Barbre It Is
Posted: July 26th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 73 Comments »Chip Kelly held a press conference this morning and announced that Allen Barbre will be the RT for now. Kelly believes in competition so he’s not anointing Barbre as having locked down the job. To Kelly, everything has to be earned. By what he did last year and in the OTAs, Barbre earned the first shot at being the RT while Lane Johnson enjoys his September vacation.
Kelly was asked if the Eagles considered moving Todd Herremans to RT, but indicated that the plan all along was to go with Barbre. Kelly said that the Eagles really like him and that’s the reason they signed him to an extension. There was some speculation that Barbre got the extension because of Johnson’s suspension. That wasn’t the case.
Barbre will get all the reps with the 1’s. Lane Johnson will work with the #2 offense. You got the feeling that Kelly was pretty pissed off at Johnson for the whole situation. He didn’t throw him under the bus, but made it clear that the focus would be on getting the starters ready for the first 4 games. Johnson will have to do everything he can to be ready to challenge for his job when Game 5 rolls around, but it sure doesn’t sound like he’ll jump right back into his old job with no questions asked. Kelly is going to make him win that job.
“We’ve got to prepare for our first four games, so we’ve got to get the guy who is going to be the starting right tackle for the first four games in there,” Kelly said.
Kelly understands at the same time that Johnson, last year’s first-round pick, still needs to continue to develop.
“He’ll get reps, but they won’t be with the first team right now,” Kelly said.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that Johnson will miss the first four games after violating the league’s policy regarding performance-enhancing substances. The Eagles’ open the season at home against Jacksonville, then travel to Indianapolis before hosting Washington and going back on the road to face the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson can participate in Training Camp and the preseason, but is not allowed to be with the team once the suspension begins. He will be eligible to play in Week 5 against the St. Louis Rams.
“We’ll see,” Kelly responded when asked how Johnson will adjust upon his return. “The ball’s in his court in a lot of these situations.”
We don’t know what happened with Johnson. Was this an accident or did he get caught cheating? Everyone can have an opinion, but we don’t know for a fact. The key to the situation is that Johnson learns from it and moves on. He’s got to work his butt off this summer and then be ready for October. If he handles this situation the right way, all is forgiven. If Johnson doesn’t handle it well, this could snowball into something bigger. Johnson has the right kind of people around him. Let’s hope they help him get through this with minimal problems.
Barbre isn’t as good a player as Johnson, but he is a veteran who fits the Eagles system well. He looked very good last year vs the Packers when Jason Peters got hurt and missed part of the game. Barbre can be an adequate replacement, maybe even better than that. He’ll have plenty of time to get ready for his 4 games as the RT.
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The Eagles practiced in shorts today. Some quick tweets of interest.
I had a good chat with Jordan Matthews after practice. He's getting a lot of reps in the slot. Eagles brass is very high on him.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 26, 2014
Marcus Smith is currently running with 3's. Easy to see his athletic tools but he's swimming right now. Chip's pace is a challenge for def
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 26, 2014
Foles had a solid practice. He looks very poised and comfortable in this system.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 26, 2014
Matt Barkley is throwing the ball with a lot more RPM's this year. He's not straining to drive the ball like he did last August.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 26, 2014
Just finished watching Eagles practice…good day for Ertz & Celek. I think they'll see more targets with DeSean's departure.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 26, 2014
Interesting second team OL: LT Andrew Gardner, LG Tobin, C Vandervelde, RG Kelly, RT Lane Johnson
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherCSN) July 26, 2014
Very very early but Sanchez has looked a lot better than he was in the spring.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) July 26, 2014
We’ll have full TC reports later on. Lots of positive comments about Mark Sanchez on Twitter. Sounds like he’s much better than he was this spring, which is good. Need someone to emerge as the backup QB.
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Just pray we get thru this healthy…players keep dropping like flies league wide, really really hope we can get thru this without any big losses.
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Love how FOles put all our dumb reporters in place. They continue to talk as if Desean is soley responsible for coopers success and It was a really big time leader move for FOles to put them in their place and telling them they need to start giving Riley his respect…
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People cry about Desean loss! but we needed him to command attention last year because we didn’t have many weapons! with Avant being non existent in the slot and Ertz being a puppy who missed half the offseason with Stanford’s graduation….l
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To let the naysayers in on a little secret, we have so many weapons this year, that i can assure your simple brains that defensive coordinators won’t be double teaming. Bracket covering Riley Cooper lol Riley will continue getting single coverage from the opponents #2 CB, and I like his chances to continue bullying DBs and coming down with jump balls.
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FOles is always awesome at the podium but this was really the moment he established himself as the true leader of this team, stepping up and making sure the media starts giving his team mate the respect he deserves for how he played last year…. This notion that Riley won’t be as good because Desen is gone, is some ridiculous, uneducated crap… Cooper and FOles will continue their stellar chemistry.
I completely agree. Been telling people for awhile now that teams are not going to double, bracket or shade their safeties over to Riley Cooper any more than they did last year now that DeSean is gone.
The whole idea that DeSean drastically altered coverages last year is misguided too. In Andy’s last few years when we were running him deep every play hoping to hit one or two big plays a game, yes, he (and Andy’s playcalling) dictated that safeties started 30 yards off the ball at the snap and bailed quickly.
But, last year we saw mostly press man with a single high safety (rarely 30 yards off the LOS) at a typical safety depth just slightly shaded to DeSean’s side of the field. If people really think that having the safety a few extra steps away from his side of the field is going to turn Cooper into an ineffectual WR than they really don’t see him as having much talent at all.
Cooper is a lot better than people give him credit for. His ability to track balls is phenomenal, he uses his size well, he makes some spectacular grabs and has well above average hands, he runs great routes, he had great concentration (think his one handed grab and keeping his feet inbounds on all those backside of the endzone catches), hes a match-up problem in the red zone with his size, he blocks well and he’s got deceptively good speed (think his long run after the catch from a screen in the Raiders game – those DBs had to change their angles real quick when they realized how fast he actually was)…is he Calvin Johnson the second…by no means, but he’s no slouch either. He didn’t post good numbers last year because of DeSean, he posted good numbers because Riley Cooper is a good WR.
Beautiful post mate…can’t disagree with a word..
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This is why I despise our media. They say ridiculous uneducated crap like this, and it just catches on like Wildfire til it becomes the popular opinion and we have a legion of eagles fans thinking these absurdities….. These statements probably started from some hack beat reporter who couldn’t even tell you what “bracket Coverage” is…
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Lol what Defensive coordinator is really going of give a shit about Desean when the best back in football is running thru giant holes? It’s SOOO crazy how this crop gets started and it becomes the popular opinion….
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Cooper finally came into his own, and just so happened to have a QB and a coach who can maximize his talent.. This was not some flash in the pan year by Coop..
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I don’t care how awesome our offense was last year, I don’t think it’s possible to have seen the best of this offense yet. Not only do I think the continuity will help us reach another level, but is actually believe that even on paper, we are better than we were with Desean…
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Desean is a loss in some areas, but in a few areas losing him is an improvement. Desean is an awesome weapon, that can’t be taken away from him, but we still added more than we lost….
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Avant gave us NOTHING last year in the pass game. We went from nothing in the slot, to rotating a bunch of dangerous weapons in the slot this year.mSaint Jordan, Sproles, Ertz, Huff.
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And like every player having a monster year under Chip, I expect to see the best Jeremy Maclin. We have a coach who will maximize his talents to the fullest, a surgical pocket passing QB which is what you need with a WR like Maclins precise route running! not only are we sticking him back in the spread where he really thrived, but he will be sorrounded by so many weapons that you won’t really be able to key in on him….
Couldn’t agree more. People discount how useless Avant was to our offense last year, because one, he’s a damn good guy, that everybody liked and was easy to route for and two because the offense was so prolific for so many games last year that you forgot that you rarely heard his number called at all.
Avant had 38 catches (on 76 targets – ouch) for 447 yards. And, we played with 3 WR it seemed like 98% of our snaps last year. On top of that Avant made a grand total of 1 big play all year. Even adequate play from the #3WR spot should have trumped those numbers.
Sproles will get anywhere from 60-80 rec. On top of that, I expect Jordan Matthews and Huff to catch way more than 38 balls this year combined and had at least the possibility of making something happen with the ball in their hands once they catch it. Even when Avant caught the call he’d be only be able to generate about 2 yards of forward progress before the DT would catch up to him.
Plus, even despite his numbers going down significantly, and even if both our rookie WRs fail or don’t excel right away, the bottom line is that it was possible to cover Avant with a linebacker. He posed no match up difficulties for the defense to account for. Even if Matthews has a learning curve to get through his rookie year, you can’t put a LB on a guy that runs a 4.4 forty, you can’t put a 5’8” corner on a guy that’s almost 6’4”. You can’t play man if Sproles is in the backfield, because now he can’t be covered by a LB like Bryce Brown or Polk could be. There’s so much more pressure on the defense even without DeSean’s freakish speed, because in all honestly, it’s not like this team is full of slow plodders anyways, we’ve got plenty of speed, just no one DeSean fast…but really, not many teams do.
Add in an even more dangerous Ertz (especially in the red zone), and I’m excited about the possibilities with this offense.
You also said it right about DeSean. He’s a nice weapon. And, you’re absolutely right. I take nothing away from DeSean…he’s a tremendous weapon. But, he’s not someone you want your WR core built around. Too easy for him to disappear. Too little effect on so many situations in the game (red zone, run blocking, 3 and 7 when you desperately need 8 yards).
As good as he is, he’s a limited player that has the potential to explode any play at any moment and take it all the way to the house. I know those two statements seem contradictory, but I think were on the same page and you’d agree. I think if DeSean was more of a complimentary piece that made $5 million per year, instead of $12million and wasn’t a starting WR, but someone that came off the bench, returned punts like his life depended on it, and you truly utilized his unique skill set when you needed it, the team he’d be on would be incredibly hard to stop. As a starting WR, he limits the offense too much and in too many places on the field.
Great post …….SOOO true! Heck I’m even guilty of it. I hated the reality that Avant was out there looking like a shot prize,fighter with nothing left last year. Hard to day that about someone we respect so much more always being a class act, but Avant was an absolute liability in the pass game last year. He did his thing blocking, but blocking is not enough to make our roster this year when most of our WR are 6’2 220lb and more then capable to smash DBs In the run game
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I think it was amazing how well this offense worked, when DCs weren’t even worried about stopping Avant.
Not only will we get more production out Of the slot this year, but the slot CB who has to face the Eagles is probably going to have nightmares. Last year that CB had to worry about defending Avant. This year, that CB is going to have to defend, Jordan!huff! Sproles, Ertz. Over the course of a game, we will throw all those different stylistic weapons in the slot, and that can’t be fun for opposing slot CBs…..
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We have a head coach obsessed with scoring lots of points and scoring them quickly. If Chip needed Desean to continue to hang 30 on the scoreboard, Desean wouldn’t have been cut. Everything Chip does is to improve the team, so the fans who think we have take a step back because we lost Deseam are just silly….
Not only will we be just fine without Desean.our offense will be much improved from last season..
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I don’t believe Maclin is some drastic step down from Desean.. I would rank Desean as a better WR, but in this offense, with this QB, I’d bet Maclin proves to be a better fit with young FOles… I also think FOles and Maclin are extremely close! where as Desean was always Vicks butt buddy. Chemistry and trust matters if Coop and FOles connection is any indication.
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Your last paragraph about Desean is absolutely money… Chip has only been here 1 year, and it was an amazing year when things were going well. It’s not like Chip got to see Desean during a difficult 4-12 season…if Desean was a malcontent during last year, playing with a,washed up Avant and Coop, 1300yard season, how can we expect him to be a good soldier now that we have like Tripple the weapons we had last year?
