Must See TV – Landri Speaks
Posted: August 7th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 53 Comments »Good news, boys and girls…Derek Landri goes Inside The Studio on PE.com. Lots of good nuggets.
* I was happy to hear that Derek spent a lot of time with Jim Washburn trying to figure out how to improve his game. They worked on technique and the mental side of things (I know…DTs actually think?). Derek thinks he will be a better player in 2012. Some of you will counter that all players say this, but all players aren’t Derek Landri.
* Derek had to lose weight to play football when he was younger. Interesting. He played FB and DT. I think we just found the solution to our FB question.
* In the past Derek would make up stories on occasion to mess with reporters. It wasn’t malicious, just goofing off. Some ran with the stories and Derek had to clear the record and apologize. This would be me if I were in the NFL. My tales of rescuing kids from drowning in gigantic vats of chocolate pudding would make me a legend.
* Derek has a major chip on his shoulder because of the free agency situation. He told this to Howie Roseman upon signing his deal. I’m still shocked that the Eagles tried to sign Trevor Laws over Derek. Thank god Trevor wanted more money than the Eagles were willing to pay. What kind of shape would we be in now with Laws and not Landri?
* I was disappointed that Spuds never asked Derek how much of an influence Marlon Favorite was. I think Marlon enhanced all of our lives. I think of him every day. How did he get that body to fly? Marlon is the first man to look gravity in the eye and say “No.”
All joking aside, I am stoked to see Landri play this year. If he truly is better, he deserves to start and could be a force in the middle.
* * * * *
MONDAY PRACTICE NOTES
* Another good day from Brett Brackett. He is outstanding on seam routes. He is able to use an initial move to get the defender off balance and then runs by them. You can see his WR background on these plays. He’s completely comfortable running 20 to 30 yards downfield. He lined up out wide to the left and ran a slant or inside route. Vick hit him with a pass. Brackett had to go down to make the grab, but did so smoothly.
His pass blocking has improved. He’s no longer awful. He’s now in the mediocre to bad range. This is progress. He’s more confident and you can see that easily. Still must get stronger.
* RB Chris Polk had a great moment. In an 11-on-11 drill he blocked DB Brandon Hughes, who was blitzing. Polk sent him flying. Polk is still erratic in the 1-on-1 drills. Highlight blocks are nice, but the coaches want consistency.
* Keenan Clayton continues to shine in coverage. He can stick with RBs and TEs better than any other LB. Bo Wulf mentioned on Eagles Live that Keenan got some reps with the #1 Dime defense. He’s still on the outside looking in for now, but is making it tough on the coaches.
* Emil Igwenagu has gotten some hype recently. Don’t buy it. I watched him carefully today. He’s got no shot as a TE. Runs terrible routes. You can see he’s a limited athlete. Also, has no confidence or skill as a route runner. Still in the running as a FB. Had a solid day in pass blocking drills.
* Bryce Brown struggled with blocking today. OJ Atogwe got him in 1-on-1 drills a couple of times. Tom Nelson got him in a team drill and pressured Kafka into throwing a pick. Brown has shown some progress, but needs a ton of work.
* Kafka to Marvin McNutt was working really well today. Kafka continues to throw the ball well. McNutt was all over the place. He made a leaping grab on the right side. He caught a downfield pass on the left side. He caught the ball in traffic on short routes. He really looks the part of an NFL WR.
* Best blocking battle of the day was Shady vs Kurt Coleman. Shady stuffed him, but Kurt wouldn’t quit battling. When the rep was over, both guys kept shoving. Neither wanted the other player to have the last word. This wasn’t young players acting like punks. This was starting players showing their competitive spirit. They were relentless during the drill and just didn’t want to be the first to give up.
Speaking of Coleman, he had a good day. Kurt picked off Vick twice. One came in a team session and the other in 7-on-7. I think Kurt has had a good showing at Lehigh. He’s defended the pass well and has also had some good hits. He was taking good angles to the ball as a run defender today.
* Stanley Havili and Phillip Thomas did have a small spat after a blocking drill. And this did look like young kids being dumb. The blocking in the drill wasn’t impressive. Afterward they shoved each other. Havili threw a weak swing at Thomas as they walked away. Not smart. From what I’ve seen, Havili needs to concentrate on being physical during plays and not afterward.
* There was some sloppiness today. Tapp was offside. So was Landri. Someone on the OL had a false start in the team session.
* * * * *
Quick comment about backup RBs getting more touches…many of you had doubts about my previous post. Let me clear up my point a bit. I also have doubts. I bought into the notion that 2011 would be different. The Eagles went and signed a veteran RB who could run, block and catch. He was durable and healthy. I took this as a sign that we’d use him.
