Reflecting on Alshon Jeffery's Eagles career, Carson Wentz's frustrating press conference and a crazy Doug Pederson stat.
It's all here and lots more in this weekend's Roob's 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations!
1. In an offseason notable for all the players they got rid of, some of the Eagles' biggest moves were the players who stayed. Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce are all-time Eagles, and although Cox was never going anywhere, Kelce's decision to return for an 11th season and the Eagles' decision to commit to Graham for a 12th season were huge. Even a team that's in the midst of an overhaul and an intense youth movement needs some sort of veteran foundation, and those three guys bring so much to this team in terms of production and leadership that their presence is invaluable. All three of them were fiercely loyal to Doug Pederson, but they're all team guys first. This is going to be a very young and very inexperienced football team this fall, and for those kids to have three Pro Bowlers with Super Bowl rings in the locker room leading the way, setting the example, busting it on the practice field is priceless. Cox, Graham and Kelce will all be in Nick Sirianni's corner because that's who they are, and once a new coach has the stars on his side, everyone else falls into place.
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2. In a way, it seems crazy to pay Derek Barnett $10.051 million guaranteed for 2021 when he's had such a disappointing career. Just 19½ sacks in four years as the 14th overall pick? But the Eagles really had no choice. They need pass pressure, Graham turns 33 in two weeks and Josh Sweat isn't a sure thing, and how do you give up on a 24-year-old former 1st-round pick? The Eagles couldn't risk losing Barnett and watching him go out and get 12 or 13 sacks for another team. Plus, the way salaries have skyrocketed for edge rushers, $10 million isn't that out of whack. It makes him the 32nd-highest-paid edge rusher in the league. Tracy Rocker, the Eagles' new defensive line coach, should be good for Barnett. But if Barnett doesn't produce this year or doesn't stay healthy, then it's time to move on.
3. Jalen Hurts' 7.2 yards per pass is the highest ever by an Eagles rookie (minimum 50 attempts), and his 5.6 yards per rush is also the highest ever by an Eagles rookie (again with 50 attempts). Only six other rookies in NFL history have averaged 7 yards per pass and 5 yards per rush: Ceil Isbell of the Packers in 1938, Pete Layden of the Yankees in 1948, Fran Tarkenton of the Vikings in 1961, plus Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III.
4. New Eagles safety Anthony Harris had 6 interceptions in 2019. The last Eagles safety with 6 INTs in a season was Greg Jackson in 1994.
5. It's not easy to define Alshon Jeffery's Eagles career because overall, it was incredibly disappointing. But he came up so big in the postseason (for the most part) that you have to really balance that with all the underachieving. The dude made $47.2 million in just four years here, and only seven players in franchise history have earned more. He was preposterously overpaid. During his four years here, 46 NFL wide receivers had more yards. But Alshon produced when it mattered — 23 catches for 364 in five playoff games with three TDs, including the spectacular Super Bowl touchdown. Jeffery averaged only 48 yards per game in the regular season but 73 yards per game in the playoffs. He also turned two catchable passes into Nick Foles postseason interceptions. But in the end, he helped the Eagles win a championship, and that makes all the disappointment easier to take.
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6. The only defensive back drafted by the Eagles to start 16 games in a season for the Eagles over the last decade is Nate Allen in 2013.
7. Why did Carson Wentz keep declining to answer Thursday when he was asked repeatedly why he wanted to get traded? He spoke for 26 minutes but wouldn't answer that one, and it's really the only question that mattered. I'd really like to know the true answer. I can't help thinking he was avoiding the question because he thought the answer wouldn't make him look very good.
8. The Eagles have had 15 pass plays of 75 yards or more since 2005. On three of the 15, it was the receiver's final game as an Eagle. Terrell Owens had a 91-yard catch from Donovan McNabb against the Broncos in 2005, Donte' Stallworth a 75-yarder from Jeff Garcia in the 2006 playoffs against the Saints and DeSean Jackson an 81-yarder from Jalen Hurts at Dallas in December. All in their final game as an Eagle.
9. It's so weird that Rich Kotite, Chip Kelly and Buddy Ryan all had higher winning percentages as Eagles head coach than Doug Pederson. In fact, the only Eagles coach with a worse winning percentage than Pederson over the last 35 years is Ray Rhodes. All of which means nothing. But it is weird.
Here's a look at the regular-season W-L records of the last six Eagles head coaches:
.531 ... Doug Pederson (42-37-1)
.553 ... Chip Kelly (26-21)
.583 ... Andy Reid (130-93-1)
.461 ... Ray Rhodes (29-34-1)
.563 ... Rich Kotite (36-28)
.551 ... Buddy Ryan (43-35-1)
10. This actually got me wondering what Super Bowl-winning head coaches have the worst all-time W-L records. All 34 coaches who've won a Super Bowl have a career winning record, but Weeb Ewbank (.502), Jon Gruden (.509), Gary Kubiak (.522), Dick Vermeil (.524) and Pederson (.531) have the worst career records among them.
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