Appreciating the Eagles, Vol. 2

Posted: June 21st, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

The Eagles are one of the best run organizations in all of spots. Sometimes they earn that praise on their own. Other times, you see it by the actions or in-actions of other teams.

I’m not a huge NBA fan by any stretch, but it was frustrating to see how the Sixers handled the draft on Thursday night. Derek Bodner wrote an excellent piece for The Athletic, breaking down why the moves were bad or at the very least, highly questionable.

The Eagles take every advantage possible when trying to win. They are the most creative team in the league when it comes to salary cap management and contracts. They are very thorough when it comes to scouting. You see coaches and scouts at almost every Pro Day. The team has one of the bigger front offices in the league. There is no cap on front office spending.

When it comes to on-field decisions, the Eagles are still looking for advantages.

Doug Pederson has embraced analytics and being aggressive on fourth downs. This has given the Eagles a tactical advantage in games. It also seems to give them a psychological advantage. The coaches are aggressive. The players love that. They want the coaches to take chances. There is an enthusiasm and confidence you don’t see on every team. Fourth down is an opportunity, not something to be scared of.

Of course, you can’t be aggressive unless you have the players to make plays. Fourth down doesn’t mean a thing when Koy Detmer is throwing the ball to Darnerian McCants and Trey Darilek is doing the blocking. Luckily, the Eagles do have talent.

Gil Brandt says the Eagles have the most talented roster in the league.

What puts the Eagles in the top spot isn’t just the roster assembled by GM Howie Roseman — it’s the fact that so much core talent is locked into contracts through at least 2021. That core includes several who are considered among the best at their respective positions, like quarterback Carson Wentz (signed through 2024), defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (2022), tight end Zach Ertz (2021) and center Jason Kelce (2021). The Eagles are also at the point where the NFL draft can be used to build for the future rather than being relied upon as a source of players who can provide an immediate impact. For example, Philly was able to snag offensive tackle prospect Andre Dillard, who can essentially redshirt for a year while being groomed to replace Jason Peters next season, in this year’s draft.

Gil obviously knows his stuff and is a person to be trusted.

The Eagles have good players on every unit on the field. They have speed, size and skill. They have depth. Howie Roseman and the personnel department have done a great job putting this roster together. I can’t wait to see the players in action.

The thing that I think is so impressive is how the Eagles are built. They have some impact draft picks. Guys like Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson and Carson Wentz are elite talents. The Eagles have signed key free agents. Malcolm Jenkins and Alshon Jeffery have been worth every penny. What about trades? Jason Peters cost a first round pick and you can still say that’s a steal. He’s been unbelievable for the Eagles.

The team has also found plenty of no-name talent. Kamu Grugier-Hill was cut by the Pats as a rookie. He’s been a terrific role player for the Eagles. Jake Elliott was on the Bengal practice squad. Jim Schwartz had never heard of Cre’Von LeBlanc when he was signed. A few weeks later, LeBlanc was playing in the slot and shutting receivers down.

The Eagles are relentless in their search for talent and it has paid off in a big way.

So who is number two on Gil’s list? The Cowboys.

The Cowboys‘ personnel department — fronted by Stephen Jones and Will McClay — should take a bow for building the foundation of a strong roster through the draft, headlined by running back Ezekiel Elliott, left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin, quarterback Dak Prescott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith and cornerback Byron Jones, among others. They’ve also made crucial additions in the past eight months, trading for players like receiver Amari Cooper in October and defensive end Robert Quinn in March and signing players like receiver Randall Cobb and safety George Iloka. Now, the question is, how will Dallas sort out the extensions due to Elliott, Prescott and Cooper? The Cowboys already solved one part of the puzzle by inking Lawrence to a new deal in April, and I can see them working something out with Prescott before camp.

Gil obviously has no idea what he’s talking about and isn’t a person to be trusted.

*****

On the negative side…

I did not write about the open practice controversy from earlier in the week. Honestly, there isn’t much to say from my perspective.

The Eagles should have more open practices.

They should not charge, even for charity, for the practices.

It feels really odd for such a smart organization to do something that makes so little sense. My guess, Sam Bradford or Eric Rowe must have come up with this idea.

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One Comment on “Appreciating the Eagles, Vol. 2”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Zach Brown makes list of NFL’s best linebackers – SportsHeadlines.News said at 10:08 AM on June 22nd, 2019:

    […] Appreciating the Eagles, Vol. 2 – Iggles BlitzI’m not a huge NBA fan by any stretch, but it was frustrating to see how the Sixers handled the draft on Thursday night. Derek Bodner wrote an excellent piece for The Athletic, breaking down why the moves were bad or at the very least, highly questionable. The Eagles take every advantage possible when trying to win. They are the most creative team in the league when it comes to salary cap management and contracts. They are very thorough when it comes to scouting. You see coaches and scouts at almost every Pro Day. The team has one of the bigger front offices in the league. There is no cap on front office spending. […]