Wrong.
I gave up at that point. No more believing in backup RBs.
The last column was titled the Dion Lewis Problem for a reason. If he continues to play as well as he is right now, he will be a problem for the coaches. They will have to find a way to play him, even though it goes against their recent track record. If Lewis doesn’t play great in the preseason, the column is a moot point and he’ll get 75 touches for the season.
Old friend and regular reader TSOP has beaten me over the head about Marty and backup RBs. I’m tired of getting beaten up. I’ve given up hope. Now that Dion is having a great camp, I’m confused. I’m sure Marty feels the same way. You can almost picture the scene from Animal House when the guy has the angel and devil on each shoulder.
“You must use him, Marty.”
“No way Marty. Don’t be stupid and take the ball away from Shady, DeSean, Mac, and Celek. Dion is a backup RB for a reason. Save him for a blowout.”
“Don’t listen to that guy, Marty. Give Dion some touches. Let him prove himself to you.”
And so on.
* * * * *
It has been a quiet summer over at ScoutsNotebook. I’m embarrassed by this, but got distracted by a few projects and a strange summer schedule. I normally write draft reviews for each team. This summer I did that for the AFC East, but ran out of time. Instead I’ve been putting up quick reviews for each division. All but the NFC West are there now.
I’ll get into the upcoming college season and some game notes in the month of August. Posting will pick up and things will get back to normal.
_
On the Scouts Notebook stuff, would I be right in thinking you have covered every AFC team except Buffalo?
On the brightside:
Lewis should at the very least get brown’s snaps
If he doesn’t get the all, Shady is no chump.
I want Dion to get more than 42 touches. I’m thinking 42.5 would be good.
He so small, maybe his touches should be measured in halves.
Whistle! 15 yards! Using the same punch line number 2 times in a row.
I really wish we didnt have Marty Mornhinweg and I am convinced that we will never win the Superbowl with him. 🙁
There are more than a few fans who share that opinion. I think Marty can get the job done, but he sure does drive me crazy at times.
May I counsel?
Of course.
Yeah I don’t normally beat the negativity band wagon, but I have been saying for the past 2 years that Marty needs to go. I was really hopeful that he had a shot at a HC gig this past offseason. I think this team can win in spite of Marty.
Is there an over/under on how many times Andy will say he needs to use Dion more?
42.5
**gasp**
Landri was not offsides. The line of scrimmage was clearly mismarked.
I suspect they failed to account for the bend of space/time that Landri’s personality creates.
This, I like. Well done sir.
it was probably called by replacement refs
I was trying to be critical of him so that I could not be accused of biased reporting. Closest thing I could find to a mistake by him.
Your massive man crush on Landri is one of the more fun things to read about though! Be biased!
I’m cautiously optimistic that Andy/Marty would use Dion more than they used Ronnie if he can carry his success into the regular season. Keep in mind that Philly made a run at Darren Sproles before he eventually signed with New Orleans. Ronnie Brown always felt like the consolation prize.
I see Dion Lewis filling more of a Darren Sproles type scat back role. The thinking with Ronnie was that he could be the short yardage back. Turns out Shady actually fills that role quite nicely all by himself.
I see Andy/Marty using Dion extensively in the screen game this year. The Eagles are traditionally very good at the misdirection screen play where they fake a screen to the back on one side of the field, then run a backside screen to the tight end instead (or vice versa).
With Maclin, Jackson, Celek, Shady, and Dion, you could potentially have five big-time screen playmakers on the field at one time.
“With Maclin, Jackson, Celek, Shady, and Dion, you could potentially have five big-time screen playmakers on the field at one time.”
New play innovation: Run a lineman out to block for each of them and while the D is trying to figure out which way the screen will go, Mike runs up the middle for a big game. There’s absolutely no way that this could go wrong ; )
Marty, is that you?
only if it involve a option pass
How about if it’s a direct snap to Shady and Vick goes out on a screen?
Listening to the latest podacst I have a question: If good players make their own luck (particularly QBs), aren’t they in some way responsible for their own bad luck? Kolb is quick to take flight in the face of pressure or perceived pressure, yet at the same time doesn’t seem to sense imminent blindside contact (not easy I am sure). How many of his injuries have happened when he has taken a hit while static in the pocket over being hit from behind when rolling out and buying time? I would say Vick was unluckier with his injuries than Kev was last year.
