3 ideas to help the Eagles continue building on an already elite offseason

Raise your hand if you have already figured out that a couple of great showings on EA Sports Madden NFL game can put one in the mindset of believing that you too can coach or be an NFL general manager. Come on. Don’t act like it’s just us. Once you run with the Philadelphia Eagles on franchise mode or you find a way to blend Hall of Famers on Ultimate Team, you truly believe you can do anything.

There’s another side to that coin. Once your adrenaline stops pumping, you realize that, if this were a real scenario, the defense wouldn’t respond to your spread attack one of about three ways every time. Your punter won’t consistently down every boot inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line simply because you master the kicking meter and put a little backspin on the ball because you tap the L1 button on your Playstation controller.

Once all of that settles in, you quickly realize that great Madden players are just that… great Madden players. Thank goodness Philly’s general manager, the real one, is the best in the biz.

So, back to that thought about a video game making one believe they can build a roster. Yeah, maybe that’s silly, but thankfully, Howie can do anything. We have literally watched this guy put two Super Bowl rosters together when we were told Philly had no money to spend, so we know he doesn’t need our help. That won’t stop us from offering some though, it?

You guys have known us long enough to know that we tend to offer some unsolicited advice.

Here are three ideas that can help the Eagles to continue building on what has already been an elite offseason.

On the surface, it appears the Eagles have everything needed to make another run at football’s ultimate prize, the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy. They have found their quarterback. They have surrounded him with talent. They have great leadership and an impressive coaching staff, but there’s nothing wrong with a little insurance.

We have three ideas we’d love to share.

Add Patrick Queen or Isiah Simmons.

The linebacker position isn’t always treated like a premium position by the Philadelphia Eagles. Just ask T.J. Edwards. He’ll tell you, but once Howie finds what he’s looking for in the important areas, he always doubles back to hit every area.

We have seen Howie add defensive backs at later stages of the offseason. There are rumblings that the Birds may not be done adding linebackers.

They have a lot of bodies at the position. We just aren’t certain they’re totally sold on anyone, but that could be changed immediately. All that needs to happen is they steal Isaiah Simmons from the Arizona Cardinals or Patrick Queen from the Baltimore Ravens. They have dawgs. Now, how about a Tiger? Simmons hails from Clemson. Queen played his college ball at LSU.

Find one more good to above-average pass rusher.

Last year, following Derek Barnett’s injury, Roseman tried to add to the Eagles’ pass-rushing cupboard by trading for Robert Quinn. One year before that, he moved to add a long-time nemesis, Ryan Kerrigan.

There was nothing wrong with the theory. We unfortunately just wound up with the wrong guys. Oh well… It happens.

We say this every year, but hopefully, Derek Barnett is a late bloomer. Hopefully, this will be the year he puts all the puzzle pieces together. We doubt it, but faith is the substance of things hoped for.

If one area of the Eagles’ defense may need attention, it’s the defensive end position. Brandin Graham had a career year, but he’s getting older. Josh Sweat is good, but you need more than that. We have heard Kentavius Street can play inside and outside. The same has been said about Milton Williams, but with all due respect, Janarius Robinson, Tarron Jackson, and Matt Leo simply aren’t moving the meter for us.

Why wait? Release Arryn Siposs and find competition for Ty Zentner.

Once the time ran out on Super Bowl LVII and red and gold confetti fell on the Kansas City Chiefs, it was almost certain immediately that we were always going to remember certain things about that loss. It’s doubtful that Jonathan Gannon will ever be forgiven. Some may even make the argument that the same is true for Arryn Siposs.

At this point, there’s no nice way to say it. Special teams coordinator Michael Clay can’t simply live off of Jake Elliott’s brilliance and be allowed to continue employment. Something has to be figured out there, and something has to be done about Siposs.

The Eagles released veteran safety Andre Chachere on Monday, May 8th. The move isn’t a headscratcher, but what’s ironic about that is he isn’t a bad special teams player. The same can’t be stated about Siposs. No one would have been angry had Philly cut him and kept Andre. Upgrades at special teams are needed, and we have no issues with bringing in competition for the undrafted rookie Ty Zentner.

Here’s a prediction. Zentner will win the punter’s job.