So It Begins
Posted: December 30th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 271 Comments »The first moves of the offseason are in. Before you get too excited, this was just the Eagles adding practice squad players to the roster. They signed:
QB G.J. Kinne
RB Matt Tucker
RB Kenjon Barner
WR Quron Pratt
WR Will Murphy
OL Kevin Graf
OL Josh Andrews
NT Wade Keliikipi
S Ed Reynolds
PE.com has some notes on the players.
While those names aren’t compelling, we do have to remember that they can help with depth. Emmanuel Acho and Brandon Bair were on the practice squad last year. David Molk was signed last year as a futures contract last year at this time. He turned out to be a good fill-in for Jason Kelce for several games this year.
The name that stands out is Ed Reynolds. He was a 5th round pick this year, but wasn’t able to make the team. I think it is way too soon to write off Reynolds, but there is no disputing that he was a disappointment this year. This was a bad secondary and Reynolds never came close to challenging for a spot.
I do think Reynolds could be an interesting player in 2015. He does have good hands and good ball skills. That is one thing the secondary lacked in a big way this year. Obviously Reynolds would need to play well enough to get on the field and use those ball skills, but he would be a good fit in that sense.
This is a critical offseason for Reynolds. Anything less than a strong showing and he’ll be on the street. There are no excuses about late graduation putting him behind schedule this time. Even if he can just become a role player, that would be a good start to things. It can take time for some Safeties to develop.
* * * * *
Trent Cole is due some big money in the next few years. He knows he won’t get that and is willing to re-do his deal. The question now is if the Eagles want him back, and for how long/how much. Cole won’t play cheap.
The coaches have to love Cole’s toughness and physicality. He’s not a great pass rusher anymore, but still is disruptive on a regular basis. Cole will turn 33 next October. He will start to decline at some point. Do you want him back for one more year? How about two? This gets tricky when you have to factor in the future of Brandon Graham and Marcus Smith.
Graham is a UFA. He and the Eagles are talking about a new deal, but that’s not a simple matter either. Is he ready to start? Does he want to stay?
As for Smith, this is a tired subject. He’s not a bust. He’s not a sure thing. We have to sit and wait to see what he can do. Do the Eagles trust him enough to think of him as the #3 OLB if just one of Cole/Graham stays?
In a fantasy world, the Eagles would return Cole and Graham, with Smith taking big steps forward. That doesn’t seem likely. There are only so many snaps to go around. All these guys want to play. We’ll see what happens.
_
GE wrote in the other thread:
I really hope Howie & Co. will focus rather on ball skills than height when valuing their upcoming DB draft prospects.
I can not remember when the Eagles had worse stone hands at CB/S than this season….
What a clever bloke?!
I also was wondering this!! it sure seemed like the moment he became a starter and we needed him he dropped out of sight !
For Tommy and anyone else who wants to chime in here:
Do you have faith in our scouting department’s ability to effectively evaluate defensive backs??? I fully acknowledge that the CB/S position can be extremely difficult to gauge (every year we see ‘can’t miss’ 1st round picks that never pan out across the league), but over the past decade or so our track record has been dreadful. Signing a free agent is a start, but we all know how that plan can go sour quick. Even if we draft some quality guys this year the likelihood that they’ll be a major upgrade over last year is slim. I hate to beat a dead horse, but the secondary has me losing all hope and optimism that we can actually contend for a title in a year or two.
no i’ve made this point 100 times on here
Since 2000 the Eagles have only picked a DB in the first 3 rounds 6 times. The picks include: Jarrett in the 2nd, Marsh 3rd, Allen in the 2nd, Matt Ware 3rd, Sheppard 1st, Lewis 2nd:
I would argue that anything after the 3rd round is heavily related to chance on whether or not the player will be a contributor, let alone a starter. Out of our 6 picks in the top 3 rounds, 3 would be listed as starter caliber (Allen, Sheppard and Lewis). I don’t remember Ware but it says he played in 30 games for us between 2005 and 2006. Marsh was always a project that didn’t pan out, Jarrett was a reach but was doing ok in New York last time I checked.
The picks taken after the 3rd are: Watkins 4th, Reynolds 5th, Wolffe 5th, Poyer 7th, Boykin 4th, Lindley 4th, Koleman 7th, Harris 5th, Demps/Ikegwumou 4th, Gaddis 5th, Barksdale 6th, Bloom 5th, Considine 4th, Wynn 6th, Lejune 6th,.
Out of those players Watkins, Reynolds and Wolffe are still question marks. Poyer has shown promise in Cleveland. Boykin was very good last year and still an average/above average nickel, I don’t remember much about Lindley but Koleman played very well for us as a 7th rounder. Demps and Considine were both solid if I remember correctly. The others are too old for me to really remember much about.
So, the question is: are we terrible at evaluating talent or do we just not use high enough picks on the position to give us a good enough chance that our players will succeed? In summation, I think we just need to give ourselves a better chance of finding good secondary players by drafting them higher. I think our evaluations are fine, however, I put a bit of question into our coaching with the caveat that this particular staff is relatively new.
some teams find starters w/ late round picks. how do we beat sea if they’re getting late round value, while all our guys are on the ps?
Well it depends on where we find late round value from. Seattle may find late round value in DB’s but we may find it in something else. Running backs, O-lineman? I see your point though. My next question is, how many late rounders has Seattle snagged? Are they just db’s? Does Carrol’s db whispering abilities have anything to do with it?
picked up the whole legion of boom in 2 years
Yeh, I totally agree we need to spends some picks on dbs in the top 100
i’m ok buying them, let someone else do all the work.
1st. Trae Waynes
2nd. Sammie Coates
2nd. package 3rd and a 4th for Kurtis Drummond.
Draft complete.
Uuuh LB is lacking
Don’t even worry about it brochop. This is what we need right here. However, I do have an alternate for your defensive flavor:
Waynes
Paul Dawson
Drummond
pretty much how I feel
I hope Maxwell isn’t a product of the LOB.
they all are a product of earl thomas being a beast.
He is. How can you play in that defense and not be a product? If you take any one of those guys out and put them somewhere else, they may be good but not as good as they were in Seattle.
that’s the connundrum — gotta pay sea prices not going to get sea production. can’t believe they did’nt make a move last years dbs galore.
dbs galore in this draft brother
Reid was criticized for taking talented, but small players. I thought it was a bold and interesting gamble. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Kelly was celebrated for declaring that he was going to bulk up on big guys. The problem is that everyone would like to have big guys, but are you going to sacrifice talent for size? There are more talented small guys than big guys on the planet, the converse of Bill Parcell’s saying. My opinion is it really just comes down to sifting through all the prospects and finding the good ones–however you do it. If you can do that, you’ll probably win games. If not, it hardly matters what philosophy failed.
Seattle is very good at finding players to play a specific role. They master that role and that’s all they need to worry about.
Earl Thomas sits back and plays deep safety. Kam helps support run. Irvin/Bennett/Avril go after the QB.
The key of course being that Thomas CAN play deep safety and Kam CAN support the run…
And that’s my point…they are very good at finding those players that fit what they need to do.
to be fair all their dbs are 6’0+ 200lbs +. Think is we really don’t help our DBs that much. In SEA they benefit from zone with rangy safeties / LBs that can make the field seem smaller than it is.
How many times do we see a PD that turns into a pick, or just DBs ability to catch balls. I don’t know how they get the D working like that but it’s crazy.
Yeh, there is always going to be someone better than you, you know? We have our own talents but we definitely need to invest more in the secondary.
