Five Reasons Why the Eagles Fell Off From 2017 to 2018
The season after the Eagles first Super Bowl win in franchise history did not go as planned. However, the Eagles dealt with many issues from the beginning to the end of the season that caused the decline from the season prior.
Here are five reasons why the Eagles fell off from the 2017 season to the 2018 season and how they can fix it for next year…
5) Coaching Changes
Photo: FlipBoard
As expected with most playoff teams, many coaches leave their former, winning team, looking for a promotion and to take their coaching skills to elsewhere. When you are the Super Bowl Champions, the coaching purge is at the all time high. Teams across the league want to bring in some of that Super Bowl magic, converting former assistants to their coordinators or head coaches.
Last offseason, the Eagles lost their Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich and Quarterbacks Coach John Defilippo to the Colts and Vikings, respectively. A lot of the Eagles success came from those two coaches and their contributions to the offense in 2017. Each week, both of these coaches sat in on meetings with Head Coach Doug Pederson and the team to form game plans that will best set up their offense for their next matchup. Also, both coaches formed great bonds with the players throughout practices, games and meetings.
As Offensive Coordinator, Frank Reich’s role was to design offensive plays and game plans during practices. He oversees the game plan during games and makes necessary adjustments as needed. During the 2017 season, when the Eagles would prepare for matchups and go out and perform that Sunday, Frank Reich was responsible for all of the behind-the-scenes work that had the Eagles ready to take on any opposing defense, whether it be the first or last play of the game. Having a talented offensive coordinator takes some of the pressure off of Coach Pederson, as he could rely on Reich to do his job successfully and work well with the offense.
The Eagles ultimately lost Frank Reich to the Indianapolis Colts for a head coaching job and had a big hole to fill in the coaching staff. Coach Pederson believes heavily in promoting from within the organization, so two familiar names stepped into bigger roles. Both Mike Groh and Duce Staley were promoted. Duce to Assistant Head Coach while still coaching the running backs, and Mike Groh promoted from Wide Receivers Coach to Offensive Coordinator. Both men would have a bigger say in the offense than the year prior, but at the end of the day, it was up to Mike Groh to fill the shoes of Frank Reich, which was not an easy task.
Groh comes from a passing background, being a wide receiver coach for the Eagles, Rams and the Bears. In those roles, Groh has brought the best out of Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Kenny Britt, and Brandon Marshall. Despite his success with wide receivers in the past, his transition to commanding an entire offense was a bumpy one. Back in 2017, the Eagles averaged 28.6 points per game and with Groh in charge of the offense in 2018, they posted under 23 points per game. That is almost the difference of one touchdown and more often than not, the Eagles lack of scoring was exposed. In the 2018 season, 10 of the regular season games were decided by 6 points or less and Philadelphia managed to lose five of those close matchups.
Another key piece of the offensive coaching staff, John DeFilippo, left for a promotion with the Minnesota Vikings, taking the offensive coordinator role. DeFilippo was the Quarterbacks Coach for the Eagles 2016 and 2017 season, coaching Quarterback Carson Wentz in his first two seasons in the NFL. DeFilippo brought out the best in his quarterbacks; Carson Wentz threw for 33 touchdowns in 13 games, Nate Sudfeld threw for over 82% in a week 17 matchup vs the Cowboys and Nick Foles went on to lead the team into the playoffs and taking home Super Bowl MVP honors.
DeFilippo’s departure lead to another promotion from within the organization when Press Taylor was given the role as quarterbacks coach. Taylor joined the organization in 2013 as quality control and earned his first coaching job in 2016.
With both Reich and DeFilippo leaving the organization, the Eagles struggled to find their rhythm on offense at some points throughout the season. Having stability in the coaching staff is hard to find in the NFL, especially in a winning organization. The Eagles had their first share of this with the new Pederson-era coaching staff going into the 2018 season. It is important for the Eagles to get used to this cycle of hiring and losing coaches every few seasons. Last year, Doug Pederson was not able to handle it well as he is still finding his place in the NFL and doing his best to coach a team. I do not believe the beginning of the season rumors that Doug Pederson was too reliant on Frank Reich and cannot coach without a good offensive coordinator. First, the offensive coordinator is a huge part of the coaching staff and any offense is dependent on a solid offensive coordinator to help the offense function. Once the Eagles get into their second season with Groh at OC and Taylor working with the QB’s, the offense should improve and get adjusted with the new pieces on the coaching staff.
