Taking Stock
Posted: May 10th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 232 Comments »Let’s take a look at what the Eagles have done so far.
1st round – OLB Marcus Smith – Louisville – 6-3 , 251
2nd round – WR Jordan Matthews – Vanderbilt – 6-3, 212
3rd round – WR Josh Huff – Oregon – 5-11, 205
I like all 3 players quite a bit. But let’s set aside feelings and focus on what the picks tell us. All of the players are versatile. Smith is a former QB that played DE and LB for Louisville. Matthews played inside and outside for Vandy. Huff played some RB, but spent most of his career at WR. He played in the slot and outside. He also was a KOR.
The players have good size. Smith is almost 6-3 1/2. He was 258 pounds at the Combine. He dropped down to 251 for his workouts, but I anticipate he’ll play at closer to 260 pounds. He has long arms and big hands. Matthews has good size for a WR. The note I wrote about him at the Senior Bowl weigh-in was “muscular”. Some of you may think that’s dumb. Shouldn’t all players be muscular? My note tells me that he stood out as muscular compared to the other players. Matthews also has long arms and big hands. Huff might be short at 5-11, but if you compare Combine weigh-ins between him and DeSean, Huff weighed 36 pounds more. And he’s not fat. My note on him from the Senior Bowl weigh-in…”cut”.
Numbers aside, put on the game tape and you see physical play from all 3 of the draft picks. They were able to physically beat the guy across from them. Many fans assumed Kelly’s teams at Oregon were finesse units built on elite speed. Not so, as people are starting to find out. Oregon players were as tough as they were fast. They blocked. They tackled. They played STs. The glamour came after the dirty work.
Kelly wants players who can play through contact. That gave Nnamdi and DRC no chance to stay. It meant that DeSean faced an uphill battle to be a long term fit. Jeremy Maclin has to prove that he will do that. Speed and skill are critical, but football is a brutal, physical game. There are times when you have to be able to deal with contact and still get the job done.
All of the picks are Seniors. 2 of them have graduated from college and the other will do that soon. The point of this has nothing to do with academics, but rather accomplishment. The players went to class on a regular basis. They did their work. They balanced a schedule and took care of their business. Mature players like that are more likely to work to fit into the football culture that Chip is developing. He wants a commitment on and off the field.
None of these players is a project. Smith is a LB that will play LB. He has good size, skill and athleticism. A guy like Dee Ford (who I don’t think the Eagles actually had interest in) would have been a project. That’s also true for Scott Crichton. Both Matthews and Huff have played in spread attacks. Both guys have the skills and experience to fit in right away.
All of the players were highly productive. Smith had 14.5 sacks in 2013. Matthews is the leading receiver in SEC history. He finished his career with 24 TD catches. Huff had 12 TD catches in 2013 and 24 for his career.
These players have NFL size and athleticism. They fit the Eagles schemes. And they fit Kelly’s culture. I’d call that a good trio of selections.
* * * * *
Some people wondered about the WR moves. Why go up for Matthews? The Eagles could have stayed put and gotten another talented WR. That’s missing the point entirely. You don’t draft positions. You draft players. Martavis Bryant was a one-year wonder at Clemson. Jordan Matthews carried the Vandy offense for several years. Bryant was taller, faster and probably more athletic overall, but Matthews is a guy the Eagles clearly valued. Don’t make the mistake of thinking players are interchangeable.
Did Huff go early? I didn’t have him as a 3rd rounder, but that doesn’t mean the Eagles didn’t. I love the player. He was on my list of “Players I Want the Eagles to Get”. I didn’t get a chance to write much about Huff this spring, but I watched him in action and was really impressed.
Both Matthews and Huff can play in the slot. They will provide more athleticism than Jason Avant.
* * * * *
Why pass on Louis Nix? Obviously NFL teams had concerns or Nix wouldn’t have slid to the late 3rd. I don’t know if the concerns are character or medical.
Another issue is that he’s more of a 2-down player. Those guys just aren’t as valuable in today’s NFL. And Nix didn’t post good numbers in his workouts. That may have led teams to think his weight would be an ongoing issue.
I didn’t want Nix. More than a few of you on Twitter thought I was nuts for not wanting Nix to replace Bennie Logan. There is a lot of talk about the Saints game and what Logan did. I’ll write about that game in the coming weeks. Things didn’t happen quite as people remember. The Saints ran to the outside more than the inside. Logan wasn’t great of course, but he was hardly the Eagles biggest problem in that game.
And you have to understand that Logan has a chance to improve. He’s bulking up to the 320 range, which is plenty of size for a NT. The Eagles do need depth there, but that’s why Jerry Azzinaro went to some smaller schools to work out late round/UDFA types.
* * * * *
What’s up with Brandon Graham? I sure hope the Eagles are talking to teams tonight about him. If Graham isn’t part of the long term plans, move him for something.
* * * * *
Liking/Hating Picks
Some of you tell me you hate a pick. That’s fine. We’re all entitled to an opinion.
More important than liking or hating a pick is trying to understand it. What were the Eagles thinking? Why did they make that move? That’s what I do with the Eagles picks.
The Eagles have more information than we do. They’ve spent hundreds of hours studying each prospect. They have done tons of personal research on the kids. The Eagles aren’t always right, but they are making a very informed decision.
I can’t answer each one of you that is unhappy with a pick. I see the comments. I’ll answer a question if I can, but I don’t have the time to react to every “Worst pick ever. Kelly better be on the hot seat” comment.
* * * * *
I’ll put up a preview for Day 3 on Saturday morning.
_
First
Was Tom Brady in the 6th round a better pick than Tom Brady in the second round would have been? Of course, b/c the Pats got 2nd round value plus Brady rather than 6th round value plus Brady. That’s what value is about. Taking Josh Huff in the 3rd when he probably (of course no one knows this) would have been around in the late 4th wastes value. I like Huff. But you can’t keep wasting value like that IMHO.
Only thing I can think is that they must have been worried someone else was going to grab him, otherwise I’m sure they would have waited until at least the new 4th rounder we have to get him.
Who cares if someone grabs Huff? Guys like him are a dime a dozen in this draft. Maybe he will be ok, but I’m with Phillychuck – big waste of a pick.
a dime a dozen – stop talking in hyperbole – show me ONE other huff in this draft that would have been there this morning to take…you don’t know what you are talking about – who do you prefer they took and why?
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/marqueston-huff?id=2543776 Marqueston Huff is still available. So there is still at least one Huff available to be drafted.
Apparently this troll didn’t read the article above, or has poor comprehension skills. Here’s a quote from the article that contradicts this child. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking players are interchangeable”.
If you were responding to me I was only making a joke about two guys who have the same last name. Obviously I know a FS isn’t interchangeable for a WR.
Or the Browns could’ve snagged Brady in the 3rd.
Patriots had to:
1. Get lucky they picked Brady at all due to their talent evaluations
2. Get lucky that nobody else had the same idea in a span ~90 picks
The odds are highly stacked against BOTH of those factors coming together.
They got lucky when Bledsoe got hurt.
I like the Huff pick.
I definitely would’ve too. Sadly, I legitimately think he would’ve been there in the 5th. Like him. Just NOT where we took him. Seems to be a theme shaping form….
How do you know where he would have gone. What “experts” said 3 days ago means nothing. Where guys go shows their actual value – does that make sense to you? Huff is a 3rd rounder…why? BECAUSE HE WAS DRAFTED IN THE 3rd ROUND
The problem with that logic is you can say the same thing about any player. By that logic, Jon Harris was a first rounder BECAUSE HE WAS DRAFTED THERE. Remember that catastrophe? Teams reach for players all the time. I like every player the Eagles have picked this year, but like planetx1971, I think they’ve taken all of them early.
