Four Verts: Eagles might have one glaring issue vs. 49ers, and here's some advice for David Tepper
The NFL playoffs and draft season inch closer and closer, adding a heightened sense of importance to the games and decisions to come. There was yet another huge shakeup with the Carolina Panthers this week, but we'll start this week’s Four Verts column with one of the biggest games of the year on Sunday.
Eagles have the most interesting defense in the league
As the Eagles gear up to take on the San Francisco 49ers at home this weekend, they face a unique challenge as they try to attain an 11-1 record and strengthen their grasp on the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Even though the 49ers are 8-3 compared to the Eagles’ record, they’re roughly three-point favorites with BetMGM on the road in Philadelphia. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly where the Eagles are falling short for the betting markets, but one area could be their defense. Despite loading up on defensive line talent and spending in the secondary, the Eagles have somewhat of a shaky defense.
Perhaps the most baffling shortcoming for the Eagles is their run defense. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Eagles rank 21st in expected points allowed per carry (-0.04) and 17th in success rate (60.9%). That’s with a defensive line that features Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham. Even though guys like Cox and Graham have gotten old and aren’t quite as effective as they used to be, they’re still useful players to have in a front seven. Despite that defensive line talent, the Eagles rank 31st in expected points allowed per carry (0.61) and 32nd in success rate (16.7%) on all third-and-medium, third-and-short and fourth-down carries.
Part of the issue has been that the Eagles’ linebacker group hasn’t been very sharp this year. Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow have taken the majority of the LB snaps, which hasn’t necessarily been a good thing. They’re more journeymen players at this point in their careers and that shines through a bit when they’re asked to make plays outside the box. There are moments when Carter and Davis show their youth with lapses of poor play or misreading something, but their performance in general should help the Eagles’ run defense.
This is a point of concern against a team like the 49ers. A list of advanced stats and data detailing the 49ers’ run game isn’t really necessary. They have Christian McCaffrey toting the rock and head coach Kyle Shanahan dialing it up. It’s a problem for any team, but where the Eagles find themselves right now magnifies this moment.
It’s always possible for the Eagles’ top-end talent to shut down a game, but this is an opponent that’s geared to exploit what’s been an up-and-down run defense, adding intrigue to an already epic showdown between arguably the two best teams in the NFC. Now, we wait to see how this matchup unfolds on Sunday.
Panthers need to wait out the storm
Ron Rivera, Perry Fewell, Matt Rhule, Steve Wilks, Frank Reich and now Chris Tabor. Those are the six coaches who have spent time as the head coach or interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers since David Tepper took over as the owner in 2018.
Tepper is about to be on his seventh head coach as he enters his seventh season in charge of the Panthers. That’s a level of change (some might call it instability) that would make Browns owner Jimmy Haslam tip his hat as he looks back on the pre-Kevin Stefanski days.
At some point, Tepper is going to have to buckle down and ride out some tough seasons due to the position the Panthers find themselves in.
If Tepper is reading this, which he obviously is, he just needs to know that it’s OK to take your foot off the gas. Since moving on from Cam Newton as the franchise quarterback, the Panthers have spent resources on Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, Matt Corral, Will Grier, Baker Mayfield and now, Bryce Young. Slow down, David! It’s hard to make a quick fix out of a floundering quarterback position, but Tepper and the Panthers have found themselves in a place where they’re being forced to exhibit a level of patience. The Panthers have had a different Week 1 starter under center for each of the past four seasons, a trend that’s about to end.
Young will be the quarterback for the Panthers in 2024 considering the lofty haul they gave up to get him. He has struggled this season amid poor circumstances, but since the Panthers don’t have their first-round draft pick next year (it belongs to the Bears thanks to the trade to get Young and is currently No. 1 overall), they can’t pull a Josh Rosen/Kyler Murray and move on. Young is going to be the quarterback in 2024, which is probably better for the overall health of the team because this team needs major work to get back to competing in the NFC South.
The offensive line has regressed from last season, they need a huge influx of talent at wide receiver and running back and the defense needs work as well. For the immediate future, they should probably just focus on beefing up the infrastructure around Young. Use the 33rd pick on an offensive player. Spend, spend, spend. This is the time to start beefing up that roster because there’s still a strong possibility that this team stinks again in 2024 with their new head coach.
If Tepper can swallow his pride and realize that the Panthers are in for a long-term rebuild, they might just be able to build something. Give Bryce Young pieces to play with, get the next head coaching hire right, get Brian Burns locked in on a deal and just bide your time. It’s hard to transform into a quality team in one offseason after starting off 1-10, so Tepper will just have to give Young and this new staff to see if they can grow into a product worth watching and sharing with the Panthers’ fanbase.
