Eagles Notebook

Posted: June 19th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 32 Comments »

TE Zach Ertz and CB Jordan Poyer missed the last 6 or so weeks of practice and activities while waiting for their schools to have graduation ceremonies. That is all over now and both guys are in Philly and trying to catch up.  From PE.com:

Upon arriving in Philadelphia Monday morning, Ertz and his teammate Jordan Poyer, also held back while waiting for Oregon State’s graduation, were shuttled directly to the practice facility before 8 AM where they joined the rest of the Eagles rookies to participate in the team’s conditioning program.

Ertz is expected to be a key role player for the Eagles this season. Poyer is more of a mystery. He has to find a spot. Poyer will get looks at CB, Nickelback and possibly even Safety. He has to play well to earn a roster spot. If not, he could be good practice squad material.

Zach Berman of the Inquirer also wrote an article on Ertz and Poyer.

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How is this for dumb, but funny?

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Brent over at Eagles Rewind put together some info on how the Eagles should be better in 2013…simply because they should be less awful. Good post. Let’s hope his analysis is correct.

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Brent shared an interesting link on Twitter. This sabermetrics writer discusses how simply eliminating bad decisions can help you go a long way to having success.

For those of you who enjoy a good philosophical discussion, this post will be right up your alley. Here’s the summation he comes up with;

The moral: you gain more by not being stupid, than you do by being smart.  Smart gets neutralized by other smart people.  Stupid does not.

This won’t be for everyone, but does offer a different way to look at things.

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Jimmy Bama came up with a pretty brilliant “What if” scenario for Skins fans to ponder.

Jimmy also posted some NFC East notes.

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The Eagles hope to pattern some of their TE use on what the Patriots have done in recent years. Let’s hope that is only on the field.

Rob Gronkowski fell in the draft due to injury concerns and those are now becoming very real. He’s dealt with arm problems and just had back surgery. The Pats are hoping he’s ready for the season. Gronk has also been a handful off the field. He doesn’t have any legal troubles, but lives a more flamboyant lifestyle than Bill Belichick would prefer.

Aaron Hernandez fell in the draft due to character concerns. They are now becoming very real. Police investigated a murder yesterday that Hernandez has some ties to. He is not a direct suspect, but is connected to some people who are suspects. Police searched his house and left with some evidence.

Just today we learned that Hernandez was accused of shooting someone in the face or firing a gun near someone’s face. The charges are a bit awkward. This is a civil lawsuit and not a police matter. I suppose that could change.

Expect Hernandez to be spending some time with Roger Goodell. Could be possible that the Patriots will open the season without Gronk and Hernandez on the field. Wes Welker is gone to Denver. Things could get very interesting for Tom Brady. We’ll see what happens.

I never cheer for players to have injuries or character struggles, but I do find some satisfaction in these events. People have sung the praises of Belichick for taking Gronk and Hernandez. People have questioned how other teams missed such gifted players. Well, now you know. Teams were scared off for good reasons.

Both players could still go on to do great things and help NE win a title. No one ever questioned their talent. Belichick took a risk when he drafted them. Initially he looked like a genius, but now you can see that other teams weren’t dumb. They just weren’t willing to take the risk that Belichick did.

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We’ve talked about the QBs in the past few days. Here is an old interview with QB coach Bill Lazor. He offers some interesting thoughts on the situation. Toward the end, Lazor makes the point that they don’t just want a starter. They want championship level QB play.

I touched on this yesterday. We’re getting too caught up in Foles vs Vick. The real goal is to have a top QB. Whoever wins the job will do it by out-performing the other QBs. However, that guy will only keep the job if he plays well. If not, he’ll get replaced. Kelly will keep looking until he does find the right QB. That guy might or might not be on the roster now. For selfish reasons, I hope he is. I sure as heck at least hope our QB of the future is out of diapers. I can’t wait too long.

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32 Comments on “Eagles Notebook”

  1. 1 Anders said at 2:52 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I think the Eagles got the most goofy OLs in the entire NFL.

  2. 2 TommyLawlor said at 3:11 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Here’s an article on the Hernandez situation.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130619/aaron-hernandez-history/

  3. 3 GEagle said at 3:34 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Thank God so far we are only dealing the sconces and speeding tickets. fingers crossed.
    ..
    Btw, Shady will be interviewed at 4pm on 97.5 today.

