Minicamp, Day 1

Posted: June 18th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 63 Comments »

Let’s check out the practice notes roundup.

Count Jimmy Bama as a Nolan Carroll fan.

• Nolan Carroll has looked really good so far. He has repeatedly broken up passes, and even picked off a few. In OTAs and minicamp, there is no contact allowed, which means there’s no press coverage from the secondary. That makes it much easier for the receivers to make plays, and is a big reason why you hear about a standout receiver this time of year every offseason. It is much harder for a corner or safety to stand out in non-contact drills, but Carroll has.

What makes Carroll’s play so impressive is that he prefers press coverage. “I’ve been (playing press) for so long, since I came into the league,” said Carroll. “It’s just what my coaches had me do, the whole time. There had only been certain situations where I have played off. Here, this is the most I’ve ever played off in an offseason ever.

“My biggest thing is being physical and pressing, and we haven’t been able to do that at all in OTAs. Receivers are getting free releases, so we’re kind of reacting off of what they do.”

Carroll is excelling play off coverage, which is outside his comfort zone. That is a very good sign. Yesterday, I asked defensive backs coach John Lovett whether or not Carroll had a legitimate chance to win a starting job. Lovett replied, “Yeah. He sure does. He sure does.”

Lovett also noted, “I’m thrilled to death we have Nolan Carroll here. Having Nolan Carroll here has added competition, and it has made Cary (Williams) and Bradley (Fletcher) prepare harder, work harder, play better.”

We’ve talked a lot about the defense returning 10 of 11 starters (the only change being at FS). If there is one person who seems to be pushing for a starting role it is Carroll. Most people assume he would replace Bradley Fletcher at LCB, but it really could be either CB. Neither starter was so good last year that they can feel set in stone as a starter.

Obviously it is very early, but there is nothing wrong with being encouraged by what Carroll has done to this point. Let’s just see if he can keep it up.

* * * * *

Sheil Kapadia offers a variety of nuggets.

1:13 – 7-on-7 time. The Eagles start off in 10 personnel with one running back and four wide receivers. The look has Huff and Jordan Matthews running with the first team, alongside Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper.

When the twos are up, Carroll breaks up a Mark Sanchez pass intended for Matthews. Unofficially, Carroll has gotten his hands on more passes than any other defensive back this spring (in the sessions open to the media, that is).

With the threes, Arrelious Benn makes a leaping grab in front of Marsh.

1:26 – On the sidelines, Alex Henery chats up Lurie. Always a smart move to exchange pleasantries with the man who’s going to write you checks totaling $645,000 this year.

1:28 – During team drills, Zach Ertz splits out wide and Foles hits him on a comeback. Then James Casey gets the call on a screen.

One position note: It appears for the first time this spring that Dennis Kelly is getting reps at guard. He played some there as a rookie.

Sanchez, meanwhile, hits B.J. Cunningham on a deep out. Matt Barkley gets a turn next and throws behind Damaris Johnson.

Josh Huff is now playing some with the 1’s and 2’s. That’s encouraging. Also good to hear that Arrelious Benn is able to make a leaping grab. He’s coming off knee surgery and sometimes those players are hesitant to jump or cut at full force. Tentative WRs do you no good. So far it sounds like Benn and Maclin are playing as if they are all the way back.

12:12 – There’s one new player in attendance today: fifth-round pick Ed Reynolds. The Stanford product missed most of spring practices because NCAA rules kept him at Stanford until last Thursday. He’s wearing No. 30. Sorry, Colt Anderson. That’s life in the NFL.

Colt Anderson was a terrific STer, but couldn’t carve out a regular role on defense. Reynolds has more potential as a defender, but must show that he can also make his presence felt on the coverage units. He won’t miss any more time. Reynolds is now a full-time football player.

* * * * *

Brandon Lee Gowton had some good stuff in his practice notes.

• Let’s get back to the actual football. QB Nick Foles started 7 on 7s by almost throwing an interception. Cary Williams jumped a short route and got his hands on the ball but dropped it. The pass was intended for Riley Cooper. It’s only minicamp but I have to say that I’ve seen Foles throw more interceptions and near-interceptions than I did during last year’s training camp. I wouldn’t make a huge deal out of this but it bears watching. Later on in practice Foles rolled out to the right and threw across his body to hit Maclin over the middle. Foles looks good throwing on the run to his right.

