Guess who’s bizack?? **Jay-Z Voice**
It has been quite some time since I came with the content for Front Stoop Sports. Apologies to the fellow Stoop Kidz. After a long break filled with laziness, procrastination, business, and drunkenness I’m here to provide my 2017 Eagles Preview series now that the 53 man roster is set. So without further ado, lets dive in.
Quarterbacks: Carson Wentz, Nick Foles
Not too surprising here. Wentz looks to build on his solid rookie season, and now that the organization has made it a point to surround him with talent it looks like he could be poised to fulfill on that promise. While he only threw 23 passes this preseason (and Dougie P seemingly bitched out of playing the starters further into the 3rd preseason game outside of the 1st quarter) Wentz has looked sharp and confident with the offense this year. We’ve also seen that when Pederson’s play call begins to lack effectiveness, Wentz has shown the ability to take over the reigns and move the offense down the field with his apparent command of the offense. As long as he can keep himself healthy he should have a breakout year for the Birds.
While I was happy about the Nick Foles signing earlier in the offseason, his inability to get on the field is a bit concerning. Its possible the team is confident enough in Wentz to stay healthy and Foles history with this offense that they didn’t want to rush him back prematurely from whatever this injury is. I guess that is fine, but if something happens to Wentz early we could be in for a QB shit show if Foles can’t go. Kaepernick in an Eagles jersey would not be out of the question at that point (which would be a fine signing), but if Roseman is hoping to avoid that national scrutiny he better hope Foles pussy elbow gets healthy soon.
And I think we can all agree, not having Matt McGloin on the roster any longer is a huge blessing.
Running backs: LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, Donnell Pumphrey
A lot of chatter started around the idea of cutting LeGarrette Blount during the first couple of preseason games. It was pretty obvious this wasn’t happening, and it was just another classic case of old head Eagles fan overreaction. Blount may not be the same player he was for the Patriots, but for this season his role is pretty clearly defined. Blount will operate in early down, short yardage, and goal line situations. He has been known to feast in this role, and as long as Pederson can commit to the running game this season he should be a fine addition to the offense. If not, these concerns about Blount will be valid.
Darren Sproles, entering what should be his last season, is still clearly the Eagles most talented back. He will have a huge role in offense, and if Blount proves ineffective he will most certainly take over the lead back role. Having Sproles as our most talented back says a lot however, as they are clearly gambling on a 34 year old scat back to carry the run game. The Birds better hope that Sproles can stay healthy, or we will be seeing shades of Reid-era offense and Wentz will throw the ball 700 times this season (which is still well within the realm of possibility anyway).
Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, and Donnell Pumphrey provide depth and interesting prospects at the position, although I am surprised they kept 5 running backs. Smallwood is clearly the best out of the bunch, and could work his way into a lead back role depending on his health and Blount’s effectiveness. Health has been a huge factor in his career so far, but if he can put together a solid second year the Eagles may have found a key piece to the future of their running game. Clement is a guy, and he’s shown he can be somewhat productive with his limited skill set. I’m sort of surprised he’s still on the roster, and it’s quite possible he isn’t once waivers clear and Howie starts pillaging the free agent market for new additions and practice squad guys. We’ll see, but for now he’s okay depth. Pumphrey, while intriguing still, didn’t show a damn thing this preseason. It was obvious that Roseman wasn’t going to cut a guy he traded up for, so Pumphrey is safe for now. Hopefully he can turn it around and carve out a role this year as the heir apparent to Sproles. So far, I haven’t seen it.
Wide receivers: Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith, Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, Marcus Johnson
This is by far the most important and interesting position group on the team, as they will determine the progress of Wentz this year. The signing of Alshon Jeffrey was huge, and for the most part he lived up to the bill even though Pederson was overly cautious with his playing time due to a shoulder injury. I am not too concerned with his ability to produce or his chemistry with Wentz, and the fact he’s playing on an extremely incentive laden prove it deal should give him all the motivation in the world to show out this year.
