Life of Riley

Posted: December 8th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 113 Comments »

Riley Cooper played his way from pariah to legit starting wide receiver in 2013. He and Nick Foles had excellent chemistry and Coop averaged 17.8 yards per catch. He had 8 TD grabs. The Eagles signed him to a good-sized contract in the offseason and life was all hunky dory.

But then the 2014 season began.

Things have not gone so smoothly this year. He started slow, going 4-29 in the opener. Then he was 1-8 in the next game. Coop got going in SF, with 6-54. But he dropped the winning TD and that put him back in the spotlight. His big game of the year was 5-88 at Arizona. The lone TD was an impressive catch on a fade pass vs STL.

Cooper has blocked well. He has become a good short receiver. In recent weeks he’s caught short passes over the middle that helped move the chains or set up 3rd/short situations. Chip Kelly has defended Coop all year and really stuck up for him today. He mentioned that Coop caught 47 passes last year and is already at 46 this season. Kelly noted that Coop only has 2 drops. Kelly said the big plays have gone away as more and more opponents have played zone. This is when DBs generally play back and keep things in front of them.

There has been a lot of mis-communication between Coop and Mark Sanchez. They rarely seem to be on the same page. I don’t know who is at fault and I don’t have a good explanation for this.

I can’t think of another player that Kelly has defended so aggressively. He seems to really like Coop. There is no denying that Coop is a good blocker. He is a big WR that will catch the ball in traffic. Kelly likes big WRs. But just how valuable is a guy who is 46-470-1? What is his future?

The Eagles love Jordan Matthews. They love Jeremy Maclin, although they have to re-sign him. Coop is due good money next year. You’d think the Eagles would re-work his deal at the very least. Maybe they just cut him. We’ll find out if Kelly really likes him or is just defending one of his players because that’s what coaches do. The Eagles could spend another high pick on a WR or they could add one in free agency. It wouldn’t seem to be that hard to upgrade on Coop. Or maybe Kelly thinks 2015 will be different.

I know the media isn’t big on Coop. Plenty of fans can’t stand him. I’m sure there are a few players who aren’t too keen on him. I’m pretty ambivalent. I do like having a big WR and a good blocker, but Coop has definitely not impressed this year.

The x-factor in all of this is Matthews. He is 56-709-7 this year. Those don’t seem like flukish numbers. He looks like a really good young WR. If he and Maclin combine for 140-150 catches in future seasons, how much of a role does that leave for the other WR? Do you want Coop to be that third guy, at the right price? Do you want an upgrade?

I don’t have any answers. I’m just curious to see how this all plays out. It was fun watching Coop make big plays last year, but he’s been incredibly frustrating this season. I won’t be driving the bus to get him out of town, but I also won’t be crying if this is his final season in Philly.

_


113 Comments on “Life of Riley”

  1. 1 Bert's Bells said at 11:25 PM on December 8th, 2014:

    You neglected to mention Huff, who promises to have all of the positives you list for Cooper plus better receiver and return skills.

  2. 2 TommyLawlor said at 11:46 PM on December 8th, 2014:

    Tried to keep it short, simple. Adding Huff to the discussion brings in other variables. But yeah…he is part of the equation.

  3. 3 BobSmith77 said at 11:37 PM on December 8th, 2014:

    Cooper and sticking with Henery through the offseason were the two real miscues this FO had this offseason. Lack of the draft picks contributing besides Matthews has been an issue but I wouldn’t call the drat a miscue yet including Smith although I don’t think his ceiling is going to be that high & the Eagles would take a huge gamble on cutting Cole to give him the starting nod.

    As for Cooper, he was fine as a 4th WR but one of the worst 2nd WR in the league.

    I would give his season so far a ‘C-‘ and the signing a ‘D’ so far especially because the way the contract is constructed makes it awfully hard to simply release him next year.

  4. 4 EagleNebula said at 12:02 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    To be fair, Allen is also contributing, Huff has been up and down, Bair (UFA- so a rookie even if he wasn’t drafted) has been fine as a role player. Parkey (a rookie though not a draft pick) has been great and resolves one of your “miscues” from the offseason. I would argue that isn’t a lack of draft picks contributing.

  5. 5 Joe Minx said at 12:23 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Bair has been in the league for a few years. He’s not a rookie.

  6. 6 D3FB said at 12:29 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Bair was never on an active roster, he was brought in for league minimum. That’s still a front office move. Gardner isn’t technically a rookie but you have to give the front office props for finding a workable piece in the dregs of NFL depth charts.

  7. 7 EagleNebula said at 12:34 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    No, he is older cause he was on a mormon mission. He is a rookie.

  8. 8 D3FB said at 12:37 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    He’s not. He was a UDFA in 2011.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Bair

  9. 9 EagleNebula said at 12:39 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I stand corrected. I should have done more research than watching the wolfs den jeopardy showdown

  10. 10 BobSmith77 said at 12:30 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Huff has been a non-factor just all about all year with more downs than ups. Can’t even beat out Maehl and Smith for PT.

    Parkey still doesn’t get enough credit and if Henery was kept as the kicker I imagine the Eagles would have cost the Eagles at least one game. Simply dumb luck more than anything.

  11. 11 Mitchell said at 12:31 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I think Huff is doing pretty well for a third round pick, besides the jitter fumbles. Especially, after being hurt for so long.

