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Welcome to the 26th consecutive weekly edition of Roob’s Eagles’ 10 Random Offseason Observations.
When we meet again next weekend, with training camp underway, we’ll lose the “off-season” label. Finally.
For now, we’ll talk about the importance of the evolution of the Eagles’ passing game, an encouraging stat from Miles Sanders, a former Eagles wide receiver who has inexplicably been passed over by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and much more.
See you in Lehigh!
(Desire.)
1. The Eagles learned in the second half of last season that they could beat a lot of bad teams by running the ball more than they threw it. They learned in the playoffs that philosophy doesn’t work against an elite team with a savvy defensive coordinator and a 31-point third-quarter lead. The Eagles averaged 31 passing plays per game last year, the fewest in the NFL and the fewest by the Eagles since 1992. It was fun while it lasted, but when the Buccaneers forced the Eagles to throw, disaster struck. Jalen Hurts, a 23-year-old making his first postseason appearance, had to throw 43 passes, his most since Week 4, and the passing game just didn’t evolve to the point where it could work. It wasn’t just Hurts. Jalen Reagor played 53 offensive snaps in that game (and had two yards), which will enslave any quarterback. But the reality is the Eagles just didn’t have the kind of high-powered passing game you need to be competitive these days. And that more than anything is what has to change this year. It’s not as simple as “Jalen needs to get better.” It goes much deeper than that. The call game needs to improve with more variety and more aggressiveness. Pass blocking needs to improve: The Eagles only ranked 14th in sacks allowed per pass attempt last year. Big plays have to increase: Only six teams had fewer 30-yard completions last year. AJ Brown has to play like the star we think he is. And Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith have to keep doing what they did in 2021. With these running backs and this offensive line, the running game will still be there when the Eagles need it. And there will be plenty of opportunities for the Eagles to roll out the running game. But they can’t rely on that, and their ability to develop a great passing game is one of the biggest keys to this 2022 season.
two. He was a bit lost with everything going on around his false start, but Devon Allen said in Eugene after he was disqualified at the 110m hurdles at the World Championships in Athletics that he was competing despite getting hurt on Wednesday. before the race, which would have been July 13. He said the injury was serious enough that he had to cut short his last days of training before tryouts on July 16: “I hurt my hamstring on Wednesday, I couldn’t do anything until Saturday. the first round, which didn’t go as well as I wanted. But my hamstring has been kind of holding it together.” With the first practice of training camp scheduled for Wednesday, two weeks after he was initially injured, something to watch out for. Allen is fighting an uphill battle for a spot on the roster. He can’t afford to start camp with less than 100 percent.
3. Running backs in NFL history who averaged 5.3 yards per carry (minimum 100 carries) in consecutive seasons before their 25th birthday: Dan Towler of the Rams in 1951 and 1952, Clinton Portis of the Broncos in 2002 and 2003, Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs in 2009 and 2010 and Sanders in 2020 and 2021.
Four. Speaking of Sanders… I’ve said all offseason that Sanders became a smarter, more decisive ball carrier last year. He didn’t dance as much as he did in his first two seasons, he didn’t try to bounce everything out at the first sign of trouble inside, he didn’t try to hit the home run all the time. The numbers confirm it. Sanders’ first two years gained a lot of yards but he also incurred too many negative runs, usually when he tried to do too much. Last year, he made great strides in that area. As a rookie, Sanders gained zero or fewer yards 22.9 percent of the time. In 2021, that fell a bit to 20.1 percent. Still too high. But last year he had a gain of zero or less on just 13.9 percent of his carries. Running backs need to understand that they are hurting the team by trying to turn a 4-yard run into a 40-yard run, but instead they are ejected for loss. That figure of 13.9 percent is really encouraging. Straight up among tackles, Miles Sanders is by far the most effective Miles Sanders.
5. Note to Jason Peters: Please backing out. Phenomenal race. Hall of Fame career. Eagle of all time. But it’s time.
6. Jalen Hurts Stat of the Week: Hurts’ 1,138 rushing yards is fourth-most in the history of an Eagles player before his 24th birthday, trailing only LeSean McCoy [3,026]sanders [1,685] and mike hogan [1,448].
7. Someone has to explain to me why Harold Jackson is not in the Hall of Fame. After 1981, his last full season, he was third in NFL history with 10,246 yards, behind only Hall of Famers Don Maynard and Lance Alworth, and to this day is one of only six WRs in NFL history with 10,000 yards and a 17.5 average (DeSean Jackson is another). From 1969 to 1979, a span of 11 years, he had nearly 1,800 more receiving yards, 50 more receptions and eight more TD receptions than anyone else in the NFL. Jackson never had an elite quarterback, but he still became the team of the decade in the 1970s. Only 13 of the 29 modern-era WRs in the Hall of Fame made more Pro Bowls. Yet Jackson hasn’t even been a Hall of Fame finalist. Ridiculous.
8. In 1990, Keith Byars threw four passes and four touchdowns and Stan Humphries threw 156 passes and three touchdowns.
9. Reagor last year became the first wide receiver in NFL history to start 10 or more games, have 40 or more offensive touches and have fewer than 350 yards from scrimmage.
10 Dick Vermeil’s first training camp, 46 years ago at Widener, began on July 5, 1976 and continued through September 3. Most days were double sessions with practices usually lasting two to two and a half hours. Subtracting the days before and after preseason games — and there were six preseason games back then — that leaves about 80 practices, most with full contact. That’s about 180 hours of practice. This year, the Eagles have nine training camp practices scheduled at the NovaCare Complex, one at the Linc and two more in Cleveland and Miami for 14 sessions in total, most of which will last between 75 and 90 minutes without live drills. . That’s about 19 total hours of practice. It’s amazing how much NFL training camp has changed since Vermeil’s first season. And it’s not like Nick Sirianni is easy on his guys. Most of the changes have been legislated over the years by the CBA to protect players, and Sirianni’s sessions are lighter and shorter than most. But think of it this way: If the Eagles have a total of 19 hours of practice in training camp, it would be as if Vermeil had four days of camp left.