By Brandon Simmons
Is a QB change too late for the Eagles?
Tuesday, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson announced that rookie QB Jalen Hurts would take over as the starter this week. Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles replaced quarterback Carson Wentz with Hurts in the 2nd half of their loss to the Green Bay Packers, a move a lot of people might not have been surprised by. Wentz has struggled mightily this season and it has brought about a lot of noise for Hurts to take over. It’s something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. The Eagles have used Hurts in different situations – particularly Wildcat formations – throughout the season. Sunday was the first time the 2nd round pick took full control of the offense for an extended period of time. It seems like just a simple change of getting the QB out of a blowout to save him from injury or riling up a team in a near blowout; but perhaps this feeds into the narrative of a QB change needed in Philly.
This would be an interesting time for benching Wentz, but it would be a welcomed move. About a month ago, the Eagles were in first place of the terrible NFC East and now they don’t even look strong enough to get past the Washington Football Team or New York Giants. It’s time to start gauging what you have now Wentz is having the worst season of his career right now and it has become the tipping point for a lot of the fans’ frustration of this season and previous ones. Wentz led Philly to the postseason twice in his career but lost his only playoff game and only has a ring because of former Eagles QB Nick Foles. It’s an indictment, that under Wentz’s watch, the team’s biggest success have come from others being under center. This is what some may envision when Hurts starts taking the snaps. Realistically, Hurts isn’t going to take the Eagles to a title anytime soon but placing him in the starting lineup now may really shape their view of Wentz going into next season. It’s that time of year anyway to start gauging what you have and Hurts is the perfect place to start. He gave the offense a jolt of energy on Sunday, but can he sustain that momentum for the rest of the season, now that he has the opportunity? It’s never too late to find out.
How helpful is the Steelers’ first loss?
The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first loss of the season on their 3rd rescheduled game of the year. The Steelers blew a 14 point lead to the Washington Football Team to earn their defeat but head coach Mike Tomlin appears to have almost approach this loss as it was expected Now could it be that the pressure of remaining undefeated is lifted off if their shoulders?
This seems to be a popular take on teams that start the season with but there could be something to this with Pittsburgh. Last week, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin referred to the team’s performance a junior varsity. He even contributed the overall reason for the loss the team plainly “sucking”. For a team that has been perceived as dominant up until Monday, that description is pretty damning, especially from a coach who tends to keep this team competitive year in and year out. Perhaps he feels this team was getting complacent from being unbeaten. Some critics will say they’ve racked up wins over some easy teams but the Steelers have also beat the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, two teams right in the middle of the playoff race. In addition to that, Pittsburgh has had to deal with the scheduling changes due to COVID which can be taxing, as explained by tight end Eric Ebron. Based off all that, it seems overdue for the Steelers to catch a loss. They lost to the Washington Football Team, who is playing good right now, but not an opponent you would expect to knock off an undefeated team. However, the Steelers have now found a collection of their mistakes and weaknesses they can use to learn from, and push forward into the postseason with.
Don’t waste Eric Bienemy’s Time
As the season approaches for hiring, and firing, coaches, it’s best for teams to think of Eric Bieniemy as more than just a requirement for the Rooney rule. Over the last couple of seasons, Bieniemy has become a popular name among the internet and TV analysts alike as a head coaching candidate for next year. Bieniemy has been around the league for a while including a stop in Minnesota as the Vikings running backs coach from 2006-2011, where he oversaw the early success of running back Adrian Peterson. Fast forward to 2018, where he got hired for his position, offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and involved with the success of current MVP, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Bottom line is that teams do not need to let another year go by without this man running things on the sideline. Teams like the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and possibly the Philadelphia Eagles, should be lined up at Bieniemy’s door this offseason. Not to say he is guaranteed to replicate the success of then Chiefs but he will have these teams in the right direction.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill for throwing his first career touchdown pass. Hill has largely been used a gadget player his entire career, being placed in positions all over the field, including tight end. As of right now, he’s stepped into the starting QB role for an injured Drew Brees and is playing an extended time under center. The window for him to throw his second pass is closing rapidly as Brees is expected to be back from injury pretty soon.
Shut out to the New York Jets for blowing a game in typical Jets fashion. Sunday, against the Oakland Raiders, New York held a 3 point lead with 13 seconds left in the game. That is until the Jets sent a cover 0 blitz on 4th down and allowed Raiders QB to heave a touchdown pass to wide receiver Henry Ruggs, who smoked the cornerback. Believe it or not, the story becomes even more crazy when it was reported that Jets head coach Adam Gase was on the headset talking with another head coach and reacted late to the defensive play being called. Probably what isn’t surprising is that Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was fired the next day.
Week 14 has a lot of teams’ playoff hopes hanging on by a thread and there will be a few opportunities for you to view them. The 2 games to really watch for will be the Kansas City Chiefs against the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins will be hosting the Chiefs and both teams are in an interesting position. Miami is 1 game behind Buffalo in the AFC East while Kansas City is tied with Pittsburgh for the number 1 spot in the AFC. This makes the matchup of the Bills hosting the Steelers much more appealing, because if either of those teams lose, it opens the door for either the Chiefs or Bills to move up in the playoff standings. But until then…I’ll holla.
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