Picks and near picks could be a good or bad thing. It could be a sign that Foles is trying to be less perfect and is trying to get the ball out quicker. That would be good. It could also be a sign that he’s being careless.

• Speaking of Momah, I already noted that he looks better than he did last year. He stood out to me today yet again. I still think he has an uphill battle for a roster spot so let’s not get too carried away.

If I’m reading this right…BLG is saying Momah will be in the Hall of Fame by next summer. Right? Joking aside, it is good to hear that Momah is improved. I still doubt he ever plays a down in the NFL, but last year had to be torture for the young man. He got the chance of a lifetime, but was too rusty to take advantage. He might still fail this year, but at least we’re seeing a much improved version.

• At one point after practice, a certain unnamed reporter had just finished asking Eagles OLB Travis Long some questions. He left the mini media scrum with a “Thanks, Bryan.” The reporter mistook Long for fellow Eagles OLB Bryan Braman. The worst was he didn’t realize the mistake until he walked away and someone corrected him. I won’t reveal which reporter made this egregious error, but I figured I’d make a guide to help him out in the future.

Classic. Go check out the piece so you can see the artwork. Jimmy Bama-esque. And a great story.

* * * * *

Jeff McLane had some good nuggets on the DL and Matt Barkley.

— The Eagles did a lot of rotating on their first team defensive line, perhaps more than I saw during OTAs. It could have just been the schemes Bill Davis and Jerry Azzinaro were working on. During one series, Cedric Thornton was the nose tackle and Cole and Brandon Bair were the first team defensive ends. Thornton and Fletcher Cox have generally been the starting base down ends with Bennie Logan at nose. Kelly was asked for his evaluation of Cox before practice and the first thing he mentioned was his transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 last year. There might not have been a holdover who was as affected by the scheme change up front than Cox. Kelly said that he expects to see improvement in Year No. 2, but it was still odd to hear him mention the transition. Cox should be athletic and smart enough to make the switch from playing one gap to two gap, but you also have to wonder if he has the mentality to hold up blockers rather than shoot the gap off the snap. “He’s big, physical and can run for a big guy,” Kelly said. “Very difficult to block in one-on-one situations, try to create some one-on-one situations for him but I think he’s really starting to get acclimated to what we are doing on the defensive line and obviously like everybody, I think year two will be better than year one for him.”

Cox is like a giant version of Vinny Curry. He’s an athletic DL and natural 1-gap player. His instinct is to attack. Cox is at his best when on the move and using his athleticism. 2-gapping doesn’t allow him to do that. Cox is talented enough to become a good 2-gap DE and remain a quality pass rusher. He does need time and reps.

— Matt Barkley’s third-team struggles continued. Actually, before team drills even began, he was errant on three straight downfield passes during Kelly’s drill in which he has the four quarterbacks all throw passes to undefended receivers at the same time. Barkley had some crisper tosses during team drills later on, but threw behind a crossing receiver from about 5-10 yards. Not good.

Barkley isn’t impressing many people right now. I hope he gets going pretty soon. He should shine in this kind of a setting.

_


63 Comments on “Minicamp, Day 1”

  1. 1 A_T_G said at 12:32 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    In the Bill Davis interview he was asked why the backend of the defense will be better. He immediately said that we added Nolan Carroll, then caught himself and said that we added some guys and the guys from last year understand better, etc. I thought it was interesting that his initial response was Carroll, not Jenkins. The guy must be impressing.

    Out of curiosity, I know we tried for Keenen Lewis last year, but he wanted to play near home. Does anybody remember what the sequence was with our two signings and Lewis? Was it Fletcher, Lewis, Williams?

  2. 2 GEAGLE said at 7:25 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Yeah but word is Jenkins is extremely impressive and Chip mentioned 3 different times how excited Billy is about Jenkins….for crying put loud, yesterday Jenkins managed to break up a pass to the GOD Jordan Mathews, first time anyone seen him not complete a catch at OTAs…that must make Jenkins special lol

  3. 3 UWotM8 said at 4:41 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Cary was absolutely the consolation prize. They offered more money to Lewis but he chose to sign with his home team for less money. Then as a fallback plan, they had to overpay Cary a little because they still needed another CB to play opposite Fletcher and Cary was the best still on the market that fit their scheme.

  4. 4 Sean Stott said at 1:30 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    It’s tough to replace either Cary or Bradley, because they’re both so close in skill. Would be hard to choose who starts and who Carroll replaces.

  5. 5 ICDogg said at 1:44 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Meh. If they’re all about the same quality, they’ll get into a rotation.

  6. 6 GEAGLE said at 7:40 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Yeah, that’s probably where I’m at…,even safety, everyone makes a lot out of Wolff vs.Nate but I think we will see all 3 play in every game that they are healthy….same with Nolan,mCary and Brad..

  7. 7 brza said at 4:19 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    If Carroll is better and WIlliams and Fletcher are even then I think money talks. WIlliams will be making too much money next season even if he retains a starting spot. If even I’d guess they lean towards Fletcher and hope they can re-sign him to a more cap friendly contract than Williams.

  8. 8 GEAGLE said at 7:24 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Nope…Cary is a defensive leader. Fans need to get used to him, he will restructure

  9. 9 Joe Minx said at 2:17 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    I think the bell is tolling on Barkley’s time here.

  10. 10 Charlie Kelly said at 4:39 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    GJ Kinne

  11. 11 brza said at 4:24 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Has Carroll gotten any first team reps? I hope he can win a starting job as an upgrade at either CB would definitely help.
    I am just a bit skeptical of getting too hyped about his potential when he is making plays against Mark Sanchez every day. If he mixes in against the 1’s and picks off Foles then I think there will be cause for excitement. But plays versus Sanchez, not so much.

  12. 12 Charlie Kelly said at 4:42 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    that reporter HAD to be les bowen… lol.. had to be

  13. 13 Anders said at 5:47 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    It was Jimmy, hence the art work

  14. 14 LiamGarrett said at 5:07 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    To be fair, Brandon Lee Gowten was positive about Barkley in his notes. And I definitely give the edge to Cary over Fletcher. Fletcher has injury issues and looked like an old man at times last season.

  15. 15 GEAGLE said at 7:23 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Cary is the heart of this defense! him starting is not even in question

  16. 16 GEAGLE said at 7:22 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Vinny Curry quote “when the Pads come on, I’m taking a run at everybody. They already know”…. Get Em Vin!!!

  17. 17 GEAGLE said at 7:30 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Think there is a big discrepancy with how the eagles view Cary and how fans and media view C-dub…,we will find out for sure if he is restructured at the end of the year which I fully expect…..Cary is a leader, thank Cary for putting the teeth back In our defense and bring the nasty back to that side of the ball..

    I know it’s not a very popular opinion but I fully expect us to restructure him for two more years past this one..

  18. 18 A_T_G said at 9:11 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    I know you are a big Williams fan, but I think you are missing a few things. First, Williams can bring the attitude from a backup role, like he did in BAL. Second, the games with and without Flfetcher last year really highlight his value. Third, I believe Fletcher was one our very first free agency moves, and Cary was the consolation prize when we missed on Lewis.

    I do hope he restructures and sticks around, but as a third corner. Well, I guess, ideally, a forth corner because Watkins makes this all irrelevant next year.

  19. 19 RobNE said at 9:50 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    I hear you but the games without Fletcher just told us our 2nd team depth was really bad, not necessarily that Fletcher > Williams.

    I don’t care about who wins, just excited to have much better depth with Carroll and Watkins.

  20. 20 GEAGLE said at 10:08 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    No one Confidemce in rock “heavy foot” Carmicheal? Lol.. Crazy how we thru him in the game while our 3rd round investment, marsh continues to rot away on the bench. Be thrilled when both corners are gone

  21. 21 Sb2bowl said at 1:14 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    I read something the other day that mentioned Roc was moved inside, and is Boykin(g)’s backup in the slot. To me, Roc seems like inside/traffic would help him more than trying to run with a WR down a sideline.

    I remember in the playoff game when Roc had to come in on a 3rd down, like 3 & 15 or something (forget who he came in for, think it was Cary)– Brees noticed the change, and I said to my buddy, “Brees is going after Roc, watch”……….. sure enough, receiver planted inside hard, pivoted outside and left Roc turned around. Completion, they got it by 1 or 2 yards, drive continues….. I was so pissed; knew EXACTLY what a veteran QB would do, and our secondary was unable to stop it. Can’t wait for more competition and actual talent in the backend, I’m happy with the changes/additions/subtractions we have made in the off season.

