Roob's 25 Random Points: Evan Mathis, Wawa and more

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One final word on Evan Mathis, open competition at quarterback, Wawa parking lots, Donovan, training camp at Lehigh, the Philly Parking Authority, Tim Tebow, DeMarco Murray’s workload and Wilco.

It must be time for another edition of Roob’s 25 Random Points!

1. I have more of a problem with the Eagles' not acquiring a potential replacement for Evan Mathis than releasing Evan Mathis. Chip Kelly has been consistent in his philosophy that the final 53-man roster will consist of 53 guys who absolutely want to be Philadelphia Eagles. And he clearly believed Mathis, the two-time Pro Bowl guard, didn’t want to be here. And he wasn’t prepared to pay $5.5 million this year and $6 million next year for a guy who he felt didn’t want to be here. Get used to it. This is going to be an absolute with Chip. He values commitment over talent. But Mathis’ inexplicable frustration with his huge contract has been apparent for two years. Why didn’t Kelly prepare for it by drafting or signing a capable backup interior lineman? The last two years are the first two-year span in franchise history the Eagles didn’t draft an offensive lineman, and they’re the only NFL team that hasn’t taken one the last two years. Either Kelly believes Matt Tobin, Dennis Kelly or Andrew Gardner can handle a starting guard spot — and I’m certainly not convinced of that — or the Eagles are convinced they can grab somebody off the scrap heap after final cuts who can ably fit in. And let’s be clear about this: The Eagles won a ton of games with barely adequate guards over the years. They went to a Super Bowl with Artis Hicks, they went 12-4 with Bobbie Williams, they went to an NFC Championship Game with Max Jean-Gilles. But why let it get to this point? Right now, the Eagles don’t have a single proven guard on the roster.

2. It’s interesting to hear Chip Kelly say there’s open competition between Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez for the starting quarterback spot. I don’t believe it for a second. You don’t trade Nick Foles and a second-round pick and assume a guy’s $12.9 million salary and then sit him. But I also think in a truly fair competition — where both QBs get to work equally with the first-team offensive line and first-team receivers — Sanchez would acquit himself well. Bradford is new to this offense, he’s coming off a severe injury, he hasn’t finished a season healthy since 2012 and he still hasn’t done any full-team 11-on-11 work. Sanchez has a year under Kelly’s system, he started eight games and took 625 snaps under center last year, he’s played with Jordan Matthews, Zach Ertz and Darren Sproles and he obviously has a comfort level here that Bradford lacks. I think Bradford is the guy Sept. 14 in Atlanta if he’s healthy, but it will be interesting to see what happens if there really is open competition, because I think Sanchez might come out ahead.

3. I kind of understand where Jason Kelce is coming from when he said recently, “The fact that we ended the season the way we did, didn’t make the playoffs, in hindsight it’s almost a good thing” (see story). His point is that the Eagles’ 10-6 record masked their flaws. But what Kelce forgets is that every NFL team is flawed. Every team has one or two lucky wins. Every team that wins a Super Bowl has a few breaks go their way along the road to the Lombardi Trophy. If you get into the tournament, even as a 6-seed, you have a chance. Three teams since 2005 have even won a Super Bowl as a wild-card. And the notion that the Eagles wouldn’t have taken measures to improve themselves if they had reached the playoffs is silly. Whether the Eagles missed the playoffs, made the playoffs and lost in the first round or got to the Super Bowl, Kelly would have understood what changes had to be made this offseason. Getting into the tournament is always better than not getting into the tournament because then you’re giving yourself a chance. To think Kelly wouldn’t have taken bold steps to upgrade the roster just because the Eagles made the playoffs doesn’t make sense.

4. Moving Walter Thurmond to safety and starting Nolan Carroll at corner might be the best moves the Eagles have in the secondary considering their personnel right now, but I’m still not sold on either one. Thurmond has averaged 5½ games played per year since 2011 and has never played safety, and Carroll was OK as a third corner last year but has never been a starter on a good team or in a good secondary. Potentially? Yeah, potentially, Thurmond could be a pretty good safety. But he’s got to stay healthy. And potentially, Carroll could be an upgrade over Cary Williams. He’s smart, tough and can run. But both have lots to prove.

5. It’s been painful over the years to watch Cole Hamels pitch brilliantly with virtually no run support. He now has 41 career starts in which he’s pitched at least six innings, allowed two or fewer earned runs and gotten a loss or no-decision. Nobody in major-league history has more such starts without a win within their first 300 career games. What a waste. Hamels has 113 wins in 10 years with the Phillies. That’s an average of 11½ wins per year. The way he’s pitched? With a 3.26 ERA? Since 2005, Hamels has the fifth-best ERA in baseball among pitchers with 1,500 innings but the the 12th-most wins. That’s criminal.

6. Jordan Matthews needs 58 catches, 1,197 yards and four touchdowns to break DeSean Jackson’s franchise records for most catches, yards and receiving TDs by a receiver in his first two years. I say he gets all three.

7. If Nelson Agholor catches 65 passes for 850 yards, the Eagles will be the first team in NFL history with a rookie hitting those benchmarks in consecutive seasons. In fact, the only teams that have ever had more than one rookie with 65-for-850 are the Bengals (Cris Collinsworth in 1981, A.J. Green in 2011), Dolphins (Jack Clancy in 1967 and Terry Kirby in 1993), Giants (Jeremy Shockey in 2002, Odell Beckham in 2014), Eagles (Keith Jackson in 1988, Matthews in 2014) and Buccaneers (Michael Clayton in 2004, Mike Williams in 2010, Mike Evans in 2014). I say he gets both.

