3 Eagles on the Naughty List (& 2 on the Nice List) This Christmas
By Thomas Erbe
T'was the week before Christmas, and as the weather became chilly. There was no peace nor joy found anywhere in Philly.
The Christmas season is once again upon us, but there is not much of a Christmas spirit as it pertains to the Philadelphia Eagles. It's much like in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where all through the movie Clark Griswold is expecting a big Christmas bonus to help pay for a pool, but his bonus ends up being a Jelly of the Month Club membership.
The Eagles started this year thinking they were going to walk right through the league to a Super Bowl championship in Las Vegas. And, well, they probably would trade a jelly membership for what they've had the last couple weeks.
The Birds have now lost three games in a row and have virtually no chance of claiming the top seed in the NFC. But they still have a 10-4 record, and they will continue to battle, as they still are contending to win the NFC East division. Worst case scenario, though, they have clinched at least a spot in the playoffs.
This is a team sport, football is. Everyone suiting up as a player and/or coach holds a share of responsibility in every game played. Each role has a different share of responsibility, sure. But everyone must be helping and on the same page to be considered a legitimate contender.
So as Santa watches the Birds continue to roll the dice, he has kept his lists to date, who's been naughty and/or nice.
Sean Desai is Definitely on the Naughty List
Defensive coordinator Sean Desai was leading a defense to nowhere before he was demoted and sent up to the box in favor of Matt Patricia calling plays on the sideline. The Eagles currently rank in the bottom fourth of the league in defensive turnovers forced, passing yards per game, total yards per game, and points per game. Despite still contending for a division, this defense is pretty atrocious.
Much of the lack of success is Desai's inability to make the adjustments necessary to combat the success of the opposing offense. Rather than capitalizing on an opponent's weakness or working to limit an opponent's strength, Desai seems to have either too much faith in his guys to make a play or is just too stubborn to check his ego at the door.
After getting away with a lot of nonsense when the team was winning early, Desai's failures have come to light in a significant way during this current losing streak. So, although he retains the title of defensive coordinator, he now finds himself up top at the stadium watching Patricia helm the defense in an effort to improve. Maybe he'll learn a thing or two with a bird's eye view.