The Eagles have a mini bye week thanks to their Thursday night game against the Giants.
That means they'll have 10 days between games, and it also means we had some time for a couple mailbags. One today, one tomorrow.
To your questions:
Is there an Eagle receiver that can stretch the opponents defense and is that part of our offense?— Bill Burtis (@BillBurtis1) October 13, 2018
It's an element I think the Eagles have clearly missed this season. Mike Wallace was supposed to be that guy this year, but he fractured his fibula and is on IR. There's a chance Wallace could return this season but that won't come for a while. Torrey Smith was a deep threat last year and even when he didn't make plays, he forced defenses to respect the possibility. He also drew a lot of DPI calls.
Alshon Jeffery can do a little of this, but it's not really his area. Same with Nelson Agholor; he's fast but he's not known as a field-stretcher, especially not from the slot. The one guy with that ability is Shelton Gibson and the Eagles have been really hesitant to get him on the field. I think they should get him a few more snaps each game, but it's pretty clear they don't think like me. I think he could help in that area.
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With Peters and Johnson both significantly banged up, how likely is it that Jordan Maliata sees his first NFL action at some point next weekend, if even for a few snaps?— Drew (@DrewDeLaware) October 13, 2018
I get why so many people are excited about Mailata. I'm excited to see what he becomes too. But it's not going to happen unless there are more injuries. Without Jason Peters, Halapoulivaati Vaitai will take over at left tackle. If Lane Johnson goes down, Isaac Seumalo will slide out to tackle.
It would take another injury before seeing Mailata. That wouldn't be completely impossible, but that's how the depth chart looks right now. I understand why some folks think the Eagles would be better getting Mailata ready to go, but they're still playing the long game. Nothing has changed there.
Do you see this team making the Playoffs with out any changes??— Shawn m gray sr (@BigShizz234) October 13, 2018
Sure. The NFC East stinks and the Eagles have five more division games to go. It's not completely unrealistic to expect them to win four or five of those remaining games. If they sweep the division, they'd be at eight wins. Then they'd need to just find one or two more to win this lousy division. I expect them to win the NFC East; I'd be shocked if they don't.
What are your thoughts about brining on a safety to help out? Or do we try to teach Douglas how to play there?— Sam (@eagles_2020) October 13, 2018
The Eagles have a few options. As you said, they can bring in someone else, they can use Rasul Douglas or they can use one of the other safeties on the team. We've seen Douglas play just a bit, but I like the idea of him playing safety and never understood why the Eagles were so hesitant to cross-train him there.
But here's what I'd do: I'd make Jalen Mills play outside in base and inside in the nickel package. Douglas could then take over outside for Mills on passing downs. That would also leave Avonte Maddox on the back end as a safety, where the coaching staff already seemed to like him.
