I’m not gonna bother ripping Marcus Hayes for his grotesquely negative take on the signings. You know what they say– opinions are like assholes, and Marcus came out of one. His views on anything Howie Roseman does were nullified the moment he wrote his borderline anti-semitic column about the Eagles’ braintrust. So, rather than pick on Hayes because I disagree with him, I’ll point out his TERRIBLE logic. From Philly.com:

Jeffery is 27, but he missed 11 of the Bears’ last 32 games. His 106 catches and six touchdowns the last two seasons sound pedestrian, to be sure; but they sound even worse when compared with the 158 and 11 by Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews. Is Matthews worth $14 million?

Add to the equation that Jeffery is one bad batch of protein powder from being Lane Johnson. Remember, the Eagles’ right tackle who missed 10 games last season after he said he unwittingly using a supplement laced with a banned substance – a $7.7 million waste that very likely cost the Birds a playoff spot.

Perhaps now you recognize the gamble that Jeffery is.

What? What’s a gamble? A high one-year salary during a season in which the team won’t be contenders anyway? There’s no real risk with this signing. But focusing on the semantics of Hayes’ pinched off loaf would be missing the inane point comparing Jeffery to Matthews– the same mistake Reuben Frank made yesterday:

Problem with that: JEFFERY PLAYED IN NINE FEWER GAMES THAN MATTHEWS since 2014. He has a higher average yards per catch, by far. He had only one recorded drop in 92 attempts last year. And any person with two eyes, and many cyclops with one, could tell you that Alshon Jeffery is, without question, a much better, more physical and talented wide receiver. This isn’t disputed. Jeffery’s injury and PED issues are fair critiques, but no one questions that he is the better receiver. I won’t even bother with the useless Lane Johnson comparison.

But this isn’t Jeffery vs. Matthews. The latter hasn’t been awful. In fact, he’s had some success– he’s just not a top receiver. With Jeffery (and Torrey Smith), Matthews will make for a very good if not excellent slot receiver. Comparing them is not only misleading, but it also strengthens the argument for the Eagles’ receiving corps. Wait, so you have Player B in the slot? Sign me up! Fart noise.