  4. 4 TheRogerPodacter said at 5:10 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    fleeing from the police is much, much more serious than a speeding ticket. assuming that part sticks, of course.
    yea, it isn’t murder or attempted murder or anything firearm related, but it is a serious offense.

  5. 5 TommyLawlor said at 5:13 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    We don’t know if that charge is trumped up or totally legit. If Peters is speeding and doesn’t immediately pull over, the cops can charge him for fleeing. Is that what happened or did he lead them on a chase for several miles? Big difference.

  6. 6 GEagle said at 6:42 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    until I see the white Bronco, helicopters with search lights, I air on the side of it being a trumped up charge, but I do reserve the right to crucify if presented with new intel…I wouldn’t rule out, just needing to buy some momentary distance just to chuck something out the window that you shouldn’t get caught with…Crazy how synical we have become about an NFL summer, but players haven’t left us with much of a choice..

  7. 7 MediaMike said at 8:53 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Trumped up. Salty law enforcement actually had to do some work.

  8. 8 TheRogerPodacter said at 9:53 AM on June 20th, 2013:

    i guess that is a good point. i don’t know all of the facts yet. probably because i didn’t want to hear any more about Peters’ stupidity.

    i still look at it like he has a few things against him:

    1) high profile arrest
    2) charged with resisting arrest is a felony as far as i know.

    3) this is his second arrest, granted the first was ticky tack, but the league may not look at it that way…

    Also, i found this:

    “The deputy activated emergency lights and attempted to pull over the vehicles. The sedan immediately pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway, but the Camaro, driven by Peters, accelerated to an extreme high rate of speed and exited U.S. 165 North and proceeded eastbound on Interstate 20, the affadavit said.

    The Camaro exceeded speeds of 100 mph while the deputy was in pursuit. The Camaro exited Interstate 20 and stopped in shopping center parking lot, police said.”

    again, it depends on how much of this is “real” and how much is exaggeration, but to me, it sounds like he had every opportunity to pull over and fled…

  9. 9 A_T_G said at 7:22 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Do you want the answers, or would it ruin the surprise?

  10. 10 Ben Hert said at 9:03 AM on June 20th, 2013:

    “Some plays are called with a single word, where every letter tells a position what to do.”

    Sounds like a high risk game of telephone.

  11. 11 GEagle said at 3:48 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I don’t think it’s selfish to hope that our QB of the future is already on the roster. heck, Ideally we already have two future top Qbs on our Roster who will go on to have the best training camp duel that Philly has ever seen in the 2015 training camp. Even if these young Kids take 4-5 years to develope(hope not), not having to invest high draft picks in other QBs is what’s best for the franchise..A selfish reason is anything other than what’s best for the franchise.

    As for Gronk, I don’t wish this on anyone, but I think his career is toast. not in the sense that he is done. he will still make good money for years to come, and he will still make an impact when he plays, but for such a young player to already be having all these surgeries, I don’t see how he can go on to have the career that he was capable of having. I don’t think we will be seeing him play 16game seasons. i dont see how he can be counted on any more. Can the Patriots afford to not make a move for some type of weapon for Tom Brady? Right now his most reliable weapon is Amendola…Chip and Bill are good friends but Bill is stingy with draft picks.

  12. 12 TommyLawlor said at 3:55 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    The selfish line is just a joke. Mean I’m tired of waiting for the future.

  13. 13 GEagle said at 6:21 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    As if I’m known for my patience 🙂

  14. 14 Brendan Ekstrom said at 4:45 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I love that video along with the irony that Watkins failed entirely to do what Herremans did in two seconds.

  15. 15 micksick said at 5:58 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    and mathis was the only one who didnt get hurt that season lol… god that was dumb, only danny watkins seened really into it lmfao

  16. 16 A_T_G said at 7:08 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    If only Todd Gould revive Watkins’ career so easily.

  17. 17 ATLeagle said at 6:50 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I dont understand how shooting someone in the eye is not a criminal matter, unless you are Dick Cheney.

  18. 18 A_T_G said at 7:17 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    To be fair, Tommy only said in the face, not necessarily the eye. It might just be a simple matter of shooting someone in the jaw, or the temple, or the ear.

    See, no need to make things all complicated with the boys in blue. Just an apology, a check with plenty of zeros, and a late night camping trip with a rolled up carpet and a shovel.

  19. 19 SteveH said at 11:07 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I believe I read that the person who was shot in or near the face lost one his eyes and that’s why he’s been in the hospital for so long since the incident occured.

