Doug Pederson’s Rookie Year Becoming Too Much Like Andy Reid’s Last

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It was 2012 when the Eagles finally hit bottom so hard, it spelled the obvious end to the winningest coach in franchise history.

The Eagles started off 3-1 in 2012 with Andy Reid at the helm, only to go 1-11 the rest of the way with uninspired football. When the final whistle sounded on that miserable season, Reid's time in Philadelphia was up. 

Reid's quarterbacks coach that season was Doug Pederson

Pederson followed Reid to his new post in Kansas City before venturing into the head coaching world with the Eagles again in the current 2016 season. The team went 4-0 in the preseason and backed it up with three convincing wins to open the regular season.

And then, much like the 2012 Eagles, they imploded, to the tune of a 2-7 record in the nine weeks to follow the Week 4 bye. 

It's more than just the record that is reminiscent of Reid. It's the way the Eagles are losing. 

When the Eagles lost in Detroit in Week 5, it was the result of mistakes that weren't present in the first three games. It happens. Chalk it up and learn from it the next week. 

They fell by a touchdown in Washington, and again, it was too many mistakes, poor play calling and execution, that did the Eagles in. 

But lately, the losses have gone from being about one play or one drive going differently to being unwatchable displays of football, none bigger than the completely uninspired game this Sunday in Cincinnati. 

Whatever that was, it wasn't acceptable for any NFL team. 

With each passing game, poor call or mistake, sidelines or in between the hashmarks, the call is growing to consider if Pederson is really the answer as the head coach. 

The Eagles brain trust of Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman are not going to admit failure and Pederson, though overly optimistic and very much the eternal believer in his players, isn't going to let one season define him. He'll get 2017 and potentially even 2018 to prove that the way 2016 is turning out doesn't define him and his coaching ability. 

But here's why that is even in question. The Eagles are missing pieces at a number of positions, but the one area they are set for their future is quarterback. And their rookie quarterback, the presumed savior of the franchise, is taking steps back in his own development. 

Carson Wentz played his worst game on Sunday. That was due to bad habits like rushing throws, telegraphing passes, throwing off his back foot — all things that Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich were supposed to be able to help with as former quarterbacks themselves. 

One season won't define Pederson as a coach, unless the lack to make adjustments as a coach and help players make adjustments as well is so inept that it can't be ignored. 

The Eagles invested too much in Wentz to screw it up. If Pederson can't help him grow, he's not the guy to lead the team on the sidelines. Yes, it rests that much on one player as it does on team results. 

But that's why there is question. Not only is Wentz's development hurting, but the team has played so poorly over a nine-week period that it too cannot be ignored. 

When that finally happened to Andy Reid, when the Eagles couldn't field a team that responded to him, when the results on the field were too bad to ignore, that was when the Reid era ended, even if it should have three years earlier. 

The Eagles didn't mess around with the lack of response to Chip Kelly after one playoff season was followed with two forgettable ones. The same should hold for Pederson, who is the antithesis of Chip. He's the players coach, the one who understands their mindset, their emotions, what it means and what it takes to play football in the NFL.

And where does that have the Eagles? No further than they were last season. 

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