Division Links: Gettleman, Kellen Moore, Wentz, and Philly’s tank discussed by NFCE teams not in playoffs

Big Blue View

Keeping Dave Gettleman, and more ‘things I think’ about the Giants

It’s hard to argue that there aren’t signs the Giants are moving in the right direction. They have a head coach in Joe Judge who appears as if he is going to be in that job for a while. The coaching staff, despite the offensive struggles overall, appears to believe in the future of the quarterback Gettleman selected before they got to New York. There are still holes on the roster, but it does seem like there are more players on the current roster worth going forward with than has been the case for some time.

Judge, as I said, looks like the right head coach. He’s going to be around a while. Thus, the GM has to be a person who sees personnel and roster building the way the head coach does. He has to be someone who can forge a working relationship with the head coach that will help push the Giants forward to a time when double-digit loss seasons are the exception rather than the rule.

Washington Football Team

Sure, it would have been nice if the Philadelphia Eagles had beaten the Washington Football Team on Sunday night — or at least tried. Or, if the Giants had beaten the Eagles the first time. Or, won any of the close games they lost early in the season.

Any of those roads would have propelled the Giants to the playoffs.

Still, step back for a minute and think about the Washington Football Team. I think it’s hard not to feel good for Ron Rivera after the toughness he showed this season in coaching through a cancer battle. It’s hard not to feel good for quarterback Alex Smith for fighting his way back to being a productive NFL player after nearly losing his leg.

They deserve to be congratulated.

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Blogging the Boys

Troy Aikman’s explanation on his Kellen Moore comments is rather interesting

An interesting comment from Cowboys great, number 8.
While the Cowboys were playing against the New York Giants, a must-win game that they wound up losing, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were having conversations as they normally do during FOX broadcasts.

In talking about the Moore news from the night before Aikman inferred that it was his understanding that Moore had even accepted the job at Boise State so he was unsure what ultimately dissolved there. You can hear his comment right here.

Troy Aikman appeared on The Ticket on Tuesday morning as per his usual routine and was obviously asked to clarify his comments. Here is what he said as transcribed by The Athletics’s Jon Machota.

This is certainly very interesting as Aikman goes as far as saying that he was told that Moore was offered and accepted the job. If you’re a Boise fan, perhaps you are troubled by the university not being in support of the football program as much as Moore would have seemingly liked, but as Aikman notes it does seem like a positive sign for Moore that he bailed when he found that out.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Miles Sanders on the Eagles pulling Jalen Hurts: “Nobody liked the decision”

The Eagles can’t even lose right.

Miles Sanders had the following to say during an appearance with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie on Tuesday’s 94WIP Midday Show:

“Man if I’m being honest, nobody liked the decision, nobody. That’s all I can say really. I don’t know who was the main person behind that decision. All I know is that a lot of people on the team was confused.”

It’s worth noting that Sanders was being rested in this game after he popped up on the injury report last week. One would imagine he could’ve played if he really had to, so the idea that the Eagles weren’t going all out to win shouldn’t be lost on him.

But, based on the reactions, it’s clear that the Eagles’ communication could’ve been better than it was. And the organization deserves blame for that.

Note that I say “organization” and not just “Doug Pederson.” That’s not to say Pederson isn’t culpable at all. But it should be very clear that the decision to play Sudfeld was not his alone, despite his insistence otherwise. Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long and I had a Twitter exchange relevant to this point:

It’s shameful how Pederson has been forced to take the brunt of what was likely a directive from above him. Then again, it’s certainly not the first time he’s taken a disproportionate amount of blame for this organization’s failures.

Anyway, the Eagles are a mess, and it’s hard to be hopeful about their future.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Report: Carson Wentz is “hopeful [his relationship with the Eagles] won’t end in a divorce”

But will that be the case?

On Sunday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Carson Wentz “plans to ask for a trade in the offseason because his relationship with coach Doug Pederson is fractured beyond repair.”

On Monday, Wentz declined an opportunity to speak with reporters to clear to air.

On Tuesday, we have a new report from Rob Maadi of the Associated Press that claims Wentz hopes he can remain with the Eagles. Here’s the latest:

“A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday Carson Wentz needs time away to think about his future with the Philadelphia Eagles and is hopeful it won’t end in a divorce. [...] Wentz also hasn’t discussed his future with team officials yet, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it’s a private matter. The person said those conversations will take place when the time is right. [...] Wentz’s relationship with the organization is strained, according to another person close to the situation. It’ll take both sides coming together to make it work.”

NFL insider Mike Garafolo added some more color here:

Perhaps Wentz and the Eagles can get together and chart a path to move forward. But it’s hard to assume that will so easily be accomplished after reading the strong language in ESPN’s original report. Even the AP report admits that Wentz’s relationship with the Eagles is “strained.”

But this is a messy situation and it remains to be seen if Wentz and the Eagles can get on the same page. His future in Philly is far from guaranteed.