The Eagles had a rough start to their 2018 season. After winning on opening night, they went on to lose three of their next four games. They were trying to weather the storm while waiting for some of their star players to fully heal from injuries and surgeries they had towards the end of 2017. However, season-ending injuries suffered by other players meant that Doug Pederson had to stray away from what he does best and try to continue micro-managing the Eagles to another Super Bowl.
Towards the end of the year with their backs against the wall, Pederson went back to his old, aggressive ways of coaching. The change back saw the Eagles win five of their last six games in the regular season, and somehow squeaked into the playoffs where they won one playoff game and were one drop away from back-to-back NFC Championship appearances.
Now that the Eagles are much healthier going into 2019, Pederson is planning on staying aggressive the entire season. He talked with NBC Sports' Peter King about what happened last season and his plans for 2019.
In the interview, Pederson said he wishes he would have done things a little different in 2018's Training Camp. He pulled back a little bit while getting ready for the regular season. He kept players out too long and then had to catch back up in real time.
"You need to strike a balance - moving forward, I would still keep my foot on the gas."
Pederson said he had to make due with players he had available in 2018 thanks to the offseason surgeries some starters were still recovering from. He played "small ball" to try and squeeze out wins while waiting for his starters to fully recover. This year will be different though:
"That's not my mentality that's not who I am. So I learned from that....I've got to continue to be who I am and what helped us become successful a couple of years ago."
"When I coach I want to be aggressive. I want to be out in front. It's fun for the players...it's exciting. That's what I have to get back to."
As long as the Eagles don't have to deal with the same amount of injuries as last season, Pederson will come out guns blazing in 2019, which Eagles fans will love seeing.
