Missing DeMeco?
Posted: December 11th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 164 Comments »The Eagles just faced Marshawn Lynch and held him to 23-86. One of those was a draw play on 3rd/long that went for 21 yards. The rest of the game he was 22-65. The week before the defense held DeMarco Murray to his worst game of the year, 20-73. I never thought this would happen with Casey Matthews playing in place of DeMeco Ryans.
The key in theses 2 games was the play of the DL, specifically Fletcher Cox. I thought he had a great game watching live, but when you study the tape you are truly blown away. He was easily the best player on the field Sunday…for either team. Amazing performance.
Still, this does make you wonder about the future at ILB. DeMeco is a good player and I’m not trying to diminish that. But he’s older, expensive and coming off an injury. You have to wonder if the organization will look at this situation and feel they could move on to another option that is cheaper/younger.
Obviously another factor here is Mychal Kendricks. He started playing great down the stretch in 2013 and hasn’t stopped. The only thing that slows him down is injuries. When he’s on the field, he’s a Pro Bowl caliber player. MK gives the Eagles one star at ILB and a player they can build around.
Matthews has been solid since taking over. He doesn’t do anything flashy and isn’t a tackle machine. He’s generally in the right gap and tackles the ball if it comes his way. That’s the minimum you’re looking for in an ILB. The coaches say he does a good job of getting the defense set. None of us outsiders can really comment on that.
I’d love to see the Eagles find another speedy, athletic guy. That would help with coverage. Maybe Najee Goode can be that guy. I don’t know if the coaches will seriously think of keeping Marcus Smith inside. He has the potential to be good in there. He can rush, cover and play the run. He’s got good size at 6-3, 251. His future will be somewhat determined by what the team does with Trent Cole and Brandon Graham. If the Eagles keep Barwin/Cole/Graham together, they need to move Smith to get him on the field. That’s no insult to Smith but rather a compliment to how well the OLBs are playing.
It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. Any number of things can happen. I am shocked that the defense hasn’t missed DeMeco more. Hes’ a terrific leader on and off the field. He’s also a good all-around LB. There is no question that he would have out-played Matthews had he been on the field. I guess the question is how much of a difference that would have made. Maybe less than any of us anticipated.
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I think we will only really see how much we actually miss Ryans when the playoffs start. Leadership and experience can be the X factor in the postseason.
I don’t necessarily disagree. I’d counter with the fact that we have a team full of leaders. Barwin, Cole, and Jenkins come to mind first, then throw in the likes of Kendricks and Cox stepping up, and it really does help mitigate a lot of that void, IMO.
Eagles are going to draft Mykal Kendricks brother. Start him off as a 3rd down LB while Casey handles 1st and 2nd down… When Erik Kendricks is ready to take over the Kemdrick boys will patrol the middle of our defense as our ILB tandem for years to come.
Charecter
Fits with our locker room (eagles players are always tweeting about how impressive baby kendrick is on Saturdays)
We have the inside track on him and we have his big brother
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We need another athletic ILB. How can we ever find a better, less risky, opportunity than this? Gotta be careful tho, Packers and Bengals will also Prob want him
I would LOVE to get Mychal’s lil’ bro. However the more difficult question is: where do you draft him?
If it’s so crystal clear to us that the Eagles will draft Kendricks, then the other 31 NFL teams knew this already…
Don’t think he will still be on the board when the Eagles are on the clock in the second round.
Today people assume he will go in the 30-45 range,., but he will put on a show at the combine so I would just draft him at like #24 or wherever we pick and call it a day…
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I have a feeling Bengals and GB will want him bad.
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Scout compared him to Kiko Alonso the other day
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Our front 7 is scary rigjt now, with average at best Casey playing a important role… Mykal had 16 tackles against seattle. Imagine two of those explosive ILBs flying around the middle of our defense for the next decade
I wouldn’t mind spending a late first round pick on him at all. 🙂
Can’t miss, starting caliber player at a position of need, eliminate all the guess work because we know his family well (Howie was at UCLA practice after the 49ers game this year)… What I also like about this draft pick is he will be able to get on the field as a rookie so our Jack ass FANBASE can STFU and not call him a bust 3 months into his career
LBs are the key to a 3-4. Our spot in the 1st would be perfect. I’d prefer we address immediate 2ndary needs via FA if possible (Byron Maxwell would be a perfect match). m/b OL (G-specifically) if BPA in the 2/3 area. I wouldn’t mind picking up Trevone Boykin as our developmental guy, but not sure where to target him. I wouldn’t think before the 4th. Bye-Bye Barkley
I believe in building from the trenches on backwards.. No point in worrying about secondary when we still have a big hole to fill at ILB… That shoould complete our front 7 and let us go draft the LSU a boys Jaylen and JALEN to play Cb and Safety or go get OL and WR like Coates, or Montgomery(can wait Til round 3)
Ive been chanting for this scenario for months now. That would be just awesome from a team standpoint & just for a great story as well IMO!
Erik Kendricks won the Dick Butkus Award. Best linebacker in the country. I hope he falls to us in the draft. That would be a great duo at ILB. I could see Erik falling because of his size, but nonetheless, I want that guy!
