Howie Roseman Should Stand Down on Game-Planning
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PHILADELPHIA - It seemed innocuous enough but the fact that Howie Roseman was intimated to be in on the Eagles’ game-planning sessions is worth noting because that is not the typical way of doing business around the NFL.
The narrative is that Howie SZN has morphed to Nick [Sirianni] SZN but the nexus of every football decision at One NovaCare Way these days has some Roseman fingerprints on them.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon revealed Roseman’s role in game-planning when asked about rotational positions and how malleable the plan for playing time is in-game by SI Eagles Today on Tuesday.
“We set up the game plan a certain way and say, ‘Hey, we want to come out of the game kind of looking like this,’ and we do that with the head coach and with Howie," Gannon said.
Gannon, of course, took some hits after the season-opening 38-35 win in Detroit over the playing time of rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who was in for 22 snaps, less than Fletcher Cox (39 reps), Javon Hargrave (38), Milton Williams (33), and Marlon Tuipulotu (29).
The decision was made more curious because of how the Eagles struggled to stop the run against a talented Detroit offensive front.
Lions running back and Philadelphia native D’Andre Swift finished with 144 yards on 15 carries and a gaudy 9.6 yards-per-carry, grading out as the best RB in the NFL by Pro Football Focus during Kickoff Weekend action.
The kicker to that is when Davis, the Eagles' No. 1 overall pick back in April, was on the field the Lions finished with 14 carries for 41 yards and when he was off it Detroit gouged the Eagles for 140 yards in 14 totes.
PFF had Davis ranked as the No. 1 rookie defensive lineman in Week 1. Davis was the third DL drafted and there were seven taken overall.
The context to that is Davis was often on the field in short-yardage situations so things were naturally skewed and the Lions scored three rushing TDs with him on the field.
“As far as the correlation with the way they ran it and him, I don't think there was any correlation to that,” Sirianni noted, alluding to the different types of reps. “There's no doubt we have to do a better job in the run game as far as our defense, and we have been working like crazy to do that.”
To me, Davis’ playing time receded to the background when Roseman’s name came up in the game-planning conversation, however.
Reaching out to one team source, it was explained as more of a department head who wants to stay informed on what’s going on.
A second source also explained information is the only component Roseman is being advised on as the steward of the roster and the GM is certainly not diving in with Gannon, Nick Sirianni, or the coaches when it comes to scheme.
There is a precedent of danger here, though. And there can be a loaded aspect to this type of behavior that powerful people often do not recognize.
As evidence of that owner Jeffrey Lurie has often described himself as someone who likes to ask questions, a management style that caused a rift when former head coach Doug Pederson took a query about run/pass distribution the wrong way after an upset win in Green Bay during a weekly Tuesday department head meeting.
The point is that a question about something as simple as personnel from someone with significant power in the organization can be just that, but it also can be perceived as a suggestion, often a strong one, by an underling.
Roseman has put together a strong roster and remains in charge of the 53. He was also deciding game-day rosters in the Pederson era and the belief is that has continued doing so under Sirianni, although had not been independently confirmed by Eagles Today.
What isn’t debatable here is that Sirianni and his staff arrived in Philadelphia with little cachet and even less power to demand anything.
A first-year playoff berth put some assets in the bank and any continued success moving forward will give Sirianni a better foothold when it comes to expanding his power base at the NovaCare Complex.
But, no coach should need that to have the GM stand down in the game-planning process. You’re hiring coaches for a reason and once you anoint someone to pilot the team, you should let them do their jobs.
All available evidence is that's the case here.
Sirianni seems very comfortable doing whatever he needs to do to win football games as evidenced by the offseason lip service toward the passing game turning into 17 carries by Jalen Hurts in Detroit.
If that ever changes, so will Sirianni’s demeanor.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
