Depth Discussion

Posted: August 6th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 133 Comments »

One of the things we always do when talking about players close to the bottom of the roster is mention how they might be playing well, but have little hope of making the roster. While this is somewhat true, you never know when that will change due to injuries.

It sounds like the light has finally gone on for CB Curtis Marsh and he’s playing the best football of his career. The problem is that he’s buried on the depth chart. Marsh is behind Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin, Nolan Carroll and rookie Jaylen Watkins. Being the 6th CB on a football team isn’t good. Teams normally only keep 5 corners. And Roc Carmichael is still in the mix. It is possible that Marsh is the #7 CB

But Marsh still has a chance to make the roster. If any of the top 5 guys goes down in practice or a preseason game, that could open the door for Marsh.One of the real challenges in sports is for guys who aren’t projected to start or even to make the team to play aggressively and confidently. The #7 CB on the team needs to play with the same attitude and mentality as the #1 CB. You can’t focus on the numbers. You have to play your best and put the pressure on the coaches, scouts and personnel staff to find a way to keep you. Or you want to put out good preseason tape to attract the other 31 teams.

Marsh could have seen the Eagles signing of Carroll and drafting of Watkins as signs that his career is over. Instead, it sure sounds like he is doing everything he can to impress the Eagles. I hope none of the top guys does go down, but if they do, Marsh needs to be ready to stand up. He wasn’t in the past but maybe that has finally changed.

Marsh isn’t the only Eagle backup who is having a good summer. Let’s look over some practice notes. First up is Jeff McLane.

Curtis Marsh may finally be on the outside looking in when it comes to making the roster, but he’s had a nice camp, albeit against third team competition. He scored an interception in front of Huff and had a pass breakup during one on ones. Later during team drills, he broke up a pass to Huff and knocked down a jump ball to Cunningham.

1. Andrew Gardner seems like he’s ahead of the other reserve tackles. There isn’t much depth there with Allen Barbre called up to replace the four-game-suspension-facing Lane Johnson. Gardner had a standoff with Cedric Thornton during a one on one. Kevin Graf seems to be getting better with every practice. He must be coachable. He was dusted by defensive end Joe Kruger early on, but stoned Travis Long and held off Trent Cole. The rest of the offensive line went nuts and the high point of Graf’s day must have been when Jason Peters came over and gave him a low five.

2. At guard, Matt Tobin looks to be the man to beat. He has been solid. Dennis Kelly has had his ups and downs. He suffered a setback last season with a back injury, but doesn’t look as if he’s progressed much since his rookie season. Michael Bamiro was moved to guard in the offseason, but he remains a project.

I didn’t think much of the Gardner signing when it happened, but he could turn out to be an important addition. The Eagles need some OT to stand up and take the key backup role while Lane Johnson is suspended and Allen Barbre is starting. Gardner could be that guy. He’s not played much in the league, but has been around long enough to know what he’s doing. He is a good athlete. The Eagles don’t need him to be Jason Peters. If he can just be Allen Barbre 2.0, that’ll do for now.

I wonder if Graf will turn out to be this year’s Tobin. I wasn’t overly impressed by Tobin at Iowa, but he was smart, tough and coachable. He took well to the NFL and had a good summer in 2013. Graf could be another guy who looks better in the NFL than he did in college. The interesting thing is that he played RT at USC, but the depth chart has him playing LT for the Eagles.

It sure doesn’t sound like Bamiro is making the kind of progress we hoped for. He needs to come alive in a big way on Friday night.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama is up next.

• Curtis Marsh had a great day. He had four pass breakups that I counted, which is excellent. With Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Boykin, Nolan Carroll, and Jaylen Watkins are locks to make the team, Marsh likely isn’t going to find his way onto the 53-man roster, but he has had a really good camp.

• Mark Sanchez was up and down today, but he did have a highlight throw. During a session in practice in which the defense is supposed to be in somewhat of a ‘prevent’ mode in which they’re willing to give up short passes underneath, but keeping everything in front of them, Sanchez connected with Damaris Johnson on a gorgeous deep ball for a TD. Credit Sanchez for making a big time throw against a defense specifically designed to stop deep passes. You can also probably give the second team defense a healthy amount of blame on that one.

It is good to read positive stuff about Marsh. Every bit of progress is important. Whether he makes the Eagles or not, I would love to see him play well and earn a spot somewhere.

* * * * *

Brandon Lee Gowton.

Quron Pratt continues to have an impressive training camp. Pratt made a diving catch on a comeback route with Bradley Fletcher in coverage. It was a Sanchez throw. Later on, Pratt caught a Hail Mary catch deep in the back of the endzone but didn’t “complete the process” and dropped it after stepping out of bounds. Still kind of impressive that he even got his hands on it.

Really impressive back shoulder touchdown catch for Brad Smith against Bradley Fletcher from a Nick Foles throw. Foles seems to be really getting the hang of that throw. As far as Fletcher goes, he hasn’t had a bad camp, but today wasn’t his best day.

BLG has the kicking update as well.

• Eagles kicker competition: Alex Henery (5-5) was perfect from 37, 45, 42, 45, and 52. Undrafted free agent rookie kicker Carey Spear only made 2 out of 5 with misses from 42, 43, 45. … I was impressed with Henery’s kickoffs. None of them went through the back of the endzone for a touchback but they all went at least halfway through the endzone. … the Eagles practiced some extra point attempts from the 15-yard line because the NFL is experimenting with a longer distance in preseason.

It doesn’t sound like Henery has had a great summer, but he has shown some progress. This will be a make or break year for him.

I’m really intrigued to see Pratt in action. He’s quietly had a very good camp so far.

* * * * *

The big storyline for the day was the play of Brandon Boykin.