  12. 12 BobSmith77 said at 12:35 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Huff would get an ‘INC’ because you don’t know what he can or can’t do yet.

    Given the Eagles’ other needs and their passing production, I doubt they make any changes to the WR corps but now they face an issue of overpaying for Maclin too.

    Maclin surprised me earlier this year but he also benefitted from being Foles’ go-to guy too. Going to want Top 10 WR money and he isn’t worth it

  13. 13 Mitchell said at 12:43 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Wha huh? He is right around 10th best especially have a merry go round at qb and just having come off his injury. I know what Huff can do, I have watched many of his college snaps and several here. Good player.

  14. 14 BobSmith77 said at 12:46 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I’m dubious on Maclin’s durability (played 16 G once in his career) and if he can duplicate the same intensity/effort he showed this year after his contract is signed.

    Eagles are going to pay him because they really don’t have an alternative. Just a question of how they structure it & if Maclin decides to bend them over the barrel a bit.

  15. 15 Mitchell said at 12:47 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Howie usually signs team and player friendly deals. Idk how Pooper’s deal pans out but I trust Howie.

  16. 16 EagleNebula said at 12:38 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Huff has been active several games that Mehl was not, I believe that constitutes beating him out for PT. I think your expectations for rookies is wildly high – most teams consider it a win if half their draftees make the team. You don’t want your rookies starting unless they are unbelievable talents (I.e. Rare) because having a bunch of rookies getting a lot of playing time means you had a lot of holes that needed to be filled.

  17. 17 BobSmith77 said at 12:43 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    He was a 3rd round pick on a team that had no clear No 3 and a real lack of depth at WR/KR.

    Getting injured certainly set his chances back in terms of contributing but he would have been a real bust if he hadn’t made the team given he was competing with the likes of Maehl and Smith for roster spots.

    It is ‘Inc’ and the Eagles don’t know what they have with the TD return being his real highlight of the year.

  18. 18 EagleNebula said at 12:47 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Again, your expectations of rookies are way higher than reasonable. This was an odd year in that several rookie receivers are performing at an absurd level, but you would expect huff like production out of a rookie receiver most years. A lot of players need time to grow physically and mentally when they come into the NFL, and it is unreasonable to think you have any idea who will have a strong career long term based on their rookie season. All rookies should get INC.

  19. 19 BobSmith77 said at 12:53 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    You are jumping to all kinds of speculative conclusions based upon nothing I said.

    Huff is an unknown with literally a handful of catches and contributions this year. Actually been activated the last 5 weeks but I wouldn’t say that is a wringing endorsement either considering team keep 5 if not 6 WRs dressed depending upon ST.

  20. 20 EagleNebula said at 1:07 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    So, you would say that him being active when he is healthy isn’t a ringing endorsement? Calling plays designed to get the ball into his hands? To me, that is an endorsement, maybe not ringing or even strong, but still a positive.

    You are being critical of the draft class based on production their rookie year, and coming to conclusions about their upside based solely on limited in-game play. I am not the only one making speculate conclusions based on nothing. I guess a fairer statement from me would be, I can see you having concerns about this draft class, but to claim that it isn’t productive is extremely premature.

  21. 21 Cafone said at 1:00 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I agree with this, but I think Huff is going to be good.

  22. 22 daveH said at 8:20 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    1.im not liking the Huff as a 3rd round pick. too high and we have other more pressing needs. keep desean wudve been a better team mgmnt call and pick a defensive back instead!! wasted talent that we already had
    2.I am likeing HUFF’s runback and he is in the face of every punt returner ..so I like his progress and think he will turn out ok.
    3.but its painful watching because he constantly fumbles.
    4. but he runs mean and if he could teach that to sanchez immediately he’s worth a 1st round pick!
    5. but if you have to teach huff so much, wouldn’t it have been just as difficult to teach desean to shape up!

  23. 23 suthrneagle said at 8:24 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    mommy, mommy i want my desean jackson wah!!!!!!!!

  24. 24 daveH said at 9:33 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    exactly!!! MOMMY my jersey is wrongy! chippy says my player is a meanie !!

  25. 25 suthrneagle said at 7:23 PM on December 11th, 2014:

    No, Chip said Mesahn`s production was not enough to compensate the money spent ,headaches and bad vibes caused,together with his lack of effort,and non-existant blocking.
    Every other team felt that way as well, since he was available for the taking for more than a year, and only the wizard from DC was wise enough to over pay him.

  26. 26 daveH said at 8:14 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Parkey was one of the best finds in the entire NFL !

  27. 27 eagleyankfan said at 7:43 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I still stand by my reasoning, that Cooper was signed to that contract because Chip new he was going to get rid of DJ. You can’t go into the season with Maclin as an unknown because of injury and two rookies leading the way. Chip did it as a fail safe move.

  28. 28 GEAGLE said at 11:03 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Of course, losing Desean is exactly why we kept Coop, and because of his chemistry With Our young developing QB. No surprise, Howie wrote the big sexy contract so he could get out of it after two years because by then our young Qb will be developed and we will have drafted and develope young WRs that are ready to take over full time for Riley

    I would be surprised if next year ISNT his last year…and we will hope to find young players that can be ready to take his snaps midway thru next season… Eagles will draft a Bonafide outside WR this year who will be ready to replace Riley in 2016

  29. 29 fran35 said at 10:28 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    We have to get Cole restructured. He needs to retire as an Eagle.

