Eagle Fan Diary

  The following is a continuation of a pre-training camp series view of Eagle roster thoughts, here for the Offensive Line.  “The Ugly” here would consistently be “Player has a significant injury effecting performance, availability or both.”  Also, projections can be extreme (Example, who could have predicted Carson Wentz would be as bad as he was in 2020, historically bad).  I am trying to consider realistic forecasts. The Starters: Lane Johnson (Right Tackle), Isaac Seamalo (Right Guard), Jason Kelce (Center), Landon Dickerson (Left Guard), Jordan Mialata (Left Tackle) Lane Johnson : Bad- Lane Johnson just turned 32.   One would expect he is nearing the end of his prime (Although his play on the field belies this).   Johnson has missed games, either via injury or, more recently due to managing his medication for anxiety.   After twice testing positive for performance enhancing assistance, Johnson has that issue under control, but h...

  The following is a continuation of a pre-training camp series view of Eagle roster thoughts, here for the quarterbacks.  “The Ugly” here would consistently be “Player has a significant injury effecting performance, availability or both.”  Also, projections can be extreme (Example, who could have predicted Carson Wentz would be as bad as he was in 2020, historically bad).  I am trying to take realistic forecasts. Miles Sanders : Bad- Sanders is a dilemma.   0 touchdowns for a starting rb last year is clearly a poor optic, but one tied to opportunity and circumstance- While the 0 touchdowns appears, at best strange and at worst an issue, a combination of the Eagle RB committee (Jordan Howard, Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott scored 21 touchdowns in 2021) and Jalen Hurts, who ran for 10 more.   Make no mistake, Sanders, a 2 nd round pick, wants to cash in after this season having been limited to a rookie salary wage for 4 years thru (and inc...

  The following is a continuation of a pre-training camp series view of Eagle roster thoughts, here for the quarterbacks.  “The Ugly” here would consistently be “Player has a significant injury effecting performance, availability or both.”  Also, projections can be extreme (Example, who could have predicted Carson Wentz would be as bad as he was in 2020, historically bad).  I am trying to take realistic forecasts.   Jalen Hurts : Bad- While I do not see Jalen regressing (I just do not think this is likely), I think the worst likely case is a combination of the coaching staff NOT allowing “Jalen be Jalen,” (i.e. not taking advantage of his athleticism and forcing him to be what he is not), and Jalen not protecting the football enough, causing excess turnovers. Good- We see better mechanics and vision from Jalen’s off season work with Tom House.   We see quicker reactions from Jalen since he has never had a second year with the same coach...

  Howie Roseman appears to have had a tremendous off season.   My trust in Howie has never waivered,   Any criticism I might have later (since no one is perfect) will need to be tempered by the fact that currently I don’t have much criticism of Howie’s moves beyond this: Deferring payment of many players across multiple future years allows Mr. Roseman to “buy now” and “pay later.”   This must be managed responsibly, since, eventually, “the rent comes due.” Howie’s approach assumes an NFL ever escalating salary cap over time.   In general, I would take a more conservative fiscal approach (pay more in the present, borrow against the future less), but, for now, Mr. Roseman’s strategy appears “smarter,” and as an Eagle fan, I get rewarded! The following is a pre-training camp view of Eagle roster thoughts for the wide receivers.   “The Ugly” here would consistently be “Player has a significant injury effecting performance, availability or both.”   Also, ...