Cuts Coming? – Updated
Posted: August 23rd, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 145 Comments »This time of the year is exciting. Young players are stepping up. Some unknowns are becoming known. The regular season is right around the corner and everyone is ready for football.
But this is also a sad time of year.
Stay tuned, #Eagles may be having some cuts today. From what I hear, WR B.J. Cunningham is among them.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherCSN) August 23, 2014
More than a few dreams will end, or be put on hold, in the next 10 days. Sometimes we forget these are real people that are living their lives out right in front of us. Getting fired is never easy. Imagine if it was from a dream job and you knew the general public would be discussing it for several days? Yikes.
I hope the players who do get cut find some way to keep their dream alive. Another team. Another league. Working out and waiting for another summer of hope. Or maybe making the transition to coaching. Good luck to all.
With that said, let’s talk about cuts. The Eagles have to get down to 75 by August 26. It sounds like some cuts will happen today. I’ll take a stab at the first 15 cuts.
WR B.J. Cunningham
WR Kadron Boone
WR Will Murphy
TE Blake Annen
OG Karim Barton
OG Michael Bamiro
OT Donald Hawkins
QB G.J. Kinne
DE Alejandro Villanueva
DE Frances Mays
NT Wade Kelikiipi
LB Josh Kaddu
DB Davon Morgan
S Daytowian Lowe
PK Carey Spear
These are not necessarily the 15 worst players. There are 2 things to keep in mind. A guy like Cunningham might be getting cut to give him a better chance to catch on with another team. He’s been with the Eagles for a couple of years and they may be trying to help him out.
The other consideration is the Jets game. Starters don’t play in the preseason finale. That means you need backups who can handle all those snaps. I’d rather keep a guy like Frances Mays than Emil Igwenagu because I’ve seen Iggy play and I know what he can do. I’d love to see Mays get one final set of snaps. But the Eagles need 2 or 3 TEs to get through the game. I’m guessing Ertz sits so that means James Casey, Trey Burton and Iggy will stick around.
We’ll see what happens.
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UPDATE
#Eagles release 14: Annen, Bamiro, Barton, Boone, Cunningham, Hawkins, Igwenagu, Knott, Kruger, Lowe, Mays, Morgan, Spear, Villanueva
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 23, 2014
Also released: OL Barton, WR Boone, OL Hawkins, TE Igwenagu & S Lowe. Roster now stands at 76 players, must be down to 75 by Tuesday.
— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) August 23, 2014
The Eagles only made 14 cuts. I was off on a few who did get cut.
DE Joe Kruger
ILB Jake Knott
TE Emil Igwenagu
Here are the guys staying that I had going.
QB G.J. Kinne
WR Will Murphy
NT Wade Kelikiipi
LB Josh Kaddu
Let’s talk about the most surprising cut…DE Joe Kruger. We had a long discussion about him the other day. Many of you love his potential. That’s understandable, but the bottom line is that he just didn’t play well enough to earn a spot. The face the Eagles cut him this early may be a sign from them that they feel he is best suited to play in the 4-3. If they wanted to keep him to develop, they may have held on to him as long as possible.
Knott hasn’t been healthy and has a suspension to deal with. He could be back with the team by the middle of the season, but there are no guarantees. Iggy is a FB/TE tweener with limited athletic ability. The Pats will sign him and turn him into a good role player, infuriating all of us to the nth degree.
As to the guys sticking around…Kinne is here because the Eagles are going to sit both Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez this week. Matt Barkley will play a ton on Thursday. Kinne is the backup and might play late in the game.
The final 3 players are all Oregon guys. Why did Chip keep them? My guess is that he knows Murphy and Kaddu aren’t likely to land elsewhere. By cutting BJ Cunningham now, he can go look for work. Murphy will play as needed on Thursday night. Kaddu is emergency depth at ILB and OLB for the Jets game.
Kelikiipi is a different story. He might have an NFL future. The Eagles also may have kept him so he can eat up snaps on Thursday and save some wear and tear from Beau Allen and Damion Square. Allen sure looks like a guy you want as part of a regular rotation. I think Square is still battling for a job. Should anyone get hurt on Thursday, Square could be roster material. Kelikiipi could be useful depth. And he could be practice squad material as well.
I don’t have a major problem with any move the Eagles made today. I’d love to have kept Kruger around, but if the team doesn’t think he’s going to fit in, it is better to move along and give those reps to someone else.
