Dont Let Howie Roseman Off The Hook For This Defense
Go several years back, and Eagles fans would not have much nice to say about Howie Roseman. Even after the Super Bowl, there was a time when people wanted him fired. Draft picks like Jalen Reagor, JJ Arcega Whiteside, Davion Taylor, etc, had people sick of him.
But at some point, a switch flipped. Maybe it was the 2022 run to the Super Bowl. Maybe it was him changing his draft strategy, something we will talk about maybe not being as good as we thought. But now, it seems he can do no wrong. If you call him out or blame him for anything, you will be rushed by his defenders telling you how crazy you are for criticizing the “Best GM in the NFL.”
In his defense, there is a lot he does well. No one handles the cap better than him. By getting deals done early, and using a loophole that lets keep cap numbers low utilizing bonuses, he is able to cheat the cap system. Some of that is also Jeffrey Lurie being willing to pay out those bonuses to make that system work, but Howie deserves credit too.
He also has built an incredible offense. He drafted guys like DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata, Cam Jurgens, and Jalen Hurts. He acquired AJ Brown via trade. He signed Saquon Barkley. Picked up Mekhi Becton as a reclamation project. And more importantly, signed most of these guys to deals that look better and better with each passing signing around the league.
Still, here we are in 2024, and the defense he built looks like a mess for the 2nd straight season. He picked these Edge Rushers. He didn’t want to pay the sure thing in Haason Reddick and decided to rely on his guys. Nolan Smith who he spent a 1st round pick on, Bryce Huff who he just signed, and Josh Sweat who he drafted back in 2018.
Howie Roseman Can’t Build a Defense?
It is a small sample size over 2 games, but so far it is a disaster. Sweat is doing a bit more, but not enough to be a starting Edge Rusher. The other two, Smith and Huff, are getting handled every single play. The Falcons put a TE on Huff, and Huff was getting pushed backward.
Then there are the guys inside. Jordan Davis, another 1st round pick, has been a no-show over 2 games. The Eagles have the worst run defense in the league, and a lot of that is on Davis and Carter getting no push on run downs.
This is the group Howie put together. He went cheap so he could build a high-powered offense. That can work, but to do so you need to nail your draft picks. It looks like he nailed it with Quinyon Mitchell. Despite a slow start, the Jalen Carter pick should still end up a great one. But Smith and Davis so far look like busts. Two 1st round picks, that have so far given you nothing.
His big free-agent moves on the defense this year have all floundered so far. CJ Gardner Johnson has that 1 big tackle on 4th down. But he has also been beaten deep multiple times and has missed multiple open-field tackles. Devin White can’t get on the field. Britian Covery has more tackles than Bryce Huff.
He traded away a guy with 4 straight seasons of double-digit sacks. Reddick wanted to be paid like an elite edge Rusher. The numbers suggest he deserves it. Howie didn’t want to pay him, and neither do the Jets. Fine. But you can’t trade away a sure thing like that and not replace him. So far, despite not playing in any of the Jets ‘ games, Reddick has as many sacks as all of the Eagles’ Edge Rushers combined and only 4 fewer tackles.
Is It The Coaches Fault?
They have had 4 different play callers on defense in that time. You could blame them. But if you do, you have to also remember who hired them. He also hired the head coach that many people in the city want fired. No matter who you blame for the defense being bad last year, and being bad again so far this year, it falls on Howie Roseman.
Were Sean Desai and Matt Patricia a disaster last year? Sure. Howie hired them. You could argue Vic Fangio could do more to get something out of the guys he has. Well, Howie hired him too. Howie and the Eagles are sticking by this defensive system. They hired Gannon who runs it, hired DeSai who runs it, and this year they got the creator of it in Fangio. If you hate it and want a more aggressive style of defense, you can blame Howie for that too.
He built an incredibly talented offense. Despite being a bit slow out of the gate, I trust them to turn it around. But right now it looks like he dropped the ball 2 years in a row on defense, and it is mostly because his talent evaluation on defense has been poor.
Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis. Howie put a ton of faith in these guys. Those 3 need to be good for this team to be good. So far it looks like trusting them was a mistake. would this team be better if they had Kyle Hamilton instead of Jordan Davis? Maybe Danielle Hunter instead of Bryce Huff? Joey Porter Jr or Brian Branch instead of Nolan Smith. Could be.
Is it too soon to give up on those guys? Sure. But have they given you any reason to hope they turn it around? No. Nolan Smith was never productive in College. He came into the league as a project. Bryce Huff is a former UDFA with 1 good season as a part-time player. Jordan Davis looked like this during his rookie season and the 2nd half of last year.
None of this is new. These are not pedigreed players suddenly struggling when they get to Philly. All of them had these knocks before Howie drafted or signed them. Howie took the risks anyway, and so far they have not paid off. If they don’t eventually pay off, it is not on Nick Sirianni, it is not on Vic Fangio, it is on Howie.
Howie Roseman might be Phialdelphia’s Golden Boy suddenly. But there is now a pattern of him failing to put together a good defense. He can’t keep leaking things to the media to put the blame on the head coaches he hires or the QBs he drafts and signs. Eventually, the blame has to fall on him.
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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.