Now people think he will last to round two. I don’t see that happening at all….he won’t make it past the 20-30 range. Som play off team will want a stud 3 down ILB
That’s right in our range. That would be some tandem in the middle huh? Mychal is coming into his own and is dominating. I’ll take a 3 down ILB and suring up the defense over anything else right now.
Right! Especially when we can Prob sigÅ„ Casey Cheap to start on first and second down, get everyone lined up the first half of the season until Erik KEndricks grows into a 3 down role….
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Heck when we get into passing situations, we can do so many different things with athletic LBs who can cover like Mykal, Erik, Marcus and Barwin… Like Mykal, Erik is also a bad ass Blitzer….be great for opponents to not know which explosive brother we are sending after their QB
For Kendricks it depends on how he meassures.
If he is only 5’11 (6’4 with hair), 230, he will drop to the 2nd or 3rd round.
Exactly he’s going to come in just over 6′ and he’s not going to run anywhere near to his brothers times.
I think only way he comes in over 6 is because of all the hair
How has Mykals lack of height, which dropped him into round Two kept him from growing into a stud ILB in the making? It hasn’t….
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And when you pick at the end of round 1, you are stuck chosing between players with second round grades since there often isn’t 30 first round graded prosects in a draft class, so drafting Erik late round 1 is perfect for us
People need to remember that in reality, there often ARENT 30 players in a draft class with first round grades. A team like us, picking in the 24-30 range is usually going to get stuck drafting a kid with a second round grade…so while Erik isn’t any taller than his brother, and won’t have a fist round grade, the players we will be choosing from probably won’t have first round grades on him anyway…so even if we rate him like #40, he would NEVER fall to us at the end of round 2, so just like Marcus Smith, I would have no problem drafting him at the end of round 1, because we have no shot at him in round 2
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So I don’t see the point in people arguing that he will have a second round grade, because no matter who we end up drafting, he will probably have a second round grade when you draft 24-30
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Only players I would be interested in the end of round 1
Erik Kendricks
Bud Dupree.. Tho finding a ILB is much more important than another OLB
Marcus Peters, because he is so much more talentef than when he will be drafted, of course I doubt Chip will be ok with his red flags..
I’d take Shawn Oakman too if he fell, but I doubt he is self motivatd enough for chip
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No matter who we draft, he most likely won’t have a first round grade when we are picking 24-30…
So eliminating all the guess work and solidifying our front 7, with Mykals running mate of the future baby bro Erik, is most likely going to be my #1 option when we see who is left on the draft board when it’s time for us to draft.
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You start at the trenches and build your way back. No point in addressing safety or CB if you still have a hole at LB… Draft Erik, and then we can spend all our picks n the secondary for all I care, OL, WR or Whatever… Need to solidify the front 7 with a stud running mate for Mykal to fly around with
NO shot he make it to round 3, none whatsoever.
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He won’t be on the board when we pick in round 2. I would bet on that right now..
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But you are right that he will recieve a second round grade, but we will most likely see him drafted in round 1. There aren’t a perfect 32 1st round prospects in each draft.. We will most likely be picking in the 24-30 range, which means we will probably have to pick from kids with second round grades…. My guess is one of the playoff teams drafting 24-32 LOVE HIM and know he won’t last Til them in round two and we see him drafted late round 1…
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Everyone picking 22-32 settled in second round prosects last year almost… Just because Kendricks will get a 2nd round grade, dpesmt mean he will fall out of round 1… If the Eagles, Bengals, Cardinals, Packers or seahawks want him, they have to take him in round 1…
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I would be comfortable betting on him being drafted higher than Mykal was…if he made it out of round 1, he could last anotjet 10 spots,but watch, a playoff team will snatch him up in the end of round 1
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How did his brothers lack of height keep him from growing into a stud?…. It didn’t!
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I would feel more comfortable if Benardrick McKinney blows Everypne away with his combine and becomes the first ILB drafted… If GB pick ahead of us, they will screw us. No doubt about it
First lets compare Mychal to Erik. Mychal is one of the most explosive athletes in football across positions, I really doubt Erik gets even close to matching his numbers.
The other fact is that Mychal is 240, where Erik might come in at 230. Also look how far Chris Borland dropped because of his height and arm length.
Teams in general do not pick undersized players early unless they are freak athletes. The slightly undersized, but just good athlete in general falls
He seems like a great player, and having brothers together sounds like fun, but there is a risk. If things go sour in one relationship, it will impact the other. Remember the Andrews brothers?
Kendricks boys aren’t your typical football players.. Mykal is a “different type of Kat”. I hear you, but The last brothers I would compare them to is the andrews mutts. Every human being is different, because shawn Andrews and his brother were clowns, doesn’t mean the next brothers we draft will be too.
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Plus I’m sure Mykal will be happy for years to come with the contract Howie is putting together for him.
I’d tolerate casey’s presence more if clay were here. just saying.
“Start him off as a 3rd down LB while Casey handles 1st and 2nd down…”
Please. Casey is holding his own – much more than I would have ever thought and I think I’m not alone on that one. Honest congrats to him.
But a team is simply flat out stupid if it goes with Casey Matthews as their starting ILB (even if it’s “only” 1st and 2nd down) into the season.
He probably earned a new contract as #4 or #5 ILB + STer. But you have to put his performance into perspective. He’s still the most unathletic guy on the field on any given play – most of the time by far.
