Anonymous sources are tearing the Philadelphia Eagles apart

While the Philadelphia Eagles’ have a whole lot of problems on the field, their internal locker room drama could prevent the team from reaching their potential.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a whole lot of problems on the field.

They’ve never quite found a suitable replacement for Malik Jackson next to Fletcher Cox in the middle of their defensive line, their once-stacked defensive backfield has reverted to their true-blue disastrous form, and Nelson Agholor has devolved into Pro Football Focus’ worst-rated wide receiver.

Needless to say, if the team can’t get this together fast – either by trading for an immediate contributor like Robby Anderson, William Jackson III, and/or Leonard Williams or the return of players like DeSean Jackson, Ronald Darby, and Timmy Jernigan – this season could end in misery – and an early winter vacation.

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In the past, the Eagles would have looked inward, doubled-down on their next-man-up, underdog mentality, and rallied around a shared desire to win, but this season just feels different.

Maybe it’s the absence of Nick Foles or a general dissatisfaction with the way things have gone post-Super Bowl, but the Eagles as a whole do not look particularly harmonious two months into the 2019 season, with a total lack of fire to get things right.

And worst of all, they are letting people know it.

Now don’t get me wrong, journalism is really hard, and the time-honored tradition of anonymous sources should be upheld with the utmost priority, but the growing frequency of players voicing their displeasure with everything from the team’s decision not to trade for Jalen Ramsey, to specific players individual usage rates, to the now-infamous PhillyVoice expose on Carson Wentz‘s lack of leadership has become existing.

Imagine how Doug Pederson must feel.

A reason football remains the top sport in the land – even as the NBA surges in popularity is because of the team nature of the sport. Unlike in, say, basketball, or even hockey, one or two players can’t automatically fix a franchise. It takes coaching, a strong culture, and a unified mentality to field a successful football team, but if you take any of those factors away, the level of difficulty increases dramatically.

For better or worse, the Eagles still have the same coaching staff as their Super Bowl win – save, of course, the substructions of Frank Reich and John DeFilippo – and have the same leaders in their locker room, but for whatever reason, their internal chemistry has crumbled to the point where players feel comfortable selling out their peers just to stir the pot.

But why? Why would players want to sow the seeds of destruction where they lay their heads and set themselves up for failure? Do they not want to win?

dark. Next. It’s time to trade Zach Ertz (in Fantasy Football)

No matter what happens on the field, or how Howie Roseman chooses to address the team’s issues at the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Eagles will never reach their potential if their players can’t trust each other to put it all on the line and compete for each other play-in, and play-out. Without trust, what do they really have?

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