Philly Front Office

There is no one to blame but ourselves for this loss to the Cowboys. Up 21-0 and doing whatever we pleased on both sides, everything went wrong. We fumbled the ball, stalled drives, and had terrible penalties. No, I’m not blaming officiating (like the Denver game), this was our fault. What I can’t get over though is how preventable it all was. It seems like this team, and specifically the coaching staff, is actively spiting itself.

Penalties

I don’t mean the phantom pass interference call on DeVonta Smith or the non OPI call against Cooper DeJean. Those are what they are and aren’t preventable. I am focusing on the formation penalties that kill us at least once a week. This time, Matt Pryor was flagged for covering up a receiver negating a huge second down catch for Dallas Goedert to start the 2nd half.

There are only 3 possibilities to explain this. Maybe Pryor just screwed up, but that’s doubtful. He’s a vet who wouldn’t have many other responsibilities. More likely, they either never practiced the play with Pryor OR they practiced the play lined up wrong. That’s on the coaches. Every week this kind of thing happens.

False starts, holding, and away from the ball penalties.  For a team that preaches preparation, this is the opposite.

Personnel

Xavier Gipson fielded a ball at the 2 and then fumbled. He isn’t on the Jets because he had problems fumbling. Why is he on this team again? We have Tank Bigsby on the roster and Britan Covey on the practice squad. There’s simply no reason for him to be on the roster.

It’s not just the fumble either. He needs to understand that he should not have returned that ball. Yes, it’s possible there could have been a bad bounce, but even that would probably have been better than fielding it. So, again, I ask why he did that? He either did it himself, defying his coaching or the coaches believed that was a good idea. That’s simply not being prepared.

Then there is the center position. Jurgens is either hurt or bad now. They have a guy in Willie Lampkin who is ready to come off IR, but hasn’t. Lampkin has been practicing, but they seem to be extending his stay before activating him. Why? Are they trying to get cute about the roster and waiting for an injury or are they afraid to bench their recently extended center? We are not putting our best players out there right now.

Don’t get me started on Landon Dickerson. He’s probably hurt himself, at least I hope so. Otherwise, he’s cooked.

One thing is for sure, despite having ZERO ability to run up the middle, we have no interest in fixing the problem.

I don’t know what it takes to be a good blocking tight end in the NFL, but there has to be a better option than Grant Calcaterra. He tries, but has no instinct or technique in attempting the assignment. It’s laughable. He’s another guy that I don’t understand his place on the team. If he can’t block, then went is he here? Too catch 1 pass a game? He needs to have a purpose and I don’t know what it is.

Is Jakorian Bennett alive?

Play Calling

Everything was going well, then suddenly, it stopped. An offense that was taking advantage of the whole field in the first half played conservatively as anything in the second half. Any number of things went wrong, but the conservative play calling didn’t give it a chance to go right either. The Cowboys looked done. Instead of putting our foot on their throat like we used to, we gave them all the chances in the world.

Something that has become very obvious is that we have no way to get short yardage anymore. 4 yards used to be easy. Now it’s impossible. The Cowboys got an easy TD on a one on one out ball. That play isn’t in our play book. We have AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert but a quick out isn’t possible? Why? Again, are we not practicing this? Is it really not in the playbook? I don’t get it.

Kevin Patullo seems to have no feel for how an offense needs to be run. He is calling plays out there like a 14 year old me would in Madden. Were the first quarter plays scripted, leaving the rest of the game disaster as his brain child?

Once this team gets the lead, they go into a shell like a frightened turtle.

Then there’s the actual art of getting the play in. Every week the ball is snapped at zero. I watched this game with my brother in law (Dolphins fan) who isn’t used to it. He was freaking out every time. You know who wasn’t freaking out? The defense. Going at zero means no offsides and no hesitation on blitzes and pass rush. It’s an automatic disadvantage that has yet to be corrected. Are you telling me there is no way to coach this better? How are we the only team in the league that plays like this? This isn’t chess and checkers, this is playing a carnival game where we are the kid unaware he’s in a rigged ring toss game.

Resting On Our Laurels

I’m not a panicker and there were some positives to this game along with some bad luck. A bad thing happens with wins though, there’s no accountability. No one fully believes in changing after a W. After an L though, that’s different.

They can’t ignore this collapse. Say what you will about Dallas, but they are our biggest rival. This loss means something. Maybe losing to the Packers or Lions would have been worse in the long run, but losing to the Cowboys doesn’t hurt, it enrages.

This is the kind of loss that gets people in trouble. This could mean cuts, coaching changes, or simply using different personnel. If not, then what are we doing? If there’s no accountability then there’s no preparedness and the season will be lost.

This is still an extremely talented team, and we have as good a chance as anyone. We just can’t afford to be the team that beats itself.

Hey Jeff Lurie! When you’re done reading this, yell at somebody!