In Roob’s Eagles Observations: Can Howie Roseman pull off a Myles Garrett trade?

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In Roob’s Eagles Observations: Can Howie Roseman pull off a Myles Garrett trade? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW ORLEANS – In our latest installment of Roob’s 10 Daily Random Eagles Observations, we chat about Myles Garrett, a vastly underrated era of Eagles football and a play from the Eagles’ last Super Bowl that I still can’t believe really happened.

You want observations? We’ve got observations.

1. I don’t know if Myles Garrett is a realistic target for the Eagles because of the financials, but I do know if there’s any way Howie Roseman can make it work it would be one hell of a move. Like most things, it comes down to money. Would the Browns even consider absorbing north of $35 million in dead money and giving up one of the best players in franchise history? Depends what they’d get back. And the Eagles won’t have the cap space this offseason that they usually have. Or a very good 1st-round pick. And Garrett’s production is still world-class and he’s shown no sign of slowing down, but he is 29. So there’s a lot to weigh. But three things come to mind. After joint Eagles-Browns joint practices in Berea, Ohio, two summers ago, we watched Garrett spend at least 15 minutes on the field talking football with Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, and they all spoke later about the respect they have for each other. That doesn’t hurt. Second, like Saquon Barkley before he got here, Garrett has just never experienced what it’s like to be on an elite team, and that’s the only thing missing from his career and that’s all he wants at this point. The Browns are 53-78 since they drafted Garrett with the first pick in 2017 with one playoff win. The Eagles have been to three Super Bowls since he was drafted. So you know this is the type of team he wants to come to. And third, the Eagles’ edge position is really in flux. Josh Sweat has had an uneven season and is due to become a free agent. Brandon Graham turns 37 this spring and triceps injury or not his future is unclear. Jalyx Hunt has shown a lot of promise but his ceiling is unknown. And Bryce Huff is Bryce Huff. So it’s really Nolan Smith and a bunch of question marks. Garrett plays the position of greatest need on the roster. So mark this one down in the unlikely but intriguing category. And when Howie is involved, anything’s possible. You know he would love to pull this off.

2. Travis Kelce isn’t a normal tight end, but it is notable that the Eagles were the No. 1 defense vs. tight ends in the NFL this year, allowing just 34.8 yards per game. Zach Ertz was really the only tight end to gash the Eagles with his 11-for-104 in the NFC Championship Game, and the Bengals’ Mike Gesicki had 73 yards, but those were both in blowout losses. But 13 of 20 tight ends who started vs. the Eagles this year had 37 or fewer yards. Now, a lot of that was with Nakobe Dean in the lineup, and he’s terrific in coverage. But Oren Burks has held his own as well since replacing Dean. The Eagles aren’t going to shut down Kelce, but the job they’ve done covering tight ends this year is reason to be somewhat optimistic.

3. In four games before the bye, Jalen Hurts had six total touchdowns passing and rushing and seven turnovers. Since the bye week, he has 33 touchdowns and three turnovers.

4. This is an odd one, but the Eagles’ eight-longest Super Bowl running plays have all come in the first half. They’ve had eight Super Bowl runs longer than 10 yards – 21 and 36 yards by LeGarrette Blount, 11, 14 and 28 yards by Jalen Hurts, 26 yards by Jay Ajayi and 11 and 22 yards by Brian Westbrook. All before halftime. Their longest run from scrimmage after halftime has been a 10-yarder by Blount. Overall, they’ve averaged 4.5 yards per carry before halftime in their four Super Bowls (59 carries, 264 yards) but just 3.0 yards per carry after halftime (43-for-129). I have no clue what any of this means, but when you’re knocking out 10 random observations per day you’re going to get some weird ones. Anyway, I found it interesting. I also fully expect Saquon Barkley to wreck that particular trend in five days.

5. Rodney Peete threw two touchdowns and eight interceptions in his last five regular-season starts in 1995. It’s the worst five-game stretch to finish a season in Eagles history. Then he threw three TDs and no INTs in the Eagles’ wild-card win over the Lions.

6. The Eagles don’t get the credit they deserve for winning back-to-back NFL Championships in 1948 and 1949 by shutout. Since 1950, there have been only three championship game or Super Bowl shutouts – Packers 37, Giants 0 in 1961, Browns 27, Colts 0 in 1964, Bills 23, Chargers 0 in 1965. Five total since 1941, and two were courtesy of the Eagles in back-to-back seasons. No other team has won multiple championship shutouts at any point over the last 75 years. The Eagles did it twice in a row. Yet if you go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the only recognition of this astounding achievement is a grainy team photo of the 1949 Eagles. But 7-0 over the Chicago Cardinals in 1948 at Shibe Park and 14-0 over the Rams in 1949 at L.A. Coliseum, holding the Cardinals to 135 yards and the Rams to 119? Are you kidding me? ΩThose 1947 and 1948 Eagles Championship teams should be revered in the NFL and worshipped in Philly and beyond.

7. Jeff Lurie revealing Monday night that he’s not interested in buying the Celtics is tremendous news for Eagles fans. The last thing this franchise needs is for Lurie – one of the most successful owners in NFL history – to be less involved in the Eagles. It’s no coincidence that this franchise began winning soon after he bought it from Norman Braman in 1994 and other than a couple brief periods hasn’t stopped winning for 25 years. Lurie’s uncanny ability to hire the right people, to foster a culture of excellence throughout the NovaCare Complex and to provide the resources that his football people need to do their jobs the right away are huge reasons the Eagles have become regulars at the Super Bowl. If Lurie had bought the Celtics and either split his time between the two franchises or had his son Julian take over day-to-day operations of the Eagles, the dynamic that’s been so successful for a quarter of a century would have been forever altered. Lurie is 77 and one day in the not-too-distant future Julian probably will take over. But Lurie said Monday he’s as committed as ever to making sure the Eagles continue winning, and that’s a huge positive for the organization.’

8. Saquon Barkley has as many touchdown runs of at least 60 yards this postseason as every other NFL running back has combined in the last 15 postseasons.

9. With 27 points in the first half and 28 points in the second half in the NFC Championship Game, the Eagles became the first team in 35 years to score 27 or more points in each half of a postseason game. Last time it happened, the 49ers beat the Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV at the Superdome, also with 27 points in the first half and 28 in the second. The only other teams to do this are the Bears in their 73-0 win over Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship Game (28, 45) and the Lions in their 59-14 win over the Browns in the 1957 NFL Championship Game (31, 28).

10. The one play from Super Bowl LVII I still can’t believe is Kadarius Toney’s 65-yard punt return down to the Eagles’ 5-yard-line, which set up the touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 35-27 lead early in the fourth quarter. If you can handle watching the replay, you’ll see that after Toney catches the ball at the Chiefs’ 30-yard-line and begins sprinting toward the left sideline, he’s nearly engulfed by seven Eagles – T.J. Edwards, Zech McPhearson, Reed Blankenship, Zach Pascal, Patrick Johnson, Nakobe Dean and Jack Stoll. But they’re all either charging right at Toney or over-running him to Toney’s left. And there’s literally nobody to his right. So when he reverses field, there’s nobody there and he’s got a clear path down the right sideline. It was just an unbelievable breakdown in discipline and integrity at the worst possible moment, and Toney – whose next-longest career punt return is a 21-yarder – took full advantage. Sickening.

Tune in to Mission 59 specials leading up to Super Bowl LIX on NBC Sports Philadelphia, presented by Toyota.