Like I said, holding his own, more than I ever thought, but starting Casey Matthews voluntarily is insane to me.
You can either replace him with a free agent, or a rookie. If you replace him with a free agent, you don’t have to start Casey in September and you just let him be depth role and ST player… Biut, if we replace him with a Rookie,even one I love as much as Erik Kendrick, i would prefer NOT strting a rookie in a 3down role to start off the season next setember…so, yes, I would prefer to start casey for the first month and let Erik Kemdricks gradually take more and more of his snaps til he is our starting 3down LB
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I can assure the EAGLES WONT sign a quality free agent ILB that can start, AND spend a top 1st round pick on an ILB…
If we decide to Fill the ILB spot via the draft, we are going to settle on cheap veteran backups, to be a placeholder til the rookie is ready to take over full time.. If we have to sign a cheap veteran backup type, I would prefer just keeping our continuity with Casey… The veteran LB will be a placeholder who we hope Erik Kendrick will take his spot soon… Rather keep Casey who knows our defense inside out, quality special team player who will help Erik Kemdricks take his job and then be a class act when he has to to the bench Qand Erik takes Over
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I would LOVE to sigh a veteran Stud ILB and draft Erik Kendrick, but that’s not realistic. If we are gong to spend a high pick on a ILB, Casey Mathews is fine for a cheap placeholder til Erik is ready….. But I don’t care how much I like the rookie, I don’t believe in penciling n rookies to start in September. I don’t believe in counting n rookies for anything… Whether I believe in the rookie or hate the rookie, I expect nothing from the rookie…anything we get from a rookie is a bonus,..I don’t belive in playing rookies til they earn their snaps… So even if we draft Erik Kendricks who I believe in so much, I still would want a place holder like Casey Mathews to play until Erik earns the snaps and proves he can no longer be kept on the bench..
What about Meco? Reduced salary, of course. But he will have no choice. Mentor, leader, good against the run – imho, ideal as stop gap til Erik is ready.
If Meco has to end his career, I’d prefer a cheap vet over Casey, have to be honest. It’s simply not enough. If Casey beats him out in camp – fine. If Goode takes over until Erik is ready – even better.
I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine. People just assume his time in philly is done, but I assume chip respects Mufasa enough to give him every chance to make a recovery and continue his NFL career…. We just have to see how long it takes to get healthy, and what he looks like healthy post surgery…
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But I’m sure we respect and value him enough to give him a chance to continuing his eagle career…. But I don’t think we can project his situation right now with any type of certainty…
I’m sure a lot of the reason as to why we aren’t missing Demeco more, because he is busting his ass all week to help prepare Casey and Acho for each game… Meco is at Novacare every day, hasn’t missed a LB meeting, he rolls around the Novacare complex on his scooter all day helping our young defenders prepare….if MECO is in the NFL next year,….I say MECO will finish his career in Phily, but that’s just a guess
One reason(most important?) is rally point. Meco goes down, you rally the team to support his lose. I don’t watch replays like most, but I have yet to see someone say “I just watch CM and MAN is he balling that offense”.
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“He’s generally in the right gap and tackles the ball if it comes his way. That’s the minimum you’re looking for in an ILB.” — Totally disagree with that on 2 levels. 1 – starting nfl ILB — yes, I expect more “minimum” and 2 – wasn’t CM in position a couple of times last game to make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and was left holding his jock strap? He’s too slow and not strong enough. I’d prefer a harder hitter too instead of just the wrap and hold on for help technique.
Pretty sure Dawkins could be here every day and it wouldnt help Nate Allen one bit, so why would it help Casey play better that Meco is at the Novacare? (so was he last year and 2 years ago, when Casey was terrible)
Could be there, but he isn’t. Of course veteran mentoring would help any player.
Of course, but lets not credit Meco with the whole Casey isnt playing like dog shit anymore
Yeah that’s it… Fans think A!L THE Credit for another player playng well should go to demeco… Lol got it, thanks
Isn’t Casey a free agent after this season?
Interesting that charlie Cambell reported an NFL GM or scout(can’t remember which one), has a 3rd round grade on shawn Oakman which I was surprised to hear considering all the top 15 praise he is getting these days..
Maybe Mariota will pull up in combine so a certain team can draft him…
Or just decline to perform in the combine.
He should make a stink like Eli did and threaten teams to never sign with them… But so many teams pick before us, that one would call his bluff and draft him anyway
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We need Colt Lyerla to take him under his wing for the predraft process LOL. No one knows how to fuck up a draft stock better than The uber talented Lyerla
If Mariota falls to 10, do you trade up?
He won’t. Too many teams needs a QB that will draft high and he has zero character concerns unlike Winston.
but will they know that he/s system qb and discount him?
This. I think he’s a top 3 talent, but if GMs disagree because of system or whatever, and he falls to 8 or lower, I 100% think Chip demands Howie get on the phone. I just don’t see him falling so I don’t find the discussion useful. Just my opinion.
Ya if he somehow falls to 10 its a no brainer decision to trade up and get him. Using the trade value chart to trade up from 28(where eagles pick now) to 10 would require their 1st and next years 1st. Your essentially trading Marcus Smith and swapping 1st rounders to get a likely franchise QB that is the perfect fit for Chips system. Having said that I think he is going #1 overall but we can hope.
