Eagles Wonder What Might Have Been
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The margin of error in the NFL is slim.
Three or four plays each season can make or break a team's playoff chances. As the Eagles packed their bags and cleaned out their lockers after a 7-9 campaign, many players believed they were close to a playoff berth in 2016. Defensive lineman Brandon Graham understands how close the Eagles were to playing in the post-season.
"It's just crazy," said Graham. "You look at it and it's just three plays in one game, three plays in another game and one play in another. That's why you've got to make sure you pay attention to details in those moments. A lot of those young guys got to experience those moments this year. When we put ourselves in those next year, we'll make big plays."
There were not enough big plays for the Eagles are their 3-0 start. The ship was stormy at times for first-year Head coach Doug Pederson. However, players such as Malcolm Jenkins were impressed with how Pederson handled himself both on the field and in the locker room.
"It was fun watching that development with him as a head coach," Jenkins said. "We wanted to see what his philosophy would be like, what his personality would be like and if he would be consistent the entire season when we hit some adversity. Doug's been the same person all year."
The Eagles understand changes in the off-season are inevitable. It is the nature of the business that is the NFL. However, wide receiver Jordan Matthews is happy with the foundation in place and feels this 7-9 ending is a bit different than last year when the Eagles finished with an identical record.
"I'm really confident with this group of guys moving forward," said Matthews. "I like the core group of guys we have. We love the guy at quarterback. We love the confidence in the coach and we love playing for him. We want to go out there and win for him."
The core includes a potential franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz, who is looking forward to some down time after a whirlwind rookie season. Tight end Brent Celek was impressed with the way Wentz handled his rookie year and thinks Wentz will continue to get better as he prepares for 2017.
"Being a starter as a rookie quarterback in the NFL I'm sure is not easy," Celek said. "I've never been there, but now him understanding the offense even more and more means I think he's going to get a lot better this off-season going into next season. I think he's going to get a lot more comfortable with the players he's playing with."
Just how many of the same players will be back with Wentz remains to be seen. The Eagles are expected to make changes at wide receiver and running back, so the off-season will have its share of shakeups on the roster. While that change is inevitable, Jenkins is still hoping for a calm period of time before training camp gets underway.
"You've got stability with the head coaching job," said Jenkins. "You've got stability at the quarterback position. Hopefully, we can have an uneventful off-season for once."
