews barely failing to drag his toe inbounds on what would have been a great TD reception against Washington on Sunday.
I simply cannot hate on a team that loses because of little things. There’s a bigger picture ahead for the core group of this team.
It’s also difficult to hate on a team made up of genuinely good people who are more upset about their unpredictable errors than I am.
My main lament today is the season seems to be ending before the Eagles really got started. It feels like I booked a Main Line train ticket to Penn Station, but they made me get off the train in Upper Darby.
Our guys played hard and tough in Sunday’s loss to the Redskins. It showed that clearly even watching on my TV screen. Nobody quit—not even close.
Several Eagles players went down hard for their effort. Reserve lineman Matt Tobin suffered an MCL sprain on the second-to-last play of the game. That was part of the reason the Irish Mafia (Ryan Kerrigan) blew by him for the game-ending strip-sack of Carson Wentz. There was no one left on the sideline to put in for Tobin anyway.
Darren Sproles is in the league’s concussion protocol after taking a vicious hit form Deshazor Everett while trying to field a punt. Another Eagles back was also injured, as Wendell Smallwood suffered a knee injury that could ultimately land him on Injured Reserve.
On defense, safety Jaylen Watkins ruptured a tendon in his left hand and will get an MRI to provide further details.
As for Allen Barbre (hamstring strain) and Brent Celek (stinger), HC Doug Pederson explained that they should both be good for Sunday’s game against Baltimore, but they will both be held out of practice on Wednesday as a precaution.
All-out effort does not guarantee a win in this league, however.
“Everybody wanted to get out there and make sure that we played hard and that we didn’t lose the way we lost the week before against the Bengals,” said defensive end Brandon Graham. “I think we went out there and we played hard but you know, obviously, you have to make more plays than they made to win the game.”
“It’s obviously disappointing. It was a tough day. A lot of things kind of didn’t swing in our direction, but we felt like we kind of gave ourselves a chance,” said safety Malcolm Jenkins. “It was a hard-fought game that just didn’t swing in our direction.”
“I thought we got some of the stuff fixed today and we’ll continue to try to improve and correct the mistakes,” said defensive end Connor Barwin.
Will they continue to keep fighting all-out? Some critics would say this is the point where the veteran players under contract will pull in the reins and pick and choose the spots where they might “extend” for the team. Who’s to say that’s not an intelligent approach to living to fight for another day—as in, 2017?
I’ve heard some thoughts also among fellow fans who say this is the time to sit Carson Wentz down and protect him from getting maimed or killed out there the rest of the way.
There is a draconian logic to that notion as well. You could say Wentz has learned all he can learn in a rookie season and it’s time to protect your most valuable offensive asset for 2017. Put the clipboard-holder in at QB the rest of the way behind an offensive line that is clearly disintegrating before our eyes, and with a running game that is rapidly running out of healthy backs.
But Wentz himself wants to keep playing. His next three opponents are playoff-bound sack-hungry opponents in Baltimore, the Giants and Dallas.
“Just a couple plays, had they gone differently, the outcome could be different and we’ve had a lot of games like that this season. It’s frustrating, but at the same time we have to keep learning from it and keep growing as a team. I want to keep playing and be a part of it.”
“I saw the same fight I’ve seen in guys all year. I’ve seen the same fight,” Wentz said. “Obviously, execution isn’t always there, but the effort and the resiliency of this football team, I’ve never questioned. I thought they played their tails off and guys care. You can tell that guys care. No one likes losing. I don’t think there’s a single person in that locker room that would say they didn’t care.”
These last three games of 2016 for the Eagles will tell the tale of who really cares about much besides their gamechecks or keeping a job for next year.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
