July 03, 2017
In our weekly Eagles chat on Friday, there were a lot of good unanswered questions that I was not able to get to, as well as some answered ones that could use a little more color. We'll cover them and some recent emails here in an Eagles mailbag.
Question from Jen: Which Philly team has the best shot at a title in the near future?
I think the order is pretty straightforward:
My apologies in advance to Union-Soul-etc. fans, but, come on...
Here's your say:
Question from Sporran: Best guess – Which coaches will need to be replaced after this year? How bad would the team have to be for Pederson to be out?
If the Eagles don't show progression from Year 1 to Year 2, I can see where they could cut bait with Doug, as long as they feel that someone already with the team was ready to take over. A new coach from the outside typically would look to clean house, implement new schemes, and then find players who fit them. Hiring a new coach is basically starting over, and I don't think they'd have any interest in that.
The Eagles' assistant staff is really good. There's no need to disturb it, and I don't see anyone who really needs to be replaced as this point. They also have a number of coaches who might make sense as the head guy, such as Jim Schwartz, Frank Reich, or maybe even John DeFilippo. Hell, Duce Staley even interviewed for the job once.
To be clear though, I thought Doug did a highly underrated job in his rookie season as a head coach.
Question from Dfense: Just saw film on WR Marcus Johnson. Does he make the team or practice squad?
There was a pair of interesting tweets from Adam Caplan this week about Marcus Johnson. First, he noted Johnson's play during OTAs and minicamp as a reason the Eagles felt comfortable dumping Dorial Greeen-Beckham now.
2 reasons why #Eagles cut DGB: Team high on 2nd-year WR Marcus Johnson (really strong offseason), rookie Mack Hollins.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) June 30, 2017
And then followed it up with this:
#Eagles got an extended look at Marcus Johnson during OTAs with Jordan Matthews (knee) sidelined. Johnson took advantage of extra reps.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) June 30, 2017
I'll buy that. I do know the team liked Johnson last training camp before he got sidelined with an injury. That kept him from making the 53-man roster, but he still made the practice squad despite missing a huge chunk of camp.
I will say, however, that DGB's play was the biggest reason that DGB got cut.
Question from Pragmatic: How does Alex McCalister look?
I just don't see it. I get the appeal in that he's an athletic freak of nature with height and length, but he's just not a very good football player. I think he's destined for the practice squad, or perhaps cut outright.
Question from Mike in Colorado: Is Ryan Mathews ever going
to get a physical? If they cut him with an injury settlement, what are the cap
ramifications?
We answered this previously in detail in a mailbag, but since we get asked often enough, I'll address it again. The short answer is that they'll be on the hook for his injury settlement if they have to release him with a failed physical. That injury protection benefit will count toward the cap. More detail here.
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