  22. 22 GEAGLE said at 1:19 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    What will we do with Jaylen Watkins, if Roc is Boykins backup? I guess this discussion comes down to how many CBs you expect the eagles to keep. My expectation is 5 CBs, and 5 safeties because Jaylen is a CB who can also be an emergency safety, and if we really ever had horrible injury luck at CB, Malcolm Jenkins could fill in at CB. And we go with Wolff and Nate at safety. Thinking the DB versatility of Jaylen and Jenkins may allow us to only go with 10 DBs so we can keep some promising young players at other positions…for example: if my choice is keeping Roc, or keeping Long, or Kruger….it’s not even a question in my mind that I would cut Rock…

    If we only keep 5 CBs, it would undoubtably be Cary,Brad
    Boykin/ Jalen
    With Nolan capable of backing up any of them
    ..
    That scenario would mean cutting Roc and Marsh, who I especially can’t wait to forget all about. If we keep 6 CBs I would assume that would be Roc

  23. 23 Sb2bowl said at 8:25 AM on June 19th, 2014:

    I think they’ll concentrate on working Watkins specifically outside, with an occasional safety look at this stage of his career (Billy D LOVES to move players around)– also, don’t forget that Jenkins can play in the slot; I would think that Wolff and Allen would be the typical “safeties” in certain looks, with Boykin and Jenkins playing inside, and Williams/Fletch outside. Obvisously, my scenario here has 6 defensive backs on the field at the same time, so we probably (if ever) won’t see this very often.

    As for your point regarding Roc and possibly keeping one of our younger DL, without a doubt- talent/potential/skill is the way to go; I think Chip values versatility so that (in cases like this) he can keep the players he wants, without “worrying” about depth at certain positions.

    Boykin, Jenkins, Watkins (probably not this year, but hopefully in the future)– these guys can all play multiple positions in the secondary. Do you see anyone else capable of being both a S and CB? I don’t know enough about Nolan, Fletch seems like a CB only (outside), and I could see Cary playing S in some calls. Don’t think N.Allen could play CB, same with Reynolds and Maragos– think Wolff could play some CB? I’m not sure….. he’s got crazy good measurables, but S and CB demand specifics and sometimes it just doesn’t pan out.

  24. 24 GEAGLE said at 9:58 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    I think Cary was much better down the stretch and I really like Brad. Personally I expect both corners to be better this year, and both CBs contracts will need to be adressed at the end of the year, and if we only get one back, I would assume that it would be Cary, but we shall see, nothing is set in stone at this point…

    Like the rest of the defense our corners had some rough times early in the year, but we probably don’t go to the playoffs last year without both corners buckling down and handling a murders row of BIG WR tandems the last 7-8 games of the season… They answered the bell practically every single time except the Vikings shit show….not really sure what more we could want than what we saw down the stretch last year from our corners, doing it with little to no safety support and without being able to really play their game, which is press…. We just added our 3rd corner Nolan who specializes in press. Time for our safeties to step up and let our corners play their game!

  25. 25 MFlick said at 7:30 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Re Foles throwing interceptions:
    Last season he made a comment that in practice you push it. So you try things and try to get the ball in smaller windows,etc. But in the games you play more conservative.

    It makes sense that he is testing his ability to make more difficult throws and hit smaller windows now.

  26. 26 GEAGLE said at 7:31 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Yup…he is doing exactly what he should be doing, testing the limits and figuring out what gambles he can and can’t get away with….Coaches and players are allegedly excited about Nick doing this, I assume since I heard many players bring this up already

  27. 27 CrackSammich said at 8:56 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    This is what I was thinking, too. New receivers, probably some tweaked mechanics, new routes, etc. This is the perfect time to try some things outside of his comfort zone, especially since Foles is not in danger of losing his job.

  28. 28 Ark87 said at 11:51 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Also, Foles has never been as good in practice as he is in games. In 2012 he came out of nowhere in the preseason, didn’t look anything like the guy that had been in camp, and out went Kafka. Likewise last year, he looked good in camp, but he didn’t look like 27 TD’s to 2 int’s.

  29. 29 GEAGLE said at 1:11 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Word is he is looking pretty darn impressive with his command in practice this year….really can’t wait til we go to Foxborough this summer and measure ourselves against the Patriots….remember last year FOles was really effective with the way he fakes defenses kind of patting the ball, and he credited seeing Tom Brady do that…be nice to see what else our golden boy can pickup from the NFLs golden boy this summer, Bellicek allowing young FOles around Brady for two summers is almost payback for cheating us out of a Super Bowl…..almost!!!

