No More Excuses, Jalen Carter Needs To Dominate
Jalen Carter is the most talented player on the Eagles defense. He has the potential to be among the most talented players in the NFL. We have seen him at his best. He was a force in the first 11 or so games last year. But in the 7 games that followed, he was a no-show. So far in two games this year, he has failed to rack up any production. It begs the question, is he as good as we think he is?
Jalen Carter Facing Crazy Amount Of Double-Teams
Let’s be fair to him. Right now teams are focusing all of their energy on stopping him. Right now he is being double-teamed on a staggering 68% of his snaps. Only a very small handful of guys see more double teams than he does.
His teammates are doing him no favors. Jordan Davis is facing single teams on most snaps and is losing his matchup nearly every time. Teams are putting TEs on Bryce Huff and RBs on Nolan Smith, and those guys are losing, even being blocked backward by them.
But all of that said, Carter still needs to show more. When you get billed by people as the next Aaron Donald, you need to win despite double teams. Donald did that. Every high-end DT does that. If people are going to call him a future Defensive Player Of The Year, that comes with the expectation you will win despite those double teams.
Right now he is okay rushing the passer. He has 6 pressures. Not the elite production you expect from him, but a whole lot better than you are getting from anyone else. But he has given you nothing vs the run. Like his teammates, he is getting mauled on run plays. Carter has just 2 tackles so far this season. 2 more than Bryce Huff, 1 more than Jordan Davis, and 1 more than Britian Covey.
No More Excuses
Is he the biggest problem? No. At least he is drawing those double teams, that should make things easier for his teammates. But with how talented he is, he shouldn’t get that excuse. And when Tim McManus joined The Best Show Ever, he agreed.
“I don’t really want to build any excuses for him… Jalen Carter has to match the potential that he shows. We’ve seen it in bursts like the way that he started out the season last year… Even in the preseason where he’s just like pancaking All-Pro guards…
We haven’t seen it for two games now. Small sample size, but lack of consistency has kind of been part of his history. Back in college, he ran sort of hot and cold… We see it in little bursts, but it’s got to be there more consistently for this defense to match its potential… Like, yeah, there’s going to be more focus on Carter, but screw that. He’s got to do his job.”
It is hard to argue with that. Carter needs to do more. That is the burden of being a toip 10 pick. people discussed him being the 1st overall pick at one point. If he is not impacting the game the way he has the potential to do, this defense will never be good enough to win.
Is it fair? Maybe not. Guys like Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat, and Jordan Davis deserve more heat. But that does not mean let Carter off the hook. He also needs to be better. He is too talented to just give him that excuse that he is being double teamed. Figure out a way to win anyway.
Javon Hargrave did when he was here. Fletcher Cox did that his whole career. Carter is going to be double teamed like this his entire career. If he can’t win vs double teams, then he is not as good as he was made out to be.
I for one think he is that good, but he needs to start proving it.
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6 Struggling Eagles Players They Need More From In Week 3
Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis is supposed to be the run stuffer. Last year for the first 9 games, he was one. The Eagles were among the best-run defenses in the league. But now for 11 straight games, they have allowed at least 100 yards on the ground. And they have been the worst run defense in the league through 2 games, giving up 6.4 yards per carry.
It begs the question, where is Davis? It is not only on him. The rest of The D-Line is letting the team down as well. But he is supposed to be great at it. He is getting single-teamed, and still having no impact on the game. Bryce Huff is rightfully getting a lot of heat, but Davis can’t be let off the hook either. With Jalen Carter drawing double, and triple teams, Davis needs to step up. Especially this week with another tough matchup with the Saints and Alvin Kamara coming up.
Jahan Dotson
The news broke during Monday Night’s game that AJ Brown will miss multiple weeks. We know DeVonta Smith will step up in his place, he did so on Monday night and will continue stepping up for however long Brown is out. The question is everyone else.
Jahan Dotson was brought in to be that 3rd guy and to give them depth in case they lose Brown or Smith. Where was he Monday Night? 1 catch for 6 yards. That 1 catch was for a 1st down, but it was the only time we saw him all night. With no Brown, how does that happen? 5 players had more catches than him. They simply need more. They gave up a 3rd to get him. He has now had more than enough time to adjust, and even as a guy new to the system, his talent should at some point take over leading to more than 1 catch in 2 games.
Dallas Goedert
Dotson is not alone in disappointing on Monday Night. Where was Goedert? If they have Smith and Brown out there, and he only gets 3 catches for 38 yards it is fine. You want more, but there is only 1 ball to go around to a talented group of players. But there was no Brown. Dotson was a nonfactor. So how did Goedert not get more involved? You can’t blame the scheme anymore, we talked all offseason about how good Kellen Moore is for Tight Ends, but 2 games in, it is more of the same for Goedert. He is fine, but not special.
They need more from people not named Brown, Smith, or Barkley. From Goedert in particular. It is about time he turns his potential into production. If he doesn’t, then maybe it is time they look for another Tight End.
Jalen Carter
Carter has not been as bad as the other guys on this list. In week 1 he was disruptive, he just didn’t get much in terms of stats. In week 2 he was a bit more quiet. Part of that is offenses are focusing on him, double, and sometimes triple-teaming him. But he is also not the first star player to face that type of scrutiny. If he is as good as we keep hearing he is, and we have seen him be at times, he needs to dominate despite all of that.
It is asking him a lot to win when all of his linemates are losing. Maybe that is unfair. But someone on this line needs to step up. He is the best guy on the line. They need production out of him.
CJ Gardner Johnson
CJGJ was supposed to bring much-needed stability to the Eagles Safety room. But honestly, he might be their worst Safety through 2 weeks. He had the big stop on 4th down, so give him credit for that. He should have been penalized for removing his helmet, but he got away with it so lucky him. But outside of that 1 play, he has left a ton to be desired.
In week 1 we saw him miss multiple open-field tackles. Let’s give him a pass for the awful field. What is the excuse in week 2 where it happened again? He hasn’t been much better in pass coverage either. CJ was great for the Eagles in 2022. 2 weeks in, it seems they did not get the same guy back. I love his energy, I love the trash talk, but none of that means anything if you don’t perform. Mr. Mamba Mentaltiy needs to take a page out of the Kobe playbook and actually play well. If you play poorly and act like that, you aren’t the Black Mamba, you are Nick “Swaggy P” Young.
