THIS fucking sucks. It’s bad enough that we lost LT Jason Peters and MLB Jordan Hicks for the season. Having to rely on OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and MLB Joe Walker, only makes matters worse, because there currently is no safety net behind those guys. Oh wait! It gets better! To add a dash of salt to the cut on our eyeball, there is the distinct possibility that we’ve seen the last of Peters.
Hicks on the other hand will be back here next year. Whether or not he comes back as a starter, has a lot to do with how Walker handles these last 9 games. Depth at LB has been an issue for this team for over a decade now. Like Guard, it is not a position we do a good job of drafting or stocking up on.
The word on the street, in every news paper, and on every website, is that RT Lane Johnson will move to LT to protect QB Carson Wentz’s blindside. This will relegate Vaitai, to RT. Given that Vaitai has problems against speed, or quickness, or strength, or persistence, I’m hoping that the coaching staff will get him more TE help.
Not giving Vaitai TE help would just be an act of arrogance. It could also lead to a career-ending moment for our franchise QB. Few things could be as embarrassing as starting the year as the 6 – 1, number one team in the NFL, only to implode completely and mortgage the future; over nothing more than an unwillingness to adjust the Offensive scheme a little.
I like Walker as a Special Teamer, and he’s fine for giving your starter a breather here and there. He just never seems eager to mix it up or control the area from DE to DE. You want a MLB to piss all over that area, and mark it as HIS. In all truth, during the preseason, I liked LB Don Cherry much more than I liked Walker. Maybe we’ll see Cherry back in here soon. (Gotta work on his tendency to shuffle his feet before hitting the gas, though.)
I’m not sure what can be done to help Walker. Hicks has a reputation for being a ballhawk, so QB’s weren’t too interested in challenging him when he was in coverage. Given that Walker is only 236 and isn’t a thumper, I’m hoping that coverage will be where he excels, and that we can get some tipped passes and a cheap interception (or four) from QB’s testing him.
Three days ago, I wrote another article about how I’m not worried about any of the other teams in the NFC, stopping us in the playoffs. I wanted to wait until after the Redskins game to release it, so that I wouldn’t jinx the win by writing 6 – 1, before it actually happened. Then these injuries happened. I may still release the article after we demolish San Francisco, but right now, I hardly feel like talking shit.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 