Doug Pederson Believes His Message is still Getting Through
Doug Pederson’s Thursday morning news conference sounded more like an obituary on a season that seemingly hit rock bottom in Sunday’s 37-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins that left the Eagles with a 5-7 record.
The Eagles coach was asked several questions about how he evaluates himself, his staff, and what went wrong this year after the season began Super Bowl expectations but might end on the final Sunday of December.
Pederson was patient with the line of questions for a bit before cutting them off with a question about how he evaluates himself.
“Is the season over?” he said. “Understand we do play a game on Monday night. Can we save those for maybe the end of the year? Thank you.”
Yes, the Eagles still control their own destiny but must win their final four games beginning Monday night when the New York Giants visit. The longest winning streak the Eagles have had this year is two games.
Pederson was asked if he still believes his message is being heard in the locker room.
“I do,” said Pederson. “I can sense and feel the energy of the group. Listen, we’re all disappointed and we’re all sick to our stomach. But they also understand we’ve done this to ourselves.
“They’re ready to go back to work and I sensed that yesterday and I sensed it again today. It’s my job, I have to bring that energy, bring that juice so they can see me in that light and that’s what spreads out through the rest of the team. These guys are with me.”
Quarterback Carson Wentz backed up his coach about 90 minutes later when he met with reporters.
Wentz said Pederson’s message is still getting through, adding, “We can only talk so much whether that’s leaders or coaches or whatever, we just have to go be about it. We talked a lot in here. For us, it’s get on the field and go back to work and see what we can do.”
The mood among the handful of players who showed up in the locker room during the 45 minutes reporters were allowed in told a different story. The vibe was one of defeat or resignation to a season that has gone horribly off the rails.
It will be interesting to see if the Eagles can shake out of those doldrums over the next few days and respond with their first win on more than a month on Monday night.
Otherwise, the questions about the offseason that Pederson was being asked on Thursday will comtinue.