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I love the emphasis on size and physicality from our WRs.. What team has enough 6’2 210lb defensive backs to be able to match up against all our size? Replacing Desean, should also improve our run game,
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Totally agree about huff and Jordan combining for more than 38… I’m convinced that Chip will make a joke out of the notion that rookie WRs can’t be effective…all those rookie WRs who failed In the history of the NFL, weren’t playing in a Chip Kelly offense. Chip will get huff and Jordan n plenty of favorable one on one matchups in space, and I expect those two to combine for Keenen Allen types of rookie production n
Desean’s greatest strengths start to go away in the red zone when things get compressed and he can’t just blow by everyone or create the same kind of vertical space just based on where he lines up–
but last season did we struggle AT ALL in the red zone once Foles was in there?
FOles provided us with the best redzone offense we saw in years. He even managed to help Desean improve in the redzone, but I think we will be so much more efficient this year. Love having a 6’6 QB, sorrounded by all these 6’2-6’5 pass catchers. The smallest pass catchers who will get on the field this year are Sproles and Maclin…
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Down In the redzone, our Big pass catchers should help punch it in with the run game, while also providing FOles with bigger targets to throw to..
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I don’t think there is a defense in the NFL that has enough 6’3 defensive backs to be able to match up with all our big targets
Completely agree! The Emergence of Foles, Cooper and Ertz mixed with the space our zone read created and Foles’ ability to get 2 yards for a score on the zone read dramatically reduced our red zone production. But, DeSeans limitations still had an effect and there’s always room for improvement. Despite being the number 2 offense in the league and being much better with Foles in the red zone we were still not even top ten in red zone efficiency even when you just look at games Foles played.
Really? Good stuff, I didn’t check the redzone numbers. We have been so bad in the redzone for years that I was busy enjoying not being completely Incompetant in the redzone and didn’t realize we were still so far away from being as efficient as we need to be down there….
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Just the fact that I didn’t see an eagles runningback get crushed on a failed shovel pass in the redzone last year, was considered progress lol
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Really look forward to seeing our big QB in the redzone with so many big pass catching targets! Maclins precision and behind all the trees we sneak the tiny Sproles and shady out Into the flat… Iook forward to seeing Sproles run those “Wes Welker pivot” routes.
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Did you see FOles numbers against the blitz? ELITE STATUS!!!!
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I want to see:
Kickoffs no longer giving me heart attacks
Efficient redzone offense
Defense getting off the field on 3rd down
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Give me those 3 improvements and I Ike out chances against anyone
I always like Mac’s response to all that. Someone asked him if it was fair to credit Riley’s success to Desean Jackson getting double covered on the other side, paraphrasing “I said it before, nobody gets doubled in this league except Calvin at the goal line, period, when people bring that up, it baffles me”
Lol swear I just logged back on to add Maclins response after just watching his press conference lol
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It’s true tho….this notion that Desean is gone so now defensive coordinators can allocate two defensive backs to shutting down coop is just absurd… I don’t even know how people make this crap up and it becomes popular opinion.
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“Coop there it is” is up to 230lb right now. I suspect that DCs will use their #1 CBs on Maclin or Ertz before they stick their top CB on Coop…. Coop will continue to face -#2 CBs, and a BIG CB is considered like 6’1 200lbs… I do not at all believe Coops success had anything to do with Desean. Coop will again get to play in an pffense suited for his talents, with a QB who knows exactly how to use him. coop isn’t the type to get a bunch of separation consistently..often you goota throw him open and let him go get it. Coop and FOles should be an even better Tandem this year…..I simply don’t believe that Desean leaving is going to cause Coop to stop bullying smaller CBs and battling to come down with jump balls. Fo.esy baby will be more surgical, and coop will be better in this offense and allegedly stronger! Big year from FOles to “COOP THERE IT IS”
Thing is: we need a #1 so Cooper is our #2. It’s as simple as that, imho. We hope Maclin is that #1, maybe Ertz, maybe the Saint halfway through the season – all possible. But Cooper isn’t a #1. And he would have problems being a #1, because that means CB #1 coverage, that means a tendency for more Safety help. For that role, Coop just isn’t good enough, we shouldn’t kid ourselves there.
But, like I said, it’s not like Desean as a player ‘made’ Cooper, it’s his role. He’s a good #2, especially in this offense. We just need that #1 (despite all the criticism: Desean was a true #1) – it should be Maclin, but he can’t be self-tacklin Maclin in that role, he needs to make a step.
Coop absolutely isn’t a 1, and he will never be a 1….but, I think Chips goal is to eventually not even have a 1.
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Traditionally you see teams with a legit #1, quality #2, slot WRs…and they play the majority of the snaps. And then there is a drop off to the other WRs on the roster.
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I think Chips eventual goal is to really have 5’WRs that we want to use in games. I think he wants to be able to throw waves of different pass catching weapons at teams the way a DL coach sends waves at the QB. I think his goal is to have a deep, well rounded arsenal of weapons, and snap counts for players will change from one week to the next depending on the matchups.
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I expect him to breakdown the defense we are facing, find it’s weaknesses and see which of the pass catchers in our bullpen are stylistically suited to create the biggest mismatch against the defames weakness…
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In order to accomplish this, you probably will always have to have ATleast two WRs on rookie contracts, or you probably can’t afford to pay 5 quality WRs if they are all on their second contracts…
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But Yes, you have to have a #1 who is capable of producing against the opponents #1 CB…for this year, I think our #1 will be a two headed monster approach… Normally I expect it to be Maclin, but when we face CBs that don’t move around an follow their man all over the formation like the Seahawks, who just ask Sherman to stay on one side and shut it down, i expect us to use Ertz to get physical with him and beat him up. Sherm is a Big CB when facing WRs…against Ertz, he is just another small defender who will get bullied…but when facing top CBs who follow their man all over the place like pat Peterson, I would expect Maclin to command his attention…
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I think the Seahawks defense will be in a lot of trouble against us. I think it’s foolish to let Chip dictate the match ups which is exactly huh at Pete Carrol is doing by sticking Sherm on one side of the field and have him defend who ever the offense puts in front of him is a mistake against Chip. You are letting Chip dictate the match up,,,.chip isn’t going to play to Sherman’s game and stick Maclin in front of him. Chip will try to get Sherm out Of his comfort zone, forcing him to defend the big TE Ertz, or even the small, quick veteran route running of Sproles…
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you’re on a roll tonight GEAGLE, I’m loving it!
