Billy Trice
Sports Editor
“My man was throwing babies out the window, and we was catching them, unlike (Eagles wide receiver Nelson) Agholor.”
This polarizing quote that a Philadelphia native uttered went viral hours after the game when he described his story of saving children from a burning building.
The comment couldn’t have explained the cause of the Eagles past two losses any better than an analyst paid millions of dollars to do so.
Many fans are in a state of duress with the 1-2 start, but I’m with the minority.
Yes, this team has struggled to start off on the right foot offensively but it’s still a long season ahead.
Carson Wentz, starting quarterback for the Eagles, has played very erratically through the first two games.
This past Sunday he played at an elite level for most of the game.
Even though he was missing his star-studded wide receivers, Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson, he was still able to find open receivers. The problem was that the wide receiving core this past Sunday had seven drops.
Many of them were at crucial points of the game.
Young guys and rookies like JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Dallas Goedert, and Mack Hollins are more deserving of a pass due to their inexperience and limited reps. Four-year player Agholor has no excuse, hence the viral video.
The good thing is the Birds have an early opportunity to get that bitter taste of defeat out of their beaks with their upcoming matchup against Aaron Rogers and the Packers on Thursday Night Football.
It’s also a coming back party for a few key players like Jeffery and for the first time this year, starting linebacker Kamu Gruguer-Hill.
Gruguer-Hill has been missing at his position since the beginning of training camp because of a knee injury.
The implementation of Gruguer-Hill into the line up will do wonders for this defense because guys like Nigel Bradham and Zack Brown have struggling to cover the underneath and intermediate routes.
That’s no knock on those guys because they are primarily run stoppers rather than coverage linebackers.
That is the best part about getting Gruguer-Hill back is that he can do both at a high level.
With the introduction of Jeffery back in the lineup; it will help Wentz of course, but it will also help the run and passing game as a collective.
In the passing game, he will draw a lot of attention and will be on the defense’s radar, subsequently freeing up other players to succeed in the scheme.
As it pertains to the run game, his presence will open more lanes for the bevy of running backs the Eagles use throughout the game.
All in all, this Thursday night matchup will be a chance for the Eagles to get their season back on track and elevate their play to the caliber that fans and pundits alike all expected at the beginning of the season.
Email Billy at:
btrice@live.esu.edu
