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Eagles Player Reportedly Told Jeremy Fowler that it’s Starting to Feel Like 2023 All Over Again
By Kyle Pagan
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Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano had some Eagles nuggets in their latest NFL Buzz article at ESPN.com. The one that stuck out the most was an anonymous Eagles player, after Thursday night’s loss to the Giants, who spoke the unspeakable words, that this was starting to feel like 2023 all over again:
Should we be worried about the Eagles’ offense? Are they worried about it?
Graziano: I lean yes on both questions, with the caveat that they’re 4-2 and in a position to be able to fix their problems in time. But there are problems, and they do need to be fixed. It’s easy to default to “Oh, there’s locker room tension,” but I really have never had the sense that Eagles players have any personal issues with one another. They all want to be better, and if there’s tension, it’s because of the two straight losses and the urgency they all feel to get it turned around.
Fowler: I was at the game against the Giants on Thursday night and definitely sensed concern. One player told me that this is starting to feel like the 2023 meltdown all over again (when Philadelphia lost five of its last six games), and the team needs to use this week to figure things out and avoid a full-blown repeat. Right tackle Lane Johnson, whose words carry weight, told reporters that the offense felt predictable. The issue is pretty clear: The Eagles aren’t dominating in the running game the way they did a year ago.
Six games in and we’re already bringing up the ghosts of 2023. Lovely. You never mention 2023. It’s like Voldemort. The year which must not be named. I’ve personally been right there with everyone the last two weeks. I’m Chicken Little. Sky is falling and it’s falling fast. But even I’m starting to feel like we’re all getting a bit ridiculous. So much that I think I’ve officially done a complete 180. They’re still first in the NFC East. Sure, the offensive line is beat up, the defense is beat up, we can’t run the ball, guys are retiring on their days off, and they’re asking for Jalen Hurts to do a lot. Not exactly a recipe for success! That’s a lot of different elements you’re going to need to fix, but I wouldn’t necessarily attribute 2023 to describe it. In 2023 that defense sucked and that team wasn’t as talented offensively as this one is. They also had two coordinators that were way above their sails. Last time I checked, two is more than one. I don’t think it’s exactly an easy fix, but I feel like I can spot what holes need to be plugged more than I could in 2023.
Jordan Mailata mentioned it during his weekly show:
Sure, that could be lip service, but it sounds like there is at least some belief in Kevin Patullo and the offense. It all starts with the Big Uglies up front getting healthy. What happened last year when they started 2-2? They went into the bye and completely overhauled the offense. They went with more of a running style and only made Hurts throw the ball 24 times a game. The reason why they can’t do the same thing this year is because the starting offensive line hasn’t played a complete game yet. Now that I’m fully into being optimistic Kyle I’ll hang my hat on what Graziano said, that there is less locker room tension and more guys just frustrated with how the offense is looking. That is fixable. They beat teams like the Bucs and Chiefs so far this year and it feels like they had no idea what they were doing. You’d hope a CEO Coach like Nick Sirianni would draw from going through that 2023 season and steer the team away from that. Just gotta get right and gotta figure out whatever this shit is on offense and stop it immediately:
If I see one more coward’s draw or coward’s comeback route on 3rd down I’m throwing the remote through my TV. Optimistic Kyle might not be long for this world. Who cares. Just fix it.
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com