Giants coach Joe Judge takes shot at Doug Pederson’s tank strategy against Washington | Early Birds
"To me, you don’t ever want to disrespect those players and their effort and disrespect the game,” Judge said.
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Good morning, Eagles fans! We made it to the offseason, so we can all take this moment to exhale and start arguing about what the Eagles should do in the draft a few months from now. All is well. The Eagles locker room is a few days away from being a ghost town, if it isn’t already. Some players will stick around to get treatment, but the rest are likely headed home, or at least somewhere that doesn’t require getting a Q-tip stuck up your nose every day.
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— EJ Smith (earlybirds@inquirer.com)
Judgemental
Joe Judge lived up to his name Monday, taking a not-so-thinly-veiled shot at the Eagles’ tanking.
The New York Giants head coach and Philadelphia native needed the Eagles to beat Washington for his team to secure the NFC East crown and a playoff berth, but Doug Pederson and Co. had other plans in the Birds’ 20-14 loss. After several Giants players voiced their frustration with the Eagles for pulling Jalen Hurts in a three-point game midway through the third quarter of their prime-time season finale, Judge addressed the blatant tank during his Monday news conference.
The first-year coach started by acknowledging that the 6-10 Giants could have avoided this whole situation entirely had they won more games, but alluded to a lack of respect from Pederson for the sacred game of football.
“There’s been a lot made of that game internal or from the outside,” Judge said. “Let me just be very clear on this: We had 16 opportunities this year; that’s it. ... We don’t ever want to leave our fate in the hands of anybody else. We’re not going to make excuses as an organization. Not now, not ever. We had our opportunities.
“That being said, obviously players have asked me throughout the day,” Judge added. “The one thing to keep in mind with this season is we had a lot of people opt into this season. We had a lot of people opt in. Coaches, players, that includes family members as well. To look at a group of grown men who I ask to give me effort on a day-in, day-out basis and to empty the tank. I can look them in the eye and assure them that I’m always going to do everything I can to put them in a competitive advantage and play them in a position of strength. To me, you don’t ever want to disrespect those players and their effort and disrespect the game.”
It’s not all that surprising that Judge would come out against tanking so aggressively, even before you consider how it affected his team. Judge, 39, is one of the most old-school coaches in the NFL and made headlines during training camp for putting players through intense hitting drills and making anyone on the field, including coaches, run laps for mistakes in practice.
What you need to know about the Eagles
We heard from Howie Roseman for the first time since last summer on Monday. Les Bowen recaps the general manager’s comments on the Carson Wentz situation.
Judge’s players weren’t the only one scratching their heads. Jeff McLane reports that even Eagles players and coaches were shocked to see Nate Sudfeld replace Hurts on Sunday.
Zach Ertz spoke with the Philadelphia media for possibly the last time Monday and offered an emotional goodbye for Eagles fans as the offseason looms. Yours truly has the story.
Speaking of Hurts, Bowen details the rookie quarterback’s offseason goal to learn the Eagles offense well enough to play more freely next year.
What does the decision to tank the season finale say about Pederson? McLane explores how some veterans must feel about the end of a disappointing season.
Also from McLane: Howie Roseman admits to repeat mistakes, so why is Jeffrey Lurie willing to make the same with the Eagles GM?
Want something a bit lighter? Rob Tornoe has his latest Eagles cartoon.
From the mailbag
Your best guess as who will be our next DC? — from J.R. (@thewillisfactor) on Twitter
Good question, J.R. I don’t think the Eagles will be in a position to make significant changes to their defensive scheme this offseason because the team is locked into the personnel it has due to the salary cap. The defense will still need to be a 4-3 front that allows its defensive line to get upfield in a hurry, mostly unburdened by reacting to what the offensive line is doing. I could see the Eagles’ getting caught up in the trend brought on by Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and bringing in a DC who prefers a two-high-safety defense instead of the single-high scheme the Eagles and so many other teams have utilized for so many years, but that’s about it. If they choose to go that route, an assistant coach of the Rams’ or Denver Broncos’ staff would make sense.
Under the assumption that the Eagles aren’t trying to rebuild their defensive scheme, I’d say defensive line coach Matt Burke would be a top candidate given his experience with Schwartz and familiarity with the most important defensive position group. Defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel also has two years of defensive coordinator experience from his time with the Atlanta Falcons. Of course there’s still a chance the Eagles will go with an outside candidate, but I’d say internal candidates have a slight leg up for the time being.