1 day removed thoughts.
I know it may seem premature, but my hopes for this year are dashed already. They really REALLY couldn't afford to drop this one. Even if they came on stronger at the end of the year it probably won't be enough. Right now i think they are 9-8 at best, and that probably isn't a playoff seed. So to me that makes this year in some ways a waste. I don't care about being good. i don't care about making the playoffs or even making the super bowl. I only care about championships. Just the way i am. I can appreciate players, records, and cheer for them to do well, but that is all window dressing. And the odds of this team winning a championship any time soon went down with this single loss. That hurts, but i 100% believe it to be the case. I know that thought may be dismissed, but if you look at the big picture of it all, it really comes down to a basic mathematical formula. Efficient salary cap usage + playoff experience + good qb play tends to do very well in the playoffs.
The Eagles are in the position they are in in part cause they drafted well, have been there before (they went to the playoffs 3 previous years before their win.. including a deep run, giving them lots of experience) and they are getting very good QB play at a discount price. That tends to be why teams wins in the salary cap era. Not always but it is a REALLY good formula. This loss i believe likely puts the Patriots outside the playoff picture for this year. That highly unfortunate.
Okay! That aside!
The DL looks goods. The DB play was not good overall. It had its moments but a lot of bad play by the pass defense. It felt like one step forward, one step back. In the end they surrendered 20 points to an offense which has some very dynamic skill players, mid QB play and a very subpar OL. An offensive i think will finish more or less in the middle. So they did... okay. But a lot of bad play on the back end needs to be cleaned up. It is fixable. Davis in particular had a bad day, and not just that last play. Gonzo needs to come back soon.
On offense... I need to be honest. I am not over the moon on Boutte. He did okay. But did he make any plays? He kind of just took a lot of basic easy catches. It was very lunch pale. And he got fed because no one else was a better option. But nothing after the catch. No spark. He's a good option... but that is all. Douglas is actually worse, cause he is less consistent. He may have more speed, but on the field it doesn't feel as fast and his hands are sometimes questionable. Diggs hopefully improves. We need better from him. Maye zero'd in on Henry too much... but with this crew i only half blame him. Hollins? Not a spark either.
Williams needs to play and needs to play MUCH more. As does Chism. They may make mistakes, but they have some electricity to their games. If this is going to be a miss the playoffs kind of a year lets get them in there and see what they can do. Force Maye to get use to them and look for them. Henderson also needs to play more. I am not saying give him 40 touches... but if you take a guy at pick 38 and he can only give you that many touches... you took the wrong guy. He has to play more. As does Gibson. Stevenson should be the 3rd option.
I am actually okay with Maye dropping back 50 times a game. Give him lots of snaps and lots of experience. Let him pass, run and make choices. Take a good long look this year. Cause come year 3 i want them to know if this is something they want to continue or not.
Also Mike's choice to punt on 4th and 10 down 2 scores with 5 minutes left? Absolutely the wrong choice... and he should get called out for it. That is playing scared and worrying about not losing more than winning.... which cause you to lose. Basically he delayed the hard choice hoping for a miracle to bail him out. And it didn't. The choice was simple. Either go for a 4th and 10... or overwhelming likelihood hope to get an onside kick. The 4th and 10th was clearly the better option. But now we get to lose 13-20 instead of being blown out 10-27. That was the wrong choice, and Mike should be held accountable for it. He failed his first big test as our HC.