  30. 30 BobSmith77 said at 11:57 PM on December 8th, 2014:

    Kelly has his chance the next 3 weeks to really make his mark on the NFC East and claim it as his own.

    Good chance to go 6-0 (10-2 since last year), end Garrett’s career in Dallas, and be the coach for Couglin’s final game as the Giants’ coach.

    NFC East this offseason is going to have as much change as any division in the NFL with 2 potential new coaches, a new QB & approach in DC, and quite possibly too in Dallas a very different approach given questions about Romo and Murray being back.

  31. 31 Dominik said at 1:14 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We can hope 9 (at least 10 wins at the end) are enough for Jerry to keep Garrett, can we?

  32. 32 Mitchell said at 11:58 PM on December 8th, 2014:

    Many know how I feel about him. Rework his deal and get your Coates on.

  33. 33 Insomniac said at 12:06 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Those receivers didn’t show up on Sunday..that’s for sure.

  34. 34 GEAGLE said at 8:44 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Did it really matter? With the way Sanchez was playing he wouldnt have hit them anyway..
    Tape shows he misses ertz wide open, MACLIN was open a few times and Sanchez didn’t see him, even Cooper was in position to make a few plays, but our QB didn’t give them much of a chance.

  35. 35 Ark87 said at 11:27 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Those 3rd and longs that Wilson was hitting to diving receivers all game long we had similar opportunities, but maddeningly only threw to “NFL open” WR’s when they had a guy draped on their backs 2 yards short if the sticks. I found myself wondering why we have so many routes short of the sticks on 3rd down.

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 12:02 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    So maddening… My worst Sanchez fears materialized…
    Last time sanche played against THAT secondary, he was on the Jets and completed 9 passes all Game.. This time Wasnt much better, and I haven’t seen anything to give me any confidence that next time he could do much different than the last two times…
    ….
    What’s really frustrating is for years I had to deal with that moron VICK who couldn’t slide to save his life, then my beloved Nicky boy also struggles with sliding….now we have Sanchez who FINALLY is a QB capable of perfect NFL slides….he could have EASILY RUSHED for like 40 yards against Seattle defense, and by the 3rd or 4th time of him running for 6 yards, they start to play him and loosen up the grip on shady… Finally we have a QB who can slide after all year years, and he isn’t willing to run with the ball? WTF!!!!
    …Not to mention against Kam Chancellor, If Sanchez would have slid after a 6 yard gain, good chance Chancellor hits him anyway and we are gifted a 15yard penalty…

    If you aren’t goung to take good shots down field, and the secondary ISNT respecting you at all as a QB, the least you could friggim do is keep the damn ball, run with it 4 times, take the 6 gifted yards and friggin slide… He wasn’t willing to throw at the legion or boom, and he wasn’t willng to RUN.. impossible to succeed against THAT defense getting nothing from our QB spot

  37. 37 sunset_shazz said at 12:17 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    To my eyes, his blocking has been inconsistent, and at times completely lacking in effort. As a receiver, it was apparent after last season, as Brian Solomon noted, that he was mediocre. Howie and Chip inexplicably guaranteed him $10MM, despite the Eagles having enormous leverage due to his pariah status around the league. A really mystifying decision by the Eagles to overpay, with multi-year guarantee, for a player with limited talent who displays inconsistent effort.

  38. 38 BobSmith77 said at 12:33 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    But they knew already they were going to get rid of Jackson and in turned out Cooper had as much leverage if not more so but you make a valid point.

  39. 39 Cafone said at 12:22 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Cooper stinks.

    But I see where Chip is coming from: if you were seeing him line up alongside Maehl and Smith during practices you might think he’s a superstar too.

  40. 40 Pennguino said at 12:28 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    They were trying to get Maclin signed. They ended up getting Coop done first in case they couldn’t get Maclin to sign with them. They knew it would be a WR draft but they did not know how it would shake out with the late draft.

    Chip wanted to remake his corps in his image. I would like more of a threat, more explosion from that side of the field but he does what he is supposed to do.

  41. 41 Cafone said at 12:33 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    The Eagles have the whitest roster in the league. It would be a lot easier to dismiss that as fluke, as just something that happened to work out that way, if they didn’t also give a huge contract to the marginal white receiver who was videotaped yelling the N-word at a country music concert.

  42. 42 D3FB said at 1:05 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Yep. Chip is racist.

    You can tell he’s racist by the affinity he has for Josh Huff, a young black man from Houston who has been through some tough times in his young life.

    You can tell by the way he talks about Jason Peters.

    Greg Autin, Duce Staley, Michael Clay, Quadrian Banks, Matthew Harper, Todd Lyght, Ted Williams and Tra Thomas, certainly all realized that he was practically the Grand Wizard himself during their interviews.

    His relationship with Dr. Harry Edwards from UC-Berkely a leading sociologist in the field of race relations in America, undoubtedly stems from his deep founded racism.

    You can tell by the way he recruited pacific islanders at Oregon.

    Remember that time where he suspended Kiko Alonso for going back to the wrong house while drunk for an entire year, and let Lagarette Blount return to the team in season despite assaulting another player on national television?

    That HUGGGGEEE contract that is 12th on the team in guaranteed money? That out of the top 6 on the team in guaranteed money only Lane Johnson is white?

    If you would like for me to continue to make you feel shitty about cherry picking to call somebody racist, by all means let me know. Until then, let’s think it through a little bit before posting.

