All season long, without fail, the biggest complaint from the Philadelphia Eagles fan base is the struggles of the cornerback position.
The Eagles have gotten inconsistent play from Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo, as well as injuries to Quinyon Mitchell and Jakorian Bennett, which have frustrated fans to their core. General manager Howie Roseman went on to fix that during the offseason with trades for cornerbacks Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexander.
In his first post-trade deadline comments, Roseman was asked about the cornerback position and what went into the moves made for Carter and Alexander. The long-time Eagles general manager finally admitted that things at cornerback have not gone as well as they had hoped they would.
"Yeah, I think the first half of the season showed us how important corner depth is. We had a bunch of games where we didn't have our full complement of guys. It's a position that you need to have a bunch of guys here for the amount of games we're trying to play in."
There was a method to the madness in trading for Carter and Alexander, though, as Roseman and company get more strategic in their approach to the cornerback position.
"You know what we're trying to do is we're trying to match up with all kinds of shapes and sizes at the wide receiver position and in the secondary. When you have guys that can do that, it just gives you so much flexability when you're going to play different teams and the different types of receivers they have, the types of tight ends, you know even backs coming out of the backfield."
Should Eagles fans feel better about what's going on at cornerback?
Considering the nightmare fans had to endure due to the poor play of Jackson and Ringo, Carter and Alexander are instant upgrades. Before this year, Carter was one of the slot corners in the NFL, and Alexander was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Green Bay Packers.
Now, the Eagles have a good problem on their hands, but they are putting a lot of trust in Carter and Alexander to play better than they have this season. Roseman acknowledged that with Alexander, there is some risk, but the reward can be so much higher than the risk.
The only big question will have to be answered by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. His decision will be whether to move Cooper DeJean on the outside and have Carter in the slot or have DeJean stay at the slot and Alexander take over at the outside.
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Regardless, the Jackson and Ringo nightmare appears to be over, and the dream of a much better secondary is a reality for Eagles fans.