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Very competent list, but I find it a shame to not see Casey Matthews and Alex Henery cut.
You’ll be happy to know I tweeted Barnwell about not including the ’91 DL as the most dominant despite 3/4 being All Pro. Seems he was just favoring some nostalgic talent rather than the actual best.
Good work. 91 Eagles 4 life!
matthews is staying
barf.
That guy sucks. The cross-training of some OLB guys to ILB might help get him out of here.
not on ST
Hopefully the additions of Braman and Maragos make Matthews able to be cut.
Problem with those two is that they contribute very little on defense. Heck Braman isn’t even getting snaps with 3rd string defense. They are only specialist.
There are 16 games where Casey Matthews would contribute too much to the other team’s offense.
I didn’t see any flubs by Matthews in his limited time last year. I do remember him recovering a fumble in game 2, amid all the bitching about his presence.
Yeah, but in Philly, being Casey Matthews counts as a flub. So he’s been flubbing a lot.
I’m as eager to see Henery leave as anyone, but you can’t seriously think the team should have kept Murderleg as their starter, or settled on Cody Parkey before he’s kicked a single preseason FG for them, can you?
No, I wish they would have tampered with a guy who re-signed elsewhere. Or looked to bring in better competition in the off-season. Henery needs to be gone, for a competant replacement, as soon as possible.
How did marsh survive this cut? I don’t need to see him take another snap as an eagle..
Come on, Marsh is the number one source of material during the game discussion threads.
I’m wrong on Kinne. He’s practicing today and will be Barkley’s backup on Thursday.
I guess they consider Sanchez to be a lot more precious than you / logic would indicate. I like your version better.
He has just shown all he needs to show at this point. No reason to risk him.
Update from Jeff McLane.
https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/503205127441088512
BJ Raji appears to be out for the year with a torn biceps. Can we get a 7th from them for Square?
Cardinals lost Darnell Dockett and chose to sign Sopoaga instead of trading for some roster trash.. This prob means they will be waiting for DL to get cut and signing Soap is insurance in case they can’t get anyone….so GB hopefully feels the need to secure someone via trade instead of having to hope no one ahead of you on waivers steals your guy.
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We should have given Square snaps at DE. Not just to showcase his game, but also to be fair to The dude. He had no shot in this NT battle and has been a soldier for us when we had no one else.. I really like him, his Charecter his Grimey thug in the trenches personality,,but the guy isn’t an NFL NT
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Don’t Forget San Fran prob needs a 3-4 DL.. They lost Glen Dorsey til ATleast January, and his backup Ian Williams is banged up…
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Steelers look like they can use a two gapper or two after our #2 OL smacked them around.
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…really hoping Howie find a way to add a draft pick or two before this season starts
Yes. It wold be ideal to add a few draft pics for guys we’ll have to cut and/or who won’t be playing here that much.
Kruger cut?
https://twitter.com/ZBerm/status/503211094648061953
Just saw that as well from Les Bowen. Seems like too quick of a trigger. Hopefully they can get him back for the Practice Squad. We’ve got a future Brett Keisel there.
Just saw it…
..Is it good for the practice squad to cut guy immediately?
I would think not, because it gives teams an extra week to sniff around the guy.
But you limiting his exposure and not risking him play great against scrubs in the 4th game and making some noise
but it there is now an additional week for teams to talk about the guy, with the guy, and to work out that guy.
Interesting…. Wonder if teams already thought this hole chicken of the egg process out and if there is a consensus on this amongst GMs..if they all cut the guys they put on the Oractice squad before the 4th game, or if they all play the guys they practice squad in the 4th game and cut them….. Or it could just be scattered results of different GMs operating different ways,,
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Not sure if there is a tactical approach to it, and if there is, what it would be
Or perhaps the eagles have seen enough and decided to move on. Maybe they’ll bring him back to the p-squad, I don’t know. But I really don’t get the optimism concerning a guy who has shown nothing — like, really, nothing — so far. Is there anything more than youth and good (not great by any stretch) combine measurables? Is it that his brother is an nfl caliber player? I just don’t get it. If chip saw enough in practice to want to keep him around, I’d be fine with it. But he did not, it would seem. And that’s a-ok with me too.
– brother
– combine numbers
– body type fit for that position
TBH I’m indifferent about that.