  43. 43 Insomniac said at 1:24 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    http://www.sportspickle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Eagles_Kelly_McCoy_AP_982w.jpg

    He can’t be racist. THAT’S THE LOOK OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

  44. 44 eagleyankfan said at 7:40 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    you’re too wordy. 🙂 A simple reply of “idiot” would have been just fine.

  45. 45 Michael Winter Cho said at 9:35 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    No, better to lay out the facts and let the word arise spontaneously in the target’s brain.

  46. 46 GermanEagle said at 8:49 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    owned! Nice one, mate.

  47. 47 SteveH said at 9:47 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Jesus Christ man, leave some for the rest of us…

  48. 48 fran35 said at 10:20 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Wow. Well written and logical with hard data. From the majority of the board, thank you.

  49. 49 Nicodemus_09 said at 7:59 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I don’t think it means anything at all, but IMO that title goes to the Patriots. Their offense looks like a bunch of scrimmaging snowmen.

  50. 50 Avery Greene said at 9:20 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Well, are the white guys holding this team back? Are there better replacements for Kelce, Mathis, and Johnson along the offensive line. Is there a better TE that should replace Celek and Ertz? Should Beau Allen and Brandon Bair not get time on the field? Was there a black QB that ran this offense better?

    I don’t see how any of this is racial. If Casey Matthews was their choice from the get-go, or Jeff Maehl played over Matthews, or Beau Allen started in place of Logan, you may have a point. But that’s not the case here.

  51. 51 fran35 said at 10:24 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Hey Rev. Sharpton, please be sure and read the D3FB response.

  52. 52 KAJomo said at 11:29 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Chips first 4 draft picks this year were black

  53. 53 Jarock said at 12:41 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I think Chip’s mindset about WR is colored by his success at Oregon. As with most positions, he has the perfect dimensions in his head as to what a WR should be and Cooper fits that. Combine that with his success at Oregon without a truly dominant WR and I think Chip thought that Cooper was ‘good enough.’ Unfortunately, I think this season as a whole, and the Seattle game as an exclamation point, has revealed that you need better to succeed in the NFL.

  54. 54 Michael Winter Cho said at 9:36 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Cooper is “good enough” if you have Peyton Manning throwing to him. Mark Sanchez…. not so much.

  55. 55 Jarock said at 5:25 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    I don’t think even Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers could turn Riley into an 80+ catch guy. You’re right though that a great QB makes a mediocre WR look a lot better.

  56. 56 GENETiC-FREAK said at 12:49 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Wasnt the Eagles rumored to be in trade talks for VJax? If true kinda shows you what they think about Cooper.. Wouldnt complain if another WR was drafted high next year

  57. 57 Insomniac said at 1:08 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    There’s some good WRs in this years draft if they declare too.

  58. 58 BobSmith77 said at 1:01 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000439550/article/could-mike-singletary-be-an-nfl-head-coach-again

    Please, please let him get the Cowboys job.

  59. 59 Sean Stott said at 2:27 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I never understood why Cooper wasn’t cut the next day after the concert incident.

  60. 60 GEAGLE said at 8:42 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    You never understood why chip kelly didn’t want to go into his first season with slow Avant as his number 2 WR? Could u imagine Avant on the outside, he would NEVER get open.
    ..
    If Maclin and Desean were healthy at the time of the incident, Riley probabky wouldn’t have survived it

  61. 61 Tom McAllister said at 8:57 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    It sure would be unimaginable for Chip to intentionally go into a season with a starting lineup featuring a slow, mediocre WR whose best asset is his blocking.

  62. 62 GEAGLE said at 10:47 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Dude, riley ISNT fast, but he isn’t AVANT in his twilight years type slow. Coop is ATleast capable of actually playing on the outside… I get that Coop on the outside ISNT looking great this year, but I’m pretty sure Avant on the outside would look much worse

  63. 63 Jeppe Elmelund van Ee said at 3:56 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    My favorite WR in the draft is Jaelen Strong. I think he’s the perfect replacement for Cooper, and would fit in well with Kelly’s offense.

  64. 64 ICDogg said at 4:09 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Oh when the saints go six and ten,
    Oh when the saints go six and ten,
    You know they still might get in the playoffs,
    When the saints go six and ten.

  65. 65 anon said at 5:00 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    if we lose to the saints in the wild card i’m giving up on football until next august.

  66. 66 tomw said at 6:56 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    So after an eagles lose you feel the need to throw some salt on the wounds?

  67. 67 GEAGLE said at 8:40 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I would love to upgrade Riley, but before we get to that point, I’m worried about them upgrading Maehl and possibly Brad…

    I dig having a monster ST, but we can’t have 3 WRs, who bring so little in terms of running a route and actually catching the ball…

    Our WRs clearly lost the battle sunday, but after watching the tape, Sanchez frequently was missing an open Maclin, Ertz and Cooper… When you play against such a good secondary, the few times chip could scheme our Wide Recievers loose, Sanchez has to take advantage of those few openings.. But not only was his ball placement poor, but he was bad at seeing the field…missed a lot of open opportunities..seattke secondary won’t give you many opportunities, but you have to take advantage of them when they are there

  68. 68 GermanEagle said at 8:41 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    GE’s Top 12 WR:

    1. Calvin Johnson
    2. Julio Jones
    3. Demaryius Thomas
    4. Antonio Brown
    5. Dez Bryant
    6. TY Hilton
    7. Jordy Nelson
    8. AJ Green
    9. Randall Cobb
    10. Jeremy Maclin
    11. Emanuel Sanders
    12. Odell Beckham Jr.

