LET’S MAKE SOME DEALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/28
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TRADING or outright releasing. That’s what most of us thought would happen with OLB Mychal Kendricks, RB Ryan Mathews, and C Jason Kelce, prior to the 2017 Draft. As of today (6.28.17) all three are still Eagles. The thinking was that the Front Office would want to free up cap space, to continue this rebuild with players who better fit what we’ll be doing.

The hope was for us to offer a couple trade packages (consisting of one of these players and a pick), to help us move up a few spots in the same round of the 2017 Draft. Well, nothing of that sort happened. Hence not one, not two, but all three of those guys are still here. Six points to you if you saw that coming. (Bonus two points to anyone who thought we’d take a DE in the first round.)

I got to wondering what fans think we should do with those guys now, but I didn’t want to ask too broad of a question. I decided to break it into three pieces and then review the parts next week. So I posed a question in EAGLES MANIACS (my Eagles Facebook group), and a few other Eagles groups to which I belong. This is that question:

TRADE MATHEWS

My initial plan was to ask two more questions, but what I saw disturbed me, and I thought it needed addressing immediately. The percentage of fans who thought we should just cut both Mathews and Kendricks, was distressing to say the least.

Eagles fans may be frustrated with them, but Mathews and Kendricks are solid NFL veterans. They wouldn’t spend long in an unemployment line. They’d be fine and we’d be fine, but that’s not the point. That’s not the problem. What bugged me is how many people were willing to accept low-ball, or no-ball offers for these players. Fans were literally ASKING for this team to get hosed on a trade, or worse, get nothing at all for arming another team. For example:

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Releasing them for nothing would just be stupid. Just plain stupid. Giving away talent was something we hated about TIK , remember? First, because we’d be giving away solid players for no compensation. Secondly, if the Eagles cut any of them, we’re still on the hook for paying them this season. It would take a trade (with specific language included) to remove the Eagles financial obligation to these players.

What makes more sense is to find away to move these players prior to camp. Waiting for a camp injury leaves too much to chance, and puts us in the position of almost wishing for some hardworking players to get hurt. That’s classless and wrong, so we won’t do that. (It’s Eagles, not vultures.) The smart thing would be to move these players before a team needs them. (By the way: This would help us out with future trades. ASK ME HOW!)

Ryan Mathews for example. We could partner with a team that has no depth at RB (Detroit, Green Bay); or a team who’s RB is 150 years old (New York (J), Indianapolis); or a team still trying to determine if they have a legitimate RB in their stable (Denver).

There are options on the table. We just need to take one sooner than later.

 

WHY IS PHILLY BOASTING?

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/24
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’M excited about the mental development of Carson Wentz, as he makes an effort to be a legitimate franchise QB. I’m ecstatic over the acquisition of G Chance Warmack. I’m extremely happy with the extensions given to T Jason Peters, and C/G Stefen Wisniewski. The addition of DE Chris Long makes us deep with talented pass rushers, and DT Timmy Jernigan will make sure you won’t miss Bennie Logan. We added a ton of proven NFL talent during this offseason.

That all being said, what is with all this boasting already? It’s true. Last week I said we were about to undergo a massive evolutionary jump as a team, but pump the brakes, folks! Pump the brakes! Didn’t we just go 7-9? (Wait no.) Didn’t we just go 7-9, twice? Look, I’m all about optimism and whatnot, but talking to Eagles fans these days, you’d think we were already 14-1 and heading into Week 17. Let’s keep this **** in perspective shall we?

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Most of the talk right now is on how WR Alshon Jeffery will come in and change the Offense by giving Wentz a “big time #1”, “a legit go-to guy”, and “a stud WR”. Well what the fuck? Wasn’t Jeffrey all those things in Chicago when they went 8-8, 5-11, 6-10 and 3-13? This is the same Jeffrey with 26 career touchdowns in 63 career games, right? (This is the part where people blame Jay Cutler, without realizing that in Chicago, Cutler with Jeffery (2012-2016) was more of less the exact same QB without him (2009-2011). Proof you say? Take a look here.)

Let me hip you all to something very important. How Jeffery plays is neither here nor there. It’s not the big issue. Nope. Not even close. The big issue is coverage. (Not pass rush as Sal Palantonio said it is, but coverage.)

