Over the last three years, I've predicted what the Philadelphia Eagles' next calendar year would look like (in stick figure form), based mostly on logic, and mayyyyybe a little inside knowledge here and there.
A quick recap:
2016
On December 1, 2015, with the Eagles' season still underway (but already over for all intents and purposes), I was already in offseason mode:
How'd we do?
- MORE ON THE EAGLES
- Eagles' Chris Long named 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his work in educational equity
- Eagles reportedly expected to pick up Nick Foles' option for 2019 season
- Handing out awards for the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles
- They did indeed continue to suck.
- Jeffrey Lurie fired Chip, to the surprise of most.
- They hired Doug Pederson, who wasn't a retread in the traditional sense, in that he wasn't a formerly fired coach getting his second crack as a team's head coach. But at the same time, he was kind of retread'y, in that he was an Andy Reid disciple. It was certainly a "boring" hire, at the time. I feel like I should at least get half-credit here.
- All those guys are indeed gone, now anyway, though it took a little longer than anticipated for a few of them.
- They did indeed draft a savior quarterback, but I'm so mad at myself for not including Wentz. I would take my first look at him a week later, and instantly loved him. Had I watched him sooner, he'd have been in there. But certainly, the premise of quarterback being the focus of the offseason was correct.
- And they did continue to suck in 2016, but, you know, with a quarterback you could feel good about for the future.
Sooooo, 5.5 out of 6? Is that fair?
2017
Fearing I wouldn't top the previous year, I'd have preferred to retire this bit on a high note, but I gave the people what they wanted. I'm glad I did:
Bang.
- They did indeed free up a lot of money to prepare for a free agent splurge. And yes, I know I had Jason Kelce in there, but shut up.
- They did indeed let Nolan Carroll, Stephen Tulloch, Bryan Braman, and Bennie Logan walk in free agency. I remember getting a lot of grief for including Bennie, but that was a pretty easy call, in my view.
- They did indeed sign a couple receivers, and I even had both of them (Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith) included in my picture.
- They did indeed draft a couple of confident corners.
- There were no major contract extensions handed out to players already on the roster. In fact, they even traded away Jordan Matthews, who appeared in that box.
- And finally, while No. 6 was indeed correct, it was obviously undersold.
Soooooo, 6 of 6?
2018
In 2018, I could only go down, and that I did.
- Trey Burton, Beau Allen, and Patrick Robinson did indeed move on.
- Nick Foles was obviously not traded, and he remained in Philly.
- The Eagles did indeed have an unsplashy free agency.
- Jason Peters played another year, which I guess was unknown at the time.
- Wentz was hampered, and while "still great" at times, his season did not go as everyone would have hoped.
- Half right on this one.
So, 3 right, and 2 half-right? 4 out of 6? Good? Good.
2019
Let's see if we can get back in the win column this year.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader