More From the Pats Practices

Posted: August 13th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 149 Comments »

The Eagles and Patriots practiced in heavy rain and sloppy conditions on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop the Philly media from sharing plenty of good info with us.

Good and bad on Jeremy Maclin. From Jeff McLane.

1. Jeremy Maclin and Darrelle Revis faced off once again. Maclin caught a pass on a short route underneath and then beat the Patriots cornerback on a post route into the end zone. Just after Maclin ran through the end zone, he looked up to a handful of Philly reporters 20 yards up the hill as if to say, “You guys catch that?” Yes, we did. Revis hasn’t looked as if he’s been giving 100 percent all the time during these scrimmages. That’s his prerogative, but Maclin has looked the No. 1-receiver part for the first time this training camp. It almost seems too good to be true …

— Maclin caught a pass from Nick Foles, but signaled for a replacement. He walked to an Eagles staff member to get a drink and watched a few plays before re-entering. There’s often this feeling with Maclin that something bad is about to happen …

— After four straight rushes, Foles hit a wide-open Maclin 40 yards downfield on a play fake. After Maclin ran into the end zone, he went to the sideline and was seen cursing to himself. He didn’t practice the rest of the day and told us afterward that his left hamstring “grabbed.” Here’s more on his injury.

It is great to hear that he played well against Revis, but you do get nervous about injuries. I’m not worried about another ACL tear so much as him missing a game here and there with minor issues. Mac does have a pair of ACL tears, but they are years apart. It isn’t as if he’s got knee problems that affect him constantly. Remember how Brian Westbrook had that? Hopefully as Mac plays more and more his body will adjust and he’ll be able to stay on the field.

* * * * *

Everyone agrees that Bradley Fletcher has been struggling recently.

Jimmy Bama — “Ever since the referees showed up at Eagles camp a couple weeks ago to begin enforcing the new emphasis on illegal contact by defensive backs and wide receivers, Bradley Fletcher has not been the same. Being physical with receivers down the field is a big part of Fletcher’s game, and if the league does indeed get more strict, he could be in trouble. “

Sheil Kapadia — “Bradley Fletcher, meanwhile, has had quite a bit of trouble during one-on-ones the past two days.”

More from Sheil — “Back on defense, Fletcher gives up a catch in front of him near the sideline. I really think Carroll would be pushing him for that job if he weren’t injured.”

Yikes. This is not encouraging news on Fletcher. He has to be physical and aggressive to play with confidence. I would hate to see rules ruin the young man’s career, but he’s got to adjust and play better.

Oh…and get healthy Nolan Carroll.

* * * * *

Everyone raved about Zach Ertz.

Jimmy Bama — “Zach Ertz had a very good day, as the Patriots defense struggled sticking with him. Want to cover Ertz with a linebacker? Good luck. Want to go nickel when Ertz is in there? Prepare to get pounded with the run. The Eagles have three players who can be mismatch nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, and Ertz.”

Jeff McLane — “Ertz dominated against the Patriots second team defense. They didn’t have a linebacker that could cover him. Sanchez went to Ertz on three straight plays – a screen, one over the middle for 15-yards, and on a 10-yard crosser. We saw some of Ertz with the first team against the Bears, and I imagine his role with the starters will increase. It will be difficult for Kelly to keep him off the field.”

Professor Kapadia — “Great period for Zach Ertz. He runs down the seam against a linebacker for a downfield catch. Then Ertz sets up in the middle of the field, turns towards the line of scrimmage, makes himself big and comes down with a nice catch over his head in traffic. The Eagles aren’t going to be able to afford keeping Ertz off the field once the regular season starts.”

Love hearing this. Ertz flashed big potential late in 2013. If he can take the next step forward, that will be huge for the offense. TEs can be very tough to match up against. Ertz is athletic enough to move around and be a receiving weapon.

* * * * *

Thursday is just a walkthrough. Friday is the game.

_


149 Comments on “More From the Pats Practices”

  1. 1 Jernst said at 12:22 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Maclin reminds me of kearse, always seems to get dinged up, and then comes right back in. It’s probably more perception than reality. Just seems like some players always get minor ailments and others just keep chugging along. I’ll take a Jon Runyan that breaks his tail bone and doesn’t miss a snap and has no noticeable decline in play over an Earl Wolff who has all the talent in the world but will sit out of a playoff game with soreness when cleared to play, any day.

  2. 2 Baloophi said at 1:02 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I get where you’re coming from in terms of mentality but it’s probably unfair to compare players at different positions. To wit, I wouldn’t want a safety “toughing it out” only to discover he can’t cut on his knee as Marques Colston blows past him for a playoff TD. Of course all bets are off when Patrick Chung is the next man up, but you catch my drift.

    Likewise, tough mentality or not, Maclin limping down the field on a post doesn’t exactly help the team. I recall DeSean constantly hobbling back to the huddle after twisting an ankle and thinking to myself: “Nice to see the heart, but I’d rather see you get taped up than shuffle through the next few passing routes.”

  3. 3 Jernst said at 2:13 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I hear ya. And, I agree completely. But, when it comes to toughing it out. I think that decision should be the coaches decision. I want players that need to be pulled off the field. I want players that want to play even if they can’t and force the coach to pull them out. If coaches and trainers watch you run around for over a month and go, “yea he looks like he’s fine, he might not be 100%, but he can definitely help us win.” And, the player goes, “nah, coach, I’m good. I only play when I’m 100%.” That’s a problem.

    As far as Kearse, I think that was less mentality and more body type. Some players bodies just seem to be more prone to minor injuries like that. I’ve watched Trent Cole play DE for 8 years. And, I’ve never once seen him limp off the field and writhe in pain like he just tore every ligament in his ankle. Kearse did that 3-6 times per game. Maybe he just had a weak mind for pain and Trent just sucks it up, or perhaps with his long legs and style of play he was just more prone to straining his ankles and knees.

    Who knows why. I just know, as a coach, and as a fan, I prefer players that I can count on to play and get up after the play and continue playing. Players that, for whatever reason, are constantly limping to the sideline get on my nerves.

  4. 4 anon said at 8:58 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    My body my choice. Points above about needing to be 100% are very true, points about injuring further and having to miss more games are also prescient. For me the most compelling argument is that my contract isn’t guaranteed and you’ll get cut if you can’t play. You play through something injure it further that’s it.

  5. 5 Jernst said at 10:43 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Very true! TO found out the hard way when he risked his career to come back from a broken ankle to play in the Super Bowl and when he came to management the next year and said I put it all on the line for my team, can I get some more guaranteed money? And, they told him to go pound sand.

  6. 6 RobNE said at 10:44 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    that was such a terrible choice. TO is one guy they should have showed the money.

  7. 7 GEAGLE said at 11:20 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    One of the worst decisions in the history of this franchise. Everyone knew, you don’t bring TO Into your locker room if you aren’t willing and committed to keeping that whack job happy…

    Who gets the bunt of the blame anyway for deciding to not pay him? Was that still Joe banners handy work?

    Only getting a year of T.O was friggin Tragic. First year we added him we went right to the SB…how the hell can you not keep him happy for ATleast a 3year run?

    Best year of my eagles fandom… Tragic that it only lasted a year, tragic may be a friggin understatement

  8. 8 CrackSammich said at 10:20 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I don’t know your background, but it sounds like you’ve never had a nagging injury while playing high level sports to me. It doesn’t get better when you don’t let it heal, and you’d be amazed at how many things you can’t do on a bum ankle or knee. I pulled my LCL in 08 and still can’t go up stairs without pain, let alone run full speed and tackle a guy.

  9. 9 Jernst said at 10:35 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I’ve played high level sports, played in college, I’ve had nagging injuries, but the coach also had to pull me off the field. Just the mentality I had and how I approached the game.

    I’m less talking about mentality though. There’s just some players that always have dings. And, then there’s others that never seem to have dings. Is it mentality, is it body type, I don’t know. Trent Cole never seems dinged up, but I bet he is, he plays professional football for godsakes. Jevon Kearse would writhe in pain like he just had a career ending injury and limp to the bench 3-4 times per game and come right back in. Not sure if it’s body type, pain tolerance, being injury prone, or mentality, but I prefer the player like Cole over the player like Kearse any day.

  10. 10 RobNE said at 10:43 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I believe it’s both body and mentality. I read an article on Cal Ripken once where he would play a game with his teammates like punching each other (free shots) and he would never bruise. I fully believe it isn’t just mental, or that it’s physiologically related. Like in the movie about Steve Prefontaine, where the coach says something like “your gift is that the pain of running doesn’t register in your head, you are blessed” some of that is mentally pushing it aside but some bodies are just better meant to do things. Especially at these super high levels.

  11. 11 Jernst said at 10:45 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Totally agree

  12. 12 RobNE said at 10:47 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    found it (not that this solves anything, but it’s a related story):

    The Orioles used to play a game to determine which player could take the
    most pain, and which one was the hardest to bruise, a game invented, of
    course, by Cal Ripken — who, of course, was also the champion.

    “Ten minutes before the start of a game,” former Oriole Ben McDonald
    once said, “a couple of our guys jumped Rip and dug their knuckles in
    his ribs. We had him pinned down. He was yelling ‘No! No!’ but he
    wouldn’t give up. He’d rather die. The next day, I had a huge bruise on
    my ribs, and he had a tiny red spot. I can’t wait until the streak is
    over. A bunch of us are going to pummel him. But we still won’t be able
    to hurt him. He will not bruise.”

  13. 13 Media Mike said at 6:25 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    See Bishop, Blaine for a guy who “toughed it out”, tricked the coaches into letting him play, and played like GARBAGE in a playoff game when 3rd tier Tampa players were blowing past he and Barry Gardner on the way to yet another choke loss in the playoffs.

    I agree on your point about skill guys on D having to be able to run 100%!

  14. 14 GEAGLE said at 9:42 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    If Blaine bishop was honest like Earl Wolff has been about injuries, we prob beat the bucks and get a SB ring against the raiders..

    Thin line between being tough, and hurting your team,.. I have no respect for tough guy who stays in the game when he knows he shouldn’t and the team has to pay for it… You play thru injuries you better KNOW that you aren’t going to be a liability…. Still hate Blaine bishop

    I want tough players, but I also want players tough enough to admit when playing will hurt the team. Misguided toughness does more harm than good

  15. 15 Jernst said at 10:40 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    That, in my humble opinion, falls entirely on the coach. You have enough practice to see if a player can actually function or not and it’s their job to make that call. I don’t think the players should lie or hide stuff from their coaches and trainers, but they should want to play no matter what and fight to get on the field.

    PS: Blaine Bishop sucked that game because he was too old and tragically slow at that point in his career, he didn’t seem anymore limited than usual in that game from my memory. There’s a reason he retired after that year. He was washed up not injured.

  16. 16 RobNE said at 10:44 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    yep it isn’t his fault we had him on the team

  17. 17 Ark87 said at 6:51 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    You’re right, Mac is almost always dinged up, but almost never misses games. Outside of his ACL tear’s 17 games, He’s been remarkably reliable

  18. 18 GEAGLE said at 9:40 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Saw a stat yesterday where he was one of the top 7 most durable WRs before his 2012 injury..
    …Also I didn’t know that in 2012 he led the league in causing Cbs to get called for pass interference.. That ability could come in handy when refs should be throwing flags at CBs left and right this year

  19. 19 Jernst said at 12:42 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I also expect a vastly different offense than were used to seeing. In the passing game, Ertz, sproles and McCoy are gonna drive the passing game with consistent plays as well as create the huge mismatches. Maclin, Cooper and JMatt will basically all do what Riley did last year, play WR and make simple plays but not effect other teams game plans. We lost one guy the defense had to game plan around in Jackson, but we gained two more that they have to game plan for and who can’t easily be taken out of the game with strong man coverage. Teams are gonna find out real soon you can’t play man against sproles and ertz, and cover JMatt with ur 5’9″ nickel back. Once we force tea out of mam coverage or just consistently beT it and move the chains, watch out. We’ll be even better despite the loss of our most dynamic and explosive weapon. Maybe not as dangerous on any given play, but more consistent and a lot more difficult to shut down.

  20. 20 RobNE said at 7:51 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I hear you and I’ve also read Kelly say the same (that teams moved out of zone), but silly question, why did we have so much success against zone? Is it the read option that forces the players within zone to commit one way, then we choose the other option?

  21. 21 Jernst said at 11:06 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    As a pass catcher or game planner it’s always slightly easier to exploit zone. To beat man coverage you have to have certain physical skills, you must be able to physically create separation from a dback or outmuscle him on a contested throw. Zone is about moving through zones and finding the soft spot and sitting down.

    This is what made McNabb, early in his career, such a weapon in the salary cap era. Due to his mobility, teams were forced to play zone. If they played man and turned their back to the LOS, he’d take off and gain 40yards. But, against zone he could also sit in the pocket behind a good oline buying time until a WR sat down in an opening in the zone, squared up to him and he could rifle a pass in there before the zone closed. This allowed the Eagles to still have productive offenses with no other skill position threats outside of McNabb. He changed the way defenses could play us and allowed us to function with Johnson, Small, Thrash and Pinkston. Once he stopped running, though, teams started playing press man and it was obvious our WRs didn’t have the physical skill to beat press man and the entire scheme crumbled (see NFCCG against Panthers. McNabb never developed the skill of throwing to people covered in man coverage and preferred to constantly wait for them to come wide open like they would against zones early in his career. Guy open in the middle standing still, squared up to the QB is easier to hit than placing the ball in a perfect spot while the WR is moving against tight man coverage.

    The issue with us last years wasn’t so much that we had increased success against zone, it was that man coverage stopped us. Due to our fast tempo, teams will prefer man coverage simply because it’s easier and quicker to get lined up and there’s less communication involved. I’ve got this guy, you’ve got that guy. Simple. It’s a lot harder to play zone against us with our fast tempo and all the different formations we trot out. Last year we saw mostly press man with a single high safety. The other safety had to come down to provide a numbers advantage against shady and our zone read scheme that blocks a man essentially with the QB. The problem for us is that our main receiving weapon, Jackson, struggled against good CBs in press man.

    This slowed down the offense. The problem with man coverage though for a defense is that it’s easier for the offense to scheme a mismatch if they have the right players. If I put sproles in the backfield and you’re playing a man to man scheme, he’s going to be covered by a LB. He now motions out of the back field into the slot and now you have Spriles lined up as a WR against a LB in space in man coverage. Huge match up win for the offense. Ertz lines up out wide with a WR in the slot inside of him. If you cover him w a CB, it’s a mismatch because he’s so much bigger, if you put a LB on him he’s faster, plus you just moved a LB out to the sideline against the best running team in the league.

    So you see, man coverage, which teams prefer to run against us because it makes their lives easier against our fast tempo, now provides us with great match ups.

  22. 22 Ben Hert said at 12:27 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Teams won’t have to cover JMatt at all unless he starts to catch the football.

  23. 23 lewis don said at 1:47 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Your saying he doesn’t catch the ball well?

  24. 24 Sean Stott said at 6:50 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Did you watch the preseason game? He had 3 drops, one of which a high school WR would be chastised for missing.

  25. 25 lewis don said at 7:15 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I dont remember those…i do remember the falling down double knee catch…..which wasnt impressive.

  26. 26 Baloophi said at 1:09 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    RE: Rules changes and Fletcher’s physical game.

    One wonders if the league will actually stick with the enforcement plan when the reigning Super Bowl champs’ secondary is predicated on physical play. Love him or hate him, Richard Sherman sells tickets.

  27. 27 Charlie Kelly said at 1:17 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    never bought a ticket to see sherman…

  28. 28 Baloophi said at 3:24 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Oh. Yeah, I wasn’t being literal there. Sorry if I confused you. I wasn’t suggesting that people are physically lining up to exchange money to see Richard Sherman, simply that the NFL might find conflict between enforcing physical DB play on the one hand, and enjoying the ratings boost that a larger-than-life character who happens to rely on said physical play provides. Whatever you, me, and other regular fans think is irrelevant when CNN and morning talk shows air his sound-bytes and suddenly people more likely to watch “The Bachelor” and HGTV are tuning in to watch the NFCCG just to see what Richard Sherman says next.

  29. 29 Charlie Kelly said at 5:03 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    i dont care what sherman says.. he says supid ish

  30. 30 Media Mike said at 6:26 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    But he is correct in that the Crabtree, Kapernick, and the Niners as whole suck.

  31. 31 kevinlied said at 6:52 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    36-12 the last three years. Three straight conference championship games. It’s amazing they haven’t been relegated to the Arena League yet.

  32. 32 anon said at 8:54 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I like when people hate on their division rivalries — it’s great for the game.

  33. 33 GEAGLE said at 10:09 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    SOOO over rated… Kapernick might even be worse from the pocket than Rg3 who is pretty crappy…

    Neither QB showed they can play from the pocket, go thru all the progressions, look off safeties… It’s a joke how much praise RG3 and kAp get. While being such underdeveloped passers…. Neither will be a top QB before they improve from the pocket

  34. 34 Mitchell said at 8:05 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Salty are you, this comment section in.

  35. 35 Charlie Kelly said at 4:57 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    lol

  36. 36 deg0ey said at 7:25 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I’d actually argue that Richard Sherman is the entire reason they’re calling PI more closely this summer. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season, largely on the back of a secondary that broke the rules every single play because they knew the officials wouldn’t call them on it enough to negate the competitive advantage they gained from doing it. The way Seattle cheated their way to that title is something that the league officiating department should be very embarrassed by and their options at this point are either to rewrite the PI rule to allow what the Seahawks were doing or to call it properly on the field.

    All of that said, I do wonder whether they’ll keep it up in the games that actually matter or whether they’re just trying to get teams into the habit of playing with less contact during the offseason in the hopes it will carry over. Probably a combination of both – tighter calls than last season but not quite to the extent that we’re seeing right now.

  37. 37 mtn_green said at 10:04 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Not cheating. Refs didn’t call it. If they call it now Seattle will adapt.

  38. 38 deg0ey said at 10:08 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Of course it’s cheating – they broke the rules on purpose. It’s something specifically forbidden in the rule book and the referees didn’t take any notice, which is presumably what they’re trying to change now. Whether or not Seattle can ‘adapt’ is beside the point, the point is that they shouldn’t be allowed to continue as they did last season.

  39. 39 Baloophi said at 3:57 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Interesting argument. I get that angle.

    The proof will be in the pudding… no, Tommy, not chocolate pudding, but the illegal contact pudding.

  40. 40 Charlie Kelly said at 1:19 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Maclin is an upgraded reggie brown

  41. 41 eagleyankfan said at 10:47 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    now that’s funny.

  42. 42 Charlie Kelly said at 4:57 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    its true.

  43. 43 Media Mike said at 6:27 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    * insert generic anti-Maclin comment here

  44. 44 Ark87 said at 6:54 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Have you seen the comment section in McLane’s article? It’s bad, never seen so many people get passed at an injured person. Classy.

  45. 45 Insomniac said at 1:21 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    “OMG DESEAN MADE MAKLIN…HE’S JUST A #2 WR” MACLYN 4 BOLDYN

  46. 46 Media Mike said at 6:30 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    The Matthews excitement aside, I’m getting a sense that we’re going to be at our best this year in 12 personnel. Starting a group of Maclin, Cooper, Celek, Ertz, and Shady might wind up being our most versatile grouping. Especially if we use Ertz to attack the D if they stay in base to combat Shady’s quest for 2000!

  47. 47 GEAGLE said at 9:37 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    22 personel will be our best.
    ..
    Don’t even know how you look at WRs when you will have shady, Sproles and Ertz matched up with safeties and LBs

  48. 48 Anders said at 9:54 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    2 TE and 2 RBs? I doubt we do that much.

  49. 49 Sb2bowl said at 10:30 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I’m thinking Geagle means 2 WR and 2 TE’s with his 22 lineup; but also, I see your point in that if we have both Shady and Sproles on the field, Ertz and Celek, which WR comes off the field (only 1 spot left to make 11 on offense). Maybe we have FOles come off the field, and Lane plays RT and QB on the same play after he comes back from suspension? No wonder he took PED’s…………

  50. 50 GEAGLE said at 12:19 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    My bad, meant two RBs with 2 TEs…
    ..,
    I think we will see it more than people think. Traditionally that would be some heavy personel package, but for us we can run plenty of our 2 WR and 3 WRs plays because Ertz and Sproles can both be flexed out as WR’s…
    ..
    IMO, Ertz! Shady and Sproles on the field together is going to be very tough for defenses to match up against..

