10 Things I Think I Think About the Philadelphia Eagles — Two Days Before Lambeau Edition
The third edition of 10 Things I Think I Think is upon us.
Let’s hit it as the preseason opener in Lambeau looms. The first and second edition can be found here and here respectively for those interested. Tweetstorm can be found here.
- Trey Burton is a sneaky good player, and Doug Pederson needs to find ways to get the ball in his hands when on the field.
I am convinced that Trey Burton could be a starting tight end on about a dozen of teams right now. In reality, he’s somewhere between the second and third on the Eagles behind Zach Ertz and maybe Brent Celek.
The more creative the Eagles can get in terms of finding ways to get the ball in his hands, the better off the rest of the offense will be.
2. The Giants are the NFC East team that scares me most right now, not Dallas. That said, I’ll root for them in Week 1 against the Cowboys.
This sort of feels like a 2007 or 2011 Giants team to me, not in that they’re going to win the Super Bowl, but I think they’re flying a bit under the radar right now with a lot of the focus naturally gravitating towards the Cowboys.
The Giants have had a few really good offseasons in a row, this time adding a couple playmakers for a final run with Eli at the helm. I like Ben McAdoo a lot, and he seemed to solve much of the late fourth quarter issues that plagued the end of the Coughlin era. They went 8–3 in one possession games last season compared to 3–8 in 2015. I’ll probably root for them in Week 1 to deal Dallas an early loss at home, but they may end up being the scarier team. Week 3 will be ‘fun.’
3. Jim Schwartz is a very good defensive coordinator but a not so good pseudo general manager. I hope he focuses on his strengths.
Schwartz is the best Eagles defensive coordinator since the last guy to be named Jim. What worries me — (aside from him leaving for a head coaching job before the offense is ready — is his power within the coaches room on personnel decisions.
Last year Schwartz elected to keep Leodis McKelvin over Eric Rowe, who ended up turning in a solid year for the Super Bowl champion Patriots. I hope he doesn’t favor Corey Graham, over the likes of a young guy like C.J. Smith, just because Graham played with him in Buffalo.
4. Mychal Kendricks for Kyle Fuller? I would let the phone ring a few times but not hang up.
Fuller was part of the infamous six — The six names the Eagles had on their 2014 draft board, only to come away with Marcus Smith in the first round when things crumbled in the slots leading up to their pick. Maybe he could be had three years later.
Two players who have largely fallen out of favor with their current franchise. Kendricks is the more proven commodity, which is why I would let the phone ring for a few times, but I’m ultimately picking up.
With how much nickel the defense plays, a potential buy low cornerback would be a much more valuable asset than a seldom used linebacker.
5. If you’ve ever said a bad thing about Merrill Reese or Ray Didinger, I have three words for you: 🏈 Kiss 🏈 my 🏈 ass.
Sometimes I think we get into a bubble on Twitter where we forget that all fans aren’t exactly like us in terms of upbringing, lifestyle, and level of responsibility. A lot of fans work on Sundays and aren’t so lucky to always be in front of a TV for kickoff.
When Carson Wentz threw his first touchdown pass on the opening drive of the season, it was Merrill bringing the euphoric moment to life for them on the radio. He has been the voice of so many classic memories for the franchise, and Ray Didinger was there to talk and about them after the final whistle blew.
Didinger is one of the most knowledgeable Eagles people on this planet and also carries a sense of humility with it where I have never once heard him be disrespectful to someone else’s opinion.
6. I don’t think Doug Pederson’s seat is that hot, but he could pour some cold water on it by winning in Landover Week 1.
I think the narrative of Pederson being under any sort of pressure is a bit overblown. Yes, the in-game coaching needs to improve, but this was a guy who navigated a lot of messy waters in his first season and was a few bounces away from being 10–6. The Eagles traded their starting quarterback eight days before the regular season opener, and Pederson had to get all of his veterans to buy into the plan on the fly — No easy task.
Carson Wentz is Pederson’s meal ticket. The coach will go as far as the quarterback takes him, and based on the flashes last season, he could take him pretty far in due time.
Doug’s job is safe in my opinion, but if he wants to erase any doubt, he can start off with a win against a divisional opponent.
7. If the Eagles playoff hopes rested on a Caleb Sturgis field goal attempt in cold December weather, how would you feel? I’m a bit queasy.
Sturgis statistically has been a pretty good kicker in his Eagles tenure. There’s no denying that with an 85.4 success rate last season, but something about him having to converting some really big kick still scares me.
Think about Landover 2015 or the meltdown against Miami a month and a half later. It’s easy to cherry pick a few misses. There’s been some really impresses makes too like Dallas 2015 and Atlanta last year, but that won’t make me bite my nails any less in a close game in December.
8. I have never seen a beat writer love a position coach like Reuben Frank loves Duce Staley, and I respect the hell out of it.
I don’t know what scoops Duce gave Roob as a player, but it must have been something good (Kidding, mostly). Roob gets a lot of hate from his trolls on Twitter but overall does solid work, is the best when it comes to random stats, and has adopted decently well to a new media landscape in recent years.
In all seriousness, I respect this a lot. The fact that Duce has been retained through two different coaching changes says a lot about him. I’m not quite sure he’s ready to be an offensive coordinator like Roob seems to think, but I’m not quite sure he isn’t ready to be an offensive coordinator.
It will be intriguing to see how his coaching career evolves.
9. Timmy Jernigan is a better player than Bennie Logan, and anyone who has followed me on here for a long time knows I like Bennie a lot.
I was a huge fan of Bennie while he was here and was pulling for the Eagles to re-sign him early in the offseason, but Jernigan next to Fletcher Cox for a season could be fun.
The obvious caveat here is that it may only be one season. Jernigan is set to be a free agent at the conclusion of the season, and may be tough to re-sign given limited cap space and some other priorities (Alshon Jeffery, potential Jordan Hicks extension), etc. That said, if he’s commanding top dollar, it likely means he had a very good season and the Eagles were playing into January.
10. Sidney Jones will go a long way in determining the success or failure of this regime.
Not this year and maybe not even next year, but Sidney Jones — if truly healthy — feels like the type of player who can make a game-deciding play on defense, and the Eagles haven’t had many like that over the past half decade.
So often after five months of work, preparation, and strategy, games and seasons come down to simply winning a 1-on-1 battle.
Think back to the Seahawks-49ers 2014 NFC Championship game. Richard Sherman vs. Michael Crabtree, 1-on-1. Sherman won the battle, and the Seahawks won the Super Bowl whereas the 49ers lost their coach to Michigan a year later and haven’t been back to the playoffs since.
I’m getting way ahead of myself, but let’s say the Eagles are protecting a four point lead in the 2020 NFC Championship game with Aaron Rodgers driving the Packers down the field. Can Jones take a ball away from Jordy Nelson like Sherman did to Crabtree? I think he could, and I hope we get to find out.

