Lucio Vainesman

1) Jay Ajayi to the Eagles?

Pro-Bowl running back Jay Ajayi was shipped off to Philadelphia in a move that raises many questions on both sides. First off, Doug Pederson, why make this move? Your team is 7-1 and rolling with Carson Wentz and a high-flying offense featuring Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffrey, and suddenly good Nelson Agholor. The Eagles already have a power runner, that they gave the big bucks to this offseason, in LeGarrette Blount. Since Lesean McCoy was scared away from Philadelphia the Eagles have used a running back by committee, they couldn’t get Demarco Murray to work, they couldn’t get Ryan Matthews to work, and LeGarrette Blount has regressed immensely from last years insane production. What is the motive behind trading for a volume, work-horse running back when you already have one and the fact that the team employs a running back by committee system. Now, Adam Gase, what’s the reasoning behind trading away the one bright spot of your offense? Jay Ajayi led the NFL in yards after contact last year and even this year has been fighting for every yard he can muster. It’s a little hard to be a successful runner when defenders are hitting him three yards behind the line of scrimmage every play. Hopefully, the Eagles will realize that Jay Ajayi is miles better than any other half-back on their roster and start utilizing him that way. But if the Eagles commit to the running back by committee, then this trade was bad on both ends.

2) Garoppolo to the Bay Area:
This trade means one thing for the New England franchise: when Brady leaves, so does Belichick. The Patriots’ head coach made a statement here, that he believes in the longevity of Brady’s career and is gearing up for a few more super bowl runs. Freeing up cap-space for next offseason, instead of signing Garoppolo, look for the Patriots to franchise tag pro-bowl corner Malcolm Butler and potentially make a run at elite players at the skill positions. On the other side of this, it seems that Kyle Shanahan is buying into the Jimmy G hype and believes that he his better than any quarterback coming out of the draft this year. We’ll see if small sample size Jimmy G can perform at an elite-level under center in San Francisco.

3) Russell Wilson finally has an offensive line:

Left-tackle Duane Brown shipped off to Seattle, a trade that cements my belief that the Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super bowl. When was the last time Russell Wilson had a competent offensive line? It has gotten to the point where he is used to scrambling for ten-seconds on every down. The Seahawks are a team that everyone seems to forget about half way through the season and that is exactly when they start heating up. The Seahawks won this trade easily and are now gearing up for a playoff run as should be Super bowl favorites.