McLane on Boykin – “Boykin has been excellent for most of camp, but he brought it today. His coverage was typically tight, but he’s added a karate chop to his repertoire. He has been consistently slapping the ball out of receiver’s hands like he did against B.J. Cunningham at one point. Later, Boykin, who had six interceptions last season, picked off Mark Sanchez when he went to Josh Huff in the end zone. Boykin lost his helmet on the play, but got up and chucked the ball away. Boykin may be best suited for the slot, but the Eagles have to find ways to get him on the field more than last season’s 50 percent.”

*

Kapadia on Boykin vs Matthews – “12:41 – Brandon Boykin vs. Matthews in one-on-ones. Who’s got popcorn?

Matthews runs down the seam and turns for the ball, but Boykin breaks it up. After practice, Matthews explained that he specifically requested to go up against Boykin today.

“It’s just seeing different looks,” Matthews said. “The first couple days I was going againstMalcolm [Jenkins]. I said, ‘Malcolm, let’s get together. I want to work against you. You’re a safety. I want to see how it is to go against somebody a little bit more physical in there, somebody that’s gonna try to get their hands on me.’

“And then yesterday and this morning, I said, ‘Yo Boykin, let’s go together. I need to make sure I work against you a little bit.’ So that’s why we took a lot more one-on-one reps together today. And then I also got to work against him some in team too. So it’s just about seeing different looks, being able to work against different type guys and then try to put that all together in my game.”

The next time they get matched up, Matthews uses his size advantage to create space within the 5-yard window, gets open and makes the grab on a shallow crosser.”

And then…”Boykin bats another ball down against B.J. Cunningham. At this point, he might as well start using the Dikembe Mutombo finger-wag.”

*

Jimmy Bama on Boykin – “There aren’t many players who compete harder than Brandon Boykin. During 11-on-11’s, Boykin won a contested battle with Josh Huff in the back corner of the end zone for an interception. Boykin’s helmet was ripped off on the play, and he emphatically chucked the ball in a fired-up celebration.

Boykin has consistently made plays throughout camp, but one thing that’s been very noticeable recently with is the violent way he attacks receivers’ arms when he’s trying to break up passes. Most corners will try to get a hand on the ball and that’s it. Boykin swings his arms down like hammers, so that even if he misses the ball, he can still punish the receivers’ arms, making it more difficult for them to make the catch.”

_


133 Comments on “Depth Discussion”

  1. 1 eagleyankfan said at 9:22 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    “You can also probably give the second team defense a healthy amount of blame on that one.” — Well, who was in the secondary for the second team defense?

  2. 2 pkeagle said at 9:41 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    Tommy,

    No-one has really talked that much about Brandon Bair.
    I know he’s a former duck DE at 6-6 and about 290lbs – what was your scouting report on him coming out of college?

    Do you really think he has a shot of making the team (I’m guessing not from where I’m standing) ?

  3. 3 Dominik said at 11:47 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    Is Bair the 29 year old linemen. I could just shake my head when I read that one. I mean, ok, you need bodies for TC, but why go to the retirement home for that?

  4. 4 joe said at 10:03 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    This isn’t phillies talk and we got one of the youngest rosters in the league.

  5. 5 Dominik said at 10:25 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    I don’t know anything about the Phillies, I just know that I don’t want a 29 year old as #6 or #7 D-Linemen if I can have a player like Kruger, who maybe is not ready and maybe never will be, but has at least upside.

    Give me the Brad Smith kind of vets and I’m fine with it. But a 29 year old in his 3rd year in the league with no record whatsoever – please.

  6. 6 jay said at 10:35 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    he’s right. boykin needs to be on the field alot

  7. 7 ChaosOnion said at 10:42 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    > “It’s just seeing different looks,” Matthews said. “The first couple days I was going againstMalcolm [Jenkins].
    I said, ‘Malcolm, let’s get together. I want to work against you.
    You’re a safety. I want to see how it is to go against somebody a little
    bit more physical in there, somebody that’s gonna try to get their
    hands on me.’

    This is the first time I have heard about this sort of thing. Do other WRs do this? This is amazing to me. I love this kid!

  8. 8 GEAGLE said at 12:54 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I love how we are a close group. Love that Chip broke up the position group click and switched the locker room around so players aren’t sitting next to guys that play the same position who they spend all day with in meetings..
    ..
    It’s one thing to see
    Jason peters working with a young Tackle, or Maclin working with Huff
    ..
    But it’s pretty cool how are defensive players are helping offensive players.. The best TEAM usually win, not the most talented team neccessarily. Love how Chip has brought all our players together. Come along way from our DBs pointing at each other, eating lunch alone in the car

  9. 9 Crus57 said at 10:59 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    There’s a story on PFT about the Eagles thinking of bringing back Kelly Green uniforms, linking to this CBS story:
    http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/08/06/eagles-nfl-discussing-possible-kelly-green-uniform-change/

    I know a lot of people here would love the Kelly Greens to come back, so this may be good news for those people – sadly I am not one of them.

  10. 10 jpate said at 11:43 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    Me neither. Not my color

  11. 11 bridgecoach said at 12:46 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I agree. Our Eagles are Midnight Green. Happy to respect the history with throwback uniforms from time to time, but our current colors are among the best in the nfl. Besides IgglesBlitz would suffer if the background color became Kelly Green – the site would become unreadable.

  12. 12 GEAGLE said at 12:51 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Andy/Mcnabbs eagles were midnight green! we are a completely different franchise now… Uniforms should reflect that.midnight green brought us enough playoff heartbreak…

    I don’t neccessarily think we have to go back to our old jerseys, but we should be wearing different jerseys than the Andy eagles…
    ..
    Make a Seahawks type jersey with Midnight green, and use Kelly green instead of the neon green stripe the Seahawks use, and we can have Kelly green alternates with the midnight green stripe…
    Make jerseys with both Kelly and midnight green

  13. 13 bridgecoach said at 1:19 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    That would be a great alternative!

