January 10, 2019
Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports
Why do people so badly want the Golden Tate trade to be validated? Lol.
In our Eagles chat this week, there were a lot of questions that we could not get to in time or other questions we did answer but could use more color. And so, let's do a mailbag post to answer some of the overflow.
Question from Cornelious Ingraham: I believe you said that if Golden Tate made a play to win a playoff game, that would make it a good trade. Is it now a good trade?
I mean, he made a play he should make. He accidentally ran a nice route, got open against single coverage, and made the catch. On the day, he had 5 catches on 8 targets for 46 yards and that TD. I wouldn’t say he won them the game by any stretch. He made a play, like a boatload of others did during that game, only his happened in a crucial moment.
He certainly deserves credit for making that play, and really, it’s not his fault that the trade looked as bad as it did for as long as it did. But I’m not there yet. I still think that was a bad use of resources and the return on investment hasn't been good enough yet to warrant a Day 2 pick.
Question from Champs: In your chat, you responded to a question about Josh Adams that referenced his playing time and blocking, saying he isn’t that good. Were you saying his blocking isn’t that good, or he’s not a good RB at all? I thought he looked like the Eagles’ best running back in a number of games.
I’m saying he’s not very good at all. I do agree that he looked the best of the backs in certain games, but that’s not exactly clearing a high bar when the other options were Wendell Smallwood and an injured Corey Clement.
There are some things he does well. When he gets some space, he can gobble up yards quickly even if it doesn’t look like he’s moving very fast. However, he doesn’t give you anything as a receiver, he isn’t good in pass protection, and he’s been absolutely dreadful as a short yardage back, despite having the big body that he has.
It’s that last point that really turns me off. In 7 carries on 3rd or 4th down and 1 or 2, Adams has -8 yards, and no first downs. MINUS EIGHT!
Question from DJ: If you could bring one player back from IR right now and they would be 100 percent healthy, who would it be?
There are three good choices here. They are Derek Barnett, Rodney McLeod, and Jay Ajayi.
Barnett bolsters the pass rush, which is always super important, Ajayi is a major upgrade over any of the backs as pure runners, and McLeod is a huge upgrade over Corey Graham.
Looking ahead to the Eagles’ opponents, they’ll have the Saints, and if they keep advancing, likely the Rams, and then the Chiefs, Pats, Chargers, or Colts. That’s a whole lot of passing offense awesomeness. Give me McLeod.
Question from TheGhostOfNormVanBrocklin: Not to count the chickens before they hatch, but is this the toughest game left standing in the way of another title?
Yes. For sure, the Saints are a tougher opponent than the Cowboys or Rams, who the Eagles would face in the NFC Championship Game, and the Super Bowl would obviously be played at a neutral site. The Chiefs are the best AFC team remaining, in my opinion. They might be better than the Saints (that's debatable), but they sure as hell aren’t better at a neutral site than the Saints are in New Orleans.
This game is sort of like the U.S. hockey team vs. the USSR in the 1980 Olympics. That game was by far the hardest, but they still had to beat Finland thereafter. OK, I took it too far.
Question from Ifeadi Odenigbo: What do you think about my decision to stay on the Vikings’ practice squad instead of playing for the Eagles in the playoffs?
I have to admit I had no idea what this question meant when I first read it, but yeah, it seems a Vikings practice squad guy turned down the opportunity to play for either the Eagles or Colts on their 53-man rosters.
Obviously, that was ill-advised. If they view you as part of the future, maybe they would have just had you on their 53-man roster?
Question from Jimmy’s mom: Will Sidney Jones be healthy this week? If he can play, what is your ideal nickel lineup?
Jim Schwartz just said that claiming Cre’Von LeBlanc on waivers “might have been the key to our season,” so he’s not going anywhere. And with Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas playing well on the outside, Jones certainly isn’t getting in over them. At this point, should Jones become healthy, and I’m not holding my breath there, he’s depth only.
Also, hi mom.
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