The more the Eagles put uninspiring performances on the field, the calls for Nick Sirianni’s job will grow louder.
And Eagles fans listening to Bill Belichick break down Philadelphia’s issues Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show” wouldn’t be blamed for pining for the six-time Super Bowl champion to take over their win-now team.
While Belichick, 72, made note of the key injuries to receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and offensive tackle Lane Johnson that hurt Philadelphia (2-2) in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers, the longtime Patriots coach sounded the alarm on their results, dating back to last season’s collapse.
“Look, they’ve lost [eight] of their last [11] games. So, when you sit there and say, ‘Well, they’re one of the best teams in the league,’ I don’t know. Being 3-[8], that’s kind of a stretch if you look at what’s happened recently. But they do have a lot of good players and have a good team. I’m not saying they’re not a good team, I’m just saying they haven’t done very well lately.”
Belichick criticized Philly’s defense for giving up 24 points within the first quarter-and-a-half in Tampa, and for committing too many turnovers.
He then turned his attention to the offense, which is in its first year under coordinator Kellen Moore.
“[Saquon] Barkley’s an explosive guy but he can only do so much. We saw that when he was with the Giants,” Belichick said. “Once you put Smith and Brown out there along with [Dallas] Goedert and Barkley, you have one offense; you start taking a couple of those guys out of there, it just becomes a little bit watered down.”
Belichick added that “trying to play catch-up and throwing the ball all over the lot 45 times is just not a good formula for any team, but I don’t think that’s really the way the Eagles want to play or should play.”
The Eagles started 10-1 last season before losing five of their final six games and then getting embarrassed by the Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
Belichick was briefly linked to the Eagles after parting ways with the Patriots. Philadelphia decided to stick with Sirianni after he fired offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
Reports later emerged about Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts’ relationship being “fractured,” though both downplayed that during training camp.
After their bye, the Eagles host the Browns before visiting the Giants in Week 7.
