The Philadelphia Eagles are one team that doesn’t hold back in terms of play-calling or strategy during games. The choice to attempt the fourth down against the New Orleans Saints does look rather ugly, however. We will break down what happened, why it matters, and what’s next for the Eagles.
The Questionable Fourth Down
At the Saints, the Eagles failed on a critical fourth-and-1 attempt just before halftime. They called a sweep with Saquon Barkley, but it didn’t go as planned. The Saints sniffed out that, leaving fans and analysts at a loss for how that play was called. After the game, Head Coach Nick Sirianni made a point to say he was fully responsible for that call, not Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore.
The choice to go for it on fourth down was jarring. Most people felt it was too risky with 14 seconds to go in the half and still had time left for a timeout. Had that play succeeded, it would have easily been a touchdown, or at worst set up a final play before the half, but on its failure, precious seconds ticked by, leaving Eagles little time to respond. This scenario portrays how high stakes are involved in play calling within the NFL because every play call may have a huge influence on the game being played.
Coaches and Team Interaction
Sirianni explained that play-calling is a team game. He explained Kellen Moore does most of the calls, but other assistants contribute during the game. That will be helpful in all the hurry-up situations. This means the Eagles have a structure in which everyone feels free to contribute.
It is rather ironic that in making his defense of Moore, Sirianni also shot up a series of shots coming Moore’s way. He has stood up for his players in the face of disaster before, like when Quarterback Jalen Hurts made a mess of things. When Sirianni shoulders the blame on the failed play in question, it not only clears Moore’s name but he also displays hard leadership, which tends to build trust within a team, which is everything in an NFL situation.
The Impact On Future Games
This fallout will have an impact on how the Eagles will take the next step forward in another equivalent situation. Coaches always learn through their mistakes, and it seems that he was willing to admit this one; thus, he might be more careful with the choices he makes later down the line. The Eagles should adopt strategies they develop in a manner to fully support the strengths of the team as well as at the appropriate time for the situation on the field.
The current fourth down decision stirs up much talk about play-calling in the Eagles’ organization. And while Sirianni did take accountability, that shows that coaching in the NFL is complicated. From now on, the Eagles must learn from this experience and continue their improvement in building an effective team. There are many tough games lined up ahead of them, but they need proper adjustments and the right game plans to keep this team competitive.
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