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PHILADELPHIA — Each year before the NFL draft, teams order their gophers to gather as many mock drafts of other teams as possible.
It rarely hurts to see what kind of signals the competition is putting out, ridiculous as it can be. Any bit of information helps. The Eagles have done just that and chances are they still do although getting someone to confirm that could set off a chain reaction and get someone fired.
In that vein, pro football players love to say they ignore outside criticism and skepticism of themselves and their teams. That may be true, but only because the coaches relay it to them to use as motivation.
Often there is a modicum of truth in even the most outrageous assertions, some of which we are about to explore. In an industry that prides itself on considering all minutia it would be foolish to disregard the obvious challenges standing between the Eagles and a return to the Super Bowl. Let’s get started with five of the big ones.
5. Marginalizing Special Teams
Some argue that special teams, not the James Bradberry holding penalty, was the backbreaker in the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. Kadarius Toney’s SB-record 65-yard punt return swung the momentum to K.C.
The Eagles’ answer to that is to cut punter Aaryn Siposs, whose poor boot enabled Toney, and bring him back on the practice squad. That should do wonders for his confidence. They gave the same cut-and-practice squad treatment to Britain Covey, who lifted off on a 21-yard return in the Super Bowl without any blocks from teammates. No team claimed either guy, which also is telling.
If you’re all about details and at least re-watched Super Bowl LVII just once, how could you dismiss upgrading here? And how can you expect different results from ST coach Michael Clay?
4. The Schedule
If the Eagles win their opener at New England, they could start 8-0 before getting their first real test against the hated Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott, who is 8-3 against the Birds with three straight victories. Aaron Rodgers (Jets), Matt Stafford (Rams) and Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) are the only quarterbacks of note in that first big block of games, and the latter two almost certainly will be nursing injuries when they meet the Eagles (Sorry, Kirk Cousins is no longer a threat).
In a four-game block in the second half, though, the Eagles face Prescott. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Josh Allen (Bills) and whoever is left with the 49ers before getting Prescott again. That’s as difficult as any Eagles schedule has been.
3. Haason Reddick’s Thumb
The Eagles’ pass rush goes as Reddick goes, as he was second in the NFL with 19.5 sacks last season. At 235 pounds, his quick, heavy hands are vital to his existence coming off the edge against slower and less movable linemen.
If Reddick must downshift to a one-armed game, it will lessen the impact of the rush that is the strength of the defense. It’s not a coincidence that Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrave and Brandon Graham all registered 11.0 sacks in the same year that Reddick exploded. Rookie tackle Jalen Carter figures to help the pass rush. Fellow first round pick Nolan Smith, the edge, already is nursing what the Eagles call a shoulder injury. He missed a lot of games with a torn pec last year.
And oh, by the way, this is the year Reddick needs to be great. He’s making a pittance compared to pass rushers with lesser stats and deserves a contract befitting his production.
2. The New Coordinators
We still don’t know definitively if defensive coordinator Sean Desai, a late addition to the staff, is going to call the plays. We do know that Jonathan Gannon said the Eagles basically begged him to stay rather than take the head coaching spot with the Cardinals. He said they offered him insane money.
Let’s just say the Eagles had enough concern about the change in coordinators to add Matt Patricia, formerly of the Patriots, to the staff. He’s called a lot of defenses, including the one Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles carved up in Minneapolis.
We also don’t know exactly how the Brian Johnson synergy is going to work with Jalen Hurts despite their familiarity.
We do know that Hurts is bigger, stronger and sounder fundamentally than he was finishing runner-up to Mahomes in the MVP voting and falling a few points short of upsetting his KC counterpart in the title game.
1. The Quarterback’s Health
There is no way Marcus Mariota can get the Eagles to where they want to go if Hurts is out for extended time with an injury. Mariota is a one-dimensional, read option runner who has had issues staying whole.
If Hurts cannot quarterback the Eagles wire to wire the wheels could fall off. And please, rookie Tanner McKee isn’t the answer. Mariota gives the Eagles a better chance to win games than the rookie out of Stanford.
Contact Bob Grotz at rgrotz@delcotimes.com.
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