Excitement is Building

Training Camp is inching closer and you can feel the excitement growing each day. The Eagles have a loaded roster and this could be another outstanding season.

Think about the passing game for a minute. Mike Wallace is gone from last year, but the team added DeSean Jackson and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Mack Hollins is still on the mend, but should contribute this year. And Dallas Goedert was the star of the spring. Carson Wentz has a better set of weapons heading into 2019.

The DL is talented, with the Eagles possibly having the best set of DTs in the league. The secondary is deeper, more talented and more experienced than last year.

This roster is full of playmakers and talented players.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some issues. No team is perfect.

Health updates: #Eagles CB Ronald Darby (ACL) is expected to start training camp on PUP, source said, but being active Week 1 is still a legit possibility. … Meanwhile, #Packers starting CB Kevin King (shoulder) will be active and healthy to begin training camp.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 23, 2019

Darby is the team’s most talented CB and we don’t know if he’ll be ready for the regular season. “Legit possibility” isn’t the most encouraging phrase. The Eagles are now deep at CB, but they are deep with mid-level talents and not stars. You won’t be mistaking anyone on the field for Troy Vincent.

Still, the injuries from last year allowed a lot of young guys to get valuable experience. If those players can build on that experience, they should play better this year. Not all players are able to pull that off, but the ones who do can really benefit.

We still don’t know what to expect at LB. Nigel Bradham is the star. Will Zach Brown be the other key LB? Will Kamu Grugier-Hill have that role? Could someone like Nate Gerry surprise everyone? L.J. Fort will battle for a role, as will Paul Worrilow. Someone from that group will step up and impress, while someone else will likely stink up the joint, aka pulling a Corey Nelson.

The biggest question of them all is Nate Sudfeld. If Carson Wentz stays healthy, the Eagles are going to be a very good team. If he goes down, the mystery begins.

Sudfeld could turn out to be terrific. Or he could stink up the joint, aka pulling a Corey Nelson. Doug Pederson, his staff and the front office believe in Sudfeld enough that they chose him as the backup QB. They didn’t bring in veteran competition. They didn’t spend a high pick on a QB. They are buying in on Sudfeld. Now it is up to him to reward them.

The Eagles are a really smart organization, but they also believe in taking risks. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Howie and Doug could look like geniuses or fools.

Even with the question marks, it is easy to get excited by this team. The roster is full of talent and the pieces seem to fit together well. Unlike DeMarco Murray coming for the money, DeSean Jackson, Malik Jackson and Zach Brown genuinely wanted to be Eagles. I get the sense Andrew Sendejo is excited to play for the team his Vikings struggled with. And Jordan Howard seems excited by his change of scenery.

If this group can stay healthy and Pederson pushes the right buttons, this could be a really fun team to watch.

*****

We talk a lot about culture. Some teams have it, some don’t.

If you ever want to doubt that there is zero good faith in the @nfl business look no further then the @Redskins cutting Mason Foster today, the day he was heading to report for camp. 9 year veteran, captain of the defense, played 99% of the snaps last season and cannot

— Blake Baratz (@blakebaratz) July 23, 2019

That is an agent talking. He’s furious with the Skins for cutting a player in late July.

#Redskins shopped Mason Foster back in March. Odd timing on the cut now. https://t.co/JUtS368l1D

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 23, 2019

Insane for this team to hold onto a player this long if they had no intention of keeping him. Organizations have an obligation to do what is right for the overall team, but they must balance that out with doing right by their players as individuals. When you pull stunts like this, players notice it.

Longtime LT Trent Williams is mad at the organization and holding out. This stuff matters.

Washington has talented players, but there is a reason they have had five winning seasons in the 21st century. That is not a well-run organization. They don’t know how to treat players and build the kind of culture that helps you to win on a consistent basis.

Let’s hope Daniel Snyder never sells that team.

*****

Speaking of division rivals, this is fun stuff.

It is impossible to pick my favorite quote from this article, so here's a Top 5.https://t.co/iMZbg90pXi

— Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) July 22, 2019

1. Yes, Odell Beckham Jr. is gone, but Golden Tate is pretty good.
2. [E]ven Manning's biggest critics will finally have to admit the obvious — that he's not "done."
3. Sterling Shepard will have more receiving yards than Odell Beckham Jr. this year

— Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) July 22, 2019

4. The Giants are likely to hover around being a borderline playoff team[.]
5. [V]ery difficult decision heading into 2020: Do they stick with Manning and try for one last run since they were so close? Or do they turn the page to the future and hand the ball to Jones?

— Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) July 22, 2019

That article is a doozy.

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