SLIGHTLY retooling the Eagles won’t get us out of the basement. We need a CB, a bell-cow RB, a 1# WR, and an OLB. Those are just the Starters we need. We need depth at QB, C, OT, DT, MLB, FS, and CB. Not to mention eyeing possible replacements for our aging LS and P. I also said earlier this year, that while our K’s accuracy is good, his ability to hit from distance in cold weather playoff games, is a serious concern once we qualify.
Every year the Eagles tell you that everything is on the table. This year that’s more true than most. Generally you can forecast 18-20 of next season’s 22 Starters, but this year, the list of sacred cows is much shorter than normal and it looks like this:
QB – Carson Wentz
RG – Brandon Brooks
OT – Lane Johnson
TE – Zach Ertz
DT – Fletcher Cox
LB – Jordan Hicks
LB – Nigel Bradham
SS – Malcolm Jenkins
FS – Rodney McLeod
Lots of “if” surrounding the rest of those starting spots isn’t there? You probably didn’t realize that until you just went through it in your head. Freaky right? You can include DE Vinny Curry as a guaranteed Starter if you like, but that would only be due to the remaining guaranteed money (20M) on his contract and the 9M$ cap hit he represents this year.
Our team is trapped against the salary cap, due to paying large bank on contracts to players from another coaching regime. Those same players, under two different head coaches, produced back-to-back 7-9 seasons. Everything about that situation screams “rebuild”. Anyone telling you different, thinks you’re a moron. You’re here reading this, so it’s clear to me that you can’t be one.
This is a rebuild. Only instead of the typical purge and Free Agent spending spree, the Eagles are going back to the 1999 formula where we held onto veterans and gradually replaced them through the Draft. This is Doug Pederson following Andy Reid again, and trust me, I have absolutely no problems with that. I never understood why we got away from it, to begin with. Drafting in waves is a more stable approach. It allows veteran players to help train their replacements, instead of having a bunch of people shrugging at each other, since too many people would be new. It also allows you carry forth a culture.
Winning a Super Bowl can’t even be discussed when you aren’t good enough to even make the playoffs. Two straight 7-9 seasons where we failed to make the playoffs suggest that we need more than a retool. That’s why the Eagles are in rebuild mode. Anyone telling you different is also telling you (in the same breath), why you shouldn’t listen to them.