Last year, because our CB’s couldn’t even stay with their shadows, our pass rushers didn’t get as many sacks as their talent would indicate they should have. Oh sure, we got a ton of hurries, but a hurry is what they call it when you get to the QB a second too late. (Either that or a penalty.) This season will come down to how consistently (key word!) our coverage can buy 3 and a half seconds for our pass rush. That’s it. That’s the whole season, right there.

Better coverage equals more sacks and turnovers, equals shorter drives, equals fewer chances for opponents to get into scoring range, equals fewer points by touchdown OR field goal, equals fewer points allowed, equals improved chances to win any game we play. All of that starts with coverage, because even great rush (as we saw last year) will be thwarted by quick and easy completions. Not quick and easy throws, but completions.

Unfortunately, no one (but me) seems to want to have that discussion. In a division with Eli Manning, Kirk Cousins, and (to a lesser extent) Dak Prescott, the idea of Defense hardly seems to be a subject around here. That’s disturbing, given it’s importance to the Eagles 2017 season.

Let me repeat a few points I made in my last article. I said to sit back and enjoy the next few years. I said this team’s evolution is a process. I said what we must undergo and undertake cannot be faked, nor simulated. While it would be nice to ride this offseason to a playoff berth, it would be foolish to go around expecting it. (At which point people will act like the Eagles somehow let them down again.)

There is much left to be done before we fans can strut around like we own the division. It’s been years now since we won the East. Years. We don’t own any form of valid bragging rights anymore. You claim bragging rights when you win, and NOT before. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk trash, but until our team can break .500 again, it might be wise to pump the brakes with the boasting.

LET’S HANG OUT

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/17
Posted in: Conversations, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

CARSON Wentz just took another step towards becoming a franchise QB. He invited some of his teammates to hang out at his place. In the break between OTA’s and Training Camp, Wentz will be hosting a week-long passing camp for skill position players, at his home in Fargo, North Dakota. I’ve been wishing for an Eagles QB to do this since Donovan McNabb used to host teammates at his home in Arizona.

A couple years ago, I criticized Nick Foles (our then starter), for not doing this. McNabb did it to become a franchise QB and perennial playoff contender. Wentz is doing it and becoming a franchise QB. Foles didn’t do it and became a Rams back-up. then a Chiefs back-up. Now he’s an Eagles back-up.

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There will be no Defense at Wentz’s home. No one will wear pads. In many ways this will seem lesser work than the OTA’s. However, it’s infinitely more important. This will help the QB and the receivers work on chemistry, and timing. They’ll get to talk about the playbook as well as the Offense’s base concepts. They’ll get to teach each other, and gain more insight as they do. More importantly they’ll get a chance to get inside of each other’s head, and get a chance to understand what their teammates see pre-snap. More importantly, they’ll get a glimpse into why their teammates see it.

For those of you who don’t know this game the way I do, let me give you some good news: Our team is about to undergo a massive evolutionary step. Wentz was handed the role of starter last year, but the role of leader must be earned. This is him earning it. This is him stepping up and wanting it.

There’s an old expression that goes “Women communicate verbally, but men communicate shoulder to shoulder”. In the sun, in the heat, through his toil, Wentz will be shoulder to shoulder with his teammates. He will be earning his mantle of Leader, in the eyes of those he plays with. I can tell you firsthand, there is no substitute for that. None. This process cannot be faked, nor simulated. There are no shortcuts to greatness.

Howie Roseman said we would be blown away by Wentz’s intangibles, and I have to say that Howie nailed the hell out of that assessment. Wentz’s intangibles (ability to assimilate and utilize new information, commitment to his craft, even keel nature, ability to engender respect from his teammates, etc.) are all top-notch. I think Roseman overestimated Wentz’s athletic ceiling, but in any case it’s still seems higher than the athletic ceilings for Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Eli Manning. All of whom have won Super Bowls with lesser physical gifts than Wentz possesses.

I say that, to say this: Dear fellow fans. Sit back and prepare to enjoy the next few years at least. Our team is on the way up, because Carson Wentz just took another step towards becoming a franchise QB.

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HOPEFUL ABOUT EAGLES CORNERBACKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/12
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFL, Players, Rants, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

edc-jim-schwartz

JALEN Mills, Ron Brooks, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas. Those are our top four CB’s on the roster. These four guys (plus one or two others) will make the team, and man the boundaries of our Defense. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that our Week One starting CB’s will be (barring injury), Mills and Douglas.