  14. 14 McNabbulousness said at 1:53 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    so you didn’t like making the playoffs consistently for pretty much the first time ever? boy i would have loved to watch the eagles suck ass for the better part of the 60s, 70s, and 80s

    it varies greatly the opinions on mcnabb/reid, but one thing thats universally accepted is our love for bdawk, and he wore midnight green like a bad motherfucker.

    you’re also shitting on all the great players that wore midnight green during that era; thomas, runyan, trotter, vincent, west36, and on and on…

    if your comments are meant to be more tongue and cheek, disregard this post

  15. 15 McNabbulousness said at 1:55 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    and the opposite of uniform progress is making anything look like the seahawks/nike’s hot trash that they keep rolling out, have you seen the bucs new jersey’s, do we want nfl teams to look like that or any half ass college football program?

  16. 16 GEAGLE said at 2:11 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Can’t even thnk of the Bucs New Jersey…. Should have used the jaguars as an example.

    I don’t care what we wear… I just want to look different than we did under Andy.

  17. 17 McNabbulousness said at 2:18 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    oh shit i forgot about those!!! those too!!! that is nike hot trash incarnate!!!!

  18. 18 Media Mike said at 5:44 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Trash can be found in San Fran, New York (NFL), Washington, and Pittsburgh.

  19. 19 GEAGLE said at 2:08 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Why should that be good enough? NO, I don’t like going into so many important games as the favorite and fall short EVERY SINGLE TIME.. That shouldn’t be good enough.. And the abysmal record against the top teams was pathetic. We were basically bullies who would whip up on all the average teams. But fell on our face most of the times we played the elite teams. Andy/Mcnabb record against the top teams was horrible..

    With that said, I shouldn’t have to badmouth that era to ask for new jerseys… We been wearing these same jerseys for almost 20 years with no Lombardi to show for it…new coach, new QB, new era., that should have it’s OWN jersey
    ..
    Everything is different now, I would like to see this era have it’s own jersey

  20. 20 Media Mike said at 5:43 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    As long as we don’t switch to the color of stupidity, black and gold, I think we’ll be fine. I love the kelly green, but I’m good either way.

  21. 21 Miami_Adam said at 11:53 AM on August 6th, 2014:

    HOLD THE PRESSES: Kelly Green jerseys in the works

    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/06/eagles-talking-about-bringing-back-kelly-green-uniforms/

  22. 22 CrackSammich said at 12:17 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11316190/desean-jackson-washington-redskins-twists-ankle

    Washington just can’t have nice things.

  23. 23 Tumtum said at 12:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Gonna have to start calling BB peanut.

  24. 24 ACViking said at 12:45 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Re: A Return to Kelly Green?

    I wonder if a return to the classic kelly-green jerseys is because:

    (A) Kelly-green jerseys were worn for the Birds’ only 3 NFL titles?

    (B) 18 years of mid-night green w/out a title is enough?

    (C) Having a head coach named “Kelly” requires kelly-green uniforms?

    (D) Jeff Lurie has a new wife?

    (E) It’ll be harder for the opponents to see the Eagles in jerseys that match the color of the turf?

    (F) Historical NFL jersey-sales trends show that a change in style or color means a spike in revenues for jersey sales?

    Or . . .

    (G) Chip Kelly’s concluded that — based on some sort of scientific analysis — that wearing kelly-green will give his team a competitive advantage?

  25. 25 GEAGLE said at 12:48 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I want to switch jerseys so bad. It’s a new era, and I don’t want to wear jerseys that brought us so much pain. We are a completely different franchise then we were under Andy, so our uniforms should reflect that.

  26. 26 ACViking said at 12:49 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    spot on!!!

  27. 27 GEAGLE said at 1:45 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Figure we had as much success as possible without winning a Lombardi in our midnight greens…could never get over the proverbial “hump” in those jerseys

    Switch to something new, we could use some new mojo..

    I’m fine with going back to the Kelly green days, or design a brand New Jersey with both midnight and Kelly green….

    The Kelly green days were so awesome. So many different variations. First off the white helmets with the Kelly green wings were friggin awesome. Also the green helmets with the white wings….white pants, silver pants, white stripes, no stripes…. Our old jerseys were great

  28. 28 iceberg584 said at 1:54 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    “The Kelly green days were so awesome.”

    I don’t understand this nostalgia for the “Kelly green days.” Those teams were terrible for decades. Meanwhile, we made the playoffs every year with midnight green, but since we didn’t win a Lombardi, those uniforms should be torched?

    I also don’t understand this whole notion of switching head coaches means that a uniform change should follow. The most successful franchises in sports (think Yankees, Red Wings, Lakers, et al.) have a uniform and color scheme that they stick with.

  29. 29 GEAGLE said at 2:00 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I meant the jerseys…I’m only 32years old, I didn’t go thru the ups and downs of the Braman regime. I was just a kid… But the Andy era was a painful failure,
    ,,,
    To go into so many BIG games as the favorite and fall short. To have such a bad record against the other top teams…..we are a completely different franchise today, I just want to look different than we did during the last real..midnight greens are the Andy/Mcnabb/Dawk era….
    ..
    I want Chip,FOles, Shady to have their own jerseys to represent this new era,..

    We been wearing the same jersey for almost two decades.. Don’t care what we change it to, as long as they CHANGE IT

  30. 30 McNabbulousness said at 2:14 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    i understand where you’re coming from and respect your opinion, but i don’t agree with it .

    change for change sake is usually unsuccessful and a dangerous methodology (not necessarily dangerous in this situation since we’re just discussing uniforms of a sports team)

  31. 31 GEAGLE said at 2:18 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    There is no right answer dude. I’m not right and your wrong… It’s individual preference. I Lille what I like, you like what you like, agree to disagree..

