Am I Crazy?
Posted: October 12th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 80 Comments »I’m going to shock you a bit. The Eagles are closer to being a good team than you think.
Turnovers have killed us. We lead the league with 15 giveaways. Part of that is on us, but part is on our opponents. The teams we’ve lost to are among the league leaders in takeaways. They aren’t just doing it to us. They’re doing it consistently. BUF, SF, NYG, and ATL are in the top 7 in the NFL in takeaways.
How many tipped INTs have we seen so far this year? There was the non-catch INT vs Atlanta that cost us dearly. We saw Jason Avant stripped, which doesn’t happen often. We saw a DL chase down Jeremy Maclin and strip him. How often is that gonna happen? I won’t even get into the Ronnie Brown insanity.
I’m not excusing the Eagles for the turnovers. However, it takes 2 to Tango. Our guys are being sloppy, but you also have to factor in that we’re playing teams that right now are doing a great job of creating turnovers. These guys are making tough catches when the ball is in the air and they are getting to loose balls. Not every team does this. We can look in the mirror and know that.
The turnovers won’t last at the same rate. We’re on pace for 48 right now. The high in the Reid era is 39 and that was in his first year, with a porous OL and QB being split by Doug Pederson and rookie Donovan McNabb. Next up is 2005 with 34, with Mike McMahon at the helm for several games. We’re going through a rough stretch turnover wise, but the numbers tell you it isn’t likely to continue like this.
That will make a huge difference. Even if we’re not great in the Red Zone, we move the ball well enough to kick a lot of FGs and that can win games. Turnovers are what really kills us. And I was encouraged by the Red Zone play on Sunday. If we quit turning the ball over and also score more TDs, the offense will really be back on track.
As for the defense, I think we’re heading in the right direction. The LB shuffling is over. Brian Rolle has proven to be a solid WLB. He is making some rookie mistakes, but also makes his presence felt. I’m happy with what we’ve seen from him so far. Jamar Chaney was awful vs SF, but played better last week. Maybe getting that INT will boost his confidence. His presence at least seems to stabilize the LBs. And Moise Fokou doesn’t play a ton because we’re in Nickel so much, but he’s been solid in the past couple of games. We need him on Sunday. The Skins will want to run the ball a lot.
Nate Allen is coming off the best game by a Safety so far this year. He didn’t do anything that can’t be repeated. Really, he just looked healthy, confident, and aggressive. Kurt Coleman came off the bench in the 4th and played with a spark. That was the Kurt Coleman from late last year. The guy from the first 3 weeks this year didn’t look like the same player. If he keeps the job and plays like that again, suddenly I’m feeling a lot better about the Safeties.
Juan Castillo has done a lot of different things with the CBs this year as he tried to figure out what to do. He seemed to finally get the best out of Nnamdi on Sunday. The 3rd down defense was awful early on, but Buffalo was 0 for 8 after that. That wasn’t all blind luck. The coverage was more aggressive and that’s something we all want to see. Whatever changes were made…worked.
Getting Darryl Tapp and Juqua Parker closer to 100 percent will help the defense this week. Our DL needs a rotation to be at its best. Parker played last week, but didn’t have much burst. Going against a QB with a quick release meant he wasn’t very effective. Rex Grossman will hold the ball. If JP’s ankle heals a bit more, that will help him be more of a factor this week. Obviously getting Trent back after the bye week will give us a huge boost.
I’m not delusional. We’re still 1-4 and that’s reality. However, we’ve adjusted the lineup. We’ve done some different things schematically. We’re going through the trial and error process and it appears we’re figuring some things out. Some of the answers seem to finally be pointing in the right direction for us. Proof will be in the pudding and that means winning on Sunday. A win wouldn’t make us suddenly a good team, but it would be a start. We just need to eliminate turnovers and build off Sunday’s positives.
As for the Skins and turnovers…they’ve forced just 6 this year, which has them ranked down in the 20s. We face Dallas after the bye. They’ve got just 6 takeaways. The next 2 games will give us a good chance to show that we aren’t addicted to giving the ball away.
* * * * *
Regarding the whole Wide-9 discussion, Derek put up a post at Iggles Blog about that. He’s not writing every day. Follow him on Twitter for updates when he does post.
http://twitter.com/#!/igglesblog
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We aren’t going to hire a defensive consultant. Nice topic for a day, but isn’t going to happen.
