Eagles lack identity on both sides of ball

FIVE YEARS AGO, after his Arizona Cardinals managed to blow a 20-point halftime lead to the vaunted Chicago Bears, a ticked-off Dennis Green uttered those seven famous words that would not save his job, but would eventually give him his own beer commercial.

"They are who we thought they were," he said.

Nine games into their oh-so-disappointing season, no one seems to have the foggiest clue who the Eagles are right now, which is a big part of the reason they are 3-6 and on the verge of flat-lining.

When Jeff Lurie got out his checkbook in July and started playing what Asante Samuel has affectionately called "fantasy football," Lurie and club president Joe Banner made a point of trying to differentiate between what they were doing and the crazy wild free-agency spending sprees that Redskins owner Dan Snyder goes on every March.

They insisted they had a plan .

"The personality of the players we brought in, the personality of our players and our coaching staff is, we're a blue-collar football team," Lurie said. "It's a grind-it-out practice team."

I don't even know what the hell that means and I'm not sure Lurie does, either. Probably read it in some book of sports clichés.

The truth is, the Eagles don't know exactly who or what they are right now, which is as much a part of their problem as their league-high 21 turnovers.

"They have no identity on either side of the ball," said an NFC personnel executive. "Defensively, what are they? Are they a zone team that can rush the passer? Are they a blitz team? Are they a cover team? Do they want you to throw the ball on them? Do they want you to run the ball on them? What do they want to take away? What do they want you to try and attack? I'm not sure they know.

"Offensively, I've got two impressions of them. After watching the Cowboys game [a 34-7 Eagles win], if you asked me to describe their offense, I would've said they're a 30-35-run-a-game team and play-action. That's what I came away with after watching the Dallas game. Then I watch them the last 2 weeks and I don't know what the hell they are.

"It almost seems like they don't want to have an offensive identity. They want to keep you guessing so that you never know what they're going to do from week to week, and even series to series. The problem with that is it's tough to establish any kind of rhythm. You've got to have something your players know they do well and can hang their hat on when it's nut-cutting time. The Eagles are the ultimate jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none offense."

They signed free-agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and traded for another talented corner, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Signed two of the top defensive linemen on the free-agent market in Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins.

And what do they have to show for it? They've already blown an NFL-record five fourth-quarter leads. Their sack total is the same as it was a year ago. Opponent passer rating is five points higher than 2010.

Opposing running backs are averaging a half-yard more per carry than in 2010. Interceptions are down and opponent completion percentage is up. And they're on pace to give up the exact same number of touchdown passes as they did last season (31) when they set a franchise record.

"It's difficult to get your arms around what they're trying to do defensively," the personnel man said. "They brought in Asomugha, who is a man-cover, bump-and-run guy who likes contact and isn't comfortable off [the receiver]. But on the other side, they've got Samuel, who is a zone cover guy who doesn't like contact. They're a bad mix. And then you throw in Rodgers-Cromartie, who they're trying to make into a slot guy even though he can't play the slot. It's a mess.

"It's easy to blame [defensive coordinator Juan] Castillo for not using them the right way. But what's the right way? Yeah, Asomugha should be shadowing the other team's best receiver. But then what do you do with Samuel? He only knows how to play on one side. He only wants to play on one side.

"Castillo seems to be trying to figure out a way for them to coexist. But what's happening is he's managed to make both of them less effective. Can you play a hybrid defense where you're playing man-to-man on one side and zone on the other? I guess. But it's hard to do and it takes time to get everybody in sync."

The scout said the Eagles should have been smart enough to realize Rodgers-Cromartie wouldn't be able to play in the slot.

"It's a lot different playing inside and playing outside," he said. "You don't need to have the top-end speed you have to have on the outside, but you need to be physical. You need to have great anticipation. And you need to have the ability to change direction in a short area and have the quickness to mirror the receiver.

"Cromartie is fast vertically but not laterally. Even when he came out of college, I felt he was a fringe player. He played against low-level competition [at Tennessee State]. He had nice size and speed numbers. But he was strictly a playground player."

The Eagles have made it no secret that they feel the key to defensive success in the NFL is stopping the pass. Find guys who can pressure the quarterback. Find guys who can cover. They're hardly the only ones with this philosophy.

But top defenses also have at least a couple of pretty good linebackers. The Eagles don't.

"The biggest thing on their defense, and I don't fault Castillo on this, I fault Reid and [general manger Howie] Roseman and their scouting people, they've done a terrible job of evaluating linebackers," the personnel man said. "You don't have to draft linebackers in the first round. But you do need to find ones who can play. You need to have people who can play both the run and the pass. Their linebackers are just there."

The Eagles are third in the league in total offense, but just 11th in scoring and 21st in points per 100 yards (5.84). Just one of the 11 teams averaging fewer points per 100 yards has more than four wins. That's the 7-3 Steelers (5.74).

Their biggest problem offensively has been the quarterback. Michael Vick is 20th in the league in passing, 25th in the third-down passing and 26th in fourth-quarter passing. He has completed just 22 of 43 passes in the red zone and has turned the ball over six times in the red zone.

In his first six games last year, Vick had 11 touchdown passes, four rushing TDs and zero turnovers. In his last 16 games, he has just 22 TD passes, six rushing TDs and 24 turnovers, including 18 interceptions. With 11 picks in 300 pass attempts this season, he's 28th in the league in interception percentage.

"Why is it not working for them offensively?" the personnel man asked rhetorically. "Well, a lot of it goes back to Vick. They've got to be able to make plays when he has the ball in his hands, and that hasn't been happening nearly enough. Look at how few touchdowns he's got [11 passing, none rushing]. Look at the interceptions. Look at what he's doing - or not doing - on third down and in the red zone.

"I love their wide-receiver and tight-end group. Those guys are as good as there is in the league. But there should be a lot more production than there's been. Vick's flashy, but he's too inconsistent. He's not just inconsistent from game to game. He's inconsistent from quarter to quarter, from series to series. He can make a few plays where you say, 'By God, he's finally got it.' Then he makes a horrendous decision or a terrible throw and you say, 'What happened to the other guy? Where'd he go?'

"If you break it down, at the end of the day, have his skills improved [since he played for the Falcons]? Yes. Is he more comfortable in the pocket than he was in Atlanta? Absolutely. But his style of play and his, for lack of a better term, comfortability with what he wants to do, is the same. If you go back and overlap highlight reels from Atlanta and highlight reels from now, you'll see a very similar player."

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.

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