Stories Galore
Posted: July 25th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 26 Comments »You can accuse the Philly media of many things, but they do work hard. The fellas must be jacked up on steroids and meth based on today’s output, since I’m writing this at noon and there are already stories everywhere.
Jimmy Bama shared a short piece on OL coach Jeff Stoutland and his love of Jason Peters.
When Jeff Stoutland was hired away from Alabama to be the Eagles’ offensive line coach, Alabama left tackle Cyrus Kouandijo joked with him, “What are you going to do, show Jason Peters the Jason Peters film?”
Stoutland has been showing film of Jason Peters to his college players for years. He showed film of Peters at Alabama, and in previous coaching stints at Miami and Michigan State. “Ask any of the players I coached,” said Stoutland, “I teach the left tackle off of what (Peters) did. When I first came here, I was like, alright, I’m coaching NFL players. Jason Peters. I’ve been studying his film since he entered the league with the Buffalo Bills in his rookie year. I coached my players in college off of his pro film. I got Buffalo Bills film in my office filled with Jason Peters.”
I am disappointed that Stoutland doesn’t use Calvin Armstrong tape to teach his players.
Sheil Kapadia also wrote about Stoutland. He focused on Stoutland’s positive attitude.
“I look at every day that I come to this complex, I’m jacked out of my mind,” Stoutland said Thursday morning. “I’m excited. I’m like, ‘What are we going to get done today? How am I going to improve today? What concept are we going to master today?’ ”
He then held his thumb and his index finger about half-an-inch apart.
“I just want them to get that much better. I don’t care if you’ve been a pro for 10 years, 11 years. I just want to see you get thatmuch better every day. Some of these guys might think I’m crazy, but I think that when there’s some juice in the air, you all play better. Everybody plays better.”
Stoutland hasn’t been jaded by the NFL world. Coaching in college means working with kids. That can give you a more positive outlook on the world. I think Stoutland’s style will bring out the best in Danny Watkins. Whether that is good enough to mean much, I don’t know. You’d be surprised at how much personality can affect a player-coach relationship. Stoutland should also connect well with young guys like Dennis Kelly, Lane Johnson, Michael Bamiro and Nate Menkin.
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Bob Grotz reports that Chip Kelly will call plays this year. No surprise here, obviously.
“Chip’s going to call the plays,” Shurmur said Thursday. “There’s obviously a healthy amount of interaction between Chip and myself. I’ll let him talk about the details.”
Andy Reid called plays from 1999-2006, when at midseason he gave way to Marty Mornhinweg. Most head coaches with an offensive background want to call plays. Once Kelly gets things established, he may turn that over to OC Pat Shurmur, but don’t count on it. Coaches love to call plays.
It is important for Kelly to run the show this year to let others see what his vision is. The rest of the offensive staff is mainly outsiders. They have watched Oregon play. They helped Kelly put together the Eagles playbook. They understand his general thinking, but need to see what he does to fully embrace his vision for the NFL version of the Kelly offense.
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Good note on Trent Cole.
Trent Cole just walked up to the NovaCare. Said he's 264 and in the best shape of his career. "I'm up for anything. I'll play anywhere."
— Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) July 25, 2013
Trent is in good physical shape. He’s got the right mindset. Now we just need to see how he handles playing from a 2-point stance and occasionally dropping back into coverage.
I’ve got my fingers crossed. Really want him to succeed.
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One of the most hidden Eagles is OLB Chris McCoy. Right now I would list him as the #3 SAM. Tyler Sablich wrote a good piece for CSN on McCoy and his bid to make the team.
McCoy was one of Miami’s final cuts following the 2010 preseason, roughly four months after they had taken him with their final selection. McCoy then re-signed with Miami’s practice squad but was subsequently released from that, too.
“Honestly, man, I was lost coming in,” McCoy said. “It was going too fast for me. I’ve been in the game for a while now.”
