Eagles need a big “catch” like Baldy got in Costa Rica.

I just returned from a glorious fortnight of fun in the sun on the beautiful and pristine Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica.

It was one of those magical stretches of time that brought you back to summer vacation as a kid. No schedules. No sense of time. I only came in from the beach when we were either too hungry or too hot.

The phone never rang and I can’t recall if I opened my laptop computer. And after 2 weeks it still felt like it ended to soon.

It was my finish line to an NFL and a college football season that started on July 28th when I departed for Latrobe, Pa., the summer home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I worked nearly every single day from that day ’til the day following the Super Bowl in a variety of capacities.

It was wildly fun and exciting and equally draining. I tell people all of the time that I get paid to travel and I do football for free. I can work as long and as hard as anyone in this business as long as I know where and when the finish line is.

Costa Rica was the perfect getaway to rest, recover, reflect and to analyze the blur that the past 6 months represented.

It’s refreshing to be back and getting caught up on what is going on in Indianapolis and what the whole NFL scouting combine has become.

What’s interesting to me is the conversation regarding our Philadelphia Eagles, hasn’t changed in the 2 weeks that I was gone.

For Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman there is no finish line. There is no sunny secluded beach. There is no afternoon of frolicking in the wicked Costa Rican surf. No days of ice cold Imperial beer washing down fresh fish tacos on the sandy shores of Playa Santa Teresa. Not when there is work to be done. And lots and lots of work to get done.

I cannot remember a recent time in Eagle history where the Eagles needed more work to get done. Even after the wildly disappointing 4-12 finish; to the Andy Reid era did the outlook for the Eagles appear more bleak to me. At least Andy left the Eagles with a solid offensive line anchored by the best offensive lineman in the game, Jason Peters. They had drafted a young promising quarterback in Nick Foles. The young guns of Jackson, Maclin, and McCoy were in place. There was talent, speed, and hope.

No surfing days for Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman.

For the Eagles there is no off season. There can’t be. Doug and Howie must be joined at the hip in Indianapolis scouting the fresh crop of NFL hopefuls and they have to find players who can play tomorrow. The last time Howie had control of the draft was 2012 and he did very well.

He traded up for Fletcher Cox who has done nothing but develop into a wrecking ball of a force.
They followed up with Mychal Kendricks who looked like a vacuum cleaner scoring tackles all over the field, and who now needs to regain that form.

Vinny Curry was their first of 2 third-round picks and we have seen examples of what kind of a pass rush force he can become if he can get more playing time. The second 3rd round pick was Foles, who 3 years later was the Pro Bowl MVP. Brandon Boykin was the 4th rounder who had 6 picks one year in nickelback formation duties and to this day should still be their starting nickelback, had an inexperienced GM, Chip Kelly, not flipped him to the Steelers for a cup of coffee.

Dennis Kelly was a 5th round pick who has gone on to start 15 games at 3 different OL positions. It’s nice to find capable backups in the 5th round. And lets not forget the two magical games that a throwaway pick in the 7th round became, named Bryce Brown, became when he dashed for 350 yards and 4 TD’s, before he succumbed to the disease of fumble-itis.

The Eagles need a mother-load of talent in this 2016 draft. Whether that includes a future playoff winning quarterback or not remains to be seen. No team can become a playoff perennial team until the QB situation is fixed. Take a team like the Baltimore Ravens.

They drafted Kyle Boller and Heisman winning quarterback Troy Smith and traded for Steve McNair before they traded up to draft Joe Flacco in 2008. And when they did they became that NFL playoff challenger every year including adding another Vincent Lombardi Trophy to their case.

Which leads me to discuss the pressure that Pederson and Roseman are under.

In our Northeast Coast corridor stretching from Washington to Baltimore to Pittsburgh to both teams in NY and on up to the Evil Empire in Foxborough; those 6 teams have amassed 20 Super Bowl Trophies. 20 of the 50 trophies are in a narrow corridor that is a smothering amoeba around the city of Philadelphia.

And each year that the Eagles don’t claim a championship the pressure on the organization grows. Not because of the media. Not because of the fans. But its the innate pressure that all of the 6 surrounding teams mount on the Eagles. Those 6 teams have found a way to build a champion that no one can ever strip away.

Pederson is a man who is easy to root for. And he has achieved a goal that most coaches can only dream of. To one day coach an NFL team. It’s an amazing meteoric rise for a lifetime journeyman quarterback who leaped from high school coach, skipping a college step, and in 6 years as an NFL assistant has risen to NFL head coach. But as quickly as his rise, there has been no time to rejoice. And if they can’t improve quickly in the judgmental eyes of an impatient Eagle fan base his descent could be much quicker into coaching anonymity.

If the Denver Broncos are the benchmark for all other 31 losing teams this past season, then the Eagles are a long ways away. The Broncos fielded one of the best defenses this league has seen.
The suffocating pass rush lead by Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were married in the back end by sticky glue-like defenders named Talib, Roby, Harris, Ward and Stewart.

Wade Phillips could pressure the league’s MVP with 7 man pressures because the back end wouldn’t allow a credit card to come between them and Newton receiver. They held the number No. 1 offense in football to 10 points. The Eagles haven’t played that style of defense since their last trip to the Super Bowl 11 seasons ago. I won’t even address the offensive needs because there isn’t enough room in my magazine to print them.

No, Doug and Howie, don’t get any beach time this season. They are in a rebuilding mode. Going banshee 24/7 trying to improve this roster is paramount. Building and improving a roster is one part of the equation. The other part is building a team. A team that believes in what the organization and coach are selling. Players believing in each other. Fortitude to fight and play harder when things don’t go well.

Overcoming devastating injuries to great irreplaceable players.

It’s a fun and challenging time. The Eagles don’t get a finish line like I just had. They won’t get to enjoy a beer and fish taco on a sun-drenched beach until they get back to the playoffs, and soon back to Pura Vida!

Baldy with friends John and Heather