    Personally I’m not married to any jersey, I would just prefer that the Chip Kelly Eagles era look different than the Andy Reid eagles era is all…

    I don’t expect to sit here and change your taste by arguing jerseys. Agree to disagree. Chears mate it’s not like I think you are wrong… Just different strokes for different folks

  32. 32 McNabbulousness said at 2:34 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    well said kemosabi

  33. 33 Anders said at 1:52 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    So we should go back to the uniform worn by the teams before that who brought just as much pain? If you compare Kelly Green versus Midnight green since 1960, the Midnight green has given Eagles fans a ton more joy than Kelly Green.

  34. 34 GEAGLE said at 1:54 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I’m perfectly fine wearing NEW jerseys that have never been worn before… I don’t need us to go back to old jerseys. I would just love to see us look different than we looked under Andy… Go back to old jerseys, design brand new ones, whatever…. I just don’t like looking like the old regime. When everything else is so new, fresh, cutting edge

  35. 35 iceberg584 said at 1:56 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    “18 years in mid-night green w/out a title is enough?”

    We wore Kelly green for 35 years without a title…

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 2:14 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Lol I love how people are debating this like it’s a topic. It’s individual preference.. Just because you like the current jersey doesn’t make you right and the people who want new jerseys wrong, it’s just individual preference, there is no wrong answer, and you shouldn’t need people to agree with you. State your preference and agree to disagree. Done talking about a friggin jersey

  37. 37 Age said at 7:10 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    The guy uses your own logic to make a point just like you made, and that warrants an LOL? C’mon dude, the one posting the most about this is you. Relax.

  38. 38 GEAGLE said at 12:46 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    3 QB: FOles, Sanchez, Barkley
    3 RB: shady, Sproles. Polk
    5 WR: Mac, Coop, Brad,huff! Jordan
    8 OL: 5 starters, Barbre, Tobin, Gardner
    ..
    7 DL: cox, Ced, Logan, curry. Hart, Beau, kruger(inactive on Gameday)
    5 OLB: Barwin, Cole, Braman, Marcus, BG
    4 ILB: Meco! Mykal.. Goode, Jason Phillips
    5 CB: Cary, Brad, Nolan, Boykin, Jalen
    5 S: Jenkins, Nate, Wolff, maragos, Reynold
    P Donnie Longball
    K: Alex
    LS: magic man

    That’s 48 players… So who are the 5 best players left?
    Travis Long
    Jake Knott
    Rejus Benn if healthy
    marsh?
    Vandervelde

  39. 39 ACViking said at 12:53 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    GE:

    Question for you.

    Thoughts on C-Marsh’s improvement? Temporary? Product of same scheme and coaching for 2 straight off-seasons? Finally getting the hang of CB after converting in college from RB?

    Side-note: Cary Williams was a 7th Rd choice of Tennessee, lasted there less than a season-and-a-half before getting cut and picked up by the Ravens. Started only 1 game in his first 4 years. Finally clicked in Year 5 on a great Baltimore defense.

  40. 40 anon said at 1:00 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    rising tide floats all boats. we don’t have the same defensive infrastructure as the ravens obviously.

  41. 41 ACViking said at 1:05 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    A:

    True on the Ravens.

    But Williams road a lot of pine after coming to Baltimore.

    Still, the staff and personnel dept saw something in him to make him worth keeping.

    Marsh has Kelly-approved size-speed combo.

    Just wondering if he’s worth the investment. Other teams seem to find a way to do that.

  42. 42 GEAGLE said at 1:21 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Ravens don’t win a Super Bowl without Cary… Bellicek and Brady thought they could pick on Cary! he stepped up! made play after play….Brady and Bellecik go home angry!!

  43. 43 GEAGLE said at 1:00 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Kid was a developmental prospect when we drafted him…so maybe we can’t judge him with the normal career trajectory (by year 3 you should arrive as an NFL player).. So it’s possible that it just took the project longer for the light bulb to go on, especially since two of his years were spent on a dysfunctional defense,,
    ..,
    I despised marsh. He was one step above Casey Mathews for me, but the kid has stepped up and had a really good camp, not sure if it’s too little, too late. I will say, that ROC better not make it instead of Marsh

  44. 44 anon said at 1:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    agree with last sentence. but who has marsh been playing against really? Backups running the same plays over and over. we’ll see friday. oddly we haven’t heard ROC’s name at all.

  45. 45 GEAGLE said at 1:33 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Preseason will certainly be crucial for players who have made noise at camp, but aren’t lock to make the roster.
    ..
    Doubt Marsh can make the team just off of practice. Think he will have to consistently perform in the preseason to make this decision hard on us…

  46. 46 Dominik said at 1:24 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    You forgot the TE, mate. At least three, maybe four spots go to them. So that leaves one or two spots.

  47. 47 GEAGLE said at 1:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Jesus. I was wondering how the hell I was so short players LOL
    Thanks

  48. 48 anon said at 1:26 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    i think the 2014 DBs are practice squad players.

  49. 49 Dominik said at 2:44 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    You’ll never, ever get Watkins and Reynolds into the PS. Those are not your 7th round picks or flashy UDFA, those are 4th and 5th rounders. The first bad team with problems in the defensive backfield (and there are enough of it) will pick them of waivers. Just to try them out.

  50. 50 GEAGLE said at 6:10 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Yeah that’s just silly talk

  51. 51 bridgecoach said at 12:53 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Any depth discussion makes me analyze how we have drafted. Since we are looking at Marsh, lets look at our 3rd round picks:

    (2003-2011) Billy McMullen, Matt Ware, Ryan Moats, Chris Gocong, Tony Hunt, Stewart Bradley, Bryan Smith, Daniel Teo-Nesheim, and Curtis Marsh.

