There’s nothing new to say about the Eagles offense.
It’s the same story week in and week out. The run game is dead on arrival. The scheme is predictable. The three-and-outs are plentiful. So why is drastic change not a consideration?
The obvious answer is NFL teams generally don’t excel after major midseason changes at critical positions. Now, that’s probably because most of those major changes occur on teams with losing records. The Eagles are 8-4 and are only a game or two out of the NFC’s top seed, so maybe a change would help. Who knows. What we do know is the status quo isn’t going to get it done.
This is why I don’t understand the lack of urgency inside the building from the owner down. Jeffrey Lurie has a chance to repeat. Not many can say that. Only the Chiefs and Patriots have done it this century. The Eagles have holes, but they’re just as talented and even more experienced than any other contender in the NFL. You don’t just throw opportunities like this away. Kevin Patullo is not the offense’s only problem, but he is the biggest problem, and he’s also the easiest to fix this late in the season. There are no trades to be made. No free agent acquisitions that will fix the offense. The last and only hope for the 2025 Philadelphia Eagle offense is a new vision. Fresh eyes. Different adjustments. Better scheme.
There was a lot of momentum after the Chicago loss to blame Jalen Hurts for the offensive woes. Sure, he has a lot of responsibility for the struggles, but this isn’t new for Hurts. His NFL career has been simple to assess. A bad offensive coordinator results in a bad Jalen Hurts. A good offensive coordinator produces an effective and even potent Jalen Hurts. Shane Steichen…good Hurts. Brian Johnson…bad Hurts. Kellen Moore…good Hurts. Kevin Patullo…bad Hurts. Hurts’ play rides those waves in an almost identical pattern. Make the change.
The tape says it all. The Eagles offense is stuck. Opposing defenses know what’s coming. Patullo’s offense has talented receivers running dead routes. These are routes that result in no movement – a hitch, a curl, a sit – whatever you prefer to call them. Once the receiver runs his route his feet are dead. The defense knows the route is coming, sits on it and leaves Hurts with nowhere to go and no receivers on the move to get open. The Eagles run more hitches than almost any offense in the league. Their offensive struggles are not a coincidence.
The passing game is also struggling because the run game is dead. The offensive line has been atrocious in run blocking this season. There’s no push up front. Landon Dickerson is either playing hurt or hit a wall in his career. He is a disaster. The rest of the line isn’t much better. The Eagles insistence on using Grant Calcaterra as a run blocker is both predictable and moronic. He’s horrible and shouldn’t even be dressing on game days. If the Eagles want to resurrect the run game, they need to get Hurts back under center, get Saquon Barkley running downhill into the line, and use the play action game to lighten the box. Yes, it’s simple football but it works and the Eagles could use some more simplicity right now.
The defense was a mess for the last six quarters as well, so this isn’t completely on the offense. I did think the defense looked physically exhausted in the 1st quarter last Friday, so I’m not ready to write them off. But even if the defense is on its game, the offense can’t produce less than 20 points and expect to defend their crown. Make a change at the top of the offense and go from there. To do nothing is to wave the white flag.
*****
Thursday Night Pick; Cowboys +3.5