Their begging for him to come back to Philly Mag
I took a football break these past few weeks…I was enjoying NBA summer league…camp has rejuvenated me…I’m getting pretty antsy for football time..figure in a few days we will be watching a preseason game..
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LOL how funny will it be if FOles and the first team offense go 3 and out all preseason, and Barkley and Sanchez play lights out? Bwahahah this city will have a heart attack. Just picture the overeactions from fans n media
I’m not disagreeing with anything you’re saying, but I have to point out how crazy it is that fans are all of a sudden talking about how we don’t need a “#1 WR” because of Chip’s style of offense. That was the same argument for Andy Reid and Co. not drafting/signing big time WR’s too… but nobody gave Reid a pass.
Serious question for you:
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Can you ever recall an eagles team being more stacked with pass catching weapons?
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Not needing a #1 doesn’t mean we can go to war with a bunch of James Thrash types. If Maclin isn’t a true #1, he is one of the better #2’s….I also wouldn’t be surprised if Ertz grows into our best pass catcher. The great Patriots and Saints don’t have true #1s..they go thru Gronk and Jimmy jam Graham..
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If you live in the philly area and you make it down the Linc for a game. Get there extra Early and just watch Ertz run during warm ups…. Don’t think you can really appreciate how darn special he can be until you see him run in person. I was blown away by it.
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It’s also not out of the question that a WR Chip drafts develops into a true #1. You won’t see me putting limits on Jordan Mathews and what he can grow to become…
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It’s not like I’m saying, we don’t need a #1, we are fine With a bunch of #5s lol
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Most teams have:
#1, #2, #3,.drop off, drop off, drop off
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Thinking Chip wants:
#2,#2,#2,#3,#3,#3
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It’s not that I don’t think Chip wants guys who are talented enough to be WRs..it’s that I think Chip wants to be able to use all his WRs in a game, where other teams don’t play all their WRs because there is a drop off in talemt……if teams throw the ball to 5 players in games, but we throw the ball to 8-9 different players in games, individual numbers will probably drop, and we probably don’t have a guy getting enough opportunities to measure up there with the leagues #1 WRs…
Completely agree with your take on Ertz’s sneaky athleticism. I remember watching him at training camp just warming up doing agility and flexibility drills and being blown away by how athletic and naturally he moves. His overall speed numbers from the combine don’t really pop off the chart. But when you see a 6’5″ man his size moving around with that much agility, flexibility and body control it’s extremely noticeable, especially when you see him doing the same movements next to our other TEs. Night and day.
EXACTLY!!!!! I knew we were getting a pass catching weapon in him, but those combine numbers really deceived me too man. I was blown away seeing someone his size running around like that…I always recommend to eagles fans to watch that kid in warm ups to really understand how good that kid can be for us.. It’s really Impressive.
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And to get such an athlete who is already so polished of a route runner and experienced lining up everywhere is such a score for us. I remember going into last years draft, refusing to talk about Ertz because I thought it was a complete waste of time because we were picking 4th, and I was convinced Ertz would last past #25…I still don’t even understand how he made it out of round 1, especially when it wasn’t a strong WR draft….
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Word is, he came back this year looming like a monster after focusing on improving his blocking. I haven’t seen pics of him yet, has anyone actually seen him?
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I play in a fantasy league with a bunch of giants and bills fans, and they think I’m nuts for designating Ertz as one of my keepers from last year…and since I don’t have to compete against other Eagles fans, you know I’m going to be able to pick up Jordan Mathews late…not so much for this year, but he could
Pay off as a keeper down the road in a big way
And for those still sweating the loss of Desean and how it impacts WRs like Cooper… Reality is that defensive coordinators are going to LOSE much much more sleep worrying about where they will find the personel to be able to match up with Sproles!Shady and Ertz in the passing game, then they ever worried about how they will defend Desean…
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Desean was an excellent home run weapon, but it’s so much harder to figure out how you can matchup LBs and safeties against Sproles,Shady and Ertz, than it was to match up against Desean. Especially when Avant who was DONE was on the field… Teams just don’t have the speed at LB to match up with our backs, and Ertz is going to abuse a lot of safeties.
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The nightmare matchups that is Ertz,Sproles,Shady, is going to open things up for WRs much more than Deseans presence ever did
I think your analysis of the WR situation is far too cavalier of the importance of a 3 time pro bowler to our overall success. We’ll see how the season goes, but the kicking of dirt on Jackson’s grave isn’t something even close to how I see it.
Not kicking dirt on anyone’s grave…I just don’t buy the bullshit that 3 players can’t combine to replace what Desean gave us..and Desean leading to the success of Riley is more crap.
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I know we will be a little better in the run game, we will be more flexible because Maclin can run the entire route tree where as Desean has it’s limits… I think Desean was brilliant for the most part last year, but NO I don’t think Coop owes his success to Desean. I think Desean is irrelevant to Cooper and his production and it will be proved this year..
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I would hope that 3 quality eagle pass catchers can make up for The loss of Desean and I have no doubts we willl see a better offense than last year.
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I could understand taking exception to replace Desean with an inferior WR, but we are adding 4 new pass catching weapons,
Sorry but, Maclin + Huff + Mathews + Sproles > Desean/Avant ALL DAY. EVERY DAY!!
