Message To Eagles’ OC Kevin Patullo: Throw A.J. the Damn Ball

Getty

A t some point, you stop overanalyzing it. The Philadelphia Eagles are 4–0, but it doesn’t feel like it, because their best player is being treated like a prop.  You’ve got a thoroughbred, and you’re keeping him in the barn.  Hey coach Patullo: Throw. A.J. Brown. The damn. Ball.

The Basics: Eagles vs Broncos

• Who: Eagles (4-0, 2-0 Home) vs. Broncos (2-2, 0-2 Away)
• When: Sunday 1:00 p.m. ET
• Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA.
• TV: CBS
• Betting: Eagles -3.5 ; Total: 44.5
• Money Line: Eagles: -220, Broncos +180
  

  ---

Let the Big Dog Eat

Since A.J. Brown got to Philly in 2022, the Eagles are 41–10 when he plays. That’s not a stat that’s a statement.

When Brown eats, the offense hums. When he’s ignored, it sputters, looks mechanical, and you can almost feel the frustration buzzing through the headset.

Two seasons ago, Brown went nuclear.  We’re not talking muttually assured destruction, just assured destruction – six straight games with 125+ yards, a streak no one in NFL history had ever done before.

From Week 3 through Week 8 of 2023, he posted:

• 9 for 131 vs Tampa Bay
• 9 for 175 vs Washington
• 6 for 127 vs Rams
• 7 for 131 vs Jets
• 10 for 137 vs Miami
• 8 for 130 and 2 TDs vs Washington

That’s 49 catches, 831 yards, and 5 touchdowns in six games.

That’s what dominance looks like when you make your alpha the priority, not an afterthought.  It’s what possible if you make it possible.

Apex Predators Need to Own the Food Chain

Brown is an apex predator meaning the top of the perverbial food chain.  He hunts down his opponents, not the other way around.  Guys like A.J. Brown aren’t normal athletes. They’re wired differently.

They don’t play for balance, or for the fresh air, or to make sure everyone gets a turn.

They play to dominate.  They play to bury the guy lined up across from them and make sure the world knows it.

Winning isn’t enough. Winning while taking someone’s soul is what fuels them.

A.J. Brown doesn’t want cardio.  He wants carnage and if given the opportunity he will show you no mercy.

You can see it when he’s locked in, the sideline comes alive, Jalen Hurts stands taller, the whole team takes on his edge.  You ever see the chaos that ensues from the various prides of the Serengeti when an angry, irritated, hungry, rogue lion comes strolling through?  Yeah it’s like that.

When he’s ghosted for half a game because of ultra-conservatism his energy evaporates. You can’t manufacture that juice with bubble screens to Jahan Dotson.

The Other Predators Eat Well

Puka Nacua | Rams

• 42 catches, 503 yards, 2 TDs through 4 games
• Averaging 10.5 receptions and 125.8 yards per game

Sean McVay doesn’t apologize for feeding his guy 14 times a week. He builds his script around it.

Ja’Marr Chase | Bengals

• 26 catches, 264 yards, 1 TD
• 16 targets and 14 receptions for 165 yards in game three alone with  a back-up quarterback

When Cincinnati needs a spark, they don’t hold a committee meeting. They throw to Ja’Marr until someone stops it, and no one ever does.

What Doesn’t Kevin Patullo Get?

Kevin Patullo coordinating the offensive plays like a guy trying to protect his LinkedIn profile, not win a Super Bowl.

His game plans feel devoid of a game plan. 

He’s got one of the NFL’s most dangerous weapons in Brown, a top-five receiver with grown-man power and somehow keeps dialing up swing passes and gap dives like he’s allergic to the forward pass.

This isn’t absract theory.  It’s the NFL and when your top wideout looks like a Greek statue with jet fuel for blood he should not ever go two quarters without a target.

Keyshawn Johnson said it best in his book 27 years ago and it still holds up: Throw Me the Damn Ball.  That’s the mantra of every top flite NFL receiver.

That wasn’t about ego.  It was about feeding the alpha so the pack hunts right.

Coached Conservatively

The Eagles aren’t broken. They’re just being coached way too conservatively.  The record is perfect, but the swagger is missing.  The NFL is about imposing your will, not good will.

The Birds are the Seventh-Worst 4-0 Team Ever

Moving on.  We went through this last season with the Chiefs.  We’re going to go through the same thing with the current reigning Super Bowl champions.

Worst 4-0 Teams Through Four Games Since 1978

Notice anything about the weakest 4-0 teams? Four of the nine previous teams made it to the Super Bowl.  That’s the thing about a 4-0 start: It sets you up for a successful season, even if your underlying stats are unimpressive.

Like the 2024 Chiefs, the Eagles have won the benefit of the doubt with seasons of success and last year’s Lombardi Trophy. Yes, something has been off about both their offense and defense so far, but it’s expected that the Eagles will come around eventually. Philadelphia has already banked four wins against a difficult early schedule, and its upcoming opponents in October are a lot less intimidating, at least on paper, than its September opponents, including two games against rookie Jaxson Dart and the Malik Nabers-less New York Giants.

ESPN’s Football Power Index still ranks the Eagles fourth in the NFL. The ESPN playoff simulation gives them a 12.9% chance to win the Super Bowl, the best odds in the NFC. The Eagles should be fine despite their “slow start.”

PREDICTION: Eagles 23, Broncos 16