Recapping Season One of the New Look Eagles
The 2016-17 season for the Eagles was a roller coaster of emotions for fans and the organization. It started at the end of the last season when Jeffrey Lurie fired Chip Kelly after a week 16 loss to the Cardinals. Kelly’s departure not only left a hole in the head coaching position but the general manager position as well. The Eagles started the offseason by rehiring Howie Roseman as the director of player personnel and the offseason circus was under way. After a slew of interviews for the head coaching job the Eagles brass decided on Doug Pederson to be the man for the job. The Eagles also signed QB Sam Bradford to a two year deal that presumably made him the starter for the upcoming season with the ability, if he played well enough, to turn into the franchise quarterback. Then, Howie really went to work. The Eagles were able to trade up to the number two pick in the draft and they planned on selecting a franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz. With this news, Bradford went AWOL for a few days and missed some voluntary camp days. However, he eventually played good soldier and showed up to and participated in all mandatory offseason workouts and preseason. Bradford clearly was uncomfortable that Wentz was drafted but he had the reassurance of both Pederson and Roseman that he would be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles week one. With a little over a week before the regular season opener, Teddy Bridgewater of the Vikings went down with a season ending leg injury. Three days later, Same Bradford was traded to the Vikings for a first and fourth round pick in this year’s draft. The Eagles season and plan was altered, instead of having a “red shirt” year to learn behind Bradford, Wentz was thrust into the starting role week one.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the start of the season, the new look Eagles came out of the gate red-hot. Carson Wentz looked like the star player he was at North Dakota State if not better and he was dominating NFL defenses. He shined against the Browns to start his career with a win while throwing for two touchdowns and 278 yards. The next week he thrived under the spotlight of his first Monday night football game throwing for 190 yards and another touchdown in another win. After his first two games Philadelphia was all aboard the “Wentz Wagon” and Roseman was labeled a genius for being able to trade up to get Wentz, then trade Bradford in order to start Wentz week one. Nationally, there were still doubters, the Browns and Bears were not good football teams this year (they posted a combined record of 4-28) and Wentz and the Eagles’ success was being labeled a fluke. Many believed they would be exposed in week three against the Pittsburgh Steelers, many were wrong. Wentz tallied his first 300+ yard game and added two more touchdowns in a 34-3 rout of the Steelers. The word was out for the entire NFL, this kid from D1AA can play.
The last thing a team wants to happen when they’re rolling is the bye week. Unfortunately, that’s what the Eagles had in week 4. Not only did they have a week off that slowed their momentum, but the NFC East was proving to be one of the best divisions in football. The Giants spent a ton of money in the offseason to upgrade their defense and still had the core of their star powered offense in tact with Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. The Redskins looked impressive with Kirk Cousins playing like he should be paid top QB money while playing on the franchise tag. And, unfortunately, the Cowboys looked dynamic with their new rookie duo of Das Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot operating behind the best offensive line in football. The pressure remained on the Eagles to keep pace with the rest of the division.
Unfortunately, the bye week proved detrimental for the Eagles. They lost their next two games, suffering a heartbreak in Detroit 24-23 and a 27-20 loss to the Redskins in Washington. In Washington Wentz only completed 50% of his passes and for the first time he looked like a rookie. This also marked the first game the Eagles played without starting right tackle Lane Johnson, who began serving a ten game suspension starting right after the loss to Detroit. The offensive line became a patchwork line that had trouble at times protecting Wentz throughout the year. After Johnson’s suspension the Eagles also had more trouble running the ball causing Pederson to rely heavily on the pass game that also had flaws exposed throughout the season. During Johnson’s suspension the Eagles turned in 2-8 record and Wentz looked more and more like a rookie that had hit a wall. And the team looked as though it had hit a wall as well.
Both the offense and the defense exposed deficiencies that each had coming into the season. The defense struggled in the secondary specifically the corner backs and the offense showed that they need playmakers at the wide receiver position. Although the Eagles believe they have found their franchise quarterback, they need to fill out the roster around Wentz and Johnson offensively and around players such as Jordan Hicks and Fletcher Cox on defense.
The Eagles ended up winning their last two games against the Giants and the Cowboys, who rested most of their starters. The Eagles ended the season at 7-9 and fourth in the division but the season was not a loss. Carson Wentz gained valuable experience and proved that he has the intangibles to lead a team and be the franchise player Philadelphia hopes he can be.
This offseason is critical for the Eagles and Carson Wentz’s development. Howie Roseman said in his season ending press conference that the Eagles won’t use the “bandaid” approach and they will try to build around Wentz on offense with talent that he can grow with and that will help his development. For as good as Wentz was this year he also has a lot to work on this offseason. One of his biggest problems this year was overthrowing receivers, particularly across the middle. It seems that when he tries to fit the ball into tight windows on passes 10+ yards Wentz over strides and overthrows his receivers leading to poor throws that end up intercepted or incomplete. This is one of the few things that Wentz must work on in order to become a top-tier quarterback in the NFL and set the Eagles up for a decade of success with Carson. And hopefully capturing our first Super Bowl title. One thing this season proved is Wentz has the potential to be the guy in Philadelphia for a long time.
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Categorized:Eagles