I’m starting to believe our beloved Gatekeeper Brizer is on to something with his currently adjusted prediction of 7-9 for the Eagles in 2018.
There is some weird mojo hanging over this team heading into PS3 with the Cleveland Browns.
First off, our almost-MVP QB Carson Wentz is a pipe-dream away from even mattering in the first quarter of the season.
“Yesterday went well,” Wentz said regarding his clearance for practice in 11-on-11 team drills. “I think early in the week, as far as team and scheme and everything, and just getting back out there for a lot of those guys, I felt good. But overall, I thought the guys looked good, I felt good, knee was feeling good, so it was a good day.”
A good day to accept that Wentz is still a long ways off from NFL competition.
The next step in the rehab process for Wentz is getting cleared for contact, which would make him eligible to start in a game. He said he has no idea when that will come, and it won’t be his decision.
Wentz will not play this week against the Browns but left the fourth preseason game against the New York Jets open-ended. He said his focus at the moment is helping the offense with the game plan and taking advantage of his new reps to build “chemistry” with his teammates.
Gawd I hate that term “chemistry”… it’s really about “synergy”…but I digress, as a grammatical nerd trapped in a world that does not recognize a classical Latin-based education as I was gifted with and highly qualified for…
In the immortal words of Lily Tomlin’s character “Frankie” in the hit Netflix series “Frankie and Grace”, “Y’all can f*ck y’all”…
GK got my back on that, I reckon…?
Anyway, my point is the idea of Carson Wentz as the linch-pin for the 2018 Eagles offense is about as reliable as Andrew Luck’s probability to return to QB greatness with the Indy Colts. It’s likely not to happen. You “hope” it does…but don’t count your chickens.
“It’s been a grueling process,” Wentz said. “With the offseason, just from a rehab standpoint, when you’re in the building every single day, every day during the week, all offseason, you really don’t get any break. And it’s just the physical limitations early on, getting over that step-by-step. It’s been a grueling process, but I’m thankful for where I’m at.”
But the current bottom-line is Wentz is OUT for the upcoming “dress rehearsal” PS3 game against the Browns this Thursday night.
In addition to Wentz’ absence against Cleveland, there is no Jay Ajayi (sore legs), no Darren Sproles (cautious with the veteran’s progress from multiple injury rehab), no Corey Clement (screaming calves and ankles), no Alshon Jeffrey (rotator cuff post-surgery, might not see him until October), no Nelson Agholor (strained leg muscles), no Markus Wheaton (hammy), no Richard Rogers (effed-up knee, see him in October maybe?), no Jason Peters (saving him for September, then what?… Ya know he’s gone for good with the first big collision), no Brandon Graham or Timmy Jernigan (see you’se guys in November), no Jalen Mills (something’s wrong but we don’t know what it is), and of course no Chris Maragos (knee), who may never appear again for the Eagles in the course of the upcoming season.
In other words, almost a quarter of our projected starters and special-teamers for 2018 are basically AWOL for the remainder of this preseason and beyond.
This may be just a short-term problem, or it could linger well into a 7-9 season.
Add in the fact that we ain’t got Patrick Robinson no more in the slot…man, that cat played his arse off last season, and he will be difficult to replace in the truest sense of the word. Sidney Jones or Avonte Maddox? Meh…learning curve FUBARs are inevitable.
At WLB, there are inevitably going to be missed assignments. You just hope they don’t cost you the game. Nate Gerry or Kamu Grugier-Hill? Damn, never thought I’d be saying I miss Mychal Kendricks.
We got no true #4 running back. Matt Jones is sadly washed up. I don’t know how that happens to such a dynamic young pro athlete so fast—but it did. Smallwood and Pumphrey suck right now. Maybe it’s a matter of confidence? Surely it’s not because of lack of physical ability. So much of becoming a successful running back in the NFL has to do with brains. Quick intuition, deductive reflexes, pass-pro reaction…for some reason(s), these talented guys are lacking in all those brain MRI’s right now.
Josh Adams looks good at times in the brawn/brain equation at RB… but he’s seemingly always injured. That is a shame, not on him, but on the game which wears down the biggest of young hearts.
There are a dozen other question marks on this projected 53-man roster. The punter/placeholder and the kicker are difference-makers in their own rights, and I’ve got an “iffy” feeling about Cam Johnston and Jake Elliott. Then there’s the injury probability for defensive veterans like Haloti Ngata, Michael Bennett, and Chris Long— I mean, in football years, these guys are long in the toof. Same goes for WR Mike Wallace…just how effective is he gonna be when the aches and pains start to add up?
It just seems that we are an older, more creaky team than last year with too many question marks surrounding our younger replacement parts. Too many of our “guaranteed” performers are still rehabbing from injuries.
In that sense of realistic assessment, GK Brizer’s 7-9 proposal does not look so outrageous. Perhaps our greatest encouragement heading into the Cleveland PS Game this Thursday is that Dallas, Washington and NYG are suffering the same atrophy as we.
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