By Peter Gleason
The Eagles got to 6-9 — about where most rational people thought they would be — though they took a very circuitous route to get here.
No one thought the running game would implode.
Or that the wide receivers would be so bad.
Or that the cornerbacks would be woeful.
At least I didn’t think so.
All those issues are fixable through the draft and free agency.
But one thing is not:
Is Doug Pederson smart enough to take the Eagles into playoff contention in 2017?
He’s reckless and unpredictable, not something that is comfortable when also dealing with a rookie quarterback. No game thus far has been coached flawlessly and games, like against the Ravens, were poor performances.
Bad execution isn’t on Pederson but bad play-calling is 100 percent. Thursday night against the Giants, Pederson had quarterback Carson Wentz block for receiver Nelson Agholor. This is after Wentz was treated with concussion protocol earlier in the game. That type of play endangers your quarterback, especially one that Pederson went through hell and back to get.
But Pederson’s trust in Wentz and his players borderlines on too much. Yes, your players will like you because you give them 100% faith in their abilities. That will not make them better. All of his play-making decisions make him look like the Eagles will have some buyer’s remorse. What will keep him is the rapport with players. Yet he’ll need to acknowledge that Philly is in the middle of a rebuild.
Chip Kelly made some bad decisions in Philly. As a result, things with Pederson had to change. No one likes to hear the word “rebuild”.
Yet this time, the Pederson-led team might just be bad. However, the Eagles playoff hopes are dashed. The best they can hope for is to end the season with a win against a red hot Dallas Cowboys squad. 2016 will be remembered as a rebuilding year under a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback.