I won’t crucify the Eagles for this, but I do think that if they continue the habit, it will eventually catch up to them.
Where sports writers (nerds that never played sports) place players in their draft scenarios, has no connection to how NFL teams evaluate and grade players. Sportswriters provide amateur opinions. And this is where most of these trolls get all their info, from amateurs, LOL!!!
Listen man, it was just a gut feeling. I don’t give a tinkers damn what any ” expert” says. My gut reaction was that he didn’t feel like a strong 3rd rd. get to me. That’s all. An opinion. Isn’t that what these boards are FOR in the first place? Expressing your opinions? Being an Eagles fan, I pray this turns out to be a GREAT pick. Just feels more & more that instead of this forum being the place I’ve loved for years, a place that you could find MANY different opinions, that it’s turning into Camp Jim Jones & if you don’t chug the Kool-Aid & just nod compliantly with the popular opinion, your cup will be the one that’s spiked. IT’S JUST AN OPINION BRO!!!!
Everyone is entitled to there opinion. It’s common knowledge that draft picks are crap shoots, lottery tickets, chances. Your OPINION is likely based on the OPINIONs of others, and not on months of intense and prolonged research. Teams make their selections based on many months of intense and prolonged research. Chip Kelly recruited Huff, and he played for him for several seasons. If anyone on planet earth knows this kid, it’s Chip.
Not knowing me, that’s a pretty big assumption man. So what you mean is I’m a moron with no knowledge. A sheep that follows the rest of the sheep. Besides being mildly offensive, it’s also dead wrong.. I have a close group of friends that, with them, we watch MILES OF college & pro tape alike. Am I a professional? Absolutely no. Am I intellegent enough to form my own opinions? Absolutely yes. I’m not the imbecile you seem to have decided that I am. My friends I watch tape with, were all in service in one form or another. We are Vets trying to have a bit of fun. 2 leathernecks, a sea dog & a 3 tour Army dog like me who has come home to run his familys farm. Listen, this is just fun for us. I spent a long time in the 101st Airborne earned my Ranger patch and saw HORRIFIC things that I wish I couldn’t remember. So yes, you’re correct, I’m no expert. Heck, maybe even a moron.But I can say with no hesitation, I’ve NEVER BEEN A FOLLOWER. We take this as just fun. Because it isn’t life & death. So belittle me all you want. No offense, but that also, is small potato’s to me/us.I just thought you ought to know a bit about the person you’ve decided is a “sheep”. And hey I’m no pro, maybe even sound like a moron or at least a total novice. but a sheep? No way bro. Peace brother.
GO BIRDS!
I also feel I should give props while I’m ranting to who my dad says was the biggest Eagles fan ever. I can’t confirm because I can’t remember. The 1971 in my title planetx1971 is from my oldest brother who died in Vietnam. Also in the 101s Airborne. The screaming Eagles baby! What better group to root for the Eagles than the Screaming Eagles eh? I’m betting he was no sheep either for the record.
Eagles stole Smith from Cowboys, Matthews was the wr they wanted, plenty came off immediately after. Plenty of trade downs for value, moving up to get the physical tall fast wr that the eagles wanted is great.
For year eagles fans complain of not having a red zone threat, they trade up and get one and it’s a reach.
There are some guys on the team who are vital situational players who don’t start. Vinny Curry and Brandon Boykin are two of these guys, and maybe Graham could become this kind of player. I do think that’s a bit of a stretch, but it wouldn’t hurt to collect those kinds of guys. That’s what Seattle did. Graham isn’t a bad player by any means. He’s a talented pass rusher who just isn’t as good in space as he is with his hand in the dirt. I’d prefer to get something in return for him, but if that doesn’t happen, I’d try to experiment with more hybrid looks this season to see if he’s worth a very conservative deal.
Graham is in the final year of his contract. He’ll leave for a 4-3 team next March. Deal him now to get something in return.
What if no 4-3 team wants him to be a starter? If the market price for him is low, there just might be some value in keeping him as a situational player. Again, my first choice is to trade him, but it’s not the end of the world if the Eagles can’t.
I’m wondering what this WR draft means from a scheme perspective–does it just look like we’re not going to be worried about stretching the vertically as much?
Did defenses playing safeties deep keep them free to come up and bottle up our running game and allow them to react to screens or catches near the LOS while they still had space between their assignment letting them avoid being blocked by any WR?
I keep hearing about the blocking from these guys and I can’t wait to see how that works out.
I’m guessing we’ll have fewer 20+yd receptions this year in lieu of more screens, slants, etc. That’s not such a bad thing. You get to hold onto the ball longer. Those quick scores put our defense on the field a lot more often than we probably wanted to. Chip’s building the offense he wants and I trust the man knows his offense.
I think the thing about fewer 20+yd receptions is true if you’re just counting passes that are caught 20 yards or more downfield.
Foles took a lot of heat (some of it well deserved) for the amount of time it took him to get rid of the ball last season and it might have been something that Chip figured he could fix with scheme and the right talent.
Might be worth worrying about if most defenses didn’t play us single high, press man last year already.
But I’m sure the eagles also did their homework when they drafted Graham and Danny Watkins. Personally this draft isn’t looking that good at all compared to the last two. Last two they seemed to the the best player available and they moved away from that this draft so far.
That gets to “what are your principles?” Chip and Howie have good ones: athleticism + brains, record of accomplishment, untapped potential, good character, size (esp arm and hand length) and toughness.
besides the 1st pick i liked it..
Two things wrong with your post. 1st is that Graham and Watkins were both under the old regime, and 2nd is that they didn’t get away from BPA, they just had their board stacked differently. Theres a difference between having a guy rated higher and taking him where you think, versus reaching for a guy you know isn’t BPA.
Who do these people think they are – REALLY Pholdid? You already know this draft is bad….HOW? We found out Watkins sucked over a few years after he was drafted – he was a much bigger reach than Marcus was this year – you have no one to back to comments you are making.
Alot off you guys want players that look like Tarzan and play like Jane, well Huff will run through a brick wall for Chip and they wanted that on their team and I’m on board with it.
agreed.
look like Tarzan and play like Jane
can`t stop laughing
Couldn’t agree more. Just read the story about him and his mom, who is struggling with addiction. He is a quality person and a “Jason Avant” 2.0. He has RAC ability and ST ability and will do the dirty work. Love the pick.
Also read that Chip took himself out of the evaluation process for Huff to remove bias.
Any reason why the Eagles liked Jordan Matthews over Cody Latimer?
Maybe Bicknell has a hands fetish?
Kind of like I have a foot fetish……… oh wait…….
Rex? Is that you?
Damn it.
I was an advocate for Latimer, but mine was strictl hands, which is something he can work on but I would have taken the better hands project ….once you take the emotion out..Matthews is way better
“longer levers make stronger levers”
Worst pick ever. Kelly better be on the hot seat. And if you don’t respond to my post you’re as bad a blogger as Kelly is a coach.
Banner?
Steve H is a cry baby that doesn’t know what he is talking about. Yes Brian, that makes him a Banner – love the nickname
He’s joking.
Well played, Steve.
You have to trust Kelly at this point. In Huff’s case, Its always better to hire someone you know than someone you don’t. I hope Huff is the return guy we need. Special teams are so important- just as important as starting defense and offense.