I read a good discussion on the Arizona boards the other day which stated that one quality needed in behind the Card’s Oline was to be able stand down the barrel of a rifle and deliver the pass. For that reason they felt Skelton was a better choice as a starter. However they also thought that he will be nothing other than a back up because he doen’t make adjustments and is slow to read the game. He didn’t like Kev, not behind that line.
Fair question about players and bad luck. Guys can help/hurt themselves. No doubt about it. Kevin might be permanently gun shy at this point. He’s had some tough hits and lots of pressure. I didn’t watch a ton of Cards games last year, but Kolb always seemed to be on the run. I’m sure he bears some responsibility for that. I do think the majority of it goes on the O-line.
Remember how awful the Bears were for a while up front? Then Martz adjusted the offense and blocking. The line blocked better and the passing game came alive. Seems like the Cards could learn from that. Study what the Bears did to make that crappy OL play decent. It does help to have a stud RB like Matt Forte.
I watched quite a bit, thanks to an NFL network and a schedule that didn’t interfere with Eagles games. You mentioned that he doesn’t have the talent to be able to put the Cards on his back and win games (helmet2helmet), equally, he doesn’t have the physicality to hang tough, that leaves this coaches son with his cerebral qualities as his biggest attribute. Yet his decision making is highly questionable at times (see 1st Int yesterday) and certainly even his supporters say he needs time. Maybe he is gun shy, maybe he over thinking his decisions rather than just playing natural. Who knows? But when the attribute that should serve him best is not serving him best he has little else to fall back on.
I am sure Skelton misses more open players than Kolb, and goodness he was schooled in the first game against the ‘9ers, but he hangs in there, and gives his team something to hope for. That was the case against us, and later in his 2nd match up with San Francisco.
I think Brown will beat out Polk, since we’re talking 3rd RB who will never see the field, even if Shady is injured, they’ll shift to a short passing game and a lot of screens to Dion, so potential beats out polish. Polk hasn’t been so good you have to get him on the field, Brown shows flashes of being that kind of guy in 2013.
McNutt seems to be a perfect Gruden WR, the big guy who makes plays underneath, but can he play downfield? Though maybe it’s time to dig out the 1990s playbook with Fryar at WR.
Brackett is going to make this team, he’s the prototype receiving TE, except he has more size and potential as a blocker than someone like Finley, who’s strictly a WR playing TE (block? they don’t pay me to block). Most big WRs end up too slow off the line for WR and too wimpy for TE (think Ramses Barden on the Giants). Brackett has worked hard to improve, he’s added strength and his blocking has gotten better, he’s never going to be mistaken for Kleinsasser, but if you can run 4.6, run good routes and catch the ball, you just have to be adequate as a blocker. Most of these conversion jobs don’t work out, but seems Eagles hit on this one.
Looks like Washington is headed for the PS, I think they’ll limit his exposure in exhibition games to get him through waivers, he’s got physical talent but is too raw to play right now, notice he’s buried on the 3rd team OL. The amount they’re playing Kelly, he’s a lock (i.e. he may be struggling, but Mudd wouldn’t give him that many reps as a rookie if he didn’t see something he liked), so there’s only one spot between Vallos, Gibson and Reynolds. I think Gibson is in trouble watching him get bitch slapped in the one on one drills, you don’t have to win them, you just can’t consistently show a lack of strength and athleticism – because that translates to no upside.
Landri may start until Patterson returns, but I think Washburn will still want to limit him to less than 500 snaps, they have too much depth to allow Landri to take plays off, and I doubt he can hold up going full speed for 700 snaps.
Clayton has to tackle in the exhibition games and show up on STs, because his competition comes down to Matthews and Jordan, and he’s the best athlete of the three. But he can’t play like a safety anymore, even a coverage LB has to force the run.
The biggest question with Coleman is whether he can last 19 games at his size.
“The biggest question with Coleman is whether he can last 19 games at his size.”
Here’s to hoping this is the year we find out.
Sheil wrote an interesting piece yesterday where he postulated Polk as a potential option at FB. He’s been blocking quite well in camp and, with Havili not really showing much at all, it’s a way of keeping the best 4 backs on the roster (assuming that whichever of Polk/Brown got cut wouldn’t make it to the PS).
I don’t know whether his blocking is good enough, but I’d say he’s probably on a par with Havili at this point and offers more as a running option for misdirection plays at the goal line; I’d love to see some fakes to Shady with Polk taking it the other way.
Also…The one thing I thought the Eagles could’ve targeted in the draft but didn’t get was a guy they can groom to be Avant’s eventual replacement in the slot. With all of the talent they managed to add, it seems a bit much to complain about it, but it could be a concern in the future. Does Damaris have the short-area quickness and route running potential that he could be the guy, or is it something we should be looking for in the draft next year?
