Five Big-Picture Takeaways from Eagles Week 15 Loss vs Cardinals

1.) From a Talent Standpoint, the Eagles Might Be Several Years Away

Dec 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) celebrates a touchdown with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports

One thing that could keep Sam Bradford from wanting to play out the ‘prime’ of his career in Philadelphia is the roster that surrounds him. Sunday night’s matchup was pegged to a certain extent as a battle of offensively-geared head coaches. The game was essentially won before it started, however, due to the performance of each team’s front office. The Cardinals have gradually built themselves into a juggernaut without having to go through a losing season to net a higher draft pick. The Eagles have had a similar level of success to Arizona over the previous two seasons, but their roster is nowhere close to as dynamic as the Cardinals’ is.

The Eagles probably figured that keeping the Cardinals vertical passing game at bay would be enough to slow down their top-ranked offense. They did perform admirably in that regard, but Arizona had the personnel to play an entirely different type of game. Their offensive line worked the Eagles defense into submission, their rookie running back looked like Adrian Peterson, and their collection of receivers made incredible catches even when the coverage was sound. The Eagles probably aren’t 23 points worse than Arizona. The outcome from this game is that they simply do not have enough players that teams have to gameplan against.

When team’s play against the Eagles, they seem to be scheming against Chip Kelly and not the players carrying out his attack. Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz have developed into solid young skill players that would likely be tremendous 3rd and 4th options on a contending team. In Philadelphia, those are options one and two and the opposition knows it. When Kelly’s schemes and tendencies are solved by a team like Arizona, it’s only a matter of time before things go south for the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals built a roster loaded with talent by acquiring the best players they could with less emphasis on how they would fit in the grand scheme of things. Arizona subscribes to the notion that it is ultimately the players that win these games and it is on the front office and coaching staff to put as many of the best ones on the field at one time. The creativity of how they’ve managed to do so is one of the more impressive elements of what has become a model franchise in that regard. They have players out of position on defense that are able to make up for the occasional lapse by utilizing their unique skills that aren’t normally present at their position. The offense is no longer predicated on just having Larry Fitzgerald dominate in the passing game. They have weapons everywhere.

The way the Eagles roster is put together is way off. Allocating resources to the running back position the way they did, only to rotate them throughout the game seems counterintuitive. Refusing to address an aging and thinning offensive line in the draft the way they have has created a situation that forces the Eagles to play a pair of injured tackles because the secondary options are that miserable. The defense has talent, but lacks dynamic players at the positions (outside rush linebacker and cornerback) where teams often gameplan against. As great as Fletcher Cox is, it is unfair to expect him to take over a game the way he has on multiple instances this season.

The NFL is easier than the other leagues to turn around a roster. The nature of their contracts allows for teams to get out from under bad deals faster and a proper approach to the offseason can help revive a miserable roster in a matter of a couple of years. The Eagles once again will not find themselves in a position to draft a roster-altering talent in 2016. Even if they manage to slip into the playoffs this season, they have already been unable to demonstrate the ability to hang with the top teams in terms of overall talent. The Patriots may have the best player in the world, but the New England team that the Eagles beat a few weeks ago does not boast the depth chart of the Cardinals or Panthers.

Maybe this season will teach Chip Kelly about how the best personnel men in the league go about building their teams. He’s had a front row seat to some of the most impressive rosters in the NFL and knows how they were constructed. It would be hard to imagine an offseason like the one we saw last year in terms of upheaval in Philadelphia. Instead, it might do Kelly some good to spend some time figuring out how he wants to build this team on a yearly basis and execute a plan that spreads out the talent throughout the roster. Otherwise he’ll continue to come up on the wrong end of showdowns against the league’s best.