JJT: Philadelphia's Success Puts Spotlight on Jason Garrett

boozeman

28 Years And Counting...
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
121,739
Philadelphia's Success Puts Spotlight on Jason Garrett

By Jean-Jacques Taylor
Published 2 hours ago

In his second year as head coach, Doug Pederson helped guide the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl. NBC 5 sports director Newy Scruggs and Cowboys Insider Jean-Jacques Taylor discuss the difference between Pederson and Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. (Published Monday, Jan. 22, 2018)


Whether he chooses to admit it publicly - or even acknowledge it - Jerry Jones must wonder how in the world the Philadelphia Eagles wound up in the Super Bowl, while his team missed the playoffs.

The Eagles lost several key starters to injuries this season, including quarterback Carson Wentz, who was playing at a MVP level, when he tore a knee ligament against the Los Angeles Rams in December.

They also lost Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, starting middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, running back Darren Sproles and special teams captain Chris Maragos among others.

None of it affected them.

Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson figured out how to make it work. He adjusted. He adapted.

And he refused to let his team find ways to lose, when no one would've blamed them if they did.

When Wentz suffered a torn ACL, Pederson had to replace a quarterback with 33 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 101.9 passer rating with Nick Foles, a former starter, who played in one game last year with Kansas City.


Still, the Eagles finished 13-3 and posted the NFC's best record.

They manhandled Minnesota, 38-7, in Sunday's NFC Championship game with a flawless performance from Foles. Now, Pederson has his team in the Super Bowl. It's the Eagles' first appearance since 2004.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys failed to handle the adversity that every NFL must endure during the course of a 16-game season.

They went 1-4 when weakside linebacker Sean Lee (hamstring) missed five games. They allowed an average of 29.8 points in those games and blew double-digit leads in home losses to Green Bay and the Los Angeles Rams that ultimately kept them out of the playoffs.

They went 3-3 without Ezekiel Elliot, but lost each of the first three games he missed by at least 20 points, eliminating any margin of error when he returned.

Pathetic.

And who will ever forget Tyron Smith's missed game against the Atlanta Falcons. Tackle Chaz Green allowed four sacks to a no-name defensive end like Adrain Claiborn and the reality is Dak Prescott was never the same after that game in which the Falcons sacked him eight times.

That's Garrett's fault.

He didn't react quickly enough to fix the problem that day, and we shouldn't be all that surprised.

After all, Garrett has an analytical mind. He's a thinker, a man so obsessed with his process that he can't always see when it's broken whether we're talking about a one-on-one matchup against Atlanta or his broken offense.

Garrett, entering his eighth full season, has two years left on the five-year, $30 million deal he signed after the 2014 season.

He has one playoff win. This is the first time he's had consecutive winning seasons.

Pederson' s performance with a team ravaged by injuries puts pressure on Garrett to perform. And if the Eagles, a five-point underdog in the Super Bowl, manage to beat New England it'll simply put more of a spotlight on Garrett's failure this season.

Two years ago, Jerry blamed the Cowboys' 4-12 season on Tony Romo's twice-fractured collar bone. He blamed last season on Goodell's suspension of Elliott.
Well, Garrett has kept both coordinators, but will wind up hiring at least four new offensive coaches and two defensive coaches.

If next season doesn't meet Jerry's expectations, there is no one left to blame except Garrett.
 

bbgun

please don't "dur" me
Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
23,228
Funny how Belichick and Pederson, who didn't attend Princeton, are never described as "thinkers."

Philly also has a youngish GM who spends hours and hours in the film room. How much tape do you think elderly Jerry is breaking down week to week in the service of improving the team?
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
JJT is spot on and more people need to keep holding Garrett's feet to the fire.

Every damned year there's an excuse for this teams shortcomings. But you'll never find an NFL team that doesn't suffer significant injuries or overcome serious adversity. It's pathetic that after all this time and all this talk of whats being built, that any form of adversity throws this team into a tailspin.

Elliott was never an excuse. We've dedicated countless resources to the OL and RB might've had the most depth of any position, with two former starters and 1k backs behind him. Yet our offense was immediately inept. It's pathetic.