Also pretty telling imo.
Even if we ignore the past, stylistically Maclin is a much better fit for FOles than Desean was… Maclin type of precision route running is best suited to play with a pocket QB
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Desean will get wide open down field, so he is probably more suited to play with Vick and his cannon arm who won’t throw to a WR until he is open
What have Calvin Johnson done for the Lions overall success? While star WRs get paid monster money, their impact on a team is far less than what people think.
Remember the the AR Eagles? They made 5 NFCCG and only once did they have a pro bowl WR and he wasnt even part of the play offs except for the SB.
Holy Crap we brought in some big boys,That’s Jason Peters in front of them coaching em up O.O http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/photos/photo-gallery/Training-Camp-July-26/5dd5a2a0-38da-4f5c-822a-8371bbe41650#f39dbdae-72b3-477d-a4f9-9490a7b278d8
Probably just the camera angle, but JP looks like a fat version of Sproles compared to those two. 😉
Yeah, I wonder if JP lost weight. According to the roster listing he gives up 2 inches on each of those dudes, but he’s got 20 pounds on them. Not sure I buy that he outweighs them on that picture.
Disclaimer: not attacking JP, by my estimation he might be the most freakishly athletic human beings I’ve ever seen in person. Matched with great intelligence awesome technique, those young bucks are nowhere near a threat to him.
I think Vinny will make his presence felt this year
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Marcus head is spinning trying to get lined up against a Chip Kelly offense lol..that must definitely suck to be him right now lol… But confusing him like this now. Having to line up so fast against chips motion offense, will pay dividends during the season. Rookies having to lineup and know the right responsibility in chips motion offense I would think accelerates a young defenders mental development….
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After we watch the eagles week one game! The first thing I’m going to do is start the game over from the beginning and watch every Jason peters snap. Can’t wait to see how he looks another year removed from the Achilles…
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I’m gettng so hype for this year….
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Key players are holding out. Getting arrested, suspended and injured league wide….if Chip can keep our guys on the field. We will be in a real position. To make some noise,,
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Pray for health
And that the NFL is done randomly piss testing our guys!
Touche
I am going to watch Curry. He is too good and too devoted to be held out of the rotation. I think we are all gonna be super pleased with his progress this year.
Agreed…but I don’t think we even have to wait to the season. I expect him to look possessed in training camp and preseason… This kid has worked really really hard, he bleeds green and he is about to enjoy a break out season for sure.
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Vinny and Cox are going to be a BIGTIME reason for why we will enjoy a much improved 3rd down defense. 3rd down is VINNY TIME!!….the havoc him and Cox will create as interior pass rushers is going to be HUGE,not to mention their speed and agility being on display when we twist, stunt,..if can’t be easy to keep up with curry looping to the outside while Barwin or Cole crash inside, usually follwd by Mykal or Meco blitzing following our OLBs right up the middle..
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Telling you right.now our 3rd down defense will be fucking nasty this year. And that will make all the difference in the world. This time next year we will l be going into the season as a consensus top defense after the world sees our hungry pups take that next step and grow into their big paws!
Peters lost around 15-20 pounds. You can see he is much slimmer than in 2011.
Great to see football back. And because Herremans essentially sucked at RT, I’m very happy to see Barbre get a chance out there first. Smart move by Kelly.
Me too man. And if memory serves, that’s just how captain Funjun saw it shaking out as well….
No worries mate…the lord of light is an Eagles fan and Shawn Hulls learned his “sports Science” from Lady Malisandre aka “the red woman”…
HA HA Well don Geagle! Tony Romo IS INDEED reek! And I submit that Jerry Jones is very much Walder Frey & I will dub Jason Garret Ramsay Snow. Perhaps with his impressive scheming & reletive lack of height, maybe Kelly is our Tyrion Lannister with Azzinaroo being none other than Kelly’s Bronn. Lastltlt, with our coach loving size so very much, I’m waiting for him to sign the Cleganes! There HAS to be a use for the Mountain & the HOUND!!!
Bwahahaha Walder Frey for Jerry is hysterical lol
And how about Drew Rosenhaus as “Littfinger”?? Also I see Coughlin as Stan is Barratheon. And I hate to say it but the way Barkley agitates me, I have to call him “King Joffrey” lol
YES..Drew Rosenhause is definite that shyster lil finger..
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Bwahahahahahahah prince Joeffry!!
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Would that make Sanchez Rob Stark?
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Guess FOles would have to be Jon Snow..
T ithOK Geagle, last time I promise! Bit I had to share a couple more. You were so right that we already have the “Mountain” on the roster with that beast of a Ranger. Also if we can overlook skin tone, our very ownv Sandor “the Hound”! Also, maybe the most likely of them ALL. I submit for your consideration, that AHowie Long is Ned Stark, Alex Henerey is in fact Arya Stark as evidenced by his/her noodle leg & penchant for dressing as a boy. With that, Chris Long as Robb Stark,(let’s PRAY Chip changes his ways!) But Maclin after th turns into Sam Tarley! PS. Good ell as Argon Targarya
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Well I decided to try this new game, where everytime I leave my house to drive short distance, like drive 5 minutes to Wawa and back. I’m going to put sports radio on and I’m going to try to listen to it without flipping out for the 10 min it takes me to drive to Wawa and back..
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Few hours ago I played for my first drive…two minutes into the ride, 97.5 “Phil from mt. Airy’ is telling his caller that Nick is just a stop gap, and first chance he gets Chp wiill draft “his”guy…because as long as FOles is the QB, Chip can only use about 60% of his playbook…. How am I supposed to react to that? How can people still be saying this? I feel like I’m just beng punkd
I think the Philadelphia fan has been conditioned to want a mobile quarterback over the last 25 years. All our best QB’s have been Randall, McNabb and Vick, all mobile, all with huge arms, all big play makers. Compare that to our scrap heap of poor QB’s which have been more the archetypal pocket passer and i can see how some people struggle to think he can make it if they don’t watch football outside of the Eagles and college.