Mays is someone I hope makes the PS. He is like a Geathers lite that possibly has the heart.
Did he show that much more than Villanueva?
Yeah, I’d rather see Villanueva on the practice squad.
I was looking forward to getting to see Vallanueva, Krugs and mays get extended snaps in the 4th Preseason game…kind of pissed that all 3 are gone, and for what? An extended look at Damon Square who we know all about?
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I have no desire to see Curry, Beau and even “papa Bear” play this week… Now we probably have to play them because we cut 3 DLinemen
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I’ll be surprised if Kelikiipj makes the Practice squad over Krugs or aLejandro
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Why is Curtis marsh still here? Does anyone really need to see more from him?
Sheeeeeeeeeet. Time to get down to nitty gritty. THAT time of year huh? Definitely feel for the guys that don’t make it…
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Question: Practice Squad Strategy? For example
I’m sure we will want Villanueva on the practice squad, so what is the best way to go about getting him on the practice squad? Cutting him now? Or play him against the jets(since he desperately needs the snaps and seems to show improvement every week) and wait til the next round of cuts to lose him?
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Don’t you have to have your player clear waivers to sign him to your practice squad?
Yes, but we might not be able to add guys to the P-squad until after all teams cut down to 53.
Is there a better stategy for cutting a guy now or after the 4th game for PS?
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Kind of feel like cuts now are for practice squad and you use the 4th games for guys that are legitimately competing for those last roster spots… For example, if we plan on Practice squading. Krugs and Villanueva, would it be a good idea to not let the play next week and risk them having a great game? Try not to give exposure to guys you don’t want to lose?
I’m not sure what the history has been of betting guys to the practice squad based on when they’ve been cut.
Need to research this
Go back and look at the guys we put on practice squad last year who were practicing with us all summer, if they played in the 4th game or not……. Tho, our depth was terrible last year so it could be apples to oranges…
Yeah, I’m just hopeful we have Kruger on the PS. I don’t want to lose him.
I won’t even understand if he doesn’t make the practice squad
I would be shocked if Villanueva made the PS.
Due to age, lack of talent, or another team taking him for their 53?
My guess is talent if we are using your words. I think its more of a Mohma situation from last year though. Just too rusty. Not to mention he is learning an entirely new position.
That makes sense. Great story, but I guess he’s really not a legit NFL prospect.
Never mind it was directed at Anders and he figured it out ***
That makes sense as well.
If like Momah, he is willing to work on his own all year, bet we would def welcome him back as part of the 90 man roster next year….
Which WR would you put on PS instead of him?
Instead of who Momah? I don’t want to lose Momah..
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I was pointing to how last year we didn’t put Momah on practice squad, he worked on his own all year and we brought him back to camp this year
ahh, sorry mis read it as you wanted him to work out on his own again
No, no, no… Really impressed by how much he improved on his own, I would love to see how much he can grow with a year of coaching and practicing against NFL competition,.
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If he isn’t going to make the roster, wonder when is the best time to cut him so he can clear waivers… Worried that he will have a good showing with Sanchez against a bunch of backups
If I recall correctly, he’s still active military.
What was the point in adding him? Could we have really expected him to be better than he has been?.. I have no idea where he really stands..you could be right and he may not even be considered because I really don’t know what to think about it… But what I do know is:
1) I don’t think we could have expected him to be any better than what he has been considering he hasn’t played in years, was moved to DE from WR, and added 30lbs to his frame
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2) I know that players rave about the freak athlete he is at his size… We are talking about a 6’9 300lb dude who is jumping over things similar to the video we have of Earl Wolff jumping over those stacks of matts… Vinny Curry was talking about him jumping over something that Barwin needed a couple attempts to clear.. That’s crazy athleticism.
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3) know that Chip is very impressed by his detail oriented, carry out your missin type….a freak athlete, who will do exactly what you tell him to do with elite focus and work ethic….
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I wouldn’t be surprised if working with a guy like that for a year intruigs Chip, with that said we could also go the other route like Momah…tell him to work on his own and we will bring him back for next years camp…we could probably pull this off, because we know There won’t be demand for him…IF Villanueva Wants it, and will commit to working on his own, I bet we would bring him back as part of next years 90 like we did with Momah…but I also wouldn’t be surprised if coaches are intruiged with working with a 6’9 freak athlete of his character… One way or another, I think he will be at next years camp if he wants,,,,now whether he wants to work on his own all year and continue to chase the dream is up to him…
What do you think of Graf? Thinking he gets a PS spot
You see anyone from your list making the PS Tommy?
