McCaffery: Birds’ veterans need to commit to future
PHILADELPHIA » Products of others’ failures, rewards for bad seasons endured, results of aggressive draft-day moves, the next generation of Eagles should be, and must be, rewarding. And imported with money, and with risk, and with hope and with whatever knowledge about their remaining skills the front office could gain, the recently arrived crowd of accomplished Eagles should be, and must be rewarding.
Then, there is the Eagles’ struggling generation of draft choices. And that crowd, that in-between crowd, will determine whether the 2017 Birds — and, with that, Doug Pederson’s very head coaching career — will be a success.
Carson Wentz and Derek Barnett and Jordan Hicks, the youthful Eagles? Don’t worry.
Alshon Jeffery and LeGarrette Blount and Torrey Smith and the imports? They can play.
But what about holdovers Mychal Kendricks and Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry and Zach Ertz? What about the talented if yet-toconvince, middle-football-aged core of the earlier-decade draft classes? Are they finally ready to dominate? Are they at the point where they have just the proper mix of seasoning and youth to make a difference? And can the Eagles thrive if they all just fizzle?
The early returns: Why not?
Begin with Kendricks, the linebacker about to enter his sixth NFL season, a talented 26-year-old who has made just enough interesting plays since arriving in 2012 to intrigue … and just enough of the disappointing variety to frustrate. Once considered a Pro Bowl regular in the making, a player the Eagles guaranteed $16.4 million to in a $29 million contract extension in 2015, the University of California product is perfectly situated to have his best season. Thursday night, in a 20-16 exhibition victory over the Buffalo Bills in the Linc, Kendricks supplied two tackles for losses, a quarterbackhurry and an interception. In two games, he has had a sack and two interceptions.
“Yeah, he’s been a pro’s pro,” Pederson said. “He’s a guy that’s come in every day. It’s his second year in the system, so he’s really making a lot of strides right there. He’s put himself in great positions. He’s had a couple turnovers now in these first two games, or some takeaways. It’s exciting to see.
“He’s a guy that’s very athletic. You can see his athleticism on some of the tackles he makes in the open field. He can definitely put some pressure on the quarterback. It’s exciting to see where he’s at. I am very comfortable with that. And we’ve just got to keep them coming.”
If it all means that Kendricks is finally ready to show the consistency that once made him so appealing, then the Eagles’ defense could be its strength, not its burden.
“We still have work to do but we’re chugging along,” Kendricks said after the Buffalo game. “I think people are coming into their own. We have a lot of young guys here still and we’ll see in the next couple of weeks who is going to be here and who is not. Once we know that, we’ll be able to hone in on what we need to get done even further.”
Graham, 29, is a little older and heading into his eighth season, and his 5.5 sacks and 83 pressures last season helped him become a Pro Bowl alternate. The Eagles have resisted extending his contract, which could cause them problems later. That they recently rewarded him with some incentive clauses hints at their belief that he is capable of a big season, so they are going to try to tease him toward one.
Long among the Birds’ greatest teases, Curry, 29, responded to an extended contract with $23 million in guarantees last season with 2.5 sacks. Believed to be ideal for Jim Schwartz’s defense, Curry really has had one (relatively) big season. That was in 2014, when he had nine sacks. It’s time.
“Vinny has done a great job, and his execution has been a big part of it,” defensive line coach Chris Wilson said Saturday, a quiet day off for the players. “There is improvement from a year ago, with those reps that he takes, and it shows now. He’s done a great job in every phase, with the run game, with the pass game. I’ve really been pleased with his success in this camp.”
There are others in that middle-career mix who need to play this season as if they are peaking, not retreating. Plenty of them. Some may thrive, some may not. The ratio will reveal whether the Eagles will be successful in 2017 … or if they will need to wait until Wentz and Barnett and others are at that point in their careers.
The Eagles have the pieces to build that bridge. They have to hope it’s sturdy.