A couple of people asked me if it even should. Is there any proof it does help? The track record certainly isn’t great. As much as we aren’t happy with Castillo right now, we’re a few tackles by Jarrad Page away from Sunday being a different game. No coach or consultant is going to solve that. Okay, wait. If he told Juan to cut/bench Page I guess that would help.
Tommy thanks for the awesome and uplifting post. I don’t have a good feeling about the Skins game on the road. I think they want to beat us badly and are willing to engage in beating us up with the run. While I don’t think Ryan Torain and Tim Hightower are some world beaters, they are good one cut runners that can give our LB’s fits. Lastly, Derek’s reference in his comments section about Assante Samuel and Roger Dorn are hillarious. Based upon what we are seeing, which other teams can see as well; would anyone want to trade for AS in the offseason?
Samuel’s value is not in his tackling ability. He is a legitimate threat to create interceptions. He has strengths and weaknesses. Will all 31 teams make reasonable offers? I doubt it… but I’m sure there are plenty of teams who think they would be better with a premiere ball hawk. Keep in mind, our defense is not the only one that is struggling this year.
This post/topic isn’t crazy… but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t crazy.
Touche.
I agree 100%. THE DREAM TEAM IS BACK, BABY!!!!
Die.
Die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.
I love your optimism. The one thing you neglected is the “fight together” issue. Do I think our team gives full-heart? By in large, yes. However, in the prime of the Reid years (2000-2004, 2006, 2008), I expected someone the team to win the game in the 4th quarter. This is a team that looks nervous in the 4th. That is NOT something that gets better at 1-5. They’re all thinking out there and worried about making mistakes. It’s the snowball effect. Frankly, I think Vick has the calmness to snap out of it and we desperately needed him vs. ATL/NYG. Look at the last two games: two good 4ths by Vick that were undone by other’s mistakes.
Until they believe they can win, we’re going to lose. Losing is contagious.
I think you hit the crazy mistakes (penalties, turnovers) theory on the head- they are pressing. They are worried and over thinking, instead of doing and just playing. I think the second half shows them that its possible to do and play and be good. I think that will continue in the Skins game.
1) Yes
2) Perhaps we can all get our hopes up again, but how bad will it feel when we are disappointed? perhaps we need to just lower our expectations and do the following
A- Mock cheer when the defense accomplishes something minor, (did anyone else jump up and cheer when the defense held Buffalo to a field goal in the Red Zone?)
B – talk about who we will draft in the first five picks
C – Wager on the Eagles opponents to win
Ahh, who am i kidding, pass the Nova-care Kool-Aid, 12 and 4 here we come.
I guess you could be accused of being a Mr. Positive Petey (saying this in as much of a nursery school teacher voice as possible), but honestly can it get much worse than this? I say no. I mean honestly everything that could go wrong has kind of gone wrong in the first few weeks.
Here’s something from Matt Bowen when he was on the Rams and they brought in a defensive consultant.
Also, when Juan was first hired I predicted that he’d be a head coach withing 2 years…is it time to back off of that prediction or should I just cross my fingers and hope for the best and then act like a genius if by some miracle it happens?
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Should-the-Eagles-hire-a-defensive-consultant.html
Juan has ZERO chance of being a HC. Just watch his PCs. An NFL coach is part leader, coach, salesman, CEO, and about 10 other things. Juan lacks the presence to run a billion dollar team.
Great guy, but watch Glengarry Glen Ross to see what that means.
Tommy, it’s important every once in a while to make outlandish predictions. I should have you know that at the same time I made my Juan prediction, I also predicted, with full confidence, that if Jessica Alba took just a little bit of time to get to know me that we would be married in this same 2 yr period. Unfortunately, I’ve not yet had the opportunity to meet Jessica and show her that I’m the man of her dreams.
Also, regarding predictions, I learned from the great Howard Eskin that whenever you make a prediction, it’s always important to leave yourself a way to wiggle out. For instance, if someone said “Howard I think the Cowboys will beat the Eagles this week, what’s your prediction?” he would say, “Okay, you’re a dope if you think the Cowboys will win. 100% the Eagles will win…if they run the ball well and if their defense plays well.” Then when the caller called in to say, “see I told you the Eagles would lose”, Howard would say, “did you hear what I said you dope, I said if the defense played well and they didn’t show up, that’s not my fault!”
