Nine games into his team's Super Bowl defense, Doug Pederson admitted that he hasn't been up to snuff.
"I just know this: as an offense, I need to teach better. Bottom line," said Pederson, for whom teaching is the foundation of coaching.
Pederson said this just a couple of hours after his weekly meeting with the team's leadership committee, in which he asked the leaders about the locker room's psyche after the 27-20 upset by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, easily the worst loss in Pederson's three seasons.
"Talking to the committee this morning, I asked them ... how do they feel," Pederson said. "They're all disappointed, obviously, in the performance the other day. It is disappointing: division game, and we came up short."
Pederson also said the leaders expressed eagerness and excitement, but that's not the point. The point is that Pederson _ whose high quotient of Emotional Intelligence attracted owner Jeffrey Lurie _ felt he had to gauge his players' psychological temperament.
This Eagles are still reeling from the loss of a must-win. At 4-4, coming off a bye, facing a three-win Cowboys team that seemed one more loss from a franchise reboot, the Eagles had 10-6 in their sights. Now, they're preparing for a can't-win game at New Orleans on Sunday afternoon and they're staring at a 5-11 season.
Why?
Maybe because the leaders aren't leading as they should. Asked what he expects of his leaders, Pederson said he wants them to make sure the younger players are get fully prepared during the week.
"I rely on those guys to bring the guys _ especially the young guys, some of the young guys that are playing _ to make sure they understand the game plan. If they need to stay after and watch more tape or condition or whatever they do, that they grab those players and make sure that they're leading by example."
This, of course, implies that the leader's aren't leading by that sort of example. This is the latest indication that Pederson is dissatisfied with his team's focus and preparation during the week, which, he believes, affects their play when the whistle blows.
Peterson's top offensive coach and his quarterback disagree.
"In terms of saying that we're not practicing well, I wouldn't say that's accurate at all," said first-year offensive coordinator Mike Groh.
"I wouldn't say that's the issue," said Carson Wentz, who is on the leadership committee. He echoed Pederson's depiction of the leaders' upbeat response to the coach's question about their collective psyche.
"We're not going to sink down now because of the performances we've had, or our record," Wentz said.
The poor performances and the losing distill to two areas, Pederson said.
"We've got to finish better, and we've got to score more points," Pederson said. "The difference is, creating turnovers on defense and then scoring in the red zone."
The Eagles rank 17th in red-zone touchdown conversions, at 55.9 percent. They were second last season, at 64.1 percent.
The Eagles have forced just seven turnovers, which is third-fewest in the league and a rate of 0.78 per game. They forced 31 turnovers in 2017, which was fourth in the league and a rate of 1.94 per game, more than twice this season's rate.
Don't expect a surge in takeaways Sunday. The Saints have committed eight turnovers. MVP favorite Drew Brees has thrown one interception. What's more, this week significant injuries will limit or exclude to six of the projected 11 defensive starters: linemen Derek Barnett (out) and Jernigan, corners Darby (out), Mills (out), and Jones, and safety Rodney McLeod (out).
The Saints, 8-1, lead the NFL at 36.7 points per game. They have scored 21 points or more every week. The Eagles, 4-5, are 21st, at 22. They have scored 21 points or fewer six times.
It will simply be too hard for the Eagles to win in the Big Easy ... right? And what, realistically, lies ahead?
A week ago, 10-6 was sitting right there, waiting to be claimed. The lifeless 27-20 loss to the Cowboys didn't just make their future 9-6. Now, even 8-8 seems less likely than 5-11.
Why such a change in only seven days? After all, it was only one loss.
Because, seven days ago, it appeared that right tackle Lane Johnson, their best offensive player, would return in one week from a four-week knee injury. It appeared that starting running back and top returner Darren Sproles' 35-year-old hamstring was finally healed after he'd missed eight consecutive games. Maybe, after the bye week, the patchwork defensive backfield might be able to limit the Cowboys' sad passing attack, which was fourth-worst in the league.
But Johnson didn't play. Sproles re-injured himself at practice. Ronald Darby, their best cornerback, blew out his knee Sunday. Rasul Douglas, who started at cornerback Sunday, delivered a performance so putrid it recalled Halapoulavaati Vaitai and Winston Justice.
A week ago there was hope, but this ... this seems is hopeless. Realistically, who can they beat?
The Saints, or the Rams? They'll score 50 apiece.
The Redskins, whom they face twice? The Redskins lost both starting guards then won at Tampa on Sunday, where the Eagles lost in Week 2 with a much healthier team. The Cowboys? After the debacle Sunday night? The Eagles visit Dallas Dec. 9. They might have a new offensive coordinator by then. The Texans? Maybe a month and a half ago, when the Texans were losing to the Giants. They've won six in a row since.
The best chance for the Eagles to win even one more game is 10 days away, when the Giants visit. They haven't won at Lincoln Financial Field in four years. But even that won't matter if the Eagles cannot regain the simple, humble mindset that brought them their first Lombardi Trophy in LII tries.
"Understanding you job. Doing your job. Doing it collectively," Pederson said. "They understand where they are and, quite frankly, have dug themselves a hole."
What the dissatisfied teacher meant was, they've dug themselves in a hole; so much so, he was worried about their mental toughness.
"We realize where we're at," Wentz said. "I don't want to throw the word 'desperate' around."
He should.
Because they are.
