Nick Sirianni – Posidelphia

Eagles Season in Review

It was a great season. The Eagles were predicted to win 6.5 games this year. Many expected even fewer wins. The team was coming off a 4 win season. They had a new coach and new Quarterback who had a lot of questions surrounding his ability. In the end, the Birds won 9 games, made the playoffs, and did this will starting a youth movement that has a ton of great players under 25 years old. Some of my favorite moments or accomplishments from the season are below.

Game 1: A blowout
The expectations were low until the Eagles came out and beat the Falcons 32-6. Jalen Hurts threw for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns. Miles Sanders ran for 74 yards, and Devonta Smith had 6 catches for 71 yards. The defense was dominant and the offense was both creative and fast. It was a near perfect start to the season. Fans went from expecting 6 wins to 10 or 11. All was good. Unfortunately, it was one of the only positive games during the start of the season. Teams did not know what to expect from Sirianni and Gannon and they used that to their advantage. Once teams were able to watch film the season got much tougher.

Youth Movement
The Birds won the Super Bowl just a few years ago, but they had gotten old. They had no starts 25 or younger and the team was not winning. It was time for a big draft and a need to develop a new foundation that can carry the team into the next big run. They were able to accomplish that this season in a big way.

Jalen Hurts is a 23 year old quarterback with special legs that is improving almost every game. He is a natural leader who helped carry this team into the playoffs this season. There is no game too big for him and he has shown that he can be a very solid starting quarterback. Now the question becomes can he become an elite quarterback that allows the Birds to be in the playoffs every year.

Devonta Smith set the the Eagles rookie receiving yards record this season. He showed the route running and hands that make it appear that he can be an elite receiver for the foreseeable future. The Eagles got it right with this first round pick.

Jordan Mailata is a special player who should be a perennial pro bowler and maybe much more. He is still learning the game and is already playing at a Pro Bowl level. He is big, fast, and has incredibly light feet. There is no limit to how good he can be. On one play this year, Jordan pushed a D-linement down with one hand an another one down with his other had. That just doesn’t happen. Mailata reminds me of the movie “The Blind Side”.

The Blind Side

Miles Sanders is another player who is often forgotten as a potential elite player. When healthy, he averages over 5 yards per carry which is amazing. With this line and a healthy season, it would not be a surprise to see him run for over 1500 yards. Reuben Frank talks about this is in season wrap-up (see number 4).

We also had a great draft bringing in a number of players that have already shown they can start and potentially do even more. Landon Dickerson is already an above average guard in the NFL. He could easily become a regular pro bowler. Milton Williams has incredible athleticism and has already shown that he can play both tackle and end. He gets better every game. Kenny Gainwell has shown very impressive flashes and should be the #2 running back on this team next year.

Overcoming Adversity
The Eagles were in a big hole, sitting at 2-6 and it looked like all was done. They held together through a combination of positive coaching, great veterans, and confident younger players. The team got on a run and won seven of the last 9 to finish the season at 9-8 and make the playoffs. This showed a lot about Sirianni’s ability to keep the team together and to change the way he ran the offense. A season like this says a lot more about this coach and this team than a season with less adversity.

Exciting Future
You cannot help but be excited for the future of this team. They have a creative young coach who knows how to connect with players. They have a nucleus of young and up and coming players who are good enough (with a little more help in this years draft) to compete for championships. Best of all, you look around the division and things look very promising. The Giants are a reminder as to how hard it can be to rebuild a team. It has been years and there is no end to the losing insight. The Redskins are only marginally better and have an owner that cannot do anything right. The Cowboys are the class of the division, but they continue to show that they cannot win the big ones and their Dak Prescott’s big salary is about to kick in. Things are about to get a lot harder for them.

This is likely my last Eagles article until the draft. Let’s hope they can have a second successful draft and build out the rest of this team. Fly Eagles Fly!!

Eagles Positives – Week ending 1/15/2022

It’s a playoff week. There are plenty of fun articles talking about the Eagles and all that they have accomplished. Some of my favorites are below.

Eagles will continue to rely on impressive rookie class in playoffs – Just one more reminder of how good of a class this has been.
10 reasons to believe Eagles can beat Buccaneers – The Eagles are both healthier and a different team since the last time these two teams played. The Bucs should be favored, but this could be a lot closer game than last time.
From butt of jokes to playoffs, no one is laughing at Sirianni anymore – Sirianni has the best record of any first year coach. He is the only one that made the playoffs.
Eagles rookie seems to be peaking for playoff run – Milton Williams was the Eagles third selection in this past draft. He is an amazing athlete and can play both tackle and edge rusher. Williams is just another example of what a great draft the Eagles had this year.
In Roob’s Observations, a lot to like about the Eagles’ mentality – Nick Sirianni is confident and has instilled that same confidence in the team. He is not just happy to be in the playoffs. He and the rest of the team expect much more. Win or lose, this is what you want out of your team.
Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson receive All-Pro recognition – We knew Kelce was going to get this. It is nice to see Lane getting his recognition as well. Lane has been incredible and was overlooked for the Pro Bowl. He deserves this.

