(by Ross Jacobs)
A back and forth game between two fairly evenly matched teams.
Things started off hot with TDs by both teams on their first drives, but it slowed significantly after that. The Eagles would snatch the lead and hold onto it until the start of the 4th quarter. After that the lead changed twice more, but it was the 49ers that landed the decisive blow in the end and held the Eagles out of the end zone on their final drive.
Of course, this was a playoff game in primetime so there has been no end of hyperbolic and emotional reactions particularly on the Eagles side of the equation.
Most of it is nonsense.
Philly management knows they made a big mistake promoting Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator from the inside. They are fixing it promptly.
They also know that Nick Sirianni is a pretty darn good coach in the grand scheme of things. No, he is not a tactical genius, but he is a good manager and that is the primary job of the head coach. It helps to be good with X’s and O’s for sure, but you would rather have a good leader at head coach with great strategic coordinators than you would a great strategy guy that’s a poor leader. Think Sirianni versus Mike McDaniel. No contest.
And ironically McDaniel could very well end up the next offensive coordinator here. That would be something. Personally, I think it’s going to be Brian Daboll because of his connection to Jalen Hurts when they were together at Alabama in 2017, Daboll as the coordinator and Hurts starting at QB, and obviously his connection with Saquon (Barkley didn’t criticize Daboll when he left that I recall, his anger was at Schoen).
“Fixing” Hurts is the team’s primary goal this next year, not that he needs fixing exactly. He just needs someone that’s not an idiot and will accentuate what Hurts does well and help cover up his weaknesses instead of the exact opposite which is what Patullo did.
Meanwhile the 49ers move on to face the Seahawks, and I find it funny that anyone thinks the 49ers have a good shot to win this game. Talk about an overreaction from the same people that thought Philly was the better team here.
Of course, SF could win, anything can happen obviously, but they aren’t big dogs for no reason. Seattle is by far the better overall team, stronger on both offense and defense particularly.
That could change potentially if Sam Darnold can’t play. He reportedly tweaked his oblique a day or two ago and suddenly Klint Kubiak is talking a little too much about Drew Lock. I might still take the Seahawks to win even if Lock started, but you obviously can’t give up +7 ATS. In fact, if Lock does start, I think there will be a good opportunity to bet on Seattle when the public money swings hard to San Fran.
Player Notes…
-- I mentioned hyperbolic reactions earlier and another one has been the backlash against AJ Brown. Dropping a couple of big plays in the playoffs after demanding the ball vocally earlier in the year is obviously not a great look, but again it’s amplified for people because of the stakes involved. Drops happen. It doesn’t suddenly mean Brown is washed or has to be shipped out of town ASAP.
It is possible he does get moved, but probably not because of what happened here or even the issues during the year. The team knows who Brown is and loves him. The only way they will move him is if it makes good sense for next year and the future.
They aren’t cutting him because of the dead cap hit, so the only way to move him would be a trade. Can they find someone willing to take on his contract and give up the necessary compensation to make it worth it? I’d lean no right now, but it’s possible. Maybe the Patriots would be willing to take a big swing and reunite him with Vrabel to put them over the hump (in their own minds) if they lose in the next two weeks.
-- Saquon Barkley is a bounce back candidate next year in redraft. He’ll be just 29 with plenty left in the tank. It all depends on who they hire to be the OC and if they can fix the interior of the offensive line which really struggled this year (partly because the OC was terrible).
-- Poor George Kittle tore his Achilles again, and at his age he’s really going to struggle to come back from this. Jake Tonges will be the starter and filled in admirably when called upon. He could be a good value next year depending on where he’s being drafted.
-- I’ll be all the way out on Christian McCaffrey for redrafts given what he’s going to cost. He’ll be 30 years old next year, already had no speed left, and just put together a completely healthy year. That’s the definition of “buying high.” It’s not that I don’t think he can score decent points. I just don’t want to spend a high 1st round pick to find out.
-- The 49ers have to add to their WR corps again this year.
Brandon Aiyuk clearly is never coming back.
Jauan Jennings is solid but unspectacular (and a free agent).
And Ricky Pearsall can’t buy three healthy games in a row. He’s the guy I would be most interested in if the cost was right though.
IDP Notes…
-- I want to talk about Garrett Wallow and Eric Kendricks, both of whom had 10+ tackles here, not because either of them is a great linebacker, but because they aren’t…and yet they both filled in just fine after about 47 other LBs have gotten hurt for this team ahead of them.
Linebackers don’t matter that much! Stop spending high picks on them unless they are legit gamechangers. They are the RBs of the defense.