Jake Knott will be back in October . . . as long as he’s healthy.
Or not.
Wordsmith.
shouldnt it be or Knott? 😛
Knott sure.
Why Knott?
He was a safe cut. No one else will pick him up because of the suspension so the Eagles have a four-game insurance policy against injuries.
Safe to assume the games count towards his suspension whether he’s on the roster or not?
Sadly, they do not. He isn’t officially suspended until he’s back on a roster. The NFLPA needs to fix that in the next CBA. It seems to be punishing the guy twice for the same thing.
Nothing unexpected except maybe Kruger.
I can see a scenario where 5 years from now we’re still bringing Will Murphy to camp to “help us practice”.
So at what point do we become a little concerned about Chip’s affinity for former Ducks? I don’t mean to make too much of this. Barner isn’t going to be in a timeshare with Shady, and Dennis Dixon wasn’t signed to be the #2 last year. I know this. And I’m willing to believe that there is a team-first justification for every one of his moves that benefits an ex-Duck. But I wonder whether there is a potential downside: specifically, I wonder whether UDFAs and young free agents will be less likely to join the Eagles out of a sense that they won’t make it as far as they could due to the presence of Oregon alums. When I was young, the coach of a local select basketball player kept picking his son, who couldn’t play a little bit, over guys who wouldn’t have been stars but could have helped the team (This isn’t about me btw. I played on another team and was almost as bad as the coach’s son). This happened multiple years in a row, and eventually some talented players stopped trying out. And the favoritism irritated some of the players who were solidly on the team, and they took it out and the coach’s son. Of course the NFL is different. Nobody is giving swirlies to Will Murphy (I hope) and there’s more going on than “pick the best players.” I get all that. But I still worry that it may be a looming issue.
I don’t worry about it until we have a bad Oregon guy in an important role.
Outside of Casey Matthews, I don’t see any Oregon guys in whom Chip has over-invested.
And Casey Matthews was on the roster 2 years before Chip, so far he played 2 years under AR and 1 under Chip….
Yup, so Chip only gets half of the blame.
I’d argue Maehl wasn’t good enough to be on the 53 last year, and wasn’t Isaac Remington on the p-squad? If so, I’d add him to the overvalued list. But totally fair perspective.
I can’t get that worked up over that part of the roster. If I see Barner over Polk, I’ll have some stuff to say however.
Polk only makes the roster if he is healthy for last game or I simply cant see Kelly keeping him consider how much value he puts on health.
Will be interesting to see who plays first of Barner and Josey (Tucker is 100% 3rd/4th RB depending on Polk)
Patrick Chung
Will Murphy will 100% be cut. Also I think UDFAs will choice the Eagles because of the practice where 3rd stringers get more reps than many 2nd stringers around the NFL.
I think once season starts, there will only be 3-4 former Ducks on the team.
I hope and pray for the day when none of those 3 – 4 is Casey Matthews.
Yeah the extra reps is the counterpoint to getting cut before Josh Kaddu or Isaac Remington.
Kelly is a system coach. so he takes people that understand the system and are hard workers. i guess it says more about his thoughts on the front office’s ability to find guys, but late in pre-season can’t have someone coming in starting from scratch in the system.
Yeah but all of these guys are here to make an NFL team, be it the Eagles or another squad. It’s not like Josh Kaddu is thinking, man, I’m totally stoked to spend the next five summers helping Chip’s real football players get ready for the season. It must be a tough pill to swallow when you get and you hear that Kaddu or Will Murphy are still on the team even though you totally outplayed them. And I agree with Anders, neither of those guys will make the 53, but they get an extra chance to flash in game action that better players miss out on.
But I’d rather see those guys blow out a knee in a meaningless 4th pre-season game than a guy who I might want to bring back for the practice squad.
If that’s the rationale behind the cuts, then cool. I just don’t know that it is.
Not like Knott is a better player than Kaddu at this point.
Disagree. I think Knott is qualitatively better. Not great by any stretch, but a full cut above Kaddu.
Unlikely that anyone would pick up Knott, due to pending suspension.