  51. 51 Sb2bowl said at 3:41 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Figured that’s what you meant– but even if we only have 1 “WR” on the field, Ertz, Sproles and even Shady can line up wide or in the slot. That’s why Chip is so big on versatility and getting rid of specific titles/roles.

  52. 52 GEAGLE said at 6:08 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Exactly…when a defensive coordinator sees us go with 1 WR, Celek and Ertz, Shady and Sproles…DC has to honor the possibility that we are trying to pound the ball down their throat..a DC can’t put more than two CBs on the field against that personel grouping…they are going to have to put Linebackers in the game…the beauty of Chip is he wants to be so versatile where a DC would have to worry about us pounding the football, but our guys are so versatile that we can flex them all out as WRs…in theory a DC could be defending against two TE run game, but we can end up going against that with an empty backfield and throwing it to whoever has the slowest linebacker lined up on them…..

    We can run plays we run with 3 WRs, when we only have 1 WR on the field….. Our attack will be simple. Make defensive coordinators put as many linebackers as possible in the game, and throw at the weapon matched up against the slowest linebacker…

    Chip is simple… 9 players beat 8 players, big people beat up little people… That’s Chip in a nutshell

  53. 53 Sb2bowl said at 8:33 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Yup– also why Chip prefers 2-gap 3-4 D; players account for more gaps/responsibilities, thus allowing flexibility and for the maximum play calls possible. More responsiblity on each player (d-line) means lb’s can flow to the play or open gaps, and the secondary can concentrate on playing pass first, then run (opposite of Wide-9 concepts). The reason Ertz needs to develop his blocking skills is that when he becomes even an average blocking TE, his options on any given play is limitless. Run, pass– doesn’t matter, as he grows, our offense will grow.

    Also, I think Huff becomes a sort of “quasi-Sproles” experiment; Sproles signed an extension, but I believe we won’t be hurt too much on his cap figure if his skills aren’t something worth while this year/into next season. To me, Huff can fill his role eventually (could this be why the coaches have him learning all receiver spots, especially taking into account “golden boy” Matthews is concentrating primarily on slot duties this year)?

    It’ll be an interesting year, and I can’t wait to watch the evolution of the offense with Chip and Foles at the helm– a QB in this system needs to be as gifted (if not more so) mentally compared to his athletic ability. Foles fits that MO, and while a running/more mobile QB does open the opposing D to more “gash” plays, it appears that Chip prefers a quick thinker more so than someone with quick feet. I’m fine with Foles at the command, but if Chip ever finds a prospect with both attributes, we could be watching something incredibly rare (if we aren’t already?)

  54. 54 Ark87 said at 6:57 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I kind of don’t mind our receivers missing games, I kind of want to see us use 2 TE- 2 RB sets

  55. 55 Ben said at 8:54 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Good read Tommy.
    First off, I am not worried about Maclin, he will be fine.
    As far as Fletcher is concerned, I would love to see Carroll step up and seize the starting spot but over the years Fletcher has proven to be a steady force and somewhat reliable.
    I think Fletcher is saving his best play for when it really matters.
    It’s the same with Revis. Vets know when to turn it up and I think Fletcher will be better when the season starts.
    I really hope our WR corps can stay healthy but I have to say, Chip is making sure his bases are covered as he has accumulated quite a bit of talent at the WR position with Benn and Smith competing for depth.
    I am also hopeful Momah keeps getting better.
    I would love to see him make the final 53 because that will mean that he has exceeded all of our expectations and he has fully convinced Chip that he has what it takes to be a starter.
    I just hope we can get out of preseason without any major injuries.

  56. 56 anon said at 9:06 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Don’t think Fletch and Revis should be in the same sentence at all. Their paychecks aren’t even in the same tax bracket.

    Agree with the rest of what you say. Gonna be tough for Momah, would love to stash im on PS but gonna be tough.

  57. 57 barneygoogle said at 9:05 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Yesterday I tuned into WIP, mid program. It sounded like Maclin had been run over by a zamboni machine, and had his legs amputated.
    The media hysteria over every ingrown toenail is ridiculous, and…oh..oh..oh Foles had another pass intercepted by Macho Harris.
    Guess we should just cut Foles and Maclin and be done with it.

  58. 58 anon said at 9:22 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    what are your expectations for Foles this year? I’m surprised both ways — some people think he’s Tom Brady, some people think he’s trash — philly fans are so fickle. Hopefully that will change when we get a SB.

    But what are your expectations as far as TOs / TDs / YDs.

  59. 59 RobNE said at 10:38 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    somewhere in between Tom Brady and trash

  60. 60 barneygoogle said at 11:27 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I was a little concerned he could repeat 2013, but now that the media sees him as deteriorating–I’m sure he’ll have an even better year. Just stay healthy.

  61. 61 eagleyankfan said at 11:40 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    8 to’s/ 35 td’s .. over 4000 yards.

  62. 62 Bert's Bells said at 1:03 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I’m going to predict that Foles puts up better numbers than Brady this year. Due to scheme and supporting cast as much as anything.

    8 to’s/35+ passing TDs, 4000+ yards doesn’t seem unreasonable. I’d add another 2 or 3 rushing TDs.

  63. 63 Insomniac said at 1:20 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    4300 yards/ 31 TDS/ 10 INTs

  64. 64 Anders said at 2:33 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Which would still be a very good season

  65. 65 GEAGLE said at 9:36 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Worse than that… I usually laugh at how bad talk radio hosts are…even worse were the callers… Swear 90% of callers were down on FOles, talking about drafting Hundley or some QB next year… Amazing what a preseason performance can do to the brains of our retarded fanbase…

    Idiots need some TY law in their life

  66. 66 P_P_K said at 10:37 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    I truly think TLaw is the finest reporter of Eagles news around. I’m also increasingly impressed with Sheil. Jimmy K is a good read, too.