Chip specifically said he stayed out of any talent evaluation for the guys that he coached/recruited because he wanted to avoid imparting his own bias.
Now, the traits that Chip was asking his Philly guys to find him in a WR happened to line up pretty well with the ones he valued as a recruiter at Oregon but I don’t want to see people running with this idea that they took Huff mostly because he was someone they knew.
He stays out of the talent evaluation to not impact it, but you’re crazy if you think he stays quiet all the way through the draft. At a certain point the scouts give their reports, they say they like him, Chip says he likes him.
thanks, that’s interesting. I would want his input on those players. this isn’t a beauty contest. If you want to win football games, that deeper knowledge is critical.
I was going to ask D3FB this in the last thread but isn’t anyone else concerned that Huff + Matthews don’t really separate from DBs?
When you got Foles throwing you the ball, you don’t have to separate from anyone 😉
Separation gets a bit overblown. I think it was Michael Irvin a few years back that said college “open” is a couple of yards. In the NFL “open” is six inches of separation from the corner with a safety coming to take your head off. You win in the league by running good routes. Both these guys have the ability to be great technicians and make contested catches. At that point both have the ability to make plays with the ball in their hands.
I wish that was always the case. I see shades of Avant when Huff catches the ball on an intermediate route and doesn’t get far after it. His mental errors kills me though.
This “analysis” may assuage any dread feelings about Huff’s lack of seperation, (http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2014-nfl-draft-scouting-reports/2014/3/3/5464580/wide-receiver-josh-huff-oregon)
The only real separation WR’s get in the NFL is when they play the Eagles defense these past 3 years.
And when you’re 6’3″ 215, you don’t need that separation. You go get the f’n ball.
I think they want guys who can make contested catches because if the rest o the league starts emulates the Seahawks (copycat league and all) then separation is going to be hard to come by.
I never thought DJax got much separation until after the catch. He can can go grab it though with the best of them
contested catches were what I saw but he seemed to catch them all…
One of the things that Kelly said was that there rarely is separation, so you need guys like Matthews who can win the battles and come down with the ball.
Hey Philadelphia Rambler, you play hockey?
Not so much, anymore, but I used to watch the old Eastern Hockey League (1954-73). http://TheEHL.com
I remember the Ramblers. Had a friend whose father played for them.
Who was the player?
Love Marcus Smith, still don’t really like his value, but the other teams kinda proved me wrong. We wouldn’t have gotten him 10 picks later like I would have thought initially and I can respect that so I’m gonna man up and say that I most definitely was wrong about Smiths value.
I really like Jordan Matthews and I have for a long time. Not great value, but I wouldn’t dare to call it bad value. Personally I preferred Cody Latimer because i think his ceiling is incredibly high, but I get why we took Matthews as I mentioned I really like him too. Not as raw and plays the slot which will help this year, which I can’t really see Latimer doing to the same degree, since he needs time and I can’t picture him working the slot.
I kinda like Huff, but I can’t really get behind his draft position. I don’t thinks its as outrages as people say and what it the difference really between late 3rd and early 4th, because I bet people wouldn’t be bitching as much if we took him early tomorrow.
I would have loved to add Nix to the rotation, maybe thats because I focus way too much on stuffing that run and prefer big, physical players, but I can’t hold it against anyone for not wanting him. Once a player has a medical issue, its a mystery. It happened to Jesse Williams from Bama too, people thought he would go in the late 1st, he went in the 5th.
As a guy who loves defense, its rough seeing a lot of good defenders being picked, but I get the notion of wanting to build a great offense and a defense thats good enough to win, and i can’t say that i don’t look forward to seeing Foles spreading the ball to our new targets(Sproles, Matthews, even Maclin)
When I watched Mathew’s interview, he just seemed like he was on a mission. He was like, I don’t give a f@!% about this interview, get me to the field. That’s the kind of guy I want.
Yeah I really liked Matthews too, I’m very happy he’s here. When I say that I preferred Latimer it’s obviously just my preference, I can totally see why the Eagles wanted Matthews who is close physically but much more polished. I’m just happy we got another big WR to the team, hopefully that and more utilizing the TEs will make us a better team in the redzone.
Cooper and Matthews outside, Celek and Ertz on each side of the line and Shady in the backfield behind a beastly OL, good luck stopping that in the redone when Nick Foles executes Chips offense.
Maclin, Cooper, Matthews, Huff, Sproles, Shady, Brown, Polk, Ertz, Celek, Casey with Chips high tempo and Nick spreading the ball around, good luck stopping that between the twenties without Seattles DBs.
I see what you are saying. Also, I wouldn’t call Huff “small.” Close to 6′ and over 205 lbs. nice size.
To all those who think Marcus was a reach:
..
Cowboys Demarcus Lawrence beginning of round two
Skins Trent Murphy top 50
giants Damontre Moore round 2
…
Marcus is a much better pass rush prospect than the young edge rusher recently added to the NFC east, and we picked him less than ten spots before Demarcus Lawrence, how the hell is that a reach? The last pass rusher Attaucho didn’t make it past 50..
..
Marcus smith will be sooooo much better than those young edge rushers added to the NFC East…brilliant pick, not at all a reach!
There is so much freaking talent left on the board still. Trading back makes sense.
Pierre Desir
Jordan Tripp
Ronald Powell
Christian Jones
Robert Herron
Baushan Breeland (sp?)
Dakota Dozier
Bruce Ellington
Shamar Stephen
Jaylen Watkins
Damn.
Agreed – while i hope we focus on defense, Ka’deem Carey is crazy good – definitely better than Sankey and Chip knows him well. Would love to draft him and trade one of he backups
And Martavus Bryant.
Keith McGill
McGill is 25 years old and lacks polish.. Gaurantee we don’t draft him
I still dont think they are done with offensive skill players.. let alone WR.
I think Chip wants to play faster this coming season – Maclin, Cooper, Matthews, Huff, Sproles, Benn, Ertz, Celek, Casey – a lot of formation possibilities and offensive threats…now add in the down field blocking for Shady, Brown, Polk…Pat Shurmer must be pissing himself over the new additions.
I think these moves tell us Chip is really looking at reducing the time our QB is holding onto the ball
Sorry but I don’t get it. Nix was a best available and filled a glaring need. He is a space eater and can rush from the middle. I know he has some work ethic questions, but so did Vontaze Burfict. We need a legit NT. Maybe we get Daniel McCullers.
Are you trolling? McCullers?
Has to be trolling. WE ALREADY HAVE A NOSE TACKLE! lol
NT is a “glaring need” in your opinion. And that’s fine.
The Eagles like Bennie Logan. So do I. We need depth at NT and the Eagles will add one later in the draft or as a UDFA.
Where are all the high-motor fastballs?
And we passed on Johnny Football??
This is what you get when you reach for a college coach as your HC.
I just hope Kelly still has sense enough to take a few coming-off-ACL-MCL-and-carpal-tunnel-syndrome-surgery guys on Day 3.
Great impersonation of a Reid-era EMB fan. Only nit to pick is you forgot Urlacher.
Chip made a really interesting comment in the draft interview. He said that the people from 2002-2010 with the most college grads were Colts and Pats, made the point about quality of meeting and achieving goals. Now not sure if that’s causation vs. correlation given that much of the colts (and to a lesser extent Pats) strengths were QB based. But interesting tidbit when evaluating players.
No matter how you view this draft. Roseman is doing one thing we basically all wanted. GETTING MOAR PIKZZZZZZZZ.
Repost from last thread but relevant:
How about we stop thinking we know “where a player should be drafted”. Clearly no one does.