Another factor to consider. The more wins, the lower the draft picks.
I think you missed Sheldon Brown. He was taken in the same draft as Lito.
Yes, I did miss him. Thank you, because it helps support my argument. Sheppard was taken in the second as well.
Left out Sheldon Brown (2). ’02 draft with Lito and Lewis.
Thank you. I corrected it above
People on this board have been harping on it, but I can’t seem to find out why. I can see the argument that they’ve significantly under invested in the secondary, but not that they aren’t able to scout the positions. All of Roseman’s DB picks:
2010- Nate Allen (2), Trevard Lindley (4), Kurt Coleman (7)
2011- Jaiquawn Jarrett (2), Curtis Marsh (3)
2012- Brandon Boykin (4)
2013- Earl Wolff (5), Jordan Poyer (7)
2014- Jaylen Watkins (4), Ed Reynolds (5)
The running narrative by the organization is that Andy Reid pushed for Allen and Jarrett. That doesn’t completely absolve Roseman, but if Andy was the decision maker and is no longer on staff here, you can’t say that the current version of the Eagles continue on in his mistakes. Beyond those two, you’ve got one 3rd, three 4ths, two 5ths, and a 7th. Better that those picks work out, but it’s not like they were looking at top talent in the second half of the draft. That’s what it looks like when you under invest. You can’t say that they haven’t been able to scout when they haven’t made a pick that had the potential to replace the bad taste in your mouth from Allen/Jarrett/Marsh. You’re being completely unrealistic if you think 5th round safeties should turn in to reliable starters every time.
http://eaglesrewind.com/2013/01/29/hacking-the-draft-comprehensive-chart/
You’ve got a 20% chance of getting a start DB in the 3rd round or later. It drops to less than 10% after the 6th round. Out of 8 picks (excluding Allen/Jarrett), we’ve had Boykin, Coleman, and maybe Wolff come out as starters so far. I think someone mentioned that Poyer started somewhere this season as well. Sounds to me like the Eagles are doing significantly better than 20% in that department.
And just so we’re clear, Jarrett started all season for the Jets. Even made Rothlisberger look like a chump the one game. And Allen, for all of his faults, was the best safety on our roster for almost 4 years.
who cares whose picks they are? howie has no control. organization is responsible for the picks.
If your concern is the organization can’t scout, and the guy that made the terrible picks is gone (and legend has it that he ignored those scouts on Jarrett anyway), why would you continue to think that the organization is still acting like the guy who’s not here anymore?
2 drafts under the new guy that were the same as the old guy. scared approach to fa. we’re great at wrs, running backs, finding ol, dl, not secondary.
If you’re referring to the first two drafts of Howie’s, then do I really need to remind you that the “old guy”, Joe Banner, was still Howie’s boss those two years? You’re really reaching here. Besides that, all of the positions you’ve listed, we’ve invested top picks in at some point in the past few years.
we’re just above average*
who has a “scared approach to fa”? The team that brought in a large percentage of their team in FA and just a few years ago tried to buy a championship? An organization (as you put it) that brought in Kearse and TO at a high price tag, and more recently Peters. A team that out paid the completion for Mathis to stay. They have paid big bucks in the past, they have also had good and bad FA signings. Let’s not pretend that 2011 was the only time they shelled out cash. And regardless, making smart FA aquisitions (Barwin, Mathis, Peters…) is more important regardless of whether or not their name is well known.
Good point about Roseman and the turnover in staff. However, my point remains – our scouting department leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to scouting DBs. I thought it was fairly obvious that Fletch and Cary Williams were both brought in as stop gaps until better talent could be acquired and developed. 2 years later and we’re still screwed at the CB position with not much hope. Safety we made the right move with Jenkins. Nate Allen is serviceable, but not exactly reliable or truly as instinctive as you’d like him to be by now.
But Reid also drafted Lito, Brown and Lewis and him & JJ developed Dawk into one of the best S of his era….and also made Taylor & Vincent a formidable duo at CB…not to mention Al Harris…so I do not think Reid can be blamed for everything and Roseman gets away scot clean…but the last two years are Chip’s bag since he has final say on the roster and works with Roseman to get the type players he wants for his systems…
Reid was a QB coach in GB. That’s not who you give full power over a roster to. Modrak/Banner would have run those early drafts. It wasn’t until Heckert took over that Andy was credited as having control over the roster.
Modrak was dismissed from the Eagles in 2001, Lito, Brown and Lewis were all drafted in 2003. Banner was the contract/financial guy and had zero input on evaluating players or the draft besides how their rookie deals would slot into the cap etc.
Are you comparing Andy’s 15 years to everyone else’s 4 or 5?
Not sure what you are asking…
In 2011, HR paid top dollar for Namdi, who some thought to be a shutdown corner. That same year they brought in DRC for the other corner. In their defense, they were getting coached to play an asinine scheme that required a lot of run support from both of them, and neither of them were physical corners. That transaction was a total failure, and that can make the cockiest of dealers gun shy. When Kelly came in, he specifically went after Williams and Fletcher because of their physicality, and they are both good coming up on run plays. With Kelly’s preference for bigger corners who can play press and don’t mind tackling, there aren’t a lot of those who are shutdown corners, and I don’t expect to see any finesse corners anytime soon. In my opinion, the corners are not as big a problem as most folks believe. When our defensive line is applying pressure, and giving opposing QB’s little time to set and throw, our corners have been good. Our defensive line has improved measurably this year in applying pressure up the middle, collapsing the pocket. Edge rush is still an area that is weak. Connor Barwin had a great season with over 14 sacks, but most of them were in clusters when the line was dominating. Barwin is a great OLB, but the other side, the predator, needs improvement. All of this is not to exonerate the CB’s. They need improvement too,
You are so right. It’s just that there are so many folks who have difficulty understanding the concept of **team**.
obviously a disconnect between just getting the best guys and getting guys that fit the scheme, or at least having the fo not be a mess.
every position is very difficult to evaluate.
based on our zero rings id say the entire sport and entire business is
too difficult for us sadly.
well the sport side is ..bet they make plenty of money on the business end
I live in the Midwest and I heard a crazy rumor on the radio that Cleveland would offer Josh Gordon and a 1st round pick for Nick Foles. According to the guy on the radio, the Browns are dying to get rid of Gordon like the Eagles were with DeSean last year and they want to move on from both Hoyer and Manziel. We hear all kinds of crazy things in the offseason and I highly doubt this is true for many reasons (i.e. no way Foles is worth that much, Chip hates low-character guys). But if I were to play Devils Advocate, I would argue that:
a. the Browns are and always have been a dysfunctional mess.
b. Chip’s official reason for getting rid of DeSean is that he likes big receivers. Maybe he was just telling the truth.
I know this is nuts, but we have lots of time on our hands until the next Eagles game. Anyone want to weigh in?
gordon has obvious issues and isn’t under contract.much longer. we’d have to get vikings pick, which is higher vikings or browns?
You mean Bills not Vikings Bills pick is 19 and Browns one is 12
that’s right. even better!
Vikings pick is 11 but yeah only thing with this is let’s say Bucks are adamant about taking Mariota what do you do now with the first and no Foles
winston!
Oh God 😛
As far as value is concerned, send Manziel in the trade, too, and we’ll talk.
But I can’t imagine that they’re ready to throw in the towel, or at least admit they were wrong, on Manziel yet. And that team really seemed to love Hoyer for a while.
