It was another ugly night for the Eagles offense. Time to voice concerns and hope for a better future.

There’s a lot of ground to cover when complaining about the Philadelphia Eagles offense, but before we start, let me address why I don’t spend a lot of time praising the stellar Eagle defense. This is Philadelphia. Negative always outweigh the positive. That’s how we roll. I’m sorry.

Anyway, I have so many complaints that I don’t want to waste mental capacity on smooth transitions and cohesive sentences. We are bullet-pointing this bad boy. Hang on.

• Nick Sirianni has been a desperate moron in the final minutes the last two weeks. He’s 2-0 why question his methods blah blah blah. If you survive multiple swims across crocodile infested waters does that mean it was wiser than walking across the bridge? No, it means you got lucky, multiple times. Not punting against Green Bay increased the Packers chances of winning. Not punting against Detroit dramatically increased the Lions chances of winning. The poor decision not to punt Sunday night cut field position by nearly 50 yards, saved at least 50 seconds of game clock, and presented the Lions with an opportunity to make it a one score game with minimal effort. I get that Sirianni was trying to kick start his offense going forward. He’s certainly frustrated with that side of the ball. Regardless, you are the leader of the team. You can’t make irrational and foolish decisions because you lose control of your emotions. The sideline sees this. They no doubt have lost a little bit of trust in Sirianni because there is no rationalizing either decision. Players love aggressive coaches but they also know the difference between aggressiveness and reckless stupidity. Do you really think any player in the Eagles locker room would have loved Sirianni’s decisions if either one of those outcomes switched? I don’t. The frustrating is boiling over at this point and Sirianni’s asanine calls are proof. Even the timeout when Detroit faced 4th and 17 was unwise. Their chances of converting there are likely around 10%. The correct call was a field goal. They were lining up to go for it. Don’t bail them out.

• The offensive struggles have essentially boiled down to whether you blame Jalen Hurts or Kevin Patullo. I blame Patullo and it’s not even close. Hurts hasn’t been perfect. Far from it, but this offensive scheme is an abomination. It is predictable. It lacks imagination. It is not aggressive. It fails to utilize talent. From a personnel standpoint, the Eagles offense undoubtedly has a top ten unit in the NFL. Maybe even top five. There’s no reason they should rank among the bottom quarter in critical offensive categories like yards per game, 3rd down conversions, three-and-outs and yards per play, to name a few.

• Let’s cover some specific examples of what I referenced about personnel. Last week against the Lions, the Eagles faced a 3rd and long. Hurts ended up firing a desperate ball to 3rd string tight end Kylen Granson. Granson wasn’t the initial target, so I’m not going to blame Hurts. Why was Granson even on the field, though? Again, he’s a 3rd string tight end with zero receptions over the last two months. Did I mention it was 3rd and long? Want to defend Patullo here on his personnel because he wanted blockers on the field by design? Fair enough. The play appeared like it was a designed swing pass to Saquon Barkley with Granson and Grant Calcaterra out in front blocking. Unfortunately, Detroit knew what was coming. Alex Anzalone was on Barkley from the snap, leaving Hurts stuck and desperate. So feel free to blame Patullo for either incompetence in play design or personnel. I don’t care which one you choose.

• Let’s revisit Calcaterra blocking. He can’t do it. It’s been three years and Calcaterra still whiffs on blocks on a regular basis. Yet, there the Eagles were, running Barkley with Calcaterra as his lead blocker with the game on the line. This is malpractice.

• You know what else is malpractice? Patullo has his elite receivers running hitches and curls with regularity. The defense knows what’s coming. Patullo does not attack the defense across the field or vertically with any regularity. I understand AJ Brown’s frustration. I would be frustrated as well.

• With that said, Brown’s effort on an increasing amount of plays is a disturbing trend. I don’t care what Brown has accomplished, Sirianni and the Eagles need to nip that in the bud right now. That kind of behavior grows from minor inconvenience to full blown cancer if it’s not checked. Dallas benched their starting receivers for a drive on Monday night. If the Cowboys are demonstrating more accountability than the Eagles, then the cliff is closer than any of us think.

• Sirianni often talks about turnovers and how important is it for the offense to protect the football. With how good the defense is, I think this is the right approach. On the other hand, has this offensive style neutered Hurts and capped the offense’s potential? I almost look at it the other way. If the defense is this good, can’t we sustain a little more risk in our offensive approach. Is it better to not turn the football over and score 17 points or risk a few turnovers and score 31? I can’t imagine the Eagles defense surrendering 30 points to anyone at this point.

• What this all boils down to is how much Jeffrey Lurie wants to risk his chances of a repeat title. It’s too late to change coordinators but teams do reassign play callers. Andy Reid has moved in and out of the role, especially in Philadelphia. Dan Campbell took over the role a couple of weeks ago for Detroit. Teams have won Super Bowls with great defenses, but I don’t know that any of those defenses had a gaping hole like the Eagles do with Adoree Jackson at the 2nd outside cornerback position. The offense will need to produce for the Eagles to advance in the playoffs and retain their title. That will not happen with Patullo calling the offense. This is fact.

*****

Thursday Night Pick; Texans +5.5