Five Big-Picture Takeaways From Eagles Week 4 Loss to Redskins

4.) Marcus Smith is Bad at Football and the Eagles Will Not Put him on the Field in a Meaningful Capacity

Aug 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Marcus Smith (90) during a preseason NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

In case it did not register over the 60 minutes of action, the Eagles pass rush isn’t exactly striking fear into the opposition. Though the line is capable of generating a significant push, the inability of free rushers to finish the job when it comes to sacking the opposing quarterback has not been there this season. Especially on 3rd downs, when the defense can gear itself up for passing plays on most occasions, there has been very little heat on the opposition through a quarter of a season. One would think the coaching staff would be trying anything to reverse the fortunes of the non-existent pass rush.

By the looks of things over the early stages of the 2015 season, allowing Marcus Smith to take any role in serving as a resolution to this problem is out of the question. A week after an apparent strategical shift prevented Smith from seeing ’15-20 snaps’ on defense against the Jets, the 2014 1st round pick was among the team’s inactives. With Smith absent from the active roster, the Eagles managed just one sack against Washington and allowed Kirk Cousins to lead them to a game-clinching touchdown drive.

Regardless of who was in charge of making the selection, it’s clear that Smith does not factor into the team’s plans in the long or short-term. Those players that make it into Chip Kelly’s good graces are generally seen as excellent practice participants whose dedication shows up on Sundays. We may never find out just what type of team member Smith is behind closed doors. No matter how much Kelly sticks to his guns about players earning their time on the field, talent has to prevail at a certain stage. It is apparent Smith does not possess that necessary talent and to take anything the organization says about him for something other than ‘he’s not good enough’ is probably ignorant at this point.