If they include Manziel, we’d better get a couple more picks to make up for his dead cap space when he’s cut next year!
Kelly proved he doesn’t want a me-first distraction on the team by dumping Jackson just last March. There’s no way he’d want two of them.
I can’t say as I blame him, either. Manziel is a prima donna who hasn’t even proven he can play at the NFL level and Gordon, as talented as he is, can’t be relied on to stay on the field because of his personal demons. I don’t want any part of either.
Manziel is essentially worthless, so I can’t see the Eagles doing that.
I’d do it. Gordon made bum QBs look good. We need extra picks badly.
I would take the first and Gordon the. Package that in a deal to move up and get Mariota that simple
sort of crazy one down year and we’re running a pro bowl qb out of town.
But he is Chip’s chosen one!!!!
Yea man! If that Cleveland rumor is true doubtful hope it is I hope we pull the trigger and trade Gordon 2 first and whatever else it requires possibly a first 2016 for Mariota I’m game.
Clearly was a fluke. Man I wish we could just sign jeff Garcia as a back up too lol. I dunno I think Mariota would be perfect because he knows chips system yes he would still be a rookie but in the scheme he wouldnt. One reason the run game was so good was because Nick somehow managed to get good gains on the ground didn’t really see that this year.
Careful man..we said the same thing about Huff and Huff is really…bleh.
If it’s me, I do the trade and I do like Foles. It would just be ridiculous to have Maclin, Gordon, and Matthews as WRs. The Birds might just have enough ammo to move up to 1 (admittedly they would still be giving up several additional future draft picks). I’m not interested in trading away Foles for nothing and expect him to be the starter here next year, but everyone has a price.
If I’m trading Foles, im going to look for all of the ammo i need to trade for Mariota, ie, if Tampa want 3 #1s and a #2, I’m getting 2 #1s and a #2 for foles to pair with our #20, otherwise the deal just isint worth it, we have too many holes to fill, and Foles can be a very good QB here
Pretty much you kinda have to all the Bucs what they want before you when make the deal
FOles will be here ATleast 5 more years
Oh please. If no one wants to deal with Gordon’s problems now, why would they take him from the Eagles?
That trade rumor sounds ludicrous, but if it were genuine, it really sounds like it would be more of a commentary on Gordon’s addict’s brain, than Cleveland’s impatience. I cannot see how their desire to shop Gordon could compare to Eagles cutting ties with DeSean. In DeSean’s case, the Eagles never cited character – the media did. And Gordon is the type of talent that quite a few teams would make some exceptions for, but probably not us. But, here’s the thing, if Cleveland is that desperate to ditch such a gifted receiver, it will scare the bejesus out of most GM’s.
It looks like Gordon is a true addict, more than just an idiot taking chances.
It sounds like the kind of “offer” that comes from a couple guys sitting around with a few beers and progressing from what if, to that could happen, to I bet this is it, to that has to be true.
In almost a heart beat. If Cleveland is willing to part with the #12 overall pick + Gordon the Eagles would do that deal, assuming Tampa takes Winston #1 overall. Philly would then be able to offer Gordon, #12 and #20 to Tennessee for #2 overall and draft Mariota.
Then they’d probably sign Hoyer to compete with Mariota!
Never
The Browns can S a D with that offer. They’re welcome to a 5th round pick that can become a 4th or a 3rd if the crackhead they want to trade us plays 16 games and makes a pro bowl.
they’re giving us the 1, not us to them
I mean they’re not welcome to Foles. I’m only interested in taking Gordon for a low draft pick.
fair enough, now I’m in the Foles camp, in that i think he will be at least a very good starter for us any year we actually have an offensive line, but to get #12 for him would at least make me consider it.
But obviously that leaves us in the situation where we need a quarterback, Sanchez isn’t the answer, I would keep him as a backup because he can win a few games if things are working around him, but he, in my opinion, just doesn’t see the field well enough, throws behind recievers running crosses, and so on.
So before you pulled the trigger on this you would need a deal in place for #1 for Chip to get Mariota, and if Chip is convinced he is the answer i trust his opinion, he knows the kid and the coaches in Oregon would tell him everything he needs to know as opposed to talking him up to make the program sound better.
That then begs the question, if you’re TB, what does it take you to move out of #1?
The thing with Mariota is that he’d need an entire year of sitting and learning how to play from the pocket in order to have a long term success in the NFL. If any team drafts him and allows him to run as much as he does at Oregon, his career will be both shortened and have a limited success ceiling. The key to long term success in the NFL is pocket presence, progression reading, accurate passing, and avoiding big hits. Mariota is 100% capable of evolving into that type of player, but I’d worry if he was put under center on day 1 and was running too often.
That;s why I’m saying Chip would have to be completely sold the guy could win it all, and Howie would need to know he could trade up to a position to take him. Plus they would both have to be sure he was a significant upgrade over Foles otherwise, the deal for Foles is off the table.
If we did somehow draft him and baby him for a year, it would give the corner(s) we (hopefully) draft time to adapt to life in the NFL, and poise us for a run in 2016.
But like Chip was saying in the press conference, everything needs to be evaluated, a trade like this wouldn’t even be discussed until at least free agency, so we know where we stand roster wise heading into the draft.
5th round pick can get you Josh Gordon. His stock is trash. Next time he jaywalks he will be suspended for a year! No one will give anything significant for him.
..
We also need to take advantage of dion Jordans value being in the toilet now that he is already in the drug program and will face big suspension next time he gets in trouble. We can get him for cheap, especially since miami is keeping the GM and coach,who DONT value him…we need to take advantage of his low stock and trade for Dion THIS OFFSEASON before a new regime is hired in Miami that wants to switch to a 3-4 and values Dion…
But that it were so. Just last year at this time before Jordan copped his second infraction, Dolphins wanted way too much to even consider a deal. Now, you say he can be got cheap? If that really is the case, then we need to really get it done.
Eagles should take that deal in a heartbeat even if it seems like a pure fantasy rumor.
I’ll weigh in…. No chance it happens!
..
Josh Gordon is lucky to be worth a 4th round pick right now. No one pays any significant compensation for a player who messed up so many times that he will be suspended for a year, next time he jay walks.
..
Nick FOles is Chip Kelly’s guy…. i suggest we get used to it
Anybody watching Stanford game? QB Kevin Hogan looks pretty good. Seems to be rated between 3-6 round prospect. Looks like he has a good arm and decent athleticism. He was QB when Stanford beat Oregon in 2012, so chip will want him.
Yes I’m watching I can’t say I’ve seen a ton of Hogan honestly
But he’s got a nice arm
Reminds me a little of college Colt McCoy, with a better arm. And that McCafery kid – geez he’s a true freshman!?
Yeah just runnung around everywhere kinda what youd hope Huff would be for us
I think he’s interesting, but 93 rushing attempts out of the guy seems like too much running. Whoever this franchise gets under center needs to make progression reads, feel out a rush in the pocket, and set his feet to throw in a manner that doesn’t get picked off.
We absolutely need to avoid having a QB who runs a lot.
Hasn’t been confirmed but I’d also bet he stays
Watch alex Carter the corner and TY Montgomery, the WR
Ty was out yesterday
I’d sign Cole for two years.
He’s under contract for 3 he just has some ugly numbers
Has anyone compiled a list of 4-3 teams that would offer Graham a legitimate chance to start and have the cap room to offer him a starting salary?