While that may come across as bravado or confidence, I assure you that it’s the opposite. Complete opposite. I’m worried ab— More accurately, I’m terrified of our CB situation. Did you know that between them, all four of those guys have a combined ZERO career interceptions?

Brooks has hung around for 5 NFL seasons, yet doesn’t have a single turnover (via interception, forced fumble, or fumble recovery) to his credit. Mills has a year under his belt, and may just have been a 7th round steal last year; but he only started 2 games, and played a lot of Nickel Corner. So as 16 game starters go, he’s still extremely raw. The other two CB’s are rookies. One of which will likely start the year on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.

The most veteran CB/experienced starter on the roster, is Patrick Robinson.

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Robinson is wearing his 4th different jersey in 4 years, so I have to wonder why teams keep signing him, starting him, and then not even keeping him around for depth, less than a year later. To me that comes across as a huge red flag. Some fans hope for him to be a mentor, but that seems unlikely.

A fellow fan told me this week, that he’d seen Robinson listed #1 on our depth chart. If so, then the likelihood that he’ll mentor a young guy who’ll impact his chance to start, is very thin. Besides, word around the campfire has it that he ain’t exactly a vocal locker room guy to begin with.

This isn’t to discount other players at the position. I liked what I saw in Aaron Gyrmes last preseason. I was irritated when he was cut, instead of a couple of DC Jim Schwartz‘s favoritism recipients. It would be smart to get a good look at former Jaguar, Dwayne Gratz since he’s a CB who likes to hit. Also Terrence Brooks, who snagged a pick and forced a fumble in our win over the giants last year, deserves to be here until at least final cut downs this year. That said, none of those three is someone you’d be enthusiastic about starting just yet.

So we have compromised health, no mentors, and no proven game-changer (at this level). That leaves us with the hope that Sidney Jones will rescue the position when he finally gets to see his first live action. Either that or we have to hope to be pleasantly surprised by whomever starts opposite Mills. Also we have to hope that the coaches didn’t see fool’s gold in Mills last year. That’s a lot of saying “hope”.

Our shakiest position from last season, comes a ton of change but zero certainties heading into this season. Instead of knowing that we have bedrock, we’re building a foundation on what we hope to be solid ground. So as I said, I’m terrified. More accurately, I’m scared shitless.

Well, here’s hoping that we’ll be pleasantly surprised.

left hanging

CARSON WENTZ DISRESPECTED

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/10
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

CARSON Wentz was just “dissed” by the national media, yet again. The other day, the NFL released a story asking whether last year’s number one overall pick, Rams QB Jared Goff, could catch up to Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. Observe:

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Instead of complaining immediately, I gave it a day or so, first. Just to see if the league’s scribes would show Wentz some love in a separate or subsequent article. Two days went by, and the only mention of him is in relation to whether or not the Eagles have a playoff chance this year.

For his part, I’m sure that Wentz would say that he doesn’t pay attention to such things, that his focus is on getting better to help this team win, blah blah, and boilerplate. Personally I think that’s a load of horseshit, but Wentz is is trying to be a class act, publicly. So I’ve decided to be publicly pissed on his behalf. I’m hoping more Eagles fans will join me on this one.

I don’t want to downplay, minimize, or take away any credit for Dak Prescotts’s fluke rookie season. While being carried by a very good run game, he managed to do some nice things until the stage got too big for him. I can fully and freely acknowledge that. It’s only natural that the league would want to compare other young QB’s against him.

What has me steamed is that the guy held up as competition for Prescott, is Goff. Wentz started 16 games last year, to Goff’s 7. Wentz won 7 of his starts, while Goff won none of his, and even managed to get blown out in 4 of those games. Wentz looked like a guy becoming a franchise QB, while Goff looked like…

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However, the national media did what it’s used to doing, and skipped completely over the Eagles. In most cases it’s hard for me to get mad over it. Being honest here, since the days of Ray Rhodes, we rarely have had many players on the roster who fans outside of Philly felt like talking about.

Ricky Watters, Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, Jevon Kearse, LeSean McCoy, Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotter. Those were Eagles that you could expect fans of other teams to not just know, but possibly bring up themselves. Not just sports reporters, but actual fans.