McCoy has grown a lot since then. He spent time in the NFL and then was a good player in the CFL. McCoy is much better prepared now and believes he will make the team.
He is 6-4, 261 and would be an ideal backup to Connor Barwin. Then Brandon Graham and Trent Cole could be the OLBs on the other side. McCoy has the size you want at SAM. He is a former DE and knows how to play the run. Coverage skills are a mystery at this point. I think the biggest thing for McCoy is to show that he can rush the passer. If he does that, he’s got a fighting chance.
I’d still rate McCoy as a longshot, but it would be helpful if he would pan out. The Eagles need depth at OLB.
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Tim McManus wrote a good piece on Nick Foles having to battle the legend of Mike Vick.
I’ve covered this before, but Vick’s struggles last year hurt him in the eyes of some teammates. They still love his toughness and his raw physical skills, but the team could not score points with Vick at QB in 2012 and that wasn’t lost on the guys who watched the tape.
There were Eagles who were happy to see Nick Foles take the field last year.
Vick still is the apple of the eye of some guys who grew up worshiping him. It is hard to erase that much history. That said, I don’t expect any major problems if Foles or Barkley gets the job. The misery of 2012 is still very real.
The one thing that could get ugly is if Foles or Barkley gets the job and the offense starts off struggling for 2 or 3 games. That’s when I think the chatter would pick up and you might have some questioning of what Kelly is thinking.
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Reuben Frank wrote about Jason Kelce.
Kelce is coming off a torn ACL. You would think he’d be focused on getting healthy and playing all 16 games. Nope. Kelce is thinking bigger. He wants to be the best Center in the NFL.
“I think I can be the top center in the league,” Kelce said. “I really do.”
“I’m very confident in my abilities, but at the end of the day, I still have to go out there and put the pads on and play at a high level every single day,” Kelce said. “I’m looking forward to being able to prove that I’m one of the best centers in the league.”
I love his attitude. It’s funny. Kelce is just entering his third NFL season. If you listen to him, he sounds like he’s been in the league for a decade.
Having Kelce healthy and in the lineup all year will make a big difference.
Can he be the best C in the league? Possible. He must show that he kept his dynamic athletic ability. A torn ACL could affect that. Kelce is special because of his movement skills. The other thing for him is to get stronger and anchor better. Too often in pass pro he’s moved back off his spot. That should improve as he ages, gets heavier and stronger.
* * * * *
RB Matthew Tucker and P Brad Wing will get to re-take the conditioning test today. Pass it or else…
_
I see there is also a story (if it can be called that) on NFL.com, Mr Irvin stating that Kelly would be crazy not to start #7. What a surprise! These analyst all seem to what Kelly wants and needs more than he does.
I wonder if Michael Irvin even knows who Nick Foles is.
Yeah Irvin’s reasoning for saying Chip needs to start Vick is that if things don’t work out he can just blame Vick instead of shouldering the blame himself… so much wrong with this guy lol
Clearly he is still suffering effects from that Viscious hit that laid him out on the Vet sTadiums concrete Turf!
Check out Todd’s new haircut. Classic.
http://eaglesblog.net/2013/07/sexy-beast/
Dye it green and throw on some giant pink shades and he’d have an epic parody going.
Re: Wing/Tucker do-over
T-Law:
Forgive me if I missed the answer before, but why did Wing/Tucker have to wait until Thursday to re-take the conditioning test?
The veterans are taking it today. Not sure why Tucker and Wing couldn’t have tried yesterday, but they’ll run with everyone else today.
I found this nugget particularly interesting from the Kelce piece.
“I think I played very well, for the position I was put in,” Kelce said. “One of the things I’ve always done a good job of is — what I’ve tried to explain to these guys as rookies and what I’ve been trying to explain to Danny (Watkins) for a long time — is it doesn’t do yourself any good to over-think things and slow yourself down.