Reality is that a statue completing to open receivers, at the right time and moving the ball up and down the field wins games just as well if not better than the physically gifted play maker. I also think that we have a weird attachment to players draft status their first 3 years in the league, often under rating anyone who is not a top 50 pick.
All adds up to a lot of people still not believing in Foles yet. As for not being Chips ideal QB, Foles isnt. Chips ideal QB would be; 8ft, 400lb, with a howitzer arm, with Vick’s mobility, Brady’s will to win and Payton’s football braid and vision. That guy does not exist, and Chip system would rather a football smart QB than an athletic QB who cannot make the right throws.
Really really feel that we are in good hands in terms of our QB/Coach tandem…and I despise the way fools drool over a QBs athleticism or arm strength. So often I see idiots talk about “QB talent” and don’t even factor “QB intelligence” into the equation…
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I believe in the culture Chip is trying to create and the emphasis on Character, which becomes everything when it’s time to face serious adversity,,,
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Chip revolutionized the way football teams are trained in Philly.
if his training methods and all the emphasis he puts into Hulls sports science leads to the Eagles being one of the healthiest teams every year it will be a MONSTER advantage
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Players are dropping like flies around the league in terms of season ending injuries. That’s scary, considering teams only had 1 or 2 practices so far where you were allowed to tackle and be physical… If Chip Kelly can get is thru training camp and preseason healthy, it will be absolutely huge…
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We are winning this division. We are hosting a home playoff game this year. If we get to the postseason without losing any key players, I’m going to like our chances of getting to the Super Bowl..
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Today, none of us are looking at this as a SUPERBOW season, and most of us would take winning one playoff game this year as a successful season…..but if we get to the post season healthy, I’m looking to win more than one playoff game…I don’t think we should ever put limits on a playoff team. Not only where we healthy down the stretch last year, but players were talking about how well they were feeling, how they never felt so good at the end of the year…….unfortunately one year sample size could just be dumb luck. Finding out if last year was just dumb luck. Of if a healthy energetic roster down the stretch will be a new trend in philly under Chip is one of the biggest questions I’m dying to find out the answers to
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Playoffs is a new season. Get hot, and who Knows how far we can go…
Geagle, i have a new game for you, it’s called don’t waste your time with philly sports radio. It is just to painful to listen to low information hosts and callers. Wayy to frustrating!!
Tommy I think I figured out why this team is so likable. Yeah, they all have good character and they’re good guys, but so was Nnamdi Asomugha, so it was hard to put my finger on.
So I was watching some videos of the guys coming to day 1 of camp, Foles only says 1 thing consistently that makes me cringe. He’s so damn proud of being a good ole Texas boy. It’s like dude, no you’re not, that Manziel, you’re just a Football nerd who couldn’t get any sleep the day before camp as if it’s christma-oh my god you’re a football nerd! Chip Kelly is a total football nerd. Watch Jordan Matthews get excited and awkward and just start geeking out about practice. Darren Sproles has a hell of a time talking to the media, but by every account he has one of the best football minds in the league. They could practically reboot freaks and geeks as a football comedy in that locker room. Chip Kelly is a football nerd actively recruiting football nerds and converting people into football nerdom throughout the locker room. This program is actively making football a life style like we’ve never seen it. And the enthusiasm it’s being greeted with is awesome.
As fans that sit on these boards talking about football throughout the off season, flying the football nerd flag, I think this is a team we can strongly identify with. Nothing pisses us off like the amazing talent that doesn’t care about football as much as we do and underachieves. It’s great to have a team that’s as passionate about football as we are.
Great observation. It is fun to root for guys who realize how lucky they are and enjoy playing as much as we would if we had the talent.
I remember thinking how absolutely painful it was listening to Sproles’ introductory press conference. I only had the audio, & I remember thinking how painful it was. After I found out that he’s been saddled with a life long curse of a brutal lisp, it not only made sense, I felt sorry for the dude. No wonder he avoids the press with similar vigor as he does defenders on Sundays! : )
Same…I was cringing at how brutal it was trying to hear his press conference, until I found out his stutter problem
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Ertz is a funny interview. He gets all shy and his voice starts to crack
Hopefully in a few months teams are going to be referring to The Demon Barbre of Broad Street and Lane is going to be forcing Kelly to come up with plays utilizing 6 linemen.
[…] Barbre It Is – Iggles BlitzWe don’t know what happened with Johnson. Was this an accident or did he get caught cheating? Everyone can have an opinion, but we don’t know for a fact. The key to the situation is that Johnson learns from it and moves on. He’s got to work his butt off this summer and then be ready for October. If he handles this situation the right way, all is forgiven. If Johnson doesn’t handle it well, this could snowball into something bigger. Johnson has the right kind of people around him. Let’s hope they help him get through this with minimal problems. […]
“Was this an accident or did he get caught cheating?” — Yes, it was an accident. On a different note, I have a wonderful bridge for you to buy. This is a special bridge because it goes ALL the way across the water to the other side. For an extra 100,000, you get the naming rights to the bridge.
Brass is really high on Jordan Mathews? Phew. For a minute there, I thought Chip spent all his research/scouting/interviews and selecting a guy in the 2nd round and not be high on him. Dodged a bullet there.
I don’t know much about Gardner but that 2nd unit is pretty impressive. I’ve seen worse starting lines. We have some good depth there. I think LJ will respond in a positive way from all of this.
Hmmm…
I never had the chance to see Barber fill in last year. I heard by all accounts he aqcuited himself admirably. Is that a fair assessment? Also, I’m unaware of his contract situation but if for no other reason I’d love to see him go out there & steamroll guys to impress future suitors, or Stoutland/Kelly. Win Win. For those of you familiar with his game, is his strength more of a run blocking mauler or pass protector
Barbre was just extended for 3 years, he’s 30, so he won’t go anywhere soon.