I don’t disagree with that. Look, I’m sure we can justify each of Chip’s decisions, but it’s clear at this point that he favors ex-Ducks. And while I’m sure there are legit football reasons for the favoritism (I don’t think he’s some stupid homer. I think he’s a damn genius), I fear it also could lead to unintended consequences.
The value is in having players familiar with Chip’s program playing on all 3 practice teams. It’s not like the Eagles have been doing this for 5 years…this is the 2nd year of Chip’s program, and the more players you have that can help speed up the process of learning and growing in Chip’s systems, the further you progress. The biggest jump is likely to come in year 3, but we should see a marked growth this season.
I expect the Oregon “bias” to subside substantially after the next two seasons.
Right. I understand the argument. I’m just worried about unintended consequences. Perhaps they won’t come to fruition if the bias subsides. Not sure why it’s in quotes btw. It’s clear at this point there is a bias. It may be justified. I’m sure it’s purposeful. It’s still a bias.
We had 5 Bearcats on the roster, yet nobody talk about Bias there even tho the success of the bearcats has been minimal over the years
1. That’s about half the number of Ducks.
2. Three of the five are holdovers from Andy.
3. Four of the five are core guys.
I don’t think it’s comparable. I don’t see how it’s arguable at this point that Chip has an Oregon bias. Look at the roster moves in totality. Again, I mean that in a value-neutral way. But it’s fact at this point.
Chip was asked about having so many ducks.. He said: “I like good football players”
Sure in the absolute sense of the word “good,” Isaac Remington and Will Murphy are good football players. Just like every football player who starts at a top 20 program is good. They are not good relative to NFL players.
This is a good explanation as to why he prefers Ducks (partially, at least. Part of it too is undoubtedly practicing right, setting a tempo) but that’s not my issue. I don’t think Chip is all, hey, I like that Kaddu kid, let’s give him a chance to play at the expense of the team’s success. Again, I’m just worried about unintended consequences.
They asked Kelly what it says that he keeps so many ducks..
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Chip responded: ” I like good football players” LOL
I think we are all overreacting to the final…3-4 spots that are actually up for grabs.
Cunningham wasn’t making this team. Give him a chance to catch on. Murphy isn’t making this this team, but we still need bodies for reps.
To compare this to little league isn’t comparable. These guys are thankful for a job and an opportunity. Like you’ve said, we don’t know the reasons behind Chips cuts. Could be that they don’t know the offense/defense like we think and the Oregon guys do.
Plus, Chip gives more reps to our backups than any other team in the league. If you are a borderline NFL talent like all these guys are, Philly is where I’d want to go.
But I don’t think there is a problem until we have someone contributing significant reps who doesn’t deserve it in games that actually mean something. Kaddu over Barwin or Smith. But rep fodder for the final preseason game?
Actually I think it might just be me who is overreacting. I agree with all that you said. I’m just raising the question: what if Eagles targets look at the Oregon favoritism and decide to go elsewhere because of it? I bet if you ask BJ Cunningham if he’d rather play in the fourth preseason game, even if he was exceedingly unlikely to earn a roster spot, or not, he’d have chosen to play.
Here is the current roster.
This is going to be a tough one to predict a final 53 with.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/roster.html
I’m honestly stumped at o-line, rb, wr, and ILB.
I think we keep 8 OL while Johnson is out with Molk, Tobin, Gardner as backups.
At RB I think we go Tucker and Josey unless Polk is healthy for the next game.
WR, I have no clue and at ILB I think Goode is 100% and they might only keep 3 pure ILB with Long as cross training unless Kelly really wants Matthews’ ST ability.
Polk practiced today, is our only big back, and is functional enough for 3 downs.
I can’t see him not being on the 53. But I think we could play some games with going with 5 RBs at the start.
Tucker is making this roster and why do we need a big back? in 2011 McCoy had 17 rushing TDs, most around the GL and Sproles scored a GL TD against the Steelers.
They put Polk in a good variety of situations last year and the team is generally high on his ability, especially to pass block.
I’d hate to be in a situation where Shady had to miss time and we were left without a RB who understands all of the blocking requirements.
Polk played 13 snaps last year….
As said Polk makes the roster if he is healthy and plays next game…
I do think we might keep 5 RBs (we did last year as well)
He was in for at least 15 plays where he got the ball according to ESPN and Rotoworld. Dunno how many he was in for, but 13 must be a bit low. Still, I get the point.