8. How does Ryne Sandberg still have a job?

9. RE the final Grateful Dead shows coming up in Chicago: If Jerry’s not on stage, it’s not the Grateful Dead. Period.

10. No matter how many times I run through it in my mind, I can’t see Sam Bradford leading the Eagles on a deep playoff run. Maybe winning some games. Maybe playing better than he did with the Rams. But a deep playoff run? Say, an NFC Championship Game appearance? I can’t see it happening.

11. I still see people slamming Donovan McNabb on social media all the time, but keep this in mind: Since 1960, only two Eagles QBs have won more than one playoff game. Jaws won three, Donovan won nine. Then you have Randall Cunningham, Rodney Peete and Jeff Garcia with one each. McNabb has more postseason wins than every other Eagles quarterback combined over the past half century. You don’t have to like him, but give the guy his props.

12. One of the great mysteries of life is why people talk during concerts. Baffles me. Union Transfer is one of the best venues in the city, but for some reason it’s the worst for talkers. You can’t see a show there without having half a dozen full-blown conversations constantly going on around you. And forget it when a band is playing a quiet bit. It’s open season for the yappers. Some advice for talkers: Shut up for two hours and try actually listening to the music. Or stay home.

13. It’s really a shame the Eagles have only two open practices scheduled at the Linc this summer (Aug. 4 and Aug. 9). Two years ago, the Eagles had four open practices. Last year, they had three. Notice a pattern?

14. I really miss Lehigh.

15. The Eagles have more Andy Reid fifth-round picks on the roster today than first-round picks. Riley Cooper, Brent Celek and Dennis Kelly were fifth-round picks. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are the only Reid first-round picks remaining.

16. They actually have more of Reid’s fifth-round picks than any other round. They have two second-round picks (Mychal Kendricks, Vinny Curry), none of Big Red’s third-round picks, one fourth-round pick (Brandon Boykin), one sixth-round pick (Jason Kelce) and no seventh-round picks.

17. The parking lot at Wawa on Belmont Avenue off the Schuylkill in Bala Cynwyd is the worst parking lot on Earth.

18. Chase Utley is hitting .179 and on pace for 556 plate appearances. Here’s a list of every major-leaguer to hit under .185 with at least 500 plate appearances in the last 100 years: Rob Deer (.179 in 1991) and Dan Uggla (.179 in 2013). But they both hit at least 20 homers. Utley has four.

19. Utley has to retire. Now. I know there are zillions of dollars at stake here, but his legacy is also at stake, and right now he is so overmatched it’s painful to watch. Utley was a tremendous player for a long time, and it’s sad that what many will remember most — at least for a while — is how bad he was at the end.

20. A lot has been said about Tim Tebow’s improved mechanics. From what I saw? Same Tim Tebow as ever. Very curious to see him in training camp with full pads and a live pass rush and in the preseason games. But I can’t say I’m overly encouraged so far. The ball doesn’t always seem to know where it’s going.

21. In DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, the Eagles have three Pro Bowl running backs on the roster at the same time. Has anybody ever had that before? This team is going to run the ball a ton. My over-under on rushing attempts is 34 per game. That would be the Eagles’ most since 1990, when they averaged 34.4 per game with this group: Heath Sherman, Anthony Toney, Randall Cunningham and Thomas Sanders. Seriously. The best way to keep Bradford ambulatory is by keeping him out of harm’s way. And 34 running plays per game will certainly go a long way toward doing that.

22. I’ve got Murray with 303 carries this year, Mathews with 143 and Sproles with 62. Give the QBs a couple dozen and the receivers a handful on end-arounds and there’s your 34 per game.

23. The Philadelphia Parking Authority has to install more kiosks. It’s ridiculous how few there are. Some long blocks have just one. And when that one kiosk is out of order or off-line, which happens constantly, now you have to head out in search of a working kiosk. If it’s a five-minute walk, that means the Parking Authority has 10 minutes to ticket you for the heinous crime of looking for an operating kiosk. Nice, fair system.

24. Wilco hasn’t played a show in Philly in more than five years. April 10, 2010, at the Electric Factory, to be exact. Before that, Dec. 12, 2008, at the Spectrum. Before that? June 23, 2005, at Penns Landing. That’s three Philly shows in the last decade. One of the best live bands of our generation, a band that plays 100 shows a year, and they mysteriously keep skipping Philly. I don’t get it.

25. How about a huge shout-out to Connor Barwin, who has integrated himself into the Philly community in a way that no Eagle has done in recent memory. He doesn’t just have a foundation or a charity that holds an annual camp. Not that anything is wrong with that. But Connor is incredibly hands-on in the community and has been generously donating his time, money and energy for causes that have a direct impact on the inner city since he got here. His second annual concert Saturday night at Union Transfer raised close to $200,000 to revitalize Ralph Brooks Park in South Philly. Great player, better guy. Now, how about a proposal for the lineup for next year’s third annual concert? How about we make it an all-Philly lineup with Illinois, Hop Along, Strand of Oaks and War on Drugs. Work for you, Connor?

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