Torrey Smith is a guy that the Eagles clearly have been high on since last year, as they almost parted with a 5th rounder for him. Luckily they
waited, because they were able to ink him to a low cap hit deal with zero guaranteed money that allows them to cut bait if he turns out to be the 49ers version of himself. I think he will be a pleasant surprise this year, and he will provide a vertical threat for this offense that will hopefully allow for the Eagles plethora of underneath threats to thrive. As long as he opens up this offense, he will be money well spent.
Nelson Agholor is the X factor this year, and could ultimately prove to be the Eagles new version of Brandon Graham if all goes right. Agholor has been the whipping boy for fans over the past two years, similar to the early career of Graham when he was always hurt and he wasn’t named Earl Thomas. The Eagles seem so confident in him that they were willing to part with Jordan Matthews, who has proven to be the Eagles most consistent receiver the last three years, as well as a favorite target of Wentz. All we’ve heard this offseason is how well he practiced, but I for one have not seen shit from him in any of the preseason games. But if he can get it together and hang on to the ball, Agholor could be huge for this offense moving forward this year.
Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, and Marcus Johnson are all intriguing prospects, especially Hollins. Hollins has the size and deep threat ability to shoot up the depth chart, and if Agholor still is getting in his own way I would not be surprised to see him take over in the slot, or switch with Torrey Smith on the outside. I liked what I saw from him in the preseason. Gibson probably would have been cut if it weren’t for the front office trying to save face with what so far has been a subpar draft class, but he also has deep play ability that hopefully can be developed. Marcus Johnson is just a guy, but they saw enough that they like to keep him around. Like Corey Clement, I would not be surprised to see him cut in the near future.
Tight Ends: Zach Ertz, Trey Burton, Brent Celek
Zach Ertz has been on the verge of breaking out since his rookie year, but he finally has hit consistency with a head coach and QB situation for the first time. With the trade of Jordan Matthews for Ronald Darby, I foresee Ertz taking over as Wentz go to guy. If he can stay healthy I think he will have a Pro Bowl caliber year, and he will be the Eagles best red-zone target with all the attention that Blount and Jeffrey will command.
Trey Burton is a solid back up that could potentially have a bigger role in this offense for 2017. He has solid hands and great athleticism for a TE, as he played WR, RB and QB for Florida when he was in college. It will be interesting to see how Pederson incorporates him this year.
Brent Celek may as well be the mascot for the Philadelphia Eagles organization. He’s a legend. Enough said.
Offensive Line: Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce, Issac Seumalo, Chance Warmack, Halapoulivaati Vatai, Stefen Wisniewski
What seemed to be a strength going into the offseason, has suddenly become a huge concern. The starting lineup is as good as any in the league, however the decision to only keep 3 reserves while they kept 5 RBs and 6 WRs will be scrutinized. Given the fact that Peters is in the twilight of his career, and Jason Kelce hasn’t proven he can be a starting center in anything but a speed based offense, I am starting to worry that this may be our Achilles heel this year. Luckily, they are all healthy heading into the season and Lane Johnson has seemed to learn from his PED suspension. I anticipate that we will be cutting Corey Clement for a depth OL guy, but if we head into the season with this group of guys I will worry that we are one injury away from Wentz being in the same situation he was last year.
Overview:
This offense is clearly better on paper. Wentz looks to have progressed, the WR additions have provided more weapons for the young QB, and we look like we finally have big play ability as a part of this offense once again. I am concerned with the depth of our OL and the effectiveness of our run game and how that will affect the rest of the offense. All in all though, this offense’s effectiveness will rest squarely on Wentz’ shoulders. There are no excuses this year for him to not take this team to the next level, given the assets that were allocated to offense this offseason. They looked decent enough this preseason to think that they will do just that, but as always injuries could derail that very quickly. Health aside, I predict they at least finish the season in the top 15 of scoring offenses this year.
Coming in the next few days I will preview the defense, special teams/coaching, and I will give my final prediction for the teams record.