I haven’t compiled a list but Atlanta comes to mind first though
If Atlanta hires Rex Ryan in an effort to establish some “swag” that the owner wants and might actually appeal to the disinterested low class fan base down there; they could switch to 3-4.
I assume they are drafting bud Dupree
I don’t make assumptions on the draft in December lol but they could go a lot of ways
Falcons, Panthers, Bengals, Jaguars, Bears
If I’m Graham, no way I’m playing for idiot McDermott again. McDermott already wasted Graham’s rookie season by having him play too much pass coverage backed up with far too many snaps at DT.
Isn’t half the fan base desperate to trade him straight across for Deon Jordan? Even though, at this point, he is probably more valuable than Jordan?
Lol
A bit off topic here but I just want to thank the heavens that this place exists. It’s like an oasis in the desert. I’ve had the misfortune of catching a lot of Philly sports talk radio over the last 5 or so days. I think I can honestly say without any reservation that the stupidity that exists in some of this fanbase is at an all-time high. I have seriously never heard such idiotic people (& “hosts”) as I’m hearing right now. Glad that problem doesn’t exist here.
I agree completely. I think we need to keep that in mind when we are commenting here.
I am glad you didn’t mention any specifics arguments and didn’t preach about why they are dumb. The last thing we want is to carry in the feces from those arguments and dump them in our oasis.
Best investment I made in my car years ago was Sirius. The Sirius NFL station (88) is top notch!
i had a colorful discussion with a friend of mine who i can only assume listens to philly sports talk radio all day.
i find it absolutely insane to suggest that that Jairus Byrd would have been ‘the answer’ to this secondary instead of Jenkins. Does Byrd have talent? sure. but he’s also proven to be made of glass and showed that again this year.
just think how our secondary would have been if we signed Byrd instead of Jenkins, Byrd got hurt after 4 games, and we never re-signed Nate Allen? We would have been starting guys like Maragos or Prosinski, who while great at ST are somewhat marginal safeties. or we pull guys off the street…..
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but Suh won his appeal. He’ll play against Dallas.
just saw it, pumped up!
Good. And in an attack of irony Suh will “earn” a “real” suspension via a back / neck cracking powerbomb of Romo in the playoff game.
the penalty process by the NFL is still a joke. It looks like a complete sham to have one level say, suspension, then the appeal person to say oh no it wasn’t intentional or whatever.
He was still fined 70000 but because he had not had any incidents in 32 games he was considered a first time offender and they said they didn’t believe that that alone warranted a suspension for a first time offense while Dominic last week was not a first time offender
ILBs:
CMatthews – 3y/6M deal
Trade down with 1st and draft young Kendricks
Hope, that DeMeco can be back for 1-2 more seasons
OLB:
Let Graham go
New deal with Cole – 3y/16M
Trade 4th for Dion Jordan
CBs:
New deal with Sconces – 2y/10M
Sign Maxwell
(NCII and JWatkins as backups)
Draft Ifo Ekpre Olomu in 3rd
S:
Draft best avaible safety with 2st (Tarrts/Holliman?)
Extend Allen with 2y/4M deal and let him compete with new guy
(Wolff, Lions Guy, Reynolds and Maragos compete for backup spots)
DL: Were OKay here, let Thornton go, draft late 6/7/UDFA
Offense:
WR:
OKay, draft late 6/7
Resign Maclin
OL:
Rework Herremans 3y/11M
Sign G in FA (Iupati?)
Draft best OL in 4/5
TE:
Cut Casey, Trey Burton seems like good replacement
QB:
okay (sign FA/Sanchez for one more year)
RB:
Rework McCoy if possilbe
Extend Polk if cheap
I’d rather see Matthews leave.
Its funny you wamt to re-sign Meco and the draft Eric Kendricks to groom behind him for a year or 2. The entire fanbase is going crazy over us doing that very thing with Marcus Smith.
I always feel we are gun shy about plugging rookies into starting roles. Then when we see our rookies not producing we call them a bust
Anything you get from a rookie is just a bonus. Nothing more , nothing less. Bad teams, pencil rookies in to start in September.
I agree. The 2 things I get most frustrated about with eagles fans are:
1) unreasonable expectations for young players
2) the idea that if we dont spend a ton of money on FAs we are either being cheaper or not commited to improving the team.
I don’t think expectations are that high. If msii had made a play or two or regularly say playing time (even a couple of snaps) I’d feel better. On fa, gotta be willing to pay to play.
hahahaha great point!
E Kendricks didn’t play any snaps this year!!! BUST!!!!!!!
Our defense plays a rotation!!! you’re saying he can’t get on the field at all?!! BUST!!!!
LOL
Nah that wasn’t the plan if it was they would have just said we drafted him to sit. No issues. I dint think chip and msii get along. Maybe there was something else he wanted to do with the pick.
Luckily you’re not a real GM.
Next on the agenda… Start looking at Texans’ free agents.
My top 3 are…
1.) Kareem Jackson (CB): Didn’t start his career as expected (1st round pick), but has really become a great player. I don’t think they will let him walk, but its worth watching.
2.) Brooks Reed (LB): They use him mostly at OLB, but he has seen a lot of time at ILB. Could be good depth at both positions.
3.) Case Keenum (QB): Put up huge numbers in college in the spread offense under Art Briles and Kevin Sumlin at U of H. The Texans will not keep him because they already let him walk before the season started (just not what coach Obrien wants in QB). He was only brought back to the Texans recently because he knew the offense, but pulled off a couple of impressive wins. Might be worth a look at for next year’s backup QB.
We have to at least sign one Texan…???
I’d like all 3(or at least 2) actually.
Jackson would help at CB provided we’re not paying him more than Chris Harris just got from Denver. Harris was my #1 guy available, so any other CB needs to get less than what Denver paid Harris.
Reed would be a huge and immediate MEGA upgrade from Casey Matthews in the LB corps and would compliment the system well.
Keenum, although I’m not totally on board with him only being 6-1, would be the skill set type of guy I want to see here. I’m dead set against any running QB trash mucking up my football team.
I’d still rate Maxwell higher than Jackson.
I’d buy that for a dollar, but the bidding on Maxwell could get stupid. I’d pay neither guy more than what Chris Harris was paid by Denver.
Fair enough.
Demeco Ryan is going to start for us in september. They are Draftimg a young ILB. They won’t sign one
As long as its after a paycut
Isn’t Reed the reason they let Barwin go? I doubt any of those three get let go looking at what they have got behind them, baring they are in cap difficulty, They may not want Keenum but they probably sign him to another 1 year deal until after the draft as insurance
Avril, who is a better player than Graham, just got 4 / $28.5 million from Seattle. That should bracket Graham in for appx 4 / $24 million.
Cole, given the decline in production, should be ready to take a hefty pay cut. If cut Cole his dead money figure will be $3.2 million. If we keep him, he’ll have a $1.6 million prorated cap charge from his signing bonus to go along with whatever salary he’s making. I’d start my offer to him at a $1.6 million salary for the season to create equality with his dead money figure, but go up from there in small increments until he agrees or we cut him. I really can’t have Cole counting too much against our cap above the $3.2 we’d get from cutting him.
In either case Marcus Smith had better be ready to jump to an 8 sack OLB next season if called upon to do so. He’ll have been property of the team for 15 or 16 months by the time next season rolls around; that’s plenty of time to produce as a first rounder should.
If they are looking for Marcus Smith to do that, they are going to be in for a sorry surprise.