    (2012-2014) Nick Foles, Bennie Logan, Josh Huff

    Which were the Banner years?

  52. 52 ACViking said at 12:55 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Banner was there through the 2012 draft

  53. 53 anon said at 12:59 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    catch 22 for brdigecoach. plus hard to say anything about logan or huff, huff hasn’t played a snap.

  54. 54 ACViking said at 1:09 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    great use of catch-22.

  55. 55 bridgecoach said at 1:12 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Nods, Banner was fired after the 2012 draft – because Lourie had decided that Roseman was the better talent evaluator and there was serious discord among the execs. My opinion is that 2012 marked Howie’s first draft as the key voice in the room.

  56. 56 GEAGLE said at 1:07 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    It’s amazing we remained as competitive as we were considering some of our putrid drafts during the Andy days… You have 3 good drafts in a row, usually means you will be contending

  57. 57 ACViking said at 1:18 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Look at the late-80s Eagles. Validates your point.

    Those teams were built essentially on 3-and-a-half drafts and a huge piece of luck in the 1984 supplemental draft of USFL players.

    1984* – Reggie White (Giants pass on him 1 pick earlier)

    1985 – Randall Cunningham, Rd 2

    1986 – Keith Byars, Rd 1; Seth Joyner, Rd 8; Clyde Simmons, Rd 9

    1987 – Jerome Brown, Rd 1; Byron Evans, Rd 3

    1988 – Keith Jackson, Rd 1; Eric Allen, Rd 2
    ___________

    Look at all that defensive talent.

  58. 58 GEAGLE said at 1:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Geez…who was the GM under Braman? Or was Buddy Ryan picking players?

  59. 59 ACViking said at 1:26 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Marion Campbell gets credit for Reggie and Randall. (Hard to miss on Reggie.)

    Buddy — as he liked to say about himself — was a pretty good judge of horse flesh. (Nearly a direct quote.) Those are his guys.

  60. 60 GEAGLE said at 1:28 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    LOL thanks

  61. 61 Media Mike said at 5:49 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    But bringing up how Harry Gamble was a horrible GM for letting those guys leave town got my screen named banned from philly.com.

  62. 62 GEAGLE said at 6:10 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Lol. Ban is so gay.

    I swear I can’t post on a site because I called Lebron a sissy.. They said calling someone a sissy is sexist, talking down on woman… Lol how is that insulting woman? There is nothing wrong with acting like a woman, unless you are a man!!!

  63. 63 Dominik said at 7:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    (Hard to miss on Reggie.)

    1984* – Reggie White (Giants pass on him 1 pick earlier)

    Well. 😀

  64. 64 Media Mike said at 5:47 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I can’t wait read the headline about the plane carrying all of those busts from 2003-11 crashing into a 4 way game between the Steelers, Niners, Giants, and Skins taking out all of them at once.

  65. 65 GEAGLE said at 1:23 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Word is Graf is developing nicely….

    Question: we have to keep Vandervelde or Molk right? Or can one of our G or T also backup the center position?
    ..I

  66. 66 ACViking said at 1:26 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Mathis apparently will be 3rd-team center when season starts.

    But do you want to make him the back-up?

    An injury to Kelce, if Mathis moves to C, would weaken you at 2 positions instead of 1.

    Seems like a Vandy or a Molk has to stick around.

  67. 67 GEAGLE said at 1:29 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Agreed
    .,
    Guarentee we draft Oregons center next year… He can also take over for Herremans eventually… Nice to not have to worry about how a fat lineman transitions to our high pace offense

  68. 68 McNabbulousness said at 1:25 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    hey just saw on deadspin the eagles are talking about switching back to the kelly greens.

    i know i’ll be in the minority on this, and it has a lot to do with midnight green coinciding with my youth and the start of my eagles fandom, but i prefer the midnights.

    don’t get me wrong, i think the kelly greens are an all time nfl uniform. i just like midnight better. hell, it’s what makes this sight look so god damn good (imo).

    i’d like to hear your thoughts, is there anybody on team jacob, i mean midnight, or am i on a island wearing my mcnabb jersey

  69. 69 McNabbulousness said at 1:26 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    oh and i’d for sure get rid of the shitty black alts in favor of wearing kelly green every year

  70. 70 GEAGLE said at 1:31 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Scroll down

  71. 71 McNabbulousness said at 1:42 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    copy that gold leader, thx

  72. 72 iceberg584 said at 1:47 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    That’s actually a great solution. Switch the black alternates for a Kelly green alternate.

  73. 73 GEAGLE said at 1:50 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Wonder what our current jerseys look like in Kelly green…hopefully someone with some photoshop game can hook it up and post it

  74. 74 McNabbulousness said at 2:02 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    yeah ive been waiting for the same pic myself, it’s weird to picture it in my mind. it looks cool, but my brain trying to process it feels like one of those old tvs that has a bad signal and waves of green red and blue are going across the screen

  75. 75 iceberg584 said at 2:06 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Just watch clips of the Eagles-Packers 2010 season opener. I’m guessing it’ll be something similar to that…

  76. 76 McNabbulousness said at 2:21 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    well yeah i figured that, but i still want to see the on screen meshing of eras, just to see what it looks like outside of this old chunk of coal’s brain

  77. 77 Crus57 said at 6:24 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Don’t watch any that feature poor Leonard Weaver though..

  78. 78 GEAGLE said at 2:21 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I actually picture it in my head as being ugly….but maybe they look good when I actually see them..

    Hopefully someone hooks it up and posts it

  79. 79 iceberg584 said at 1:46 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I’m with you, though I do suspect we are in the minority. The kelly greens actually look nice, from an aesthetic standpoint, but to me they symbolize the dysfunctional Braman/Buddy/Kotite era, teams that were consistently outclassed and outgunned in their own division. The midnight green (Lurie era) Eagles are a team that has been consistently good.

