Philadelphia Eagles: Backup quarterback could be a major issue
When the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, they did so on the back of quite possibly the greatest backup quarterback of all time. While this is certainly well documented, it is not something that often happens at the NFL level.
Backup quarterback is often a position that gets overlooked; because in most scenarios, if your starter gets hurt, you are in deep trouble anyway. For the 2021 Eagles, this tradition looks like it could hold true; their quarterback room outside of Jalen Hurts is pretty dang awful.
When Joe Flacco signed with the Birds this past offseason, there wasn’t much fanfare outside of the fact he was coming back home to the Philadelphia area. A local guy from Audubon, New Jersey, coming to play for the Eagles? That is something most people can appreciate and get excited about.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ backup quarterback situation is murky at best.
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Then as you dig deeper into Joe Flacco’s career, you’ll realize he has some lofty accomplishments. such as a Super Bowl Ring, 3,744 career passing yards, and a 98-77 record as a pro.
You may think these accolades would allow Flaccos to give Jalen Hurts a run for his money. That would be where you are wrong; this is not the Joe Flacco from 2012.
This is a guy who has been pretty much washed as an NFL player for the past half-decade. One in which he has averaged 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions per sixteen games, with a record of 23-30 in that time.
Sure, Flacco could maybe come in and give the Philadelphia Eagles a game or two of decent play, but if his performance on Thursday night against the Patriots is any indicator, you can begin to doubt that as well.
In a week where his Eagles teammate K’von Wallace dubbed Cam Newton the “Checkdown King,” Flacco certainly made a case for that nickname instead. Missed throws, poor communication, and checkdowns summed up the veteran’s performance. His final stat line of 10-17 for 83 yards (4.9 yards per attempt), a fumble, and an interception produced a QBR of 46.9. He was flat-out awful in the Eagles 35-0 shutout loss.
Look, I understand it is preseason, and this could all be deemed an overreaction. But seriously, go back and watch the film and try to find something in Flacco’s performance that you can feel encouraged about. *Spoiler alert* you won’t find anything.
When you look at the way Hurts plays the game of football – hard-nosed, uses his legs to extend plays, fights for the extra yards – it is fair to be concerned about whose behind him on the depth chart. Especially this season, with the NFL deciding to extend to a 17 game schedule, the idea of your backup quarterback having to see some time on the field is not far-fetched at all.
I am just concerned the Eagles did not do enough to mitigate the thought of losing their franchise quarterback for a period of time to an injury. I am concerned that Flacco is not good enough to offset this, and I am positive that Nick Mullens is not the answer either.
As I had mentioned, I understand that typically when a team loses their starting quarterback that their season is in jeopardy anyway, but that does not mean you shouldn’t try to field the best backup options you can. It would be a real shame if Hurts has to miss a few games, and the Eagles have to hand the keys over to Flacco.
Next. Stock Watch versus the New England Patriots. dark
If he does have to spend some time under center this season for the Philadelphia Eagles, he will certainly have my support. Unfortunately though, my support won’t be enough to overcome the deficiencies in Joe Flacco’s game.