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Five Eagles fixes, from Jalen Mills to the coaching staff | Marcus Hayes

The Birds miss Frank Reich and Rodney McLeod, but they're not coming back. Other answers might cure their case of Super Bowl Fever.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills walks on the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills walks on the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)Read moreAP

Nashville to Philadelphia is only 90 minutes' flying time. It had to feel like 90 hours Sunday night.

The Eagles held a two-touchdown lead late in the third quarter but lost, spectacularly, in an overtime period in which the Titans converted three fourth downs. How does that happen with a Super Bowl team?

Well, this isn't a Super Bowl team, that's how. Last year's team was a Super Bowl team. This team is flawed, perhaps fatally, from cornerback to coaching staff.

Carson Wentz might say his 2-2 team is still finding its identity, but in the NFL you don't get a gap year to backpack across Europe seeking self-discovery. It's a 16-game season. With 25 percent of the season's story told, this team no longer lacks an identity. The team is what it is. And what is that?

It is an unseasoned roster that misses its offensive brain trust from 2017 and has a pedigreed defense that simply is not dynamic enough. There are plenty of issues, and not all have obvious fixes. Here are five that do:

1. No Reich or DeFilippo.

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich is now the head coach in Indianapolis. Quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo is the OC in Minnesota. They were the architects of the game plans that Doug Pederson used with genius. New OC Mike Groh and new QB coach Press Taylor, painfully inexperienced, seem unable to concoct the deception and misdirection that made the 2017 edition so versatile and dangerous, especially in the screen game. This problem will get worse when Flip returns with the Vikings on Sunday. Just in time for October, Groh and Taylor have replaced the Phillies' hitting coaches as the town's punching bags.

The fix: Pederson must get more involved in game planning.

>> WHAT HE SAID: Doug Pederson says mistakes in overtime loss to Titans are 'all fixable'

2. Jalen Mills.

Fake fans? More like fake cornerback.

If ever there was a safety-in-waiting, it's the man with the Day-Glo hair. Two weeks ago, Mills insulted Eagles "fake fans" for their outrage over a loss at Tampa Bay. Mills is a lot of things — smart, charismatic, charming, with a fashion-forward coif — but unlike the real Green Goblin, what Mills is not is fast. He was beaten deep four times Sunday: twice for completions; once, the receiver dropped the pass; and once, Marcus Mariota overthrew the receiver. Mills also committed pass interference, his third PI flag of the season, which leads the league.

The fix: Asked specifically about Mills on Monday, Pederson replied, "When you see a guy you can attack, you attack." Whoa.

Pederson knows he has to move second-year blue-chipper Sidney Jones to the outside cornerback spot. That might move Mills to nickel corner, but the team would be better served putting rookie Avonte Maddox there and letting Mills excel at safety. A sturdy 6-foot and 191 pounds, Mills tackles with enthusiasm. He's in a contract year, and corners cash out better than safeties, but the book is written on him. If Mills wants to make real NFL money, then he should demand to be moved to safety.

>> READ MORE: Eagles' issues in the secondary go beyond Jalen Mills in loss to Titans | Jeff McLane

3. Stopping the blitz.

The Titans were 7-for-13 blitzing Eagles pass plays. Nick Foles got battered in the first two games. Carson Wentz has been beaten up in the last two.

The fix: Time. The Eagles' five linemen, running backs and Wentz feasted on blitzes last season. Running backs Corey Clement and Darren Sproles missed Sunday's game, and tight ends Brent Celek (retired) and Trey Burton (free agency) are gone. "Carson's only been in two games," Pederson said. It was the only request for patience he made.

>> READ MORE: Offensive line can't protect Carson Wentz, allows four more sacks in loss to Titans

4. Blitz better.

The demand for conservative defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to blitz better is misdirected. First, he blitzed 12 times Sunday but was successful only four times, an atrocious rate, but that's because he doesn't have good blitzers. He sent six pass rushers on the final play, which led to the winning Titans touchdown. Because, secondly, blitzing leaves corners naked. You don't want to see Mills and Maddox naked.

The fix: There probably isn't one. The seven players in the Eagles' current nickel package — Mills, Jones, Malcolm Jenkins, Corey Graham, Ronald Darby, Jordan Hicks, and Nigel Bradham — have nine sacks among them in their entire tenure with the Eagles. Here's a possible fix: Have that deep, gold-plated defensive line generate more consistent pressure on its own.

>> GRADE THE EAGLES: Eagles' overall performance gets a 'D' in loss to Titans | Paul Domowitch

5. Fewer penalties.

This is the manifestation of Super Bowl Fever. Players get lazy. Coaches let things slide. The Eagles have committed 35 penalties, second-most in the league. It is inexcusable. An embarrassment.

The fix: "The sense of urgency from players and coaches needs to heighten," Pederson said.

That certainly would make those flights home a lot shorter.