More on the Roster Moves
Posted: August 31st, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 147 Comments »I’ve had some time to reflect on what the Eagles did. And many of you have questions. With that in mind, let me offer some additional thoughts on what happened today.
Is Cody Parkey the answer at PK? There were some veteran PKs cut in the last couple of days. The Eagles didn’t sign any of them to this point and I don’t expect them to. Parkey is a young guy with a strong leg. He showed on Thursday night that he can make long FGs in game situations and do well on kickoffs. Howie Roseman said today the Eagles followed Parkey while in college so this isn’t some random signing. This is a player they liked and STs coach Dave Fipp wanted to work with. My guess is that the Eagles stick with Parkey and see if they can develop him into a long term solution.
Could Michael Sam be of interest? No. Sam is a lesser version of Brandon Graham. He needs to be a 4-3 DE. Sam doesn’t have the athleticism to be an OLB in the 3-4. The fact that he’s gay is completely irrelevant to whether the Eagles would have any interest.
Why did the Eagles keep Jeff Maehl? I know more than a few of you think this is all about Oregon bias. Watch the Jets game. Maehl played well and that game and put himself in a position to make the team. If Arrelious Benn was healthy, I’d be upset with this move, but since he got hurt, I’m fine with it.
Maehl is the kind of WR that Kelly wants. He has some size. Maehl will block and is a solid STer. He can play in the slot or outside. Maehl has little to no upside and I understand some of the frustration with him making it, but I don’t think anyone else beat him out. Ed Reynolds was okay, but didn’t do enough that you felt you had to keep him. Damaris Johnson played his butt off, but he’s just not a good fit for Kelly’s offense. Johnson is an undersized guy with average speed. He can’t play outside. He’s not ideal in the slot. The fact he played RB in the preseason shows a great attitude, but he’s never going to be a RB in a real game. Johnson just doesn’t fit.
Who are some players that got cut that the Eagles might have interest in?
No slam dunks.
* WR Stephen Hill
* QB Tajh Boyd
* QB Jeff Tuel
* OL Vinston Painter
* LB Jake Bequette
* LB Adrian Hubbard
* CB Terrance Mitchell
Hill is big at 6-4, 215. Former 2nd round pick who struggled with the Jets. Lots of potential, but needs a lot of work.
Boyd failed to do much this summer and might not be of any interest, but if Kelly wants a young QB to throw on the practice squad, Boyd would make some sense.
Tuel is physically gifted, but needs a lot of work. Played at Washington State so Kelly knows him and what he can do. I like Tuel quite a bit as a developmental prospect.
Painter is a very athletic blocker and the Eagles value OL with that kind of ability.
Bequette is 6-4, 265 or so. Played DE at Arkansas, but would be a 3-4 OLB for the Eagles. I liked him quite a bit in college. Haven’t followed him much in the NFL.
Hubbard is a player the Eagles showed interest in this year in the pre-draft process. He is 6-6 and has very long arms. Not an explosive rusher. Would be better suited as the Jack LB.
Mitchell is a former Oregon player that I was high on heading into the draft. Tough and physical. Just lacks ideal speed.
I set ILBs apart all on their own. The Eagles are reportedly really looking hard for ILB help. First up are some veterans the team could go after to replace Casey Matthews right now.
* ILB Moise Fokou
* ILB Kelvin Sheppard
* ILB Pat Angerer
Fokou is a former Eagle that can play ILB or OLB. Also solid on STs. Sheppard was a mid-round pick by the Bills a few years back. He was awful while playing MLB for them. I think he would be better suited to 3-4 OLB since he wouldn’t have to cover as much ground. Angerer is small and has been hurt. That’s not an ideal combination, but he was pretty darn good a few years back.
Now for some young guys that might be better suited to the practice squad.
* ILB Shayne Skov
* ILB Korey Toomer
* ILB Andrew Wilson
* ILB Max Bullough
* ILB Chris Young
* ILB Steve Beauharnais
* ILB D.J. Smith
* ILB Andrew Jackson
I have not had a chance to study this group as NFL players so I don’t have a strong opinion on them.
It will be interesting to see if the Eagles make a move at ILB, or anywhere else. I get the feeling that Kelly and Roseman like this roster quite a bit. They won’t make a move unless they feel strongly about a player or position.
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Regarding the Parkey decision, I personally would like to see them sign Chris Boswell to the Practice Squad. Boswell who kicked for Rice this past season did not unseat the Texans’ incumbent kicker, Randy Bullock, and was in the Texans’ cuts list today. During the preseason he got snaps both as the Texans’ place kicker and as their punter. Shane Lechler is the Texans’ incumbent punter.
Boswell would be a good insurance policy on the Practice Squad.
Normally I would hate the thought of a PK on the practice squad, but with the expanded version this year, that’s not a bad idea at all.
Itching to find out the practice squad…when is it announced? 12pm today?
They can start signing PS players at noon. Usually the info gradually leaks out on twitter before they officially announce the signings. Probably tomorrow morning before practice.
I find it hard to believe that there is not one team that has depth at LB that after cutting down to 53 had to release an ILB that would ultimately be an upgrade over Casey Matthews. I would be shocked if we do not find one and target him aggressively and then showing Casey the door and releasing him.
Go look at depth charts around the league. There aren’t great ILB groups. Eagles have good starters and one solid backup. That’s pretty good.
Not to mention what it’s like to be at the Matthew’s dinner table. DNA! So we still got going for us!
Yeah, think Goode hasn’t shown just how solid of a backup he is this offseason… Expecting him to make big improvements from last year when he showed promise….
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We all knew ILB was still one of the few positions we still have to address in the draft..if we know it’s a major draft priority for us, we can’t expect to have 4 awesome ILBs… One solid backup should be good enough to get us to next year… Casey Mathews contract will expire,so. I’m sure ILB will be addressed… Can’t see us offering Casey new contract
Here is the 2015 FA LB list. Like much on here at ILB?
http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=LB&y=2015
I’m thinking we’re going to need to devote a pick out of our first 3 to the position.
