Maybes
Posted: May 20th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 169 Comments »A few readers made the point to me that in yesterday’s post on the roster, I relied too much on “maybes”. That’s a fair criticism, but it does need some context.
Let’s say the Eagles went out and signed Darrelle Revis and DeMarcus Ware. Guess what? They would have been maybes as well. All roster moves involve projection. All of them. Rookies, free agents, trades. Adding stars, ascending players, fading players, or just solid veterans. All moves involve projection.
After the 2011 free agency period, how many people thought Evan Mathis was the prize signing and not Nnamdi?
How many people thought Juqua Parker would have more sacks as an Eagle than the man who suggest the Eagles sign him, Jevon Kearse?
You never know about injuries. You never know about how a player will fit in with the new team. How much will the guy and his family like the new cit? Will the Philly media affect him? And so on. There are a ton of X-factors.
I try to make realistic projections. Notice that I’ve never said getting Jeremy Maclin back cancels out the loss of DeSean Jackson. I’ve always talked about how Maclin plus the rookies plus Darren Sproles will cancel Jackson and Jason Avant out. The Eagles need to replace 121 catches and 11 TDs. I believe the new group will surpass those numbers.
Maclin is coming off a torn ACL, but he’s done that before. He tore his ACL in 2006. Maclin then had one of the greatest Freshman seasons in NCAA history in 2007. He had 9 TD catches. He added 4 TD runs, 2 KOR TDs and 1 PR TD. Not bad for a gimp. Maclin didn’t suffer another major injury until last summer. He’s missed time here and there, but is mostly durable. The Eagles have been following his rehab progress closely. The fact they tried to sign him to a 5-year deal back in March leads me to believe they felt good about his health.
That doesn’t mean he will be fine. I’m comfortable with projecting him to start and catch 60 passes. Will he be at top ability? Will he miss a game or 2? We have to wait and see. Optimism is good, but we must be realistic as well.
Some readers point out that you can’t count on rookie receivers. That is somewhat true, but rookie receivers are now making significant contributions on a regular basis. This is another situation where you need to look to specifics. The Eagles added a pair of players with NFL size and speed. They added players who faced elite competition in college. Both went to the Senior Bowl and had very good showings. Both played in offenses that are very similar to what the Eagles run so the adjustment should be easier for them. And both players had successful careers. There are no 1-year wonders here.
Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff feel like players you can project to play right away. They are great fits for the Eagles. That doesn’t mean they will be great players, but simply that they match what the Eagles want and that should help them to fit in more quickly than if they went elsewhere.
Is it possible that Maclin will get hurt (ACL or otherwise) and that Matthews and Huff will both struggle as rookies? Sure. And if that happens, the passing game will be in serious trouble. I don’t think that kind of doomsday scenario is likely.
The passing game won’t be the same as 2013 since you lose such a dynamic vertical presence. That doesn’t mean the passing game will be worse, though. We have to wait and see on that. The Eagles added players that can thrive in Kelly’s offense. They just no longer have anyone that can run by any DB in the league. Jackson is a freak in that sense.
* * * * *
Speaking of Jackson, many people love to point to his great numbers from 2013.
But why did he have such a great season? Hmm…..
Nick Foles had his best year and posted freakishly good numbers.
Riley Cooper had his best year and shocked everyone by being among league leaders in yards per catch (17.8).
LeSean McCoy had his best season and led the league in rushing.
Zach Ertz had a terrific rookie season, going 36-469-4. If you combine LJ Smith and Brent Celek’s rookie seasons, you get 43-499-2.
Brent Celek saw his number of catches drop, but his yards per catch soar. He averaged 15.7 yards per reception, an amazing total for a TE. He had 6 TD catches (2nd best total of his career) and would have had 7 if he didn’t slide at the 10-yard line in the Lions game.
I think you have to give Chip Kelly, his offensive system and his style of play some real credit here. A lot of different players thrived. It is going to be very interesting to see if DeSean can replicate his numbers in a different system and to compare them to those of Maclin, Matthews and Huff. Not every player who gets on the field for Kelly is going to light it up (see Bryce Brown for example), but clearly his ideas work and skill players can rack up good numbers.
Defenses will adjust this year. But so will Kelly. It is really going to be interesting to see what he does.
* * * * *
The Eagles re-signed WR Arrelious Benn. He’s now back on pace to make the Hall of Fame. Easily. Joking aside, he is capable of winning a roster spot and contributing – if healthy – so I’m happy he is back.
The Eagles cut rookie CB John Fulton and added BB Davon Morgan. Fulton didn’t play much at Bama so there isn’t a ton to say about him. Morgan got a tryout over the weekend and impressed the coaches. Here is some bio information from PE.com.
Morgan spent the 2011 preseason in New York Jets camp and was a second-team All-ACC safety at Virginia Tech after picking off five passes and finishing second on the team in tackles. Morgan played with the Richmond Raiders of the Professional Indoor Football League last year and finished third in the league in pass breakups and fourth in tackles. The scouting report on Morgan from 2011 stated that the former Hokie was a “solid run-defending safety who is best playing downhill. Fast up the field, aggressively attacks ball carriers, and throws his shoulder pads into the action. Displays skill in zone coverage and is effective picking up assignments facing the action.”
He was a good “in the box” Safety for the Hokies. Good tackler.
Interesting that the Eagles have former Hokies in Roc Carmichael and Davon Morgan, and that they supposedly loved CB Kyle Fuller, another Hokie. Something about those Va Tech DBs…
_
Sounds like a reunion with Macho Harris is in order.
Tommy, I don’t know what you are talking about cause Nnamdi turned out great!
Good points Tommy. I hope it works out that way. I am not pessimistic about the Eagles chances this coming year, I just think some commenters are being a little overly optimistic.
One thing about the “Eagles offered Maclin a 5 year deal” thing though. Sure, I bet they did. They offered Maclin a five year deal for an amount he was not willing to sign for. The idea that the Eagles wanted to sign Maclin for a longer term and he wanted to sign for only one year tells half the story and is very misleading. Contracts are about money first. If the Eagles had offered Maclin a contract for 5 years for an amount that he thought he was worth, I’m sure he would have taken it.
But the Eagles were unwilling to offer him a long term contract for big money and Maclin, perhaps influenced by the Chip Kelly Bounce you mentioned in the stats of the other skill position players and maybe also confident in his own future health, clearly decided that he could make more money as a free agent next year after putting up some huge stats of his own.
If things work out as we hope, Maclin will be one of the top names in free agency next year and his return to the team in 2016 would appear to be in doubt. But that’s a problem for next offseason.
I think taking 2 WR relatively high in the draft was insurance.
I think you are right.
Many people assume that drafting WR was a response to the Jackson release, but I like to think that the Eagles are smarter than that and the decision to release Jackson was made in isolation and did not affect their draft plan.
100% with ya.