  80. 80 GEAGLE said at 1:49 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Current,jerseys I associate with playoff failure. Close but no cigar…I want to smoke that damn cigar!!!! LOL

    Heck, there is no rule that says we can’t go to brand New Jersey, instead of reverting to past jerseys…

    It really bothers me to see Andy’s jerseys, during this new promising era….

  81. 81 McNabbulousness said at 1:58 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    i will keep saying this again and again to counter this argument; at least we were in the playoffs consistently. i don’t ever recall winning a super bowl in kelly green.

  82. 82 iceberg584 said at 2:04 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I think the people who started following the Eagles ten years ago have no idea how awful they used to be, and how much it sucked rooting for a team that you knew couldn’t even win their division.

  83. 83 McNabbulousness said at 2:28 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    well i like history and know a fair amount about my sports teams history. i think i can give you a rough timeline from 1960-1995

    championship! suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck miracle at the meadowlands/short stint of success during with vemeil suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck suck buddy ryan/gang green supersuck* supersuck* supersuck*

    *supersuck on the timeline denotes the rich kotite tenure

  84. 84 GEAGLE said at 2:37 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    LOL well played

  85. 85 GEAGLE said at 2:29 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    It’s not like we have to chNge our jerseys and revert to past jerseys… We could wear something completely new that has nothing to do with our past failures..

    Fuck it, compromise and make a New Jersey with midnight and Kelly green in it…meshing our past eras together to create something brand new that represents our cutting edge franchise that Chip has turned us into

    Would be pretty badass if we could wear a different jersey every week like the Ducks do

  86. 86 GEAGLE said at 2:27 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    That shouldn’t be good enough mate… Raise the bar, don’t think it should be too much to ask for one Super Bowl every 40 years lol

    Again, I don’t want to have to bash the previous era to make a point for new jerseys…there is so much about the Andy era that was awesome….it’s just that everything is so new, might as well have jerseys that represent this new hope we have thanks to Chip

    If Chip were just a stop gap coach who would be here 3 years and do everything the way NFL coaches have always done it, probably wouldn’t care about new jerseys…. But everything is so new and different..

    Part of me would also like to be able to buy new jerseys… I have enough of our current jerseys, I can’t go buy another just because it says Mathews or hart on the back of it

  87. 87 McNabbulousness said at 2:30 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    “That shouldn’t be good enough mate…”

    absolutely zero snark in this next question:

    are you Australian?

  88. 88 GEAGLE said at 2:32 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Lol no… Bad habit. Surprised I don’t get asked that more often because I use the word a lot.

  89. 89 McNabbulousness said at 2:37 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    haha, noted

  90. 90 Bert's Bells said at 2:43 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    My biggest problem with them is that “Midnight Green” isn’t really a color and the tone of green the Eagles use is more of blue than a green should be. “Midnight Green” is surely something Christine Lurie got from the Martha Stewart catalogue while shopping for a colors to suit their lawn rider garage.

    They should use Hooker’s Green (which is also a blue tone). Not only does it have an awesome name it’s a better color than what they currently have.

  91. 91 McNabbulousness said at 3:10 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    hey now! lets not bring the owners ex wife into this

    although hooker green is intriguing

  92. 92 Sean Stott said at 3:58 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Completely agree. People forget that grass is also kelly green, so that on the field the kelly green uniforms look like crap compared to midnight green.

  93. 93 A_T_G said at 8:58 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    We call that camouflage, and it accounts for our defense getting, on average, 3 extra interceptions per year.

  94. 94 GEAGLE said at 1:36 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Desean left patriots practice with an ankle injury. Not sure how serious it is..

    I wonder if any of last years Eagles, who are currently on different teams like Jaccson, Coleman, Gaethers will carry over the recovery methods they learned from Chip last year and implement them on their own…
    ..
    Desean didn’t buy in for us, so I doubt he implements chips recovery program on his own…

  95. 95 anon said at 1:38 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    story was he got cleated. I think our training has been hard on guys as well. Wonder what’s going on with MAehl and Coop? Maybe Coop got .2 seconds faster in offseason and kelly doesn’t want anyone to know.

  96. 96 76mustang said at 6:28 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    From yesterday’s Brown’s Camp Notes –

    Interesting that with Gipson out, Jordan Poyer is getting the starting reps and not Josh Aubrey.

    Don’t forget about Jordan Poyer…

  97. 97 GEAGLE said at 9:55 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Jordan was my dude… Everyone likes to talk trash that I thought he was a good late round pick, yet this is the 3rd coach/GM tandem that thought he was an NFL player. hate that Banner of all people poached him from us. Hope we don’t try putting Long or Kruger on practice squad

    If Momah is really improving, and We aren’t keeping him on the 53 man roster trying to keep him on the PS squad, I hope he puts out horrible film in the preseason lol a guy who improved this much working on his own, I want to see how much better he can be with a year of working with our coaches and practicing against NFL CBs…also hoping Villanueva shows enough to warrant a year of getting coached up on our practice squad……
    .

  98. 98 GEAGLE said at 1:39 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Question to fellow draft freaks:
    ..
    1) I’m not enamored with next years draft class. Who do people expect to be the top safety prospects going into this college season?
    ..
    2) Marriotta, Grasu, Ifo Olomu….. Any other Oregon prospects that can go in the first 5 rounds?

