For all the talk of the Eagles problems on offense, at least they have excuses. They’re hurt, have a new coordinator, and has to deal with some significant personnel changes in AJ Brown, Lane Johnson, and Cam Jurgens. The defense though, what is going on?
The Good
This unit was supposed to be dominant, but the only two guys pulling their weight are Zack Baun and Quinyon Mitchell. We are now in year 3 of the Baunaissance and he should make at least another Pro Bowl if not All Pro. The crazy thing is that he will now be up for either an extension or a trade after the season depending on what direction the team is going. He will be 30 years old and in the final year of his contract.
As for Mitchell, he is going to sign a contract to be the highest paid CB in football as soon as March. The Eagles don’t have to do this, but they can and they will want to. There’s no point in waiting. He’s looking at another All Pro season himself.
The Bad
The Eagles gave out some big contracts this summer:
- Jordan Davis: 3/$78m
- Jalen Carter: 4/$152m
- Jonathan Greenard: 4/$98m
What do we have to show for all that money? 3.5 sacks and long periods of game time where you don’t hear anything from them at all. Teams are running at will on the Eagles and these guys are powerless to stop it. I’m not saying they are playing badly, but all 3 are paid to be difference makers and they’ve been invisible.
He didn’t sign a new contract, but Nolan Smith has been among this group too. 3 sacks in 6 games plus more injuries is just not enough from a former 1st round pick. Thanks to his contract getting reworked, there’s a very good chance he isn’t here next year.
The Ugly
It’s one thing to be having a down year, it’s another to be the person being picked on by the opposing offense on every play. Unfortunately, our opponents have their choice of where to eat.
They could dine inside and focus on whoever gets matched up with Jihaad Campbell. Whenever he’s in coverage, the ball is coming his way. Things got so bad that he’s been benched despite being a first round pick just last year. I’m not giving up on him because it took Nakobe Dean 3 years to figure out the NFL, but it’s not looking good.
Another high draft pick last year was Andrew Mukuba who is simply not an NFL safety at this point. Every time there’s a guy open 25+ yards down the field, you can bet he was Mukuba’s responsibility. For someone who was known in college for always being in the right place, he’s done none of that as a pro.
The worst though is Cooper DeJean. What the hell happened to him? He went from All Pro golden boy to total liability. He’s not making tackles, he’s getting beat in coverage, and there’s just nothing special at all this season. It feels like a Cole Hamels 2009 situation where the talent is there, but the fame sapped the preparation. The Eagles had planned on extending him, but that has to be on hold now. He has 1 year left on his rookie deal to get himself back together.
The Future
Vic Fangio has to be done, right? They begged him to come back this season and I can’t imagine he wants to do much more of this. He’s just the beginning of the questions.
The NFL trade deadline is November 10. The Eagles are going to be doing a lot of deep thinking about their future over the next two weeks and deciding whether they want to go for it next year or rebuild the current mess they have on their hands.
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