As to strenght/weaknesses, Jimmy did a film breakdown on him. To sum it up: good in Pass Pro, not so good in the run game. He’s short for his position (Tackle), but very athletic. Here’s Jimmys breakdown:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/eagles/Film-breakdown-Can-the-Eagles-survive-with-Allen-Barbre-at-RT-for-four-weeks.html
Barbre is the OT/OG version of Kelce, very good pass pro (how the fuck did we manage to pick him up on the street?), not super strong so problems against very strong DEs and good on the move.
+ our future Pro Bowl Center in the 6th and Todd in the 4th.
I get what you are saying, but we have to be fair: Barbre was on the street for the 2012 season and despite needing help all over the place (and monitoring him), we didn’t sign him. We signed him in the offseason, before Chip came. Very, very strange, all in all, but I won’t complain since it worked out well.
All I know is Howie has someone working for him who knows a thing or two about scouting veteran guards. To get Mathis and Barbre in a 5year period is impressive scouting…weird considering how badly we botched the Danny Watkins draft…
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Evan Mathis showed why we will be an elite team! and why Chip is building something special. Ton of leverage fell Into his lap with Lane being suspended, yet the man still didn’t have it in him to hold out and let down his teammates, coaches and fans… THATS SPECIAL In today’s world of pro athletes…and it shows what a special team Chip is trying to build…. Hope every fan with a twitter account tells Mathis they appreciate him…after T.O doing sit-ups and destroying what could have been a special era, you have to appreciate Evan Mathis…. Mathis situation, gives me a lot of confidence in overthrowing the Seahawks and Niners ..
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PRAY for NO INJURIES, no more failed drug tests, and we seem to have made it thru the portion of the offseason where players get arrested.,We are witnessing why the culture and quality of men on the team is so important to Chip Kelly..
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Where as the Niners have key holdouts, bunch of players who will miss games via injury and suspensions, yesterday they lost key RB Kendall Hunter for the season.. They have key players like Iupati who see the writing on the wall, that they will be discarded at the end of the season…I’m ready to OVERTHROW the Niners and take their spot in the conference Hierarchy, and why shouldn’t we? We have the better QB, our OL in up there with theirs if not better, our running game is better and our pass catchers are better…
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Considering the age, injury, suspensions on the Niners defense, their arrow is pointing down, while all our young puppies keep improving
I like your optimism, but don’t forget that the 49ers are way better in the other two phases of the game. They have the best punter in the game and their kicker laughs at our noodleleg.
They have a top three Defense (let’s see how much they will miss Bowman). We’re better on offense, sure, but we better be if we even want to think about beating them in the NFC race. Their offense isn’t very good, it’s their D that makes them special.
Plus, the 49ers are one of the few teams who have as good a HC as we have. You wrote last year you don’t see a clown like Schwartz beating Chip – having great coaches sure helps, but I wouldn’t speak of an advantage against the 49ers, as much as I love Chip.
It’s possible we’ll have a better record than them next year. That’s life in the NFL. But I wouldn’t bet on that. The 49ers are, like the Seahawks, a powerhouse.
I will never say anyone has a better punter than Donnie Longball. He is the best punter I have ever seen(maybe I don’t pay attention to punting as much as I should lol)
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Let’s talk about the Niners for a second:
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1) QB who’s best trait is running the ball,matrons cannon of an arm but has been an absolute MESS in the pocket….I think our young QB is LIGHTYEARS ahead of their QB in terms of understanding what the defense is doing and knowing how to attack it.
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2) the strength of that team is run game. Well we have the better back and our Oline is as good as they are at run blocking if not better. That’s a very physical team who has been playing late into January the past 3 years…sooner of later that physical Brand of ball will take a toll on their older players bodies. gore is going to wake up one of these morning and age will have caught up, Kendall is done with injuries. They have Lattimore and rookie Hyde behind gore.
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I wouldn’t say they have better pass catchers than us…probably call it even I terms of combined WR/TEs
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let’s see:
1) there stud OG Iupati is a lame duck who knows this is his last year as a niner
2) the other G Boone, is holding out and seems serious about it. They can’t pay him because then they have to pay Vernon Davis,,,
3) Navaro Bowman isn’t playing in the eagles game
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4) Aldon smith probably isn’t playing in the Eagles game
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5) Justin Smith is a 34yr old who just revealed had offseason shoulder Surgery,..how long can he continue to play at Elite Level
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6) there secondary has a ton to prove before we lose sleep over facing them. They have a sophmore safety(Reid) playing with a new veteran (bathea), they will incorporate rookie Jimmy Ward..their corners,..MEH.. We play them early in the year and I’d assume all the changes in the secondary will take some time to adjust. Doubt it’s secondary plays it’s best ball in September. They will need time to gel, facing us, who should be locked n loaded offensively to start the season.
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I really really looking forward to the opportunities for glory: the Niners game, colts, Seahawks! cardinals, and the division games…I don’t want to lose more than 2 games against all those teams
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The game I worry about: first and foremost THE RAMS, cuz you can fuck around and get your QB hurt against that Dline..thankfully that will be Lanes first game. I also worry about going To LAMBAEU with Aaron Rogers playing, and I worry about the Titans as a junk letdown game?
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I think this year is amazing for us. ITS a BIGTIME opportunity to test ourslelves against the toughest the NFL has to offer while having the safety net that is divisional dominance… We shouldn’t lose more than 1 or 2 division games, and our Rivals aren’t equipped to win against the Outter division schedule where as I know we will steal at least a game or two against the very best….
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This is a HUGE opportunity to go pick fights against the toughest teams to really find out how we stack up, knowing that we are going to win our division and get a playoff birth regardless…. Can’t wait for Chip to face Harbaugh and Pete Carrol
Like I said, you didn’t have to convince me that we have the better offense. 😉 It would be a bad sign and we can forget about the Playoffs if that wouldn’t be the case.