Juwan James
Dominique Easley
Weston Richburg
Paul Richardson
Trent Murphy
Justin Britt
Dezmen Southward
Christian Kirksey
Preston Brown
Jay Bromley
Spencer Long
Dexter McDougle
Khyri Thorton
Chris Watt
John Brown
Brandon Linder
Crocket Gilmore
Richard Rodgers
“Marcus Smith”
“Josh Huff”
That list of players is only players who were drafted way further ahead than
where they were projected to go. Looking at media projections isn’t a
great barometer for players “value”
Amen brother!! The best comment I heard these last couple of days. Most ppl get too caught up in media hype and the big name player from the big name school. I respect the views of all my fellow fans but there needs to be logic and prospective when it comes to big boards, pick value, and draft grades (which I hate). Truth is none of use know what the eagles big board looks like or the other 31 teams. Just have to trust in chip
Here’s a second amen brother! The media and fans haven’t watched reams of game tape, talked to everyone from the lunch lady to the college coach and evaluated the value of the player to the teams system. Value is a subjective term. If teams wanted value, everyone would try to trade into the 20th to 36th draft slots as detailed studies have shown that is the highest value for picks.
I try to focus on the player and the fit, that’s the value, and to me, Chip and Howie are doing a fine job in this draft.
Awesome point as well, I wish more ppl had your insight
Good article. The more info we have on their process, the more we can understand their decision making, whether we agree or not. Plenty of great NFL players were not great people. I want a SB winning team, not the peace corps. But, I still have faith in Chip…..for now.
I’ll be honest I didn’t necessarily think Huff was a great pick so I went back and watched the tape. I really liked what I saw. This guy literally but defenders on their back when blocking. There was someone below that said he couldn’t separate. That’s bullshit, he get separation on a consistent basis. We picked him in the late 3rd I think that is a pretty good spot for him honestly. If the guy was 2 inches taller, no one would have a problem with where we got him. I would retort by saying he is still “close” to 6′ and over 200lbs. That’s big enough. Go back and watch some of the tape and see the explosion he can generate on blocks. It is impressive. Upon further review I am pleasantly satisfied with this pick.
Huff is the safest pick in the draft for us. I don’t love him, but Chip knows him better than any prospects, strength, weaknesses and character.
D3FB: our man Ladler is still on the board too. Might be a nice addition if the price is right. I would rather get an ILB and Urban thought I guess.
I still like Ladler but that 4.7 scares the heck out of me. If he’s around in the fifth or six go ahead. The safety I really love is Shamiel Gary. Watch his Miss St tape. I’m hoping for Daquan Jones, Desir, or Ka’deem next. I would also love if we can trade back 8-10 picks and get a future fourth as well.
Shamiel over Dion Bailey?
I’m not just hoping for Desir…. I NEED DESIR lol. I didn’t know he ran that slow…. yikes.
The more I watch our picks on draft breakdown the more I feel like the Eagles are killing (in a good way) this draft. I’m not just drinking Kool-Aid either. I’m watching the tape and liking what I see. I don’t really see any reaching necessarily. Matthews would have been a 1st rounder any other year btw.
Just a quick questions guys, If we let brandon graham go next year in FA do we get a compensary pick? If yes, there is no interest in trading him. 1 more year for him to prove if not we probably get same value than if we trade him to a team.
It depends on how much he signs for and who we sign. If he signs somewhere but we sign four or five guys to more than vet minimum then we don’t get anything. If he gets a couple million a year and we don’t sign anyone then we probably get a sixth round pick.
Ok thanks man, so not really interesting.
Yeah, I always make the compensatory pick argument,,,problem is, we need roster spots for
Barwin
Cole
Marcus
Travis long
Bryan Braman
..
BG is a one year rental, I fear it will be hard to get a 7th for him because of his contract
not so fast on Travis Long. He’s marginal.
I liked him as a prospect before he became an eagle, and some recent comments by Howie make me believe their is hope for him…but u are right that he is marginal. I’d rather see our coaches keep him and spend another year developing, than to keep BG who won’t sign with us at the end of the year..he knows he will never start here and would never re sign with us, so Marginal with some potential, is better than a dead end who will be gone in less than 365 days
Like you said though, at least there’s a chance for a comp pick with Graham. Long is a player who will always be one good draft pick from getting cut.
Speaks to how well we are building this team that I’m worried about losing our marginal players..it still bothers me that the browns stole Poyer…I swear I can’t ever recall me sweating the marginal backups we would lose under the Andy Regime….I like chips marginal players on roster bubble! more than I liked Andy’s 2nd string players like Akeem Jordan!Casey Mathews….
…
Really optimistic that given one more offseason, Chip will build us a really deep team, with no wasted roster spots…soon it will be a dogfight to make our roster spit as a backup..competition will bring out the best in our guys “iron sharpens Iron”
Whether you like the way Howie and Chip stacked their draft board or not, the way that they’re executing it is extremely impressive.
What’s impressive about it? Don’t hate it, just don’t see what is so special about how they are operating
They went from 5 picks before the draft in the first 5 rounds to 6 picks after trading, with all the new picks equal or higher than the old ones except the first rounder, which was only 4 spots lower.
I guess there isn’t anything really special about moving back to add picks. It just looks like they’re getting exactly what they want and getting more of it because of the deals they’ve made.
I could just be getting overly excited.
Just picture the chemistry between Foles and his 6’3+ slot receiver with massive hands and the insatiable burning desire to do anything to win. I am picturing telepathic adjustments to route wheels. Set up in the shot gun, analyze the coverage, adjust the route, hit Matthews in stride like they share the same brain. Move the chains. Rinse and repeat. Second thought I have is, Matthews flexed outside and blocking the bubble screen, but then switch it up, like they did on occasion with Avant last year, Matthews will toast the D when they cheat in to contain the bubble screen.
Sooooo, Zumwalt next? I think Jones may be off their board now b/c of the failed test. Desir may be nice, but I think we are OK at CB as far as starters go (just need depth). Maybe take Colvin later (since he has to sit anyway). Same with S, maybe grab Vereen or Darby later. Right now, ILB has to be taken in the next 2 picks. Again, looking for depth, but whoever they take may need to contribute this year to take the load off DeMeco. I like Zumwalt in this case. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Eagles keep going offense with 1 of the next 2 picks (OG or RB). Just happy we still have 4 picks (especially 3 out of the next 60).
Doubt we like him….the ILB we add will project to be versatile and strong in coverage…I would assume Christian jones, but I don’t know how we feel about his failed drug test
Tommy, it seems everyone is concerned the Eagles are reaching. Maybe so, but I wonder if the same thoughts were voiced back in 2012 and 2013? I do recall that being the case in 2011 and it was a disaster. Do you recall anything about those drafts and the “reach” comments?
Or, can this be the result of Chip having a greater impact on selections that fit his model? Any concern we are setting up for another 2011?
That’s my concern, too. Will we look back 3 years from now and say: “damn, we reached for Huff in the 3rd (!!) round. How arrogant was Chip?”
I could see this being the case. The other side of the story is the Seahawks. They picked Irvin with pick 15, yesterday they picked a Receiver I never even heard of (and god knows, Tommy, Sheil, Jimmy K all discussed the hell out of this Receiver class) in the 2nd round. They say a DJax type of player, I see 6-0, but 4.43 speed – which isn’t even close to DJax. In fact, that “speedster” has about the same 40 time Matthews has.
Point is: we made some decisions in 2011 that raised eyebrows – and the fans were right with that one, as crazy as it sounds. The Seahawks make draft choices on a regular basis that are raising eyebrows for the rest of the Football world – but they are good at it.
