Taking a Closer Look at Doug Pederson
Doug Pederson was once regarded as one of the top five coaches in the league.
Now, people are wondering if he should be the coach next season.
Everyone wants to point their finger at Wentz for the struggles of this season, and rightfully so, but Doug has played a huge role in the failure of this team.
As a coach, it is your job to put your quarterback in the best and most successful position to succeed, and Doug has not done that at all. It is obvious that Wentz thrives when outside of the pocket, so why not draw up more plays with Wentz rolling out? Doug’s play-calling has left all of us fans scratching our heads and wondering what he was thinking.
Doug is known for his aggressiveness. If in range, he is almost a lock to go for it on fourth down. I am fine with that, you show faith in your guys and try to keep the momentum going, but some of these play calls are just mind-boggling. The read options or the 15 yard passes downfield on a 4th and 3 just do not make sense. If you are going to show faith in your players, you need to draw up better plays. Doug is also extremely aggressive when going for two. Personally, I will never understand it.
Do you not have confidence in your kicker or are you just using analytics to determine win probability?
Then when they go for two, the play calls are the same thing every time, read options with Wentz or Hurts.
Photo: Derik Hamilton/AP Photo
Doug’s big problem that aggravates me the most is his inability to stick with the run. Your best offensive weapon is your running back, so use him. This past Sunday against the Giants Miles ran the ball 15 times for 85 yards. Miles was averaging over five yards a carry, but yet again he isn’t getting the ball enough. Carson Wentz threw 37 times while Miles ran the ball 15, I truly will never understand and it really makes me angry. What else does Miles have to show to get the ball more? Even Boston Scott came in and ran well, just run the damn ball, Doug.
Wentz has had his fair share of struggles this year, but Doug isn’t helping the case at all. Now I will ask this, does Jared Goff have more talent than Carson Wentz?
Absolutely not, but his coach is putting him in extremely better positions to succeed. There was once an argument of who is better McVay or Pederson, well I think that argument is over. McVay puts his QB and team in a great position to succeed every week and that is why the Rams are right in the playoff hunt, while the Eagles are close to falling right on their face.
Now Doug’s best trait is rallying the troops when times get tough. He has shown this the previous two seasons and brought both those teams to the playoffs. Doug has a great grip on the team and the locker room and the players love him. Now, sitting at 3-5-1 with the season virtually on the verge of collapse, can Doug rally the troops again? Unlike last year when the Eagles played the Giants twice, the Redskins and the Cowboys to close the season, this schedule is a completely different beast. With the upcoming games at Cleveland, home against Seattle, at Green Bay, home against the Saints, and at the Cardinals, there is a legitimate chance the Eagles come out of this stretch at 3-10-1. But when their backs are against the wall and everyone is counting them out, that is when the Eagles play best. Break out the dog masks.
Doug sounded pissed with his performance and the team’s performance this past Sunday against the Giants. Maybe pissed off Doug will coach with a new attitude and get this team on the right track.
I am not giving up on Doug yet.
Doug has not coached his best this season, but it is still too early to give up on him. All it will take is a hard-fought win against one or two of these playoff-caliber teams and the fans will be drug right back in again.
The Eagles dug themselves into a gigantic hole, and Doug and company need to find a way to dig themselves out.
No more excuses, it is time to win.
Featured Image: Derik Hamilton/AP Photo
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Eagles