Tepper’s impatience has run the Panthers to the bottom of the NFL. The only thing he can do now? Wait.
Patriots … wow
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Oh, oh, oh. The New England Patriots have fallen to the ranks of the unwatchable after a horrid loss to Tommy DeVito and the purgatory Giants. Their season is extremely over at 2-9, bringing the future of Bill Belichick and Mac Jones into question as the Patriots crash toward an offseason that will undoubtedly feature a ton of turnover.
The Patriots are on track to finish with five wins or fewer for the first time since the 2000 season, which was Belichick’s first year as the team’s head coach. Everyone knows the Patriots’ story now and after 20 years of being at the top of the NFL, they are back among the have-nots. The gutter of the NFL. The Patriots have as many wins as the Cardinals, who were clearly rebuilding coming into the season. This season has gotten so bad that a handful of Patriots fans on social media were actually cheering when Chad Ryland missed a 35-yard field goal against the Giants that would have sent the game into overtime.
Patriots fans cheering for a loss is such a drastic culture change from where this team has existed for the past two decades. This fan base used to go berserk at the slightest failures and now it has realized it’s probably in their best interests as fans for the team to lose every remaining game. Mac Jones has taken massive steps back since a quality rookie campaign and the supporting cast around him has deteriorated to a nearly unusable point. This team needs a hard reset on offense, which may come by way of firing Belichick for a fresh face who thinks outside the box on the unit's leader. Bill O’Brien, who is on his second stint as Patriots offensive coordinator, had to take the keys away from Joe Judge and Matt Patricia who struggled last year. It’s time for some new ideas on that side of the ball.
If the 2024 NFL Draft was held today, the Patriots would have the third pick behind the Cardinals and Bears — which is baffling to think about. The team took such a hard step back this year that it’s hard not to think about taking Caleb Williams or Drake Maye if they’re available. Maybe Belichick can stay on at head coach if he’s willing to change his philosophies on the types of players to acquire, but this operation has gotten stale in a way that’s impossible to ignore anymore.
There doesn’t even feel like there’s anything left for the Patriots to accomplish this season except reach the end of it healthy. The defense has been about average on the season, but the offense has been so bad that New England can’t even clear hurdles of 10 or 20 points.
The Patriots dynasty as we know it has likely come to an end and they’re in a space that most people couldn’t envision — with at least a small part of their passionate fan base rooting for losses.
Joshua Dobbs regressed, but teams can still learn from the Vikings
Joshua Dobbs has reverted back into playing like Joshua Dobbs after a red-hot stretch of games. After dazzling with his arm and athleticism for a few games in place of Kirk Cousins and Jaren Hall, Dobbs has played mistake-heavy football and struggled to recapture his spark from the earlier portion of his season. Head coach Kevin O’Connell was noncommittal about Dobbs as the starter moving forward, which is understandable after a four-interception performance on Monday night. Not all of the interceptions were solely on Dobbs in their loss to Chicago, but this is trending down over the past two games — which is OK.
This trade ended up being a win for everyone involved. Dobbs was able to start in Minnesota after spending the majority of the season in Arizona, the Cardinals received a pick back for Dobbs before moving forward with Kyler Murray, and the Vikings were able to play competitive football without Cousins and Justin Jefferson.
Dobbs reverting back into a mistake-prone quarterback over the past two games doesn’t change his accomplishments this season. He very likely extended his career by a few years during his stint with the Vikings. However, everyone knows that turnovers get quarterbacks benched and Dobbs has had five interceptions and three fumbles (one lost) over the past two weeks. That’s not what a backup quarterback is here for.
Dobbs’ stint with the Vikings is a lesson to not quit and give up on the season if there’s still something worth accomplishing. The Vikings have one of the best defenses in the league this season and will get Jefferson back soon — why not go for it? It’s better than what the Jets did, which was to waste another championship-level defense on Zach Wilson. The Vikings may have to get creative with their quarterback situation after the season (or just bring back Cousins), but it was probably worth it to keep being able to compete.
The Vikings won’t be winning the Super Bowl or anything this season, but they have another data point suggesting that O’Connell is the right head coach for this team and that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah won’t be going anywhere for a long time either. With salary-cap space, draft picks and a great foundation to build from, the Vikings aren’t far away from getting back to the playoffs. Dobbs allowed them to figure that out about themselves, making the trade worthy of their time and his, even if this is where the road ends.