Damaris Johnson is tailor-made for the slot.
isnt McNutt also well made for the slot?
I don’t think so. He’s not the quickest guy in the world. Some big WRs can play inside, but I don’t see that as his strong suit.
okay, I just remember seeing alot of people say he was made for the slot because he does not have the speed to play outside
/edit Just looked up McNutt and Nicks’s 40 yard dash, McNutt is faster than him and so the above that I have heard make no sense.
I’m still not convinced we will see any kind of significant change in the role of our backup RB in this offense. You wrote, “If Lewis doesn’t play great in the preseason, the column is a moot point and he’ll get 75 touches for the season.” While I think that is accurate, the problem with that is, I think the Eagles will set the expectation of “great” too high for it to be reasonably accomplished. The Eagles will fall back on excuses like “he is a vet playing against the #2s” or if he struggles at any point (something that happens to any RB), they will not give him enough touches even in the preseason to really show he can play great. To me, Lewis would really have to have a nearly flawless preseason (not a realistic expectation, especially for a backup RB) to really force the coaches to use him in any significant role.
We’ll see.
I have my doubts as well, but again…if Dion is a playmaker, that could change Marty’s thinking. This isn’t about 4-yard runs. This is about Dion becoming a threat for the offense.
On a separate note, do you have any guesses as to why the Eagles seemed to like Laws more than Landri? While I assume they do not dislike Landri by any means, it seems to me he is not a guy the Eagles really like a lot. They cut him after the preseason last year and prioritized Laws over Landri this offseason. On top of that, it seems they sort of dragged their feet in signing him. Can you come up with any reasons why that was the case? Did they prefer Laws potential or was he cheaper or anything like that?
The line I heard from multiple sources was versatility. Trevor could play DE and DT. Also, age. Trevor is younger. I have to think the Eagles also hoped that the light would really go on for Laws and he’d play at a higher level.
The Eagles were off in their thinking. I’m just glad Landri didn’t get away.
Think we’ll end up with a situation like SD had with Tomlinson and Michael Turner?
That might be setting the bar a bit high. LT is a HOF’er. Turner turned out to be a 1,500 yard rusher in his own right. Not sure we’re in that league.
Dion still has a lot to prove. Real excited to see what he does on Thursday.
RE: Dion Lewis v. Darren Sproles
Just an FYI . . . in Sproles’ first 2 years on the Chargers’ active roster, he had a grand total of only 45 carries and 13 receiptions. Very Dion-esqe.
What set the early Sproles apart from Dion was KO and Punt returns. Sproles was a monster from the start.
Only in year 3 of his career did Sproles become more of a part of San Diego’s offense.
Here’s his career numbers:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SproDa00.htm
You made that comparison the other day, I think. Interesting. I really can’t wait to see Dion in action to find out how good he is / isn’t.
Re: Polk at FB?
Commenter deg0ey suggested that maybe the Eagles should move Polk to FB, cut Havili to keep Bryce Brown as the third RB . . . and pair Polk and McCoy to present a true “double” threat in the backfield. From time to time, at least.
A couple of reactions.
1. The NFL began to ease away from the concept of 2-backs where both runners posed a threat on the ground when the “chuck rule” was changed back in 1979 prohibiting DBs from bumping WRs after 5 yards. That separation was, I’d wager, complete by the mid-2000s.
Some classic examples of great running tandems are: (back in the ’60s) Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor for the Packers, Jim Brown/Leroy Kelly with Ernie Greene for the Browns, Emerson Boozer and Matt Snell on the ’68 SB champ Jets; (in the 1970s) Larry Csonka and Morris/Kiick for the Dolphins, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier for the Steelers, FB Walt Garrison and HBs Calvin Hill/Duane Thomas (could have one of the best ever)/Robt Newhouse/Tony Dorsett for the ‘Boys, and OJ Simpson and Jim Braxton/Larry Watkins for the Bills; (in the 80s) the 49ers paired Roger Craig at FB and Wendell Tyler at HB, with Craig — in 1985 — topping both 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving, followed by FB Tom Rathman and Craig at HB.
No team was better for longer at finding great running/blocking FBs to pair with HBs than Al Davis’s Oakland/LA Raiders, who from the late ’60s to the early ’80s, had: FBs Hewritt Dixon/Marv Hubbard/Mark Van Eagen/Frank Hawkins and HBs Charlie Smith/Pete Banazak/Clarence Davis/Kenny King (still running w/ that pass in SB XV); Marcus Allen.