I’d let Graham walk for that kind of money and try to get Cole in here on a 2-yr year reworked deal with the hope that MS can begin to be phased in next year and take over what Graham did this year. Too many other areas and player to lock up long-term to put that kind of money towards Graham especially given their investment already in Smith (who I do think is going to be a general bust).
[…] So It Begins – Iggles BlitzI do think Reynolds could be an interesting player in 2015. He does have good hands and good ball skills. That is one thing the secondary lacked in a big way this year. Obviously Reynolds would need to play well enough to get on the field and use those ball skills, but he would be a good fit in that sense. […]
Interesting to read what Ertz, Johnson, and Maclin have to say about Foles. All three are pretty adamant that he’s a franchise quarterback despite his uneven play this year. However great a concern is on-field inconsistencies are, he’s clearly got the leadership and “commands respect of his teammates” parts of the job down. Hopefully the interceptions and sloppy pocket presence we saw this year were merely a product of a makeshift offensive line and a young player suffering some growing pains.
Didn’t see Maclin’s quotes, but Herramans had some non-BS praise for him. Seemed genuinely irritated by the assumption that the solution isn’t in-house
He should be irritated, we have one of the most promising young QBs in the NFL… Who will undoubtably be our QB the next 5 years, yet our media and fans are too dumb to even realize it…. Imagine having to go to work every day and answe a million questions all year that you know are so far removed from reality that it’s a complete waste of time to talk about.
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The notion that chips Qb isn’t on the roster yet is the biggest delusional crap this city has ever convinced itself of… But we quick to tell everyone “how smart we are as fans”, “we know better”, “you can’t bullshit us” lol
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We have the 3rd most promising young QB in the NFL, and we don’t even realize. This city has been wrong before, but Not knowing a top young Qb when you see one, might take the cake…. 5 years from now when we are stil
Watching FOles lead us, every single media member who has been wromg about just about everything and turned our fans into a legion of delusional zombies thinking and consistentky regurgitating False info. I’m going to be amazed at how all the same hack media members that didn’t even know what a top young QB looked.like manage to still have their job.
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Philadelphia Eagles fans LOVE this team. They deserve better than for the media to turn them into clueless idiots
I think it was Ertz even mentioned the OL for some of Nick’s inconsistencies, I don’t think he trusted the guys to keep the pocket and so backpedaled too much resulting in him throwing off his back foot. In the first Dallas game Romo would step up, then go down himself before he was sacked to avoid getting hit because he could sense the pressure coming. If Chip, Pat and Bill could get Nick to do something similar, it might take care of the back-foot interceptions and balls being short…
Bottom line, i do think Nick will end up being the “Franchise Quarterback” we need, we all knew he wouldn’t go 27-2 again, but he has the tools you cant teach, and we just need to let him progress so that the game slows down in his head and he can stand firm in the pocket and pick off receivers 10-20 yards downfield, if they can do that and get decent-good YAC off those catches, teams will have to stop playing cover 3 allowing us to go downfield again.
Eh, pretty boilerplate stuff. Every member of the team is going to say that about their QB (except maybe DJax?). Not saying it isn’t nice to read, but I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else publicly. Kinda hard to see it as anything other than fluff.
Can anyone name two or three players from any one team that would put us in the Super bowl right away – we would be able to finish with 12 -13 wins and have a good chance to win the big games?
Aaron Rodgers
Since you can get 3 people from one team, go ahead and add Clay Matthews aaaannnndd…who’s better of Tramon Williams and Sam Shields? I’ll take Shields to prevent any sort of Williams curse
Hyde. I think.
Brady, Revis, Gronk
we have a winner!
Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller, Aqib Talib
Richard Sherman + Byron Maxwell + Earl Thomas.
Sherman Thomas and Wilson… Leave Sherman on an Island, Thomas to cover the middle and leave Jenkins help whoever starts at the other corner… Then you get to see Wilson and Chip together….. Ahh pipe dreams
Alright, thought it out, Romo, Dez, and Murray. Not because it’s the best possible trio, but because it’s a pretty damn good trio that totally bones the cowboys as a bonus (might want one of their young linemen instead of romo though)
Rgiii, Djax, breeland?
Lol.
Guys, if we’d add Rodgers and Sherman alone that would be unfair to all the other 31 NFL teams.
That’s exactly where I was headed – throw in Wagner too. I also think losing DeMeco was a bigger blow than anyone is talking about. That’s when we started losing
Think coaches realized it.
Russel Wilson, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman
Andrew Luck, Vontae Davis, Ty Hilton
Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton
One of these things is not like the other….
Brady Revis mccourty
Jaiquan Jarrett, Michael Vick, Jason Babin.
Prince Amukamara, Stevie Brown, ODB.
Drew Brees.
http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2014/12/30/opinion-brees-changed-much-many-think/21053165/
I think the writer is over estimating Brees trade value and the cap strapped, Saints capacity to re-tool.
If it wasn’t for the Special Teams, you could make a strong argument that Chip Kelly’s Eagles took a small step back in his second year. Some cold facts 2014 [the figures in brackets relate to 2013]:
Total Offense Rank: 5th [2nd]
Offense Pts/G: 29.6 [27.6]
Total Defense Rank: 28th [2013: 29th]
Defense Pts/G: 25 [2013: 23.9]
Turnover Diff: +12 [-8]
Penalties: 115 [95]
Here’s hoping that the old wisdom ‘take 1 step back in order to take 2 steps forward’ will apply to Chip’s 3rd season.
NB: it was surprising to me that the Eagles have actually run more plays (1127) compared to last year (1054) despite turning the ball over that many times this season.
A lot more injuries on offense this year, and i think the messed up line affected Nick early on. Mc Coy didn’t trust his blockers so spent his time trying to make home runs for himself rather than taking the few yards that were there, understandable considering we needed points in every game that was happening, he seemed to take what was there when winning because he didn’t feel the need to carry the whole team(my opinion).
Defensively we seemed much better against the run, especially the D line, just the secondary needs to be re-tooled…
Feel confident in our coaches once they get proper talent to add as depth in case of injury, top needs heading into in FA/Draft, CB/S/OL if we manage to keep Mac,Cole,Graham,Sanchez
you are too down on Kelly. First, progress is not linear. It’s ok to take a step back. Second, they had lots more injuries. Third, the team set the franchise record for points two years in a row. Special teams points count the same as any other point. And it wasn’t a fluke, since Kelly got here he has emphasized special teams.
I don’t understand how we look at the healthiest, best OL in franchise history last year, then compare to this year, and add lots more turnovers (which suck but are harder to evaluate than say an offense that can’t scheme anyone open), and say with any certainty at all that the head coach took a step back. You could argue he did a better job.
I get your points. Don’t think I was too down on Kelly though. Am glad that we have him as our coach.
I actually think this years team was better than last years team. This coaching job was much more Impressive for me, than to see a coach go 10-6 with insane Qb play, insane good health, best run game in the League….. … If this years team would have enjoyed last years health, we probably blow last years performance away…. For us to go 10-6 this year, like last year, with the strength of our team, the OL going right down the toilet with injuries. Means that the rest of the players had to play much better than they had to last year, to manage to go 10-6 like last year on the back of our elite OL and top run game.
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If this years team had last years freakish good health, Id bet anything this years team would have easily proved better than last years team…
I agree, last year we were healthy and played a last place schedule while this year banged up playing a first place schedule got the same record
A big problem with your argument is you are ignoring how much variation you can statistically differentiate between. This is a big issue with how a lot of statistics are presented in media actually. If two values are within their standard deviation of each other, they are essentially the same. So stating the stats as you have them doesn’t show which have value nor how different they are.