  20. 20 TommyLawlor said at 8:16 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    The police didn’t know about it initially, therefore no charges.

    I’m sure they’ll look into it now. If no one presses charges, I don’t know how that affects the situation.

  21. 21 Al said at 8:50 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    The burden of proof in a civil case is preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). That’s a lot easier to prove than beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecutor shouldn’t bring charges unless they feel they can meet that burden. Might be as simple as that.

  22. 22 Tumtum said at 8:36 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    The whole thing with guys not being allowed to participate until their graduation ceremony is ridiculous to me. They finish school, sometimes as early as the second week of April. What good does that rule do anyone? Is that an NCAA, NFL or co-op rule?

    I guess I’m not the best candidate for judgement on that subject. I skipped high school and college graduation for tournaments. Just don’t see all the hoopla over doing something you were expected to do in the first place. Especially to the extent of missing work. Shoot, in Poyer’s case that circumstance could legitimately cost him his roster spot.

  23. 23 MediaMike said at 8:55 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Not only is it stupid, any college or university that runs a calendar where regular classes are still in session this late is a joke. The proper post-secondary calendar should run from the 3rd or 4th week of August through the first week of May.

  24. 24 TommyLawlor said at 9:29 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    The schools that are a problem usually run on the quarters system instead of semesters. Using quarters means a later graduation.

  25. 25 D3FB said at 12:43 AM on June 20th, 2013:

    So you are saying: Standford, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Dartmouth, are all stupid and a joke.

  26. 26 Tumtum said at 8:53 AM on June 20th, 2013:

    I went to a little nubby little D3 school. We got out in April. Maybe that’s the joke. My main question is who is primarily responsible.

  27. 27 MediaMike said at 8:52 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Oh, that Jason Kelce is sooooooooooooo funny. Especially when he’s losing us games because Ike Reece described him as “laying down on the job!” What a guy.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaqCClV-V3Q

  28. 28 TommyLawlor said at 9:37 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Is this the Riddle of the Sphinx, pt. 2?

  29. 29 Mitchell said at 10:10 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    Can we talk about Poyer a bit more? He fell in the draft due to measurables and the little fight he had with that guy? Wasn’t he supposed to go in the fifth? His speed and agility will benefit greatly from an NFL program. His vert is so low it has to go up at LEAST a couple more inches. Poyer’s overall explosion will increase in time because I feel he has so much room for growth. Poyer had good stats in college did he not? I think he will be a good player.

  30. 30 33% God said at 11:17 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    This is a somewhat random point; actually it’s a somewhat random conjecture that I’ve been mulling over for the past several days. What has the up-tempo offense accomplished? My football acumen isn’t necessarily sublime but I remember the late eighties Bengals (lost the Super Bowl), the Bills of the early nineties (x4) and the most recent incarnation of the Pats (now property of Eli Manning and Smokin’ Joe Flacco). You can argue that one of those teams should have won a Super Bowl, but they didn’t and that rather concerns me. Hell, the Ducks lost the National Championship game. The only explanation that I can fathom is that accelerating the offenses pace weakens a defense, allowing more points scored. The question is whether or not the accelerated pace can further out perform any new defensive deficiencies? If not (i.e. if the point differential remains relatively close) then all this ‘up-temponess’ is somewhat moot. And with all the questions on our defense I fear any acceleration of pace might kill us.

  31. 31 Neil said at 11:46 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    I think getting to the superbowl is nothing to be concerned by. The defense is going to have to be good for this team to succeed no matter our pace.

    There really is no downside to a well executed hurryup except that if the offense fails on the first or second series with any regularity the defense might get worn down. This game isn’t decided by time of possession but by offensive efficiency scoring. As far as the effect on the opposing defense, at worst the defense remains calm and has a well rehearsed answer to everything the offense throws at them. That would be a strong counter to any offensive system. At best the hurryup creates confusion and wide open receivers or running lanes.

  32. 32 SteveH said at 11:20 PM on June 19th, 2013:

    That bit about playing smart is something I like a lot. Situational awareness is so critical in every sport. Just look at the NBA Finals last night, if the Spurs are fouling Bosh when he comes down with that rebound and forcing him to shoot 2 with 7 seconds left, you don’t have Ray Allen attempting a wide open 3 from the sweet spot in the corner. With the whole defense collapsed to get the rebound there was no one left to guard the shooters, so the only thing that could happen is one of Miami’s shooters was going to get a good look. Would have been smart to foul there, but you would only do it if you had good situational awareness.