I think you’re all overrating Mariota stock
You are asking the wrong Guy…. I see that IT factor in FOles… I see no reason to ass anotjet QB, I doubt another young QB will grow into a better NFL QB than Nick will… And I know that if our fans only give Marriotta 20 games, he won’t prove to be their franchise QB either….FOles needs another year of playing time..
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Heck andrew Luck practically looks like shit each week and then gets it tpgetjer in the 4th quarter.
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cam,KAp,RG3, Tannahill, Geno, EJ, Teddy, Manziel..FOles will be better than all of them… But he needs to develop
I’ve been on the Foles wagon since the beginning, man. You don’t have to tell me. That said, the price is considerably cheaper at 10 than 3, which is why I posed you the question. I agree Foles can be better than most/all of them and should be afforded a little more time. This offseason is huge for him, so I’m curious how he handles it.
Mate, don’t get your hopes up. The hell to freeze is more likely than MM dropping that far…
Nick was playing thru a terrible bruise. It was obviously too painful for hm to take the pockets he has ALWAYS been willing to sit in the pocket and take since his days playing behind Arizonas terrible OL in college… The kid tried to play instead of sitting out, he just couldn’t take the hits with that bruise, that’s why we saw him uncharecteristically back peddle so much. He was playing behind an OL he didn’t trust, playing thru an injury where he couldn’t take the hits. Backpeddling is textbook mechanical breakdown of not trusting your OL
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We have YEARS of Film that shows he is willing to sit in the pocket and take his to deliver the ball, yet IDIOTS are judging him on a stretch of games where he tried to warrior thru a bad injury behind a mess of a OL.. If the best RB in the NFL was effected by a bad OL, how can that OL not also effect our young QB
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Go back after the skins game, any of the games afterward and skim thru the plays until you see us run a play from Max protection. You will notice that some of his most beautiful throws were out of Max protect
You won’t see any of the backpeddling or mechanical issues when we were in max protect….this tells me, that most of the issues were not trusting his OL.. Plays were we were in max protect, and he expected the OL to protect him, he made some gorgeous throws out of this year…
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Listen to me. Forgot everything the dumb media will say, the stupid fans who are already writing off FOles…everything I just said, Chip Kelly knows. No way Chip ismt still very high on Nick…
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The ONLY, I repeat ONLY young QB Id bet chip will take over FOles is Marriôtta… But I see no reason to go get him, because FOles will also be special. I don’t think we can lose with Marriôtta or FOles long term… I would bet money Chip feels the same way. We have a young sTud to grow into a quality QB we can win with… WE CAN build a elite team putting quality players around FOles and in the secondary with the quality picks we have to spend on Marriptta…
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The ONLY WAY I’m ok with gettng Marriptta, I REPEAT. THE ONLY, ONLY, ONLY way It might be worth it to me to get Marriôtta, is if landing Marriôtta as our QB, keeps Chip Kelly as coach of the Eagles for his entire tenure like Tom Brady is keeping Bellicek in New England. if Chip loves that kid that much to stay here and coach him for over a decade, tHen, and only THEN it may make sense to go get hm..
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But I would bet that we would make it to the Super Bowl faster putting the finishing pieces around FOles, than it would take us to get to the Super Bowl with Marriotta, because we will have to trade away so many valuable picks that we need to take us to that next ELITE LEVEL
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We get back to the Super Bowl much faster with FOles, than with Marriotta…. Unless somene like Wisenhunt, sees FOles as another Big Ben, or some tea that’s ready to contend now like the Texans is high on FOles to the point they would rather take Nick, then deal with a rookie Winston or Marriotta, values FOles enough to give us a draft pick that lands Marriotta by trading FOles and not many of our future picks so we can continue to Build the team
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Unless the team that Lets us get the pick that drrafts Marriptta is really really high on Nck FOles, the price we would have to pay for Marriotta would cripple us. We should have learned our lesson after all the quality prospects the skins lost, trading up for RG3… And we would have to move up so much higher than the skins did to get RG3
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Telling you the cost of getting High enough from the mid 20s to get to Marriotta will be absurd. It would be something insane like Nick FOle, Fletcher Cox, 1st and 2nd this year, 1st and 3rd next year… It would cripple us
You don’t have to tell me any of this. I know it.
No
Haha, so you seriously woudn’t trade up if Mariota falls to 10?! Dude, I can guarantee you that Kelly will lick his chips if that happens.
Regardless of the small fact that Mariota will never drop beyond 5…
Before DeMeco was carted off, I told my dad this might be the end of his career. As much as I like him and hope he makes a full recovery, he is an older player and was near the bottom of the acceptable speed range before this.
Hopefully he makes us all feel silly for even considering replacement options, but it is nice having options and time to evaluate them.
I have to agree with you. Knowing what to do on the field only goes so far when you don’t have the speed/burst to make the plays.
Ryans should at least get a chance to show the Eagles what he can do in camp. I know there’s the business end with his cap number, so I’m not considering that.
I don’t think he would have been back next year even without the injury.
the urlacher treatment. yea, father time coming for him and trent cole both.