Unfortunately, running more plays this year despite the turnovers may be a result of giving up more big plays this year. One way to get your offense back out there is to let them score quickly.
I’m not ready to cut him, I want to see what he can be in year 2 under Kelly’s system, and with Stoutland, but …
“He [Molk] turned out to be a good fill-in for Jason Kelce for several games this year.”
Just … no. He was awful. He was able to replicate Kelce’s mobility, but his ability at the point of attack was bad, even when he was getting help. His pass protection was laughably bad – he barely registered as a bump in the road, even if he got his hands on the right guy. Teams game planned on him, with tremendous success.
They should look to bring in some competition for him, definitely.
I wouldn’t be mad if they spend a second round pick on Oregon Center Hroniss Grasu. recruited By chip Kelly, experienced playing in high tempo offense, 292lbs so he has size that KELCE lacks, but he is also very athletic and Agile. If he were only a center, I would be against it… But we can start Grasu at Guard, yet if KELCE ever gets hurt, he could fill in and not be much of a fall off between him and KELCE a few years from now….so we would really be drafting him to eventually replace Herremans or Mathis, but any time KELCE gets hurt, Grasu would slide in at center to replace him.
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Close to 300lbs, very athletic mobile, perfect fit for our scheme, chip knows him well
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I don’t trust MOLK at all. I may trust vandervelde mores than MOLK
I’d be down
Not a sexy move, but takes care of future starting Guard spot. While providing the highest level of backüp center we could ever reasonable hope for backing up Kelce. Center is such an important position, KELCE got hurt twice in the past 3 years, we get to eliminate the guess work, because chip knows him….
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Wouldn’t be sexy, but I would understand if they made this move… Add Grasu, and Center and NT, the two anchore positions are set for the next 5 years with Grasu, KELCE, Bennie Logan and Beau
Yeah we definitely need lineman like 3 in the next 2 years, cuz everyone but Kelce and Johnson will be home honestly I wouldnt put O Line out of consideration for first round
If you could get a quality upgrade over Herremans or even a 6th man that could back up G/T next year and take over in 16 I would go for it
would he be there in the late second?
Figure our second round pick is around #49ish… My guess is he would go right around the range of our second round pick
I wouldn’t touch a C/OG with one of our first two picks at all. History shows that you can get quality starting interior OL also in the 3rd – 5th rounds…
I don’t like that logic honestly if you have a guy rated highly at a position of need why not do it just cuz, Girls used their last 2 first rounders on interior lineman and both of those guys are going to the Pro Bowl
true and everyone in the league laughed at them for that too
Sounds like the Buddy Ryan system for picking OLinemen.
Whew! What a relief. We still have G.J. Kinne.
The dream lives on. Kinne in ’15, Print the bumper stickers.
Would saying bastard get me banned from 24/7 lol
use illegitimate child instead… nobody will ever know
Lol I just typed in cut that bastard (referring to Cary) and the comment was immediately under moderation
use Jon Snow instead. That demographic will know.
you know nothing
I know a lot of people are disappointed in Marcus Smith this year. but i think we can all say that Jordan Matthews has played well above expectations.
IIRC from our draft day talks last year, a lot of people wanted Matthews with the first round pick (and many more preferred another WR over him at that spot).
Hypothetically, how would everyone feel about their seasons if Matthews was picked with our 1st rd pick and Smith was taken with our 2nd? Assume the exact same production they got this season.
Meh. I didn’t want any part of Matthews and wanted Smith in the second but things didn’t work out that way. I don’t like Matthews lack of will and ability to win contested catches/jumpballs.
Matthews was fine. He’ll be a productive player with us, but he doesn’t have any outstanding traits.
He’s a big guy with OK hands who can run reasonably fast that is reliant on scheme to get him open. Nice piece for the offense, but will never be a pro bowler.
That’s a fair and honest assessment. If we only could have ODB…
He could be our Colston
ODB could be our Megatron.
I love ODB don’t think he can get to that level honestly Johnson is a nightmare to defend
I honestly believe – and as much as it hurts to admit – that ODB will be the best receiver in the NFL in two years time.
ODB will be a pro bowler for many years don’t think I agree with you though people were saying similar things about Boldin after one year
I think he may already be, in terms of pure talent. Next year he will be.
He’s just unreal.
Almost 900 yards and 8 tds in his rookie year, I think “never” is too strong a word.
It used to piss me off, but now I’m used to it, and I try to laugh it off…. Really Curipus to see how long it takes THIS media, and THIS fanbase to realize it has had its franchise,QB since 2012? I have made piece with the fact that I need to braise myself for an offseason where 70% of what the media will put in this fanbases brain, will end up being completely false…months and months, of QB speculation, debates and arguments, only to eventually see the same 3 QBs back in Philly next year. Dying to see how long it takes this media and fanbase to realize Nick will be our QB the next 5 years?
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They WOULDNT accept Nick because chips dream QB johnny Manziel still loomed over our heads as a possibility lol. After all the media talk about how badly chip would wish he could have manziel, and how there was no shot we could ever trade up for johnny, the jackass falls all the way to our pick, and after all the times the media wasted our time with talk/wishful thinking connecting Johnny to chip, the Eagles let another team have johnny, clearly wanting nothing to do with him. Wish I could go back and tally up all the to,ES our media told the fans how johnny was chips ideal QB
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Nick has been showing promise, poise, growth, leadership, work ethic since 2012… It’s 2015 and people still hAvent figured it out yet that we have one of the top 3 best young QBs in the NFL yet, and that chip is extremely high on this kid? I’m fascinated to see how long it takes this KNOWLEDGABLE sports city to realize they are watching the growing pains of their eventual Franchise QB?… Every last one of you, with your own eyes have seen PLENTY of Flashes of Brilliance fom this young man in his young career. No one will deny that…
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If this kid is capable to have these flashes of brilliance at the elite NFL level, than THAT ABILITY and POTENTIAL is undeniably inside the kid. It’s not like he has only had 1 great game, he has had so many of these flashes of brilliance. We have seen him be spectacular with our own two eyes plenty of times, that ability is in him… Now the maturation and development of young QBs is turning those inital sporadic flashes of brilliance, and grow to be able to have them more and more frequently, TIL he eventually matures into a veteran QB who’s “flashes” of great play, has become the level he consistently Plaued at.
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Since you have all seen those flashes with your own two eyes, and you know this kid will recieve quality coaching and put in the work to be great, why would you think this kid won’t develop his game to consistentky play At that high level from time to time?
,.
Especially when the success Nick has had, has come in the traditional, pocket passer sense… His success translates, and projects to be sustainable, he just needs experience and game time, Til he can recognize every coverage and blitz, and know exactly where to go with the ball to beat it, and then execute it…. Where as, you see RG3 rookie success, only throwing to his first read, taking off and running so much without sliding, never looking off safeties, and it was easy to see that the success RG3 was having as a rookie WOULDNT translate to Longterm success. Where as the success we see Nick have, comes from playing the position in the traditional sense, so we are already seeing him have plenty of success that translates… Nick just needs to become mmore and more consistent and that will come as he faces and has success against different schemes….. This is a very smart, hard working kid, with a passion for this game, serious quiet fiery competitor who has shown that he can play at a high level in this league… There is no rational reason to think that this young man isn’t going to put in the work to grow to be able to consistently play at that high level we have seen him play plenty of times with our own two eyes…
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He arrived in 2012…. I’m dying to see how long it takes this “smart sports city” to figure out we already have one of the most promising young QBs in the game. It goes andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, then NICK FOLES……and then everyone else….
