The Philadelphia Eagles have dropped two straight games as they head into an all-important Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. The biggest problem for this team has been around the offense, as the Eagles have several problems that need to be fixed in a unit that's too talented to be averaging only 22.5 points per game (19th).
Finding a way to get the rushing attack going while keeping a balance for a nice passing attack has been the problem. While they look to figure that part out, tight end Grant Calcaterra continues to be a problem that head coach Nick Sirianni is ignoring.
Eagles Aren’t Doing Anything About Its Grant Calcaterra Problem
This entire season, Calcaterra has left a ton to be desired as a run blocker. According to Pro Football Focus, he has a 44.3 run-blocking grade, with four games with a run-blocking grade of 41 or lower.
Eagles Pin-Pull host Shane Haff pointed out on Monday that Calcaterra was on the field for 12 offensive plays against the Bears, and 10 of them were run plays. One of those 12 plays was a QB sneak, but on 10 of the remaining 11 running plays, the Eagles ran away from him.
This made the job of the Bears' defensive line that much easier as they were slanting to the opposite direction, clearly knowing the Eagles wouldn't run behind Calcaterra. This distribution is an indication that the Eagles' coaching staff doesn't trust him to be a lead blocker for them, and neither do the opponents.
The fact that Calcaterra has been underwhelming all season makes it clear that no one is giving him the benefit of the doubt on the field. Considering this has been a consistent problem all year long, it's ridiculous to see Sirianni still defending him.
When talking to the media on Monday, Sirianni defended the 26-year-old TE (h/t @Cory_Nidoh):
"We have a lot of faith in Grant and the things we can do. It's always our job as coaches to first get them in a position to succeed. Sometimes the loss is drawn up to execution, sometimes the loss is drawn up to scheme."Nick Sirianni, Eagles HC
And to a certain degree, Sirianni is right, as coaches need to put their players in the best possible situation to succeed, but it gets to a point where the player has to capitalize. And in 2025, Calcaterra hasn't been able to answer the call. Based on Sirianni's comments, the Eagles will continue trotting him out, but with how he's looked in that area, he will likely be disappointing.