  30. 30 76mustang said at 1:02 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    We need to remember that our dbs are in the 2nd year in this defensive scheme, and have a full season of defending Chip’s O – I view some of this as improvement by the D…

  31. 31 GEAGLE said at 7:35 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Talking about the back up QB spot a two months after signing Sanchez is pointless at this point. Barkley been in this offense for two years, if he isn’t better than Sanchez today, we have issues!! But I actually have a feeling that Chip will make Sanchez look better than he ever has, but it won’t happen over night…

    Then again, I still suspect that there is another shoe to drop. Sign Matt Leinert. And Frankenstein the 3 USC dufous’s Into one capable backup

  32. 32 GEAGLE said at 7:48 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Billy Davis! like after the Denver game, promised that this defense will again take a giant step forward this year, and I’m starting to have a feeling that our defense will be drastically improved…thinking Fletcher Cox statistically will go thru the roof…Chip yesterday spoke a little about how excited he is about Cox…

    Chip on Villanueva was interesting, talking about his work ethic being second to none,,Villanueva put on 30lbs since arriving here, he is around 300lbs right now..Chip says he sees so much special talent, but we have no idea how he will develop so he is a special talent we plan on keeping an eye on…

    Also praised Travis Long, dudes going to make the roster….starting to wonder if BG will be a surprise cut so we can keep Long.

    People see Wolff spider chart that was posted again early this week? Athletically he ranks thru the roof..the only things he isn’t in the top percentile is height, arm length, hand sizes, body sizes basically…all his athletic traits are like 90 percentile and up… Think Earl is a major X factor..if he is ready to fly around this year and play fast, putting all that elite athleticism to use, it would be a huge boost…but It’s not a given…it’s very possible that he doesn’t take off til year 3, but he is a good hardworking kid who wants it, chances are this will be a big year for the kid..

  33. 33 Dominik said at 9:08 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Chip yesterday spoke a little about how excited he is about Cox…

    I let you decide if it would be infantil to make a joke about that statement.

  34. 34 GEAGLE said at 10:05 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Think a bunch of QBs will be getting a bigger taste of Cox than they would like this year

  35. 35 ICDogg said at 10:40 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    He has to stop being so soft, or he won’t get the penetration he needs.

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 7:49 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Btw, for those knocking Josh huffs KR ability, Chip praised It specifically yesterday and it seems like he is under heavy consideration to be our KR..

    I go to hear all our assistants speak these past two days except for Minter(and I know he spoke), Stoutland or Azzinaro….anyone know where I can find videos of them from these past two days?

    Vinny went one on one with Barkaan. Some good stuff
    “”
    FOles has always been impressive at press conferences, but yesterday the ish he was saying gave me goose bumps. May have been my favorite time hearing him speak…the growth he is showing as the face of this team is huge!!

    So much to talk about from these past few days… Need like 10 articles to cover all the juicy nuggets, and we still have today and tomorrow to get some more intel before the 6 week break….

    Btw, I give out media the business often, but it was impressed with the level of questioning our reporters brought this week to Novacare..no dumb questions that piss Chip off and cause him to shut down.. Nice work by our local media so far this week

  37. 37 Insomniac said at 12:31 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Chip praises EVERY player from Oregon. It’s becoming a joke now since the media eats it up.

    Huff’s Career stats in returning
    43 returns
    988 yards
    23.00 YPR
    1 Punt return
    2 yards
    2.00 YPR

    Mediocre and even more so when you actually see him do it.

  38. 38 peteike said at 4:29 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    its a touchback 99% of the time anyway unless theyre playing the Eagles. Also, as long as they dont fumble or make mistakes its fine, punt returns are far more important to have a guy that can break one. As long as the player looks like he can break one and be a smart player, its what you want. If they never do or rarely than those stats are always going to be diminished so I wouldnt put too much into those numbers.

  39. 39 Ark87 said at 8:17 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Jimmy: “Sorry about that interview yesterday, I thought you were Bryan Bramen! Silly me. Anyway, I got some questions tailored JUST for you today bud. Alright, when you found out you were suspended for 4 game this year, did that really hit home as a wake-up call?”
    Travis Long:”That’s Jake Knott”
    Jimmy:”I’ll get back to you”

  40. 40 CrackSammich said at 8:59 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    The news that Carroll may steal a starter spot makes me wonder if anyone has ever tried rotating CBs during a game like they do the DL. Would that be beneficial in any way?