Using the above lesson from Howard, when I made my prediction my caveat was that Juan would be a HC in 2 years only if the Eagles defense played amazing and if he showed that he was a leader, salesman & CEO. Okay, Tommy you dope, take that buddy!
Alas, I am a dope.
Juan has ZERO chance of being a HC. Just watch his PCs. An NFL coach is part leader, coach, salesman, CEO, and about 10 other things. Juan lacks the presence to run a billion dollar team.
Great guy, but watch Glengarry Glen Ross to see what that means.
Thanks for the link. Good read.
Why don’t we just make Howard Mudd the D-Consultant? He already knows how to design protections against Defenses therefore, he knows how to beat those same protections.
Then we can move Mike Zordich to O-Line coach (I hear he’s always considered himself more of an O-Line guy).
If Mike brings back the mustache he can have any job he wants.
Do you think they’ll bring back Graham? It seems like DEs can need more bodies.
I think the Eagles will strongly consider it. Major factor is how he looks. Graham can start practicing the Wednesday after the bye. We’ll find out then if he’s made great progress or if he’s still got aways to go.
Tommy, based on your closer look at the game, is the perceived lack of effort and poor technique of DRC and Samuel being blown out of proportion? Or does it look like it might be a real issue?
DRC looked listless at times, but other times chased the ball and used his speed to run guys down. That’s effort. The big thing for DRC is that he needs to press guys or chase the ball. Playing off and being a couple of yards away from a WR brings out the worst in him.
Asante. Questionable effort at times, very questionable toughness.
It appears that, five weeks of results to see, the smart move was probably to move Asante (once Asomugha and DRC were in).
DRC has “fast-man” syndrome. He’s so naturally fast it doesn’t look like he’s trying out there. Eagle fans would rather cheer a untalented player who tries to kill himself rather than a talented player who looks like he’s giving 80%.
I have heard similar thoughts from some Arizona fans. He’s got the talent to be one of the best. I remember when he showed up a little unknown at the Senior Bowl and played out of his mind… covering the opposition’s best receivers, making plays on the ball, covering kickoffs. Because he knew he had to make a name for himself there, so he did.
He played great in ’09 when Arizona had something to play for. I’ve heard some Zona fans saying he was a faceless player last season, once the team began shuffling QBs and losing games in bundles. Showed up and did just enough to collect his paycheck. I’m concerned that, after a rocky 1-4 start, he’ll start to “check out” on us, too.
Prove us wrong, DRC. Because I think he’s the naturally gifted corner on our roster.
I believe in fast-man syndrome, but that’s not at all what I saw against Buffalo.
Previously I considered DRC one of our best hustlers. A lot of the poor tackling and long plays he keeps from turning into touchdowns. Good corners should be doing that, hustling and taking good angles when the play goes away from them. You do that often enough and you keep an easy 7 to 3 or 0.
My gripe was on a play where he lined up about 10 yards off, had a 7 yard slant completed in front of him and then continued to run parallel without ever breaking toward the ball. Nate Allen had to come from the inside and tackle DRC’s man.
That’s lack of effort. Once you see the ball come out, you have to break toward it.
Tommy, I read your columns at this site everyday. I find your columns interesting and informative.
But this is like not seeing the forest through the trees.
The differences between the good and bad teams in the NFL are miniscule and can usually be qualified as those teams that take care of the ball, play smart, and are disciplined.
The Eagles are a bad team. There is no sugar coating it. There is very little difference between this bad team and the Cincinattis or the Washingtons of the past few years.
Fair enough.
I disagree with you, but absolutely get where you’re coming from. And I don’t deny that you might be right. Time may prove me to be a great fool for saying one good thing about this team.
I guess the thing for me is that I see us making some changes and it looks like the changes might be starting to work out. If we had the same lineup doing the same things each week, then I would be sold on the notion of this team not having a chance.
I sure don’t blame anyone who sees the situation as hopeless. This team is almost cruel in the way they let us down.
For those of you who don’t watch Mike and Mike in the morning or who may have missed it…
Monday, October 10, 2011
Washington, D.C.– The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council today declared an act of violence against Tiger Woods that involved a hot dog ‘reprehensible.’
“The use of an iconic food in an act of violence against an iconic golfer like Tiger Woods is reprehensible — and a violation of hot dog etiquette. Some might call the thrower a ‘wiener,’ but we’d say that’s too high a compliment,” said Council President Janet Riley . Hot dogs are meant to be enjoyed – not weaponized.”