I hear Jake Knott will be available in a few weeks…and before anyone says the obvious response…
WILL TOO!
Rob (the guy with the Kelce avatar) had a very good list over the past few days.
I remember loving Jordan Tripp before the draft and he’s played very well in preseason, even getting reps with the ones. I was mildly disappointed when the Eagles took Taylor Hart over him, but downright pissed when they took Ed Reynolds over him. Tripp would be the perfect counterpart to Kendricks in the future. They’re both fast, athletic guys who do very well in coverage. He would’ve initially been the top backup and maybe even overtaken DeMeco’s starting spot by the end of the season.
Parkey kicked those two 50 yard field goals with his job on the line. That’s clutch. I think the young man has promise.
TLaw, I’m glad someone has spoken up on behalf of Maehl. He’s played just as well as the guys who got cut, and he played very well against the Jets, his last chance to show what he could do. He has size and can play on STs. Plus, regardless of what Howie says, playing under the Coach in college does stand for something. Besides, “Air Maehl” is just an awesome nickname.
If Chip and Howie follow the script they’ll make at least 1 move that catches us completely off guard before the start of the season.
Depending on the read, the move might be off center…
Thoughts on Dontay Moch? Incredible athlete whose battled some injuries. Might he be worth a shot at the bottom of the roster?
Skov gave Chip fits in a couple of Stanford games. Chip might want to kick the tires on this guy. Not sure he is NFL ready but PS is an idea.
Wow, Skov was more or less a monster at Stanford. Surprised he’s on the market.
No knees or speed to recover from screwing up.
Chase was a monster at Stanford, he is now on waivers… Josh Mauro was a bulldog at Stanford, he is also now on waivers
Casey Matthews was a monster at Oregon…
At what position would you say our depth is the weakest? I’m going to go with WR. If Maclin or Cooper goes down I guess Maehl is a starter? Or maybe Brad Smith?
I understand the whole special teams thing, but it seems that the Eagles have left themselves zero deep at WR after the starters.
ILB
Place kicker, long snapper, punter
Jordan Mathews might step in if one of them goes down, with Smith or Huff taking over the slot. I agree it looks a little shaky especially with 2 rookies, but I think safety or ILB is actually more thin. In both spots after the top 3 guys the quality falls off a cliff.
Safety is not thin… It’s a league wide problem, and we have 3 safeties we can use in a game.. Don’t know of rosters stacked with 4 safeties that can play
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Think our coach/GM get an A++ for the depth makeover we have made since last season ended.. It’s actually amazing where we are right now considering our depth last year was pathetic..
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How many depth positions still need to be upgraded?
1 ILB needed to replace Mathews.
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We will need OLBs if Cole and BG walk after this year
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1 WR, need to replace Maehl which will happen thru the draft. Mathews and Huff won’t be rookies anymore, so we can spend another draft pick on WR weapons.
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Those are really only the glaring upgrades we need to make.
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There are some other positions that could use upgrading depending on how the year unfolds, but not glaring holes that need to be replaced…for example, I expect to see the best eagles safety play since Dawkins patrolled the Linc…..with that said, if Nate doesn’t continue to improve! and Wolff can’t put it all together and consistently put his elite athleticism to use, we can upgrade the safety position if an opportunity to do so arises…but I no longer view safety as a glaring weakness that we have to throw assets at fixing…
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The only immediate improvements we need to make are, an ILB who can eventually replace Meco, OLBs depending on Cole and BG walking after the year, and drafting another high potential WR to replace Maehl….. Drastically less holes to fill than we expected…funny how two months ago, the talk and concern was that we had no backup Oline and we would have to spend a bunch of high picks drafting offensive lineman, LOL, turns out Oline is our deepest position and we don’t have to draft an OL with a high pick…we can, but we don’t NEED TO.. Heck our OL is so strong, we have to keep more lineman than our coaches wanted to keep
Geagle, any luck with old tapes from NFL Films?
Any thoughts on Nate Potter? Pretty athletic OL
Christian Jones made the Bears roster. Maybe we should have taken a chance on him.
4-3 team. Not sure if he’d have worked out at ILB in a 3-4.
The way he fell, there had to be come character issues.
Out of all of them I would take Kelvin Sheppard. I wonder if we could get the safety from the Broncos too?
Who? John Boyett?
No…Duke Ihengabo…or however you spell his last name
Ohhh Ihenacho… Thought people would be clamoring for the Oregon Connected john Boyett..
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Did the texans cut the safety! what’s his name, Shiloh Keo?
Thought it would be interesting to look at the roster compared to where we were a year ago at the start of year 1 with Chip on cut down day. While looking it over and noting that few starters have changed from last year (Maclin/Jackson, Matthews/Avant, Jenkins/Chung), there are a number of positions where our depth looks much improved IMO: RB, OL, and CB. A case could be made for the DL as well.
Biggest deficiencies remain at OLB and ILB. Good starters, highly questionable depth.
Hope this list is accurate from cut down day 2013.
Quarterbacks (3) – Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Matt Barkley
– What a difference one year makes. One year ago could you have imagined flipping Vick for Sanchez and thinking that was a good thing or even just a wash?
Running Backs (3) – LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Chris Polk
– Sproles in for Brown. Clear upgrade, but only short term given Sproles age.
Wide Receivers (5) – DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant, Damaris Johnson, Jeff Maehl
– Maclin back, Matthews replaces Avant, and Huff and Smith in the mix over D. Johnson.
Tight End (4) – Brent Celek, James Casey, Zach Ertz, Emil Igwenagu
– Burton over Igwenagu. Good. Felt Burton really earned a spot while Iggy was a surprise last year.
Offensive Line (9) – Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Todd Herremans, Lane Johnson, Allen Barbre, Dennis Kelly, Matt Tobin, Julian Vandervelde
– Molk & Gardner in, Vandervelde gone. Of all the PS developments, I am most happy about the development of the OL depth.