As a firefighter he is probably better when he over thinks. He has all the tools to be a dominant OL, but where’s his head?
I like listening to Chip speak. Refreshing after “we have to do a better job” standard answer.
It speaks volumes about Jason Kelce that everybody speaks of him like he’s one of the old Vets on the roster. He played his rookie season, and went down in game 2 of his second. He’s got what, 18 and a half games under his belt?
I really feel like with the experience and perspective gained from being on the team as a non-player last year he is destined to be a coach someday.
Until then he should have a long an productive career ahead of him if he can come back just about all the way from his injury. The piece you linked about Shawn Hulz and the story of the Navy Seal facing amputation, it gives me hope. Feels like Kelce is exactly where he needs to be.
Stoutland seems like such a stark contrast to Howard Mudd. It will be interesting to see how guys like Kelce and Mathis (who thrived under Mudd’s system) do vs other guys like Watkins who struggled.
I think Mathis and Kelce will do fine. We will still run a zone blocking scheme with a lot of pulling.
Hey Tommy, with the zone blocking scheme will it limit the amount of 1 on 1 blocking Jason will have to do? I’m worried about him blocking a massive nose tackle with a bum knee and not much weight.
He’ll have help most of the time, but there will still be plenty of plays where he’ll need to hold his own vs big guys. No way to avoid that.
“Fellowship of the Miserable”!!! :lmao
I know too many people who are in that.
we joked on PhillyMag about How Stoutland will be crossing the street very often in negadelphia, and that it’s going to take him forever to get where he is trying to go zig zagging down the street
Non-Eagles, but a funny pic.
http://t.co/mkts5qQPkv
In the spirit of non-eagles:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/31-nfl-players-arrested-since-151507711.html
NFL lighting up the police blotter like a christmas tree this summer.
In reference to the legend of Vick, I think the mentality more has to do with a pro-“let’s try the backup” idea more than true support for Foles, other than people like Dennis Kelly. With the focus on the *coming* season, the tape on both QBs will be at issue, and the practices key. Having said that, I don’t think there is much mystique here. Vick has a track record of running a real offense, and Foles does not, and it’s *this* credibility rather than the oft-cited “raw athletic ability” cred that drives Vick’s incumbency status.
Those guys had played with Nick in the preseason and the offense was pretty darn good. That’s why they were in favor of him. This wasn’t like they had loved Nick in college or at Training Camp. The guys knew that will Foles in the preseason, the offense moved the ball and scored some points. Simple as that.
And trust me…you’re dead wrong on the other point. Players know that Nick Foles is a dime-a-dozen QB physically. Nothing special about him. Those players can all tell you that they’ve seen Vick do things that made their jaw hit the floor, as a runner and passer. That is what makes Vick so tantalizing to coaches and players.
But what’s amazing is that the “Legend of Vick” is based on a few plays, games, or maybe stretches of games. He has a career QB rating of 80 and has only had 1 season above 85 (2010). For all his natural ability, he has never been able to translate that into consistent performance on the field. And considering he had Dan Reeves and Andy Reid for 7 of the 10 years of his career, you’d think he could have put up better #’s.
That being said, it’s gotta be hard to see the way he throws the ball and not be sucked in. I just hope the decision does get made on how they move the ball and put points on the board. Whoever wins that competition will get 100% of my support.
What really is worrisome is his career completion percentage. There were times, when coaches had him on a pass leash and he Only threw the ball 25 times because his legs we such an amazing weapon…His legs had defenses on their heals the entire time, so it’s really really bad to see a 56% completion percentage when he had defenses so afraid, and only threw the ball 25 times a game…..RG3 was in a similar situation this year, but he used his 25 passes a game to light defenses up
“Once Kelly gets things established, he may turn that over to OC Pat Shurmur, but don’t count on it. Coaches love to call plays.”
I don’t know why he should do that. He appears to be great at it. So do what you’re great at. 🙂
Yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I’m Shurmur