If Mathews were take at 26 and Smith at 42 everyone would love it.
exactly
I would have hated Matthews at 26. Hell I didnt like him at 42. I much rather have taken Latimer
Everything you write about physically dominating players applies to Nix. At 83, he was a steal. Even if you don’t like him over Logan, he could be an upgrade over Square!
This draft feels Reid-ish in the way every player was drafted earlier than his rankings in the draft community. That is either a sign of brilliance or arrogance. I hope it’s the former. I worry that last year’s good draft was merely a function of picking so early in each round.
Thanks again for your analysis.
2 down NT, coming off knee injury….im okay with passing him, at least in Houston he has two dominating DE’s to take pressure off him.
Does it really matter where a player was taken in the draft? If they can play, they can play. Reid couldn’t develop any of his draft picks. Look how much better Nate Allen has played under Kelly and Davis. Look how Seattle has made starters out of late round picks. Sherman was a 5th round pick. He NEVER would have become the player he has on Reid’s team.
That is a fallacy, to think that because a late pick sometimes turns into a good player, it doesn’t matter what you do with your early picks. Picks are limited and valuable resources. Statistically, the most impact comes from the early picks.
Huge fallacy and there is no coach/GM who has been statistically shown year-in & year-out to identify and draft superior talent.
On PE they asked Tony Pauline why he was dropping and he implied there was a character / commitment concern. As soon as I heard that, I thought no way Kelly would take him.
What I like about the Matthews and Huff picks are that we have options with Maclin next year:
1.) If his knee is not totally OK or he gets reinjured, we don’t necessarily have to worry about drafting a WR next year.
2.) If he has a great year, we don’t necessarily have to resign him to an $8 or $9 million per year deal. We could let him walk and we could potentially get a 4th or even 3rd round compensatory pick.
3.) If he has a great year, we could resign him and have a pretty stacked receiving corps for years to come.
Plus this will obviously light a fire under him to be a more willing blocker and hopefully cure him of his “self-tacklin” nickname.
I wonder if Chip is done tinkering with his offense? We could still use some o-line depth. A lot of linemen came off the board day 2.
yeah, I think so, unless he has Thomas or Seastrunk available…im looking at Desir, Colvin, Dion Bailey, OT Thomas
Don’t give up hope, there is still the French-Canadian!
Day three – will they trade first overall pick in round four for two more picks?
There is no doubt that Chip is the over directing traffic and making these selections.
Nix wasn’t the guy I wanted. I wanted to Eagles to get involved in the run on OL that was going on in the 3rd. There was a lot of good value going off the board and quite a few teams snagged long term answers at the interior OL positions (the 49ers even got two of them.)
Considering both Mathis and Herremans are over the age of 30, this was the perfect time to draft a replacement. Value and need were right. Instead, they got a luxury pick in Josh Huff. Really like Huff, don’t get me wrong, and I’m sure I will enjoy watching him play. But there were better options staring them in the face.
Agree with the need, let’s hope there are gems available. First pick in rd 4 seems like a rd 3 pick with so much talent available. With Savage and McCarron available, could d be another trade down.
Dozier is still there and projects to a 4th round pick.
Starting to worry if Anders is OK. After the Matthews pick…?!
I was drunk last night and missed the draft and woke up to us trading up for him.
I really hope now that he is an Eagle that he proves me wrong. I rather be wrong and we get a good player than root for his failure, just so I could be right.
I know it sounds sorta funny, but it’s good to see you being critical of an Eagles move, since you’re normally our Mr. Optimist. 😉
I always said there was no chance we would draft a NT before rounds 6-7 And that we wouldn’t add DBs til the 3rd day…so, they are on schedule for my expectations… I don’t Hate Huff at all, but no one can sit here piss in my ear, tell me it’s raining. That kid could have been drafted with the top pick in round 4 tonight..would have prefered trading out of both our 3rd round picks, and taking huff at the beginning of round 4……there just is no way someone else would have drafted Huff in the 3rd,,,like the player, hate how we played our hand…
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I don’t have a problem with them I liking Mathews. I’m not one of the fans that bashed him for his hands..I seen eagles players who couldn’t catch a cold become sure handed WRs under Chip…so I’m excited to have Mathews…but I find it really hard to believe that he will be this drastically better WR than Latimer who is playing with Peyton manning. If we are just going to reach for players anyway, then if have no problems with them using an extra pick to go get Mathews….but I find it hard to give the eagles an A grade for how they operated yesterday… Happy to add those 3 players tho…
Anyone who has paid attention to Chip and Howie over the off season should not be surprised in the least that we passed on Nix. They’ve said several times that they are happy with Logan and they believe he has the frame to handle true 3-4 NT weight.
Which will we add today? Brent Urban? Josh Mauro? Taylor hart?
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Dontae Johnson? Antone Exum? Terrence Mitchell?
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Wonder what the failed drug test does for our interest in Christian Jones and Telvin smith? the ILB we add will be versatile, and be strong in coverage..who yas got?
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The NT: Deandre Coleman?,Shemar Stephan’s? Can’t believe Bromly went in round 3… Wouldn’t mind baeu Allen as a UDFA
I think Bromly is bad.
I thought he was a 6th or 7th round pick
Anyone know if there are any updated Mocks starting with today’s round 4? Want a list of who is still available
Fanspeak keeps a list of available players in order of ranking:
http://fanspeak.com/nfldraft/2014/05/09/2014-nfl-draft-best-available-players-day-3/
Thank you sir
Man, there’s still lots of 3rd round talent available. CB of their choice or take Daquan Jones and settle for remaining CB in 5th?
Fun read
http://rotoviz.com/index.php/2014/04/this-week-in-blasphemy-comparing-sammy-watkins-and-jordan-matthews-versus-common-opponents/
Interesting. At least it makes me more comfortable. Still wondering about the value with Huff, though.
Yeah I’m not so sure, but having the first pick in the 4th helps a little.
if I could upvote you 100 times I would
Good assessment of things Tommy. Best to look for the angle on a pick…usually telling about where team is headed. I think we will find a few O Linemen in the UFA period tonight/tomorrow and try to eek out 4 picks today with trades of Graham or Curry. I’m hoping for an heir-apparent to Ryans at ILB, an OLB who can run all over the field to cover TE’s…Jones/T. Smith and a couple DB’s….D. Johnson & J. Watkins. That should round out the draft nicely!
Well I slept on it and I’m still having trouble understanding it. I’ve begun to accept that Chip simply does ish different. When players who are just good football players *and* have the things Chip is looking for they just generally a hot commodity and get snatched up by the other teams. I’ve accepted that a lot of the players that I like in the draft simply aren’t on Chip’s board because they are missing something that Chip requires.
Whats frustrating is by this point I have no Earthly idea how the hell chip evaluates talent and value in a draft pick. There is absolute no setting I can put these glasses to, any filter to apply to this search, where I look at all the people on the board at 86 can conclude Josh Huff is my pick. Even in *hindsight* I can’t figure it out. No special attributes, maybe versatility, but does he have the physical tools to be versatile in the nfl?Maybe he’s a special teams ace (is that worth a 3rd round pick)? Can’t help but doubt he will see the field at all with guys like Ertz, Celek, Sproles, Maclin, Cooper, and Mathews all jockeying for snaps. Does he have *any* upside to pay off for the long run? I just don’t get it.
I give chip the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he wants, even if I have no Earthly clue what that is.
