Sean Mannion's first preseason game as the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator didn't producethe introduction the City of Brotherly Love was hoping for. Then again, we're talking about a game in the middle of August, a game that doesn't affect the regular-season win-loss tally. Neither does it affect the next NFL postseason in January
The Eagles lost 24-7 to the Baltimore Ravens. They managed only 159 yards and scored just once, with the lone touchdown coming late in the fourth quarter from a group of players unlikely to have significant roles or jobs with this team once the regular season begins. Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee struggled to establish rhythm, while penalties and inconsistent execution repeatedly stalled drives, yet somewhere
inside that ugly performance was a development that may matter far more than the scoreboard.
Head coach Nick Sirianni, Tanner McKee, and Andy Dalton all spoke with the media postgame. Vanilla play-calling and the need for better execution were discussed, but so was an admiration for how Mannion coached and operated.
Sean Mannion's communication earned an encouraging review
Mannion's play-calling was never going to receive a completely fair evaluation Saturday night. Philadelphia rested its starters, kept the game plan relatively simple, and avoided showing much of the offense it has spent training camp installing.
That makes the reaction from his players particularly interesting. McKee offered an unsolicited endorsement of how Mannion handled the communication process, praising the new coordinator for being decisive and delivering calls with plenty of time remaining on the play clock.
"Sounded really good. Clear. Decisive. Was always early... There was never a time when he was trying to get a play call at the 15-second [mark] because he didn't know what he was going to do."
Nick Sirianni stated that the Eagles "obviously wanted to [put on] a better performance" and that 40 total offensive plays kept the defense on the field too long. Still, he credited his team for high intensity at practice and mentioned his starters would earn a lot of reps at joint practices vs. the New England Patriots. He, like McKee, was pleased with the job his offensive coordinator did, mentioning the following as a defense.
"I thought the communication and plays [were good]. I didn't feel like we were rushed. I wasn't staring at the play clock at any point. I didn't think [or] debate whether I needed to call a timeout or not. The operation was good. We had a vanilla gameplan, as [Baltimore] did as well... I thought the operation was good, the subbing in and out of the huddle. The communication from Sean to the quarterback... [We] had one presnap penalty on a third down, but I don't think that had anything to do with the operation. So, as far as the operation goes, I thought that was fine."
Those might sound like small details after an offensive performance that produced so little, but it is anything but insignificant for a first-time NFL play-caller. Mannion has never called plays at this level. He is also asking the Eagles to learn an offense that differs substantially from what they have used in recent years, which means communication is one of the first areas where confusion could expose the transition.
Instead, the quarterback responsible for relaying those calls described the process as smooth. Dalton also said the communication was good, giving Mannion the kind of early validation coaches are rarely given after watching their offense struggle to generate first downs.
The distinction is important. The Eagles still have plenty to clean up before anyone can declare the offensive transition a success. Penalties have to come down. Route precision has to improve. Blocking assignments need to become second nature, and the quarterbacks must develop stronger timing with their receivers.
But those problems are coachable. A coordinator losing his team's confidence is a much more difficult problem to solve. Mannion may have walked away from Baltimore without much production to celebrate, but he did receive something valuable from the players operating his system: an early indication that they trust the way he is teaching and communicating it. For an offensive unit still learning how to become itself, that may have been the most encouraging development of the night.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Eagles found one encouraging sign in Sean Mannion’s debut