The real violation of hot dog etiquette is putting ketchup on it like in that picture.
*THAT* is reprehensible.
Tommy, your positivity always seems to grow the further we get from last/to next Sunday. I really don’t want to be around to see what happens should we lose Sunday… I’ve seen your optimisim tested more and more each passing Sunday. Let’s just hope this Sunday isn’t the “final hair that spoils the chocolate pudding”
P.S. Every time you make a chocolate pudding reference, I instantly think of Bill Cosby.
Was Tommy in this commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtxaCqFT2nE&NR=1
Tommy is his finest childhood achievement.. Is it possible that in fact, it was Tommy retrieveing the chocolate pudding from the vault..?
Tommy: Confirm or Deny?
I wish. My life would be awesome if that were true.
Tommy:
Re: Glengary Glennross — are you talking Pacino’s sales pitch or the great Alec Baldwin scene?
Who’s the head coach?
I’m betting he’s referring to this nugget from Baldwin’s speech: “Nice guy? I don’t give a sh__. Good father? Fu__ you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here – close!”
A good HC needs to have a bit of Ricky Roma in him. Gotta be a Closer, sell those sh__ properties to the press. Earn that post-coital cafe au lait and cigarette when it’s over.
The Alec Baldwin scene.
Here’s the SNL Christmas version of the scene. Must watch comedy.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/3362/saturday-night-live-glengarry-glen-christmas
Tommy:
No doubt that cutting down on TOs will help. (Note: in the last 5 games last year plus the first 5 this year, the Eagles have 28 TOs — a staggering number.)
BUT . . . the Eagles defense needs to generate TOs also. Without that, this team will still struggle to win.
Just a theory
This post reminds me of Kevin Bacon screaming “All is Well!” at the end of Animal house as he’s being trampled.
I prefer to think of “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? “.
Please leave me out of this blitzkrieg mess!!
Ha!
And most recently of all, a “Roman Toga Party” was held from which we have received more than two dozen reports of individual acts of perversion SO profound and disgusting that decorum prohibits listing them here.
I could use a party like that right now.
According to Sal Pal the Eagles tried to hire Mangini as their defense consultant. I know it’s Sal Pal so take it for what it’s worth. It won’t surprise me though if the Eagles bring in someone else during the bye.
Andy completely denied that and called it a fabrication.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/Reid-denies-offering-defensive-consultant-position.html
We may be closer to being a winning team than some think. But we are nowhere near being a good team.
I wasn’t sure how to phrase it exactly. Not an ideal choice of words.
This.
There’s enough talent to play sloppy and have a chance to beat less-talented teams that play good football. But as long as we are bad at the simple things they’ll never harness all this talent anyway.
For years we have talked about how kicking FGs instead of scoring touchdowns in the redzone is a recipe for a lose in the NFL, but now that we are struggling to even do that, you write “Even if we’re not great in the Red Zone, we move the ball well enough to kick a lot of FGs and that can win games.” I know you are being optimistic, and in many senses, I appreciate that with everyone else being so down on the team, but I don’t know that I can agree at all with you on that statement. To win in the NFL, you need to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns. A FG in the redzone is a win for the defense. Sure, FGs are better than a turnover, but I know I am not going to be satisfied if we are simply making the step from turning the ball over to getting a FG.
In terms of your analysis of our turnover rate, I agree we have faced a few teams that have managed to create a bunch of TOs. That being said, as a team, we have also been extremely sloppy with the ball. While some of those tipped balls were unlucky, we have also been lucky with a few of the fumbles by Vick that were not recovered by the defense. We have several players, Vick in particular, who carry the ball extremely carelessly when they are running in space. In other words, there is a reason, beyond the teams we have faced, that we are at the bottom of the league in terms of turnovers. Frankly, I am not sure I can really agree with an article that talks about how we are going to improve on our turnovers after a game where Vick has a career high in INTs.
The Bills picked off Tom Brady 4 times a couple weeks back. That D is terrible yardage wise, but making timely plays.
If it were just Vick, you’d be right and I wouldn’t have written this.
As for Vick’s carrying the ball. We all hate that. Drives me nuts. All our skill players scare me with their ball security.
Shady is only one swing away from fumbling the football!
Fact. Scoring TDs is better than FGs
Also Fact… Scoring FGs is better than RZ turnovers.
