Allen Barbre (left) working on Da Bears here figures to be the lead candidate for left guard in the wake of Evan Mathis’ release…
I paraphrased a line from a Kenny Chesney song in the title of this blurger… but the spirit of the lyric rings true.
The drama surrounding the release of Pro Bowl-caliber left guard Evan Mathis by the Eagles might suggest that there is trouble in Paradise…
Not really…
Evan Mathis is 33 years old and unwilling to follow the Chip Kelly non-guaranteed dollar script. Fine and well— Kelly says he will develop or find another left guard. After all, it’s about the culture, not the individual talent…
What makes that release of Mathis all the more remarkable is Kelly also jettisoned his veteran right guard Todd Herremans earlier in the offseason.
So you want to build an offense based upon the run game, but you blow away your two most accomplished guards at the same time? Risky business…
31-year-old Allen Barbre (a natural tackle) is likely to be the replacement for Mathis on the left side. Matt Tobin, Andrew Gardner and Dennis “Hagrid” Kelly are in the mix for the right guard spot.
The “Replacements” will debut when mandatory 3-Day OTA minicamp opens this Tuesday.
Just for insurance purposes, the Birds are bringing in Jared Wheeler to juice up the competition.
Wheeler, 24, 6-5, 320, played both guard positions and center at the University of Miami. He was undrafted in 2014 and spent time with Buffalo and Carolina in the preseason. Wheeler signed with Seattle in February of 2015, but was released after the 2015 NFL draft.
I expect little or nothing from bringing Wheeler into the mix.
It will come down to Barbre, Tobin, Gardner and “Hagrid”— mostly because they have all been tutored and familiarized in the Jeff Stoutland training system over the past two years.
Maybe one of the undrafted free agent guards makes a big enough impression to crack the Final 53— but I doubt it. The Eagles had signed undrafted free agents Brett Boyko, Malcolm Bunche, Cole Manhart and Mike Coccia (who moved from center to guard during OTAs).
The Chippah has cracked the whip— malcontents be gone. But to what advantage on the offensive line?
It’s kind of weird that veterans like left tackle Jason Peters don’t really seem to give a sheet about losing teammates like Mathis or Herremans.
“We’ve got a group of guys out there that have worked, been here since April, and right now Al Barbre is the starter at left guard,” Peters said.
Tight End Zach Ertz was equally callous in his implied condemnation of Mathis:
“We want guys that love the process each and every day, whether it’s June 1 or January 1 or February 6, whatever day the Super Bowl is,” Ertz said Tuesday. “We need guys that are going to come in each and every day and work and I think that’s what we’re building right now.”
Wow. I hope that if the day ever comes that Ertz has a contract beef with the Eagles, some teammate will give him more support than he just gave Mathis.
Chip wants everyone on the same page. But if the result of that total mind control is that any one of his players ends up with zero backing from their mates when the whip comes down, what good is team spirit?
Maybe former Eagle Todd Herremans said it best:
“I think it’s very unfortunate how it all went down,” Herremans told 97.5 The Fanatic. “I think it’s tough not to add any offensive linemen (in free agency or the draft) and then get rid of both of your starting guards in one offseason. But Chip’s got a plan. Nobody knows what it is, but he’s got a plan and he’s putting it into action.”
“I think it’s kind of unfortunate for Evan,” Herremans said. “I think he kind of brought it upon himself, though, by not showing up. We expect them to stick to the contract that they offer us, that they sign us to, and they expect us to do the same. If you’re going to violate some of the things that are expected out of you, then you have to be able to deal with what comes next.”
Eeeeek! Sounds like Herremans (whom I like) is still brainwashed…seeing as he was released by Chip from an unguaranteed $5 million contract year for 2015… But Herremans showed up for every “voluntary” OTA in each season of his 10-year career with the Birds. So there is no correlation with the Mathis affair this summer— both the loyal Herremans and the disgruntled Mathis got cut in the same offseason.
Hmmmmmm. This “Chitler” thing is gaining traction. I just hope it comes up with two viable offensive guard solutions and a reasonable offensive line depth factor come September… Quite honestly, I am not impressed by how Chip Kelly has handled the deconstruction of the Eagles offensive line so far…
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