Is Eagles offensive line truly ready now? | Marcus Hayes

They said experience was optimal but not mandatory.

They said they liked what they saw in limited preseason action. They said they liked what they saw in offseason workouts and training camp practices.

As it turned out, the Eagles were right about Carson Wentz last season.

It's only fair, then, that they be trusted when they say those same things about their offensive line right now.

It's just hard to trust them.

After all, the five players entrusted with protecting the franchise quarterback have played a total of one quarter together this preseason. That's 19 plays, all against the Dolphins. Yes, the Eagles scored twice on touchdown passes. Yes, they gained 47 rushing yards on eight carries, a healthy 5.9 average. But no, they didn't look at all dominant; barely proficient, in fact.

It's understandable. Injuries to right guard Brandon Brooks and left tackle Jason Peters kept the starters from playing together until the third preseason game, and starters did not play at all in the fourth preseason game. Those injuries also kept the line from practicing together for weeks at a time during camp, and compelled the coaches to experiment with right tackle Lane Johnson at left tackle. That went badly.

But then, Johnson isn't a left tackle. Peters is, and, he's the best one the Eagles have ever had, and while he is diminished from the player he was two years ago, he still managed a ninth Pro Bowl appearance in 2016. Johnson, at this moment, is the best player on the entire team. He was suspended for most of last season, which played a large part in the team's winning seven games instead of, say, 10. But when Johnson played, the line was outstanding.

Right guard Brandon Brooks proved to be worth every cent of the five-year, $40 million contract he signed before last season. Undersize center Jason Kelce rebounded from a slow start and went to his second Pro Bowl in 2016. The Birds traded left guard Allen Barbre in July because they believed that Isaac Seumalo, in his second season, was ready to prove he was worth a third-round pick in 2016. Barbre was fine; Seumalo is just as big and strong, and is 10 years younger, twice as athletic, and very intelligent.

To review: Peters got older, but every player to his right makes the position he plays better than it was last season.

So, why does it feel as if the line is still a work in progress?

Is it Seumalo? He played nine games last year and started four: twice at right guard, once at left guard, and once at left tackle. That experience serves as a gauge of both optimism and pessimism. Yes, he played in nine games, but he also was inactive for the first seven. Yes, he started four times, but he was never the first option.

Still, Seumalo is heavily endorsed.

"He moves well. He's fast when we run screens," said veteran running back Darren Sproles, who has been behind more lines than the CIA.

Sproles is entering his 13th NFL season, and he is amazed that Seumalo, with so little experience, so often gets to the right spots with his body at the correct angle, his feet in the correct position, his responsibility completely understood.

"The main thing for linemen is they have a whole bunch of calls," Sproles said. "For him to pick it up so fast, that tells you that he's smart."

Seumalo might be smart, but nothing compensates for lining up beside a guy and making plays. Seumalo will be asked to work in concert with Peters. They just haven't had much time together. No one seems particularly concerned with that — except Seumalo.

"It's hard to be good with him if he's not playing," Seumalo said. "You've just got to learn how to play well with or without somebody. Obviously, when he's there, it makes it easier."

Told you he's smart.

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich asserted that practicing against the Dolphins for two days before the teams played their preseason game should be considered almost as valuable as preseason reps. That seems a bit optimistic.

Then again, Reich was Wentz's biggest advocate last year, when the Eagles traded Sam Bradford eight days before the start of the season and named Wentz the starter, even though Wentz had missed the last three preseason games. Reich likes Seumalo almost as much.

"I think he's played well throughout the preseason," Reich said. "We just have a lot of confidence in him."

Kelce agrees.

"They'll be fine. They've had a lot of work in the preseason despite only playing in one game together," he said of Seumalo and Peters. "Even in practice, they've only messed up, like, one or two times. Isaac's really smart. They're going to be good together."

Besides,  Sproles said, even if the line had played together for every possible snap in the first three preseason games, the bland preparation regimen and the limited number of snaps in preseason games would not present an accurate measure of the unit's proficiency.

He said the same thing last year about Wentz.

"You don't see it, but the line's actually been pretty good," Sproles said. "The main thing is, once we get in that rhythm of preparing for an opponent, then actually playing a whole game, it'll be fine."

OK.

If you say so.

Again.