  41. 41 Neil said at 9:15 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    CBs usually have better stamina because they’re only running with ~200 pounds. I can see it sort of being like a RB where you want to stay in the game to get a feel for the game. However, there could also be matchup considerations that cause how much playing time everyone gets to fluctuate game to game. Like if one game has a physical 6’5 receiver, you probably want Cary Williams to take him. When we’re going against a team like the Redskins with no really physical receiver, maybe they want Fletcher and Carroll out there, or even Boykin as the 2nd CB.

  42. 42 NinjaP said at 11:56 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Well since the eagles do face the most plays in the NFL, rotating corners might not be a horrible idea. Just depends on if you have 3 guys you feel are all capable starters.

  43. 43 GEAGLE said at 10:03 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Ahhh great delusional time of year, the honey moon period:
    ..
    RGme talks about the strong leadership in the skins locker room and how awesome coach Gruden is…
    ..
    Antrel Rolle says the giants will finish first. Skins second, and eagles 3rd saying our offense can be shut down if you have the right defense which they saw in the second Eagles game when they faced a hobbled Vick and Matt friggin Barkley lol

    What a comical time of year…to our Rivals, I say Enjoy it while it last, few months away from reality check time for the rest of the division,…let’s see how long it takes for the skins to start throwing each other under the bus and imploding…as long as they start Merriweather at safety, they are a joke

  44. 44 Ark87 said at 11:28 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    I’ll have to send Mr. Rolle a fruit basket for the bulletin board material.

  45. 45 GEAGLE said at 12:52 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    First Walter Thurmond running his mouth to Boykin, now this simpleton….these midgets will learn soon. Poor Rolle, doesn’t get to eat off playing against Vick any more…I’ll admit he was like the Vick killer for them these past few years..sort of a poor mans version of how Antoine Winnfield OWNED and Dismantled Vick to cool off his MVP year when we faced the Vikings on Tuesday due to the snow delay..

    Only time Rolle faced FOles, was when Saint Nick came in, in the second half and lit them up on a way to getting his first win under Chip…so far Rolle has had absolutely ZERO success shutting down the Saint FOles Eagles, so I don’t know what that fool is running his mouth about…think it may be a little different trying to stop this offense when you aren’t facing Matt Barkley in his first NFL game…but that’s just my gut feeling 🙂
    ..
    Btw, exciting to hear Chip mention Boykins name today as one of the guys who’s improvements have been really evident..an improved Boykin is a scary thought

  46. 46 GEAGLE said at 10:06 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Why no one crying about KC cutting a probowler because they couldn’t get anyone to trade for him? More proof that you trade for contracts in the NFL, not players…

  47. 47 Reasonableeaglefan said at 4:52 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    The big question is, how much less will he make? DJax got paid pretty well, more than I expected. Flowers won’t.

  48. 48 Joe Putin said at 10:12 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    GEAGLE I like a lot of your posts but you are posting WAY too much bud.

  49. 49 GEAGLE said at 10:26 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    There is a minimize button to the right of every post next to the flag…you are a simple click away from making anything I write disappear..click away…enjoy…. Btw, I see you made some stellar contributions to this discussion…much appreciated

  50. 50 Dominik said at 11:35 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Keep calm, mate. It’s criticism, but more of a constructiv criticism. Don’t have to agree with him, I don’t, but no reason to get pissed at him.

  51. 51 GEAGLE said at 12:44 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    I actually thought my response was pretty respectful…no?

  52. 52 jcwhy said at 12:02 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Keep posting I need something to read, good insight, and you seem to have some insider info which is always fun to read. Keep it up Geagle

  53. 53 Insomniac said at 12:27 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Half of his stuff is mindless rambling. Entertaining nonetheless.

  54. 54 austinfan said at 10:36 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Some thoughts:

    The only thing holding Cox back is Cox. Last year was an adjustment year, but he’s grown into his body, and what a body it is! This is a kid who had 30 reps with 34 1/2 ” arms at the Combine, now he’s added 10 lbs and is close to 310 lbs. He should be dominant if he plays with good pad level, has added some lower body strength, and uses his arms to get separation from blockers.

    Two gapping does hurt his stats to some extent, but Thornton had 60 tackles to his 41, and 7 stuffs to his 1 – playing the run is recognition and hunger, you have to work to make plays.

