Eagles OC fired following playoff loss. This play could have been the final straw:

[Auggie]

Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is looking for a job having been dismissed yesterday. Yes, the offense had been struggling this season and the pink slip had probably already been written, though this fourth quarter play in the wildcard likely hastened his departure.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Before 4th-and-11 from the 49ers’ 21-yard line with 43 seconds left, (Tom) Brady, from the broadcast booth, predicted (49ers defensive coordinator Robert) Saleh would show a blitz and drop out of it. On Philadelphia’s sideline, during a timeout before the play, Patullo didn’t have the same foresight.

Before the snap, linebackers Eric Kendricks and Garret Wallow, on each side of center Cam Jurgens, joined the 49ers’ four defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. At the snap, however, they dropped into coverage.

Because Saleh feigned the blitzes, running back Saquon Barkley, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, stayed in to block instead of running a route with the season on the line. And as Kendricks broke up QB Jalen Hurts’ pass to tight end Dallas Goedert, Barkley was unnecessarily helping right guard Tyler Steen block pass rusher Yetur-Gross Matos, who was part of a defense that had one QB hit in the game.

Kendricks, 33, an 11-year veteran, said he expected Hurts to target wide receiver A.J. Brown, Goedert or Barkley in such a crucial situation. And once he saw Barkley wasn’t a threat, and with Brown running an end-zone route, he broke to the middle of the field and stepped in front of Goedert at the 8-yard line.

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-game-review-brock-purdy-s-gangster-21292483.php

Don't know about the rest of you, but I expected Philly to convert the fourth down and win the game. Now you know the circumstances that helped Kendricks make that game-saving play.

This is why I love football.

[JT45242]

1. four parallel vertical routes with no rubs or other motion -- bad and predictable play

4th and 11 should have some sort of dagger or other crossing action. Triple flood one side with a low intermediate and deep route to stress the zones/man issues.

It was a bad play call -- but a smore and more comes out about Jalen Hurts , it becomes more and more difficult to know where to stop with the blame.
Word is Hurts is uncoachable -- try a new QB coach and OC next year. If it doesn't get better the head coach gets fired.

The GM has built an incredible roster with depth -- great drafts, trades, and creative use of cap space rules.

[exboyfil]

2. Many Youtuber football commentators is bringing this up - Thanks

Maybe Hurts was trying to get the OC fired?

How did they win it last year with the same OC?

[JT45242]

3. They ran the ball more...injuries on offensive line hurt

They simply put did not run enough. Did not run well enough. Did not use play action well enough.

Other teams spend all season watching film to take away what you did best the year before. That's why sophomore slump is a thing.

The other coaches get paid too...if you can't adjust to the adjustment you find out that NFL means Not For Long as Jerry glanville once said

[Auggie]

5. Well, had a contingency been in place to put Barkley in motion ...

once he or Hurts saw the blitz reversed, either he or Goedert could have been open. I don't think it was a bad call. It lacked a back-up plan. And that would fall on Patullo. Or Hurts. Hurts can't get fired, but he can be coached better.

Wonder just how good Hurts is. Of course he's good, but is he elite? A few years back, at the apex of Philly's dominance, the 49ers developed a pass rush designed not to sack Hurts but to scare the crap out of him. The plan was to encircle him, slowly encroach, keep him contained, and force Hurts to hurry his throws. He couldn't adjust. It worked beautifully, and the 49ers won.

[Xavier Breath]

4. Like me, Mr. Patullo no doubt avoids listening to Tom call a game for fear of dozing off.

[RockRaven]

6. Since Philly/Eagles fans are so renowned for being even-keeled (haha), I listened to some

of their sports talk radio to see what the consensus reaction was, if any. They were frustrated but not as angry as I expected. Since the dissatisfaction with the offense in this manner has been simmering all year, there was sort of an air of resignation about the whole thing.

Everyone I heard took firing Patullo as a given. He was promoted from within, without interviewing any outsiders, to a job he'd never done before. And it went poorly all season long, everyone agreed. As Patullo had worked with Sirianni since before the Eagles job, it was derisively characterized as "hiring his buddy" and the GM and owner were also criticized for allowing the hire. Head coach, GM, and owner were all criticized for not making this change midseason when it was clearly not working.

Other conclusions:
QB Hurts was criticized for reacting to pressure which wasn't there, not just the last play but in general. They are very much stuck with him because of his contract but also the obvious scarcity of better QBs, so the issue is getting an OC who can maximize what he does well.
WR Brown was criticized for drops and an attitude problem. Opinions were mixed on exploring a trade to get him out of town.
RB Barkley was criticized for a drop and generally not being useful in the passing game. Being on the same field as McCaffrey for this game didn't help the optics there, probably.
The O-line was noted to be significantly worse than last year, but partially due to injuries. Nonetheless improvements/investments were deemed necessary.


My two cents:
the issue of the last play being so basic/unimaginative is really compounded by the timeout. It would have been more understandable without the timeout. But the Head Coach, OC, and QB put their heads together on the sideline, and then trotted out a play which put no defenders in conflict, didn't scheme anyone open, and totally relied upon physically out-executing the other guys. Even though the Eagles did have the better talent on the field, that's not giving yourself the best chance to win.
Hurts has some notable limitations or exploitable tendencies. All QBs do. And then there are these rumors/reports that he doesn't like or can't handle lots of pre-snap motion and such. So this OC hire is going to be interesting. Will they get someone who caters to him/makes him comfortable, or someone who will push/further shape him? Obviously it will be some of both, but which way will the balance tip?

[Auggie]

7. Thanks for sharing

Good stuff.

[tishaLA]

8. The video of Siriani, Patullo, and Hurts during the time out is actually kinda funny

Because Patullo is saying "let's go with this play" and Hurts looks at him as if he's crazy.

At any rate, I was watching someone (I forget who) say that the fact of the matter is that the offense regressed at every position, save Goeddert and probably Davonta Smith and that kind of regression across he board can only be explained by a failure in coaching.