  99. 99 Ken Jomo said at 3:58 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    1) Landon Collins – Alabama
    Kurtis Drummind – MSU

    2) Tyler Johnstone – OT
    Jake Fisher – OT
    Arik Armstead – DE
    Tony Washington – OLB

    3) they are very talented, but may be overhyped due to overall teamm success at this point

  100. 100 GEAGLE said at 6:05 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Didn’t include Prewitt? Prewitt/Collins are who I usually see rated as the best safeties… Collins hasn’t even played much, and I don’t like Bama DBs.. Certainly doesn’t look like a great class for safeties, so hopefully Reynolds, Wolff and Jenkins emerge as the answer to our safety woes..
    ..
    I do like the ILB and OLB prospects of this upcoming draft..
    ..
    Thanks for the Oregon heads up

  101. 101 eagleyankfan said at 2:31 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    2 Days!!!! Is it me — or is the NFL Network in love with Dallas. Every time I put on the NFL network training camp — they are reporting from Dallas. PUKE.

  102. 102 GEAGLE said at 2:34 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    It’s either Dallas or the stinking browns…

    Hard Knocks was ok last night. Can’t help but laugh at all the standing around that Falcons players do during practice, while our guys are running every every moment they are on the practice field. Think the falcons coach is an idiot…watching hard knocks really made me appreciate the path we are on…

    Hype for Friday brother. Most excited I have ever Been to watch the second half of a preseason game

  103. 103 eagleyankfan said at 3:12 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I know it’ll be vanilla defense but looking forward to see how we stack up against Bears aerial attack. Going to be a blast. Already have the recorder scheduled 🙂

  104. 104 GEAGLE said at 9:47 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Sucks that I don’t think Nolan Carrol is playing. Coops not playing. Maclin might play…
    ..
    If we are going to be Thin at WR Friday, I hope they get Huff Huff Pass and Pope Jordan the 81st some snaps outside and in the slot. Would like to see Momah get some snaps against the bears first team corners to really get an idea of how much he improved.
    Excited for:
    Hart, Beau, Curry second string DL. Hope to see curry do a lot of two gaping
    ..
    Would like to see Maclin finally play in this offense, but if he doesn’t play, ATleast we finally get to see Rejus.
    .,,
    Sanchez vs. Mathews.
    ..
    Excited for second string OLBs: Marcus and BG
    And 3rd string Braman and Long

    One of the easiest things to evaluate in PS is Alex henery. Kickoffs and FG aren’t any different in the regular season.

    OL depth is one of the most important evaluations of the preseason..
    ..
    Can’t believe we will be watching the Eagles in 48 hours!!

  105. 105 Mitchell said at 8:53 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I watched it too and I thought it was kinda funny that the Falcons are taking their “physicality” too far in practice. Smith was shown stopping it on the next episode. Tice looks like a real meathead.

  106. 106 GEAGLE said at 9:35 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Lol yeah Tice was def an ODOYLE RULES type.
    ..
    Stephan Jackson is either one of the best Leaders in the NFL, or he was playing it up for the camera.

    Tyler Starr the rookie is so weird looking. Jake Mathews is going to be nice, think Hagemen will be really good, or a massive disapointment.

    Not really sure what to think of the falcons this year? Desmond Trufant should arrive as a quality CB, William Moore is petty good. Osi sucks. Can’t think of what else that defense has….

  107. 107 Mitchell said at 3:32 PM on August 7th, 2014:

    Lol the fight between Jake Matthews and the DE whose wife is on Real Housewives was funny. Matthews is gonna real good.

  108. 108 Maggie said at 1:13 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    Dallas, Browns or Giants.

  109. 109 GEAGLE said at 2:51 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I wish someone would have gotten Smolenski to clarify what’s complicated about switching to new jerseys? Teams do it every year, we know it’s like a two or three year process….but if the Eagles want to switch jerseys, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE HOLDUP starting the process? I don’t get it. Everyone changes jerseys, the eagles say that they want to, but that’s it’s complicated?

    Anyone have any Idea what’s the complication?

  110. 110 ACViking said at 3:06 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    GE wrote:

    “I wish someone would have gotten Smolenski to clarify what’s complicated about switching to new jerseys?”
    _________________

    The PFT blurb on the topic begins:

    “Eagles president Don Smolenski was a guest on WIP Radio . . . .”
    _________________

    GE’s point is a great one.

    But no chance . . . no chance . . . any serious interrogation will take place on the radio.

  111. 111 GEAGLE said at 5:59 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Lol seriously…. Like there is a standard process in place for changing unit.almost one team per year changes jersey, what could possibly be the issue? You either start the process or you don’t… How the hell could they have let Donmake a statement like that without a small follow up question?

  112. 112 Bert's Bells said at 6:04 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    With all the typing you do, haven’t ever come across this thing called “Google”?

    http://thacover2.com/2014/08/eagles-considering-switch-to-kelly-green-uniforms/#.U-KmGoBdVfE

  113. 113 GEAGLE said at 6:46 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    No but you definitely constantly come cross this thing known as my nuts…back to being invisible you go. Poof

  114. 114 76mustang said at 6:16 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    To expand on Bert’s Bells reply:

    The difficulty in changing uniforms is more of an NFL issue, and has less to do with the organization. The league takes it’s merchandise seriously, and makes franchises jump through hoops for the smallest change.

    Changing uniforms in the NFL has become a lengthy and exhaustive process. According to the league offices, it essentially takes two years to make the switch once the request from the team is submitted. So if the Eagles today declared they wanted their primary uniforms to be Kelly Green, it wouldn’t actually come to pass until the 2015 season under the current policy.

    The NFL does a lot of homework before giving its stamp of approval. They exchange design ideas with the team; test the uniform on the field, inspecting how it looks from every seat in the stadium (both indoors and out, at night and during the day), and how it looks on camera; they want to see how it would appear in stores, and get player feedback.