Just get me to the regular seasons where wins are wins and losses are losses. This offseason has not been good to the conventional mind.
i think fans need to remember Chip does not think in a conventional way and his vision for the offense is very different. He has names for positions that you never heard of and doesn’t think in terms of “wideout “and “slot receiver” for example. Everyone is an offensive threat and can score from anywhere, anytime. No huddles and fast break all the time when he wants to. Huff his portably his answer for returns. Not saying he isn’t making mistakes, just saying we don’t know his way of thinking. For me, i wish we were focused on the defense, but replacing DJax and Avant for the longer term seems to be the priority.
I’m trying to keep it in mind, but it’s hard to get behind something you don’t understand, so I’ll just have to sit back and watch. Wait and see, watch and learn.
Did you go back and watch Huff’s tape again? I felt the same but he is pretty damn good.
Tommy – How is Smith not more of a project-type when Roseman said he won’t be viewed as a starter right away this year and it would take up to 3 years for him to view realize his ultimate potential?
open competition in camp
He isn’t a project in that there is projecting involved. We have film of him doing everything our Multi front defense will ask of him….where as had you drafted someone like dee ford, there would be so much projecting involved since he only lined up on the left side as a DE, and hast at all dropped in coverage..
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Everyone thought Lane was a project. But like Lane our coaching staff will accelerate this kids growth! and by the end of the year, it will be hard to keep him off the field…but no prospect is really expected to arrive better his 3rd year
Eagles and Roseman in particular didn’t make anywhere near the same comments about Johnson. There were some acknowledgement that it would take him some time to learn a new position but he was clearly the projected starter going into camp.
Just don’t see NFL teams nowadays taking guys in the 1st round usually who won’t realize their full value for 3 years.
No, he was,just as raw and was not supposed to be as good as he was in his first year…just so happens that we are bringing Marcus into a healthier situation. Lane didn’t have a Trent Cole in front of him, Lane had to be thrown into the fire…
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We are so fortunate that we have Cole for one year, because Typically, OLB/DE isn’t a position where it’s easy for a rookie to come in and be a 3down player year one…most edge rushers come into the league needing to get stronger before they are ready to set the edge and play the run, so many spend their rookie season as Nickle pass rushers while they gain strength to play the run…we are so fortunate because Cole is an elite run defender..there will never be a rookie that’s going to play the run better his first year than Cole would, don’t care if we get Mack!Barr, neither would be able to play the run as rookies better than Cole…so Cole allows us to bring him along slowly, but because of Coles contract, it was imperative that the edge rusher we added had potential to become a 3down player and play the run by the start of his second season, so we can get Coles 10 mil off our books after the year….
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Really didn’t matter which OLB we drafted, none would be ready to play the run better than elite run defender Cole this year…but Marcus projects to be ready to be a 3down OLB to start his second year, and that’s what is really important..
2013: Ansah, Manuel were major projects. Ansah had played like two years of football.
2012: Irvin
2011: You could argue all the QBs were projects. JPP although he might have been 2010.
Smith had 14.5 sacks last year. He’s played DE and LB. He’s not a project. We still have Cole. He can learn a lot from him without feeling pressure to be a 10+ sack guy immediately.
Understood the Smith pick and that he will ultimately be viewed as the starter after next year for Cole but the 2 WRs pick after dumping Jackson tell me the coaching staff/GM still view this as a roster & team in transition that isn’t really poised to take the next step forward next year.
Won’t sit well at all with fans especially given Kelly’s rhetoric this offseason & what the Eagles did and how poorly they handled it from a PR perspective.
I think it’s clear we are still in the team building phase.. By then end of next years free agency and Draft, we should have the Chip Kelly era eagles team in place. We will still be in the hunt this year, but I think 2015-16 is when we really plan on being a top team
I hit send and your comment came up. Looks like we’re on the same wavelength. Scary.
That is what I don’t get though and by then time McCoy is likely past his prime, the OL will need to be rebuilt, and several key players on defense replaced.
Still have no idea why Kelly went out of his way in a big way to say last season’s results weren’t good enough either. Between that and tone-deaf & completely amateurish way they handled the PR from Jackson’s release, they have set up some high expectations and are poised to have some real egg on their face if they finish 8-8/9-7 this year and miss the playoffs.
This years team will be better than last years….it’s just not going to be as good as what we see in 15-16
That means at least a bar of 10-6 and one playoff win. Kelly himself said that and that is a pretty high bar of expectation.
You pointed out yourself that a lot of stuff went right last season that a lot of stuff went right last season to get to 10-6. It’s totally possible to be a better team and make progress and get the same results. Especially considering we are playing the NFCW this year, and the NFCE shouldn’t be as horribly pathetic as it was last year.
For this scenario, Geagle speaks of 15-16, in that scenario the records and accolades don’t matter in 14, growth does.
Even if the team is ‘better’ this year, if they don’t make the playoffs they have going to get a lot of ire from fans.
Still don’t get the rebuilding time scale the Eagles are looking at or what that means given the current composition of the roster & their ages.
Never expected Kelly to be on a 5-year window given how impatient he has been in the past.
Yeah, the *dominant* left side of are O-line and our elite RB aren’t going to last forever, and our offense rides with them. Basically the crux of all our success, but I do think it can stay intact for 2 or 3 more years, but you’re right it’s tricky because in 5 year we’re looking at reinventing ourselves again. That’s not a very big window so the sooner we start contending for a title, the bigger the window.
I get where you’re coming from, where there’s a sense of urgency conflicting with pace of the rebuilding.
I don’t concern myself with the record..we have a drastically tougher schedule than last year..so winning more games probably isn’t a true barometer of whether we improved our not….I’m looking for this team to win the division, make the playoffs(regardless of record), win a playoff game, and I will consider the year a success…
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Need to take that next step in the playoffs and win a play off game…if we can do that, I think it’s safe to demand we contend in 2015
You essentially have the same bar of success Kelly stated and since it will take at least 9 wins (possibly 10) I don’t see how you are really saying anything different than what Kelly did.
If we get into the playoffs with 8-8 or 9-7, I won’t lose much sleep. Obviously I’d prefer us win 10 or 11 games, and it would be a great sign against such a tough schedule…I’m just saying that if we get in the playoffs with 8 or 9 wins and win a playoff game, I won’t be soured by not wining 10 games..
We’re still another off season and draft away from challenging anyone elite. We may contend this year, but yes, it’s still a transition period.
A lot of that depends on the growth of what we already have in year 2 of these systems. We could give serious trouble to elite teams this year (that WILL be tested squaring off against the NFCW). But that has to be shown, we definitely aren’t walking into this season as elite contenders.
Have to see how things play out in camp and how healthy they are but I don’t see this team right now even as a surefire playoff contender.
Everyone completely overlooks that they were a Top 3 team last year in health which has been shown to be completely fluky from year-to-year in the NFL with no team statistically outperforming another team.
If they make the playoffs again right now comes down to how good the NFC East this year. Eagles went 4-2 and that played a huge part in them winning the East. With their schedule, they are going to need to go 4-2/5-1 in the NFC East again to win the division & make the playoffs which will be a tougher task with better Skins/Giants teams.
I’ll go ahead and say I think it’s reasonable to call the Eagles a surefire playoff contender, in that we’ll definitely be in contention to make the playoffs. But you’re right, the rest of the NFC East won’t roll over like they did last year, and there are some statistically interesting points to last season, we’ll need to see a bigger sample to see if they’re an anomaly, or the beginning of a trend. I was simply pointing out that there is still room for hope to balance with the anxiety of the off season when it comes to projection.