I believe that releasing Jackson, signing Maclin and Cooper, drafting 2 WRs and signing 2 as FAs has to be viewed together. As Roseman said, they knew before the draft that WRs they like would be available in each round, and in FA. Before they released Jackson, the plan was in place to replenish the position in the draft. In fact, releasong Jackson was in response to better options being available in the draft, not the other way around. If this had been a poor WR draft, they might have handled the Jackson matter differently.
Yeah Lurie said after Chip knew right after the season ended that Jackson was not going to be here…..which is probably why they rushed to sign Mac and Cooper…..and they did not get much out of Avant so they had to get an upgrade at his spot. In my Mind Matthews is here for Jackson(though they wont say it because it puts unfair pressure and goals on a rookie) and Huff is here for Avant. Though both players will initially get their receptions from the slot. Chip said that he wanted to go in a different direction at that position and just so happened to have a draft full of taller and more physical specimen at that position. (lightbulb)
I like Maclin but he’s stuck in a catch-22 that stacks the board against being an Eagle next season. If he plays to the level of money we are willing to pay him, we likely don’t resign him in favor of getting Matthews and Huff snaps to show what they’ve got in 2015. If Maclin has a break out year, he will likely be worth far more than we are willing to pay, again opting to see what the cheap youth has to offer.
Of course if it turns out Cooper-2013 was a fluke and we cut him, all bets are off.
If Maclin does go off and leaves to somewhere else we’ll get a good comp pick at least
I’ll be curious to see if teams are willing to pay Maclin if Desean has a down year and Jeremy blows up. Wouldn’t that pretty much prove that it’s the system? At the end of the day I don’t think we break the bank on Maclin, but I’m not sure another team would either. (assuming the scenario I described occurs)
That would certainly make Maclin’s agent’s job harder.
Yes and no. People might make some allowance for the system, but a great year would prove his leg is fully healthy and that is issue #1. And it’s not like Maclin hasn’t shined in the past. A great year would prove he can not only play well as a #2, but also as a #1 receiver.
I don’t think DeSean’s performance figures into it. if Maclin puts up a DeSeaneque 1300 yards under Chip Kelly, teams might say, “maybe he only puts up 1000-1100 yards for us as a number one receiver”, but that would be enough for a huge contract, most likely larger than the one Jackson received because he comes with no size nor personality issues.
Decker just got $7.25 million a year despite playing in a historic offense and benefitting from one of the top 3 QBs to ever play the game, a top 3 WR, a freakish TE and Wes Welker. I don’t think Maclin is going to be out in the cold if he puts up big numbers.
either way we are good….from looking at draft projections the WR position only gets taller and taller the next two years and some are pretty fast. So we can move Matthews outside and draft another guy in the first or second round.
I think we may adopt the Packers approach to drafting WR. They don’t have that premier number 1 type receiver but every year they draft a receiver in rounds 2-4. Whenever one of their WR’s leave in FA they have three more guys who have been on the bench for a year or two to fight for his spot.
“If I understand things correctly, they can not extend a 1-year contract player mid-season”
Maclin seems to think it can be done mid-season.
“So hopefully come mid-season we’ll be able to do something where I’m here long-term.”
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2014/02/28/maclin-bets-turns-multi-year-deal/
He can get an extension, the CBA just have something about the first year of cant be higher than the 1 year deal if he signs a new deal before FA
Tommy, totally off topic, but how do you feel on proposed playoff extension? how do the other writers you know feel? I hate the idea!
I hate it too! I hate the expansion already implemented. Winning your division should mean a lot, and every time they expand the playoffs it means less.
we’ve already had at least one sub 500 team in the playoffs I can remember. adding more teams just increases this likelihood. horrible!
I don’t know the exact plan for the playoff extension (see above), but I don’t think it’ll increases the likelihood of sub 0.5 teams. They will do it in the Wild Card format, will they? Last year was odd, because the Cardinals definitely were worth a playoff spot.
On the other hand, the AFC showed how it should not be done.
I feel like they are just going to continue to push this thing bigger and bigger until it reaches a saturation point. Once they hit that level the product will be shit, and fans like you and I will care much less. That’s okay though because they are going to get ratings, and make more money.
Over time the sport will then fall on its face as the number of rabid fans to entice the front running casuals falls off. I guess the lure of gold and silver right now are too great.
The quality of the games and fan experience peaked probably 3-5 years ago. Its sort of like manufacturing. If you can make more of something for less money and get a greater return, you are going to do it. Now instead of lasting 25 years your appliances crap out right about the time the warranty does.
Just my view anyway. I really think R.G is the worst thing to ever happen to the game. Lets not even get into the unbalanced collective bargaining agreement that is going to push top level athletes towards other sports.
Jerry Jones wants playoff extensions so his unworthy underacheivers can get in.
It’s smacks of the problem with letting “a camel’s nose in the tent.”
In a few more years, the NFL’s post-season will have as many teams as the NBA and NHL.
But here’s the good news. The SB will be in late February. The Combine in early April. The draft in June — possible with each round separated by several days to allow for more trading.
Heck, NFL football will be nearly year ’round.
And I will have moved on.
Besides all the doom and gloom speak, I mostly don’t like it simply because the chances of that new 7 seed actually winning a playoff game would be slim to none. If they somehow made it through the 2 seed, then they’d have to play the 1 seed. Sure, stranger things have happened, but it’s like they’re not even trying to hide that it’s just a cash grab.
It would make the 3-6 seed games a lot more interesting, however.
How do they even plan this thing? I’d get a 2 team extension for both conferences. But how do you create playoffs with an uneven number?
No 2 seed bye, number 1 seed is the only see to have the bye. so all the other teams play against one another,
So, wild card
2-7, 3-6, 4-5
Divisional round (assuming the higher seeded teams win)
1-4, 2-3
Would boost the importance of #1 even more, because it gives you not only the HFA anymore. Devalues the #2 enormously, though. The bye is what makes #2 way better than #3. Don’t see a significant difference between #2 and #3 anymore, besides HFA (which is an advantage, of course).
I could not have been more on the side against thinking that “Desean’s production can only be replaced with top level talent”. Desean had some big plays. So did everyone else except for maybe Avant? Desean is a very good player and I think he will do well in D.C (unfortunately), because he has done well at every level he has played. He is not some unstoppable force however.
I guess I am the only one who thinks that Maclin by himself was enough of a replacement for Desean. It really appeared to me last season that Chip tried to get the ball in the hands of both Cooper and Desean down in space. I honestly think Cooper outplayed Desean in that area, which may have led to his deep success. How many yards after contact did Cooper have compared to Desean? Might have topped his season in one of his big games. Maclin has never been a guy to fight through contact and lacks the top speed of Jackson, but he has the ability to make people miss. Desean’s ability to make people miss generally seems to rely on his ability to out speed them.
