The insanity of the Eagles' pass-run ratio in Roob's 10 Observations

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The insanity of the Eagles' pass-run ratio, Malik Jackson's contract and the next Eagles defensive coordinator.

It's the first of 29 weekly offseason Eagles Random Observations!  

1. How preposterous was the Eagles' pass-run ratio this year? The Eagles became only the fourth team since 1960 to average 5.0 yards per carry but also average 25 carries per game or fewer. They simultaneously became only the fourth team in NFL history to throw the football at least 37 times per game and average 5.0 yards per pass attempt or worse. They were the first team since the 1973 Bills and only the third team since 1950 to average 5.0 yards or better per run and 5.0 yards or worse per pass. Yet they threw the ball 70 percent of the time (including sacks as pass plays). You just can't make this stuff up. 

2. This is interesting: In his four starts, Jalen Hurts completed seven passes of 30 yards or more. During that same span, only Tom Brady (9) and Deshaun Watson (8) completed more. 

3. On paper, the Eagles should have a terrific offensive line next year — left to right, Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson. But they should have had a solid line this year too and we all saw what happened. Kelce is 33 and could retire any day now. Brooks is 31 and coming off his second torn Achilles in three years (with a separated shoulder in between). And Johnson turns 31 this spring and will be going into the season coming off a second surgery to repair what he described as a "collapsed ankle" that's been an issue for three years. If Kelce, Brooks and Johnson are all here and healthy, this will be a dominating unit. But they're all in their early 30s and each one faces an uncertain future. It's a little scary.

4. DeSean Jackson had 81 yards on one catch against the Cowboys. No other Eagles wide receiver had that many yards in an entire game the last 11 weeks of the season.

5. If the Eagles are indeed planning to release Malik Jackson, which appears to be the case, he has to go down as one of the biggest free-agent disappointments in franchise history. According to Spotrac, the Eagles have paid him $20.105 million for his two seasons here, and only two Eagles have ever earned more who were here two (or fewer) seasons: Nnamdi Asomugha ($25.0 million) and Sam Bradford ($24.0 million). The Eagles thought they were getting a dominating interior lineman, but after missing virtually all of last year with a foot injury, he started out impressively this year but did very little the last 2½ months of the season. That's a ton of money for not very much production.

6. Derek Barnett has 19½ sacks in his first four seasons. Mike Mamula had 26.

7. I'd like to see Matt Burke get a shot at the Eagles' defensive coordinator opening. Burke joined the Eagles as a defensive assistant in 2018 but spent this past year as defensive line coach and run defense coordinator, two areas that were pretty solid. Burke would give the Eagles stability in their strongest area, the defensive line, while at the same time bringing new ideas and his own philosophy. Burke's got 17 years of NFL coaching experience but he's only 44. Burke's an interesting guy. The dude climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I like the idea of a guy who's climbed Mount Kilimanjaro running the Eagles' defense.

8. Golden Tate and Jordan Matthews are the last two Eagles to catch postseason touchdown passes. 

9. Greg Ward is a nice player, great story, catches everything you throw to him and has a terrific knack for making plays in the end zone. He's a valuable guy and should continue to have a significant role in this offense. That said, the Eagles need to find more explosiveness in the slot. They've been forced to rely too heavily on Ward, whose 8.3 yards per catch the last two years is lowest — by a yard — of the 96 wide receivers who've caught at least 50 passes. Ward played nearly 250 more snaps than any other receiver on the roster this year and over the last two years has played nearly 500 more snaps than any other receiver. As they go about figuring out the 2021 wide receiving corps, it's not just about who's making plays on the outside, it's about who's inside. Quez Watkins, who was actually the Eagles' leading receiver the last three weeks of the season, deserves a long preseason look in the slot. If the Eagles go into 2021 with Ja'Marr Chase or DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor outside, Watkins inside and Travis Fulgham and Ward also in the mix, they might be onto something.

10. Only 13 players have 200 yards both rushing and receiving in each of the last two seasons. Boston Scott is one of them. Miles Sanders is not.

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