Philadelphia Eagles: The line will be fine

By Andrew Goldwasser | Mar 1, 2015

There is a feeling in the air… floating out there somewhere… that the Philadelphia Eagles ought to be concerned about their offensive line. It was there before this week, but the release of long-time Eagle Todd Herremans has certainly done nothing to quell it. Well, that’s what I’m here for: to quell it. I’m a queller.

First, let’s look at what the Eagles have:

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A Pro-Bowl center under contract through 2020 (we’re off to a good start).

A guard who graded out as the best guard in the game for three consecutive years and enjoyed trips to the Pro-Bowl in each of the last two (keep that ball rolling).

How about a Jason Peters? Seven time Pro-Bowler, and all around physical freak, coming off of a terrific season at left tackle.

Saved the best for last… 2013 top pick Lane Johnson, fresh off of a 2014 in which he finished second overall among right tackles according to Pro Football Focus.

Every one of the players I just mentioned received at least one vote for the Associated Press’ NFL All-Pro team. Let that sink in, please.

And the Eagles have them just where they want them:

Mathis is 33. He’s under contract for two more seasons. It’s very likely his production will begin to taper just in time for the Eagles to let him go with almost no financial repercussions.

Peters is also 33, the best of the bunch, and known to be a physical phenomenon whose body can simply do more than the bodies of other people. 2014 was one of his best years as a pro and he’s given the Eagles no reason to believe that he won’t be a top-notch tackle for at least most of the 4 years left on his contract.

Kelce is only 27 (just a baby as far as centers go) and has an astounding six years left on his contract.

Johnson, 24, is still on his rookie deal and the Eagles will be in a solid position next year or the year after to extend him far into the future. He is, after-all, the heir apparent to Peters on the left side of the line.

‘Isn’t there a fifth starting offensive line position,’ you might be wondering facetiously.

No need for that snark. Yes, that’s the one that had been manned by Eagle-great Todd Herremans. He was the longest tenured Eagle (beating Trent Cole by an hour or so) and one of the best. He was also very clearly the weakest link on the Eagles line. Also, he was plagued by injury: Herremans missed 8 games in 2012 and another 8 in 2014. It was time to say goodbye.

Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tackle Lane Johnson (65) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

‘Fair enough. But the Eagles still need to replace him.’

First, let’s take a peek at where great guards come from:

79th, 135th, 78th, 65th, 86th, 193rd, 94th, 29th, 172nd, 241st

Those are the respective draft positions of Athlon Sports’ top 10 guards in the NFL in 2014. Let me make that as clear as I can… the 10 best guards in football (by one subjective ranking) are almost entirely guys taken on the final day of the NFL Draft.

This means one (or both) of two things:

1. If you can identify what you like in a guard and you’ve got a staff that can coach them,

good

great guards can be had without needing to spend a lot of money/high picks.

2. There is just no way to know which guards are going to wind up being terrific ball players at the NFL level.

I’ve got theories about both of those things. I’ll save them for a rainy day.

The Eagles have an offensive minded head coach (whose inaugural draft selection (Johnson) has been a productive offensive lineman) and an offensive-line guru in Jeff Stoutland whose lines have ranked among the best in football in both of his years in the NFL. In other words, I see no reason why the Eagles shouldn’t be trusted to grab a lineman or three in the middle/late rounds of the next couple drafts and groom them well.

‘Well that’s all well and good for the future. What about now?’

The Eagles actually have an unusual amount of experienced depth along the offensive line (that’s the advantage of injury plagued years like 2012 and 2014 were for the Eagles’ line.) Allen Barbre, Andrew Gardner, Dennis Kelly, and Matt Tobin have appeared in 102 NFL games among them (and started 36.)

It might surprise some folks to hear that the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles ran the ball slightly better (142 ypg) in six games with Andrew Gardner at right guard than in seven games with Herremans at the position (139 ypg). Gardner also started two games at right tackle last year (way back in weeks 2 and 3) and the Eagles surrendered zero sacks in either of those games. You read that right.

A 28 year-old journeyman, the Eagles may want to consider locking Andrew Gardner up long term. Is he a star? No. At least not at guard (he’s a tackle by trade). But he’s better, today, than Todd Herremans.

Oct 13, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Philadelphia Eagles guard Todd Herremans (79) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-20. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

And there’s still a chance for a rostered player like Barbre or Tobin to win the job away from Gardner before the season. That is to say… someone could come in and look better than the guy who looked better than Todd Herremans last year.

The Eagles will also likely bring in one veteran lineman via free agency (Stefen Wisniewski and Orlando Franklin are high on my wish-list, but that’s another article) and could use one of those top-10-guard-type-picks (you know the ones in the 80s or 90s or the 160s) to bring in some young blood.

And if they swing and miss?

They can try it all again next year. Because none of their cornerstone lineman are set to be free agents after 2015. And none are old enough or seem fragile enough (at the moment) that there’s any cause for immediate concern.

To conclude: all’s quiet on the offensive front. Or, at least, it ought to be.

Sure, the Eagles need to keep looking toward bringing in younger lineman and phasing out the old (something they’ve begun with Herremans’ release) and they need to hope for health and consistency within the group. Like any team.

But having two older linemen, one in the middle, and one that’s young with a fifth spot open to be filled by either a young Eagle (Tobin) a veteran Eagle (Gardner, Barbe) or a new guy (rookie or free agent) is a pretty terrific thing. It means the line won’t all come crashing down at once and need a complete overhaul. It means you’ve got time to plan, groom, and replace individuals as needed.

So when analyzing this roster for areas of need? 4 entrenched starters. All played at a high level in 2014. All under contract. And a fifth spot that looks likely to improve in 2015 no matter who’s there. How can the offensive line be anywhere near the top?

The Eagles might be without 3 of their 4 starters in the secondary. And if those were the guys who were starting…

The Eagles haven’t made it clear that they even like the guy under center…

The Eagles could be losing both OLBs and haven’t seen ILB DeMeco Ryans since his ruptured Achilles in week 9…

The Eagles’ have a starting outside receiver that graded out as the least effective WR in football last season…

You get my point. I hope. As needs go… offensive line isn’t a big one. For my money it’s the second-most important block upon which to build a team. Block. Get it? Well, few teams do it as well as the Philadelphia Eagles.

Next: One Player the Eagles Won't Touch?

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