Defensive Line (7) – Fletcher Cox, Isaac Sopoaga, Cedric Thornton, Vinny Curry, Bennie Logan, Damion Square, Clifton Geathers
– Bair, Allen, Hart vs. Soap, Square, Geathers. Improved depth IMO. Hopefully we get a bit more rotation this year and keep the starters fresh.
Outside Linebacker (3) – Connor Barwin, Trent Cole, Brandon Graham
– Smith and Braman added to above. Time will tell on Smith and Braman is here as a ST ace.
Inside Linebackers (5) – DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, Jake Knott, Emmanuel Acho, Casey Matthews
– Acho didn’t last much past cut down day last year. Goode over Knott. Needed more help here last year and still need help here this year.
Cornerbacks (6) – Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin, Brandon Hughes, Curtis Marsh, Jordan Poyer
– Caroll and Watkins in, Hughes, Marsh, and Poyer gone. Significant depth upgrade IMO.
Safeties (5) – Patrick Chung, Nate Allen, Earl Wolff, Kurt Coleman, Colt Anderson
– Jenkins now starting, Maragos takes over Anderson ST role, Coleman long gone.
Kicker (1) – Alex Henery
– The Parkey rules!!!
Punter (1) – Donnie Jones
Long Snapper (1) – Jon Dorenbos
“Watch the Jets game. Maehl played well and that game and put himself in a position to make the team”
Well, this argument is regulary shredded with “only against back-ups”, “good play from the 2nd string QB/O-Line” etc. Rightfully so. You have to take PS with a huge grain of salt. But then I don’t like the argument Pro Maehl, either. There maybe wasn’t a healthy WR that was better in PS (Johnson was, but he doesn’t fit), but you don’t have to go with 6 WR. All of the RBs played great. Plus our raw 5th round rookie who we may or may not lose for nothing in return.
I don’t think there is a case to be made for Maehl despite ST experience. And I say experience, because he’s no standout. We have Maragos and Braman who can only play ST. We took CM instead of Acho because of ST. I totally get that STs are important. But you have to stop somewhere. Filling your backend of the roster with guys who have zero upside and zero skills on Offense or Defense is a way into depth hell in the future.
You have to find a middle course here. You can have a few players who are just awesome on ST (they literally should be awesome) and can’t play D or O. Maragos and Braman are fine with me. CM is tough to swallow, but maybe you can do that. Maehl is just too much, imho.
if fans/writers think chip has an oregan bias, it is irrelevant. If enough players believe it so, chip has a problem. Huff in the 3rd round, hart in the 5th round, then keeping hart over square and Maehl over a 4th RB might be the start of an issue with the players. When the assistant coaches/scouts give their opinions, they know chips bias and it may effect what they say, even if only subconsciously. I believe the bias can’t be dismissed like Roseman tried to do.
I can understand the argument with Maehl. With Matthews, Long’s injury dictated that. If he had made it anyway over Long or as a 10th LB, I’d have a problem. To me, Hart over Square is a no-brainer. Neither stood out a ton one way or the other in preseason, but Hart is obviously a lot more athletic and has more upside. Square is a sound player but isn’t going to ever be more than what he is right now. Allen clearly beat Square out as the #2 NT. Whichever guy you keep is going to be the #7 DL and absent injuries inactive on gamedays. Go with upside.
Keeping hart over Square? Since when do Nose tackles and DE’s compete against each other? What team do you know of that keeps 3 nose tackles?
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You are seriously confused if you are crying about the eagles keeping hart over Square…. hart is such a solid obvious pick for us and what we do on defense, that plenty of us predicted we would be drafting him…Congrats, you are the first person I have seem complain about us cutting a 295lb Undrafted nose tackle
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I don’t think there was any question that we were going to get out of the draft with one of these players: hart, Josh Mauro, Brent urban…
mheil makes a fair point about the players’ perception of an Oregon bias. I tend to give Chip the benefit of the doubt, and assume that he is leveraging an advantage, and that he knows the former Ducks well enough to cherry-pick the right guys to help us win games. But, when a player’s livelihood is on the line, and they can point to some injustice (perceived or real) that is going to lead to the other guy getting the job, then it’s going to cause friction. Case in point, Fletcher Cox popped off a bit on Twitter yesterday (he posted “SMH” after the final cuts), and the speculation is that he was upset that Damion Square was released. I’d guess that, privately at least, he and others would charge that there is an Oregon bias at play since people like Matthews and Maehl continue to be employed – even if there are perfectly valid football depth reasons that they are still here. Now that Chip has the reputation, his players (and the media, of course), will overanalyze every transaction the team makes with former Ducks.
One of Chip’s greatest strengths is his willing and open communication with his players. Shady couldn’t understand the need for sleep emphasis, so Chip showed him film of his practice on a short night’s sleep and how he lacked explosiveness. Mark Sanchez all but clung to his new coach’s leg in communicating his desire to remain an Eagle. The Eagles had 4 players picked up after the cut down to 75. I’m certain 23 year old Fletcher Cox would get an explanation from the coaches if he asked, and better understand the reasoning and process involved.
Our locker room is a collection of young players and veterans from Super Bowl winning ravens, saint, successful texans teams! holdovers from successful Andy Reid teams, plenty of guys who have been parts of quality NFL teams who have had good seasons! yet to a man these players RAVE over the special energy in the Novacare complex, and the special culture Chip has managed to quickly build…..
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Lol the moral is so high that last week, veteran Sanchez was being complimented for how well he was playing to the point where media asking him about the rumor of being traded to feh Rams to start…he looked like he wanted to cry at the thought of leaving here.. He gave the media a ARE YOU CRAZY?” Type a response…
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Suggesting players a grumbling over favoritism, or bias where better players are cut to keep Oregon ducks on the roster is a very serious allegation..something like that could NEVER coexist the “special energy” “strong culture” Chip that every player from all different teams raves about….if that allegation was true we wouldn’t see such unity and strong locker room
I have read that the players believe square is far superior to hart. Hart is only a DE but square plays both NT and DE although NT is his better position. If the players believe chip is showing bias, that would not be a good thing. I don’t have an opinion either way.
