The Bulldogs have faded significantly in the last fortnight, falling to ladder leader Geelong by 61 points and being overrun in a 65-point turnaround by Carlton, but Eade was reluctant to put it down to the increased training.
In the four weeks since the break the Dogs have stepped up their training, and Eade said doing that was a luxury not available to side which hadn't locked up a finals spot.
"Oh yes, we've got some thoughts internally. There's some things we're doing differently, there's no doubt about that, but having said that, you've got to be able to hang in tough, but I think for whatever reason it is we've got to be able to hang in there a bit longer," he said.
"Certainly over the break, from the break most teams have a rest, we've maybe stepped up the training a bit.
"You look at the block where we're at – you obviously go into the break assured of playing in the finals, but it (training harder) may count against you at some stage.
"That's where Geelong are in a great position, as are Hawthorn – they can do that at some stage.
"Teams fighting for the eight are going to have to keep their players fresh for every week."
Eade said it was obvious where the problem lay.
"We've done a fait bit of talk about it, and a fair bit of soul-searching, and obviously we've trained for it.
"Up until the last two weeks I think we were second in contested possession and hard-ball gets in the competition, and our pressure's been very good.
"I think those three areas have dropped off a little bit in the last two weeks.
"Even against Geelong, our pressure was pretty good for nearly three quarters, but that fell away. We've spoken about that, and the players have taken a fair bit of responsibility, which is great."
