Eagles Embarrass Themselves and the City on SNF

by Posted on

I woke up today feeling dirty. Our beloved Eagles became a national embarrassment on the final regular-season game in front of a national Sunday Night Football audience. Yeah, the Eagles got the number six pick in the upcoming draft instead of the ninth in doing so. Yippee. I still feel like I need another hot shower to remove the shame of tanking a professional football game.

Is picking sixth versus ninth really worth your franchise’s integrity? Especially, since Howie Roseman makes the pick. For a little reminder, here is the Minnesota Vikings laughing at Howie selecting Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson and the Vikings wasting no time in calling in their Jefferson pick. By the way, Jefferson set the record for rookie receiving yards in a season yesterday.

Mike Zimmer, a coach since 1979 and never on the offensive side of the ball, is giddy because even he sees the talent that Jefferson possesses. One guy came walking into the room because he couldn’t believe the pick. Another guy laughs at the Reagor pick and then exclaims “WOW” because he can’t fathom the Eagles passing on Jefferson, a guy who excelled in the toughest conference in college football.

And there’s this.

It doesn’t matter if Howie picks 2 or 24. He stinks. So get the f*ck out of here with the 6th vs. 9th pick being important enough for the team to make a fool of themselves. Not with this front office.

Doug Pederson said after the game, and again today, that he was trying to win the game even though he played Sudfeld. He said Sudfeld was in his gameplan because Sufeld’s been here four years and wanted to give him some playing time. Was it Senior Night in the Missouri Valley Conference or an actual NFL game where guys are paid for their work whether they play or not? Sudfeld has made over $6m being totally useless to the franchise so excuse me if I couldn’t care less if he gets any playing time.

This morning on WIP, Doug initially said he didn’t bench Hurts. Minutes later, in defending Sudfeld’s insertion, he referenced Hurts’ struggles throughout the game. That sounded like a benching.

Which is it, Doug? Was your plan all along to play Sudfeld or was it because Hurts struggled? The only answer that makes sense is that you planned to tank and play Sudfeld.

Sudfeld looked like garbage. Two turnovers in five plays. I thought Wentz was a spazz under pressure. Sudfeld didn’t look like he could handle the pressure from St. Joe’s Prep’s undefeated high school team. If Doug actually believed Sudfeld gave them a chance to win the game, then he’s even worse at judging talent than Howie Roseman.

Sudfeld couldn’t even beat out retired, 89-year-old, journeyman Josh McCown after rehabbing a fractured wrist last year for the back-up spot on the depth chart. Are we really supposed to believe that Doug thought Sudfeld gave them a shot at winning? If Hurts never threw the ball in the fourth quarter last night, the Eagles still had a better shot at winning just on his legs.

The game and explanations afterward make no sense. They’re weak. As the wise Judge Judy says, “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”

The reality that I believe more than anything is that Howie and Jeff told Doug to play Sudfeld and tank the game. There is no chance he pulled that without their approval. Doug’s a company man. That’s probably why they hired him. He’ll take the shrapnel for their blunders.

I hate this front office. It’s hard to believe, but they’re more frustrating than the Phillies. That’s probably because I know that Jeff, Howie, and Doug aren’t going anywhere and the Super Bowl feels more and more like they caught lightning in a bottle for a year and rode a blazing hot Foles to Lombardy-Land.

The Eagles were an embarrassment to the fans, the city, and to the players who put it out there every game. That’s the way that Ertz and maybe Kelce end their careers as Eagles? Lying down and losing on purpose?

Nah, that ain’t cool. If you think it was, you ain’t cool either. End of story.

NFL needs to enact a new Eagles tanking rule. Call it the Lurie, Roseman, or Pederson Rule for eternal shaming. That rule should state that the draft order shall be determined by the standings after Week 16 so these Week 17 shenanigans have no impact.

Adios to a miserable Eagles season. Can’t wait to see what Roseman has up his sleeve for next year. Whatever it is, it’ll be a group decision. This guy never takes full personal responsibility for the failures under his watch as General Manager.