Birds On Parade
In style, Eagles celebrate journey that’s ‘not done yet’
PHILADELPHIA » Even before Jason Kelce took to the microphone, dressed like a mummer’s sequined mashup of a swami and a matador, to call the haters on the carpet, the past loomed large on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Thursday.
The Eagles center dragged it out of the subtext and into the limelight, going down the roster and listing the flaws that contributed to this group of football players amassing in Philadelphia. Peppered with expletives, through a hoarse voice that went nearly silent in his apoplectic recall of Mike Lombardi’s now infamous declaration of Doug Pederson as the NFL’s worst coach, Kelce highlighted the cracks that made the Eagles so perfectly imperfect. He held a special place in his five-minute speech for Howie Roseman, whose demotion and reascent to directing football operations set the tone for resilience that has epitomized the Eagles’ Super Bowl run.
But as often as the World Champion Birds dipped into their past Thursday afternoon, they also cast a glance toward the future. And no one was more unequivocal than the guy who caught the touchdown that made the difference in Super Bowl LII.
“I promise this ain’t going to be the last time we’re partying on Broad Street,” tight end Zach Ertz said.
The convergence of past and present wasn’t limited to the millions lining the parade route Thursday, those who waited so long for the Eagles’ first Super Bowl title and who carried the sentimental lore of
limited to, you’re only as good as your backup quarterback.
It’s safe to say the Eagles are the NFL’s model for quarterback management. Think the Green Bay Packers, who seem to lose Aaron Rodgers every other year or so recognized how important it was to have another guy who can give you a chance to win?
The Indianapolis Colts stubbornly put all of their eggs in Andrew Luck’s basket only to tap dance around numerous setbacks in his rehab from shoulder surgery. Eventually Luck sought treatment in Europe. The season was all but over when they traded a former first-round draft pick to the Patriots for Jacoby Brissett. The Houston Texans thought they had a good quarterback situation with DeShaun Watson, who put up Wentz-like numbers in his rookie season, and Cardinal O’Hara product Tom Savage.
When Watson got hurt, that was the end of their season. Savage was the poster child for gaps in the leagues’ concussion protocol program.
Wentz isn’t healthy. Sure, he was spotted throwing 50yard passes while his teammates warmed up for Super Bowl LII. But talk about your meaningless facts. Wentz struggled so much getting up and down the steps of the charter jet to Minneapolis you wondered why none of his teammates gave him a hand. He didn’t move so well at media night, either. Though Wentz says he should be ready to play by opening day, that sure seems like an overly optimistic timetable for a cat who tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in early December. Appreciate the enthusiasm but Wentz majored in health and physical education, not pre-med at North Dakota State.
The Eagles haven’t put a date on Wentz’s return, just the usual scuttlebutt through one of the leagues’ talking tweeters that they haven’t ruled out a return for the first game of the regular season. The Eagles’ injury reports cannot be trusted, so we’re on our own with this.
Think about the way Wentz plays. Take the fan part out of the equation and rewind to Wentz extending plays almost forever, breaking tackles and launching himself into the end zone (the play that finished him). Is anyone else surprised he made 29 straight starts?
In his rookie season Wentz had to be helped off the field by Jason Peters after getting dinged against the New York Giants. He made it through the concussion protocol and shortly thereafter, played the rest of the game, albeit in a much more restrained fashion.
Wentz’s loose, scrambling style and will to finish are what makes him Wentz. You can’t ask him to change. But it makes you wonder what his shelf life is.
In addition to performance, Foles has one year left on his contract, which makes him the perfect tradable commodity. Teams willing to make an investment in Foles almost certainly would want to work out a contract ahead of time.
What Foles will fetch in a deal depends on how desperate teams are. That could be apparent around the April draft. The Eagles don’t have second or third round picks, having traded them away. That wouldn’t be an exorbitant price to pay for Foles.
Let’s say Wentz is ahead of schedule in his rehab and it looks like he’d be good to go for the opener. And another team, say, the Vikings, lose their starter and is in a bind. Yeah, you’ve got to listen. Telephone rings: “Hello. Who? You’ll give me a first-round pick? I’ll get back to you.”
But with Wentz’s comeback anything but a slam dunk, the Eagles better have a pretty good contingency plan.
Doug Pederson said playing in February is the new norm for the Eagles. To get there, it’s going to take depth. The Eagles demonstrated how important that was transitioning seamlessly to replacements for Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, Jordan Hicks, Chris Maragos and Caleb Sturgis. And last, but not least, the quarterback.
When the 2018 season rolls around, Wentz might not be ready. Nate Sudfeld definitely isn’t ready. Even if the Eagles draft a quarterback, he won’t be ready.
Right now it doesn’t get any better than Foles being a part of the first Eagles team to repeat as Super Bowl champions.