I love Trent. But if he’s starting next year (applause to the guy), we have some issues at OLB.
Such a blessing the OL is 6 deep and young, if Howie keeps them. Plus Hart, who will likely (hopefully) beat out papa Bair next year. Really lightens the load for the LB crew
DL
If Huff doesn’t play — does JM get an uptick in a fantasy play — say over Cobb in a flex ppr spot?
way GB is playing hard to start anyone else.
Let’s not forget about Travis Long who was getting a lot of praise before being IRed for the year. I would rather spend our first on o-line or a corner who slips like Marcus Peters and see what the group of Smith, Kendricks, Long and Acho can do. Demarco is welcome back too, but, in my uninformed opinion, not at 7 million a year.
Goode too.
Yeah, Goode over Acho for sure.
Oh yea, that’s a solid group to fight for a starting job, maybe a mid round draft pick too.
Travis long been thru multiple surgeries, I was high on him, at some point gotta cut our losses
For those who missed it, Didinger has a nice little article on Eagles/Cowboys rivalry, it’s short but has a few great bits of information.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Didinger-This-One-Means-More-In-Philly/7e2ee33d-c2f9-4a7e-b9b6-cb6f2fa2f845
The thing I see with Matthews is when teams pass on 1st or 2nd down he is still just a liability in space. But yeah – he’s been better than I expected.
Surprisingly adequate as a run defender, below avg in man/zone coverage, but overall performing above expectations.
We need to draft MKs brother and have Kendricks and Kendricks as our ILBs
that would be an awesome win for symmetry.
Davis likes his defense mirrored.
Totally different type of players.
Totally. If we want mirrored defense, we should be looking at Skcirdenk.
More of a Meco with vastly improved agility and coverage skills?
I don’t think he’s nearly as physical as Meco. He is the instinctive to his brothers freakish athleticism.
I saw him blow up a receiver across the middle. That is what reminded me of him, and the instincts.
Bwahahahahahahah Cowboys are such a bunch of pussies.. ARENT they Embarressed of being such Bitches?
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Cowboys and Jason Garrett publically state that players won’t have to wear suits this week, they can travel in sweatsuits, so that they stay loose and don’t get too serious going to philly…
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LOL you jackOffs are worried about what you are wearing on the Bus?
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You think your dress code is going to stop Fletcher Cox from dominating your offensive line?
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ARENT they Embarress of that info being made public? Sounds kind of desperate and pathetic to look to your dress code to help you win in philly?
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LOL
dude, dress for success. this is a big deal
Lol touché..
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So jason Garrett, your guys got destroyed a week ago against the Eagles, what are you guys going to do different this time to not get blown out in philly? “Instead of wearing business suits on the bus, this time we will wear sweat suits…that will show them!!!”- Jason Garrett lol OK….
as fan I don’t care how much the super profitable eagles have to pay him. I hate when the team alligator arms a key player and it proves to be the one player difference in a key game that makes/brakes the season ..
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ID RATHER HAVE DeMECO ALL DAY LONG !!
I love how the guys have rallied in his absences; I respect the job and improvements that clay Matthews er, I mean Casey has done ..but still he gets juked and falls down as is only limited in his real value.
but certainly no one is comparing casey to demeco ..
I think Caseys mom would even prefer demeco.
espn had a feature on the first family of the nfl; the matthews. it was talking about how jordan and clay are following in the father bruce’s footsteps.
casey was suspiciously absent from that headline.
Ouch.
That’s just wrong…lol
I think that was just part of the general media ignorance about the Eagles defense.
I agree. Don’t care what the cap numbers are -as long as it doesn’t stop the team from putting together a quality roster overall.
What these guys get paid isn’t any of my business. If the Eagles were run like Dallas or Washington where stupid spending affects the roster, I might see it differently.
If you get Marriôtta or whatever young QB, and only give him 20 games, he won’t prove to be your anewer at franchise QB. I can assure you Marriôtta will have some tough times in his first 20 games… 20 games is so not eHough to be able to give up on FOles… Might as well have patience with Nick, because no young Kid you draft will pan out at the QB position if you only give him 20 games
what’d kelly say competition at every position? just b/c you take a guy in the first doesn’t mean he has to start right away right?
i’m sure foles will get next year, but if next year looks like this then you’ve wasted another year without having a backup plan.
Counter to that is if he comes into his own and you’ve drafted Mariota and spent some picks, then you wasted them. I know Chip always needs two good QBs, but with the holes we know are there, those picks would be valuable. Plus, whose to say the kid’s game translates? Not he’s an Andrew Luck, can’t miss type, prospect. Again, just posing the counter.
qbs are high value and very tradeable, especially when they looked good in preseason. Team can only be so good without a pro bowl qb. otherwise you’re just wasting money.
Good thing Foles is a pro bowl QB 🙂
Pro bowl MVP QB!!! Lol QB who is already immortalized in the hall of fame…get it right! 😉
I didn’t want to gloat.
The problem is not if he is the answer or not, problem is he regressed mechanically from 2013 to 2014. There was no improvement to see in any asset of his developing, only regression (not stats, but how he plays)
Gotta disagree. His arm looked a lot stronger this year over last. They also moved away from the limited, run-centric offense he ran last year, and while he didn’t impress, he also didn’t fold behind a weak OL, non-existent run game, and over 40 attempts/game gameplans.
