Don’t Let Howie Roseman Off The Hook For This Eagles Collapse
We are currently witnessing one of the worst collapses in the Eagles’ history. They have gone from 10-1, with a 2-game lead in the NFC, to being either an 11-6 or 12-5 win team and the 5 seed. And it is not just that they lost, it is how they lost. The defense didn’t force a single punt against the Cardinals. And there are a lot of people being blamed. Nick Sirianni, Brian Johnson, both defensive coordinators, and Jalen Hurts have all taken major heat. Deservedly so for most of them. But there is one man who at least so far has dodged the public outcry, Howie Roseman. You could argue he is one of the biggest reasons why they are in this mess though.
It is hard to blame Howie for the issues on offense. He gave Sirianni an MVP-caliber QB, two 1000-yard WRs, an elite O-Line, and a 1000-yard RB. The offense has the talent, they just aren’t executing well enough. That is on Nick and the players. But you could make the case Howie is the most to blame for how this defense looks. Because their biggest problem is a lack of talent, especially at LB, Safety, and Corner.
In the offseason, the Eagles let 5 defensive starters walk. That includes both starters at Safety, their best pass rusher at DT, and both Linebackers. How did he replace them? Well at DT he got Jalen Carter, because Howie can always be counted on to bring in young talent at D-Line. But at LB and Safety, he relied on a couple of young players with barely any experience and filled in the gaps with veterans cast off by their former teams.
A lot of us had high hopes for Nakobe Dean. But he had just 34 snaps on defense before this season. Reed Blankenship has some promise, but he was a year removed from being undrafted, and again did not have a ton of experience last year. Relying on them this much was probably a mistake. After that, Howie brought in guys like Nicholas Morrow, Terrell Edmunds, and. Justin Evans. When it became clear those guys weren’t good enough, he brought in Zach Cunninghame as a late camp addition. None of them have played well enough. Cunningham is the best of the bunch but has been injured of late.
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The issue with this defense is not the scheme. That is not to say either Sean Desai or Matt Patricia have done a good job. They haven’t. But it is hard to see any scheme making up for the complete lack of ability at Safety and Linebacker. Howie let TJ Edwards, CJ Gardner Johnson, Marcus Epps, and Kyzir White all work, and then cheaped out on finding their replacements.
You can even throw the corners in that. Because the one spot on defense Howie did retain his players, was corner. And it seems like that was the wrong choice too. You can’t be slow and play corner in the NFL. And while Slay is still holding up, for now, James Bradberry has lost a step. And years of not using any high picks at cornerback has left them with little to no depth at the position. Kelee Ringo has promise. But after him, it is a bunch of undrafted players who predictably have struggled to this point in the season.
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Howie Roseman has done a lot of great things for this team. He put together the only Super Bowl winning roster in franchise history. Then he got them back there a few years later after changing the coach and the QB. He has done enough to still be considered a great GM. But he is undeniably a big reason why this Eagles team has fallen apart. The defense he put together sucks. And it will continue to suck until he finally starts addressing the positions he has ignored for his entire career here.