I expect 1000 yards out of Maclin, easily. That is just assuming he is going to return to his previous abilities. The rest could of easily been picked up by the guys on the team pre-draft. So add in the draft picks and things are looking bright.
Should Maclin prove to not be healthy, then I would start to worry about replacing the production of Desean. Otherwise, I really didn’t think it required the time to rationalize.
I agree, but moreso. If healthy I think Maclin can duplicate or even surpass Jackson’s numbers from last year.
Jeremy Maclin has always been a rather complementary receiver during his tenure as an Eagle. The difference between him and Cooper is that he can get himself open without needing to be schemed open or rely on some sort of mistake on the part of the defense. As a feature WR? Well…it’s like that EJ Manuel thing…he’s got a lot of talent and skills, but not really all that much moxie. Then there’s the whole returning from ACL thing. Few people really return anything like before, and it generally will take some time for that to happen if it does.
But, much like with Cooper, Foles seems to have more of a connection with Maclin. That should help him.
Plus, he’s taller.
Ehh, I’m not inclined to think so. 2012 had a lowered Y/R compared to his norms. His best yardage with Foles came against teams with terrible secondaries, with Tampa being (or almost) a historically bad secondary. The season was pretty lost then, and there was quite a bit of sandlot football going on.
But you know? You’ll have to excuse me about the whole Vick thing. Beyond that I am a fan of his, when I watch him as an Eagle, I’ve always though of him as a more or less sound decision-maker and accurate passer. This is because I watch other teams, too, you know. Guys like Joe Flacco or Matt Stafford are substantially less capable passers than Vick, yet get a ton less criticism for that slack than Vick does. I see cut-ups of various diagrammed plays, and oftentimes, when I see a Vick one, I just shake my head…right read, zoomed pass, perfect placement, and touchdown for Celek/Ertz in that Redskin game as shown on Fishduck. And there are lots of subtle inflections in the stats that hints at what Vick’s actual skill level is.
And you know? It’s pretty damned obvious that the WRs preferred Vick to Kolb, and I would bet, still prefer Vick to Foles (in private). I would be utterably unsurprised if the DJax release was about Foles and DJax’s comfort with him. Which would be unsurprising, because Foles never makes throws that allows DJax to be at his best. And in a more structured offense, Foles will have to make more NFL grade passes to WRs in windows. Maclin ain’t going to be the sort of receiver where you want him to take unnecessary hits, or be trying to juke people with good angles on him.
Foles got a lot of yards and TDs, but he wasn’t a very good QB. It can be easy for something like that to happen in the NFL, because it’s a team game. A good QB can have bad stats and a bad QB can have good stats. Given just how much teams want to market themselves via a pleasant face at QB, it’s pretty easy to get stuck on bad QB’ing for a long time, until fanbase gets tired of trying to look at the guy through rosy coke-bottle lenses. Aside from guys like Chad Greenway, which Arif Hasan eviscerates: http://vikingsterritory.com/2014/analysis/minnesota-vikings-chad-greenway-has-been-bad-at-football-for-three-years in such a way that you know Greenway is only out there for show at this point, most players at other positions don’t get the same sort of protection of playing time, except for guys like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, etc, who’ve been champions and have a big following. So beyond Foles, Maclin *has* to produce–not just any yards, but big yards, when it counts. Just one 23 yard reception in that Ravens game. It was one of the biggest of the game, and it was a hard TD to reel in. Going out there, and beating defenses working properly, is what’s going to make him that money. Not Kelly, not Foles, and certainly not his comfort with him.
I need that moderator from Billy Madison to reply for me
Mr Gilmore…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3JzbWVDzac
what a reference!
Still hanging around, post-Vick, eh? BTW, Do you crooked timber?
I am a big Maclin fan but my understanding is that after some ACL surgeries, the knee never quite fits together perfectly, the joint wears more, and arthritis eventually develops. After two ACLs–can the knee ever be 100%? I wonder if Maclin will soon become a week-to-week player–great one week, then not able to play the next.
If he can stay healthy- he may be more productive than DeSean. One more “maybe.”
Wasn’t it the other knee, or was it the same one?
Same knee as the college injury.
It was the same one, but the surgery is one no longer done on athletes and what I read said there was no more risk associated with doing the preferred method as the second one.
Pre-smoothies data.
Nice. We’ll have some post smoothie data for 3 players this season.
Heres another:
Maybe DeSean WON”T have as many catches, yards, and TDs as he had in 2013…
We shall see. I think it is probably more likely he will not. Garcon and Reed are better receiving options than what he played with last year in Philly.
I think 55-65 900-1100 3-5 are pretty good projections.
Yeah, I’d expect him to regress back to his pre-Chip Kelly numbers, which weren’t too shabby.
but Garcon+Reed is not better than what he had with Maclin+Celek pre Kelly
I’d say they are pretty damn comparable.
Are those numbers you pay 8 mill/year for?
Tough call.
Tommy, you need to look at the ACL scale of scariness.
One is enough.
Two is frightening.
Three and beyond..are you related to Greg Oden?
Buckhalter.
Buck only had a bad patellar tendon. No ACL problems.
Buckhalter missed the 2002 season with a left ACL tear. The patellar tendon injuries were 2004 and 2005.
Marlin Jackson.
Re: Is Riley Cooper Really Starter Quality Without Jackson?
T-Law wrote:
“Riley Cooper had his best year and shocked everyone by being among league leaders in yards per catch (17.8).”
Cooper’s numbers over just about the last half of the season were anything but shocking.
_____________________
Cooper, against Oakland and Green Bay — Foles’s first two games back from his concussion — had 8 rec. for 241 yrds 5 TDs. HUGE. Disproportionately so.
For the season, Cooper had 47 rec. 835 yrds 8 TDs. And substantially all that production came with Foles at QB.
So in two mid-season games, Cooper had 17% of his catches, 29% of his yards, and 62.5% of his TD catches.
(These numbers are not about how Foles and Cooper were more productive together than Vick and Cooper. Just a prelude to Cooper’s notable drop in production — certainly in terms of YPC and TDs — after the Raiders-Packers games.)
In the next 7 games after Green Bay, including the playoff loss at home to New Orleans, Cooper had just 25 rec. for 348 yrds — a 13.9 avg — and only 2 TDs.
Cooper’s YPC for the last 7 games was nearly 30% lower than his season-long YPC avg of 17.8 [(17.8 – 13.9) ÷ 17.8].
_____________________
Right after the Eagles lost to New Orleans, Brian Solomon of the McNabb-or-Kolb website, headlined his next-to-last post:
“Why The Eagles Must Upgrade From Riley Cooper, In One Photo”
http://mcnabborkolb.com/blog/2014/1/13/why-the-eagles-must-upgrade-from-riley-cooper-in-one-photo
Take a look. The photo’s from the playoff loss and shows Cooper in
single coverage, as he apparently was all day long, with a safety high
cheating over to Jackson’s side. Cooper’s numbers that day were 6-68-1.
