Eagles vs. Broncos: Post-Game Notes

Abbreviated post-game thoughts due to two reasons: Breaking Bad finale is on soon and I need to prepare, and there’s really very little from today’s game that qualifies as important.

- This was an "upside" game, so don’t freak out that they lost. Getting destroyed by one of the greatest offenses in recent history doesn’t tell us anything about the team. For the most part, I’m giving the defense a pass. Denver has put up points on everyone so far, and 14 of the points allowed came off STs. No shame in it.

I’ve definitely got some issues with Bill Davis’ play-calling and personnel usage (play Vinny f@ck%*g Curry for f*$@k’s sake), but the fact is that there was likely no "answer" today. Write it off and move on.

- The biggest takeaway was the apparent revelation that Chip Kelly has been castrated. Knowing you’ll need a lot of points and then kicking a FG from 4th and 4 inside the red zone is an absolutely ridiculous, suboptimal, indefensible, (insert own adjective here) decision. It’s a decision that "Chip Kelly" is not supposed to get wrong, and I’m at a complete loss as to why he did.

Something to watch going forwards. If Chip isn’t aggressive, then he isn’t really "Chip", he’s just some guy.

- Lane Johnson…needs to be much better. When you take an OT (or anyone) in the top 5, he absolutely MUST be a "stud". So far, Johnson isn’t close. Yes he’s a rookie and we should expect some inconsistency, but we should also see flashes of greatness, and I don’t think we’re getting that.

- It’s important to keep things in context, especially this early in the season. The Eagles have 3 losses against teams with a combined record of 10-2. The next three opponents have a combined record of 2-10. As a result, the next few games will tell us a lot more about the Eagles than these last three have. Denver and KC are ranked 1st and 3rd in point differential right now, and both teams are undefeated. Losses there don’t mean anything other than that the Eagles are not among the best teams in the league (which we already knew). Here is the Eagles remaining schedule:

How many of those games really scare you? The fact is, the Eagles probably just finished their toughest stretch of games. I know they’ve looked bad, but remember that they won’t be playing anyone nearly as good as Denver for the rest of the season.

- The Cowboys might not be good. Dallas has 2 wins, but they’ve come against St. Louis and the Giants. Not exactly on par with KC and Denver. I still believe the Eagles can be the best team in this division.

- Next week is VERY important. Probably doesn’t need to be said, but getting a win against the Giants, who look AWFUL, is vital. Either the Eagles are as good as I think they are (in which case they’ll win comfortably), or they’ll lose to the winless Giants (in which case they’re as bad as the national pundits say they are). Regardless, we’ll know a lot more than we know today.

That’s all. Keep your head up. No reason to panic yet. If the Eagles lose next week, though, then you have my permission to lose your shit.