Guys like Brian Westbrook, Corey Simon, Sheldon Brown, Jon Runyan, Trent Cole, and Jason Peters, are all guys Eagles fans think highly of, but if you run these names by (for example) the average Jaguars fan, you’ll probably get a blank stare.

Wentz on the other hand, was picked number two overall last year so that already puts him on the national stage. He then played circles around the guy picked a spot ahead of him. Given that most think Wentz will become a legit franchise QB, there is no way he should be an afterthought in this discussion. As I said, I can generally understand it when Eagles players get overlooked, but this oversight was nothing short of egregious. This was practically a deliberate snub.

As I said before, Wentz is too classy point out, or seriously acknowledge this insult. A fist fight in mud isn’t how he conducts himself publicly. But I’m an Eagles fan. That’s just my game.

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So if you’re mad about our QB being slighted, join me in telling the NFL to go blow a cactus. Get your friends involved. Stepping over our QB for a half-wit like Goff? That shouldn’t go unanswered.

PHILLY MAY NOT BE THE DRAFT PICK

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/05
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, NFL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Draft 2017CityHall

The Best Draft in NFL HISTORY!

ACCORDING to rumor, Philadelphia might not host the 2018 NFL Draft. Chances are you’ve either read or heard of, a number of articles that are all based on one reporter’s gut feeling. It’s a gut feeling that’s entirely based on what he could ear-hustle, through his cup against the wall.

Look, it’s early in the process, and other cities are still making proposals of their own. So it’s way too early for anyone to have any real clue regarding which way the NFL is leaning. Besides, while I would love the Draft to come back for 2018 (so we can show off at full strength), it wouldn’t pain me if it didn’t, and for damned good reason.

We set an all-time Draft attendance record with over 250,000 people. That’s a quarter million people showing up to celebrate their love for the NFL’s brand of football. Put in visual perspective, the Linc has a seating capacity of 69,176. The Ben Franklin Parkway handled nearly 4 times that (3.6), with no arrests, no incidents, and not so much as a ticket being written. For those who are new to the subject of the NFL Draft, every prior sentence in this paragraph, isn’t merely impressive, it’s historical.

The NFL by now, has taken note of that fact that outdoor Drafts pack in the most people. Chicago rung the 200,000 bell, and Philly of course cracked 250,000. (And this lucky bastard was there for BOTH.)

Given the history of the Draft, the next place to host will likely see a fall-off in attendance. This is why 2018’s most ardent suitor, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, has made a pitch to use two locations, in two different counties (Denton and Tarrant), nearly 40 miles apart.  So 40 miles is about the size of the shadow Philadelphia casts today. (Point of comparison: Broad Street is 12.4 miles, stem to stern.)

Splitting the Draft? Just to chase Philadelphia’s numbers? Can you imagine that? That would be less about the fan’s experience, and more about the wish fulfillment of one man. Since the Draft left New York, it has truly become as much about the fans as it is about the picks. The Drafts in Chicago and Philly showed fans that they matter.

More pointedly, when we celebrated the Draft this year, we ALL (Eagles, giants, Redskins, Raiders, Chief, Steelers, Niners, Broncos, etc.) were together. Brought together in one place for something bigger than all of us. Something which, even in a time of such polarization, still has the power to unite us all. Not in grief like 9/11 did, but in joy as nothing else ever has. At least not in my 41 year lifespan. It was the NFL Draft at it’s most American. It was America at it’s most ideal.

I would love to see the Draft come back for 2018, before moving on to another NFL city. Preferably someplace that won’t split it, and take the event backwards in terms of fan unification. However, as a Philadelphian, I can live with being the home of the Draft’s ultimate expression. Even if it means that we never get to host another one.

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EAGLES RIVAL REPORT: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/30
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

jason-garrett-cowboys-coach-return-jerry-jones

GENERALLY Eagles fans ignore the plotting of our rivals. However, there are times when something a rival does or plans to do, can affect who we start, or how we implement our own systems when we face that rival. It can even impact how we build our roster. The Cowboys are making a low-key move centered around a 4th round draft pick, which could send a ripple effect through the division. So now might be a good time to pay attention.