Again, not claiming that overall, he played well enough to have absolute confidence that he can be the answer, just stating that he didn’t play poorly enough under the circumstances to have absolute confidence that he can’t.
In the end, I think Kelly knows exactly what the answer is, at this point. It’s only the outsiders who need to see more. I don’t think he’s going to trade the farm, or even pick a QB in the first next year. But if he picks up one in the 2nd, I think the verdict is in on his opinion of Foles. But even if he doesn’t, it doesn’t mean Foles is “it.” Just means that the opportunities for improvement didn’t match up with the cost. I’m guessing it’s more likely no QB is picked early next year, and everyone will still be having some version of this conversation in September, 2015, ’cause I don’t think Foles is going to become one of the 4 or 5 team independent, franchise-level QBs. And everyone seems to think those guys are just hanging out there every year in the draft.
you’re right, but the way this team is built you need that. D isn’t holding teams to 9points a game, it’s not built that way. Nor are we a ball control team.
OL is old, expensive and as we’re learning this year not bulletproof.
RB is oline dependent.
Good defenses (SF, SEA, even Rams to a certain extent) not impressed. I will say that it seems like the PAC 12 coaches have the offense figured out.
Think it’s clear the importance of the RO to the offense. We’re a 3 legged dog without it.
Nick,FOles will be your QB next year..
Might be, but that has nothing to do with Foles and everything to do with the position we are in the draft.
you don’t give up on him for sure, but you don’t go all in either. he’ll have to earn the starting gig next year against sanchize/insert FA signing.
Yeah I assume open competition is how chip will get Sanchez to stay on one more year as Nicks back up.
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Nick and FOles will compete for the QB spot next year,but I doubt Sanchez can win and out duel Nick
so we can’t claim bust after 20 games? boo
don’t worry we will
20 games? Marcus smith was a bust after his second preseason game in this donkey fanbase
“dEmeco”
I don’t think that is the way camel cased is supposed to work.
I thought they smelled bad… on the outside!
It worked for Skywalker and Solo. Only with guts.
Holly camel toe, Batman !!
Hit nail on head as usual. Dopes.
After all that ….. they would have been 10 times better off drafting Johnny Manziel, than Marcus Smith III. At least Manziel CAN play football ….. Marcus ( mamula ) Smith III …. SMH !
True, but every team needs 2 QBs, and right now we only have 1 under contract I trust.
**EDIT: under contract for next year
FOles and Sanchez, will be back
Sanchez isn’t under contract and I am not assuming he will resign.
Sanchez will follow Rex Ryan next year. He wants to start somewhere, and he won’t here. You can’t blame him. He’s not the answer here, he DOES NOT fit Chips system.
No way the Eagles will throw away a whole draft like the Redskins, just to move up to get Marriotta. They believe that they are too close, after the last two years of success. They will NEED those draft picks, to rebuild their defense to a championship level. They have Foles for one more year to make a run, and decide if he’s the answer. If he’s not, they can cut ties after the end of next season.
true that matthews has played well and good for him, but god damn if i didn’t pull my hair out when he had lynch dead to rights for a five yard loss and couldn’t make the play. when he messes up it really looks bad.
Wouldn’t be the first person that Lynch makes look like a boy in a man’s league 1 on 1. Hell I see that dude run into 3 guys and I’m just happy to get him down if only drives the pile one yard.
love to get him next year if he doesn’t retire. that way we don’t need the line to be perfect for the offense to do anything.
true, but the fact that casey miss played it sooooo badly that he didn’t even get a hand on him is what makes that play so terrible
Who are we supposed to be rooting for tonight? The Carfinals right?
Bills D is legit. Gonna be very interesting with Lacy banged up.
Been watching that bills D closely for years (THATS why I was such a big Jarius BYRD fan)… Kyle Williams might be the most under rated defender in the NFL. He is bad ass!
Marcel Dareus is THE ONLY NT I rate above Bennie Logan who in only his second year anchors an elite run defense and leads all nose tackles in tackles!.. Jerry Hughes is another BEAST of a defensive Lineman…Mario Williams..lf Kiko Alonso wasn’t hurt they would be really scary.
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If I was Aaron Rogers, I would NOT be looking forward to going to Buffalo to play THAT nasty Bills defense. I bet they bang Rogers around all game, I will be watching very closely every time they hit Rogers to see if he can get up…. The Bills at home, are capable of just beating the crap out of your offensive players and hold the, to season low in points…I have wanted to see this Bills game since GB beat the Patriots… Very interesting game, and GB needs to be very Careful this week. I doubt this will be an easy win for GB, and you need to be careful, this is the type of Defense that will knock your QB out of action for the next month
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Also Curipus to see the lions DL against Rogers the last game of the season. Better be careful, N-donkey-kong Suh is a nasty, piece of crap of a human, if he gets his hands on Rogers the week before the playoffs, I do not put it past that piece of crap to try and purposely snap his collar bone or something Cheap
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Funny how the Rams are like the gate keepers to the playoffs.. They play the cardinals, seahawks, and 49ers…the Rams can decide how the NFC playoffs shape up
I was telling you guys last year we should trade for Hughes but no one knew who he was well looks like people know now
What’s also interesting is GB reminded people how patjetic their defense can be… They aren’t the same team on the road, the bills Defense is capable of hitting QBs so much that they have bad games, and the Bills offense, probably won’t have much trouble putting up points against the GB defense….
