Trench Talk

PHILADELPHIA –– The Eagles (4-2), eyeing a rebound after dropping consecutive games, travel to Minnesota this weekend to take on an intriguing 3-2 Vikings team.

For the team to leave U.S. Bank Stadium with a victory and reverse course, however, drastic improvements in all three phases must come to fruition. The messaging this week wasn’t one of side-stepping accountability and pointing to its record, but coming to terms with underlying issues, taking ownership, and searching for answers.

With that, here are some leftover storylines for my end-of-week notebook, compiled throughout the week.

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles LT Jordan Mailata is looking to right the ship of the team’s o-line struggles.

‘Execution Fuels Emotion’

There are many factors contributing to the Eagles’ offensive struggles through the first six games, but no one in the building has resorted to finger-pointing, instead directing their focus toward identifying solutions.

Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata, a team captain and locker room pillar, has become a spokesperson of sorts. A prominent figure who will routinely hold court, win or loss, high times and low points, and doesn’t mince words.

From Mailata’s perspective, the offense, helmed by first-time coordinator Kevin Patullo, hasn’t been predictable. Rather, Mailata chose to look inward from an on-field, executional standpoint. The predictability, from his standpoint, stems from situations the unit has routinely put themselves.

“I think it’s been taken … and people are running with it,” he said this week. “I don’t think we’re predictable. I think we’re just not executing. That is a major part of the game right now that is probably … we’re just putting ourselves in predictable situations. Meaning, we’re getting behind the sticks and we have to throw.

“There aren’t many runs where we can do in second-down-and-15. There just aren’t. And if you do, you probably gain, what, five, six, or seven yards? Now you’re third down and 7. Third-down-and-6. Not many runs out of third down and 6 and 7. Technically, they’re passing downs. So, you get a defense that’ll pin their ears back and shoot straight upfield. And that kind of sucks. So, I think where you are on the field kind of dictates the game, and if we’re not executing, then we’re behind the sticks and have to pass the ball.”

Mailata, a key component to position coach Jeff Stoutland’s star-studded offensive line, has largely performed well, especially in pass protection. Foundationally, the Eagles are a team that wants to establish the run, setting the tone in the trenches where the group up front, and running back Saquon Barkley, dictates the flow of the game.

That hasn’t happened to this point, putting the unit behind the sticks and forcing the offense to become one dimensional. Sure, there have been boundless examples of predictability in terms of play-calling and its apparent the offense lacks creativity, but Mailata — and the Eagles — aren’t in the business of assigning blame.

Under Nick Sirianni, the offense has been the bullies on the block, setting the tone and imposing its will. Punching first, as Mailata says. That wasn’t the case against the Giants, but Mailata threw every potential excuse out the window, maintaining the Eagles must execute more proficiently.

“No, I think execution,” he said. “It always comes down to execution, ‘cause execution fuels emotion. We just haven’t been executing. It’s something that we are focusing on, simplifying the game – and communication, too – so we can just play free.”

Last season, the Eagles offense was as predictable as it gets, but a highly effective running game unlocked the full menu, forcing defenses to play them honestly. Everyone needed to put it all back into effect is inside the building, and the messaging throughout the week has been one of soul-searching and optimism as the team looks to reestablish its identity. But it’s Week 7, and the urgency to get back on course ramps up with each passing week. It’s now about enacting those changes on the field.

“You just gotta want it, is what it comes down to,” he said. “Football is a game of inches. But you just gotta want it, and our focus hasn’t been there, quite frankly. I’m just being really blunt. So, it’s something that we gotta make a choice to do every play and every down.”

Smoother Returns

To say the Eagles kick return game has experienced some turbulence through six games would be an understatement. The league’s new kick return rule has placed a greater emphasis on the return game, creating more opportunities for more explosive plays, the flipside being that any inefficacies with the operation will be magnified.

When Eagles running back and primary kick returner Will Shipley sustained an oblique injury in the season opener and was slated to miss some time, the team sprung to action, swiftly identifying an upside-laden contingency plan to fuel the return game while doubling as cost-effective depth. The cost of doing the business necessitated the Eagles sending a 2026 fifth and sixth round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for 24-year-old running back Tank Bigsby. While Bigsby joined a crowded room at the position, the short-term appeal was that he acquired with the intent of bolstering the kick return game.

Before arriving in Philadelphia, Bigsby, a 2023 third-round pick, hadn’t had much experience returning kicks, totaling just 11 returns in a little over two seasons. In five games with the Eagles, Bigsby has returned nine kickoffs for 187 yards. His season-long went for 31 yards and his average yards per return stands at 20.8.

He wasn’t alone in struggling to field knuckleball kickoffs off the foot of Rams kicker Joshua Karty, a game in which Bigsby averaged just 12 yards on two returns, but the spotty handling and decisiveness on kickoffs have become a recurring theme. Context is also important, as Bigsby has been thrust into a role he isn’t all that familiar. He’s experiencing the natural growing pains that typically accompany learning something new, each opportunity — each rep — arming Bigsby with experience to pull from.