WR Cole Beasley isn’t very fast, but he’s quick. He has an ability to stretch a defense not vertically, but laterally. Due to being so quick, he can’t be covered in a short-area by most OLB’s. That forces teams from their base defense to their Nickle alignment, just to get a Defensive Back to cover him. This already puts a defense at a disadvantage just by being out of their base. It further presents a problem, because it swaps out a big body (OLB) from run defense for a smaller one (DB).

When the Cowboys drafted Beasley clone WR Ryan Switzer in the 4th round this year, the knee jerk reaction was to assume that he was a younger, cheaper replacement for Beasley. Rumblings out of Dallas seem to indicate that Switzer isn’t a replacement for the slot receiver, but actually an accompaniment.

Normally that would mean putting them on the field together a lot, but there wouldn’t be a lot of upside to having two 180 pound slot receivers out there at the same time. While it would allow for a lot more option-style short passes and quick Out routes, it would conversely rob the Cowboys run game of reliable blockers at the point-of-attack inside the numbers.

The best way to employ these two is to rotate them in a way that keeps at least one of them on the field for 75 to 90 percent of the snaps. Last year when Beasely came off the field, the Cowboys would put out a second TE, or another WR who was more straight-line fast, than short-area quick.

This year with two players who can stretch a defense laterally on every down, that threat can help create less congested running lanes, inside the numbers. They could gain the advantage of extra blocking without any wear and tear (or risk of injury) to the blockers themselves.

If the Cowboys actually go in this direction, we’ll have to find ourselves a S/LB hybrid (or two) who can stay with players like Beasley and Switzer. Examples of Eagles who might help, would be Safety Nate Gerry whom we drafted in the 5th round this year, or LB Kamu Grugier-Hill. (Neither is a lock to make the roster in 2017.)

With any luck, I’m wrong and the Cowboys will opt for trying to play ‘B and S’ together. That would severely limit their individual effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of the entire offense to boot. That however, would require a LOT of luck, as no one (even the Cowboys) could be stupid enough to miss how much more dangerous these two would make the entire team, if they are rotated. Sometimes fellow Eagles fans, you might want to pay attention to what your rivals are up to.

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SHAME ON ME.

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/27
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST August I preached patience for our WR’s, yet by seasons end even I’d bailed on Nelson Agholor. I didn’t practice what I’d preached to you all and that is blatant hypocrisy on my part.

no hope

I’ve said on a few occasions that Eagles fans need to be better fans, and this time that also applies to me. I need to step-up my game, and be a better fan.

Agholor was drafted in the first round of the 2015 Draft, and had a dismal rookie season. Fans were already murmuring “bust” by the time Training Camp opened in 2016. So I stepped in and said that our WR’s (him included) weren’t beyond help.

I said that the Eagles receivers needed time. Time to learn good habits, and possibly UN-learn bad ones. I implied that this would take patience on the fan’s part. Yet a couple months later, I myself was throwing him under the bus, as much as anyone. It was a despicable thing for a fan to do. It was downright hypocritical. It was also damned unfair.

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When Agholor first got here, who were the WR’s he could look up to for help honing his craft? Second year men Jordan Matthews, and Josh Huff, that’s who. Matthews and Huff got a year under Jeremy Maclin and (starter for some reason) Riley Cooper. Matthews played the slot and Huff hardly played at all in 2014. So there were no mentors in 2015 for Agholor. Same goes for 2016 when we traded for Dorial Green-Beckham.

Now in 2017 we’ve added Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith. These are veterans that both Agholor and Matthews can learn from. They have on-field mentors to teach them good habits. (I also felt that former WR coach Greg Lewis was doing that, but the organization needed a fall guy for 2016, and Lewis drew the short straw.)

The result so far is that everywhere I turn, all I read is positive things about what competition is bringing out of Agholor. I watched Matthews on the news the other night, and the competition is already sharpening his demeanor. I’m not one to read much at all into OTA’s, but I’ll admit, I like what the competition is doing for the mental side of things.

I said all that, to say this: I had no business bailing on Agholor so early. Agholor (and even Matthews now) is getting the help I prescribed less than a year ago. The only fair thing to do is rally around them, and root for their success for as long as they wear midnight green. So I will do just that.

