Dawgs By Nature
We ask about the Eagles’ inconsistencies, their defensive blitzing, and more.
This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns stay on the road as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles. To help preview a few topics from the Eagles’ perspective, we reached out to Brandon Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation and exchanged five questions with him.
Chris: “The Eagles really struggled to close out the 2023 season. They have a 2-2 record coming out of the bye — would you say they have rediscovered themselves so-to-speak?”
Brandon: “They certainly have not rediscovered their 2022 form by any means. The 2024 Eagles much more closely resemble the 2023 Eagles thus far.
Case in point: dating back to last season, the Eagles have gone six straight games now without scoring a point in the first quarter. They constantly have to battle back from slow starts. Nick Sirianni doesn’t appear to have answers and it’s hard to see how he gives his team an edge in other areas. He’s been bad with game management decisions this season.
It’s not all about the head coach, though. Jalen Hurts can’t stop turning the ball over; he has 27 giveaways in his last 22 games played. He leads the NFL in turnover-worthy play percentage as defined by Pro Football Focus. The Eagles’ defense has had one excellent game in four tries. There seems to be a talent issue on that side of the ball.
On the whole, the negative sticks out more than the positive coming off a bad loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was then followed by the bye week. I don’t think they’re hopeless; one can make cases for optimism. The offense is getting healthy, Saquon Barkley has been awesome, they have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league, etc.
But it’s hard to say this group has earned the benefit of the doubt.”
Chris: “Philadelphia drafted two cornerbacks with their first two draft picks this year — how have those picks fared so far?”
Brandon: “Quinyon Mitchell has been pretty awesome. Quarterbacks have just a 76.6 passer rating when throwing his away, according to Pro Football Reference. Mitchell ranks 27th out of 79 cornerbacks graded by Pro Football Focus this season. He ranks tied for fifth in passes defensed; league-leader Denzel Ward is one of only four players with more.
Mitchell doesn’t play or act like a rookie. He’s looked pretty fearless out there; he’s not afraid to talk trash to opposing receivers. He plays with confidence and that much has been apparent when he’s come close to multiple pick-sixes. He’s yet to actually catch the ball while jumping a route but it feels like he’s due to complete one of those grabs sooner than later. And possibly as soon as this week against a struggling Deshaun Watson.
I’m feeling very encouraged about Mitchell and his outlook.
As for Cooper DeJean, we haven’t really seen enough to judge him yet. DeJean missed the majority of training camp due to an...