To the D: Yeah, they are without Bowman. But they have 3 stud LBs besides him, while his replacement will get all the first team reps during TC and the first three reg season games.
They maybe be without Aldon Smith – but that’s no given. From last month:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/25/aldon-smith-highly-unlikely-to-be-playing-at-start-of-2014-season/
We need to be lucky that he’ll be suspended for four games, not only two or three. Since he’s a repeat offender, maybe. But like I said, no given.
You write about Justin Smith being old – that’s right, but don’t forget our great left side of the O-Line is old, too. Problem with the 49ers is: their D is stout against the run. Very tough to run against them. Nick can certainly beat them through the air, but our Offense breathes through the running game, which then opens up play action and all those option plays.
Barbre was suspended first 4 games of 2012 and Reid most likely still had hope in Watkins (and we had Mathis)
Hope Ryan Clark is being tested for Alzheimer’s.
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Lol he had the audacity to say the redskins secondary is the most talented he has ever played with…Bwahahahahahahah iike Taylor and polomalo In their primes, were probably better than the combined skins secondary..
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I get it, you want to instill confidence in your new team, but you sounding like a Clown. Skins and Cowboys defenses are an absolute joke, which is why,mi don’t even pay attention to what they are doing on offense, they don’t have the horses on defense to be taken serious
Who did shady get into scuffle with in practice? Caught the end of Shadys press conference telling reporters that it’s a silly argument and really not a big deal, but I missed who he was talking about?
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Love seeing how excited shady is about playing with Sproles. LOL YES, shady is talking about what I always say HOW DO YOU STOP SHADY AND Sproles down each sideline simultaneously running wheel routes!!!l YES!! YES!! YES!!
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Of course Zack Bermam had to be the duckhead to ask shady how he feels about Jamaal Charles new contract…what a piece of shit, cunt of a man! You can’t.trll me “it’s his job to ask shady that question”… Shady NEVER ONCE hinted being upset with his contract..it’s not that cunt bermans job to create news. Clown asking questions out of the blue, designed to try and get shady to say something where his words can be twisted into a headline…how is this ok? How is Zack Berman going to be allowed back in then vacate complex tomorrow asking someone else a question?
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Every single training camp, it never fails, some piece of shit media member tries to fabricate drama… I been DYING to get to training camp so we can hear from players and coaches. You don’t have to try and turn training camp into the jerry springer show to get eagles fans attention… I need to tweet this poor excuse of a man
It was Trent Cole. Cole said they are just competitive and McCoy said Cole is like a brother. No big deal it sounds like.
Thanks,,,yeah no big deal. I caught everything shady said. Except who it was that he got into it with. Noi Big Deal…ESPECIALLY not a big deal since Andy Reid is gone. Chip doesn’t allow his players to fight, where as old School coaches like Andy like a few training camp fights
On a side note, I am getting SUPER excited about our corners. Carrol had another good day and Boy-King played on the outside and obviously was great. Plus we still have Williams and Fletch. AND Watkins.
Damn right…I’m expecting the secondary to take a big leap this year for so many reasons, depth, subpackage alternative, having the trust In our safeties to allow our corners to actually press which is what we signed them to do…heck just having Malcolm Jenkins QB us, should cut down on blatant mistakes and blown coverages which should manifest in big improvements on 3rd down…
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Brad Fletch gets hurt for a game or two last year. And we are left starting Roc Carmicheal!!! Lol we are way more equipped depth wise to handle common bumps and bruises of an NFL season, and our depth provides More subpackage alternatives than Billy had In his tool belt than last year….. The more variations you can throw at opposing QBs and OLines, the better chance they make mistakes that provide our defense with opportunities to make a gamechanging play.
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Secondary definitely got an infusion of talent this offseason. We didn’t sign the 50million dollar safety but we added Malcom, no!an Carrol, Jaylen Ed Reynolds…..that’s a nice little make over for your secondary In one offseason.
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Defense is going to be a pleasant surprise for people this year. Just adding all the little improvements our young players make should be huge..it’s not like we only are counting on one or two young players…we have like 8-10 youngins who aren’t even close to maxing out as NFL players yet..a young player who gets good coaching. Works hard, he is going to improve..if we have 7-10 players on that side of the ball making improves that adds up to a much better defense
THIS IS THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR WITHOUT A FOOTBALL GAME!!!!
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Wrap your brains around that!!!! Next weekend we will be watching the hall of fame game mRking the start of the preseason!!!!!
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We are soooo CLOSE!!! STAY HEALTHY BOYS!!L
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I would also love to see the Eagles announce a new contract for Mathis this next week! They have to!! This is the Eagles chance to show a team full of young players how you behave during contract disputes. Taking care of Mathis after how he handled himself is a big opportunity to make an impression on young players, and we are filled with young players who are approaching contract time…it’s a big mistake not to give Mathis a new deal, especially when I’m sure Howie and Mathis can design it in a wY that doesn’t effect the cap. Mathis is all in, let’s go win a SUPERBOWL with the eagles all in. You don’t have to worry about paying him, and then getting lazy..you can pay him upfront or whatever way you have to, so that it doesn’t effect our cap, because no matter what.you can trust Evan to do the right thing….
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PAY THIS MaN!!!
On the other hand, if we renegotiate his contract, it also tells the younger players with negotiations coming up that it is negotiating time right now, that it is always negotiating time! Why wait until you are set to be a free agent… or in your last year… or even the second half of your contract? Just because you are the 7th highest paid at your position because of a contract for which you have not reached the midpoint is no reason to expect the FO to resist renegotiating.
So, no, I do not agree. I like Mathis. I appreciate his skill and his attitude, but he is one of the highest paid at his position and he signed his deal knowing how things work.
I thought that fight was going to be something, but it was nothing.
Moreover i think it’s actually a good thing. I think instead of dropping to cover Cole is going to pull a Meco and just “nudge” (read flatten) RBs/Wrs at the line. If he can get his hands on shady he can get them on anyone.