The Eagles Stock Report-Week 6 Edition
By Dylan MacKinnon
The Eagles season is unraveling before our eyes. They came into the season with very few expectations. A good week 1 win got some peoples spirits up, but the following 5 games have stamped those good feelings right back down. They sit at 2-4, and really haven’t looked good since their win vs the Falcons to open the season. But while the team as a whole has looked bad, individually some players have stuck out. So through 6 games, whose stock is rising, and whose is falling? Here is your Eagles Stock Report following week 6.
Stock Down- Nick Sirianni
Sirianni did not make a good first impression. Actually he also made a poor second, third, and fourth impression as well. But during camp and preseason, he started to gain some trust from fans. he seemed more confident, and there was good word coming from Eagles camp. In week 1 he seemed to have change the narrative, and had many thinking he may actually be good at this. Now the confidence level in him may be at an all time low. It is not just that they are losing, but how. His offense has looked flat. Even vs one of the worst secondaries in the NFL in Tampa, he still couldn’t make anything work. Then there is the continued issue with penalties. The Eagles come off as a poorly coached team, that never seem quite ready to take the field. Can he flip that narrative? Of course he can. But what we have seen so far does nothing to inspire confidence. He insists on running endless RPO’s which put a struggling young QB in a position where he needs to be heavily involved in almost every play. Sirianni will need more than pandering to the local fans with t shirts to gain back the confidence of this city.
Stock Down- Jalen Hurts
Many in this city will defend the play of Jalen Hurts. They will point out stats such as him having more total yards than almost any other QB through to this point in his career. And to be fair, that is impressive. If you solely looked at the numbers, there would be reason to really like how Hurts has played in his first 10 games. its when you actually watch the game that you see issues. For one. he is far too inaccurate. Many throws, especially deep ones, are either too short or too long. To make it worse, the timing of those throws are also off. He waits a bit too long to make the throw, which often means what would be an open catch, becomes a contested one. And to top it, he ignores an entire portion of the field. According to ESPN Stats and Info, only 3% of his passes travel between the hashes. That is 6 out 208 passes into the middle of the field. Hurts has all the intangibles to be a franchise guy. His mindset and leadership skills are both nan A+. But his arm talent needs to be better if he is going to stick as a starter.
Stock Up- Jordan Mailata
An Ankle injury, and a temporary move to RT caused Mailata to have a down week vs the Panthers. But vs Tampa Bay, he was back to dominating. Despite playing out of position, he was nearly flawless. He allowed 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, and only 1 QB hurry. He graded out highly as a run blocker too, granted he didn’t have to run block very much. There isn’t a ton to be hopeful for so far this season. The emergence of Mailata is a huge bright spot though. Mailata should be holding down one of the two spots on this o line for the foreseeable future. he is top 5 in run block win rate, at 83%, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The big man is well on his way to becoming one of the best OTs in the league.
Stock Up- Jason Kelce
We are sticking to the o line, because there aren’t many other positions to say nice things about. Kelce is quietly having another All pro Caliber season. He contemplates retirement every season, but it is certainly not because his level of play has fallen off. He is the only center who is top 5 in both pass block win rate, and run block win rate, once again per ESPN Stats and Info. Eagles fans are going to miss him whenever he does retire, which could very well be this off season. The Eagles just honored Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan by inducting them into the Eagles Hall of Fame. That is a honor Jason Kelce will undoubtedly share one day. And he may even go a step further and get into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Stock Down- Alex Singleton
Alex Singleton did have a lot of tackles. But those tackles are a empty stat. Most of them were 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. Alex had no tackles for losses, and several times he got finished tackles on his back because the runner knocked him over and gained several more yards. He also struggled in coverage, allowing 56 yards when targeted. Singleton has been a huge disappointment, and does not look the part of a starting linebacker.
Stock Up- Avonte Maddox
He has flown under the radar because he is back at nickel, and the defense hasn’t played well, but Maddox is having a really nice season. Through 6 games, he has allowed only 90 yards. That is 15 yards allowed per game. In fact all the Eagles corners have played well. It is weird that the thing most people would thought would be their greatest weakness on defense, has to this point been their only strength. Maddox’s struggles last year had more to do with being out of position than anything else. he is a solid to very good nickel corner.
Stock Down- Jonathan Gannon
Eagles fans really hoped they were getting a more dynamic defense under Jonathan Gannon. With Jim Schwartz, there were no blitzes, almost ever. That has not changed. In fact, Gannon blitzes even less. He has sent only 31 blitzes in 6 games. A blitz rate 13.9%, the lowest in the league. In comparison, Schwartz sent a blitz on 22.2%% of snaps last year, 28th in the league. Gannon’s defense often feels toothless. He is so petrified of being beat deep, he took any toughness out of the game. Its death by 1000 cuts every game.
Stock Up- Zach Ertz
He may no longer be a Eagle, but no Eagle came out of this week looking better than Ertz. Not only did he score a TD in this weeks game, but he also showed just how much of a class act he is after being traded. He had no obligation to speak to local media on his way out. He chose to. because he wanted to say his goodbyes. And the content of what he said made him look even better. Ertz is a Eagle for life, even if he has swapped green for red. We would have never had a parade if it wasn’t for him. So thank you Zach. Thank you for being the best Eagles TE ever. Thank you for the Super Bowl. Thank you for all the charity work you did and continue to do in Philly. And thank you for always being the epitome of class. We will miss you.