“It’s just like a game,” he explained. “The more and more you do it, the better you get. The more you get touches in a game, the better you get as a runner. The more you feel something out in life, you get the opportunity. Just like, I’m sure you got kids. If you got kids, the first kid probably was a bump. And second kid, it’s just about getting in a routine and getting a flow. Getting in your flow state. And I feel like that’s when I’m at my best, when I’m in my flow state.”

In theory, the way the new-look kick returns are skewed should heavily favor running backs, as it closely resembles inside zone. Still, there are different subtleties and nuances factoring into returns that likely isn’t fully appreciated by most observers. Bigsby is well aware of his job requirements, it’s now about going out there and, in the words of Coach Sirianni, mastering the things that require no talent.

“As I’m out there, just feeling the ball,” he explained. “Just catch it and go. But it’s all about the scheme and just going out there and competing at a high level when you get an opportunity. But I feel like we just gotta look it in and catch it and do what we gotta do out there. But sometimes, it just … we just gotta go out there and do it.”

The blemishes persisted against the Giants. While the first New York kickoff dropped in shy of the landing zone, the second one underscored a listening and communication breakdown, with Bigsby and Shipley standing in the same spot at the goal line to field the kick. The coaching point, Bigsby said, was vocalizing “me, me, me” or “you, you, you.” The two spoke about it afterwards to get on the same page.

Bigsby would later muff a kickoff just before the half, regaining possession at the -1 and bringing it out to the Eagles’ seven-yard line. Bigsby was effectively removed from kick return duties shortly thereafter. The messaging from special teams coaches Tyler Brown and Joe Pannunzio was one of encouragement, telling him to “get the next one.”

“That’s what we do,” he said. “Support each other, come out there and lift each other up. My teammates did it. So, just flushing everything behind me and trying to move forward.”

But Bigsby was hardly the only culprit in the return miscues. His replacement, fellow running back A.J. Dillon, muffed a kick of his own late in the game that tumbled out of bounds at the five-yard line. While much of the return game scrutiny is focused on Bigsby, given the compensation to acquire him and expectations, the collective group — sans Shipley — has underwhelmed, often setting the offense up with suboptimal field position. It’s also important to reiterate that Bigsby is being asked to do something he hasn’t done much of early in his career, even though the team remains bullish on the potential returns.

Bigsby should, however, be commended for his accountability and grasping of what he must do in his role to shoulder his weight. He hasn’t ducked responsibility and is equipped with an ideal mindset to push past his sticking points.

“In a game, when something don’t go your way, you gotta flush it,” he said. “Hopefully, coach trusts you enough to give you another opportunity, and that’s when you gotta showcase. Just go out there and be you. Don’t try to do too much, but whenever you get another opp, just go out there and showcase. This game, you’re gonna make mistakes, but you just gotta limit them and go out and be who you are. Be who you called to be. And I thank the lord for giving me an opportunity. But everything’ll take care of itself.”

Tacklin’ Machine

When asked if he realized he’d amassed six special teams tackles in five games, Eagles tight end Cam Latu smiled before quipping that he should have had ten. It was then that he was informed that his position mate, Kylen Granson, and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. do, in fact, have ten tackles. But Latu likely already knew that, as special teams coordinator Michael Clay, at the start of each meeting, makes it a point to recognize the accomplishments of his unit — with updated numbers.

“He shouts us out beforehand and he’s like, ‘Hey, Kylen and Trot … 10 tackles!’ Granson said. “And then it’s like, ‘Syd, 9 tackles!’ They give you a little shout-out before meetings.”

For perspective, Granson and Trotter Jr. — along with two other players — are tied for second in the league in special teams tackles. In what feels like any coverage scenario this season, like clockwork, it seems some variation of Granson, Trotter Jr., Brown or Latu are in on the action. It’s a group that’s served as a nucleus for Clay’s unit, exhibiting physicality, detail and relentless effort. Healthy competition.

And in the case of Granson and Trotter Jr., who share top billing in-house in terms of special teams tackles, healthy competition is inevitable.

“Oh, yeah,” Granson said. “Absolutely. I would say so. We’re pinning the ears back, we’ll come back and be like, ‘Hey, I’m getting the next one.’ It’s a friendly competition.”

While Granson hasn’t factored all that much into the offensive equation as a pass-catcher, totaling just six yards on two receptions, his impact has been evident, even if it’s not as visible to those on the outside. The 27-year-old, who spent his first four seasons with the Colts before signing with the Eagles in free agency, logged 265 special teams snaps last season for the Colts, accounting for 57 percent of the team’s total. For his career, Granson has accumulated 733 third phase snaps. It’s become an increasingly significant part of his game, as Granson has played on pretty much every unit over his first four seasons. As he’ll tell you, he’s “no stranger” to special teams.

But even in the midst of a wildly productive start that potentially has him on track for an appearance on the 2025 Pro Bowl ballot, Granson casually shrugged off the prospect of attaining an accolade of that stature.

“I’m just going around hittin’ stuff,” he said, grinning. “You know, typical football player stuff.”

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com