I wonder how much of the offensive issues/inconsistency is due to scheme versus the offensive line being banged up and not playing up to their standards. Barkley doesn’t seem to have much room to run, at least compared to last season. Still, having a better OC would help to some extent. Whatever the issues are, hopefully they can be addressed soon.

Les,

You summed up in your article what most fans are thinking. A 4-0 start with this schedule should have us fans happy but I think a large majority of us are not and it’s more like whew, dodged another one. I watched Sunday’s game and when the Eagles came out in formation I predicted what they would do. Kevin Patullo coaches in my opinion not to turn the ball over. This constant 1st and 2nd down and running the ball is ridiculous. You can’t try and run time off beginning in the 3rd quarter. The game is still in play. Not a fan of this guy at all.

The only thing I would mention is the absurd number of 15 yard penalties. I understand playing with enthusiasm but you have to be disciplined as well. Taunting penalties are not going away and they need to get that under control. It doesn’t help that your head coach yells at opposing players. The players see this and they think it’s cart blanche.

Siranni needs to rein it in. Show energy and passion. Great but under control. This is where he can take a page out of Sean McVay playbook. Show passion but stop with all the theatrics.

“It is hard to shake the feeling that if Sirianni would bring in an offensive coordinator of Fangio’s stature, and truly give that person the reins, the Eagles would be unstoppable.”

This is so spot-on. It is a testament to the talent Howie has assembled, the defensive coaching, and, to a lesser extent, the culture Sirianni has fostered, that this team has won 20 of 21 games. It just feels like this offense should be the best in the league by a long shot, and it is nowhere close. I watch other, far worse teams and am jealous of their ability to scheme open lesser pass catchers than the ones on the Eagles’ roster. It feels like we have not seen true creativity since Steichen.

I think bringing in a highly-regarded offensive mind could be the difference between being a memorable team like the Kurt Warner Rams or the Legion of Boom Seahawks and being a dynasty like the 2000s Patriots or 2020s Chiefs. The talent on this roster is that good.

Seems at least worth considering the speculation that Hurts got concussed on the scramble where two guys hit him after he went down (no big deal — it’s never a penalty to hit Jalen Hurts). I was surprised nobody pulled him from the game to at least check on it.

As for the OC, I really can’t do this dance again this year. We’re *always* thinking the OC isn’t good enough, *including* Kellen Moore last year, who wasn’t anybody’s idea of a superstar, until we won it all for reasons that probably didn’t have a lot to do with him (“just call it”). Also, the run game has looked pretty blah so far, too, and Stout is still running the show there, right? I find the most plausible theory to be that the O line is too injured to perform to its usual standard. Which is kind of scary this early in the season. It would be better to give Lane and Landon time to get right than to keep grinding them down game after game.

people will do anything but admit that Sirianni is a replacement level coach who got a stacked roster and the GM hand picked both coordinators who were successful. Sirianni picked his unqualified friend who he coached with at Indianapolis after no real interviews. He’s Barry Switzer. Also no it is not that Jalen Hurts was concussed, it is not that the OL isnt playing well enough…its that the playcalling is high school level bad from a person who would not get an interview from ANYWHERE else.

Everyone is remembering 2023. Great start due to a bunch of lucky calls, where the coaching staff admitted things weren’t perfect, but they’d get better over time.

They didn’t.

Other teams figured out the predictable game plan for the Eagles, and the same thing may very well happen this season. Eagles may wind up 8-0 before they play Green Bay in Green Bay, and with the weak offense, that game would be a huge turning point for this team. Ultimately, this is a poorly-designed and managed offensive game plan and it will wind up hurting the Eagles the second half of the season. No need to say “I told you so”–everyone kind of sees it coming.

Great article Les. I was so disappointed in the lack of aggressiveness the offense sowed coming out of halftime–I cannot believe the resilience of our defense to survive all those 2nd half snaps in the heat, blown coverages, and still bail us out in the end. Absolute warrior mentality. I hope Nick’s culture is open enough to hear what is being said–without them saying anything.

It’s crazy how scarred this fan base still is by 2023, even after winning a Super Bowl the very next year. What team would we want to trade places with? We beat the fearsome Rams, Chiefs, and Bucs, the last two on the road. The supposedly mighty Ravens, Packers, and Chargers already have bad losses on their resumes this season. The Lions lost to a team that couldn’t beat the Browns or Cowboys. The Bills are also 4-0, but that includes 3 wins against pathetic teams and a 1-point win over the 1-win Ravens.

Glass half empty, the playcalling and O line have been inconsistent at best. Glass half full, we’re 4-0 vs tough competition and Saquon, AJ, and Devonta haven’t even gotten started yet.

It just seems as if Sirianni and Petullo are playing “Not to Lose” and focusing on winning the Turnover battle.
The positive spin is because September games are the new Preseason? And they’ll adjust now?
The Negative spin is this is Sirianni’s instincts that are only overcome by an Offensive Coordinator with a resume or at least a strong will?
I guess we’ll see if they adjust or not.
May have to take a couple of losses before they decide to take some risk.