November 17, 2020
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.
Here's where people around the country have the Eagles ranked after Week 10 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
What would they take back: Not trading for DeAndre Hopkins
The Eagles and Texans discussed a Hopkins trade before he was dealt to the Cardinals. Given the compensation Houston was requesting (apparently greater than the package it accepted from Arizona) and the amount of money the cap-strapped Eagles would have to commit to the wide receiver, they decided to replenish in the draft instead. While that approach might work out long term, it's hard not to watch that ridiculous Hail Mary grab between three defenders on Sunday and think of what might have been.
#JimmySays: They also could have:
They've been brutally bad at evaluating wide receiver forever.
On a side note, 21st?!? Lol, there are not 10 teams worse than the Eagles.
Doug Pederson can't run from it now. The Eagles are broken on offense, and time's running out to get it fixed. Philly's attack hit another low point on Sunday in a 27-17 loss to the Giants, going the entire game without converting a single third down (0-for-9). The Eagles hadn't "achieved" that feat in 16 years -- they're the first team to end a game without a single third-down conversion this season. This latest ignominy came despite the return of Miles Sanders, who shared the field with first-round pick Jalen Reagor, breakout wide receiver Travis Fulgham and tight end Dallas Goedert. Carson Wentz had most of his weapons, and the Giants weren't exactly sending Lawrence Taylor his way. The problem, it turns out, is that the Eagles can't get out of their own way.
#JimmySays: I had to google "ignominy." Won't be adding that one to the repertoire.
This feels like it could be a whole lot worse than it is. So credit to the staff here for not letting it get out of hand, I guess.
#JimmySays: The head coach, defensive coordinator, and quarterback all entered their fifth year with the team this season, and in theory should have had an advantage over teams with far less continuity in a COVID-shortened offseason. And yet, they've routinely been outcoached and out-schemed. I give "credit to the staff" for nothing.
Mathematically, they remain in the NFC East driver's seat. They're also about to face five consecutive teams each sporting at least six wins. Little wonder coach Doug Pederson is "pissed off" following another missed opportunity.
#JimmySays: Mathematically? Did you really need math to figure out that 3-5-1 is a better record than 3-7?
Week 10 was supposed to be when the Philadelphia Eagles got things going. They were finally starting to get healthy, and all it would take is a victory over the lowly Giants to get back to .500 and establish a firm grip on first place in the NFC East.
There was only one problem with that plan: The Eagles aren't good.
If there was any doubt about that, it was settled in Philly's 10-point loss to the Giants on Sunday. Carson Wentz managed to avoid throwing an interception, but he barely cracked 200 passing yards and was outplayed by Daniel Jones. The Philly defense allowed 382 total yards and 151 rushing yards to a Giants offense that entered Week 10 dead last in the NFC in total offense.
As horrid as the Eagles looked Sunday, they remain in first place in a division that is redefining awful on a weekly basis. But at this point, it appears that all winning the NFC East will get you in 2020 is the honor of getting smacked at home by a better team in the Wild Card Round.
#JimmySays: Can't argue with anything there!
The Eagles confused everyone by going for 2 when they cut the Giants’ lead to 21-17. It looked bad when the Eagles didn’t get it, though the numbers said it was (barely) the right call.
Strong lean (as far as 2-pt attempts go) in favor of going for it there, like the Eagles did pic.twitter.com/fFIUVkcM2p
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 15, 2020I think analytics need to be a big part of any team’s decision making, but there are some times it seems like common sense would be better. Kick the extra point there.
#JimmySays: It's great that the Eagles try to be a forward-thinking team on these types of decisions, but I think that what the analytics here don't factor in is that the Eagles' offense was playing like crap, and has been all season, so the odds of actually converting the two-point conversion weren't particularly high.
That aside, the missed two-point conversion was a mere footnote in this game. There are so many other bigger takeaways in regard to the Eagles' general badness.
Just when they get guys back, seemingly ready to make a push, they play awful in losing to the Giants. How can you figure this team out? I can't.
#JimmySays: They're not hard to figure out at all. They stink.
#JimmySays: I figured it might be fun to track how that changes each week over the course of the season.
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