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Do you remember the last big Eagles pass in a regular season game? Let's say … a 20-yard completion at a wide receiver?
Neither do I.
So, I looked for it and just to give you an idea of how much time had passed, the quarterback was Carson Wentz.
Nick Foles did not pass a 20 yard pass or more to a wide receiver in his five regular season appearances last December at L.A.
It's 134 pass attempts and not a single field game.
In the first game of the season against the Falcons, the longest completion of the Foles by a catcher was 10 yards, and the Eagles only got 3.6 yards per game on average.
In comparison, the Eagles in 1998 averaged 10 points per game – third lowest already in a season of 16 games – and even this team averaged 4.1 yards per game.
The Eagles have won, but you will not win many games when your receivers are not factors.
Too much pressure to put the defense.
It is difficult to cover 80 rushing yards in 12 games. You need these pieces.
Large pieces demoralize opponents. They energize the sideline. They put the opposing defense on his heels. They open the racing game and the pass game underneath.
We do not necessarily talk about 50-yard bombs, although that's fine. But mid-range passes play. This range from 20 to 35.
What's crazy is that in the playoffs, the Foles threw the ball up and down. He had eight 20-yard finishes or more at his playoff outings and four more at the back and at close ends.
So, why is this happening now?
And how do the Eagles solve?
With a little luck, while Foles will have more and more representatives until Wentz returns, he will find the comfort zone he was in the last series. We know that he has the arm to slide the ball on the ground. We saw it. He just seemed shy and nervous, not just Thursday night, but throughout the pre-season.
But it's not just the Foles.
With Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins on IR, it's a group of dangerously thin receivers. We know what Nelson Agholor can do. We know what Mike Wallace has done in the past. We know what Shelton Gibson and DeAndre Carter did during the pre-season.
But there is a reason why the Eagles have brought all the unemployed receivers out of the universe for workouts, adding them to the coaching team or throwing them out of the 53.
You do not see this type of attention if the team does not recognize the real problem.
There is also the fact that it is a new offensive training staff. Offensive coordinator Frank Reich is gone. QB coach John DeFilippo is gone. Mike Groh is in his first stint as offensive coordinator of the NFL and Press Taylor is coaching the NFL for the first time.
Add all this and you get 14 targets for 43 yards for the Falcons.
The good news is that Pederson has tremendous success in correcting this stuff. And Foles has this mysterious ability to ignore awful games and follow them with great games. And Howie Roseman is good enough to find players who can help.
But it is clear that something must change. You make your life extremely difficult when you play an average of 3.6 yards per game.
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