According to BGN, they had McCoy, Brown and Polk on last year’s roster. Add Iggy and you get 4. They may have started with 5…who?
I would hate for shady to miss time and not have Polk to turn to
short yd situations have been an issue for us. i’m ok keeping a big back but not at the expense of josey.
Doubt Josey makes roster..I expect him to go to the practice squad….
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Needs work pass protecting, doesn’t bring as much to special teams as a guy like Polk or Barner…. I would be really surprised to see him make the 53
Would love to see the Eagles add Casey in the backfield as a lead blocker as part of their short yardage options.
Hell yeah!! Would be a nice addition, and would give defenses a look that you know they didn’t prepare for
Plus, Chip would devise multiple formations and options on those formations that would have the DCs guessing (and most likely wrong!)…
look up split zone here http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2013/12/03/22-eagles-add-zone-read-wrinkle/, essential a lead blocker
Mathews already plays ILB, OLB, and special teams.
Unless you mean that other Casey guy I read about last offseason. Isn’t he assistant water boy or something now?
Am I missing something. Tucker is 6’1″-227lbs. That’s pretty big to me.
Chip’s different unpredictable looks on offense.
I really don’t want to lose Polk… Like his game a lot.
gap disciplined, hits the hole hard and runs with heart and power.
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Really solid pass blocker
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Quality ST player.. Love watching him run down on kickoffs and blast dudes,,
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Tuck also looks like a promising power back..
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Today Polk said he is really behind… I expect him to run like a madman on Thursday…
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As for WR, I HOPE it’s Momah vs. Rejus… Maehl does nothing for me
Agreed at WR. Josey has been my long shot all preseason, and I’m sticking with him. He is the one guy that looks explosive enough to… well, I’m not going to type what could happen.
Tucker is 6′ 225lbs. That’s bigger than Polk.
OL I expect Gardner, Molk, Tobin and Barbre. One could end up being cut when Lane gets back, but I doubt it… Hopefully we are trying to get something for Dennis Kelly since there is rookie game film of him showing improvement as he got experience.. Is Bamiro still PS eligible? No idea if he has even progressed enough to get a spot on the P squad.
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Was hoping the Jamaican kid Barton would have improved enough to practice squad, but I have no idea how he looked.
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I would love to see who goes to practice squad for other teams this year. Last year, a talented but moronic WR in Da’Rick Rogers made it onto a roster, I wonder who we can poach off this year. I’m sure Casey Matthews is just the guy who can be expended if there is someone like that this year.
Even cuts… A lot of players get cut and are made available on practice squads league wide,… Hopefully Gamble, Chip and Howie have an eye for diamonds in the rough and we are able to pick up a player or two that ends up helping us
Tom, do you think getting cut today(first round of cuts) means you probably won’t make the practice squad! or do you think today’s cuts are as in play as anyone for practice squad?
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Surprised we couldn’t get anything for Emil Iguadala Iguana.. I wouldn’t expect a draft pick but a team with a weak #2 TE I thought would give us their roster trash for Emil…
I think a negative to our unique style of practice (far out weighed by the benefits) is that it is hard to bring in guys after things are under way. This might be why we haven’t seen the wheeling and dealing with the 85-90 spots like we used to. We have only added a kicker and an Oregon alum, right? Neither one will disrupt the flow.
All true.., I wouldn’t expect any trade like that to take place now…A trade like that should have happened a month ago if it were to happen..
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Last year we added some nice players really late and even into the season that ended up being nice additions to the team like “papa bear”, Brad Smith, Goode…. Hopefully there is still a player or two that will be part of our team that hasn’t been added yet
Are the Coaches still high on Bryan Braman? Has he flashed at all in TC? I just don’t remember seeing or hearing much about him on ST play. Is he an automatic for the final 53?
Yeah he is a Lock, and dude has played well on ST..
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My thing is, he is still young, and our coaches are great teachers…Braman is too damn athletic not to develop into someone who can bring something to the defense… Pass rush, ability to drop into coverage…. This kid is a freak size/speed combo, who certainly loves contact and is wired to make it as a defender..