    79. Riley Cooper

  69. 69 Jean_csouz said at 8:49 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    TY Hilton over AJ Green and Jordy Nelson?

  70. 70 GermanEagle said at 8:52 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Hilton is awesome. Just watch him make plays week in and week out. He’s also making the contested catches that Chip loves.

  71. 71 the DONALD said at 9:13 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    not a bad third rounder!! but jordy and aj better…

  72. 72 fran35 said at 9:12 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Looks proper. Not feeling TY Hilton that high though. Jordy Nelson is better, IMO

  73. 73 GermanEagle said at 9:37 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    That’s debatable. 😉 Would love to see Nelson with Andrew Luck and Hilton with Aaron Rodgers.

  74. 74 fran35 said at 9:39 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Right you are. Consider how much different Maclin ‘ s standing would look if he had been paired with Rodgers or Luck his whole career…..

  75. 75 Avery Greene said at 9:13 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    3, 7, 8, 11 – do they put up the same numbers with a different QB? I guess my question is whether or not Manning and Rodgers makes them better by simply being the best at what they do?

    Brown and Bryant may be better than Thomas, and AJ Green I think should absolutely be top 5. If AJ had a better QB, I’d think he’d have better numbers.

    I like the list and think you got the top 12, I’m just musing about whether QBs have an effect on how good these guys look.

  76. 76 GermanEagle said at 9:33 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    That’s a very fair question to ask, my Eagles fella. I think the particular order of the top 12 will always be based upon personal feel and preferences.
    I was just trying to get the top 12 right by going through this list and wondering if there was anyone who should be on that list instead.

  77. 77 GEAGLE said at 8:52 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    We underwent a “reconfiguring of the WR position” this offseason. That probably wasn’t going to be accomplished in one offseason… I think people see the success chip has with these players and thinks THATS good enough, where as I think it will be another offseason or two until chip really has the NFL team he set out to build in place…..we saw desean have so much success, but that wasn’t good enough for chip, but we couldn’t get 6 new WRs in one offseason. No matter how much success chip has with this grou of WRs, our WR two years from now probabky will look very different… MACLIN, huff and Jordan are probabky the only WR who will still be here in 2016… I’m sure chip will add ATleast 1 Cordarrel Patterson, deandre Hopkins type of young outside WR talemt. Even tho chip has success with the players he Inherrited, doesn’t mean they are good enough for his vision… I expect ATleast 2 or 3 new WRs by the 2016 season… This WR corp is probably only halfway built as of now

  78. 78 Henly125 said at 11:12 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I think the Cordarrel Patterson/DeAndre Hopkins type of player you speak of is already on the roster. He just needs more time to develop.

    And Matthews goes to the outside.

  79. 79 GEAGLE said at 11:24 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Who? Huff?
    ..
    Jordan is going to stay in the slot IMO. Is a crucial position in Chips pffense and keeping him in the slot masks his weakness, which was said to be getting off the line of scrimmage.
    ..
    I see Jordan growing into an excellent work horse for us who will be a menace working the Center of the field. Maclin is our well rounded technician on the outside…Thinking Huff will be our versatile weapon that Lines up everywhere including backfield…

    I think the weapon Chip is missing is either an explosive Big Body MIke Evans/Kelvin Benjamin type, or that big tall Burner who will be the fastest Wr and deep threat on our roster like a Cordarrell type…. This WR will probably be the most talented “athlete” in our stable of WRs but he will also have to block at a high level. Should be the jump ball threat we lack without Riley.., and I don’t think he is on our roster yet

  80. 80 Henly125 said at 12:24 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Yes, huff lol … we definitely need more size and speed on the outside, instead of Cooper. Huff could be that “queen” piece, as you mentioned. Maybe you’re right that Jordan stays in the slot, he does create a lot of matchups on the inside.. No problem keeping him there.

    A game-breaking WR with size (Julio Jones type) is what will take our WR group to the next level. Jeremy Maclin, despite his success, does not draw many double teams.. You have to think the offense took a step back this year for that reason.. The lack of a weapon who draWs double coverage.

  81. 81 GEAGLE said at 1:03 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Wonder what it would take to trade for Cordarrel type
    ..
    I like huff too, I just don’t see him as a WR you line up outside all game…he needs to move all around, and look for mismatches…. Really just one BIG, super athletic outside WR away from having a complete arsenal of WRs,..

  82. 82 GEAGLE said at 9:01 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Made it thru the entire SEAHAWK film,.. Wasn’t easy

    One thing that would be fascinating would be, if we had to play seattle again on Sunday, what would chip do different given an immediate mulligan? And what would he have done the same because it just wasn’t executed well enough?
    ….
    Watching that seattle game, there is a lot of stuff that would happen again and again when we play the seahawks for example, even if we could play them again Sunday, our WRs stull wouldnt have a big game against LOB with Sanchez at QB… That’s a true limitation in this matchup that would manifest itself 99 out of 100 times we play that defense…. However, there is a lot our Offense could have done better….