  67. 67 GEAGLE said at 10:58 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    There is reporting and then there is analysis..
    .
    I think Tom and Sheil are “the cats meow” because they report responsibly, they don’t sensationalize news to be “click whores” while also offering quality analysis and predictions of how things will unfold….. I think it’s hard to find media members who can do both,,,
    ..,
    For example, I think Tim McManus is a pretty good reporter. Asks important questions for the most part and usually a very responsible reporter…but I have no interest in his analysis or opinions. I don’t think he is very good at accurately talking about what’s going to happen……. Sheil and Tom are the rare media that will report responsible, but also provide valuable opinions worth letting in your brain space, where the majority of media opinions are Crap that are better off not allowing in your brain space…

    Rueban is probably who I would rank next…

    You know who knows his stuff better than most and doesn’t get enough credit for it? Matt Lombardo…am,good percentage of his opinions ended up being true…

    Barrett B rooks is someone I have really started to enjoy these past few weeks…

    Seth J owner can be pretty good to. He doesn’t sugar coat anything and I like hearing his rabid defender perspective

  68. 68 Anders said at 4:29 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    “Idiots need some TY law in their life”

    Read that as former Patriots CB Ty Law

  69. 69 CrackSammich said at 10:13 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    It seems that people like GEAGLE are constantly listening to WIP and coming here to respond to it, referring to it as “the media” even while posting on one of the most level headed blogs available. If you don’t want to hear trash reporting, stop listening to it. The rest of seem to get our fix of reasonable reporting on the internet.

  70. 70 truehaynes said at 9:18 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    What do you think of having boykin as your second safety in the base defense? He can tackle better than Allen and we want him on the field as much as possible

  71. 71 eagleyankfan said at 10:46 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    51 players on the roster can tackle better Allen so it’s hard to say. I excluded our kicker, but not with confidence that he can’t tackle better, but that doesn’t mean they all can play safety.

  72. 72 RogerPodacter said at 1:05 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    too bad we won’t keep murderleg. ha

  73. 73 Anders said at 2:02 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Seems you didnt watch the pre season game. Allen’s tackling was very good

  74. 74 truehaynes said at 2:52 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I still think boykin would be more effective than Allen. Him and malcolm Jenkins would be a great man to man duo at safety. It allows you to stay in base

  75. 75 eagleyankfan said at 3:18 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    was just a joke.

  76. 76 Sb2bowl said at 3:37 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Not necessarily true– if 51 players could tackle better than Nate, why is he running with the first team D constantly?

  77. 77 eagleyankfan said at 4:19 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Because Foles plays QB, if he gets hurt playing safety, we lose our QB.

  78. 78 fran35 said at 9:25 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    What are the odds we keep Marsh and ditch Fletcher or another CB? Not that Fletcher necessarily deserves to be released, but it seems as if the light has come on for Marsh and he is young with an upside. Fletcher has a starter salary and it appears Carroll may steal his job.

  79. 79 GEAGLE said at 9:34 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    0.0000

  80. 80 Insomniac said at 1:11 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    The same odds of us resigning Asante.

  81. 81 GEAGLE said at 9:33 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Cox lashed out last night.. Tweeting about silly reporters talking when they have no idea what they are talking about….easy to connect dots that he was talking about all the negative reports about him recently, which I find absurd

    Our media has known nothing but 4-3 defenses for decades,., doubt many of our media member can accurately judge how he is two gapping. Sounds like media is down on him because he isn’t living in backfields, when he isn’t even supposed to live in backfields in our base. I see a lot of LBs flying around clean and untouched which means the DL is doing it’s job…

  82. 82 Anders said at 9:53 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Its because most media people want him to be like Curry who shots gaps, but nothing else even if the result is Curry on the ground.

    People should really chart how often Curry shots a gap only to be on the ground and therefor not affecting the play anyway even tho it looks impressive for him to be in the back field.

    I like Curry, but the demand for him to start is crazy, I 100% trust Azzinaro with that DL and it is him who decides who starts, not Kelly or Davis.

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 10:00 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Completely agree…

  84. 84 Ark87 said at 11:57 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Curry gets glorified because he’s water in the desert, Water being disruption, the desert being our defense. He gets loved not because he’s a dominant 3-4 DE. It’s a weird…almost an ironic adoration, well lets put it this way. If the base D got any disruption at all, people would see Vinny’s standing with the D with more clarity.

  85. 85 Anders said at 12:07 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    It would really help if Trent Cole wasnt done. We are a 3-4, no matter what people say, pass rush OLB is still a giant need.

  86. 86 Ark87 said at 12:09 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Agreed

  87. 87 GEAGLE said at 12:33 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Share your concern…

    We all know Brandon Graham isn’t going to be an Eagle next year. If we keep him on our roster instead of a young player we could have under contract for a few more years, he better take a bigger percentage of Coles snaps than he got last year..

    I understand if we need his pass rush as a stop gap this year, but if he is going to take some young kids spot, we better use him more than we did last year..

    He wasn’t some gamechanging force, but I do think BG deserved more snaps than he got last year…think it benefits both the team and Cole, to give a bigger percentage of his snaps to BG..
    ..
    I was marveling over Barwins run defense against the bears? Cole is a top notch edge run defender, but Barwin might even be better….when we have Thornton! Cox, Cole and Barwin in the game this year! I expect to see Elite top 10 run defense, especially having Logan in year two! with a suitable War pig type NT backing him up instead of square

    We have to use Blitzing, and interior pass rushers Curry/cox to compensate for lack of elite edge rusher.
    Once we have that pass rushing OLB we can count on, I think we will see the eagles cash in on the Curry trade Chip. Don’t think we can trade Vinny until we get the pass rushing OLB we need

  88. 88 Ark87 said at 11:32 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    The negative observations have snowballed a bit from a casual observation into full blown concern. Which is a bit much. But when you see Fletch getting off the line slowly and catching blocks getting put on the ground, it is what it is, Fletch is not so dominant that you can assume he’s doing his best Revis impression.

    I’m not concerned, in fact I think this is great. Sounds like this is exactly what everybody needs. Media guys get material to write about, and Fletch gets some fuel for the fire. Carry on!

  89. 89 GEAGLE said at 12:15 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Yeah I def don’t mind a pissed of Cox,, like that he responded

  90. 90 A_T_G said at 1:31 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Boy, if you have ever seen Cox pissed, you need to work on keeping your gaze straight ahead when you are at the urinal.

  91. 91 GEAGLE said at 1:35 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Instant upvote…. But I’m not touching that..yes I realize I just threw gas in the fire

  92. 92 eagleyankfan said at 11:40 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Anything to take the media off the “omg, Mathews is the greatest ever WR” kick…

  93. 93 GEAGLE said at 6:40 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Yeah,they really need to just leave that kid alone and let him grow…

    Media needs to leave that kid alone and start respecting Marcus smith as a great first round pick. Sucks to lose Lane for the first 4 games, but we are making the most out of a bad situation…,losing Lane for 4 games means we need to get Barbre reps with the ones so Lane is playing with the twos where he doesn’t have Herremans to rely on. playing with the twos will help Lane grow to be able to be effective independnt of Todd. He is being asked to be vocal and make his own calls with the second team…
    ..another valuable aspect of Lane practicing with the twos is that Marcus Smith has gotten plenty of reps against Lane???so instead of working against back up OL, he gets to face a Long, super athletic starting caliber tackle. Philly,com has an article up about Marcus talking about the importance of getting all these reps against Lane and how he is trying to grow as a pass rusher now that he knows you can’t just rely on your speed at this level

  94. 94 GEAGLE said at 10:49 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    Cary has done well this week against the pats. He has given up some stuff, but word is he is really competing out there and setting the tone for our secondary. Bradley is the quiet type, Nate certainly isn’t wired to be a wild man tone setter. Jenkins likes it physical, and is helping Cary lead and set the tone, and I love hearing how our secondary is stepping up and holding it’s on against the Brady Bunch..