  115. 115 GEAGLE said at 6:48 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    You are describing the standard process.. What is the complication keeping us from starting the process?
    ..
    Exactly why I wish they could have gotten Don to clarify

  116. 116 the midatlantic said at 6:38 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    It’s the NFL’s concussion-minded rule that helmets must stay consistent throughout the season, because each one is custom fitted to the player. No easy way around that, if, as has been suggested, they only want to go to Kelly green a couple games a year.

  117. 117 ACViking said at 3:09 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Re: Back to Kelly’s color?

    Here’s a link to the website for Riddell — its interactive uniform-design store.

    If you have 10 minutes to kill, it’s worth a trip.

    http://uniforms.riddell.com/football/

  118. 118 GEAGLE said at 9:29 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Nice! Grazie

  119. 119 austinfan said at 4:29 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Matt Tobin OL 6-6 303 24 [4.91 1.75 — 4.62 7.69 28 8’11]
    Kevin Graf OL 6-6 303 23 [5.03 1.76 27 4.77 7.53 29 8’11]

    Certainly look similar, I see Graf at OG eventually, like Tobin, may not have the feet for OT. But started at USC, so he ain’t chopped liver.

    Allen Barbre OT 6-4 307 30 [4.84 1.65 28 4.63 7.40 32 8’9]
    Andrew Gardner OT 6-7 304 28 [4.96 1.69 — 4.70 7.51 30 8’11]

    The more athletic OL seem to be climbing up the depth chart.

  120. 120 Baloophi said at 5:06 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I can’t fathom this depth discussion.

  121. 121 RogerPodacter said at 11:51 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    some of these players are in a different league.

  122. 122 GEAGLE said at 6:16 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Vikings cut a serious TE talent AC Leonard. Unfortunately his Charecter probably will keep him from getting the eagle to take a look at him.
    ..
    Serious athlete. Reminds me of the young TE on the skins..
    ,..
    Ebron LOL said he already hit the rookie wall, and Jace Amaro is completely lost in Marty’s Westcoast offense..
    ..My boy Sefarian Jenkins is the talk of the Bucs instead of Mike evans

  123. 123 anon said at 11:05 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    I think Colt will get cut, would be interesting to see if we put him on the PS — we’d literally have the best TE group in the league.

  124. 124 Maggie said at 7:37 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Writers keep on about the depth chart, while most TEAMS keep saying it means nothing. Just a league requirement to list employees.

  125. 125 eagleyankfan said at 8:52 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    Same thing earlier in the season when the writes kept asking about who is running with the 1’s and 2’s etc and Chip having to repeat it time after time — it doesn’t matter in July who is running with who…but they keep asking….

  126. 126 GEAGLE said at 9:23 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Riley Coopers take on the Desean gets everyone else open Theory. He wasn’t asked bout Desean directly, but offered this on his own..

    Spada asked him what is it about this offense that’s so special?
    Coops response: “it obviously helps having the best RB in the NFL. For the WR’s, we get man to man coverage on the outside with single high safety and the strong safety always in the box. With the best RB you can’t double a WR. You literally can’t do that because we will just Gash you with LeSean. LeSean gives us the one on one match ups on the outside”… That’s the response he gave during an interview in which Deseans name wasn’t mentioned a single time. So it’s not like this is a bogus answer he gave to defend cutting Desean! and he was pretty emphatic Bout it..

    Cooper also added “I’m not going to say any names, but I see guys out here that are so much better than they were last year and that’s just from getting more comfortable…
    ..
    Continuity matters, is not some bogus wives tale from the sea (gold star to whoever gets the refrence)

    Seth Joyner spoke on 97.5 the Fanatic, tons of quality analysis was offered. He is on the Mykal Kendrick will be special bandwagon. Assume they will post the interview on the fanatic website. Last year was the first I ever heard of Seth Joyner the analyst, and I think he does. Pretty good job.

  127. 127 anon said at 11:02 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Meh, we’ll see if Kendricks does anything in pre-season, haven’t heard of him doing anything in 11-11s but maybe i’m missing something.

  128. 128 eagleyankfan said at 8:51 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    Same thing Chip told the media a few weeks back…

  129. 129 GEAGLE said at 9:59 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    What are we going to do about Tucker? any chance we keep 4 backs, or are we Going to let the Giants or someone poach our young big back? If Tucker and Momah aren’t going to make our roster I hope they don’t play too good in the PS.. Hate to lose either player at this stage of their development. I’d like to see how much better they will be this time next year before we lose them
    ..

  130. 130 Patrick Pauling said at 10:23 PM on August 6th, 2014:

    Horrible news (in my opinion) but I just read on nfl.com mobile app that the Eagles are thinking about a permanent change back to the old Kelly green. I not a fan of this idea at all. It’s OK when it’s the alternate for two games a season but just thinking about seeing them play in those colors again makes me want to be color blind.

  131. 131 eagleyankfan said at 7:40 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    Hate the idea of old color. Don’t need a daily reminder of a past that sucked.

  132. 132 The Linc – Nick Foles is a Polar Bear | Sports Feedr said at 8:06 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    […] Depth Discussion – Iggles BlitzOne of the things we always do when talking about players close to the bottom of the roster is mention how they might be playing well, but have little hope of making the roster. While this is somewhat true, you never know when that will change due to injuries. It sounds like the light has finally gone on for CB Curtis Marsh and he’s playing the best football of his career. The problem is that he’s buried on the depth chart. Marsh is behind Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin, Nolan Carroll and rookie Jaylen Watkins. Being the 6th CB on a football team isn’t good. Teams normally only keep 5 corners. And Roc Carmichael is still in the mix. It is possible that Marsh is the #7 CB. […]

  133. 133 jcwhy said at 9:37 AM on August 7th, 2014:

    what about just a new Hue of Green.. Guacamole Green? dip that Chip in Guacamole Green.. prob get an easy sponsorship from some guacamole farm too! think outside the box!