    Big issue for our offensive struggles was Micheal Bennett killing Garner all day. that would probabky happen again if e played them sunday, but there is other self inflicted crao that’s frustrating. Our OL is one of the strength of our team. As our OL goes so does our Offense.. I don’t care how good the defense is, it’s inexcusable to see run plays where Celek, Kelce and Lane all missed their blocks.. That ismy

  83. 83 anon said at 10:46 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    chip said it wasn’t the game plan it was execution — if you believe that

  84. 84 GEAGLE said at 11:17 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    After watching the tape, a lot of it really was execution…

    LOB was awesome, but the tape shows blown opportunities were Maclin got free and Ertz was wide open and Sanchez didnt even see them.. Then there were also blown opportunities where Sanchez saw the WR but didn’t deliver on his ball placement

    But what annoyed me even more, and chip ISNT lying about is run game execution. There were plays where Lane, Kelce and Celek all whiffed on the execution of routine blocks they always execute… Execution wasn’t going to save Bennett winning his share of battles against Garner, but chip is right that jason peters, KELCE, mathis, Lane and Celek all could have executed their blocking assignments much better in the run game than we saw on Sunday…. I don’t care who we are facing KELCE is thebest center in the NFL Today. mathis is ELITE Guard. Celek might be the best blocking TE in football. No reason why they can’t execute their assignments against THAT defensive front better than what the tape of sundays game shows….KELCE may not win every battle, but he doesn’t completely whiff on blocks like him and Celek did a few times on Sunday
    ….
    Execution was definitely the issue, there were opportunities that we left on the field and didn’t take advantage of…

    And shady head clearly wasn’t where it needed to be to face Elute defense. He couldn’t even talk about it after the game without holding back tears…fumbling, blowing blocking assignments… That’s a good defense, but shady, 4/5ths of our OL and our blocking TE are capable of so much more then what they put on film sunday……problem is that there is nothing to suggest Sanchez can do better delivering to our WRs againsg that secondary…

  85. 85 ICDogg said at 12:11 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    I still don’t understand why we rarely use Sproles as a pass catcher when he has burned many teams doing just that.

  86. 86 GEAGLE said at 12:31 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    They brought down Earl Thomas to spy on Sproles when ever we put him in the game so I understand why he didn’t have a 7 catch game, but i don’t umderstand why he only got 13 snaps when taking Earl Thomas out of the play as a decoy sounds pretty valuable in allowing you to isolate mismatch for Ertz or Shady in the passing game,,… Just his decoy factor of commanding the best safety in the game to spy him, seems more valuable to me than to only use 13 snaps

    But Not every team has Earl Thomas. If noodle arm Sanchez is going to continue to play, they better weaponize Sproles soon as a WR… This is like us not throwing to westbrook and only giving him 13 snaps…. That can’t be a good ideal. If I want to throw to ERTZ, Id rather throw to him when Earl is busy with Sproles…

  87. 87 SteveH said at 9:48 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I’d keep 2013 Cooper, 2014 Cooper can be pink slipped for all I care.

  88. 88 RobNE said at 9:51 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    If you had not seen it, here is Chip responding to the Widener coach:

    http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/chip-kelly-responds-d-iii-coach-ripping-him-focusing-respect

  89. 89 GermanEagle said at 10:13 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    The Widener coach should feel embarrassed.

  90. 90 RobNE said at 11:41 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    yep that’s a take down. Chip is a smart, mature guy. He didn’t even get into saying things like “give me a f’ing break, how could the practice field make a team win?” He just side steps it and talks about respect etc.

  91. 91 D3FB said at 9:02 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    The bigger thing is that Linfield is a consistent national power. Widener is a relative upstart they’ve had two or three good years. Regardless of practice facilities I woud have laid down good money on Lindfield to beat Weideners ass.

  92. 92 SteveH said at 9:59 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    So I was just looking at some stats, and Aaron Rodgers currently has 35 TD’s, 3 interceptions, and a 119.0 passer rating.

    If he doesn’t throw an interception the last 3 weeks he could end up with somewhere around a 15:1 TD to interception ratio.

  93. 93 GEAGLE said at 10:30 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    He better watch His ass the next few weeks. He has Embarressed a lot of defenders this year and he will be facing some nasty, elite defenders on desperate teams who probably feel like their best chance is to knock him out the game…and Rogers ISNT some big sturdy Big Ben type…. He better watch his ass in Buffalo, I don’t think people realize just how good some of their defenders are…Marcel Dareus is the only NT I would want over puppy Logan. he is that good. Kyle Williams is one of the best defenders h the NFL and doesn’t get anywhere near to the credit he deserves. Mario Williams, jerry Hughes… Rogers better watch his ass in Buffalo, they won’t trust Orton, they will be trying to knock Rogers out of the game. Curipus to see him pick himself up after all the hits they unleash on him

    And N-donkey-kong Suh is a Nasty Human being who probably despises Rogers as a rival. You can bet he will try to hurt Rogers if he gets his hands on him at the end of the year… Packets might want to not worry about trying to score 40 points these next few games and be more concerned with winning without exposing their average sized QB to these Ferocious defenses with some Nasty men, on desperate teams that will feel like their only hope is to knock Rogersout of the game…

  94. 94 GEAGLE said at 10:34 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    With that said, I think the difference between this years GB team and the past GB teams that fell shet is that this OL has really grown into a quality unit THATS playing at a high level. Everyone talks about the Cowboys rookie Guard, but the Packers rookie center has been much more impressive if you ask me… Guard Sitton was always fheir stud, but theTackes Buluga and Bahktiri are probably playng their best ball…even Lang hasn’t been exposed too often.