_____________________
Has anything happened this off-season to make Brian Solomon wrong about Cooper?
How was Cooper’s production any different from Jackson? Difference was just that Jackson’s highs was higher than Coopers (see the Minnesota game where Jackson had a crazy good game, but for what?).
Also not sure what the picture tells other than:
Teams respected Jackson+Maclin more than Jackson+Cooper and that teams knew that McCoy and not Jackson was the guy to focus on.
A —
A couple things.
First, I’m only focused on Cooper because Jackson’s gone.
Second, I’d commented after the season that, down the stretch, Jackson and Cooper had comparable numbers after the Bye Week.
The big difference is Jackson was getting lots of double coverage, or certainly a safety cheating his way.
Cooper — as Brian Solomon suggests — was the beneficiary of that coverage and face almost exclusively single coverage.
Finally, now with Jackson gone, Cooper may — or may not — face more combo coverages than he did in the last part of 2013.
Either way, Cooper’s numbers down the stretch don’t suggest a repeat of 2013 with Maclin on the other side.
The only way, it would seem, for Cooper to reproduce his FIRST-HALF of the season numbers will be schematic based on more productive players at other receiving positions demanding defensive attention.
Cooper’s first half numbers was terrible, outside of the Tampa game.
Both Cooper and Maclin have performed much better with Foles (and in Maclin’s case, Kolb) than they did with Vick at QB. That’s because Vick had to see his receiver come open, so he focused on DeSean – this worked until teams focused on taking DeSean away from him. Foles knows how to throw a receiver open, as Michael Irvin pointed out, in the NFL, you’re usually not open until you make your cut, and then only for a few steps, so the QB has to anticipate your move.
I think you’re right that Cooper will need help to get back to his production height (and probably ceiling). We know that DJax was a key to this, but only in certain circumstances – as others have pointed out, DJax is very dangerous in certain situations but not so much in others.
In the end, this comes down to a risk analysis for me. I generally buy Tommy’s argument that the new receiving corps has the same or a higher capacity than last year’s corps. But there’s more uncertainty. To use a Rumsfeld line, it’s a known unknown (which is better than an unknown unknown).
That said, I’m happy to go with the new receiving corps. It has capacity in a way that fits the team better than DJax, given the type of coverage we started to see late in the year and into the playoffs. In other words, I’ll tolerate the risk now for the potential long term gain.
Same or higher capacity than the receiving core at this time last year, before Maclin’s injury? I’d have to disagree with that.
I didn’t expect Coopers break out and really never expected him to repeat it, even before Jackson was cut. He was the least talented skill position player on the team last year, and appears to be going into this year.
Of course I was one of the ones who never liked him.
Why would the FO resign our least talented skill position player to a 5yr 25mil deal? I think just because we haven’t seem fight through double coverage yet, doesn’t mean he can’t.
I’m just unreasonably biased 🙁 can’t help it!
Honestly though who is he more skilled than with avant gone?
He’ll always be better than Damaris in my book and I hated Cooper for the longest time.
I can see where you get that impression from. He probably gets the least separation of all of our WR’s. Even Avant got separation by running sick routes (even if the separation was for a short time before the DB recovered). He doesn’t have stand-out hands either. Those are the two big classic attributes of measuring a WR.
But Cooper does have a set of skills that are (at least were) unique in our WR corps. He has size and uses it well. Big enough to fight for any throw and win on a regular basis. Big enough to block and be dominant at that, surprising athleticism displayed on screens at times. He will live and die with his QB’s willingness to throw it up to him with minimal separation and said QB’s ball placement. I’m not sure Cooper repeats either, but I think part of that will be a case of target distribution shifting towards the emergence of shiny targets in the middle of the field like Ertz, Matthews, and Sproles.
Stats aside, I can see why Chip values his presence on the field.
Actually, Jackson WASN’T, which has been shown by numerous film studies done by Tommy and Chipwagon. Teams played a single high safety with the other safety in the box. DeSean had big games against off coverage but not against tight man.
Cooper made a lot of catches with a man on him, because unlike DeSean, he can use his body to shield the DB. He’s not going to be a dominant WR, but he’s certainly capable of a 1000 yard, 10 TD season, as is Maclin.
I think too many people don’t understand Chip’s offense – this is not the vanilla AR WCO we saw a decade ago where two WRs lined up wide and defenses knew what was coming, same with the 3 WR formation. Chip sets up mismatches on every play, which is why DeSean had his career year, look at 2012, where a healthy DeSean, supposedly motivated after a new contract, put up numbers similar to 2011. And I predict that’s what you’ll see in Washington in 2014. Chip moved DeSean around to protect him, but that meant distorting his offense for the sake of one player.
Eagles don’t have to replace DeSean, just replace the various roles he played, deep threat (they have slower but bigger WRs, less separation, but DeSean needed two steps and a big armed QB to make plays on deep balls), intermediate (DeSean depended on his speed, he wasn’t a crisp route runner, Maclin is smoother, Matthews will be more precise), screens and outlets from the backfield (Sproles and Huff are better open field runners in short area, DeSean needed a clean lane because he was easily arm tackled).
Oh, man…that mcnabborkolb article had me laughing in sardonic humor.
Then I feel even more pissy about my estimation of the Eagle’s prospects next year.
To be fair Cooper owes his single coverage to shady and the big boys up front, as they are the reason for the single-high coverage to begin with. A typical single-high safety isn’t necessarily in position to provide double coverage on deep pass so much as clean it up, make sure it doesn’t turn into a TD. You’ve almost sold out to stop the run, he’s just the last line. With Jackson, they shade the single-high over to him to actually provide a type of double coverage in the entire area of the field where Jackson does his damage. A shrewd game plan, because it severely limits Jackson’s production, and Cooper isn’t blowing the top off of your defense, if he makes the catch, someone is going to catch him. I guess what I’m saying is that a single-high safety playing honest doesn’t affect Cooper’s ability to get open on the majority of his routes at all (just means there will be a safety on the scene to limit the damage sooner than in 2013). Both outside WR’s should have favorable conditions for the majority of their route trees in 2014 thanks to the single-high conditions caused by Shady.
Let’s say the last seven games are the most accurate barometer of what Riley can do, that would still project him to have 55 recs, 795 yards, and 5 or so TDs. That’s not bad production for a number 2.
Well, yeah, it kind of would be under Chip Kelly. That’s not bad production for a #2 in a normal offense. That’s less than Maclin averaged as a #2 before Chip Kelly got here. Where’s the Chip Kelly Bump?
Those were the numbers ACViking decide to use. However I would argue that a more fair set of numbers would also exclude two negative outliers with Foles as QB.. So we will toss out the Skins and Vikings games include the packers game and exclude the Bucs and Raiders games. That leaves us with the Boys twice, Packers, Cards, Lions, Bears and Saints.
Over those 7 games we get: 27rec, 472yards, 5td.