Also Fact… Scoring lots of FGs can lead to wins (although not glamorous ones)
While you CAN win games by scoring a lot of FGs in the red zone, you can definitely lose games by kicking a lot of FGs instead of scoring TDs in the red zone. In fact, in the games you do happen to win by scoring a lot of FGs rather than TDs, I am willing to bet, the defense had a lot to do with that win. If you get into the red zone twice and end up with two FGs, all the other team has to do is convert one red zone trip into a touchdown to take the lead. Speaking of which, how have we been doing in preventing teams from converting red zone trips into TDs? Oh that’s right, worse than last year, when we were historically bad.
My point is, I’m not willing to give this team a pass on inefficiencies because they are now playing worse. Scoring a TD in the red zone is what we should expect from a good offense, regardless of if they have been simply kicking FGs (like the last several years) or doing worse and turning the ball over on top of not scoring a TD (like at times this year).
This is fair.
Against SF and NYG, kicking FGs in red zone trips is part of the reason we couldn’t overcome untimely turnovers.
Tommy I like your optimism. I think it might be more of a response to not wanting to have to face the long dull drudgery that the rest of the season will be if the Eagles continue to shart the sheets here, but I like it all the same. I think I’ll buy in, it feels nice in the face of all the doom and gloom we’ve been experiencing lately.
Besides, its not impossible that the Eagles won’t turn it around, its just not looking likely.
That triple negative just confused me. You mean a turnaround is possible but not likely?
Unfortunately Mac, I was looking to his play this year. Its not like he has been racking up pics or playing lights out with regard to his strengths. He is going to be on the wrong side of thirty next year. The real question is what is a reasonable offer? A 3rd or a 4th? AS’s headaches will only be magnified to takers as I have my doubts that he will fill the stat sheet this year with regard to his strenghts.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef
This is very interesting stuff to look at…
Obviously we don’t know who is covering the #1 #2 and “other” receiver… but clearly 2 of the three have been highly successful and one not so much…
I love Asante and the fire and passion he brought to our turnover-inept defense a few years ago. But I do agree that his age, lack of motivation, and large contracts around him are likely to lead him to the door in the off-season. If he posts another 5+ INT season, I could definitely see a desperate team offering a 3rd round pick, no more.
But if thats the case, I feel a little uneasy about the lack of meaningful snaps that Marsh and Hughes have taken. Hopefully Hanson’s feet stay young for another year or two while we break the younger guys in.
Tommy – you are definitely selling some delicious Kool Aid…I applaud your optimism and hope whatever you say comes to fruition…..but when do we enough is enough…after the Skins loss perhaps? I agree that this team has had some bad breaks but this is a team that has too many problems – both on coaching and personnel…on another note – I really hope they bench Asante…he’s giving a half hearted attempt….did anyone read that article abt Shanahan being vengeful…he had ordered Elvic Grbac to throw the football at Al Davis’s head during one of the practices…..I am sure he wants badly to avenge the beatdown we put on the Skins last year…I would love and hope we could stick it to him again…win or lose against the other teams, I sincerely hope the Eagles beat the Skins, Cowboys and Giants – especially the Cowboys…me being in Texas – absolutely detest the ‘Boys!!
Hopefully we don’t sign Lebron… we seem to be getting better at the whole 4th quarter thing.. ZING!
Tommy, any idea why we were in nickel so much against a running team like the Bills? That has really puzzled me.
Bills run a lot, but out of a spread formation. You have to play Nickel or Dime.
I’d love if the eagles brought in a consultant and it played out like office space.
So Mr. Jarad Page…what exactly would you say you do here?
I tried to tie in the missing work / missing tackles joke, but it doesn’t work well.
Great reference.
I already told you! I deal with the God-damned running backs so the line backers don’t have to! I have tackling skills! I am good at dealing with running backs! CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!
Reid will flip the switch on the running game, like he does every year, around week 9 or 10. Provided McCoy is healthy that is going to make a big difference.
I do think this team is better than they’ve shown, heck I think everyone believes that. I makes the whole situation more frustrating, not less.
I’m not worried about this team breaking 0.500 at all. I think they will rebound and pull out more wins than losses. However, anything less than the playoffs is an enormous fail with the team they pulled together. That ticks me off as I don’t think they’ll eek into the playoffs.
Alright, I’m on board the crazy wagon, for now. Here’s my deal: we beat the Redskins, get our act together during the bye week, then come out and take the next 4 games, which are all winnable: Dallas, Chicago, Arizona, and revenge against the Giants. That would put us at 6-4.