    Everyone is raving over Rogers, but Rogers has been Rogers for a while now… The difference that makes this Packers team nasty is the OL compared to the OL the past few years…

  95. 95 Weapon Y said at 1:27 AM on December 10th, 2014:

    With a TD to interception ratio like that, he should probably be benched if he has a few down games next year.

  96. 96 GEAGLE said at 10:04 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Let me start off by saying, I couldn’t care less if we cut Riley today or not…

    But if I had to read the situation going forward, I would expect Coop to be back next year. We are building a program, I absolutely think we still have half a WR corp to build, but I expect it to be built through the draft…I doubt we cut Coop to sign some other teams Free agent WR… The one wildcard is if there was truth to the Vincent Jax rumors and if we are really really high on him, then maybe coop will be gone, but it would surprise me
    ..
    Say what we will about Coop, but Malin dpesmt score against LOB without Riley Blocking like a beastl his blocking has been responsible for a handful of TDs the past two years, it’s just that the player who gets into the ENDZONE gets the glory, not the blocker.
    ..
    No Idea why anyone would be talking about gettng rid of Riley, when we still have MAEHL and ,maybe even Brad Smifh that need upgrading first? Upgrade those two Wr spots, than Id gladly entertain also upgrading Cooper.
    ..
    But because I don’t expect us to sign other teams free agent WR, my expectation is that we sign Maclin, bring Coop back next year, Jordan and Huff will be a year older, Draft ATleast 1 more WR, possibly find another Undrafted one,… But it won’t be a problem paying MACLIN and Cooper next year when we have 3 or 4 Wide recievers getting paid on ropkie contracts… After next year, young WRs will be improved enough to need Coopers snaps, so after this next season IMO he will be cut…
    .

    NEXT YEAR I expect:
    Coop and Mac as the vetarans
    Year 2: Jordan and Huff
    Upgrade MAEHL with a drafted Wr talent like TY Montgomery who will fall out f round 1, possibly even round 2…
    Brad smith, unless we can find anotjer young WR to take his place.

    As young WR develop and are ready to take snaps from Coop on the outside, Coop can replace Brad Smith on Special teams..

    By 2016 season, I expect MACLIN,Jordan,Huff and 3 WRs who aren’t yet in the NFL….but we will need Coop 1 more year to transition to the next Era of eagle WR’s without having to take a step back counting n rookies before they are ready..l

    This is how you upgrade Wr corp and transition to new era of eagle WRs while remaining a contender instead of taking steps backwards having to start rookies

  97. 97 bill said at 10:26 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Chip Kelly does nothing without a well thought-out reason. Not saying his reasoning can’t be wrong, but he’s not from the “emotional reaction” school of coaching.
    When did he get in Shady’s face and nitpick his decision making to inscrutable detail? When Shady was having a fantastic season and everything looked easy for him.
    When did Chip explicitly, publicly call out another player on his roster? I’m blanking but I can’t think of any right now.
    When did Chip defend Shady’s game? When Shady was struggling badly during the first half of this season. And I’m again blanking on other examples, but I seem to remember Chip defending other players who have had bad stretches.
    I’ve thought this since earlier this season when Chip was defending Shady’s horrendous play, and people were pointing out that Chip wasn’t afraid of criticizing Shady like he did late last year: Chip’s operating under a sort of reverse psychology regime when he discusses individual players. Confidence is a huge part of every sports psychology discussion I’ve ever read or heard, and Chip’s regime seems to be attuned to this goal. He won’t coddle a player, but he also seems to believe that dumping on a down player doesn’t really accomplish anything other than making the speaker feel good, at the risk of causing a confidence issue that feeds on itself for the player who gets dumped on. The way to address poor play is more reps and more focus on perfecting the craft – that’s the big part of Kelly’s “culture,” too, which I think too many people mistakenly believe is about having all choir boys. Rather, it’s about treating football as your profession and being a professional.
    And yes, I believe this applies to his oblique comments on MSII.

  98. 98 Avery Greene said at 11:42 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I think you’re thinking of Huff. When he fumbled in the AZ game, everyone was down on him. Kelly talked about not burying rookies because that could damage them long-term.

    Something like that, but you’re point is a good one.

  99. 99 Avery Greene said at 11:45 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Looked up on Google and here’s a link to an article saying exactly what you are here.

    http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2014/10/27/7075377/josh-huff-chip-kelly-eagles-rookie-mistakes-cardinals

  100. 100 bill said at 12:48 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Clearly, Mark, with his research and actual interviews, is cribbing from my blog comments. 🙂

  101. 101 Bert's Bells said at 10:57 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Fuck all about Eric Berry. I remember Tommy driving his bandwagon during the draft. Rotten news for the guy.

  102. 102 eagleyankfan said at 11:17 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    I’m not ready to talk next year yet as I’m having too much fun enjoying this season. No matter my thoughts — Dallas is in my mind. I wonder what safety the Eagles will draft or get via FA. Answer – Dallas. I wonder if the Eagles draft a QB — answer — Dallas. Just beat that team and put them in their place!

  103. 103 GEAGLE said at 11:52 AM on December 9th, 2014:

    Did you look at the safety and cornerback free agent list for this year? It’s pretty depressing. Most of the quality safeties all got locked into Longterm deals the past 3 offseasons…not only are their no TJ Ward/Jarius BYRD types on this years market, but there isn’t any quality malcolm Jenkins second tier safeties either…. Lack of options in the up coming market is depressing.

