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Eagles notebook: Time to see Carson Steele on offense?
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- Eagles notebook: Time to see Carson Steele on offense?
Eagles notebook: Time to see Carson Steele on offense? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As Carson Steele began to hear the the question about the Eagles' running back room, he jumped in to help. The running back room is a little …
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"A little banged up," Steele said.
No kidding.
The Eagles will be without Saquon Barkley (hamstring), Tank Bigsby (abdomen) and Will Shipley (foot) this weekend when they host the Carolina Panthers. Those were the three running backs the Eagles went into the year with on their 53-man roster.
Last week, the Eagles started Shipley but then he injured his foot and left the game. That left them with Dameon Pierce and Steele, who began the year on the practice squad. So with Shipley now out and Barkley and Bigsby still out, the Eagles go into this game against the Panthers with Pierce and Steele as their top two options.
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"It's unfortunate but it's a blessing to be on the field," Steele said. "So it's kind of a toss up. I'm just excited for an opportunity. That's really all I can say. I hope my guys heal up, get back out on the field and I'm going to try to help them in any way possible."
Last week, Steele played 20 special teams snaps but didn't see the field on offense. That seems likely to change this weekend with yet another injury at the running back position.
"Not excited that guys are hurt," Steele said, "but excited to possibly get an opportunity and just go from there."
During the preseason, Steele was a star with 14 catches for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns coming out of the backfield. He also had 59 rushing yards on 21 carries. If he plays on offense Sunday, it'll be his first time doing that since the 2024 season with the Chiefs.
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Even though Barkley has been out, the All-Pro back has been really helpful to the other backs, especially because Barkley now has a different vantage point.
"He'll point out a few things and at the beginning you're just trying to get the play down and the protection and you're not thinking of that until the very end," Steele said. "Then you go back and look at the film and go, 'Damn, he was right.' He gets that bird's-eye view so that really helps out."
Second-half ineptitude
How bad have the Eagles been on offense in the second half during their three-game losing streak? You've got to see it to believe it.
The next lefty QB?
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Because Jalen Hurts is out this week with a blood clot in his calf, Tanner McKee is the starter against the Panthers and fifth-round pick Cole Payton is the Eagles' backup.
If Payton gets to throw a pass this year, he will become the first lefty quarterback to attempt a pass for the Eagles since Michael Vick in the 2013 season. On Friday, I asked Payton who his favorite all-time lefty quarterback is and his answer was Vick. That's a pretty good one.
Vick is one of the best lefty QBs of all time. Some of the other names you'll see mentioned in that conversation are Steve Young, Ken Stabler, Boomer Esiason and Mark Brunell.
The last lefty to throw a pass in an Eagles uniform was not Vick. It was actually running back Kenny Gainwell, who completed a 17-yard pass against the Cardinals in 2023.
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The Eagles have had just five lefties throw a pass for them in a regular season game: Gainwell (1 attempt), Vick (1,300 attempts), Akers (1 attempt), Allie Sherman (135 attempts) and Ed Matesic (124 attempts) Sherman played in the 40s and Matesic played in the 30s. And the Eagles also had lefty Tim Tebow in the 2015 preseason but he didn't make the 53-man roster that year.
More mobility for Jalen Carter
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was able to wear a smaller cast on his right wrist for Week 5 against the Jaguars and had his best game of the season with a couple strip sacks and another tackle for loss.
And there's more good news coming about that cast.
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"I think it's going to be significantly smaller this week," DC Vic Fangio said.
Carter has been dealing with this injury for a few weeks but has said eventually he won't have to wear the cast anymore and will get full use of his hands back. That's a huge deal for a defensive lineman. And on Sunday, we finally saw the player the Eagles need after making Carter the highest-paid DT in NFL history.
The Eagles need more consistency from Carter.
"I just think as he progresses as a player, understands what's important from a technique standpoint and how to play, we'll get more of that," Fangio said. "But it's not like he's been not playing good since he's been here. It's just he obviously made a couple big plays the other night and hopefully that will continue and it's hopefully his wrist (is) getting better."
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Still enjoying the job
Through five weeks the Eagles' offense has been worse than anyone expected. While they've dealt with plenty of injuries, it's still fair to expect them to have better than the second-worst offense in the NFL.
Going by yards, that's where the Eagles are at just 262.2 yards per game — behind just the 0-5 Titans at 246.4.
But those struggles haven't yet sucked the fun out of the job for first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, whose eyes lit up this week when asked about his adjustment to the position.
"I know we're fighting tooth and nail every day to get the results that I know we can get, the results I know we want," Mannion said. "The thing with the work part of it is it really is — that's the part you love. You love coming in here every day, working your tail off with your staff, with your players, working as a unit to try to achieve the best result possible. I know we're still fighting for what we want that to look like, but my enthusiasm, my enjoyment with that process has not waned in the slightest. It's been a blast.
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"There are new challenges every day, whether it be managing injuries or whether it be managing a practice plan or traveling overseas, how does that adjust our offensive meeting schedule? But that honestly is the enjoyable part. That's why you love getting into coaching is you get to work with other great coaches, get to work with a phenomenal group of players that work their butts off, they're coachable, they want to win, they want to get better.
"It's a new challenge every day in this role, but it's everything I hoped it would be and it's been a blast. I am really confident that if we keep attacking each day with the right mindset, with a high level of enthusiasm, with a will to just get better bit by bit, day by day, we are going to get the results that we're after."