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Going to be very very interesting to see if the Nasty Bills Dmcan Hit Rogers enough for Kyle Orton to out score him… Is sammy Watkins healthy these days? I usually just watch the bills defensive snaps..
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Another Curipus matchup for me, is seeing how Dion Jordan defends Gronk this week after doing an excellent job on him in coverage last year
You see the scout give your boy Oakman a 3rd round grade?
I saw that a while ago. Obviously I’m not a scout but I disagree
Jerry Hughes was drafted # 31 in the 2010 draft. Brandon Graham was drafted by the Eagles with the # 13 pick. Earl Thomas, Jason Pierre Paul, Mike Iupati, Maurkice Pouncy, Sen Weatherspoon, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Devin mcCourty were also taken after Graham. He’s finally playing well, and now he’s a free agent ….. damn microfracture surgery !
Fletcher Cox is playing like the rabid Sasquatch I always hoped he’d be. Love it!
I realize you’re using metaphorical language here but rabies is a serious threat to all the cryptid apes.
Ha! Always happy to shine a light on the under appreciated menace that is Cryptozoological disease. Now if I can only find occasion to work Chupacabra hoof andmouth into a sports metaphor…
He is really starting to be the best player on the field out of both teams. He is fulfilling his destiny of growing into best DT this city has seen since Jerome. Best part is hearing how much he loves this defense, how much fun he is having, how he plays for Barwin, bennie, Cole and his team mates Around him instead of playing for stats.
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He is only 23, a year younger than cowboy rookie zack Martin who he dominated lol
Thanks. I live in Sasquatch country, now trying to picture a rabid one. Frightening image. Maybe?
http://www.reactionface.info/sites/default/files/imagecache/Node_Page/images/1313177909802.gif
Jesus, this is frightening.
Don’t be rude. Maggie went out on a limb posting pics of herself… No reason to clown the poor gorilla
That reminds me of what Howie must of looked like at the draft …. last year, after Mel Kiper said that Marcus Smith III was considered to be a 2nd to 3rd rounder. Appreciating Howie …. SMHX2 !
He reminds me of FAT ALBERT on steroids. It’s funny, but he is a B E A S T !!
I think some of you guys are vastly overrating Mariot’s draft stock, saying g he is a top 3 lock can not fall in the draft is just not true
wqsnt geno smith a top 5 to 10 lock as well?
Geno was the best QB in that class. People assumed he would be taken that high since it wasn’t since the Pennington draft that a QB didn’t go top 10.
Thanks for the clarification- has a top QB prospect fallen in the draft the way Marino did, or was that a product of the class/time?
In 2005 Aaron Rodgers went 24th when a lot of mock drafts had him pegged as a top 5 pick (leading to a lonesome Aaron Rodgers in the draft greenroom). Alex Smith was taken 1st overall and then no other QB until Discount Doublecheck. I’m sure there are other instances of top QB prospects dropping and it’s possible Rodgers wasn’t considered a “top prospect” but again, many people assumed he’d be a top 5 or 10 pick…
Mariota is a far better prospect than Rodgers coming out.
There is also Manziel last year, Brady Quinn a few years back.
I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read ” Discount Doublecheck. ” Funny as HE11.
I remember a couple of evaluators saying at the time that Geno was good but not ready to start. The Jets gave him to Marty. Wrecked him.
He wasn’t without redeeming qualities. He was hyper efficient in college. Decent arm strength, he was mobile (but not as explosive as his test numbers would indicate). Solid leader.
But at the same time he played in an Air Raid (Kolb is probably the most successful former Air Raid QB). He was 6’2 220lbs so ok, but not great size, had tiny hands,
The situation he was thrust into certainly did him no favors (porous OL, no receiving targets, Marty and Rex).
Guys
Have you actually realised that the Rams have had 2 (!!!) back to back SHUTOUTS in the last couple of weeks?!
This fact alone must give Tommy shutout-envy…
Also St. Louis has not given up a TD in their last 10 quarters…
yes they are a lot better now that they were when we played them.
I’d like to have Janoris Jenkins..
Who am I supposed to be rooting for tonight? STL so we have a shot at a bye yet, or AZ so it is more likely SEA plays GB?
I think the cardinals. They are down to their 3rd QB. Would love to see them win their division and be the team we face if we win our 1st game. That would be awesome
Aaron Donald just officially murdered Drew Stanton!! I assume that’s the end of his season and the rest of bruce Arians hopes and dreams rest on Ryan Lindley and Logan Thomas lol imagine all the crying pig face Arians will do in the media
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rams knocked cardinals QB out of season
Sunday Marcel Dareus will knock Rogers out for the year
Next week Rams knock Russell Wilson out for the year
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Lol then everyone will play with their backup QB in the NFC playoffs and we can see what’s up..we would shoot right to the top of the favorites list. Sanchez would start looking real good lol
Buddy Ryan taught Jeff Fisher good ….. the Quarterback must go DOWN !