On the other hand, it could be a source of motivation. Either do your job well or we’ll bring in a replacement from the pac-10, preferable Oregon.
Really agree with Iceberg’s last sentence below. Hope it never influences front office into passing on a prospect from that school.
He probably is, NOW…. Bet it won’t take long for hart to reach Squares level and then surpass him… hart will start of inactive, which is what would happen to square..why would we want someone without much potential as an inactive? Inactive should be a growing player who by week 7 should start improving enough to push for playing time…
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Square better today, but shouldn’t take Hart long to catch up, then pass him….
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DeMarco Murray doesn’t count…
Does anyone bother Harbaugh about a Stanford Bias? He kept Jonathon “the only OL in the history of NFL football to be bullied” Martin…
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Andy Reid been drafting Bearcats for years! is he Cincinatti bias?
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I’m blown away by people complaining about our coach knowing Oregon players so well, getting to eliminate most of the guess work when trying to figure out how kids will translate to the NFL… Intimate knowledge of college players from such a powerhouse football team is a GOOD THING!!! I doubt Chip cares about anything more than he cares about putting the best team on the field that gives him the best chance to coach to Victory..
I actually copied that same quote as I was reading. It rings hollow to use the Jets game as rationale with Josey on the street.
That said, I don’t have a problem with Maehl. I am going to assume the coaches know better than I do. He seems like a versatile guy who does everything well, but nothing exceptional. I just wish Maehl delivered on Sundays.
Well, of course I assume the coaches know better than I do, too.
You just have to be careful that you don’t get blinded by trust only because Kelly knows more about football than we all (not saying you are). He mistakes his share of mistakes, too. The Kicker situation is obviously an example of this. It happens, doesn’t mean that Chip should be fired.
No, I kind of drifted while writing and I spoke poorly. My trusting the coaches comment wasn’t directed at you, but rather the people ranting over Maehl, and Mathews, and claiming the coaches are morons.
Don’t think we planned on keeping Mathews again…injury to Long saved his eagles career IMO
Kerrigan’d.
Chip Kelly wouldn’t have typed “mistakes” twice.
Because Jordan Matthews would do the auto correct for him?
Nah, it would have been Casey, or Bair, or Maehl, or Hart or Huff.
Josey was a different situation. He had issues with pass protection and special teams. If all they were looking for was someone who could run, you’d have a point.
Maehl can do everything they want from their 6th WR (blocking, special teams, catching, etc.). I’m not a big Maehl fan or anything, but his and Josey’s situations just aren’t comparable.
I wish he was delivering packages for ups on sunday
While I think PS evaluations can mean something… I’m not impressed with a good game against backups by a veteran who was on our roster the year before…
I think the WR Depth will be less of a concern B/C I think CK will use alot of 3 TE sets this year….maybe even a 4 TE set with Burton, that would be fun to watch!
I still don’t think they’re done. A few things that could pop up.
1) ILB – Tommy covered this well. New ILB in, Casey Matthews immediately dropped off at his public shaming prior to being thrown in the dumpster.
2) Huff gets 100% healthy, Maehl goes bye-bye, and they add one of the RBs back on the roster.
3) A team sustains a bad injury to a QB in week 1 or 2, makes their backup the starter, and Barkley can still get moved thus opening a spot for another RB.
4) Once Lane is ready to return, do we sell Kelly and/or Gardner to another team simply to avoid the Giants getting the player, or is that when we feel comfortable enough to cut Maehl and we keep 10 o-lineman just to be greedy.
Someone’s gonna have to give us a draft pick for a young OLineman… Such an important position, we just won’t give away promising young OLinemen
I’m 100% positive the 3 RB thing is more about not having to cut a lineman we’d lose than not liking Tucker or Josey that much. I’m just glad Barner is gone.
I can almost guarantee that we didn’t want to carry 10 OL which is what we have if you count Lane and Dennis…. I assume, ideally we wanted to carry 8. Just so happens we have so much young OL talent that has performed, so we will carry 9 after we trade someone like Dennis…..
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m sure ATleast 5 teams were holding their breath hoping we cut one of our young backups…F THAT! Hold them hostage til someone gives up compensation…quality, versatile, young OL are too valuable to be giving them away on waivers
Casey is just a guy so i ay you take a chance on a player who has more upside and potential than the ‘lesser’ of the matthews brothers. i don’t see hwy the eagles won’t have an interest in skov or bullough . both those guys have more upside than casey.
hill is just a momah clone. we would have just kept momah if we wanted a 6′ 7″ guy with bad hands
Brandon Coleman, hill, Momahtron… I’d like a BIG WR developing into a redzone threat on our bench
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Coleman looked like crap at saints OTAs, but seemed to have started to get comfortable and make some noise at camp…the saints are trying to sign him to the practice squad..
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I have a new rule of not placing judgment on Rex Ryan’s offensive players…aka the STANKchez rule…
Here’s a possible ILB target on waivers: Nathan Stupar. Released by JAX. I know JAX wasn’t a good team last year but LB is probably their deepest position. I’ve read that Stupar getting cut was a numbers game and J.T. Thomas made it over him simply because he could play 4-3 OLB or MLB while Stupar was strictly a MLB in a 4-3. Stupar was on the Eagles’ PS in 2012, then went to the 49ers PS(when Gamble was there), and then made the 49ers’ 53-man roster last year. They were pretty deep so that’s telling. They had to cut him last year when injuries struck other positions and JAX claimed him on waivers. From what I’ve read, he played well on STs. The Eagles’ personnel department obviously have familiarity with him.
Safeties on the market: Kenny Ladler, Major Wright, John Boyett, Robert Lester
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Bengals waive 2012 2nd rounder Devon Still
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CB Leon Mcfadden was cut already?
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Seelers cut British Stanford two gapper, Josh Mauro. I liked him in the draft, sucks we prob don’t have room for him on the DL…
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Kurt Coleman was cut by Vikings.