    Since teams pass almost 50% on run downs, and the Eagles go to 4 man fronts on passing downs, Cox should have plenty of opportunities to rush the passer, he’ll never put up JJ Watt numbers, but he should be able to put up Aaron Smith numbers (Steelers) or better.
    2002-2008: 50-13 4.3 sacks, 4.3 stuffs, 3 PD

  55. 55 Anders said at 11:40 AM on June 18th, 2014:

    Cox did lead the team in hurries last year. So his sack numbers should hopefully come up with better play by Logan, Curry, the secondary and the LBs.

    I think Cox has the ability to post Richard Seymour numbers.

  56. 56 GEAGLE said at 1:04 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Totally agree that last year was just an adjustment year for him, none the less his play was much more impressive then his stats were at times… I’m expecting Big statistical year for him. I don’t really get the complaining about two gapping..all it really effects is Cox’s ability to kill running backs behind the line of scrimmage, doing the dirty work so our linebackers can eat the running back..big deal. He is still getting unleashed on QBs, so I don’t really see the down side to him moving to a 3-4…don’t care if Cox is eating LBs behind the line of scrimmage, or if Kendricks gets to smash them, as long as someone is there…

    And I hate to say this. Because I really would like to see BG in year two, but BG will be a surprise cut…he simply has to be. Are we really going to give up having a young Kid like Long at a really cheap price with experience rushing as an OLB and DE for the next few years, for a guy who probably can’t wait to hit the free agent market at the end of the year? Not only does BG see Cole in front of him every day, but he just watched us spend a first round pick on a player at his position…how can he not plan on leaving at the end of the year? Don’t think 1yr of BG is worth losing Long, and I assume Braman is making this roster for his ST prowess….basically I see no way Long and BG can make this roster….BG surprise cut…wouldn’t at all mind being wrong and the eagles keeping all of them, just don’t see how that’s possible……nice drastic change from last year when Casey Mathews was backing up Barwn…we now have some nice camp battles for the OLB depth spots…

  57. 57 GEAGLE said at 12:43 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    “It’s really excited to be around a group of men with this type of work ethic” – Billy Dee

  58. 58 76mustang said at 12:52 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Chip enlightening media on his organizational philosophy

    Another reason to love Chip and trust his leadership – Chip asked about autonomy of position coaches vs micro managing and he breaks into organizational philosophy speak – are you a top down, informed acquiescence, or self-governance organization? We’re moving toward self-governance…

    Here’s a great article that speaks to the significant competitive benefits of a self-governance organizational structure:

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/dovseidman/2012/07/17/how-to-measure-and-manage-21st-century-performance/

    Credit Jeff Lurie for recognizing and embracing this philiosophy, and then putting his money behind it!

  59. 59 GEAGLE said at 1:07 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Jeffrey really really deserves respect…takes some type of balls to hire a college coach who plans on re shaping the way NFL teams practice and condition themselves…. Much respect to Lurie. And Howie for getting it done

  60. 60 GEAGLE said at 1:37 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Gotta hand it to the LOLskins…no one can say their front office isn’t consistent lol:
    “One of FA worst contracts looks even worse…Jason hatcher who will turn 32 next month signed a 4yr 27mil dollar contract will now undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday and be out 4-6 weeks”-John kelm
    “…
    It’s really starting to seem like Dan Snyder and Jerruh are competing for king of the incompetant

  61. 61 Dominik said at 6:21 AM on June 19th, 2014:

    Have to say, never got the argument “the Cowboys weren’t able to keep Ware and Hatcher”. That’s true for Ware, but who would keep Hatcher at this price tag? It’s a Skins move, of course, to pay the man this kind of money since he was never a great player in the 34 but excelled at the 43, when you play a 34. But Dallas not matching that is smart.

    I’m pretty sure we would have laughed at the Cowboys in one or two years if they would have matched (would have been able to match) that contract. Actually, I would have laughed this season, knowing he was a beast for them last year, but also knowing it’s very shortsighted to hand him this contract.

  62. 62 Dell24 said at 2:29 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    I like the competition Carroll and Long are bringing. Should help to solidify the secondary. If we can get more pressure from DL and LBs, that should also make the CBs look way better than last year. Jenkins seems like a coach on the field type, and I see a new emphasis on player intelligence which should help eliminate mistakes overall.
    GEAGLE, 24 posts in one article, I get you are fired up but you wrote more than Tommy.

  63. 63 peteike said at 4:10 PM on June 18th, 2014:

    Defenders constantly drop INT throws from Foles. I think its trending, something about a Saint