Saturday Eagles Talk
Posted: September 17th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 24 Comments »Many of you have already seen the vid, but must see for anyone who hasn’t. Check out Brian Rolle putting the beat down on Rams C Jason Brown.
After watching this, the first thing to come to mind is why isn’t Rolle starting at MLB, WLB, RG, RT, or even KOR. Why isn’t he the coach or GM? Okay, jokes aside, that is an impressive play. You do wonder if the coaches will try to get him on the field. This week Rolle got some snaps as the starting WLB. Part of that was a reward for Rolle, part was punishment for Moise Fokou and his sloppy play vs the Rams.
I think Rolle can start at WLB in the Eagles scheme. He obviously covers well and that’s why they have him in the Nickel defense. Rolle was a MLB at Ohio State so he’s used to facing some power run offenses. He tackles well. He will aggressively take on blockers…at times. As great as the Rams play was, don’t think he’s going to do that on every snap. Rolle is smart enough to pick and choose his battles.
Rolle got some work at MLB this summer, but I doubt he got enough that the team sees him as a serious challenger for Matthews at this point. WLB is another story. He got plenty of reps there and should know the position well enough that he can push Fokou for his job. Ideally, the Eagles would love Fokou to play well Sunday night and keep his job. Rolle could then concentrate on being a Nickel LB and STer. Now…if Rolle plays lights out, the Eagles will have to find some way to get him more snaps. Last Sunday was a good start. Where does he go from there?
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I”m getting plenty of questions about Safety. Kurt Coleman didn’t play well in the opener, but I have a lot of faith in him. Let’s not make too much of one game. Give Kurt the next couple of weeks to bounce back. He had a good summer and a good preseason. I’m sure he’s mad at himself for the sloppy showing from last Sunday. I’m betting Kurt has a chip on his shoulder this week and plays much better.
Jarrad Page did play well. I’m shocked at how he’s played for us. I didn’t think much of the signing, but Page has been lights out since coming here. We’ll see how things play out. Nate Allen is the long term answer at S, but the coaches won’t force him back into the lineup if Page continues to play well.
Jaiquawn Jarrett is still learning. I don’t know what his situation is. I’ve not heard any whispers about him having any major problems. I think he’s just a typical rookie that is adjusting to life in the NFL. He’s not active for games, but that is in large part due to the depth we have at Safety. I don’t think the coaches would have a problem with Jarrett being active should one of the other guys get hurt. Jarrett had some good moments this summer, on D and STs.
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I”m excited to see what DE Phillip Hunt can do on Sunday night. Darryl Tapp has been ruled out. Hunt will be active and he will play. Jim Washburn likes his rotation. He’ll get Hunt out there and give him a chance to show what he can do. Hunt will benefit in playing on a fast surface. It also helps that he’s going up against a pair of OTs that are better run blockers than pass blockers. I’m not expecting Hunt to deliver sacks, but I do want to see him play fast and get pressure.
Speaking of young DEs…I love Brandon Graham’s enthusiasm and optimism. He says he expects to play this year. Like Allen, I want the Eagles to work him back in cautiously. We need Graham and Allen to have good careers. Those guys won’t make or break the 2011 season. There is no reason to rush them back. Get those knees healthy. Think long term.
Any thoughts on Hunt coming in at RDE vs LDE? Seemed most of the camp film and pre-season I saw Hunt only on the left side.
He mostly did play LDE, but I did see him get snaps on the right side in a couple of games. I assume he’ll play RDE, but the Eagles could keep him on the left side if they think he’s best there. Parker and Babin can both play on the right side if needed.
Oh God, please don’t start talking about Nate Allen and Brandon Graham. The trolls will come out and give us their “Andy Reid Career Drafting” breakdowns. That’s all we need…
Did you know that it normally takes at least three years to evaluate a draft but that Danny Watkins was a bust before his first season even began? It must be true because I read it on the Internets.
But wait! Watkins is 10 years older than your average draft selection; therefore thusly, he is required to make the Pro Bowl at multiple positions this season. That’s the standard rule of thumb anyway. Jerry Jones said so.
I’m pretty sure Watkins is 100 years older than your average draft selection! If you’re going to post here, at least get your fact straight. And add more exclamation marks to your posts!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know nothing of football! You’re not a real fan! You’re not a real Philadelphian! You’re not real!
You are obviously bias.