I find it rather funny that you like to laugh off any criticism of your favourite players. It’s not like I don’t necessarily disagree with you – in terms of Foles – but calling the media and/or fanbase “brainless” because they question Foles after his sub par injury-plagued season – and rightfully so – is a bit harsh, don’t you think?!
In other news: happy new year! .
Right, he also had the Seattle game as in the pocket, among other things. None of us has a crystal ball.
Nick will be here 5 years from now… Hopefully sometime wonk this city can recognize what a quality developing young QB looks like and actually start to support this young man, and stop polluting fans brains with delusional lies like “chips QB isn’t on this team yet”..
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I actually try to watch almost all of Andrew Lucks games the past two years, and I don’t know how anyone who sees Luck play on a weekly basis these last two years can see luck as this ANNOINTED Can’t Miss King of the Future QBs, yet not be sure if Nicl FOles is a starting QB or not,…. I think Eagkes fans have a romanticized impression of andrew Luck, and how he has played These past two years, the amount of mistakes he has made, all the bad positions he has put his team in over the course of the game.. I swear half his games, are him creating a mess the first 3 quarters and then he gets praised for miraculously cleaning it up in the 4th quarter lol
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See dumb fans and media members who see the San fran games, and it makes them worry about Nick… Yet the people who actually know, like coaches, former players like Dawkins,Hollis Thomas, Trotter, the San fran game are the times they gain the most respect for Nick FOles.
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What people DONT get is a young developing QB was Never going to sustain last years insane production, but that’s Ok…typically the growth cycle is:
Phase 1: Young player finds some initial NFL success, plays really well, makes a name for himself
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PHase 2: comes when he starts to struggle, often its defenses adjusting to what he was doing that made him succeed initially. this phase is typically the up and down phase, good play, bad games.. This is when the YOUG PLAYER has to STRUGGLE!
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Phase 3: Once he overcomes THE STRUGGLE phase(with adjustments), and can once again start reaching his initial success, that’s usually when your young QB has matured into his veteran level that will be able to consistently succeed at this level…
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Nick FOles would NEVER GROW and MATURE in the QB we need him to, until he started to face the struggles, force him to overcome the adversity of DC’s playing him different,…struggles always follow initial young QB success, sooner or later for him to become the QB we need him to, he would need to go thru a war like skins game, where he took a beating and just kept getting up and carrying this team on his back, throwing his way to a tough win. he needed to eventual have a 49er experience of not being able to cross mid field all game, make mistakes, hurt your team with turnovers, but fight through it,and at the very end, overcome a game worth f struggles to lead tour team 85 yards down the field giving us a chance to come back and win that game…
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Seeing him react, experience and overcome these struggles are as important as to see him go 27-2 and see him be capable of playing at a high level in this league… He needs these rough struggles, he needs to overcome the tôugh losses, the rough games where the offense cant get anything going, and play his way out of it…
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This young man is for Real… chip Knows it, his teammates know it, wonder how long it takes this fanbase and media to realize what a young stud looks like?
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The crazy thing is all last year we heard the sample size was too small to say Foles was a franchise QB after 12 games, but some how evryone knows everything they need to know after only 7 games this season.
So far the evidence shows that he has play more good games than bad and has a 14-4 record. He is likely somewhere in between with upside to be closer to 2013 form.
I don’t think anyone’s saying he’s not the guy. I think everyone is sort of dissapointed with how the year turned out, especially b/c it could have been an easy $15m/yr for him if he’d played decently this season. Not to mention we’d be still playing right now.
Im not talking about the people posting here so much. I am talking about the fans that post on some of the other blogs or call into the radio stations. For some reason many of them would prefer Manziel, Cutler, or mortgaging the future for mariotta than to continue growing foles. I personally dont get it.
I’d mortgage for mariota only because reuniting can’t be a bad thing
It’ll take us a little longer than it takes him. Lots of files fans in the off-season, lots of young Tom Brady talk. He just has to keep looking like that guy instead of the guy we sawthroughout the season.
The struggles and tôugh games this year, seeing how he played in those games, how he responded to those games, was just as important as seeing him light up the league 27-2
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Colts game, ugly game…
49ers game….ugly game
Redskins game… Hard fought dog fight, one of my favorite Eagle QB games ever
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It’s much more fun to see him dissect the BUcs, or throw 7 TDs against the Raiders, but seeing hoW Nick reacted in those 3 ugly dog fight games, was just as important as anything he showed us in the 27-2 year
I agree with that. Are you happy with how he played in those games? Skins game was a great game, shouldn’t have been as close as it was, but it was.
Not sure what caused the slow starts throughout all of those games. Interesting to see Kelly start to take the ball in the 1st quarter instead of electing to kickoff to try to solve that problem.
I don’t know why it should not have been as close… division game, they beat us the second time, it will always be close.
and why would it not be with our secondary?
that wash game was Nicks shining moment, it was awesome!
I have high hopes for Matthew Tucker. I’m not convinced Chris Polk will ever be able to stay healthy, and Shady just doesn’t quite pass the eye test anymore. Darren Sproles is getting old too, and if McCoy loses anything close to half a step, our RB stable is going to look quite thin rather quickly. Tucker has good size, speed, and low-mileage. Polk might be a better runner, but that talk of his degenerative shoulder seems to be lingering.
If being the 3rd highest rusher in the NFL doesn’t pass the “eye test” than I don’t know what does. Give me a freaking break.
I’m not saying Shady is done. But watch him run this season compared to the previous 3. Maybe it’s the O-line, but there were not nearly as many eye-popping jukes Shady is known for. He looks like he labors when he’s running free. He’s still a tremendous back, but I don’t see the same explosiveness. And I think enough people agree with me to at least consider watching the RB position this off-season.
he looked good against the giants I thought, but a different back could be more productive also in this system.
go polk, go tucker.
Hopefully I am missing something, or did you just suggest that a backfield of Polk/Tucker would be better than Shady???
He was dealing with turf toe most of the season.
Yes, MSII is a bust. It’s not too early to give him that label. The team needs to move forward with the understanding that they cannot count on him to develop. If he does, great, but you cannot expect it. You need to bring in other OLB’s. And then there’s Travis Long who they were high on but you can’t count on him either after two torn ACL’s in a short timespan. OLB is as high a priority as the secondary when it comes to adding new players next season.
LOL, he is not a bust. Give me a break.
You didn’t know that a rookie OLB coming in and trying to get playing time behind Barwin, Cole, and Graham would be a bust?..lol the pessimism of some of these people is incredible. Calling him a bust already is outlandish.
Its’ crazy but NO ONE thought we’d get the production from that spot that we saw It’s a little smoke and mirrors because sacks came in groups against bad teams but yeah.
Hopefully next year we’ll be able to get better rush from the ILB spot as well.
that’s a fine attitude for you personally. Helps cope, eliminates possibility of a let down. Just know for the professionals, they need to try to figure out why they couldn’t harness the talent they’ve seen from him on tape. They have to figure out if they are teaching football in different terms than he is used to. Are they using him wrong. Find out his limitations, they know what he is capable of. Now it’s their job to find out why he didn’t get there. When you make this kind of investment, they are still very capable to recouping their losses if they turn things around in just a year.