Projected over a 16 game normal season that comes out to 62rec, 1079yards, 11tds.
Those numbers are probably a bit higher than he will probably put up but come from a more fair set of numbers, if you want to exclude positive outliers you should include negative ones as well.
I’m not sure what you mean by a “Kelly bump” this is a more balanced team than Andy ran so the passing equals out the extra plays run.
Kelly passing
2013: 4110yds, 9th in the league
Andy passing
2012: 3791yds, 13th
2011: 4110yds, 9th
2010: 3906yds, 9th
2009: 4089yds, 10th
2008: 3911yds, 6th
2007: 3755yds, 10
2006: 4119yds, 3rd
2005: 3766yds, 8th
2004: 3979yds, 7th
In this offense, Cooper will continue to get one on ones against smaller DBs.. He is basically either catching a screen, or going deep..and I see no reason why he should stop being effective in those roles…I see no reason why all of the sudden he will stop out jumping smaller DBs and stop coming down with those jump balls. I see no reason why he will stop bullying DBs in the screen game..
…
In the old days of offense, when you basically played with two outside WRs a TE and a RB, Cooper probably wouldn’t be the best number 2…but when defenses are scrambling to find a way to match up with Sproles and shady out the backfield and Ertz down the seem, you simply won’t see defenses giving coop the extra attention to shut him down. Teams are lucky if they have a 6’1 CB to stick on Cooper…when we play the Seahawks we aren’t going to see Sherman matched up on Coop. Sherman will be on Maclin, or maybe even Ertz…
…
Soon we will face the facts that Chip I LIGHTYEARS more brilliant than where Andy was as a coach since coop came into the league. In THIS OFFENSE, with all our hard weapons to match up with, Cooper will continue to do damage.
..
And for whatever he may lack as a WR in our normal offense, he is a straight up weapon in the redzone
What an awful attempt at a legitimate point. You ignored facts to build a biased argument.
First of all cherry picking games is a complete joke. People that cherry pick games have already lost the argument they’re trying to start.
Even if I grant you the ability to remove the games you mentioned Cooper would have had a pro-rated season of 995 yards and 6 touchdowns (compiled by using Cooper’s stats in Foles starts excluding GB and Oak). Keep in mind that in the Redskins game Cooper caught a touchdown that we didn’t challenge because we opted to hurry up and rush it in for a touchdown instead. Just short of 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns (pretty much Desean’s career average before Chip, lmao).
Let’s do the same thing for Desean. We’ll remove his best two starts with Foles at QB and include all other games and then pro-rate it. Excluding the Vikings game and the Oakland game Desean’s season with Foles at QB would have been pro-rated to 803 yards and 7 touchdowns. Now, isn’t cherry picking fun? Isn’t it cool to pretend that WR’s that aren’t named Calvin Johnson consistently have 100 yard, 1 TD games?
I always find it funny when people cherry pick because they usually do it because their argument has no legs and they have to resort to silly tactics.
Try harder next time.
I am glad you are amused. I find it funny when people are unnecessarily rude and insulting on the Internet to make themselves feel smart.
Did I insult him personally? I attacked the way he structured his argument. My point is completely valid. Cherry picking games is obnoxious and it is used to bastardize the truth. I don’t appreciate that so I will make a comment about it.
I didn’t call him a single name in there. Stop being so sensitive.
I. Love. Cherries.
Dude, I was thinking the same thing. LOL
Your response started with the statement that he had a legitimate point, then spent your entire post trying to show that he didn’t.
You led with “First of all,” but, in fact, only contained that one single argument, and never got to a second, third, or finally.
You said cherry picking games is a complete joke, even though that isn’t what was going on. AC simply separated the second half of the season to identify a trend. You then proceeded to actually demonstrate cherry picking to lead to a condescending comment and wrapped it up with a another.
All the while you never actually made a point about Cooper or your expectations. It is possible to be rude and insulting without name calling. Take a look at the other 10 responses, they are great examples of engaging in a conversation for a newcomer to note.
lol @ newcomer comment. Just because I haven’t posted here long doesn’t mean I’m new to discussion boards.
Now to the actual substance of what you said… I said it was an “awful attempt at a legitimate argument”… meaning he failed to produce a legitimate argument. I’m more than receptive to hear dissenting opinions. I just take issue when people use dirty tactics to try to make a point. If you can’t intelligently make your point then stop trying to do it.
You’re right, I did say first of all and then didn’t say second, third, fourth, and then the end. The second point was that even if you do want to play that game Cooper comes out better than Jackson and then I wrapped it up with a bow talking about how cherry picking is silly. Just because I didn’t spell it out doesn’t mean there weren’t other points.
Really? It’s not cherry picking to say “let’s look at the second half of the season, but ignore games that make up part of the second half of the season because they don’t support an argument? That’s the very definition of cherry picking. Weeks 12-17 (+playoffs) aren’t “the second half of the season.” The second half of the season is the final eight games of the seasons. That is not up for debate. It’s a fact.
I clearly demonstrated that Cooper was just fine in the second half of the season. Can you not gather from the points that I made that I think he’s a good fit for the system?
Here is another gem for you… in the final seven games that the OP originally referenced Riley gained more yardage than Jackson five times.
lol, but please, go on about how since I’m a “newcomer” I can’t make strong points about horrible arguments.
djax unlike cooper was a quality wr prior to 2013. i think there’s less of a need to project with djax bc we know he’s a 1000yd guy. the question of whether cooper is ready to be no. 1 is a legitimate one. How will he fare against the opposing team’s no. 1 cb, will safeties be shaded to his side?
i think chip’s system frees up our wrs, so if you can run a route and catch hopefully you can get open, but only time will tell.
It’s fair to suggest that there is less evidence of Cooper being good (one season). However, I would point to all of the players that had phenomenal years in this system. I don’t see it as a fluke because everyone was tremendous. I’d be more concerned if Cooper was the only one that saw a spike in production and everyone else remained the same. The thing is that even Desean posted what was far and away his best season. That fact shouldn’t be taken lightly. Jackson is a good player and I’ll never suggest otherwise, but this system got the most out of him.
The other concern about facing opposing no. 1 CB’s is a moot point, to be honest. Unless Riley continues to tear it up like he did last year when Foles was the QB I just don’t see opposing teams having their best corner shadow him. Hell, teams didn’t even always do that with Desean so I doubt it will be common for them to do it to Riley. You do that when there is a Calvin Johnson or AJ Green on the other side rather than just because 1’s should matchup with 1’s. Chip moves these guys around. Desean lined up in the backfield last year, as an example. Riley doesn’t exclusively play the X,Y, or Z. He wasn’t shadowed last year and won’t be this year.
We should be begging teams to shade a S over top of Riley, lol. Not sure why you see that as a bad thing. If Riley can occupy a S and a CB then he’s opening up TONS of room for everyone else to work.