I’m confused: is the NFL Network re-airing a pre-season game right now?
If something crazy happens and a team trades ahead of us to steal Erik Kendricks from our loving nurturing arms, who would everyone want at LB? I would be heart broken, but there are two other options that could be nice…Shaq Thompson (I see him replacing KJ or Malcolm for the Seahawks), or Benardrick McKinney who could be intriguing since not many teams have a 6’5 ILB and they say he is an athletic freak who should put on a show at the combine. 6’5 ILB and a trotter type pops in my head but he is a drastically better athlete than my beloved Trotter
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The Prize: Erik Kendricks (eliminate the guess work)
Backup options
1) Shaq Thompson
2) Benardrick McKinney
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I believe in starting at the trenches and build your way back. So I need to adress a young running mate of the future for Mykal at ILBS especially with Casey becoming a free agent and no telling how Meco recovers
Drafting ILB solidifies our beast front 7 so we can then move to building the secondary
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The only other players I would want out of round 1 anyway are:
1) Bud Dupree OLB. I don’t think OLB is a need, but Dupree should be available and I see a stud edge rusher in him.
2) Shawn Oakman. Beast freak big, long, tall 3-4 DE. I would draft a DE if we think we can’t keep Curry Long term. His stock will never be higher than after this year when he finishes with 10-12 sacks playing less than 30% of snaps in a scheme he wasn’t supposed to fit. If we don’t realistically think we can extend Vinny, sell high now that his stock is high, and in a draft with tons of 3-4 DE talent to replace him like Oakman or Arik Armstead
3) Marcus Peters. Chance to get a top CB talent much later in round 1 than we should because of his red flags but I doubt chip spends a 1st rounder on kid with coaching red flags
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Those are really the only players we could realistically get that I would want us to draft late in round 1
McKinney is the freak stud ilb athlete chip wants … 6 5 225 and can pop outside and rush bc he is so long and beastly but strong enough to thump around on inside for years …. Intrigued to know if he can cover tes well or just so so but he is a freak. Sec stud. Thompson needs to find a position to be a first I think but lot to work with but potential bust too. Kendricks bro works just as well but not the hws chip always looks for. Beyond that, just draft from Lsu this year and we set … Corner safety tackle guard etc they got it all. If that big tackle somehow fell Collins be hard to say no
I believe the Eagles will draft ( it’s way early, but ) a cornerback with the # 1 pick, then go either OLB or ILB depending on free agency. They have to replace DeMeco Ryans, Cary Williams and Trent Cole. They are all H I S T O R Y.
I think Thompson goes before Erik and Im not a fan of McKinney.
Eric Kendricks height ( not his talent ) will push him into the second round, just like it did with his brother Mychal. The Eagles would have to move up in the second round to get him … if they want him. They currently have no extra picks to move up with, so moving up will be very iffy.
Feel like the GB game was our Minnesota letdown of late last season, but I keep envisioning Sunday night being like our massacre of the bears Sunday night late in last season…we play real well in night games, not so well at 4:00pm games. Curious to see the 4pm game against skins but that’s on a saturday
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The Eagles have always shut down Demarco Murray. His career stats against us are the worst of all his opponents. Shut him down last year to clinch a playoff spot, shut him down on thanksgiving..basically the Cowboys can either try to ride demarco all year knowing we will just ahit him down again lol OR we could end up seeing Dallas come into this game intent on faking play action on early downs and trick us by throwing
At us to get the game started on early downs… Cowboy fans are banking on Romo being mobile and evading our pass rush, but our rush is so discaplined. We really Rush so well as a group, that I doubt we give to romo room to escape. The way we rushed last week and against the Giants at home, Wilson was probably the only QB Houdini enough to get away from our pass rush… I doubt Romo is able to run around and avoid our beast front 7 that comes in waves and keeps u sorrounded by 4 rushers
Ryans was likely done here after this year even before he got hurt. Replacing Ryans is an area I wouldn’t mind seeing them address FA with a mid-tier signing.
Lol no he really wasn’t. How clueless can u be?
I have to agree with BobSmith77, I do believe DeMeco was gone anyway. $ 6.9 million for a 30 yr. old middle linebacker, on the downside of 30. Not to mention, he was a huge liability in pass coverage already. Great guy, very good against the run ….. gone.
[…] Missing DeMeco? – Iggles BlitzStill, this does make you wonder about the future at ILB. DeMeco is a good player and I’m not trying to diminish that. But he’s older, expensive and coming off an injury. You have to wonder if the organization will look at this situation and feel they could move on to another option that is cheaper/younger. […]
DeMeco counts for $ 6.9 million against the cap next year, with 0 dead money if cut ….. he’s gone. Cary ( sconce ) Williams counts for $ 8.1 million, with a cap savings of $ 6.5 million if cut ….. he’s gone also. Finally Trent Cole has a ” whopping ” $ 11.6 cap figure next year, with a cap savings of $ 8.4 million if cut ….. he’s history too. That’s a total cap savings of $ 26.6 million added to the cap money carried over ( $ 15.6 million ) from 2014. That will give them approx. $ 42 million in cap space next year. ( Prior to cap increase for the 2015 year. ) Plenty of space to extend Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks, and also pick up some crucial players, to beef up their porous secondary.
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