    Most of the Brad Fletch news this week is of him struggling. Guy is a hardworking Vet who should get it together before the season starts. Wonder why he is struggling, just a rough patch, or is he struggling to adjust to the way refs are calling the DB play? Pleasantly surprised that with the refs throwing flags all over the secondary, Cary has been able to be the most physical DB, have success vs the pats without getting a million penalties or thrown out for fighting…. You know Chip had a chat with him before the first pats practice….

    People seem to be counting down he days til Nolan wins a starting spot. I’m sure his time will come in philly, but i have a feeling he will have to wait longer than most seem to expect…People talk about wanting Nolan to replace a CB, but I think that defeats the point. We lacked depth in a bad way at CB..having BOTH. Nolan and Jalen caliber players on the bench is neccessary..
    .,,
    Say Brad has a two week injury, Nolan can step in, and we prob won’t skip a beat, but without Jalen, Nolan having to play on the outside would screw up our subpackages… Having both on the bench means, that Nolan can go outside if an injury occurs to the starters without having to give up our DIME subpackage because Jalen can fill in at Dime CB if Nolan needs to go outside.

    Nolan and Jalen shouldn’t REPLACE anyone…we need them in ADDITION to our starters….

    Nice to see marsh get it together, but I’d rather get a draft pick for him, then keep a 6th CB, especially when both backups Nolan and Jalen can play outside and inside

    Curious to see how the DBs cap off a good week of work, in tomorrow’s game..

  95. 95 CrackSammich said at 11:54 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    In regards to your dime package comments, if one of the corners goes down, they can also go to a 3 S, 3 CB dime set with Jenkins playing the other slot position. I don’t think it would be anywhere near as effective, but probably better than staying in nickle and putting Kendricks on the 4th receiver.

  96. 96 GEAGLE said at 1:16 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    As long as Jenkins stays healthy yes..

    His ability to really function as an extra CB when we need him to is BIGTIME for when teams don’t let us substitute on 3rd down.
    ..Chipwagon yesterday made the argument, that because the 3-4 is designed to stop run games without needing an extra man advantage in the box, it allows you to do a lot more in coverage with your safeties. And our solid front 7 against a run was a reason we were attracted to Jenkins over a guy like TJ Ward… I def think that’s part of it..

  97. 97 A_T_G said at 1:26 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    If Carroll replaces one of the starters, wouldn’t that former starter and Watkins provide us with an equally deep bench? You don’t anticipate a Lito Sheppard situation, do you?

  98. 98 GEAGLE said at 1:32 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    No, no I def agree…

    That was in response to the emerging fan opinion that maybe we should keep marsh over one of the vets we are paying…
    ..
    No matter how much marsh shows up, I see no realistic way that he moves ahead of any of the 5 CBs: Cary, Brad! Boykin, Nolan or Jalen…Cary is a madman, but he is a team guy who knows that players need to Sacrafice to win superbowls…think Cary and Brad would go to the bench if coach wants Nolan in the game, but in some capacity I expect Billy to find snaps for all of them..

    If marsh makes the roster he is going to have to beat out the fringe players at other positions like Momah, Maehl, Benn, Travis long! Mathew Tucker types,,,

    No matter how much improvement marsh shows, I think we should try to get a draft pick for him(jets)..I’m sure we could easily find a team to swap us a player for him, but we should try to parlay him into an extra draft pick..

  99. 99 Anders said at 1:56 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Watkins could get the IR treatment.

  100. 100 GEAGLE said at 2:04 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Interesting.,, I hadn’t thought of that possibility. Figured he was better than that, but if Marsh plays that well, IR Jalen is a nice option to have.. Good stuff

  101. 101 Anders said at 2:32 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    From what I have read, Marsh has been really great and getting a lot of PBU’s. He even got several yesterday against Brady where Fletcher struggled.

  102. 102 GEAGLE said at 5:49 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Interesting…hope he puts a brilliant game or two on Film…
    ..
    Amazing how much better our depth is. Last year I didn’t see so many fans worrying about the back end of the roster like this year…Casey Mathews was our 4th outside linebacker last year…now fans will like ATleast 3 players that won’t end up making this years roster
    ..
    We really need to start figuring out how these players rank in terms of ST contribution, because with so many fringe players performing, Special teams is going to help decide who makes it…
    ..
    Need to start figuring out how these players rank in terms of special team value to the eagles:
    marsh
    Tucker
    Momah
    long
    Benn
    Maehl
    Phillips
    Knot
    Bair
    Kruger
    square

  103. 103 RobNE said at 1:59 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Trade Marsh for Dion Jordan. Done!

  104. 104 RogerPodacter said at 10:59 AM on August 14th, 2014:

    hey guys, check out this good read about mccoy getting along with chip. i’m kinda surprised to see this from ESPN… weird.

    http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11348255/how-philadelphia-eagles-coach-chip-kelly-converted-lesean-mccoy-believer-espn-magazine

  105. 105 P_P_K said at 2:46 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    This is a great read. Thanks.

  106. 106 GEAGLE said at 12:08 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Coop isn’t playing tomorrow but says he expects to be back practicing with the team Sunday in philly… Which means “so you are saying there’s a chance?” For all the Momah lovers… Opportunity continues to knock. Kids getting major opportunities to make these decisions as tough on the coaches as possible…

    McManus yesterday asked Chip the million dollar question. How much does Momah have to show on ST to make the roster, Tim wrote an article about Momah’s chances, it’s posted at PhillyMag..

    Where can I find detailed analysis of the ST play for the bears? Besides Tom who provides good DGR’s? Preseason ST play will probably be a major piece of the equation.. I need to start paying more attention to it,,,I pay attention to the main ST players like maragos, Braman! Brad, James Casey… But need to start paying attention to things like Maehl vs. Momah as gunners… How much Benn and Maehl are bringing to ST compared to Momah…

  107. 107 GEAGLE said at 1:22 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    How do people view this years rookies in terms of fantasy football?
    .,,
    I’m also finding it very difficult to figure out where eagles players should be drafted this year. So many weapons I’m struggling with what round our players should be drafted in…

    Is drafting Josh Gordon in dynasty leagues brilliant, or is he doomed to never play 16 games again… I think Blacmon is already..”stick a fork in him”…DUNZO… Especially in Jax with the two rookie WRs and Cecil Short..
    Josh Gordon isn’t as far gone as him yet, but any time he does anything from now on, he will be punished to the fullest now that he has a bunch of infractions under his belt..