Issue wasn’t the maybes. Just the upsides to those maybes.
Great,stuff Tom…found this to be a very fair and reasonable article
….
Personally I don’t even believe it’s possible for our WRs to struggle…not because they are sure things without maybe’s but because we have too many weapons like Ertz, shady and Sproles who will be nightmare matchups to deal with. Those players along with the threat of our run game, will free up huff, Mathews and coop, and always give them one on one matchups, and I don’t see why any should struggle…Ertz, Sproles and shady are just too damn hard to matchup with in the passing game, that teams can’t afford to key in and try to shut down our WRs…plus this is a simple numbers game offense, plays with multiple options built in to exploit wherever you have the numbers advantage…it’s not like we are asking Jordan to come in as a rookie and constantly defeat bracket coverage..
…
And IMO, there is NO MAYBES involved with Ertz. He is the real deal. I watched every one of his snaps the last two months of the season, and it was pretty obvious that he really starter to win on routes..4 TDs, the last 6 games..this kid is headed to the top. No ifs ands or Buts about it!
I can’t get enough of this Murderleg guy. There’s a story on BGN about how he got clipped by the Mizzou returner on a FG, then on the ensuing kickoff he stares him down, points at him for a few seconds before going back to make the kick, then destroys him on kickoff coverage. You need to see it for yourself, words don’t really do it justice.
Forget that sideshow…idiot will break a collar bone or something, and team will be scrambling to find a field goal kicker replacement..
…
Worried about a kicker I can trust from 50yards and can boot it out of the ENDZONE so he doesn’t even have to run down field,..
..
I’m just not interested in an NFL kicker, who is 180lbs and is best known for making tackles down field. Cool nickname, but IMO he isn’t good enough to replace Alex, and I hate Alex.
..
Tired of this murderleg noodle already.. Get a real damn kicker who might actually beat out Alex so we can cut that drunken idiot kicker
Sure, you make logical points, but Murderleg remains my favorite newcomer until proven otherwise.
Fair..he is a fun guy with a cool nickname this time of year…but if my choices are noodle leg and murder leg, I’m worried!!!.. Don’t want to take it out on you, just frustrated that we haven’t brought in anyone who can actually push and maybe beat out Alex for the job…
..
Legit competition for Alex is one of my only beefs with our offseason
Exactly! Henry regressed since being in the NFL, that’s just a very bad sign for a young player (and with kickers, it doesn’t depend on X and O’s). He was one of the worst kickers last year. He’s 23th in FG%. Bad, but not too bad? I don’t think so.
Because Henry only attempted 2 50+. Of course, Janikowski, Bullock and Sturgis are behind him in FG%, but part of the reason is that they tried far more long FGs. Teams relied on them.
Now, most fans will agree that we have a bad kicker. Kickers aren’t too expensive, so the goal should be to find at least a solid one.
I don’t understand that much about kickers, but I would be very surprised if muderleg was a top 3 or top 5 kicker in College Football.
And since the UDFA kickers and their agents (there wasn’t a kicker drafted this year) see that the Eagles have one of the worst kickers in the league on their roster, they would love to come in here and compete. I’m pretty sure about that. Don’t get it why Howie came up with an 81 % kicker.
FG% is pure random from year to year.
Alex Henery also had the rookie record for best FG% of any kicker (before it got broken a year after) and look at the kicker from the Panthers everybody wanted, his FG% was great this year after been crap for several years.
Henry missed too many 30-39 (those have to be automatic, imho) and he can’t kick it from outside the 50. + he can’t produce many toucbacks. He has, to put it simple, an noodle leg without the accuracy to be at least reliable.
I don’t want a noodle leg who misses too many 30-39s. That’s as bad of a mix as there is.
Henery is the most accurate kicker in college history, so shouldnt we just put those 30-39 misses as random? Also why are his 40-49 not a problem?
I don’t know. But because he missed way too many from 30-39 he is the red flag he is for most of the fans. I’m surprised as well that his 40-49 are ok. But I don’t care about the reason, I just don’t want a kicker who misses from 36. That has to be 3 points for your football team. There isn’t an excuse for that in the NFL.
Big Red sacked Akers after the Green Bay disaster. I can’t say I blame him, the Green Bay game was pure horror from a kicker perspective. But Akers was a good kicker for this team before. Henry never showed a big leg or clutch skills, and he doesn’t get sacked despite doing the thing that got Akers sacked (missing easy FGs) for his whole career.
Reid didnt sack Akers. Akers complained that the Eagles tagged him and because the draft was before FA, the Eagles drafted Henery.
Also Akers wasnt more clutch than Henery.
Regarding Henery and the difference between 30-39 and 40-49. If he is good enough from 40+, why wasnt he from 30-39? That tells me 30-39 was just a bad season and he will bounce back.
To what should he bounce back?
30-39
2011: 9-11
2012: 8-9
2013: 7-8
——-24-28
There is nothing to bounce back on.
He could bounce back from the missed 40-49 this year (7-10 this year, 11-12 last year, 4-4 2011), but we was always bad at 30-39. And at 50+, he’s non existent.
And maybe Akers wasn’t more clutch, but he definitely has the stronger leg.
Someone drafted a kicker in the 7th round
You’re right. Missed that. Have sorted the wikipedia article about the NFL Draft 2014 by positions and didn’t see Kicker, but that was a mistake.
Only remembered the Bears taking a Punter in the 6th.
Upvote for noodle
backup kicker and special teams perhaps
We need a kicker that never makes a tackle on kickoffs because he is kicking it out of the end zone.
Amen! Dude who points to the back of the ENDZONE, boots it and doesn’t even run down field because he knows it’s an automatic touchback.
…
Alex isn’t trusted from 50yards, and he can’t kick a touchback…I feel like if we have to have a kicker who we can’t trust to make a 50yard FG, ATleast he should be a touchback Machine…Alex is neither
Murderleg is too cool of a concept to not love this story!
It seems that people are hoping that Matthews can be the Eagles starting slot receiver this year. But shouldn’t we really be hoping that Matthews beats out Cooper for the #2 spot and Huff wins the slot receiver role? I realize that some tall guys do play slot, but just looking at the measurements of those two wouldn’t you say Matthews seems more like a typical outside receiver and Huff seems like more of a traditional slot?
When Chip said that Matthews was going to play slot, siren blared in my head…
Matthews has issues separating and playing against physical CBs. He doesn’t play to his size consistently.
That’s where we hope Chip uses different formations to create mis-matches. If they put the physical bodies on Mathews, the ball will go to Ertz/Mac/Sproles etc. Mathews doesn’t have to be the man. If he’s occupying the best CB, that’s a win for us. A la DJ.
Chip Kelly breathes and a siren goes off in your head.
LOL!
People are talking about what’s most probable. I think chances are all four guys are rotated. I feel like MAtthews can play wherever, Huff definitely seems best suited for the slot.
