Brooks Retires

Posted: January 26th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Brooks Retires

In news that should shock no one, Eagles guard Brandon Brooks announced his retirement on Wednesday. This is the end of a terrific career for a very talented player. Brooks played at a Pro Bowl level and helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2017.

Brooks handled every defender that lined up against him, but he just couldn’t beat the injury bug. Brooks missed all of 2020 and only played two games in 2021. He kept himself in great shape, but his body just couldn’t handle the wear and tear of pro football. Training in a gym is one thing. Constant collisions with 300-pound men is a whole other story.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Brooks coming out of college. He was big and strong. He put on a show at the Combine and really opened some eyes. I just didn’t think his game tape matched his combination of size and athleticism.

Oops.

Brooks became a terrific pro. He was great at anchoring in pass protection. DTs wouldn’t get him to move an inch. Brooks was devastating on double-teams in the run game. Depending on the play, he would partner with Jason Kelce or Lane Johnson and they would drive the DT off the ball, creating a lot of running room for the various runners who played behind them. Brooks was athletic enough that he could also get out in space and take on LBs or DBs. He will go down as one of the great O-linemen in Eagles history.

There were plenty of accolades. Brooks was elected to three Pro Bowls. He was named All Pro teams on four occations (PFW 3, PFF 1).

Les Bowen wrote an excellent piece on Brooks and talked about Brooks overcoming his issues with anxiety. That made his success even more impressive. It also says a lot about him as a person and the people around him who helped Brooks to manage his situation.

https://twitter.com/NFLFilms/status/1486419448491819010

That is a crazy story.

Looking to the future, the Eagles have Jack Driscoll and Nate Herbig as potential replacments. Driscoll is the better player, but he’s had trouble staying healthy. Herbig is a good fit at RG. He just has a limited ceiling. Sua Opeta will get a shot, but he’s generally been more comfortable at LG.

The Eagles also have Isaac Seumalo coming off injury. Rookie Landon Dickerson took his spot at LG and might not be giving it back. Dickerson and Jordan Mailata formed quite a powerful duo on the left side. You wonder if the Eagles would consider trading Seumalo or moving him to the right side.

The good news is that the team has options.

I doubt the Eagles will use any of that money to chase free agent OL. With Kelce and Johnson being older players, the Eagles need to think about young replacements and that means draft picks.

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Speaking of the draft…the Senior Bowl is next week and I will be going to Mobile. Well, as long as I pass my Covid test on Sunday morning. I don’t anticipate any issues, but you never know these days.

I’m excited to go down and see some future Eagles in action.

The scouts did a good job with the draft last year and those rookies were a huge help to the Eagles successful 2021 season.

If the team can repeat that, it will go a long way to making this team more of a legit title contender. As we watched the playoffs this past weekend, it was obvious the Eagles just don’t have enough talent. There are some good pieces, but you need more when you want to compete for a championship.

*****

No updates on Jonathan Gannon’s future in regard to either the Broncos or Texans, where he reportedly had great interviews.

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1486520492907446275

Gannon coached for the Vikings from 2014 to 2017 so they could take a look at him now that they’ve got a GM in place.

In a fantasy world, Gannon would get a HC job and the Eagles would hire Vic Fangio to replace him.

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