I meant to make the playoffs. Last year I thought they would be 7-9/8-8. Wound up closing really strong and finishing 10-6.
Still see this as a 8-8/10-6 team right now and heavily dependent to win the East to make the playoffs again.
So many corners left so nice not taking Desir at 86 that is what I wanted and I ended up being wrong cuz he is still there Huff might now have been here cuz look ARZ just took John Brown never heard of him but he went to some D2 or D3 school and was projected to go late
Huff pick was horrendous. Overreach and smacked of a ‘need pick’ to address WR and was drafted in part because Kelly was familiar with him. Don’t see how he really adds a physical element at his current size or really adds much on ST either in coverage or as a return guy.
The eagles had already taken a receiver how was huff a need pick?
Because Maclin isn’t a known quantity from a health perspective (recovery rate from his surgery is closer to 85-90%) and they have little/no roster depth after Cooper & Maclin.
Maclin started for the eagles for 4 years, I think he is kind of known.
I don’t understand why everyone on here apparently assumes Maclin will be healthy & be as good/if not better than we was prior to the injury.
Surgery has come a long way but there is still a small chance he isn’t able to recover fully & I would bet that he still isn’t closer to 100% until the mid-point of the year.
probably a return game need and back up in case Sproles and Maclin don’t perform.
If you don’t think he’s physical you haven’t watched him. Matthieu is a small guy, would you say he isn’t physical? How about MJD? Size has nothing to do with physicality. Can it help? Sure…but it isn’t a required trait
You desperately need to watch his tape again. I kinda thought the same thing but after watching some tape, Huff is legit.
Just think of it this way….Chip got to see and experience the NFL game up close for a year, and I’m sure he know has a decent idea of what works and what won’t work in the NFL…he also knows Huffs game as well as he will know any prospect in this draft…do you really think Chip is dumb and just took a kid who caNt succeed in the NFL? Chip know the NFL game infinitely better than you and he knows huff infinitely better than you…..
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If you are going to complain about the Huff pick, complain that we most likely could have gotten him with the first pick in round 4. How we played the board is up for debate, but I think it’s foolish to complain about huff the player when our offensive genius knows him so well. Part of me actually is excited that Chip thinks so highly of this kid as an NFL player….I just would have prefered to trade out of the 3rd round with both picks, stockpile more picks today. And draft Huff with the first pick of round 4
I wasn’t complaining about Huff at all…… I think he is a great pick and has third round talent. Look at my comment, I’m not bashing Chip AT ALL. I LIKE THE PICK.
Now we’re getting a better idea of what Kelly likes in wideouts and what he didn’t like about Jackson. What stands out the most is toughness, willingness to block for teammates, and maturity. These guys won’t be running for the sidelines to avoid hits.
Versatility too…
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I warned people that Kelly probably didn’t like Mike Evans as much as it seemed, and when he talked about the Jordan pick he said something telling “some guys only lined up on the right side, or left side in college”…Evans strictly lined up on the right and only ran a few different routes, Kelly would have a ton of projecting to do how he could play Evans in an offense where he wants to move everyone all over the place…..Jordan and huff are extremely versatile! both have plenty experience outside and in the slot. last year we added one of the more versatile TEs, Ertz who lines up everywhere…
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The vision is clearly big, tough, fast, physical, versatile players, that he can line up everywhere, giving him the most flexibility to create and then exploit match ups…..there were a lot of talented WR in round two, but not all are as well versed in the slot as they were outside…
I have a hunch that the vision is to try to blur the lines between TE and WR and just create an arsenal of big bodied pass catchers.
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A tall CB is 6’0… 6’0 is an average sized WR..tall ones are 6’2-6’6
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Defenses are now trying to add size to their secondaries, but how many 6’3 DBs can an opponent really have? Two at the most?..have a feeling that the plan in to go Into the playoffs with so much size in or pass catchers, that defenses just can’t possibly have enough size in the secondary to match up with us..
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Chip just got done talking about how beating man coverage is the priority of the WR we add. Chip also talked about how in the NFL, you really don’t get wide open, against man you have to make contested catches which is why he said Cooper is so valuable, because he will go up and go get the ball in tight coverage, and Chip saw similar traits in Jordam Mathews …
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We now have a 6’3 slot receiver….who the hell is going to have a slot CB with close to enough size to match up with Jordan? Chip talked about how it was important to get a SEC WR because that’s the divisions that WR face the most man coverage, And when the ball is in the air, you really see Jordan attack it and go get the ball… Cooper, Mathews, Ertz, Maclin, with Shady and Sproles coming out of the backfield to abuse LB with wheel routes….
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LOL at the silly media who thought losing Desean is the end of the world. Our offense last year will look weak compared to the offense Chip is building for us…
With the fast strike offense and all the time the D will be on the field, if the defense isn’t addressed further, there will a lot of college scores – 52 to 49 with the winner being who has the ball last
I don’t know about that…just by giving players scheme continuity and time to Gel, our defense would be better than it was last year..our Safeties will be an upgrade with Malcolm and Wolff in year two and Marcus will bring some added pass rush as a rookie..
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We haven’t seen the best Cox,Kemdrick!Boykin!Curry, Logan have to offer yet. All of them will be better than they were l st year…and people worry too much about the yards..our young inexperienced defense of guys that didn’t even have enough time to gel kept teams under 24pts for over 2 months…I don’t understand how fans can sell that short…..Jimmy Johnson’s defenses gave up yards. Tightened up in the redzone and kept teams kicking FGs instead of TDs…we started to see that last year out of our defense, but we will be better suited this year to get off the field on 3rd down…..
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I argued with people all last summer that we wouldn’t be a historically bad defense again, and we would be better than people think…I think fans will be pleasantly surprised when they see our defense this year, and by 2015 I. Have all the confidence of us having a top defense
i actually agree they got a lot better and now Davis another full camp and knows the players better, etc. Mostly concerned the D gets worn down and I am still remembering that awful game ending ground game the Saints put on us to eliminate us from the playoffs last year.
We got worn down not just because our offense put the defense on the field a lot.. The biggest problem was we lacked depth. Teams play 18-19 defenders per game, using bench players in different subpackages..we didn’t have that. Our starters played in all subpackages, only difference was Boykin coming in for Bennie Logan in Nickle…
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We added Nolan Carroll! who I’m sure we are comfortable putting on the field, and we now have 3 safeties we can put on the field. I’m sure we will add a LB who can come in and cover in subpackages…last year we saw Meco!Kemdricks!Barwin play like 99% of the snaps. that can’t happen, it’s not healthy for our defense or those players. depth will improve, and guy will play less snaps because we will have subpackage alternatives that we lacked last year
lets hope so
The Saints ground game hurt us because we could not single cover – just too weak in back. I think we will get more help today but regardless the D is going to have a better secondary and pressure the QB.
GEagle – I believe Chip is looking for quick release shots for Foles. Sproles, Maclin, Coop, Ertz, Matthews, all give the chance for YAC. Reduce sacks by giving your QB quick targets. No DeSean needed with this changed strategy.
The new offense will be almost impossible to stop. These big receivers generate some real pain.
Seems like it,,,
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Question: How many teams have a Nickle CB that can match up with a 6’3 215 slot CB with serious speed? You can put the Honeybadger on Jordan! watch Matnews eat him up!!
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Jordan lines up in the slot, Ertz match up nightmare, Sproles match up nightmare…FOles will be surgical with it this year… Loving chips vision..
Yep, Chip is learning how to beat NFL secondaries. The Eagle offense with Shady is going to challenge everybody.