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Chase Thomas cut, wonder how the Niners have developed him and how much of a drop off there is from Travis long to Chase?
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Jets cut Stephan Hill and Dimitri Patterson! Sucks we don’t have any decent Cbs to trade to the JEts
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Saints are trying to get 6’6 WR Brandon Coleman on the practice squad. As a big WR I think he is on a level above Momahtron…
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Broncos release safety john Boyet
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A very big Devon Still fan used to prowl these pages.
He’s been gone now for awhile.
lol, are you talking about Morton? Or am I misremembering.
I’d read — maybe on PFT.com, maybe MMQB — that Hill’s problem is with his mitts. Couldn’t consistently catch the ball.
John Madden used to say that you can teach a guy to catch the ball. Hence, the Raiders drafted (the old) Big-8 sprint champion Cliff Branch out of Colorado in Rd 4 in ’72. He became a force (as 1980 Eagles fans certainly remember).
Do teams have time for players like that anymore?
He is also frequently injured….
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After Sanchez, I don’t even know what to think of the jets offensive players anymore… All I know is, I’m glad we didn’t draft Geno, I’m happy that Vick is no longer here and that Chris Johnson is one of the most over rated players of the past decade….no idea how to view the rest of their offensive players and more since I saw the night and day difference between jets STANKchez and Chips surgical Sanchez
Bingo. Bingo. Bingo.
That’s an offense in trouble.
What were the problems that caused Shottemheimer to leave the NYJs? I ask only because he coordinated the only playoff offenses Rex has had there.
Maybe organization wide dysfunction. The Jets are a bit of a circus.
All:
So we have a few open spots from the fantasy league we started for tommy’s readers last year in this comments section. A few teams did not renew, so grab a spot while you can!
If you can attend the live draft, that’s a plus and activity weekly is a must. Link below.
https://yho.com/nfl?l=1271184&k=dc3fe436f6a20b1d
Just signed up thanks
Great.
there are five more spots (I increased league size from last year as well). I’ll post again with the link tomorrow if we don’t fill up today.
Clicked on the link to see when your live draft is happening. It appears to have automatically put me in and I didn’t see a day/time for live draft.
When is the draft?
Found it Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Apologies, but I can’t make that. Please boot me from the league. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Not sure if I can try yourself and let me know. You can also customize an auto draft if need be.
Looks like you were successful. Thank you.
Just joined. Good luck guys
Wow…what a treat.. Sunday morning ESPN outside the Lines is about how incompetent jerry Jones is as a GM… Awesome Sunday morning treat to enjoy my coffee
GE:
I think you commented a few days that you see the 49ers as a team that could collapse this season. (Better chance of that if the Rams hadn’t lost Bradford.)
Where does Johnson fit in that team? 4th WR? 3rd? Inactive?
Lot of money to pay a guy that far down the list, if he is.
Considering Ray McDonald got arrested for beating a pregnant woman at 5:30 this morning, one of the last decent defenders they had healthy… Kick back and watch the Niners implode…
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Good question..not sure yet. They have a rookie WR they like, who is the other veteran they have? Isn’t it Lloyd? Crabtree, BOldin, Vernon Davis gets more catches then 3rd and 4th niner WRs…
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Watching ESPN make fun of jerry jones in entire segments…sad that I was too young to enjoy jerry Firing Jimmy Johnson after winning a second SB… I know why he did it, but how did he justify the firing at the time? This new espn segment just destroyed a jerry…it was awesome
LOL @ 25,000 cowboy fans signing a petition to Obama to be emancipated from Jerry..
GE:
You are the man!
My happiest non-game day as Eagle fan in the ’90s was the day Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones announced their mutual parting of the ways.
Johnson, as the next two seasons proved, had built a juggernaut. Enormous talent level. Dominant O-line. Young everywhere. And Johnson did all that in basically 3 years.
No way I saw the Eagles competing longterm with a Jimmy Johnson-run team (although Johnson hadn’t faced free agency . . . which slowly gutted that team’s depth).
If you watch the NFL special on Johnson’s life, I think the way he described it is how it went down in the press.
I lived in Dallas at the time. EVERYONE knew that Jimmy Johnson had built that team. Strictly from the standpoint of measuring performance, you had to admire what Johnson did.
So when the split’s announced, Jerry’s trying to make it sound like Jimmy needed a breather. Jimmy plays along.
Meanwhile, the Dallas media goes ballistic and blames Jerry Jones for running off the NFL’s best GM-Coach. (Walsh had already retired.)
Then when Jerry hires Switzer . . . the city turned on him. Year 1 of the Switzer era, the Cowboys lose in the NFC Title Game to the 49ers.
Aikman all but said the players coached themselves.
The next year, Switzer goes for it on 4th-and-1 twice at games end against the Birds at the Vet. The fans and media write the guy off as a kook.
The players pull together, and despite Jones and Switzer, win their last SB over the QB-less Steelers . . . once again, all but coaching themselves.
On the draft front, in the ’95 draft — the first without Jimmy — Jones pulls off a trade to move up a handful of spots to select “Pass Rushing” DE Shante Carver from ASU — memorable because his right knee was so bad he had to wear a brace . . . .
And the laughter hasn’t stopped.
Lol, thank you sir… ,man, I wish I was really old enough to appreciate the cowboy implosion debacle…what an egomaniac…to this day, the only thing jerry has bad to say about Jimmy is he took credit for all the personel moves..what a friggin egomaniac. That’s your only beef, who gets credit for a personel decision? What an idiot,,.who cares? You get credit for hiring Jimmy and delegating authority to him. What an egomaniacal fool
.,.
It’s worse than our Terrell Owens meltdown debacle..
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I’m laughing at your reaction . . . because watching the Jones in the mid-90’s screw up dynasty was like receiving ambrosia from the football gods.
You did indeed miss something very special.
It took a few years, but Buddy Ryan became a prophet: “Who the hell are the Cowboys.”
