No Nigel in the Opener

Nigel Bradham had a couple of off-field incidents in 2016. We wondered if the NFL would ever punish him for his actions.

Question answered.

https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/1012807032817311744

All in all that seems pretty reasonable.

Jimmy Bama seemed to think Bradham would be pretty happy about that outcome.

Nigel celebrating his modest one game suspension… pic.twitter.com/AzaY7GvwUx

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) June 29, 2018

Such an artist.

How does this affect the Eagles? While the suspension only being one game is good news, having to replace Bradham in a key game will be quite the challenge. That’s especially true at LB, where the Eagles have a lot of bodies, but little proven depth.

Assuming the Eagles stay healthy at LB between now and the opener, I’m  guessing Jordan Hicks will be the MLB and Corey Nelson the WLB. Those two will likely also be the LBs in the Nickel D. It sounds like Nate Gerry has a chance to be the SAM. He would play in base looks.

Obviously a lot can change between now and September. Kamu Grugier-Hill has outperformed Nelson to this point, but Nelson is learning on the fly. He’ll have a much better feel for things in Training Camp. Maybe KGH continues to shine and wins the WLB job. Gerry could play well enough that the Eagles actually want him on the field.

The other possibility isn’t as fun. Hicks is solid in the middle, but the OLBs underachieve and the Eagles are shaky going into the opener.

The Eagles will have all summer to plan for this situation. That’s very different than a guy getting hurt and having to throw a player onto the field and hoping for the best. The Eagles coaching staff should be able to figure out a good solution for a single game.

You can bet the Falcons will use a lot of 2-TE sets to try to keep the Eagles in base looks. Atlanta will want as many LBs on the field as possible, seeing that as a weakness. We’ll have to wait and see how the Eagles players respond.

*****

Mike Florio is just dying for problems to come up between Carson Wentz and Nick Foles.

Eagles fans showed up as early as 4:30 a.m. for a Friday night book signing by Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles (but there definitely won’t be a quarterback controversy in Philly).

Florio is a lawyer and a cynic of the most extreme degree. He just knows that the Eagles are headed for Drama City.

Nick Foles seems too good to be true and Florio isn’t buying it. He’s just sure that the first time Wentz throws a pick, Foles will be angling to get on the field. Or that some on the coaching staff will want that. Or some of the players. Or some fans.

In his mind, there will be a QB controversy.

That might happen. But this also might be the right group of players and coaches to keep that from happening. Foles and Wentz are very close. Doug Pederson isn’t the typical alpha male coach who rules with a “My way or the highway” mentality. Eagles players love Foles, but know Wentz is the heart and soul of this team. Eagles fans see Wentz as the franchises savior.

We’ve all seen bad Foles. And that’s not pretty. We haven’t really seen bad Wentz. He will have to really struggle for a real amount of fans to want him benched.

Could there be a vocal minority shouting for Foles? Heck yes. There was a vocal minority pushing for Nate Sudfeld to play over Foles heading into the playoffs last year. Pederson isn’t going to listen to fans. And as much as he loves Nick Foles, Pederson knows Wentz is his meal ticket for the next decade (or two).

Unless Wentz is just dreadful, I don’t see a legit QB controversy happening in Philly.

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