As the clock ran down to 0:00 on Feb. 7, signifying the end of the 2015 regular season and the beginning of the offseason, millions of NFL fans cried out in agony. Or that could’ve just been the noise I made upon seeing that terrifying puppymonkeybaby thing in the one Mountain Dew commercial. Regardless, the offseason is upon us, and it’s been moving at a predictably sluggish pace so far—hence, there is not much Eagles news. In the last few weeks, however, the organization has given out shiny new contracts to staple players on offense and defense such as Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson and Vinny Curry. In light of these signings, I figured it might be helpful to examine just exactly what the Eagles’ needs are heading into the offseason, and which players might fit the bill to address the concerns.
Guard:
The O-line was a glaring weakness for the Eagles last season, and its utter ineptitude as a unit, it may be argued, directly cost the team several games. In my opinion, the O-line is the single most important position group on offense outside of quarterback. When the line isn’t playing well, it sends a ripple effect through the whole offense: the run game is taken out of the equation; the deep ball becomes ineffective as teams will not bite on play-action and can drop more men into coverage; and finally, the QB is forced to make dink-and-dunk throws all day as the pass rush slices through the Swiss-cheese O-line immediately. All of these elements combine to create a less than ideal offense, to put it lightly. For the Eagles, tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters played fairly well last season, meaning the root of the problem was at the guard position. The Eagles’ guards—Matt Tobin and Allen Barbre—weren’t able to get any push in the run game and gave up sack after sack in pass protection. It’s time for a changing of the guards, so to speak.
Candidates: Alex Boone, Jahri Evans
Safety:
I list this as a need based on the assumption that the Eagles won’t be bringing back Walter Thurmond for the 2016 season. Though Thurmond and Malcolm Jenkins formed one of the league’s best safety tandems in 2015, he would simply be too expensive to keep around with some key players due for extension soon (I’m looking at you, Cox). Additionally, many fans have made the point that Walt would not be a scheme fit under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Traditionally, defenses will play with two safeties in a base package—one Strong Safety, or SS, and one Free Safety, or FS. In the scheme Billy Davis was running, Thurmond and Jenkins were essentially both playing FS. Schwartz runs a tough defense, and the departure of Thurmond would be a perfect opportunity for him to bring in a SS to play in the box and serve as the team’s “enforcer.”
Candidates: George Iloka, Draft
Wide Receiver:
Let’s just say it: The Eagles’ WR group last year was sad. Lots of fans, including myself, were expecting Jordan Matthews to step up effectively into the number one WR role following the departure of Jeremy Maclin, but what he did on the field was anything but step up. Josh Huff did not produce nearly enough to justify his selection by the team in the third round of the 2014 draft. Nelson Agholor did not blossom into the deep threat he was touted as, though there is still plenty of time for that. Instead there were drops, drops and more drops. The smart thing for the Eagles to do would be to bring in a veteran presence at the position to act as a temporary stop-gap and mentor the rest of the young core while they develop.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin celebrates at the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII victory parade on Feb. 5, 2013. (Credit: Public domain image/Wikipedia)
Candidates: Malcolm Floyd, Marvin Jones, Anquan Boldin
*Disclaimer: This is written assuming the Eagles re-sign Sam Bradford. If that does not happen, then quarterback clearly becomes the team’s number one need.
Vincent Behe is a Saucon Valley resident and Eagles fan. He is an undergraduate student at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where he is majoring in history.