Eagles Positives – Week ending 1/8/2022

The Eagles are in the playoffs and rising a three game win streak. It was pretty easy to find positive articles this week. My favorites for the week are below.

Roob’s Observations: How a clever compromise helped Nick Sirianni win over his players – The best leaders are great listeners. Great coaches connect with their players to get the best out of them. Sirianni has shown both traits this year. It is a good sign for the future.
‘Get freaky’ — Mariucci thinks Hurts is no doubt Eagles’ franchise QB – Hurts has played well. I am not as confident he is the long term answer as Mariucci is, but he is much more knowledgeable than I am, so I like what I see.
Eagles fans should be thankful to have Jeffrey Lurie as an owner – This is my favorite article of the week. It is easy to poke at owners and complain about what they do. Lurie’s success is easily quantifiable. Roob’s best quote is “Only the Patriots, Packers, Steelers and Colts have had more winning seasons than the Eagles since 1995, and all were led by at least one Hall of Fame quarterback.”
Greg Ward epitomizes the Eagles’ team-first mentality – Greg Ward is a team first player. Players like Ward fill in the gaps, do what the team needs, and keep things positive. He is one of many unsung heroes on this years squad.

Over 500!

The Eagles are now over .500 for the first time since the start of the season when we were 1-0. They already have 8 wins with two games remaining in the season. We all thought this was going to be a rebuilding year and the Birds are now on pace, not only to exceed expectations from before the season, but also to make the playoffs. All of this from a team with a new head coach, defensive coordinator, and what is really a first-year quarterback. It is time to give some credit to a number of people that deserve it.

Nick Sirianni is a first-time head coach who many of us had never heard of. He was the offensive coordinator under Frank Reich and a surprising pick from Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman. Sirianni started slow with a horrible press conference to begin the season along with being way to pass happy at the beginning of the year. He has turned it around in a way that is very encouraging. Sirianni did some self evaluation and realized that the team would be better off running the ball. Now the Eagles have the #1 running team in the NFL and a 6-2 record in their most recent games. The Eagles are likely not a Superbowl team at this point, but they have a young coach who connects well with his players (they never gave up on him) and has shown that he can adjust to the talents of his team. This is a rare trait and one that should have Eagles fans excited for the coming years.

Howie Roseman has had an up and down tenure as a GM. He made a number of great moves to help the Birds win their first Superbowl back in 2017. He then had a series of horrible free agency and draft choices that were responsible for a 4 win season in 2020. While I am still not sold on his draft selections, he has been much better recently. Sometimes it takes a 4 win season to re-evaluate what you are doing. This year’s draft is looking excellent so far.

DeVonta Smith – The best wide-receiver on the roster since DeSean Jackson. Has the potential to be a regular probowl receiver.
Landon Dickerson – One of the best second round picks in the entire draft. He has the potential to be an all-pro guard for many years.
Milton Williams – A defensive tackle with a crazy draft measurables that were comparable to Aaron Donald. He is not likely to be Aaron Donald, but he sure seems like a solid starter and great d-linemen for a number of years to come.
Kenneth Gainwell – A very solid running back with great hands. He has not been getting a lot of time lately, but that is likely more because of the new offensive approach then limitations.
Tarron Jackson – A sixth round defensive end from Coastal Carolina. Tarron is outplaying his 6th round draft position. He is a rotational player who is getting better each game and has a sack and 14 tackles to his name. Check out Bleeding Green Nations write-up on him in the Washington Game (bleedinggreennation.com/2021/12/22/22849652/eagles-rookie-report-card-win-washington-devonta-smith-kenneth-gainwell-tarron-jackson-football-team).

Howie still has a way to go, but this year has to be viewed as a positive change from some of the more recent draft classes. Also, he has set us up with three first round picks for next year.

Lastly, Jalen Hurts has shown both promise and progress as a quarterback prospect. He is a second-year player who is really in his first year given the mess that was 2020. As a runner, Hurts is elite. He already has 10 rushing touchdowns with two games remaining. The all-time record is held by Cam Newton at 14 touchdowns. While unlikely, that number is within reach. He remains up and down as a passer, but he has been good enough to lead the team to 7 of their 8 wins. Hurts does not have an elite arm, but he has made all of the throws you need from a quarterback. His biggest limitation is the way he sees the field. This is concerning, but it also is something that is pretty common among young quarterbacks who are still getting used to the NFL. We do not yet know if Hurts can carry the team in the playoffs, but he has shown that he can be a very solid starter and maybe much more.

The most important areas for success in the NFL are coaching, QB play, and the front office. I would say that all three are trending positive at the moment.