A Few Thoughts on Kearse

So the Eagles finally pulled the plug on Kearse (Inky / Daily News).  That sucks.

Certainly, the writing was on the wall.  Whether because of age, injury or an unorthodox rehabilitation regimen, Kearse just hasn't done much of anything this year.  In fact, other than a brief, two-game stretch of domination to start the beginning of last season, Kearse hasn't been close to the player the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed him away from the Tennessee Titans before the 2004 season.

It's not fair, though, to lump his performance this year in with the rest of his time as an Eagle.  For his first two seasons in Philadelphia, Kearse was an above average defensive end.  "Above average" isn't what the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed him, but he wasn't the massive bust many people make him out to be.

Look at his career numbers.  Kearse had one year when he was truly a dominant player -- his first.  His stats since then don't support the idea that he's an elite player, despite the way the move was seen at the time:

"The thinking here has been the same since the Eagles' most recent NFC championship game defeat: Yes, they need help at wide receiver, but their most gaping hole was in their front seven. Not one of their defensive linemen or linebackers was the kind of player who gave offensive coordinators indigestion. Put another way, there was no one who had to be accounted for with a double team on every single play.  Kearse is that kind of player - far and away the best available in this free-agent market."  -- Phil Sheridan, 3/4/04

By the way, I don't mean to pick on one guy.  We all felt that way at the time.  If I'd been doing the blog back then, I probably would have said something like:

"It's not the sacks -- though those are great -- it's the interception.  The Freak bounced back from an injury-plagued 2002 season in a big way this year.  He didn't quite get to double-digit sacks, but honestly, it's the interception that most impresses me.  Do you realize the Eagles just signed a defensive end who is such a good athlete he started out playing safety in college?!"      

Aaaaannnnd so on...

As we've watched Kearse over the years, it's clear now that he's really a one-tool player.  And once he lost just enough of that great speed to go from freakish to merely fast, he never developed the kind of well-rounded game needed to be a consistent force in the NFL. 

It looked for awhile last year like that might change.  The Eagles brought in veteran defensive line coach Pete Jenkins, whose reputation was as a master technician.  During Jevon's hot start, he looked like maybe he'd finally refined his technique to the point that he'd be able to beat guys who were able to handle his speed.   

A couple of torn knee ligaments later, and now we'll never know.

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The second issue here is Kearse's contract.  Who cares how much he makes?  It's not our money.

Here's the problem with cutting Kearse after the season.  His dead money figure for next year is going to be $4 million.  They can delay the cutting and spread it out over two years, but either way that's money you can't spend on other players. 

Now obviously they have to do something.  His unadjusted cap figure next year will be $8.5 million.  Clearly that's not tenable.  But I'd much rather see them renegotiate, get an agreement to lower his salary next year, and have him play out another season at a reduced rate.  Maybe that's not going to be possible -- we all know who his agent is after all -- but it seems like just flat out benching him doesn't even give them the chance.

Isn't the typical move here to let the veteran keep his pride by starting, but then cut down on his snaps until the young guy proves that he's really ready to take over?  I understand we need to get Victor his snaps, but they could use him to help spell Cole too.

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I also want to go on record again here and say that Juqua Thomas is not an every down NFL defensive end.  You know how we're always worried about Trent Cole wearing down, since he's undersized and has a game based on quickness? 

Cole outweights JT by 20 pounds. Chris Gocong has him by 13. 

JT might come out with a bang -- we'll need him next week -- but if we try to use him as an every-down end, two things are going to happen:

1) He's going to wear down and lose effectiveness.

2) Teams are going to run right at, over and through him.  Kearse does a much better job against the run than people realize. 

Abiamiri needs to step up fast.