Many of we Iggles fans are currently bummed out about the recent loss to the Vikings, a game we should have dominated according to the "experts" and the computer simulations…
But the fact remains, we are still in the playoff mix if we can beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday…
I found it interesting to compare notes with an actual Eagles player, Jason Peters, the All-Pro left tackle who at 6-4, 340, and in his 10th year out of Arkansas, might have an actual inside angle as to how this 2013 season should unfold.
Jason is one of the few Eagles on the current roster who will talk with me honestly, be it by "Twitter" or by telephone…
Mr. Peters and I share a passion for restoring old muscle cars… I guess that's where we first formed a bond.
But we also trust each other regarding the keeping of confidences. So trust me when I tell you I'm not talking out of school…
Jason Peters is just like many of the Eagles' fans who sat on their couch at home during Sunday's game — he doesn't understand what happened.
"It's a big-time letdown, for me. The Vikings? C'mon. They ain't supposed to beat us," Peters said.
" There's a bunch of stuff we did that I just didn't understand."
The confusion sure seems to be a shot at the coaching staff, especially Chip Kelly. Peters took another shot at the game plan when he was asked about the Eagles lack of a run game.
"I’d have almost bet money coming into today’s [Sunday's] game, if they said Shady was only going to get eight carries, I would have put money on it and said they were wrong," Peters said.
McCoy had just eight carries against the Vikings, a season low. The fact that it came one week after he set the franchise record for rushing yards in a game only adds to the confusion as to why Kelly didn't elect to run the ball more. McCoy did have 5 pass receptions for 68 yards, but that was mostly after the Birds had already fallen two scores behind in the game.
It might also be telling that Peters dismissed the Vikings as an inferior opponent. All week Kelly said he didn't believe in trap games, but Peters' view of the Vikings might have been a sneak peak into the Eagles' mindset heading into this game. It's also an attitude that hasn't been seen yet in the locker room this season, but was very much there over the past two years.
Peters' comments, while not exactly a clear shot, might be the closest a player has come this season to questioning the head coach. Was Peters honest? Yes. Was he right? Yes.
Should he have said it? Probably not.
I understand the reasoning of Coach Kelly to abandon the run and go with the passing game when you are two scores behind in the game. But according to Jason Peters, the Birds' offensive unit was on the verge of pounding the Vikings' run defense into submission. To hear it from Peters, unleashing Shady McCoy on the ground in the 3rd quarter would have changed the game and changed the outcome.
Well, that's a point scored for our frequent commenter and analyst Dutch Rubb, who basically said the same thing.
But Jason Peters and Dutch Rubb aside, sometimes a head coach has to gamble on the unexpected. I think Chip Kelly thought Leslie Frazier expected us to keep running McCoy and grind it out… and Kelly raised the ante…
Gamesmanship is cool. Sometimes it works out great. Like when the Ravens dared the Lions to leave them just enough time to get into position to kick a 61-yard FG to win the game 18-16 last night…
It's not always a fairy-tale world like that in the NFL, however. Sometimes you lose a game you're supposed to win. Jason Peters and I are struggling with that reality today. But tomorrow, it's all about beating Chicago. Life goes on…and the Eagles are still alive in 2013.
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