    Cornerback is just as bad. No one available who fit our age and size requirements worth losing the chemistry Cary and Brad have built up.
    I can’t explain how much I can’t wait to have a better outside CB than Brad Fletcher. But Im not into change just for the sake of change. Unfortunately there projects to not be any realistic options that are clear upgrades worth replacing the continuity and Chemistry Bradley has built up with our players and our scheme… That’s a pretty depressing thought but that the reality of this upcoming free agent market… We are Going to have to draft two big. Long athletic outside CB’s and develop him ourselves, But rookie CB freighten me, so we need two of our current outside CB to be here next year starting until they young talemt we draft and develop is ready to take over…..

    LAST 1st round CB I really liked was Desmond Trufant..
    ..
    This is a pretty good class for CB’s.. Not a special class. But solid and some nice depth in rounds 2-4…. it’s probably a better CB class, than Safety class.. And with Billy Davis here, there is always a Chance we draft a big physical cover corner and move him to safety..
    ..
    Going to have to keep our veteran outsid corners, but we can’t wait any longer to draft and develop their eventual replacements..we built the trenches up in the first two drafts. Get 1 OL, and an ILB, WR, and then a bunch of Defensive backs, all big, long and athletic so if they fail at CB, maybe they can be salvaged as safeties

  104. 104 GermanEagle said at 12:05 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    S: Devin McCourty
    CB: Byron Maxwell
    Give me those and I will be very happy!

  105. 105 ICDogg said at 12:15 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Speaking of Maxwell, the Seahawks were using him as their inside corner against the Eagles, stopped us very effectively.

  106. 106 GEAGLE said at 12:16 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    I’d be thrilled with both. Versatile, from winning locker rooms…

    However, Id be surprised if McCourty makes it to the open market, leaving bellicek with Chung at safety and another spot to fill? Don’t really see that happening, but id love to be wrong.
    ..
    Maxwell is more likely to hit the market because they have a bunch of players they need to give new contracts to, but I have q feeling his price tag will become absurd with so many little alternative options at that position

  107. 107 ICDogg said at 12:30 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Yeah, next year is next year but I want to see what we can do this year.

  108. 108 GEAGLE said at 12:38 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Yeah people get carried away with the most recent performance which in this case is a BEATDOWN, and while it’s true that having Sanchez as your QB isn’t the same as having a franchise guy like Wilson or Rogers, it dosnt mean that we can’t beat any of these teams on any gven Sunday. No reason why a eagles team that is still caoable of finishing 12-4 should feel hopeless going into the playoffs even if we have to roll with Sanchez against teams with franchise QBs… Heck the raiders beat everyones beloved super talent lol Kapernick two days ago…

    You never know when one hit, ackward mis step will change the course of an entire game… Seattle seemed like the much better team on Sunday and it felt like we were dominated, but we were inches from Jenkins making the stadium Errupt with a pick 6, 3 point game with all the momentum on our side…

    It’s absurd that people are such prisoners of the moment that they can want to abandon their 9-4 team because packers have Rogers, Seahawks have Wilson, and we don’t..,. Lol

  109. 109 ICDogg said at 7:42 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    You never know what’s going to happen, any given Sunday and all that, but I don’t expect the Eagles to make it far this year, and I don’t think they are that close to Seattle or Green Bay in quality. Still, there is a lot to be accomplished this year before it’s time to worry about free agents and the draft and all that.

  110. 110 GEAGLE said at 12:45 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Hear so many fans already feeling hopeless and ready to waive the white flag and focus on next year, to these fans I say, you are out of your damn minds, and I doubt too many born n raised Eagles fans are capable of abandoning a 9-4 team to waive the white flag and get ready for next year…that’s Not in a Philly Born mans nature…

    Clearly, especially with Sanchez we aren’t ready to be a better team than GB and Seattle. Those are better teams than us yesterday, and they will be better than us next week, and the week after….. Nothing we can do about that.

    But I think fans are losing site of what we are caoable of. Those teams are better today, but not so much better that we should feel hopeless. The “any given Sunday” dynamic is real, and we are too damn good in a lot of important areas to not stand a chance against anyne..

  111. 111 botto said at 1:14 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    i’m not waiving any flag. no matter what happens we still can beat the cowboys skins and giants. how much better can life be anyway? beat those lame-ass loser teams and im happy enough for this year.

  112. 112 GEAGLE said at 1:15 PM on December 9th, 2014:

    Cam Newton got into a serious major car accident today… atretchered off in an ambulance….. hopefully nothing life threatening, but I have no idea

  113. 113 Raul Estrada said at 5:57 PM on December 12th, 2014:

    I believe he has a problem with someone who is not white in position of authority (Vick, Sanchez). I still believe he’s got some racial prejudice in him.

    The route he ran after his little spat with Sanchez in the T-giving game vs. Dallas shows that he ran the route, and his body language showed that he was on time to get the catch, but just never looked for the ball.

    IMO, he wanted to show Sanchez that he’ll do what he wants, and as long as Sanchez is under center, he’s going to give him problems. He made a statement about he (Coop) and Kelly are like “blood brothers”, and he’s going to continue to do what he wants to do. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20141210_Eagles__mystifying_support_of_Cooper.html#1GmXOC2oP8eVd72y.99