Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Will Doug Pederson make changes? He says the ‘sky is not falling’ | Early Birds

Doug Pederson on potential changes, playing John DeFilippo, and Eagles-Vikings in North Dakota

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson tries stretching during Eagles practice at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, PA on October 3, 2018. DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson tries stretching during Eagles practice at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, PA on October 3, 2018. DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff PhotographerRead moreDAVID MAIALETTI

Good morning. The Eagles practice at 1 p.m. today, their second session leading up to Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. Players will meet with reporters after practice. Pay attention to the status of the five players who missed practice yesterday: Derek Barnett, Corey Clement,  Fletcher Cox, Alshon Jeffery, and Darren Sproles.

This is the Early Birds newsletter, which will arrive in your inbox Monday through Friday for the rest of the season. If your friends haven't subscribed to Early Birds, it's free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @ZBerm. Thank you for reading.

— Zach Berman

Will changes be made? Doug Pederson says the ‘sky is not falling’

On Monday, Doug Pederson did not rule out personnel changes once the coaches evaluated the Titans game. When he was asked about the possibility on Wednesday, Pederson sang a different tune.

"Obviously when you sit back and you look and you get time these last couple days to evaluate kind of where we are, the sky is not falling," Pederson said. "The sun came up today. We're 2-2. We're still in good position, control our own destiny. A lot of football ahead of us and there is no panic. As coaches we prepare our players and we prepare them extremely well. We have confidence in all our guys moving forward, and so with that, we just continue to coach and get our guys ready for Sunday."

That did not necessarily answer the question, but it showed Pederson wants to play down the idea that the Eagles need something to spark them. He agreed with a message that Jim Schwartz told the defense — the Eagles are one play away from being 3-1. Then again, Schwartz also said the Eagles are two plays away from 0-4. That's the NFL, especially when a team is in as many close games as the Eagles played in September.

It is early for overreaction. The Vikings were 2-2 last year and finished 13-3. The Eagles went to the playoffs the last six teams they opened 2-2. Like Pederson said, there's a lot of football left to be played. But there's also a lot of adjustments teams can make, so just because Pederson is downplaying it doesn't mean the coach won't tinker. Of course, there's no clear change to make — especially if the secondary is staying as it is. It could be more subtle with how playing time is distributed.

DeFilippo returns to the Linc

The Vikings hired former Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo during the offseason as their offensive coordinator. In two years with the Eagles, DeFilippo worked closely with Carson Wentz. He was well regarded around the league and found an outstanding opportunity in Minnesota. It's frankly better than what he would have had in Philadelphia with a promotion because he gets to call plays.

"We did a lot of research on a lot of guys," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "I just felt good about the communication I had with John, his ideas. There's things he's done in the past with the quarterbacks that I felt good about. I knew we'd have a new quarterback probably at that point in time."

Pederson said DeFilippo's familiarity with the Eagles offense could present a challenge with "some of the terminology, some of the calls, maybe hand signals, whatever it may be that he knows." Because it's a home game, though, the Eagles won't need hand signals on offense.

Most of the supposed advantages of knowing the Eagles' schemes can be overstated. If you watch film, you'll see what the Eagles do. But similar to Frank Reich with the Colts two weeks ago, the advantage for DeFilippo might be knowing the personnel and where the Eagles are vulnerable.

The North Dakota allegiance 

Carson Wentz is from North Dakota, where the most popular team is the Vikings. Wentz's college town, Fargo, is about two hours from Minneapolis.  In 2016, the allegiance for some started to shift when Wentz came to Philadelphia. I went to North Dakota one week after the Eagles drafted him and there was already Eagles gear on sale at a local sporting good store. So what will this weekend be like back in Wentz's home state?

"I know there's a lot of people who will be split on Sunday with what to do," Wentz said. "It's always exciting, seeing all sorts of texts from people back home that are torn on this weekend. …There's a lot more Eagles jerseys these days."

What you need to know about the Eagles

  1. When the Eagles' schedule was released in April, Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings was circled as a marquee game. Who could have expected that neither team would have a winning record?

  2. Carson Wentz said his injury is behind him. He also talked about the team's slow start. Paul Domowitch has more.

  3. Here's an update on the injured Eagles — including what Doug Pederson had to say about Tim Jernigan.

  4. Should Sidney Jones start on the outside? Jeff McLane broke down the film to find out.

  5. Mike Groh didn't make it sound like the Eagles offense is strugglingMike Sielski writes.

From the mailbag

I'll start with the second part of the question first. Lane Johnson is not lost out there, although he didn't play his best game against the Titans. Johnson was asked Tuesday if he's playing up to his standard. Here's what he said:

"Not really," Johnson said. "I gave up one sack. All the other 40 pass attempts where I locked the guy down is not noted. But that's the life I live in, that's the life I chose. …I need to pick my stuff up. Once I do that, I think we'll be a better team."

I wouldn't worry about Johnson. He's one of the best offensive tackles in the league. And he hasn't been bad out there all season, but he did give up a sack last week.

Overall, I don't think Jason Peters and Jason Kelce are at full health. But that's also part of football. The blitzing has been an issue this year. Teams spent the offseason watching the Eagles, and opponents seem determined to blitz them. The Eagles must make adjustments to counter the blitz. The running back needs to help in that area. That's where they miss Darren Sproles. 

Bottom line, Carson Wentz is getting hit too much. The Eagles know it, and the line must play better. They've proven they're one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. They're playing like it in the running game, but not in the passing game.