Rooting for this team while Garrett is still the head coach is impossible for me. You basically have to hope for a miracle season where the schedule falls in our favor, everyone stays healthy, and the ball bounces are way.... and then you STILL have to hope that Garrett doesn't Garrett things up in a critical situation at the end of the game.
 

boozeman

28 Years And Counting...
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
121,739
Speaking of Peterson and the Eagles...

I wonder if Garrett's usual, which is throwing his players under the bus for not "executing" his brilliant plan is part of his problem.

--------------

Looking for “emotional intelligence” in a coach paid off for the Eagles
Posted by Josh Alper on January 22, 2018, 3:28 PM EST


After the Eagles fired Chip Kelly before the end of his third season as the team’s head coach, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said that “emotional intelligence” was a trait he was looking for in the next man to fill the job.

It’s not the kind of thing that normally comes up during a discussion of what a football team is looking for in a head coach, but it came up again on Sunday night when Lurie spoke to the media after his team advanced to Super Bowl LII. He acknowledged that people laughed about that phrase, but said he felt even more certain that looking for the “real genuineness” that comes with that emotional intelligence paid off.

“There’s a lot of great coaches,” Lurie said. “They all have their different styles, but the one common ground amongst them all is absolute consistency and genuineness. And Doug Pederson is just himself. And at times, that’s very humble, and at times, it’s just very real. At times, that’s very bright. At times, it’s tough. But he does it in a true genuine way and I think players really respond to that in today’s world.”

Eagles players certainly responded to Pederson this season as they kept winning despite losing the likes of Carson Wentz, Jason Peters, Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks to season-ending injuries. Pederson was asked about that connection to players during a press conference on Monday.

“I think that having the connection, having been in the locker room, having an understanding of the dynamic of what a team needs, what a team should feel, how we should practice, how we should play, when to take the pads off, when to put the pads back on, I think all of that is part of that emotional intelligence that we all — and I try to strive for and to have with the guys. I think that relationship has gone a long way this season,” Pederson said.

It’s gone almost all the way and the Eagles will have a chance to finish the trip on February 4 in Minneapolis.
 

skidadl

El Presidente'
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
11,888
You need a coach who can see a vision and pull the trigger when needed. You can’t be scared or overthink everything. Connecting with your players helps too, if possible.
 

p1_

DCC 4Life
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
26,454
yes, Garrett not taking ownership of his coaching results is a huge part of his problem.
 

L.T. Fan

I'm Easy If You Are
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
21,689
yes, Garrett not taking ownership of his coaching results is a huge part of his problem.
That’s true but the problem is deeper than that. Garrett doesn’t have much football knowledge other than what he learned as a player and a very limited pro coaching career. Even though his family is aligned with football coaching exposure he didn’t acquire much knowledge about various techniques and styles of the game from this experience. He played under Norv Turner and latched on to that as his football resource.

He got a Head Coaching job before he learned and earned the job. He doesn’t have enough expertise to be flexible or adjust because he simply doesn’t know how. He was put in a position without having the knowledge or experience to deal with all the nuances of Coaching . He still does things the same way he did when he took the job and doesn’t have the the expertise to be innovative. He probably would like to do better but he is not equipped to create any growth of coaching prepardness. He is like the Wizard of Oz. Strip away the gimmicks and he is just a coach with a title and not tools to back his position.
 
Last edited:

deadrise

DCC 4Life
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
934
Funny how Belichick and Pederson, who didn't attend Princeton, are never described as "thinkers."

Philly also has a youngish GM who spends hours and hours in the film room. How much tape do you think elderly Jerry is breaking down week to week in the service of improving the team?
Belichick went to Wesleyan, kind of a small version of Princeton.
 

Chocolate Lab

Mere Commoner
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
19,842
“There’s a lot of great coaches,” Lurie said. “They all have their different styles, but the one common ground amongst them all is absolute consistency and genuineness.
But he does it in a true genuine way and I think players really respond to that in today’s world.”
In other words, he's the complete opposite of our grinning robot phony.

BTW, saw one of those mic'd up NFL shows today and Pederson was going off like Jimmy on his entire offense coming off the field, screaming at them what is their problem and they better get their heads out of their asses.

Again, totally unlike Garrett.
 
Top Bottom