  108. 108 RobNE said at 1:58 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Draft Ertz.

  109. 109 GEAGLE said at 2:01 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I took him last year in my keeper league so I could keep him this year with it only costing me a 12th round pick…

    Still looking for a league I can do a normal draft in… Im basically not allowed to play in a league I won the last two championships in… NEED TO FIND A LEAGUE. SOMEONE HELP!!!

  110. 110 RobNE said at 4:52 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I can’t root for other team’s players so I don’t do it, can’t help you there.

  111. 111 RobNE said at 2:02 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Another Eagles article: http://grantland.com/features/chip-kelly-philadelphia-eagles-nfl-influence/

    I think some other teams’ fans (like my cousin a Steelers fan) kind of hate us b/c of all this attention. You know, when the Eagles win the SB there will have been a million articles written about Chip Kelly and almost everyone will hate us.
    That will be glorious.

  112. 112 P_P_K said at 2:48 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Cool link. Thanks.

  113. 113 lewis don said at 2:10 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    After re-watching the preseason game…some consistent positives and negatives are showing up….

    Positives:
    *special teams overall looks better, so far
    *Team looks more explosive and sure, so far
    *Ertz is running good routes and catching the ball well.
    *Foles will be fine…Even if he throws a normal rate of interceptions. he was making completions and moving the ball. Holding penalties and WR route running affected his game….im just not worried about his game.
    *Shady i think could possibly be better this year. Looking for the HB wheel route.
    *Backup offensive linemen Andrews and the LG guy…
    *Cedric Thornton is still very solid.
    *M. Kendricks may finally win my affection. he looks visibly better than last year.
    *B. Allen. Wasnt as impressed as the announcer. But when he shows up..he really shows up.

    Disappointments so far:
    *Receivers RAC ability…..we have been plagued by this for years. I thought Matthews might be one of the answers, but he looked akward espcially on taht one play where he misjuked left and threw a spaghetti stiff arm at the corner in the Bears game….earlier he got lit up coming off a drag to the right….The announcer was impressed by how he got back up…

    *Trent Cole, Bradley Fletcher, Demeco Ryans (in pass coverage)
    Admittedly I didnt notice how bad D. ryans was in pass coverage until I started reading about it. and watching the games over….now….I know….and it kills me…the flip side is that he looks great blitzing and against the run…as well as being a leader on the field…But….he is a huge liability in the passing game….TEs were a problem last year and in the first preason game…idk guys and gals

    Trent cole- after rewatching the preseason game. I noticed a play where F. Cox looped right, and trent Rushed Right. F. Cox threw his hands up in the middle of the play. I assume because trent was suppose to loop inside…Not only did trent not get clsoe to the quarterback…but F. Cox basically took himself out of the play….This made me realize, how often does T.Cole “do his own thing”?

    Bradley Fletcher- I have never been thrilled with bradley fletcher. he has never passed my eye test on the field. All the plays he made last year seemed to me to be akward or lucky….he seems slow to react to the ball and seems to be a barely solid starter…..on the other hand, cary williams is a real solid starter and I am completely comfortable with him over there. Remember the play last year where bradley didnt turn around for the ball and stuck his hands up and barely tipped the ball incomplete…..well i doubt hes more than that this year. and the rules change aint helpin

    *Jordan Matthews—idk…im disenchanted. But I think his best plays will be seam routes and screens…but we need a RAC guy….Im looking towards J. Huff now… Is it just me or does jordan look more like J.Avant 2.0 nowadays….Idk..

  114. 114 GEAGLE said at 2:29 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Cary is easily our #1 CB but Bradley isn’t as bad as you are making him out to be… You don’t go thru a murderers row of big WR tandems during crunch time of an NFL season and hold opponents to Under 24 for the better part of two months with only one outside CB. Cary and Brad proved they can be counted on outside(they showed up in playoffs) and both should be better now that they have quality safety play behind them instead if the liabilities they had behind them last year…. I don’t think Bradley should lose his starting spot just yet but both Nolan and Bradley can play both outside and in the slot, so if Brad starts struggling against outside WR, Billy Davis can move Nolan outside, demoting Bradley, but still giving Bradley snaps since we should play some Dime this year….Nolan is the Dime CB today, but we can easily flip flop him with Bradley…

    Bradley’s contract expires, but he isn’t expensive and is a high Charecter guy who we could convince to stay even if it’s a depth role as long As he is seeing snaps in subpackages… Hopefully we get to keep Cary,Brad and Nolan together past this season… And just take 4th to 6th round fliers on CBs each year until one blows us away with his ability. Best case scenario we don’t have to lose our outside CBs until we find young players who are so ready that they can no longer be kept on the bench… That’s the best way to transition to new CBs without regressing so you can continue to build towards a SB…best case scenario is when you don’t have to replace starters out of necessity.

  115. 115 lewis don said at 2:43 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    great point.

    What do you make of B. Fletcher constantly getting beat on the curl route in the opener?

    Scared of getting beat deep?
    or got pushed?
    or Slow reaction time?
    Lack of being able to be physical?
    or its just preseason?
    or Depends on the play call and his job?

    I am calling for him to see less snaps than N. Carroll this year.

  116. 116 Anders said at 2:49 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    The curl route was a killed last year as well. Its simply because both Fletcher and Williams do not have the greatest hips and are thought to keep everything in front of them, that means they have to react to the WRs stop.

  117. 117 lewis don said at 2:57 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Whats the answer though this year? thats what im sayin. I saw what you saw. I thought we’d fix that….

  118. 118 Anders said at 3:02 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Better players or different philosophy (so different players who has better COD).

  119. 119 Insomniac said at 3:52 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Hit em so hard that they’ll think twice about doing it again.

  120. 120 anon said at 4:22 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    better dropping LB or safeties that can read the curl.

  121. 121 Anders said at 4:27 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Depending on the call, a LB or safety is often responsible for the curl (aka been between QB and WR so QB cant throw it)

  122. 122 lewis don said at 4:49 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Better not Drop Ryans….

  123. 123 Anders said at 6:38 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Its often the OLB or safety if its cover 1 or 3

  124. 124 GEAGLE said at 6:33 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Felt like not having the horses at safety made us have to play on our heels in the secondary. We gave teams whatever they wanted underneath as long as we didn’t let players get behind us….
    ..
    Now that we don’t have liabilities playing safety, I am expect our secondary to transition to an attacking style of defense where we don’t have to give up underneath throws because we are scared of getting beat deep, so I’m expecting much more tighter defense on curl routes and underneath throws

  125. 125 RogerPodacter said at 3:17 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    i’m curious to read more about this, if you more informed readers out there see this.