I bet it was glorious… To think how much I enjoy their dysfunction now, probably doesn’t even compare to the Joy of watching them ruin something so great
The “I would up vote this multiple times” thing is pretty over played, but it applies here more than anywhere I can remember in some time.
A124:
Thanks. Very much.
the best part had to have been being in the middle of all those smug suffering dallas fans.
Priceless!!!
By 2000 . . . it was all about UT football again.
Future Headline: “Casey and Maehl Admit Kickback of 50% of Salary to Roseman; Howie Seen Shopping At Mercedes Dealer.”
Cody Parkey is here mainly for his kickoffs. Nothing more depressing than to score and have Alex noodle-leg kick to the 5, and the return back over the 30. How many times did we see that last season? Our D can’t concede an extra ten yards on every post-score possession.
Doesn’t hurt that he also hits long range FGs.
Yea, but some seasons you don’t get into many 50-55 yard FG situations. Every game you get 5 to 8 kickoffs. It’s part of your defense. Parkey is a great kickoff guy. He’s part of our D.
But when you do, you’ve got Cody Parkey.
Cody still needs to prove to be the answer as a FG Kicker… Considering his career came a me down to how he performed on two 50 plus yard FGs, that’s as much pressure to a kid trying to make his dream happen as having to kick a game winning FG with time expiring in a playoff game… Ton of pressure, small limited opportunity, no margin for error..kid steps up and Burries both from over 50..and they didn’t just crawl over the crossbar by the hair on his chinny chin chin…those kicks were good for a few more yards..he blasted them…
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That’s a GREAT Sign, but we need to see more before we know we have our FG. Kicker, but what I do think we can count on already, is kickoffs going from major Liability to strength!! There was a DRASTIC difference between defense following a Donnie Longball punt and our defense taking the field after an Alex kickoff
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not only will our defense be improved, but they will no longer have to overcome Alex starting them behind the 8ball with his botched kickoffs….
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Cody plus Donnie should make us strong in the positional game, and give our defense good starting position…
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Jury is still out on if we are improved on FG’s… But we can count on much improved kickoffs, considering the insane stat AC Viking provided of Alex having so little kickoff experience pre eagles career
Parkey gives us about ten more yards of defense on each kickoff return (20 yd line vs Henery’s 30). About 60-to-70 yards a game. We force the other team to go 10 yards more on each drive before they get in scoring position.
That’s no small thing..
I call players like Maehl “Coach’s Pets”. They’re guys who help the team function smoothly by doing a lot of little things that some players available with a bit more talent don’t do. They’re usually some of the most versatile and hardest working players on the team, and a ready on a moment’s notice to fill in for any number of special teams roles. They are the Chad Halls, Reno Mahes of the world. Usually the fans don’t like them much, though Louis Giammona was well-liked even though he was Vermeil’s nephew.
ICD:
Great description. Under-talented guys on whom a coach can bet the house that they know the system, generally won’t hurt the team, and occasionally will help it.
Among the Hall/Mahe/Giammona class, I’d put Maehl at the top.
Minor confession: I was not in the group that liked Giammona. Great guy. Team guy. Tough guy. Just always thought there had to be a better RB out there than LG who could run out of the I-formation.
Maybe this is the case with Matthews.
I did not follow the draft as closely this year but why did Hubbard fall so far? Seemed like he was expected to go sooner.
I don’t mean to laugh, but the Niners are a joke.. Their implosion continues. I’m telling you this team won’t make the playoffs this year..
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Last night at 5am, Ray McDonald one of the only healthy defenders they have left got arrested for domestic abuse…apparently he missed the brand shanking new penalties implemented last week for woman beaters… Get your popcorn ready, Kapernick and the Niners imploding before our eyes will be great TV…
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Eagles are taking their spot in the NFC Heiracrchy
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The woman he beat at 5:30am this morning was pregnant
Eagles v. New Orleans for this spot?
Do the Saints face any serious competition in the NFC-S?
Carolina? Atlanta? And I seem to recall the Saints have a pretty favorable schedule after the first 2 or 3 weeks.
Is there anyone else in the NFC this year . . . at all?
QUESTION: Dark horse?
Think Atlanta should be better… I don’t know if they will return to that NFC championship level, but they should make life in that division a little harder…..I recently I didn’t give the saints defense the respect it deserved..
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Bucs could be a better team than last year..give Lovie smith some quality defenders like Alturran Verner and he usually puts a good defense on the field…Carolina’s front 4 is always a problem, then again I domy know what’s going on with the Kraken, Greg Hardys domestic abuse suspension looming.. Saints are for sure the division favorite, but they face much better divisional opponents than we do… Thinking our division is a joke this year…even the skins who people like, I expect to be 7-9 ish
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NFC is there for the taking this year. Seattle looks sharp, but history says Super Bowl winners have a rough next season. Green Bay should be tough now that Rodgers has a Marshawn lynch type running game to play off of with Lacy….
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if I had to predict, I’d say the final 4 in the NFC is:
Seattle, The Eagles, Saints, Packers
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dark Horse: Bears,.. I liked the Cardinals until the defense starterd to lose key players,and their OLine is still penetrable . but if they actually have a running game, they should be able to jump the imploding Niners…. Niners can’t possibly be good, such a dysfunctional offseason
GE:
I think you’re right about what’s there for the “Taking” . . .
And clearly, so does Chip Kelly and Roseman.
The window’s W-I-D-E open.
Games are won and lost in the trenches…which happen to be the strengths of our offense and defense..
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If we continue to sit at the top of the league in terms of turnover differential, then WHY NOT US? Offense don’t turn it over, Defense forces a turnover or two, we should win those games!!
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Heck, kickoffs shouldn’t put the defense in a jam any more, and we should improve our 3rd down conversion ratio on defense…those two dynamics should provide an improved and sufficient defense..
Ah . . .
If not us, who?
If not now, when?
Se non noi, chi?
Se non ora, quando?
TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU.
And next season? I’m thinking I’ll be feeling better than in 2004.
