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Golden Tate is a management message that the Eagles may only have 4 to 4 coinciding with the mid-season, but they are not yet ready to give up this season.
This is a strong message to everyone – players, coaches, fans – that the Eagles are not ready to concede anything for the moment to the rest of the NFL.
That's why I love this movement.
Because it's easy to just say 4-4, hey, you know what? This is not our year. Let's group this offseason and try again.
But one thing I really admire about Howie Roseman and his staff is that they always think aggressively.
And the reality is that the core of a team that has won the Super Bowl is still there, one of the most talented young quarterbacks we've ever seen is still there, and when you look at the landscape of NFC, there is no reason to think that the Eagles can not come back in this case if they can just make some changes.
And they just made a big one.
Tate gives the Eagles what they desperately need: an instant offensive and a red zone weapon.
Let's see where the Eagles are at the trade deadline and next week.
Their defense is the NFL's third highest scoring touchdown and sixth best in points. They are not a perfect unit and they had a few late-game losses and they need to improve, but they kept the Eagles in every game of this year.
The real difference between the 2017 Eagles and the 2018 Eagles lies in the lack of offensive consistency. It just was not there.
The Eagles' four defeats ended in two, three, four and six points, and the Eagles scored 17, 21, 21 and 23 points in those four games.
Another weapon, an expanded receiver in gaming, experienced and experienced expert, could make all the difference between these close defeats and tight wins.
We all saw the impact of Jay Ajayi upon his arrival here last year. Tate can do the same thing.
What I like most about Tate is its consistency. Since 2014, he has held the sixth highest total of captures in football, and his series of four consecutive seasons with 90 catches or more is the fifth longest in NFL history. And he's on the pace for a fifth.
• He's a playmaker. He's caught 31 passes over 30 yards since 2012, making him ninth in the league.
• He is a winner. He played for the 2013 Seahawks Super Bowl championship team and was part of five playoff teams during his eight seasons in the NFL.
• He's a tough guy – Tate has missed just one game since 2011 and the only other receivers to have missed a game or none in the last eight years are Demaryius Thomas and Larry Fitzgerald.
He can play. There is no argument there.
The big question is whether a third-round pick is too much for a half-year rental.
Good question. It's a lot to give up for a guy who does not have a contract beyond this year.
But the Eagles have an extra second-round pick next year, making it much easier to give up a third-round pick.
Tate, who turned 30 at training camp, is at an age when he is starting to worry about big hitters, but he's up for 100 catches, 1,181 yards and six touchdowns this year. So, it certainly does not slow down.
Not so long ago, the Eagles led Kamar Aiken, Marcus Wheaton and DeAndre Carter as receivers with Nelson Agholor, but they now have Alshon Jeffery, Agholor, Jordan Matthews and Tate, and he's a talented group.
The price was high, but Wentz is a more dangerous quarterback today than it was yesterday. And this offense is more difficult to defend today than it was yesterday. And the Eagles are a better team today than they were yesterday.
Bring the second half of the season. The Eagles made it clear Tuesday to everyone that the champions of the 2017 Super Bowl did not give up 2018.
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