4) Issues Behind Center
Photo: Bismark Tribune
After Carson Wentz tore his ACL in Week 13 of the 2017 season, he was set for a long recovery. After not being medically cleared for the start of the season, Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles started under center once again for the first two weeks. Foles gave the Eagles a 1-1 start with 117 yards and 1 INT against the Atlanta Falcons and 334 yards and 1 TD against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Foles had his struggles on the field to start the season and the organization desperately wanted to see Carson Wentz back on the field. Some of the teams leading receivers the past year got off to a slow start, Zach Ertz averaged 71 yards per game over the two-game stretch, Nelson Agholor with 60 yards and Alshon Jeffery failed to see the field yet while recovering from a shoulder surgery.
The Colts came into Philadelphia week 3 of the regular season, and Carson Wentz was officially cleared to start, and suited up as the starting quarterback for the first time since December 2017. Even though Wentz was coming off of a major knee reconstruction surgery, most of Philly expected Wentz to return to his 2017 MVP caliber level of play. Although Wentz put up great stats in 2018, the offense did not reflect those stats. Part of these problems came with the injuries Wentz suffered. First of all, Wentz was beginning the season on a healing ACL. Throughout the season, reports swirled around the league that Carson Wentz’s left knee was never fully healed, and he would be subject to a re-tear if he takes a bad cut or puts too much weight on it. This was a problem considering Wentz’s style of play. Carson is a very mobile quarterback who likes to move around a lot and extend plays. In 2017 he averaged 23 rushing yards per game due to his ability to scramble in the pocket and tuck and run with the football if there was not an open receiver downfield. In 2018, that number went down to 8.5 yards per game. Having the ability to extend plays behind the line of scrimmage means receivers have more time to move around and potentially go for a deep route. In 2017 Carson threw 9 passes for over 40 yards, and in 2018 that number went down to 5.
Outside of the stats, Wentz’s style of play was drastically different when watching. As the pocket began to collapse in front of him, Wentz, more often than not, took the sack and fell easily to avoid any stress on his knee. Also, where Wentz would have an open running lane or an opportunity to take on a defender one-on-one to juke out, he stayed behind the line of scrimmage and threw a short pass or an incompletion. With the mental block of having to be careful with his knee every play, Carson Wentz was never able to show his dynamic playmaking ability and lead his offense to more wins.
Carson Wentz randomly appeared on the injury report one week during practice for back soreness. Everyone was worried about Carson and the severity of this injury which held him out of practice. Unfortunately, it was not just soreness. Wentz was forced to sit out the last three games of the season with a fractured vertebra which evolved over time, some estimated that Wentz played with the injury for 8 weeks. This other injury hindered Wentz’s play and for the second straight season, he failed to finish the season and the Eagles offense was handed over to Nick Foles.
Foles stepped in as the new starting quarterback and was yet again asked to finish the last three games of the season and lead the team into the playoffs. The Eagles in the last 3 games looked a lot like the 2017 Eagles as Foles threw for an average of 320 yards and the offense looked electric, sneaking into the playoffs as the #6 seed. Although Foles finished the season well, the offense was too inconsistent to make it to back to back super bowls.
Having a full offseason for Carson Wentz to get back to full health in his knee and back is important to the Eagles progression into the 2019 season. As opposed to last offseason, Cason will have the full offseason to participate in drills and training camp, as well as get snaps in the preseason. You better believe Carson Wentz will come back better than ever once he is fully healthy.
Listen to why we think that Carson Wentz will return to MVP form next season on Birds Banter here!
3) Lack of Depth
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As I will mention later in this article, injuries were a huge reason why the Eagles fell off in production from the 2017 season to the 2018 season. As injuries occurred across the field, the Eagles lack of depth was exposed at a number of positions. Most notably being the running backs, safeties and cornerbacks.
Throughout the 2018 season, the Eagles lost Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles for an extended period of time. After the Eagles failed to trade for a running back before the trade deadline, Josh Adams and Wendel Smallwood were the feature backs for a majority of the season. These are obvious downgrades from Ajayi, Clement and Blount who lead the team the previous year. In 2017, the Eagles rushed for 2,115 yards throughout the season whereas in 2018, the Eagles only rushed for 1,570 yards. The Eagles went into the 2018 season with an already thin running back group and injuries did not help the group succeed at all. The Eagles should be targeting a premier running back this offseason, either in the draft or through free agency, which will help solve this problem and revive the running game.
Listen to how we think the Eagles will address the running back position here on Birds Banter
Early in the season, the Eagles lost Rodney McLeod to a knee injury. McLeod was the starting safety of the squad, playing opposite Malcolm Jenkins in the secondary. Due to Jenkins versatility, he is often playing other positions across the defense such as linebacker, nickel cornerback and safety, so losing Rodney McLeod leaves a huge hole deep in the secondary. The absence of Rodney McLeod was felt most against the Tennessee Titans early in the season when the Eagles held a 17-3 lead which they blew, pushing the game to overtime. Marcus Mariota and the Titans got the ball in overtime after the Eagles made a field goal. It was 4th and 15 yards to go and the Eagles set up their normal “picket fence” defense for these situations, setting up a line of defensive backs at the first down marker to prevent any receiver from getting behind them. However, new starting safety Corey Graham allowed Corey Davis to run right behind him and get the first down.