    Trent cole- after rewatching the preseason game. I noticed a play where F. Cox looped right, and trent Rushed Right. F. Cox threw his hands up in the middle of the play. I assume because trent was suppose to loop inside…Not only did trent not get clsoe to the quarterback…but F. Cox basically took himself out of the play….This made me realize, how often does T.Cole “do his own thing”?

  126. 126 lewis don said at 3:26 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    i could just point you to the play in the game….get preseason live and Ill give you the time stamp…

    but you can wait…….

  127. 127 RogerPodacter said at 3:54 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    oh, i dont have any way of reviewing it on my own. it was more of a call for others to chime in with their thoughts or if anyone had seen something similar, as you asked.

  128. 128 anon said at 4:21 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    yes please

  129. 129 lewis don said at 4:54 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    1st Qtr
    6:53 on the clock
    3rd and 11 bears on their 41
    Time stamp: 00:19:02

    its Ced thorton not Cox…but youll see it if you look at the defenses right side of the line of scrimmage and focus there.

    also Trent may have gotten some form of pressure. but it was yet another long 3rd down conversion by an opponents offense…something we need to fix.

  130. 130 Ark87 said at 7:18 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I see that, looks like Ced thought they were running a stunt, was pretty impressed with Ced on that play actually, he saw Meco and Cole coming around so he quickly got back into the middle of the field to cover the possibility of the qb scrambling up the middle. Pretty nice improv on his part.

  131. 131 Insomniac said at 3:42 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Matthews is a possession receiver. He might not really have the hands and concentration for the label yet though. He’s not going to run free unless he gets great blocking or if some DB screws up big time. It’s been that way for him in college and he’s going to get less chances like that in the NFL.

  132. 132 lewis don said at 4:37 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    So that leaves Benn and Smith as our RAC guys…what you think about them?

  133. 133 Insomniac said at 9:44 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Benn was good in college. I have no clue if all of the injuries are going to affect his cuts. I haven’t watched any of Brad Smith.

  134. 134 Anders said at 2:58 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    “”David has really stepped up for us, and that’s been huge for us,” Kelce told the News Journal. “If Julian had gotten hurt and we [didn’t] have another guy, that would have hurt some of the depth. But right now, Molk is playing just as good as me. He’s doing really well right now.”

    Just found that quote

    http://espn.go.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/7032/molk-has-a-chance-to-step-up-for-eagles

    That is big words for Kelce consider Kelce is considered a top 3 center in the NFL.

  135. 135 Ark87 said at 3:46 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Noth only a top center, but one of the better football minds around imo. It’s so funny, Howard Mudd wanted Kelce because he reminded him of Jeff Saturday, who knew he hit the nail on the head in the…what? 5th or 6th round?

  136. 136 Anders said at 4:26 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    6th round if I remember correctly

  137. 137 Baloophi said at 4:11 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Good find. Perhaps Chip will employ the long-fabled double center alignment. Foles selects a center after reading a key defender…

  138. 138 GEAGLE said at 5:42 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Awesome that he is performing.. I was worried that Molk would be our backup at such an important position without having to beat out Vandervelde because of his injury…so it’s nice to see such a respected veteran dish out this type of praise for Molk… I was looking forward to seeing who would emerge from Molk vs. Vandervelde..,

  139. 139 Mitchell said at 6:16 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Not sure if we talked about this or not but on Barkley’s int, Huff beat his man clean and if Barkley wouldn’t have thrown it so damn short it was an EASY TD. For some reason Barkley was trying a back shoulder fade? No idea, but if was nice to see Huff just run right by his man and streaking for a TD.

  140. 140 GEAGLE said at 6:27 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Did it happen in 4th Quarter? Literally just got home Turned on the TV and replay of eagles game is on NFL network, 4th quarter is about to start…

    An issue with our QBs that I forgot to discuss. Is we are all happy with what we see out of Sanchez as a backup. But like Barkley, seems like he will need to get over his fear of keeping the ball and running with it, if he is ever going to successfully run our offense if FOles has to miss a game or two with an injury..

    FOles isn’t fast, but he is successful because he isn’t afraid to run when defenses dare him to. Even last week at the goal line, Sanchez could have kept it and ran it in instead he threw the screen to the WR and we lost yards….hoping at some point in the preseason, Sanchez keeps it and runs with it when the defenses give it to him…if we ever have,to call on him as a backup, our run game won’t work if he isn’t willing to prove to a defense that he will keep it and run on them if they don’t respect him as a threat to run….hopefully Chip makes Sanchez keep it a few times and get the fear out of his system in the preseason… I don’t want him to get thrown into a regular season game, having never ran with the ball during one of our zone reads,.

  141. 141 Mitchell said at 6:48 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I think it was in the 3rd.

  142. 142 GEAGLE said at 7:37 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Yeah it was, watched the entire 4th again and it didn’t happen…
    ..,
    Hoping one of our 6’9’DE’s can have a better showing tomorrow than against the bears…

  143. 143 GEAGLE said at 6:17 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    So many fringe players are playing well, we don’t have enough roster spots to keep all the players we don’t want to lose.. Fringe player at different positions are making the most of their opportunities like Marsh, Momah, Benn! Mathew Tucker, Travis Long, Kruger, Bair..

    Anyone know if someone wrote an article about how all these fringe players at different positions rank right now in terms of special team value to the Eagles?

    It’s almost to the point where watching what Momah does with his chances at WR Friday won’t even really matter… Momah fans need him to perform on ST and become one of the more valuable ST players out of the guys fighting for the last roster spots…

    Where can I find detailed DGR’s of the special teams of the bears game?

    My problem is I know who our best ST players are. I have been watching Braman , maragos, Bruce smith types, but I have no idea for example, who is showing more ST value right now, Curtis marsh or Momah? How does Kruger and Bair compare in terms of ST value? Need to find out about the ST ability of the fringe players fighting for roster spots

  144. 144 anon said at 6:48 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    anyone have thoughts about mark sanchez’s arm? he kind of has a cannon. not mike vick but he puts good speed on the ball. i talked sooo much smack but his drive impressed. i’d like to see him w/ first team so i know it’s real vs backups on backups.

  145. 145 Mitchell said at 6:51 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Neither Foles nor Sanchez has a better arm than Barkley. *wink wink*

  146. 146 Anders said at 7:01 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    In terms of Arm strenght for Eagles QBs it goes Kinne > Sanchez > Foles >>>>>>>>>>>>> Barkley.

    Sanchez has a really good combo of athleticism and arm strength, if he get the mental part down, he has all the tools to be a good starting QB.

  147. 147 anon said at 6:53 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    colt lyerla torn mcl

  148. 148 Anders said at 6:59 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    I hate injuries for every player, but MCL is not the worst injury (ACL is worse) and a year on IR might be best consider I heard rumors he was getting cut anyway

  149. 149 GEAGLE said at 7:36 PM on August 14th, 2014:

    Hoping they cut Jeff Janis! but hear he looking good