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By next season I hope we can grow him to bring something to our defense…. But we can definitely count on him to bring it on ST
Getting antsy to see the year two evolution of our blitz packages… Expecting us to develop into a nice exotic zone blitzing team like those dick lebeau steelers defenses… Zone blitzing can put a lot of pressure on offensive lines,,
And if think we have some players who can really thrive blitzing:
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Kendrick has been a fantastic Blitzer since Cal
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Meco just had a career year in sacks during our year one vanilla defense. Expecting him to be even better at getting to QBs this year
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Boykin likes blitzing from the slot, expect us to let him blitz a little since we have the safeties to cover for him.,
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Both Cary and Brad can be effective on CB blitz which you see in zone blitz schemes..
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Remember all the amazing Blitzes the steelers use to have with Troy Palomalo? I’m not suggesting Malcolm is a hall of fame safety, but what he is, is the TOP RATED safety last year at blitzing and getting pressure on QBs
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We have some nice weapons we can attack and send on blitzes,which will often be combined with Defensive lineman twisting, stunting, looping and moving around making them hard to block….we don’t have the elite edge rushing terrors, But Cox had 39 QB hurries last year, this year he will be a menace up the middle, and Vinnys explosion off the line should drive some fat OLinemen crazy this year…
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I also expect drastic improvements in presnap disguise.. Not only disguising our true intentions better, but also holding that disguise as long as you need to without letting veteran QBs like Peyton force you to tip your hand…
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We might not have league leaders in sacks..but our guys should rank highly in tipped passes at the line of scrimmage…
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Thinking we will pressure QBs much better than people who just fixate on not having a 14 sack OLB are expecting… Expect an attacking style, opportunistic defense that will fly around, force turnovers and significantly improve their ability to get off the field on 3rd down(once we settle down and eliminate the flags)
I took the Eagles defense in the final round of my fantasy draft tonight, which I was sure would get me disapproving looks. Fortunately, it was overshadowed by the Alex Henery pick two picks before mine. I am not making this up.
Lol…wow, someone took Alex…. Think our defense will be a good fantasy d.. Top 10 in takeaways I hope
Thinking OL Graf is a lock to make our practice squad
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11 point favorite to the Jaguars
If we don’t blow the Jags out and dominate that bunch of stiffs in all 3 phases of the game I’m going to have to double down on aggressive comments about everybody and everything associated with this team. I need a nice easy blowout win week 1!
Meh.. I’m expecting something similar to how we started the season off against the foreskins last year
Hmm, on that note I wonder how many starters and/or valuable role players will be forced to play significant time in the PS game #4. Hopefully not too many.
Same,,, I don’t feel the Need to at all.
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Fortunately we are stacked at RB so we can count on not risking shady and Sproles…Polk, friar tuck, Josey and Barner will each get a quarter to make their closing argument..
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We will have to risk some of our second team OL unfortunately…
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WR we won’t have to risk Maclin n coop….Momah!Maehl,and Rejus Benn will get the majority of the snaps, so hopefully we don’t have to risk much Brad smith or Jordan..
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Pretty disrespectful to have Brandon Graham fighting for his career in a 4th preseason game… Probably important game for BG and Long…. Marcus, and Braman should probabky get some developmental reps even if their position is safe..
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Marsh and Roc should have been cut, and we should be using this game to get a close look at two other long short corners from another team, since corners is an easy position to transition from team to team especially in vanilla scheme preseason game,.. No need to see Roc and Marsh take any more snaps, we should have used their spots to look at someone else…
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We prob don’t have to risk the 3 main safeties,,,
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On one hand, I don’t want to risk Sanchez nor do I feel the need to see him play again, but on the other hand it be nice to have his sharp QB play to see what benn and Momah can do..
They want to show off Barkley, hope to stir up a trade.
Also, there’s no way BG isn’t making the team at this point unless he gets traded for something. He has nothing to prove in a 4th PS game, he’s already looked very good.
I like to compare us and chart are growth and development to the Colts… Feel like they are our AFC equivalent/Rivals that we haven’t even played yet lol.
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So I like to watch the Colts among many teams… Watching this Colts vs. Saints game and just got to see what we hope to get out of pope Jordan the 81st…. Saints in the redzone bout 18yards out…Colston in the slot gets matched up against linebacker Daqwell Jackson who was easily victimized for an 18 yard TD in the middle of the field……if we can’t get one of the opponents slower LBs on Jordam, we will probably catch the slow LB on Ertz or Sproles,..
.l.
Basically I expect our offense this year to play “Pick on the linebackers”… Ton of weapons, who ever has the slow linebacker on him, that’s who gets the ball.