Shady was so deadly down the right sideline on wheel routes, LB trying to keep up for dear life and the rain maker using his perfect touch to drop the ball softly where shady can catch it in stride. defenses really struggled to find a LB who could keep up with shady down the right sideline on wheel routes…what’s going to happen now that Sproles will be running down the left sideline on wheel routes with shady on the right side? What teams have two LBs that can stop shady and Sproles running those routes? DANGER! Danger! Danger!
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Sproles vs. linebacker is a mismatch to exploit
Shady vs. lineback is a mismatch to exploit
Jordan vs, a 5’10 slot CB is a mismatch to exploit
Ertz vs Linebacker,safety or CB is a mismatch to exploit
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With versatile guys that Chip can line up everywhere, gives us maximum opportunity to create and exploit mismatches…Can’t wait to see what Chip and Foles can do with this offense. it’s going to be a lot of fun..
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The Andy era had TO which was a matchup nightmare for a year, and Westbrook who was a matchup nightmare and some Desean….that pales in compare to what Chip Kelly has in store for us. I’m a defense first guy all the way. But even a defensive nutjob like me finds it very hard not to be giddy and excited about where our offense is headed
Please football gods, just no Jaiquawn Jarretts in the lot.
C’mon Tommy wake up and post the Day 3 preview. No time for PBR and Funyons this wknd. This is your biggest wknd of the year. Sleep is for sissies.
I heard he is busy working a trade of blog followers with Jimmy Bama
There’s always time for PBR and Funyuns.
Question..
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I have been worried about teams not even giving up a 7th round pick for a one year rental like BG who is going to want to test free agency next March. I’m skeptical that we can’t get a 7th for Graham….is there any chance we can ATleast,use him to move up like 20 spots? Wonder if we can trade BG and the first pick in round 5 to move up to like #20 in round 4? Is the first round salary owed to BG an obstical, or not a big deal?..
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Really worried that we will end up cutting him in June and get nothing in return. It’s bad enough we didn’t get draft or compensatory picks for Djax, but I hope we can ATleast recoup some damn value for BG who we drafted in round 1 smh
At least get a pick for next year.
Dogg’s point makes sense. We need to get something!
Hey man…I sure as hell hope so. But I’m really worried. If a team trades for him it would be as a backup, or a third down rusher, which means no chance he will sign an extension with them, nor will they believe in him enough to offer him an extension…so if you trade for him, you know it’s probably going to be a one year rental and he will definitely test free agent market at the end of the year…
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If the roles were reversed, I would NOT want to see the Eagles trade a 7th round pick who ATleast has a smidget of hope to be a part of our future for a one year rental that will cost more than the 4years combined of salary we would have to pay the 7th round pick if he pan out.. personally I would be pissed if the Eagles trade a 2015 pick for a guy that probably won’t even still be with us during the 2015 season…hopefully someone is dumb enough to give us something..
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If we can’t get anything for him today, I would hope we don’t cut him on June first and hold him in case a contender loses pass rushers to injury this summer. But if we can’t then trade him,cutting him after the preseason will make it tough for him to find a job..we could have kept Desean and tried to get value for him lat, but Lurie talked about treating the player fairly..would we do that to BG?
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Fingers crossed none of this matters and we can get a 6th or 7th for him today, but I wouldn’t bet on it…
OK, then a conditional pick. Performance based.
Hope so mate.. I’ll take anything
I kind of would prefer to keep graham if compensation is too small (late 7th round pick). Right now it seems like Smith and Cole will be rotating across from Barwin, but say Barwin got hurt, suddenly Smith is your versatile guy and you need Graham back in that rotation. We need more time to build up more depth there, I think there is *some* value in graham providing that for us.
As long as we don’t just cut him.
Versatile players also tend to be smart players. They’ve had to learn a lot more about football than players who have always done the same thing.
And they are not selfish, egocentric jerks. They will do anything for their team and teammates, even if it risks injury (Huff comes to mind.)
Could these qualities be the missing link?
Mac – These qualities turn good players into great players who win games.
“It’s not just about what a player can do for us, it’s also about what a player will Sacrafice for us” Chip Kelly
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MEsean will always want a new contract, which means he will always be obsessed with personal stats and success..while Desean can be a great individual player(think Allen Iverson),’he isn’t willing to really Sacrafice personal glory so that his team mate can be successful…if Desean was selfish last year and hard to deal with when we put him in position to have a career year and he was on the field with limited weapons like Avan and Celek….how the hell can we expect him to not care about his next contract, stay dialed in when we have serious weapons that will need to get touches that we didn’t have last year like improved Ertz,Sproles! Jordan Mathews, Maclin?
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If the goal is to build a deep team, with a stacked arsenal of weapons, those weapons have to be TEAM FIRST guys who are happy to Sacrafice touches for the good of the team. We can’t have a stacked arsenal with one of our weapons always obsessed with touches and stats because he is playing for a new contract every other year…
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So not only do these qualities mold great players, but in the ultimate team game, you need 53 men with those qualities, or there will always be a limit to your success…
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Our weapons want the ball, they believe in themselves. But they are content blocking their ass off, and running routes hard as decoys so their team mates can have success..a united selfless team is a dangerous team
How many people liked the Nick Foles pick when he was originally selected? (A lot more will say they did now than said so then).
I didn’t.
I had no idea what he was. Read 3 conflicting scouting reports. I was confused. The only thing anyone agreed on is that he is a big kid. I was an Andy Reid fan when it came to QB’s, so I wasn’t outraged or anything. (but seriously, Brandon Boykin is still there, what are we DOING???)
To be completely honest, I liked him as soon as I heard him open his mouth. He struck me as a grounded individual and I appreciated that. I am glad he’s done well.
I’d just like to say how amazing it is that we haven’t gone though a prolonged down period with so many squandered assets. Bg, djax, Watkins, Jarrett, etc. the end of Reid’s tenure was ugly, but the nfccg vs the cards wasn’t that long ago.
This is partly to say that I trust the coaches and administration. We’ve all said Kelly has a drafting advantage over the next couple years. We have less info than nfl teams, and Kelly may have an advantage over nfl teams. If this is true, we’d expect Kelly to have picks we don’t immediately grok.
DJax was definitely not squandered assets, and BG was only partially wasted. We got good production out of DJax, even though we didn’t keep him forever. BG wasn’t worth the pick we used but we didn’t get nothing from him, either.
I’m sure its been mentioned but just read Josh Huff’s story. Incredible. Really quality characters.
His mom, a drug addict, once beat him with a board and went to jail. Bad home life that created a tough as nails kid.
Look out folks, Taylor Hart ,DE, is on Chip’s radar screen. Billy has to approve but I am hearing some Oregon buzz.
Bet anything hart, Brent urban or Josh Mauro will be an eagle today. I’d be absolutely shocked if we didn’t draft one of those 3
or Coleman
Coleman would be our NT..I expect him or Shemar to be drafted, but the 3 listed above would be Thorton’s backups, while Coleman would backup logan
Tommy- really well said. Not even the guys who’s careers are on the line on draft day know who is going to pan out. The two best players on the field in the Super Bowl were both fifth round draft picks, one of whom just became the highest paid cornerback ever. And deservedly so. What is clear about this front office/coaching staff- they are not just picking interesting players- they have a long term plan about what Eagles players look like, practice like, play like and hopefully win like. That is the biggest difference from the later years of the Reid era.
OK guys, the reveal of my 4th round strategy: find out who the skins are picking, pick that player, because F those guys.