Eagles Fire Groh and Walch

After watching the offense sputter for the better part of two seasons, the Eagles have relieved Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh and Wide Receivers Coach Carson Walch of their duties. Fans had expected them, especially Groh, to be fired after the season, but just one day before the moves were made, Head Coach Doug Pederson suggested that they’d be back for another year. That turned out to be false, and word is that CEO Jeffrey Lurie was the man who decided that a change was needed. 

Groh arrived in Philadelphia as the wide receivers coach in their Super Bowl-winning season of 2017. While the Eagles did boast one of the most dangerous offenses in the league that year, that can be attributed to a top-five running game, the presence of Carson Wentz, and the presence of then-OC Frank Reich. The Eagles leading receiver that year was free-agent signee Alshon Jeffery who fell a few yards short of the 800-yard mark. Nelson Agholor led the WRs with 62 grabs. Reich’s performance was impressive enough that the Colts scooped him up as their coach, leading the Eagles to promote from within. Groh beat out Duce Staley for the OC job and the Eagles offense sputtered. After racking up 457 points in 2017, that number plummeted to 367 in 2018 and went up a little to 385 this season. Obviously, Groh had to deal with a number of unfortunate injuries, but the creativity and scheming just weren’t there. 

Walch stepped into Groh’s former role this season as Wide Receivers Coach. The Eagles ended the season without their top three receivers from the beginning of the year, but the regressions of Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery before their injuries were alarming. The extreme lack of development from second-round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside didn’t help matters either.

Early reports say that the Eagles are interested in former Colts and Lions Head Coach Jim Caldwell. Any updates on a WR coach replacement will likely come later. Philadelphia is some young talent and a credible medical staff away from returning to the NFL’s mountaintop.

-By: Micah Jimoh

Writer/Interviewer

A WAY TOO EARLY Look at the Eagles Complete 53-Man Roster for 2020 Season

The Philadelphia Eagles are now out of the Super Bowl chase this season. So why not take a shot at looking for a bright future?

So let’s picture this, it’s September 5, 2020. You just woke up and the energy of an NFL season is upon you. Everyone believes their team has the ability to win it all this year and you are just waiting to find out the final list of 53 your team will start that journey with. Well… why wait until then? Here is my way too early 53 man roster for the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles.

QB

• Carson Wentz

• Nate Sudfeld

• Cole McDonald (Hawaii) (Practice Squad Candidate)

RB

• Miles Saunders

• Boston Scott

• Corey Clement

• AJ Dillon (Boston College)

WR

• Greg Ward

• JJ Arcega-Whiteside

• Desean Jackson

• Isaiah Hodgins (Oregon State)

• Devin Duvernay (Texas)

• Robby Anderson (FA)

TE

• Zach Ertz

• Dallas Goedert

• Josh Perkins

OL

• Andre Dillard

• Jason Kelce

• Brandon Brooks 

• Isaac Seumalo 

• Lane Johnson

• Frederick Mauigoa (C Washington State)

• Matt Pryor

• Terence Steele (OT Texas Tech)

• Jordan Mailata

• Jason Peters

DL

• Fletcher Cox

• Malik Jackson

• Javon Kinlaw (DT South Carolina)

• Hassan Ridgeway

• Anthony Rush

• Brandon Graham

• Derek Barnett

• Josh Sweat

• Shareef Miller

LB

• Nate Gerry

• TJ Edwards

• Duke Riley

• Patrick Queen (LSU)

• Kamu Grugier Hill

• Darron Lee (FA)

CB

• Sidney Jones

• Crevon Leblanc

• Avonte Maddox

• CJ Henderson (Florida)

• Rasul Douglas

• James Bradberry (FA)

Safety

• Brandon Jones (Texas)

• Rodney McLeod

• Jordan Fuller (Ohio State)

SPT

• Jake Elliot

• Cameron Johnston

• Rick Lovato

Major Acquisitions

Javon Kinlaw- In the first round if Kinlaw is there Philadelphia should take him. Unless Kelce retires and the Eagles decide to take Tyler Biadsz out of Wisconsin to fill that role. It automatically infuses youth to your Defensive line corps and just imagine a three-man rotation between Cox, Jackson, and Kinlaw with a small help from the depth guys. 