Historical Note: The best Eagles’ tandem of a true FB and true HB from the 1960s to the 2000s was probably the 1979 version of Wilbert Montgomery and Leroy Harris, who combined for over 2000 yards. Next up would be the 1978 pair of Wilbert Montgomery and Mike Hogan w/ over 1800 yards. Then I’d pick 1973’s Tom Sullivan and Norm Bulaich. Then 1965’s HB Tim Brown — an great receiver and KO returner, too — and FB Earl Gross.
(Side Note: When Buddy Ryan came to the Eagles in 1986, he was — despite the evolution taking place in the passing game — intent on building a backfield tandem where both runners were threats on the ground. In his first college draft, Ryan chose HB Keith Byars with the 9th overall pick from Ohio State and FB Anthony Toney from Texas A&M with the 37th overall pick. Neither turned out to be much of a runner, though. And Buddy’s reckless disregard for his O-line probably had a lot to do with that, especially in the post-season.)
2. Now, fast forward to the 2000’s . . . .
No NFL team has paired a tandem of runners at HB and FB except the Tampa
Bay Bucs of the early ’00s — with FB Mike Alstott (who was never a
particularly good blocker) and HBs Warwick Dunn followed by Michael
Pittman. Plus, Alstott picked up quite a few of his carries out of the
single back set.
3. As a practical matter, there’s two problems. First, I’m not sure Polk’s bad shoulder would withstand the pounding needed for a lead blocker on any sort regular basis. And, if the Tony Hunt experiment a few years ago is a fair indicator, making the transition to lead blocker from college HB is a huge jump.
Nor would Reid, I expect, want to use McCoy as a lead blocker for Polk — assuming McCoy could even block on the move. After a few mis-direction calls — or, in the parlance of the old days, the “Crossbuck” — I think the secret would be out that the pairing’s only a gimmick.
3. I’d love to see a “Back to the Future” NFL backfield.
With the passing rules the way they are, and especially with the accelerating move to 2 TEs as a base set, I’d guess it’s not something we’ll ever see again — short of serious rule changes.
BUT . . . if Polk can make the psychological commitment that eluded Tony Hunt, I think it’s a damned interesting idea.
James Joseph was an interesting FB/RB tweener in 1993/1994, as I recall.
Did Heath Sherman see some time as a FB?
T-Law:
To answer your questions . . .
Buddy did indeed use Heath-bar at FB in 1990, as he phased Keith Byars out of the running game and used Anthony Toney at HB.
When Kotite took over in 1991, he moved Byars to the FB position — and made him essentially an H-Back — while having Heath-bar and (rookie) Joseph split time at HB.
In 1992, Kotite — with Hershel Walker’s arrive — moved Heath-bar back to FB, where he split time with Byars (again, as more of an H-Back). Joseph was out all of 1992
In 1993, Kotite rotated JJ with Heath-bar and Vaughn Hebron at FB.
In 1994, JJoseph was the principal “fullback” in Kotite’s offense.
_______________
By way of background, Joseph was a “wishbone” HB at Auburn. His best season came as junior in 1989 when he led the Tigers with over 800 yards rushing and was second in receiving with 26 catches.
In 1992 Keith Jackson headed off to Miami and Byars was mixed into the TE spot at times to help with the passing game. Maurice Johnson was the conventional guy, but wasn’t the same kind of pass catcher as Byars.
Nice post.
awesome post. but wasnt it warrick dunn and not warwick? ; )
Yes . . . Warrick.
Thanks. The change has been made.
Wow, that’s a lot to take in.
With Polk to FB, I was just repeating something that Kapadia posted yesterday that I thought sounded interesting. I think the general idea was that he’d play as a ‘proper’ FB, where his primary job is to be a lead blocker for Shady (something that he claims he did a bit of in college when they ran a lot of designed QB runs). Handing the ball off to him would be an occasional thing because, as you say, it could easily become predictable.
I love the bit at 7:10 in the Landri video where Spadaro was listing what he thought people were saying about the Great One’s play: “A plugger… a try-hard guy”.
Spads really seemed to enjoy that. I was expecting him to just keep going: “Slow. Short. Weak. Stupid. Ugly. Smells funny. Covered in open sores. Disease infested. Dallas Cowboy. Arsonist.”
This made me laugh. Kudos.
I say next year we sign LaRod Stephens-Howling so we can have the ultimate all-diminutive all-Pitt backfield. If Marty can’t tell the difference between the three, he might use them interchangeably.