E Daje!!! Andiamo!!!
E Daje!
One step at a time AC :). Lets be fans like Chip would want, its about the process! :).
Sometimes a rough offseason can galvanize a team. The odds of their demise are not as high as I’d like, but then again, the odds are definitely not negligible.
They have a young QB, and this was a very important offseason for him and his development…adversity can galvanize a team, but I wouldn’t want a developing young QB to spend a key offseason sorrounded by a circus…..
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That’s not even anything like the famous vaunted Niners defense. They have like 3 players returning from last years defense….no way they field a brand new impenetrable defense. Who do they even have left from ther top defense?
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Justin smith and Willis are the only starting Front 7 players they have left LOL… They have promising young players like tank, Lemonier, rookie Boreland)
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That secondary isn’t anything to fear… They got some young talent, but It’s going to be too young and inexperienced to hold up, the only chance the secondary had was playing behind the elite front 7, but that’s gone…
,..
So many young players to get ready and mold into a cohesive unit, won’t happen overnights:
Jimmy Ward
Dontae Johnson
Chris cooks
Eric Reid
bathea(only real veteran)
Bucs will be very good this year I think.
Let’s see if Harbaugh sticks to his word…
https://twitter.com/annkillion/status/506098527919828992
Wow…. Niners won’t make the playoffs this year, I would bet on it, too dysfunctional of an offseason. Their defense is NOT the same, and their offense isn’t built to score as many points as they will have to score to win with this Swiss cheese defense..
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Defense, OFfensive Line, Run game,…you NEED to be ELITE in all those areas to be able to win with a QB who is not a good passer.. Their defense iisnt going to better than ours, their OL isn’t as good as it was when they enjoyed all that success, and no one would say they expect their run game to be better than ever….team is doomed, wonder who their next coach wlll be?
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That windown sure shut quickly…makes me appreciate Kelly’s emphasis on high character players
This may explain some of the off the field chaos. Really… They can do anything in the world?
https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/506106004107689984
What a mess… If it’s 5:30am, and you get the urge to beat pregnant woman, go to sleep you friggin idiot. It’s almost more disgusting that he had team mates there and they couldn’t or didn’t stop this from happening, A) because woman beaters are pieces of shit and B) you can’t afford to lose any more players…
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Beating woman is disgusting! that’s like one step away from Child predators on the scumbag meter….it’s always disgusting to beat a woman, but how dumb do you have to be to do that NOW? I’m sure every NFL locker room was talking about the new lifetime Ban woman beaters can be hit with and all the news last week about Goodells new policy…and you do this?
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I’m just baffled at how stupid and disgusting Ray McDonald could be..
I killed a guy, masterminded a drug ring, kicked a dog and wore white after labor day, but it’s ok. I didn’t put my hands on a woman.
Re: Kelly’s Oregon and Pac-10/12 Preference
Lots of questions being asked.
So my question is, what did Jimmy Johnson do when he came to the Cowboys?
Like Kelly, Johnson openly bore — and still does — the “I don’t give a shit what you think” attitude. And he caught flack for being UMiami-centric while coaching the ‘Boys.
So here’s what Johnson did (basically), and I think we’d all agree his approach to being a HC and GM was fairly successful.
1989 (Year 1, 1-15): JJ had 8 players on the roster that he either coached or coached in college against more than once. 4 were former UMiami guys.
1990 (Year 2, 7-9): JJ had 15 players on the roster that he coached or faced in college. 7 were from UMiami.
1991 (Year 3, 11-5, playoffs): 13 total, 6 from UMiami.
1992 (Year 4, 13-3, SB win): 9 total, 4 from Miami (including MIrvin, RMaryland, JJones — a HOFer, a 1st overall pick at DT, and a key rotation DT)
1993 (Year 4, 12-4, SB win): 7 total, 4 from Miami (MIrvin, RMaryland, JJones, and Bernie Kosar as the back up QB).
Johnson had success doing it his way with players he knew.
The familiarity decreased the further he got away from college.
Seems reasonable to expect that with Kelly. Especially with none of the Oregon players is headed to Canton at this point.
[Note: This was a quick back-of-the-hand calculation on the total number of players each year for Johnson. Could have been higher his first year to two in Dallas. But the point remains the same.]
Sei proprio forte!!! Le bombe di informazione..
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You actually make a really good point, people should STFU and enjoy the “Oregon Bias” while it lasts, because in a year or two, Chip will no longer have the inside scoop on college players.. fans and media are complaining about an advantage we have? They should be enjoying it while it lasts because Chip won’t know all of Oregons players much longer….. In reality, out of two draft classes, Chip only used two draft picks on Oregon players, a 3rd and a 5th.
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Fans seem to enjoy the Oregon Bias when they see quality contributors like “papa bear” emerge. Chip Kelly didn’t draft Casey Mathews? I can’t wait til he is no longer an eagle any way…but with Long hurt and Knott suspended, what significantly better option did we instead of Mathews? Acho? Even if Acho is a better defender, he still isn’t good, keep Acho or keep Mathews and both would still need to be replaced anyway. Mathews happens to bring way more on ST than what Acho provides…so while I hate Casey! realistically, how can I really be upset that he is still here considering the circumstances? His contract expires at the end of the year, and he will be Andy Reid’s problem next year.
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Now Maehl, I do not agree with…..I’m sure there will be a player on every eagles team that I don’t agree with….Maehl is the only Oregon bias that is worth complaining about! but it’s one player, who cares…
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It’s not like he kept kadu, Wade Kelipii (whatever his name is), isiah remmington…..and I don’t get how filling the practice bodies portion of the 90 man roster with players who know how to practice in chips unique practice style is a bad thing.. Players #80 – #90 on training camp rosters don’t make NFL teams…who the hell cares if he fills those spots with 10 ducks he can count on practicing efficiently?