Imagine if we had the Browns draft from last year with some of the fans in Philly? Both first rounders hardly started, looked terrible and especially in Justin Gilbert who was outplayed by a UDFA! Grass is always greener though i guess. The draft is such a crap shoot sometimes, and basing things after one year for 21 or 22 year olds can be madness.
Tom Gamble FIRED.
Chris Mortensen @mortreport 2m2 minutes ago
The Eagles have fired Tom Gamble, VP of player personnel. It may be announced as “parting ways” with Gamble but it is what it is.
odd. I wonder what moves prompted that.
I gotta say that i’m sort of happy — he was sort of terrible the last two years. Will this be a howie controlled draft?
Gotta say, organization is really good at being reflective. I think Gamble might have been behind that MSII pick.
Totally a possibility. I’m curious to see some deeper reporting on this ASAP.
As much as people hate him, I bet Howard Eskin has some good stuff on it.
Disagree I think MS2 was a Kelly pick, Kelly went to the Louisville pro day to scout MS2 and spoke to him.
The reporting on the Smith pick was 100% Kelly’s guy.
That’s cray, for a guy he wanted he never has much good to say about him.
Tough love! And I’m a huge fan of Smith, I just think he could have been had one round later………. and with less criticism of his lack of production thus far.
Probably could have a packaged some picks to move up for a WR/DB and taken Smith in rd2?
My theory is that Kelly will tell Howie who he likes and what he needs, and Roseman will be responsible for “playing the board”. I cannot imagine that HR is going to say he doesn’t approve of any player that Kelly likes. A prioritizing of urgency vs availability may be an area of contention, and Roseman may have gained something on that score, but that may be a good thing. Kelly wanted to take Hart in the 3rd round, and Roseman “assured” him that Hart wasn’t going anytime soon. And remember Roseman’s reaction to not getting any OL help, “A dagger in the heart”. Maybe HR wanted an OL in round 3, and Kelly lobbied for Huff. On the face of it, this could be righting the ship.
I will be very interested to see how the players in the upcoming draft turn out, if it is indeed, run by Howie. If he does have a draft like 2012 and can string 2 in a row together, he has to be one of the best GM’s in the league.
be interesting i think we picked 12 that year, 18 or so this year, be nice. Though he’s picking for totally different schemes. All of the knowledge he gained about 4-3 and what’s needed for Wine 9 is going to be sort of useless.
I will say howie is great at cap stuff and moving up and down the draft.
The good news is, he has had 2 years to brush up on 3-4!
So the Eagles decided to make Tom Gamble, VP of player personnel, the scapegoat of missing the post season. Would have rather seen Billy Davis being upgraded though.
I don’t think they’re happy with their draft picks or FA. We keep harping back to the 2012 guys, maybe they decided to let Howie take the reigns on player personnel.
I’ve read before that Gamble’s portfolio as VPoPP was FA not college scouting/draft, so if the Eagles were upset with the 2014 draft results that shouldn’t have fallen on Gamble’s head.
Maybe Gamble was responsible for signing Chung in 2013 and re-signing Nate Allen in 2014. Or Fletcher and Williams 2013?
Could be it, but he also got Jenkins, Barwin, Meco, Sproles, plus St guys, that’s pretty good.
True, I’m just perma-salty about Chung over Glover Quin and Nate Allen over ………….. well anybody.
I mean someone shoudl get fired for not getting better DBs last year. Williams and Fletch are terrible — the PIs alone…
Maybe we should start looking at better secondary coaches as well.
yeah that should have happened after last year even.
Weren’t Barwin and Meco pre Gamble? I thought all the 2013 FAs were already signed. Gamble came over either just before or just after that draft, correct?
that might be right, well in that case, glad he’s gone!
I think the Chung signing was pre-Gamble, letting him go was post Gamble coming to the Eagles.
Can I add in that he’s also guilty by relation to his father along with Norman Braman and Rich Kotite for losing all of Buddy’s players?
Off-season news is heating up. I need to make a new Twitter account. I got banned for telling people complaining about Eagles fans egging Dallas’s bus to kill themselves. I figured it was non-threatening and fair retaliation for crybabies making anti-Philadelphia comments as we were protecting our home town advantage.
Media Mike comes back with a vengeance as 140 character colossus
“Miked Media”. #kill yourself
It’s a Chip / Howie power play thing.
Gamble was Chip’s guy in the FO.
After a ridiculously great draft run by Howie in 2012, we had a “good” draft in 2013 – Johnson – Ertz – Logan, but nothing after that, and a “TBD” draft in 2014, but early returns are at a minimum underwhelming.
Lurie basically telling Chip he wants Howie to have more input on scouting / personnel.
Jeff McLane is spinning this as Lurie backing Howie taking over the draft and compartmentalizing Chip’s influence. I don’t know if I buy that level of drama.
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…..
(LOL at myself for the duck pun)
what is……….. Jeff Garcia
Jeff McLane is duckin’ fun.
McLane is a dork
Also remember this:
Lurie has said he keeps detailed notes on who the key players in the FO like every draft.
What if Howie wanted to draft Teddy Bridgewater at 26? Lurie spends all season dealing with QB uncertainty, while Vikings found their franchise guy in the late 1st.
Or insert whatever player you want for each round.
I could see Josh Huff being taken over Trai Turner as a major point of contention in the draft room.
One that Lurie may be looking back on with regret.
The Panthers drafted 1/2 of their starting secondary in the 4th (Tre Boston) and 5th (Bene Benwikere). Watkins + Hart + Reynolds combined for how many snaps?
Not saying one is right or wrong, but if Howie liked those guys…..and Chip liked the guys we took……
Jeff McLane @Jeff_McLane 13s13 seconds ago
The #Eagles’ balance of power over player acquisition shifts back to Howie Roseman. Chip Kelly was given last offseason and team regressed.
Other thing is Rick Mueller was interviewing for the Jets.
Maybe Lurie is basically saying Mueller > Gamble.
Good context!
2012 was good. Better than the past several years.
But I don’t think it was great. Just my opinion.
That said, 2012’s first-year productivity was miles better than 2014.
what would make it great?
I think Fletcher Cox + Mychal Kendricks alone make it a very good draft.
Getting *value*, at a minimum, with Boykin, Curry and Foles makes it great.
Cox + Kendricks are legitimate, disruptive, playmaking studs. Getting those two guys at the top of the draft was huge.
And while they haven’t developed into those disruptive forces until Year 3, we saw the talent in Year 1.
“And while they haven’t developed into those disruptive forces until Year 3, we saw the talent in Year 1.” this is what i’m talking about. Sounds more like Huff than MSII.
I agree, to hit on that many players in one draft and a couple that are really good makes it great.
how often can a team be expected to really hit on players on all the picks?
does anyone really think big balls chip would really get rid of djax then the next season dump shady?
seems like a really awkward way to start your tenure in the NFL right?
It would be.
But McCoy himself talked about redoing his deal.
Maybe he’s being proactive.
Crazy stuff going on at Nov Care.
Hey ACV,
I got a couple questions for you (don’t worry not legal questions or anything) that I don’t want to get into in the public forum. Can you shoot me an email at tsaston_09(at)comcast(dot)net
Thanks
Lots of coaches want a fresh start for their team, i’m surprised but not that much. Shady and djax have different issues, shady’s cap number is untenable and he knows that. He’s also starting to lose 3rd down / goal line carries, that’s tough too
would you rather have a guy like Leveon Bell at RB or even demarco then Shady? Frankly I think Tucker could be good from the PS. and we have Barner too