Non-essential Eagles don’t show up for work in Miami – Delco Times
Let’s be brutally honest about the depth the Eagles have been raving about throughout the offseason.
It’s an illusion.
It took about two minutes for Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill to expose that Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. They weren’t even touched marching the Miami Dolphins 75 yards on four plays for a touchdown to begin the game.
Sure, the damage came at the expense of mostly the second-team Eagles. But most of those Birds already have jobs this season. Playing that soft was an insult to anybody who has ever played defense for this team.
The Eagles stood around and watched Tagovailoa, who went up top on the first play, and Hill, who caught a 51-yard pass and then a 13-yarder, rolling out of bounds on both grabs.
Hill ran through the double coverage of Kvon Wallace and Mac McCain on the first grab. A better throw and he has a score. Hill easily steered clear of the safety help of Jaquiski Tartt before taking a seat on the bench. It was too easy. All night long the Eagles were easy, Jason Huntley finally getting into the end zone on a 67-yard run with 9:25 left in a 48-10 loss to the Dolphins.
Eagles outside linebacker Patrick Johnson salvaged a bit of respect sacking Tagovailoa on the second series of the game.
But that was after first-round pick Jordan Davis and third-rounder Nakobe Dean, the playmaking linebacker, gave up a 26-yard run to Raheem Mostert.
Tagovailoa exited after a series in the second quarter, having completed six of seven attempts for 121 yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 158.3. That’s a perfect passer rating from a quarterback who isn’t exactly the GOAT. That should never happen to an Eagles defense in any game, preseason or not.
The Eagles’ offense played slightly better, quarterback Gardner Minshew refusing to panic and for the most part getting the guys lined up correctly.
Which leads to another item: Nick Sirianni and his staff took forever to figure out that the Dolphins were playing full speed. The bomb to Hill should have been the tipoff. Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon didn’t get the message until the Dolphins were well on their way to taking a 27-0 lead into the intermission.
Before going into the locker room, Sirianni broke away from a softball question asked by a sideline reporter to state how he really felt.
“Obviously,” Sirianni said, “I’m a little disappointed in how we’ve done tonight.”
There was no follow-up question.
Tagovailoa probably wouldn’t have come out for the second series if the Eagles had gotten physical with him on the first series. Sideline shots confirmed the frustration felt by Sirianni. In the middle of the first-half mess, cornerback Avonte Maddox restrained him while he had words with unidentified parties.
Rewind to the preseason opener and Sirianni was spewing invective at New York Jets counterpart Robert Saleh after Quincy Williams’ late hit on Jalen Hurts. Everybody understood it was a cheap shot, and Williams was fined $10,000. But Sirianni found it next to impossible to let that go.
The preseason game with the Dolphins showcased the philosophies of the Eagles and the Dolphins.
The Eagles’ goal is to reach the opener without any serious injuries. Mission accomplished, though with two long weeks until the regular season opener at Detroit, it’s not going to be easy to simulate game action in practice. The Dolphins obviously believe it’s important to give their starters enough time to feel comfortable in a game setting. Several players missed a day of scheduled joint practices due to illnesses earlier in the week.
The Eagles exited the first quarter totally demoralized and in a 17-0 hole before taking on the Dolphins subs. These are the next man up guys when injuries happen this season. Seems Sirianni is feeling the expectations and projections of a double-digit-wins season or bust.
The Eagles added megabucks free agent Haason Reddick and traded for elite receiver A.J. Brown, rewarding him with a huge contract as well. The starters have played one quarter of a football game together.
Keeping the schemes on offense and defense a secret helped the Eagles open Sirianni’s first season with a 32-6 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe that will work again against the Lions, who Sirianni defeated, 44-6, last season.
The last thing Sirianni needs is for this team to get off to a slow start, although the schedule is Charmin soft. The Eagles also have to stay healthy. If the subs have to play, Sirianni is going to be a little disappointed which what he sees.
Contact Bob Grotz at [email protected]; you can follow him on Twitter @BobGrotz