GE:
Siamo nella stessa posizione
IDK, who would you prefer over Maehl? Benn would have been interesting but he got hurt, Momah I think is still a year away from NFL ready… if not them then who? Damaris Johnson? I like the kid but he is too similar to Sproles and we already have Smith, Mathews and Huff working the slot.
I think Maehl could provide serviceable production if he had to get into the starting lineup, and I think he’s probably more dependable than other options at the position, plus he plays ST’s. IMO that’s the best you could hope for for a 6th WR.
Reynolds..
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Tucker..
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Doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers some people, but if you were to ask me who I think has the least value on our roster. I wouldn’t blink to say Casey Mathews and a maehl..
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If Reynolds can make it to our practice squad no harm no foul…HOWEVER, We aren’t done making Roster moves. I need to see who gets cut when Lane comes back? Who gets cut when Chip finds someone he likes on Waivers? Hopefully we can get trade value for Dennis Kelly or Gardner before Lane comes back! but if interested teams call our bluff think we inevitably have to cut one! I hope we bite the bullet. Cut Maehl instead. Until OL needy teams understand that if they want a young OL. We drafted and developed, we will need to be compensated.. Even if we have to cut Maehl and keep 10 Ol until a team gives us value for our young lineman, bet we can re sign Maehl on the street when we finally trade the 10th OL away….
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Young versatile, offensive lineman who can play are too valuable… You can’t just let teams hardball you into cutting them… We need to be compensated for the young OLine,em we developed
Hope you don’t mind, I did the copy and paste deal with this post over at 24/7. Due credit was given.
Where online do we find who has been claimed?
“If we had won half a game more per year, we would be in the top 5 of winningest franchises” – LOL Jerruh Jones talking about this past decade of mediocrity….
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He is THAT delusional that he thinks he was half a game more away from being successful these past 10 years? This has to be dementia..
I’m actually starting to wonder if it’s time to stop making fun of the guy. I don’t want to laugh at someone suffering from any kind of mental disease. Even Jerruh.
Hear, hear.
It’s not fun like it used to be to see the Cowboys sag.
Who the hell are the Cowboys?
A124:
I thinks it’s a fair bet that the other 31 owners want three things:
1. Jerry Jones to remain engaged in team operations, certainly on the money side, because he’s a brilliant business man — and he’s helped make these owners billionaires (on paper, at least).
2. The Cowboys to remain just competitive enough that America keeps tuning in to watch them . . . and whomever the opponent is. The fact that “AD” Peterson wants to be a Cowboy tells you that players and fans are almost immune from caring about Dallas’s record — as long as its above .500 from time to time.
3. The Cowboys never to win another SB . . . because of (1) and (2).
It’s amazing that someone who is so savvy a businessman can be such a horrible general manager of a football team. You’d think at least some of the skills would be transferable.
Lol seriously as an owner, he is the laughing stock of sports owners,.. I think he is the only owner, who fans would probably rather have Donald Sterling instead…fans probabky prefer rooting for a piece of crap Sterling owned Team then root for a team owned by TRAINWRECK Jones
The ‘Boys — in the post-Jimmy era — rode 2 players, more than any others, from the Bill Parcells-era to be competitive the past decade.
DeMarcus Ware. And Tony Romo.
A HOF pass-rushing OLB — staggering sack numbers. And a pretty good QB. The most important positions on offense and defense . . .
And they’re Cowboys because Bill Parcells interrupted the Jones Comedy Act.
Without one or the other, the Cowboys would have been a sub-.500 team the past 10 years.
D.Square claimed by Chiefs?
That’s great, if it happens. Great kid.
texans claimed Damaris..
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Texans traded for mallet…. WTF?? Everyone KNEW this was going to happen, yet you waited til a week before the season? You could have gotten this done the moment Garrapolo was drafted and mallet could have had a training camp as you or QB….anyone know what draft pick they are getting in return? Clearly they couldn’t agree on compensation or it would have happened months ago, so I’m curious to see who won this stalemate, and what the texans had to end up paying that it was so important to waste an entire offseason playing hardball not coming to terms?
I think it happned now because the price lowered enough that the Texans got him for almost free (2016 7th rounder that can be a 6th).
Yeah, I just saw the price,,,considering what they got him for, you probably have to award the game of chicken between Bellicek and Obrien to Obrien…Mallet is probably the QB he wanted all along. He sacraficed his first training camp to get Mallet without trading away the high draft pick Belleicek was probably asking for knowing that Obrien wanted mallet… patriots were probably asking for like a 3rd round pick if we are seeing Obrien wait til after the offseason to get the deal done…probably a smart move by Obrien…
It’s that time of year!!! Do we realize that the LAST ORDER OF BUSINESS is the 10 man practice squad, and after that it’s on to Breakdown the jaguars? The season is here! I know we are an 11 point favorite, but the jaguars are one team that I’m really not at all familiar with…I’d be surprised if I can name half their starters and we are a week away from Gametime… Need to start breaking down the jag, that’s probably the team in the NFL that I known e least…
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Some bad teams are fun like texans, bills, Vikings and we know the bad teams in our division, but if you take away players they drafted these past two years, I’m not sure I can name 5 Jaguars…this is a matchup I’m completly in the dark about… But for a crappy team I know nothing about, Gus Bradley vs, Chip Kelly part 1 Intruigs me…. A fan like me, who wanted us to hire Gus Bradley, can’t help to wonder how different things would be had Chip not had a change of heart while Gus Bradley was at Lurie’s mansion? How much more did we improve in one year, than we would have if Gus was Coaching? How different would our drafts have been? Instead of Lane Johnson and Zack Ertz, we could be talking about an Eagles defense with Ziggy Ansah and Jonathon Cyprien…
Desean would probably still be here today, but we wouldn’t have Ertz or Lane..
ED REYNOLDS. HAS CLEARED WAIVERS and is signing to our practice squad!!!!
Parkey seems like a good team player, better than Henery. He looked like he sulked a lot.
I’d like to read that Terrance Mitchell will be signed to the PS just to see the DuckDynastyDoubters wage chaos and claim that their heads are going to explode.