Eagles most negatively impacted by Philadelphia’s abbreviated offseason

What happened to all of that talk about creating competition in the Eagles’ culture?

Here’s some brutal honesty. No disrespect is intended. It just is what it is. The next time an overhyped Nick Sirianni stands in front of the media or we hear him talking about how he wants to compete at everything, whether that be practice or a game of 21 versus a backup slot corner, it’s going to be hard to take him seriously.

We definitely understand the theory behind what’s going on. Philly’s abbreviated offseason schedule is designed to limit injuries, much like teams make the decision to rest starters in the preseason, but here’s another truth about football that most of us learned early… even if your career ended in high school or earlier.

Guys who play and try not to get hurt are often the guys that get carted off of the field first. No one’s stating that this Eagles team is on a collision course with an injury-plagued season. Fingers are crossed that they won’t, but there’s only one way to play the game of football – carefree with a desire to win.

There’s only one way to get better at football… by practicing. There’s only one way to build chemistry. Guys have to put the pads and the helmets on and compete. Random workouts with a few teammates or with a coach in shorts aren’t the same thing.

Philly has a lot of new faces and a ton of new additions on the team. You’re aware that Devon Allen hasn’t played football since 2016, right? You know the 2021 season saw injury for some of the veterans (Brandon Graham) and young guys who weren’t even on this team last year (Josh Jobe). Minicamp would have been a fantastic way to build confidence and give this team some momentum, but judging by the looks of things, there’s no chance of that happening until training camp begins.

Again, everyone has their theories. These are ours. You have the right to disagree. Still, from where we’re sitting, in a league that prides itself on parity and taking advantage of every opportunity, the Birds are behind schedule now, and they have no one to blame but themselves.