The biggest position group that was exposed this season was the cornerbacks. At the start of the season the cornerback group was Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, and Sidney Jones. After a handful of injuries in the secondary, the Eagles ended up having to play Cre’von LeBlanc, De’Vante Bausby and Rasul Douglas. Having a completely different cornerback group from the start to end of the season put a lot of stress on the entire defense and DC Jim Schwartz.
In 2017, the Eagles suffered many injuries too, but had a lot of depth on the roster to help account for losing the starters. In 2018, the depth was not there. Although the Eagles found their way to make it into the playoffs and get a playoff win, they lacked the talent up and down the entire roster to make it any further past the New Orleans Saints.
2) Super Bowl Hangover
Photo: USAToday
As we all know, the Eagles earned their first Super Bowl win in franchise history during the 2017-18 season. Days after the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII, a parade went down Broad Street in Philadelphia where thousands of fans gathered to celebrate and see the players who brought home the Lombardi Trophy.
After the celebrations were over, the Eagles still remained Super Bowl Champions. All over Philadelphia, banners and memorabilia with ‘Super Bowl Champions’ on it surrounded town. In the locker room, photos and signs from the Super Bowl hung proud. Each game, the Eagles were announced as ‘Reigning Super Bowl Champs’ and each team was out to take down the reigning champs. Everywhere they went, the Eagles players were reminded of their recent achievements.
Although the Eagles players who remained from the championship roster should feel nothing short of proud, the constant reminders may have gotten to their heads and hurt the team in 2018. Throughout the season when the Eagles would struggle, many players explained their frustration and some, including Malcolm Jenkins, called for the removal of all Super Bowl memorabilia in the facilities. While the Eagles failed to win close games and find themselves at the top of the NFC like last year, players thought that the reminiscence of last season was a distraction and held them back from focusing on this season and this season only.
Historically, teams who win the Super Bowl tend to take a dip in the standings the following year, but this should be no excuse for the Eagles. At the Super Bowl parade, Doug Pederson explained how this is Philadelphia’s “new norm”. If this is how things will be, then the Eagles should have not fallen into this trend and barely sneak into the playoffs. The team had their fair share of celebrating, and rightfully so. This championship was the first for many key veterans including Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Zach Ertz and Nick Foles. The Eagles also had many young players who were excited to get a ring so early in their careers including Corey Clement, Derek Barnett, and Nelson Agholor. However, the Eagles organization should have done a better job at returning to business and starting the 2018 season like they were winless the season prior. I still believe playing in the playoffs for the next several years will be the new norm for Philadelphia, and I hope that Doug Pederson and the leaders of this team have the fuel to keep the team motivated season after season, and not just settle for one ring.
1) Injuries
Photo: NBCSports
The biggest reason why the Eagles struggled this season were to injuries. A Super Bowl run is hard enough in the NFL but having to place nineteen players on the Injured Reserve throughout the season is unheard of. Here is a full list of each player who missed time in the 2018 season:
That is 24 total players off of the 53 man roster who missed anywhere from one game to the entire season due to injury. Injuries are never an excuse for a team to play poorly, but when almost half of the entire roster missed time, it is amazing how the Eagles managed to be one of the last eight remaining teams in the NFL. Up and down that list, the Eagles lost many key players and starters both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. It was hard for the Eagles to find their rhythm across the field as they constantly had to rotate new players in and out throughout the season and look to the free agent market to find players to fill in, some who have not played all season.
Throughout the season, there were reports that the Eagles medical staff could have been at blame for all of these injuries. After the 2017 season, a good amount of the medical staff left, forcing the Eagles to find new people to fill the positions. However, Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman have expressed that they are both fully confident in their medical staff, taking the blame off of those trainers and hinting that the injuries were just a part of the game and the Eagles had an unfortunate year with the amount of injuries.
Hopefully next season the Eagles will be able to incorporate better training and warm-up methods for their players to ensure that their bodies are at optimal condition to avoid injuries during the games. It is important that the Eagles main focus this offseason is to get every player healthy that missed time in the season as well as treat Brandon Brooks who tore his Achilles tendon against the Saints, as well as Alshon Jeffery who played the last playoff game with broken ribs.
Although the outcome of the 2018 season was not what we all expected, the Eagles had their fair share of mishaps and troubles throughout the season that caused the decline. I am fully confident that the coaching staff and front office will analyze these issues carefully and be ready to return to championship form next season. Don’t worry, the Birds will be back.
Featured Photo: NBCsports
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