I drove past the Dover International Speedway on Saturday morning on my way to Smith Island. I was shocked to see the pre-race campgrounds had been extended far off to the opposite side of Delaware Route 1. As always, the immediate grounds surrounding the Raceway were packed, too, with campers and cookouts. The raceway itself seats 85,000, but I swear it looked like 150,000 folks or more had that place surrounded on all sides.
It made me wonder: if the Eagles were to play in another Super Bowl, how many diehard Birds fans would travel to the site of the game, even though they couldn’t get tickets to go inside the stadium for the game?
I think I might be one of them…
Anyway, for now here’s where we be—two weeks remain in the offseason training for the Eagles, with OTAs this week and the mandatory minicamp next week and then a long break before Training Camp begins in late July.
Dave Spadaro gives you a nice position-by-position breakdown of the state of the current roster as we head into the final stretch of OTAs here….
My biggest concern right now is the Eagles coaching staff and of course their media department seem to be projecting a sense of security in their offensive line group.
Dave gushes over the O-Line picture:
“Of every position on the team, offensive line might be the most talent-laden top to bottom. The Eagles have beefed up their depth and they have starter-quality players as backups from tackle to tackle and everything in between.
“There is still some intrigue at one position a far as a starting picture – who gets the job at left guard? Will it be second-year man Isaac Seumalo
, who was impressive last season? Veteran Allen Barbre?Stefen Wisniewski, the handy do-it-all offensive lineman? Chance Warmack, here on a one-year deal trying to get his career back to where he wants it to be?
“Otherwise, the Eagles are set with Jason Peters at left tackle, Jason Kelce at center, Brandon Brooksat right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. This should be an outstanding offensive line.”
Again not wanting to sound like Debbie Downer, but I’m feeling a lot less confidence about this group than Dave.
That’s because I know this group is only two key injuries away from chaos.
If Peters and/or Johnson go down, we are going to be dealing with the great Unknown.
I’m still not sold on Kelce as a power-blocking center or in pass-protection mode. It’s more a matter of increasingly vulnerable lack of size, and not lack of heart.
Brandon Brooks has great potential, but the head-case episode from last season still leaves me unsure about him.
It still all boils down to the AACT formula: a bunch of big guys being on the same page at the same time on game day:
Alignment
Assignment
Count
Technique
Too often we saw individual breakdowns in AACT spoiling the overall impact of the offensive line last season. Maybe the time to address this is more appropriate in late July. Dave and the Eagles are keeping everything very positive and upbeat for now.
* * * * * * * * *
I guess you saw this little news article over the weekend, but I just learned of it today—and it put a little extra spring in my step. They’re bringing Bocephus (aka Hank Williams Jr.) back to Monday Night Football!
Here’s the scoop:
Are you ready for some football? According to USA Today, ESPN is bringing back Hank Williams Jr. for the Monday Night Football opening theme song. Six years ago, ESPN let Williams go after the country music star spoke out against then-President Barack Obama. Williams waved a rally towel Saturday at Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals in Nashville, and regardless of everyone’s political stance, Williams’ iconic song “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” is something we all can rally behind. It could be argued that ESPN needs NFL reporters like Ed Werder and John Clayton, who were recently laid off, more than it needs Williams. Bringing back Williams could be about reaching into the past to counteract the changes in the network’s day-to-day NFL coverage. This could be a short-term fix to a long-term problem. For now, whether you’re from a blue state or a red state or whether you like country music or not, the thought of Williams returning to Monday Night Football gets the juices flowing for the 2017 season. |
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