🙂
I need to reply to this thread because it has so many replies… lol
I don’t know if anyone got my comment about Jarrad Page teaching B Rolle Bruce Lee stuff. I felt better about the signing of Page after listening to Jay Glazer speaking of how friggin’ tough Page is… it starts around the 3:45 mark…
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/media-lounge/videos/Inside-The-Studio-Jay-Glazer/7d1f1553-e156-45a0-9a46-d9705ff4bff5
I follow Glazer on Twitter and he’s talked about working with Page on there. He also worked with Shawne Merriman. It’ll be interesting to see if these guys turn their careers around. Glazer might suddenly have a lot of clients. Clay Matthews might have done the training last year. Can’t remember.
Glazer mentioned at the very end of that piece that Clay was doing the training.
Thanks for the link! That was a great video that I had previously missed.
This is painfully off-topic, but if any of you are looking for something to do tonight to pass the time until Sunday night… go see “Drive.” I know there’s a lot of film buffs on this site. “Drive” is one of the most awesome 80s-fueled madcap bugnuts crazy “guy” movies I’ve ever seen. For crying out loud, Albert Brooks plays the villain. If thats not enough, it also has Ron Perlman as a Jewish gangster who wears Russian track suits and owns an Italian restaurant. They just don’t make ’em like this anymore.
My one “Hollywood” friend saw Drive over the summer and said it was great. I’m a big Ryan Gosling fan and have been since The Believer.
I saw Drive a couple of weeks ago. Agreed, it is really good. I was able to hear the producer speak about it after the screening, really interesting stuff if youre into movies. I recommend it all that like smart movies.
Yep. I was pleasantly surprised by Drive. I’d also recommend “Attack the Block.”
Really wanted to see “Attack the Block.” The director, Joe Cornish, is a protege of Edgar Wright–whose films I love. Unfortunately, it never got a release around my parts. Can’t wait for the DVD.
Same goes for Malick’s “Tree of Life.” That was one of my most highly anticipated movies this summer, but it never got released in my city. Sad face!
Really wanted to see “Attack the Block.” The director, Joe Cornish, is a protege of Edgar Wright–whose films I love. Unfortunately, it never got a release around my parts. Can’t wait for the DVD.
Same goes for Malick’s “Tree of Life.” That was one of my most highly anticipated movies this summer, but it never got released in my city. Sad face!
In discussing (or ridiculing) the Eagles’ drafting, no one ever sets forth any standard by which to measure what means “success.”
For example, is it the number of players from a particular draft class who lasted 3 years relative to the the other 31 teams’ draftees for that year?
Do you take the formula I just described and weight the players by the round in which they were selected?
Do you add points for All-pro selections?
Before commenters trash or support the Eagles’ draft for a particular year, I’d welcome the description of some meaningful formula for how the commenter analyzed the results.
I’m very curious to see how people form their opinions on this topic.
You hit the nail on the head. Its very easy to ridicule the Eagles drafts when you’re not comparing them to anyone else’s. Every team in the league struggles from time to time with the draft, whether it be due to injuries or just flat-out busts. A lot of people will point immediately to teams like New England, Pittsburgh, Green Bay…
Green Bay? Justin Harrell. Brian Brohm. Patrick Lee. Aaron Rouse. Etc.
New England? Darius Butler. Brandon Tate. Shawn Crable. Kevin O’Connell. Chad Jackson. Etc.
Pittsburgh? Thaddeus Gibson. Limas Sweed. Bruce Davis. Willie Reid. Etc.
And thats just the last few years.
Everyone takes their lumps in the draft, even the oft-proclaimed “draft geniuses” like New England, Pittsburgh and Green Bay. Its not a science.
This guy did a lot of the things you mentioned, and the Eagles had one of the best over the 10 years he looked at in 2002. It is sobering to see that the average draft class produces less than 2 5-year starters and 0.4 all-pros. Like you were driving at, the average fan sets the bar way too high, and then moves the bar to suit their point.
http://www.draftmetrics.com/files/DraftClasses.pdf
It should be obvious to any NFL fan that teams have more misses than hits, for the simple fact that the NFL draft adds 254 players (in 2011, not sure if that fluctuates with comp picks). That’s 254 players, plus UDFA’s, who come to teams and compete for jobs. Naturally, not everyone is going to make it. It’s like college graduation. Your school might graduate 1000 people in to the labor market, but not everyone is going to get a job.
It should be obvious to any NFL fan that teams have more misses than hits, for the simple fact that the NFL draft adds 254 players (in 2011, not sure if that fluctuates with comp picks). That’s 254 players, plus UDFA’s, who come to teams and compete for jobs. Naturally, not everyone is going to make it. It’s like college graduation. Your school might graduate 1000 people in to the labor market, but not everyone is going to get a job.