I think Huff is going to be more of a gadget guy, he can line up anywhere.
Long term I think you’re right, that Mathews would beat out Cooper and Huff establishes in the slot would be the best case scenario, but maybe Huff will end up being more of a TAZR type and that won’t happen.
All that money Cooper was paid I would be highly upset if he can’t fight off a rookie. That being said it would be nice.
Cooper is an overpaid #3 WR. He will, over time, be overtaken as the number 2 guy. He’s just not that good enough. I love Cooper(not in that way, not that there’s anything wrong with that) but if he’s our #2 of the future, I don’t think this offense will ever reach its potential. Then again, in Chips offense, maybe there are no real #1, 2 and 3?
Murderleg and the trick play. Murderleg!
http://youtu.be/bkgmaUBNGjE
He looks very natural running the football. Maybe one of the many reasons why they let Bryce Brown go… 😉
He didn’t try to outrun everyone to the edge so he’s already a step ahead of where Bryce was.
Henery vs Spears alot of people wishing Henery is beaten out.. Maybe Henery used this off season to good use like the rest of the players n is ready to kick some balls downtown this year.. Wait n see
The guys we hear about putting on weight like Logan and Johnson were rookies with large frames. Henery is going into his fourth season and doesn’t look like he’s got of room for additional muscle.
But maybe! His accuracy isn’t really the problem. Does Chip have a leg strength flavored smoothie?
Yeah its not much about having a big frame why n how they added weight. Henery is 6’1 170-180ish.. Its not impossible for him to add muscle on.. Dont know if Kickers or Punters even put much training into their body overall like other positions.. By looking at him with the small joints he be perfect to add on solid muscle.. Good off season of solid eating n hard yards in the Gym see no reason he cant hit 200 pounds plus especially since his cardio level wont be as high as the others so he wont be burning muscle constantly.. But then again kicking the ball always comes down to hitting that sweet spot
“The Eagles cut rookie CB John Fulton and added BB Davon Morgan.”
It is good to see we value sound tackling in a ball boy. I hope to see him lay out a kickoff coverage guy that tries to sneak down the sideline.
I was thinking blocking back lol. That’s what we use in 8 man flag.
I still have yet to see anyone make a compelling case that the Nick Foles lead Eagles need a speedy undersized WR to be a winning football team. Chip Kelly certainly doesn’t think its necessary… because he got rid of the best small speedy guy in the league.
Agree w/you that he`s the speediest guy in the league, and also is small, but not the best. Too limited…can`t go over the w/out risking injury, steps out of bounds instead fighting for the extra yardage, good single man coverage shuts him down. Seems to be why he was let go.
And the contract/new agent(pending holdout in the making).
He meant the best small speedster I think. Mike Wallace having fallen off a cliff I think he retains that title fairly uncontested.
Exactly.
DJax was a weapon no doubt.. Eagles know it, the fans know it the whole NFL knows it.. But look at the team now.. The WR core as a whole looks improved.. The DBs look improved.. They didnt just add bodies to make up the roster spots they added quality depth.. Last season if DJax went down it would be a concern but if Maclin went down i wouldnt be as worried with Matthews, Huff, Benn ready to step in n step up.. Same could be said if Williams or Fletcher went down Nolan n Watkins could step up.. DL is deep, DBs is deep, WR is deep, TE deep, RB hmm questionable but i do see Polk stepping up this year, OLB looks ok.. OL n ILB is what i see as not quality deep.. No one can replace DJax but as an offensive unit i think they can out produce n fill in the gap he left
Football is the ultimate team game. There’s only one ball to go around and 5 players hungry to get there hands on it every single down (and that’s only counting the ones on the field). I was a big DeSean fan from the day he was drafted, but it’s time to move on, and I’m excited to see what these new guys can do in Chip’s offense.
Yeah man i hear ya i’m a big DJax fan.. Time to move on in a new direction n hopefully a more successful one for this franchise.. You think 5 hungry players wanting the ball is bad try 15 on the field and 7 on the bench lol
I think if you read the comments in this thread, there is less concern about Maclin filling Jackson’s cleats and more concern about Riley Cooper’s one good season being an aberration. That has always been my biggest issue with the release and I’m still a little disappointed that we will never see Jackson and Maclin line up together in a Chip Kelly offense. With threats like that on either side of the field, McCoy might have busted out for 2000 yards.
But as someone pointed out down below, the contract given to Cooper would indicate that Kelly and the Eagles do not share these concerns.
Desean is great for yards. For touchdowns, and red zone targets? Not so much. Guess what’s more valuable, Yards or Points?
Bird Breakdown has an interesting graph on the historical performances of wide receivers picked in the second round: http://birdbreakdown.com/2014/05/20/rookie-expectations-for-jordan-matthews-a-historical-perspective-on-2nd-round-receivers/
It doesn’t look very promising, but he does cite several reasons why Matthews could be on the high end of that scale.
I always think back to the year the Eagles drafted WRs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th rounds. The 2nd rounder, Bellamy, had the most forgettable career, while Barnett and Williams were both great picks.
Stats are deceiving, and every draft class is different. This one had receivers who would have been taken in round 1 last year go in round 2.
I’m over letting djax go — i think kelly’s offseason moves show he’s trying to move the team in a different direction. however, with cutting him, what do we gain really — or is it addition by subtraction? it’s not like we used the cap space.
The cap space rolls over into future years.
ahh so we can roll the $10mm to sign our guys next year? makes more sense.
6.75 million but yes. You can roll over unused cap space in perpetuity as long as you spend over 89% as a team over a four or five year period.
*89% of the league cap, not the team’s adjusted cap.
Been wondering about that. Thanks.
They way I’ve dealt with it — we haven’t won SB’s with him here. If we had just won the SB and he was important to that win, then it would have really stung to watch him let go.
Part of me doesn’t buy the “once word got out” he became untradeable. I say — if that’s true, that’s a terrible job by the Eagles brass. Everybody is tradable at anytime. It’s understood it would be tricky but you have to be creative to get it done. Sometimes you have eat money to make that happen. I know its different but from the movie “The Yankees are paying you to play against you”.
The problem (and the reason you don’t see “sign and trade” deals made in the NFL like you do in other sports) is that once a trade is executed all of the cap charge is accelerated into the current league year.
I don’t see it as addition by subtraction. It’s mostly subtraction.
Still, an underrated aspect that goes into these types of decisions I can sum up in one word – trust. How much do Kelly and the Eagles brass trust a guy to stay on the field, to fully commit to all aspects of the job, and to put the team above himself?
If the answer wasn’t close to $12M worth, or whatever it was he was supposed to make this year, then it was time to move on and use those assets elsewhere.
pouring out a lil for mike evans, could have been awesome.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/20/mike-evans-would-rather-level-a-guy-than-score-a-touchdown/
This weeks shady vs. AP debate is starting to annoy Me. REAL TALK, the best RB in football is BEASTMODE. Only top back who answers the bell and keeps willing his team to win in the playoffs.