CJ Henderson is a first-round type coverage guy who will more than likely fall just because that's what corners seem to do in the draft. I also have the Eagles bringing in James Bradberry because there were times in his Panthers career where he looked like a lockdown defensive back, maybe coming to Philly can bring that to fruition. 

Isaiah Hodgins really is a good chance to be an Eagle. He would allow Philadelphia to wait until the 3rd or 4th round to select a WR and he is a big-bodied guy who knows how to make plays with the ball in his hands. Devin Duvernay is an unlikely selection though one that shouldn’t be overlooked due to his stellar speed and consistent hands. Rumor has it Josh McCown put in a word for Robby Anderson to the Eagles that he believes Anderson could help open up the offense for Carson Wentz.

Darron Lee gets a fresh start in Philadelphia on a cheap deal to prove he is as talented as the Jets thought he would be when he was drafted in the first round.

I have Jason Peters on the roster as of now but to be completely honest I only see it happening if he comes back on a decently cheap deal to be a mentor and back up. 

Brandon Jones is more than likely a 3rd-4th round pick who plays with much the same style as Malcolm Jenkins and comes in to take on his role. Jordan Fuller is a late-round pick that showed great production and adding him with Jones gives versatility where both have the ability to play inside the box, cover in man, and play the safety role. Brandon Jones is also one of the better special teams players in this draft.

This is a mixture of my guesses and players I want the Eagles to get. As the title states, this is a “Way too early” roster and there will be people expected to be back that don’t make it and people who nobody probably knows their name right now that will make the roster.

-By: Austin Bronstad

Writer

Should Philadelphia Draft Wide Receiver in Round 1?

The Philadelphia Eagles seem to be a team that many expect to draft a Wide Receiver in the first round. The question I am asking is… Would that be the right choice?

To answer this question we must first look into the past. I will give each Round 1 Wide Receiver class since 2010-2016 (the set who are getting extensions and have had time) a percentage grade of the hits on picks.

2010: 100%

22. Demaryus Thomas

24. Dez Bryant

2011: 67%

4. AJ Green

6. Julio Jones

26. Jonathan Baldwin

2012: 12.5%

5. Justin Blackmon

13. Michael Floyd

20. Kendall Wright

30. AJ Jenkins

2013: 38%

8. Tavon Austin

27. DeAndre Hopkins

29. Cordarrelle Patterson

2014: 64%

4. Sammy Watkins

7. Mike Evans

12. Odell Beckham

20. Brandin Cooks

28. Kelvin Benjamin

2015: 35%

4. Amari Cooper

7. Kevin White

14. Devante Parker

20. Nelson Agholor

26. Breshad Perriman

29. Phillip Dorsett

2016: 12.5%

15. Corey Coleman

21. Will Fuller

22. Josh Doctson

23. Laquon Treadwell

What Do These Mean?

Since 2012 the 2014 class (64%) is the only to score higher than a hit score of 38% in 2013 and that was only as high as it was because Hopkins was at 100% and I gave Patterson and Austin slight credit for being great in special teams and gadget players. 

The correlation I noticed was that more than likely when you draft a Wide Receiver they will bust no matter when you draft them. But the truth of it is number 1 wide receivers seem to show up late in drafts year after year and it is more about what team will have the scouting and the luck to pluck that Michael Thomas in the 2nd round or Tyler Lockett in the 3rd round.

In 2019 N’Keal Harry and Marquise Brown were the only Wide receivers selected in the first round and each spent nearly the entire year injured combining to play in only 35% of the possible offensive snaps. While AJ Brown(2nd), DK Metcalf(2nd), Terry McLaurin(3rd), and Darius Slayton(5th) all showed the ability or potential to be number 1 Wide Receivers.

While Marvin McNutt is an awesome name in 2012 you have to go all the way back to 2009 when the Eagles drafted Jeremy Maclin to find the last time they drafted a true hit at WR and 2008 with DeSean Jackson to find the last number 1 Wide Receiver drafted by Philadelphia.

The Answer?

There is no true yes or no answer. The draft is a mysterious beast that nobody will ever be able to predict. You could end up taking DeAndre Hopkins at 27 or Justin Blackmon at 5. The Eagles have more positions to fill and there are FA bridge options if you don't feel comfortable with who is available to draft such as AJ Green. Outside of Special teams, there isn’t a position in the NFL I can definitively say should not be drafted in the first round. But there should be caution exercised.

-By: Austin Bronstad

Writer