Philadelphia Eagles: A Win Is A Win, But There Is Still A Lot of Work To Do

By Max Zelenko on October 6, 2014

Yesterday’s victory over the St. Louis Rams was anything but a “feel-good” win for the Philadelphia Eagles. After holding a 34-7 lead, Philadelphia was barely able to hang onto a six-point win. As a result, Chip Kelly and company need to realize there are a ton of areas that need improvement, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

From Kelly to Nick Foles to LeSean McCoy to the offensive line. None of these names or groupings played particularly well on Sunday afternoon. Chip Kelly called a predictable and under whelming game. Foles looked like a third-string quarterback. McCoy made terrible decisions throughout the day. And finally, the offensive line did not provide many holes for the halfbacks to run through.

The positive to take out of all the negatives mentioned above is that everything is fixable. Kelly must call a better game though. The running plays, as well as the passing plays, were so obvious that I was calling them out before each snap. During the fourth quarter, when the Eagles had an opportunity to run out the clock, Kelly needed to have some faith in his quarterback to make a throw for a first down with the defensive putting eight guys in the box. Its an adjustment that Philadelphia’s head coach needs to keep in mind for the future.

Kelly may have been hard-pressed to call a pass play during crunch time as a result of Foles’ poor play. He continues to overthrow or under throw open receivers, and his footwork is not nearly as good as it was last season. As simple as it may sound, Foles needs to get back to fundamentals. It legitimately could take one pretty throw for the Eagles’ quarterback to regain his confidence. While Foles’ confidence may not be fully gone, he has been unable to complete many passes down the field. As a result, he needs to complete one or two downfield, just so he knows it’s something he can still do.

Arguably the most concerning aspect of Sunday’s game was the way McCoy played. He continues to try and make something out of nothing during the wrong times. His first quarter fumble was an abysmal play. McCoy needed to go down and simply take the loss of yardage. He is trying to do to much, and as a result may be psyching himself out. For this offense to produce at a high rate, it will have to start with getting McCoy going, and he cannot get going if he is making poor decisions with the ball.

Out of everything being discussed, the offensive line actually showed some positive signs, especially in pass-protection. However, they are not doing McCoy and Darren Sproles any favors. The return of Lane Johnson definitely helped, but this group still needs to play much better. They are not opening the same holes for their running backs as they did last season, and if the Eagles want to repeat as NFC East Division Champs, they will need to figure out a way to do so.

After reading this article, people will probably think this team is 1-4, as opposed to 4-1. But it needs to be noted that if Philadelphia continues to play the way they have over the past two weeks, they will not be as fortunate as they were this past Sunday. The defense and special teams bailed the offensive out with two touchdowns, however, it is borderline impossible to rely on a non-offensive touchdown each week. There are a ton of positives to look at, with the Eagles having the record they have, but it is essential that the team makes drastic improvements.

Max Zelenko is a Philadelphia Eagles/NFL writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on twitter @maxzelenko, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.