…
AP,ncant sniff the playoffs. I love me some shady, but he simply shouldn’t get the crown til he does something in the playoffs. All the silly people over reacting to a veteran offense led by Drew Brees and probowl guards, running on our puppy Defense in it’s first playoff appearence, NEED to be BITCHING about how the strength of our team, our probowl Line, and The great shady, got held in check. Shady doesn’t get the crown yet, not when guys like Westbrook willed us year in and out in the playoffs..
..
BEASTMODE is the best back in the game until shady does something in the playoffs. PERIOD! Luckily, I think our Offensive line will be seriously improved next year with Lane looking like friggin BANE these days, Herremans coming back from the injury and getting reacquainted with the Guard position and Kelce(who people forget how young and inexperienced he is) will be stronger, more experienced, and craftier….Kelce has the same amount of games as Cox who Is only 22. JP, year removed from injury, experienced in the new blocking scheme, should be better, and Mathis is just the best in the game. PERIOD.
..
Darren Sproles in the lineup driving defenses crazy, Shady and the OL need to WILL US to a playoff win! Last year we shouldn’t have had to really on, Baby FOles and Riley Cooper to carry us offensively…Cooper, can’t ever have a drop like that again!
Nah man i would have to say AP 1 Shady 2 Beastmode 3.. Playoffs wins shouldnt be the deciding factor of why youre the best at your position neither should titles.. As individuals as RBs in the game thats how i would rank those 3
The Saints game just got beat at the LOS n the passing game was ineffective.. Either recievers not getting open or Foles just not pulling the trigger.. Saints out played n out executed the Eagles that day
Just don’t know how AP or Shady can look the beast in the face and claim they are better.. What’s their claim? A few extra regular season yards? Offense goes thru BEASTMODE, and they are a top team….who the hell can tell that dude that they are a better back right now?
…
You know how you have to play well a few years before you get your pro bowl nod? I feel like that next level of best at your position, you have to do it longer than a couple big seasons. And as long as there is a comperable back who is leading his offense to playoff wins, wait claim does some regular season RB have to the crown?
…
jaamal cHarles is awesome, but he hasn’t done shit either.. I know he got hurt and all, but Shadys OL is too good, this team is good enough to where the best back in the game needs to lead us to a playoff game…
…
Of course we are just splitting hairs talking about the best backs in the game
Beastmode def. underrated, AP clearly the best, but shady is the best dancer.
Matthews is good enough to contribute in Year One. I just don’t see Huff being a significant receiver in Year One. He doesn’t have nearly as much natural talent as Matthews does. He’ll be a No. 4 receiver who gets a few catches this year and maybe even becomes the kick returner, but that’s it. Huff could still emerge in his second or third season, but I doubt he does anything notable this year.
I think that is a fair assessment, and honestly, I think that would be enough this year. Despite some people’s concerns, I think Cooper in entrenched as a starter, and I thnk Maclin will set new personal highs this year. If Mathews picks things up quickly enough to keep Huff off the field, that is a good problem to have. Does Huff have the ability to return both kicks and punts?
As an aside, when I typed people’s concerns, auto-complete wanted to change it to people’ sconce runs. Is this telling us something? Will Huff impress by burning Williams repeatedly? Will they give him a shot a corner? Is auto-complete stupid?
I’ve been fighting with auto-complete a lot lately. Typing on a phone can get ridiculous, with the sliding gestures and all, and crazy stuff comes out sometimes, which I wind up having to back up over and fix.
Huff hasn’t shown that he could be a good returner.
In college…we’ve seen plenty who lit it up in college only to come here and fail.
I would imagine too that Sproles would take up some of Huff’s playing time this year(assuming he too can pick up the offense). Huff is in a good spot. Veterans to learn from and a co-rookie to work with.
I think a key indicator to when/how much contribution our rookie receivers will make in year 1 is tied to how well they master the route tree, coupled with their option route recognition and chemistry with Foles. I believe both Matthews and Huff will excel in the effort categories (blocking, proper play alignment, motion, etc.). The biggest challenge will come in learning/recognizing defensive looks and seeing the same thing(s) Foles is seeing – another reason Chip loves him some smart players that eat, sleep, breathe football…
The thing about having a tall QB and tall WRs is not everything has to be perfect. Foles can throw rainbows and who is going to stop them?
#RAINMAKER!!
For whatever it`s worth, here`s a quote from a Dallas fan in reference to Football Outsiders` predictions on the nfc east.
“The Eagles were 3-5 at the turn, while learning a whole new system
I’d say they are likely to play closer to the 7-1 2nd half level than they are to play at a 3-5 level. I see them as the team to beat in the East.
Now, excuse me while I go curl up and cry in the corner of my shower, unable to ever feel clean again…“
For two days now I have this insatiable taste in my mouth to see the eagles play our division rivals…wish we could play the skins tomorrow just to remind them who the king dick in the division is.
..
For two days now, I can’t get the thought of BANE Johnson, and our OL just mauling our rival D lines, and just stampede all over the east. I don’t even want to throw a pass in our division games this year. I want to trample them into submission.
…
All I keep seeing is visions of Chip laughing hysterically on the sideline even time he sees the cowboys put Demarcus Lawrence in the game! and just run the ball straight down his throat. Rinse, wash, repeat!
…
And I can’t friggin wait for Jason peters to get his hands on Domantre Moore. I want him to get the beating of his career
Yeah, September won`t get here soon enough.
109 and counting
I’m so glad Desean went to the skins.. Can’t wait to put them in their place
As w/all those who said Chip`s offense was just a gimmick. They`ll be looking to make excuses again,
because they won`t have the answers.
For those that know, I have 3, 7month old 95lb Cane Corso’s(Fletcher, cedrick and Vinny)..
..
Baby Fletcher Cox is my sweet boy
…
baby Ced Thornton is my chill Independant boy
…
baby Vinny Curry is the badass with the big balls of the litter…
….
Just woke up from this glorious dream, where Vinny curry got loose from me and started to attack Tony Romo. people were around screaming in horror yelling at me to stop him..I ran over, thinking to get my dog off poor Tony, but I then stopped and let Vinny maul him and tear his body to pieces
…
One of the best nights of sleep I ever had 🙂
..
Holy crap, 3 of them? It must sound like an elephant stampede in there sometimes.
Yeah I don’t recommend it lol..
…
3 isn’t that bad, what’s really bad is they are litter mates, so they are all rambunctious pups… Would be much easier if they were 3 different ages..it’s soo much work
…
They will seriously grow to like 160lbs, I didn’t think this thru lol
Bwahahaha Tony Romo shall now be known to Eagles fans as REAK formerly known as Theon Greyjoy…
Figured I’d find you all gossiping like woman(in my best al bandy voice) this morning over Deseans recent comments