NFL Tales Of The Week – Week 6 Edition (10-18-21)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Hunter Martin-Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles looked extremely sharp in Week 1. They defeated the Falcons in Atlanta, Jalen Hurts and the entire offense looked good, and 1st Year HC Nick Sirianni had some impressive play calling and begun his Head Coaching Career on a good foot. Since week 1, the Eagles have only managed to win 1 game and are now 2-4. The biggest issue with this team is their reluctance to run the football. They have one of the fastest RB’s in the league in Miles Sanders. Yet, they refuse to use him. Jalen Hurts has been more effective getting more yards and carries then Sanders. Their lack of weapons is an issue too. Their best weapon in the open field is Rookie Devonta Smith. His counterpart is a former 1st round pick as well, Jalen Reagor. Reagor missed a lot of time last season and while he’s been healthy this season, he hasn’t shown to be effective at all. While the team is young and inexperienced, including the Head Coach, the Eagles look like a team that is lost in the sauce. Opposing teams are calling them soft. They lack any playmaker that is a physical force and that is an issue.
Here’s my theory: If the Philadelphia Eagles continue to lose, there’s a chance they could have 3 Top 10 Draft Picks next summer. I don’t believe HC Nick Sirianni will be there long. In fact, I believe there’s a chance he could be fired after this season in just 1 year. The Eagles are very quietly tanking. They gave Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts a chance. They had to do some due diligence. This Eagles organization was torn between Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts. They were even torn between keeping Doug Pederson or hiring Nick Sirianni. This organization doesn’t want Hurts or Sirianni. They both are pretty much rookies this season and were expected to struggle. The Eagles put them both in place to lose. That way, they can have a reason to truly go out and get the QB and the Coach they truly want because neither of them are the guys they ultimately want. They’re simply filling a space this season. Look for the Eagles to continue to lose and tank, and build draft capital this season. They will add to this team and continue to add weapons for whoever the QB may be.
Christian McCaffrey
The Panthers got off to an impressive 3-0 start. They now find themselves on a 3 game losing streak from Dallas, Philly, and just this past week, Minnesota. The addition of Sam Darnold was probably the best offseason move from any team this year. To be a good team, you have to have your QB position figured out. In the game of football, often times the QB and RB are the closest. That relationship tandem is key to every victory they get. The play action scheme is a strong source of offense from every team in the league. It opens up the field for all the recievers. That has been the issue for the Carolina Panthers. Christian McCaffrey is one of the game’s most skilled backs. He’s quick, he’s elusive, and he’s effective in the passing and running game. But the man CANNOT stay healthy.
He’s missed the last 3 games and the Panthers haven’t won a game since! As good as he is, the Panthers should look to move him immediately upon him getting healthy. He’s shown us he’s not durable. The trade deadline is coming up. And although he can be injury prone, I’m almost certain a lot of teams would love to have him on their offense. The fact of the matter is he is not the guy for this Panthers team and he is hurting not only the Panthers, but most importantly the most important player on this team, Sam Darnold. Darnold started off the season of fire! A lot of that was because of CMC. Now that he’s out of the picture, Sam Darnold has calmed down, his completions to DJ Moore have calmed down, and the Carolina Panthers have calmed down. The time is now to trade Christian McCaffrey.