If we don’t accomplish the above, I reserve the right to reclaim my sanity, such as it is.
At a difference a day makes, one day it’s “I buy the consultant idea” now it’s to It’s not happening. I agree it doesn’t make the most but this was a flip flop if I’ve ever seen it from Igglesblitz. Not that it is a big deal. Buy I’m still optimistic about the year too, like you said maybe this is rock bottom.
I bought the rumor on Monday night. Never checked with any sources. Took Mort at his word. I trust Mort most of the time.
The Eagles then came out publicly and said the story is false.
One is a rumor, the other a public announcement. Big difference.
My job is to report what is being said and offer my reaction. That’s what I did based on Mort’s info and later what I did after the Eagles denied it. No agendas.
Had the initial report come from SalPal or Schefter I would have been less trusting. Had it come from Jay Glazer I’d have taken it as 99% accurate. Each guy has a different level of credibility.
Agree, but I think it goes
Glazer
Schefter
(dividing line)
Mort
LaCanfora
(dividing line)
Sal Pal
PFT
I was gonna put Breer in the top group too but not sure how much news he breaks. He is definitely around the Eagles a lot and his reports are level-headed.
Has Schefter gotten sloppier since he’s been at ESPN, in your opinion? He used to be one of the most respected out there.
I was glad to read that Avant called a players meeting. It would have been neat if it was one of the guys on defense… I still think the players need to do some work owning the fact that they have stunk up the joint 4 weeks in a row. Practice better be crisp. Film study needs to be focused. Anger needs to be tempered with discipline.
I am a fairly optimistic person. In fact, I’m fairly brutish and bullheaded in insisting upon the upside and chances of my teams. I hold out a great amount of hope for the Eagles to PLAY WELL, and I look forward to the game Sunday.
However, I’m also a realist. And as much as I hate to say it, it’s going to take a 9-2 run from here on out to secure a wildcard, unless the NFC East goes completely belly-up. It is certainly possible, but the schedule is far from cupcake(no schedule in this league is soft, Any Given Sunday and all that).
I just find myself continually wishing that we didn’t dig ourselves into this hole in the first place. Four points to Atlanta, one to San Fran, seven to Buffalo… just a few opposite swings of the pendulum and we could be 4-1 instead of 1-4. If only. If only.
Yep. The Giants game was very winnable too, although I think them and Buffalo outplayed us.
The thing for me is not one team we’ve played scares me. Not one team we’ve played looks like they could beat us if we played a clean game with a normal amount of mistakes — but not fumbles inside the 5 or missed TDs than turn 8 yard gains into 74-yard TDs or blown assignments for TDs.
I’m sure good things and the other teams’ mistakes happen in our favor too, but I feel like if the Eagles string together a few wins and get their mojo/swagger back, and they clean up the game-killing mistakes, a legendary run is more than just a pipe dream.
As much as they are what their record is and they’re losing because of their mistakes, it seems like if the stars take care of the ball and play to their potential, and the rookies/low picks become adequate, we can still beat anybody in the league.
Sets up to be an amazing story. But first they need ONE win. Or else it all goes to pot.
Tommy, Aaron Curry was recently traded to Oakland for low 2012 and 2013 draft picks. Do you think it would have been worth the 5th/6th round draft pick risk for the Eagles to take a chance on this guy, considering the LB situation currently?
The Raiders seem to take chances on cast offs and seem to have decent luck with them…Wimbley seems to have turned his career around with the Raiders and i know they took a flyer on someone else – dont remember the name….but Tommy is this coaching or scheme? Whatever it is their defense does look good…
Probably thinking of Quentin Groves. He was drafted as a DE in Jacksonville(same year they busted with Derrick Harvey), but Oakland moved him to a stand-up OLB spot when they traded for him. Don’t believe he’s had nearly the impact or turnaround that Kam Wimbley has, though.
I haven’t watched Curry closely this year, but he got benched for a reason. Is he more talented than Moise Fokou? Heck yes. That doesn’t mean he would have been a substantially better player.
Also, he’s still due over $3M in salary. That’s a lot to pay for a mediocre player. OAK is going to play their current SAM (Wimbley) a lot at DE due to injuries and that opens SAM as a need for them.
We need good MLB play more than anything. Team still hopes Chaney can get back to last year’s form.
You’re not crazy.
That is all.