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I’M LOOKING BEYOND TODAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/24
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ORGANIZED Team Activities (OTA’s) started for the Eagles yesterday, and I could hardly care less. For me, the season starts at Training Camp. Everything before that is glorified gym class. Scour this website back to it’s beginning in 2014, and you will never see me hyped about the Eagles during OTA’s. It pretty much a given that when football players are running around in shorts and no pads, I can hardly be bothered to watch. (This also goes for the Combine.)

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Since there’s no football to monitor, I’m still in offseason mode, and focusing on the business end of things. Basically, I’m wandering around in my robe and slippers, drinking coffee right from the pot until the June 1st cuts. Those cuts will trigger a few domino effects across the NFL, of players being signed and still other players being released afterwards.

I’m waiting to see whether or not some other team’s cap issues can net us an upgrade in a couple of places like OLB (one who can cover), RB, reserve OT or reserve DT. Also, there will be teams out there looking to score waived players from this process. When some of them miss out, then you may see a trade or two, as teams want to add needed pieces before Training Camps start on July 22nd.

The generally accepted rumor, is that we are going release RB Ryan Mathews, but there is no rule stating that we have to. Players like Mathews, C Jason Kelce, and OLB Mychal Kendricks could all be held onto, in an attempt to trade them to a team who missed on a Round Two Free Agent. Teams who suffering key injuries at these positions during OTA’s could also be part of that market.

So no, you won’t hear much from me about Phys Ed. for football players. On the other hand, I will make quite a bit of noise if our team can pull off a slick move or two in the next month or so.

GOODBYE WENDELL SMALLWOOD?

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/22
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Crazy Talk, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

card.wendell.smallwood

EVERYONE seems to be talking about what RB LeGarrette Blount means for the Eagles Offense. Conversely, no one seems to be talking about what signing Blount means for 2nd year RB Wendell Smallwood. Sure they discuss how Smallwood may be used. How many touches per game he would, should or could see, but not what the Blount signing really means for him. Long term means for him. Well friends, allow me to enlighten you.

Howie to players

The Eagles went into the 2017 Draft wanting to draft a RB with second round pick. Let me repeat that. They went into the Draft with that desire. For Smallwood, the Eagles initial desire to draft a RB with a second round pick, says they didn’t feel that they have a star or even a starter in Smallwood.

The Eagles FO (Front Office) reportedly wasn’t able to move up in the 2nd round in order to get RB Dalvin Cook, so they took CB Sidney Jones instead. Since they didn’t sign a RB in Free Agency’s first round, and didn’t get their man in the Draft, the FO was left scrambling.

Realizing that they’d screwed the pooch, the FO took a hard look at the options already available on our roster. Those options were A) pay RB Ryan Mathews for 16 starts while only getting 6 to 8 out him; or B) they could release him, and go with a roster full of runts at the position. What happened next was no less than a repudiation of Wendell Smallwood himself.

Once they whiffed on Cook in the Draft, the FO didn’t trade for a promising young RB, nor did they get behind any back currently on the roster. They essentially decided that they would eat a year at the position. Yet even with that decision, Smallwood would still not be “the guy”. Not even in a throwaway year.

Instead, the FO spent as much as 2.8M on a 30-year old, one-dimensional player, just to act as a stop-gap for 16 games or so. He’s a one year role player, here to play (what even he called) “situational football”. Next year, either through the Draft or Free Agency, you can bet your sweet ass that the Eagles will prioritize getting QB Carson Wentz a RB he can grow with. 

The Eagles blatant disregard for Smallwood in particular has to be jarring for his confidence, considering that the team didn’t even invest much in the guy they gave his spot to. Blount is here long enough for the team to have a full spate of options to pick from in 2018. At which point they’ll be looking past Smallwood again. I hope his agent is preparing him.

Maybe I’m wrong and Smallwood will have a huge year, be a top 5 rushing leader, and become a breakout star. Maybe the Eagles will decide they don’t need to spend an early draft pick on a RB in 2018. Maybe Donald Trump will be the best thing that ever happened to America, and maybe the Eagles and Browns will play in the Super Bowl this year. Oh wait, I don’t take hallucinogenics. Never mind.

This signing basically tweets to the world what the Eagles think of Wendell Smallwood. If he can still be an effective Kick Returner this year, then I can see him getting a deal to stay beyond his rookie contract. If not… This Philly (guy) is 75% sure that Smallwood will be packing his bags with Blount at the end of this year.