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Vaccaro defended Fleener nicely and picked off Luck
I agree. The Colts are a nice way to benchmark this team. That ball Luck threw was underthrown IMO, even if the route called for that spot, Fleener had enough ground on the safety that he should have led him deeper.
I’m just a little disappointed we won’t get to see Sanchez gash the Jets defense. I wouldn’t mind making their fans suffer a little.
In all seriousness, the Jets game is an important opportunity for Barkley to get longer game action. At the rate Sanchez is going, he will be a starter for an NFL team in 2015 and we will need a new backup. Hopefully, Barkley can be that guy. I’d like to see him make some strides on Thursday.
Boy, you are on point tonight.
I am pretty sure you have to be on someone’s roster for the suspension to begin to accrue. I could be wrong but why not keep Knott on the roster otherwise. Its not like he counts as one of the 53 in the meantime.
If he doesn’t count against the 53 (I read that about Johnson and assumed it is also true for Knott, but didn’t actually read that), then this cut has nothing to do with the suspension, it is about his play and/or attitude. If it were about the suspension he would have been cut right away
My 53 players if I’m picking
QB: Foles, Sanchez, Barkley
RB: McCoy, Sproles, Polk, Tucker
WR: Maclin, Cooper, Matthews, Huff, Smith, Benn
TE: Celek, Ertz, Casey
OL: Peters, Mathis, Kelce, Herremans, Barbre, Tobin, Molk, Gardner, Kelly (cut when Johnson returns)
DL: Cox, Thornton, Logan, Curry, Allen, Bair, Hart
OLB: Cole, Barwin, Graham, Smith, Long
ILB: Ryans, Kendricks, Goode, Matthews
CB: Williams, Fletcher, Carroll, Boykin, Watkins
S: Jenkins, Allen, Wolff, Maragos
ST: Henery, Jones, Dorenbos
A few notes:
I keep Parkey on the practice squad and keep the kicker competition ongoing through the season.
I don’t keep Josey. Tucker has been consistently good in the entire preseason. Josey had one nice game. He’s a practice squad candidate, but nothing more.
I see nothing special about Bryan Braman. I get that he’s supposedly a special teams ace, but I’m not seeing anything special from him there. He shouldn’t be a lock.
Chill out about Casey Matthews, guys. Some of you act like he killed your family. Andy Reid and Juan Castillo failed to realize he was never meant to be a starting LB in the NFL, and he became a whipping boy ever since. He’s not good enough to be a starter, nor even the first backup ILB. He’s a player who should be used regularly on special teams and only on defense in emergency situations. He can get you by at ILB and even OLB for a brief period of time. I don’t see much difference between him and Acho. IMO Acho is very overrated by many Eagles fans. Thus, Matthews gets the nod.
Some of these guys probably get cut after rosters get trimmed to 53. Arrelious Benn and Travis Long both come to mind, as does Casey Matthews who I just defended. Only if there’s a can’t miss FA out there, though.
Inactives: Barkley, Tucker, Huff, Gardner, Kelly (Tobin becomes inactive when Kelly gets cut), Hart, Watkins
Good thoughts. I’ll take Momah and Josey over Tucker and Benn, but I agree the four of them are on the line. I think you are selling Josey short with “one good game” though, he was explosive every time he was in.
With Casey Mathews, I think he is a litmus test for a lot of fans. When we can finally cut him it will prove that we have finally erased the depth woes Reid’s final push created. Unfortunately, that sneaky litmus test keeps moving the line by showing value on special teams and as a backup. What a punk.
Edit: for the sake of full disclosure, Josey was my feel good long shot pick to root for this year, so I am probably biased. I won’t be surprised if you are right. Last year, Jordan Poyer was my guy. Working after practice, doing whatever the coaches asked. Seeing him go in the final cuts was painful, but turned out to be much ado about nothing.
I am pretty sure mosy if not all of the players on the practice squad last year were final cuts by us or another team. I would be very suprised if Kruger is on our practice squad. Him being cut now tells me either they donthink he fits or doesn’t have the attitudeKelly wants or some combination of the two. We wil see in a couple weeks but mty gut tells me this is the last we have seen of him on our roster.
Only preseason, but still fun to read
“Operating with the entire first-team offense,Tony Romo was hit four times and sacked three times in the first half, losing a fumble on one of those.“
Yeah I was enjoying the beating RG3 took last week