He’s Back

Posted: September 20th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on He’s Back

Wednesday is when the NFL week begins. The team practices. The last game is in the rear view mirror and all eyes are on the upcoming game.

So today was actually Wentzday, with Carson Wentz returning to practice and then talking to the media. It was good to have him at the podium, talking about the frustrations of waiting to get medically cleared and then the excitement he’ll feel on Sunday.

Wentz isn’t the only one coming back.

The Eagles never wanted to get rid of Matthews. He was part of the Ronald Darby trade in the summer of 2017, but there was a reason. Matthews was going to be a free agent at the end of 2017 and the Eagles knew they had no shot to keep him. Matthews had…odd numbers.

Matthews was more productive than Jeffery? Yes, he was. But there is a major catch. Matthews played for Chip Kelly and the no-huddle offense for two years. That meant the Eagles ran more plays than any other team over that span. That helped pump up his numbers. Matthews was the best receiver for the team in 2015 and 2016, which meant he was the primary target. That helped pump up his numbers.

Anyone who watched the tape could see Matthews was solid, but nothing special. He certainly wasn’t as good as his numbers would suggest. Matthews agent focused on the numbers and wanted a big payday for his client. The Eagles were going to spend big money on veteran receivers with size and speed. They signed Jeffery and Torrey Smith. They dealt Matthews, who was no longer critical after the addition of the outside guys and the emergence of Nelson Agholor in the slot.

If the Eagles thought Matthews would have signed a cheap deal, my guess is that they would have loved to keep him around. Good player. Great teammate. Just not a guy you can pay big money to. Matthews isn’t an impact player.

Now Matthews is back. He’s cheap. And he’s likely got a chip on his shoulder. The last year or so has been tough on him. Matthews now gets to come back to the team he loved playing for and gets reunited with a great young QB. What’s not to like?

We’ll have to wait and see what he can do on Sunday. Both Pederson and Wentz said he was healthy and ready to go.

Wentz will need all the help he can get. Agholor and Kamar Aiken will likely play on the outside, with Matthews in the slot. That’s not an explosive trio. Agholor is a good athlete. The other two have solid size. Wentz will almost certainly get the ball out quicker than Nick Foles did. That will give the Eagles receivers a better chance to get RAC yards. Matthews and Aiken aren’t likely to be catching deep balls so RAC yards might be their best chance for a big play.

It will be great to see Wentz back on the field. He will make those around him better. It is hard to quantify just how important that is with such a banged up offense.

*****

Great stuff here from Duce.

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