Senior Bowl Day 1
Posted: January 21st, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 238 Comments »Tuesday was an adventure. We started with the weigh-in, which is always the most uncomfortable part of Senior Bowl week. Then we watched 2 practices at 2 stadiums and finished the day with Media Night, where we had a couple of hours to interview the players in a somewhat informal setting.
Nothing really Eagles-centric happened at the weigh-in so I’ll skip that.
Chip Kelly and Bill Davis watched most of the North practice together. Kelly likes to stand in the far end zone and watch. Most coaches are up in the stands. The problem with that is a lot of socializing goes on. I think Kelly prefers to just take in the action.
The Eagles had a camera in the stands recording the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 stuff. I have never seen any other team do this specifically. The practices are taped by the league and everyone gets a copy. Maybe the Eagles wanted a different camera angle for some reason.
I wrote notes on the North practice here.
The South practice at Fairhope is very different. No one is in the stands. Everyone lines the field and watches up close. I stood with a GM and some pro scouts and watched the action. At one point a random person came near me and yelled to someone else “Billy Davis is down there.” I went down that way to see what Davis was doing. I had been focused on DBs and receivers. He was in the LB/DL area. As soon as I got behind Davis he said to a friend “I’ve got to go watch the DBs.” I wasn’t able to stand near him in that area so I couldn’t pick up any info.
Here are my notes on the South practice.
One final note from the South, that is where Alabama coach Nick Saban makes his annual appearance. He comes to support the Bama players and also to schmooze with NFL types as well as fans. He is bigger than the Pope to his fans. Anyway, OL coach Jeff Stoutland, who worked for Saban, walked down the field with him and was telling one heck of a story. Saban was locked in and had a huge smile on his face, as did Stoutland. You never know when an assistant coach leaves a program if he’ll stay in good standing with the head coach, but Stout and Saban seemed like buddies. That’s good when it comes to getting the inside scoop on Bama players.
Overall, there were several players the Eagles should have come away interested in. Safeties Kurtis Drummond, Clayton Geathers, Jaquiski Tartt and Clayton Prewitt all impressed. The Eagles were scheduled to interview 3 of them last night. They were also set to interview CB/S Eric Rowe and CB Quentin Rollins. Both guys had a solid first day.
Oddball note of the day…the ride to Fairhope was interesting. I was in a car that was behind Rex Ryan and his DL coach. Rex was driving and the man was all over the road. He couldn’t stay straight to save his life. Must have been texting with Mark Sanchez about coming to Buffalo.
Media Night was interesting. The hard part of writing about players is that most of the guys are genuinely nice people you want to succeed. Jimmy and I sat down and ate dinner with Shane Carden, a QB from East Carolina. He did not play well. He’s got a poor arm and just didn’t look like an NFL QB. Great in the spread in college, but not NFL material. I struck up an informal conversation with him and he was fun to talk to. Real nice kid. I hope I’m dead wrong and he plays for a decade, but I bet his future is in coaching.
Jimmy and I talked to Michigan State star Tony Lippett. He is a good WR prospect, but also started 3 games at CB this year due to injuries. I made the point to him that every draft is loaded with WRs, but every team is desperate for corner help. Why not move to CB to help your odds? He wants to be a WR. He did say that he’ll do what he has to in order to stay in the league, but he wants to be a WR. The Eagles haven’t talked to him yet. Something tells me Kelly will like a WR that is 6-3, 190 and can also play CB if needed.
The best interview of the night was with CB Quentin Rollins. That is one sharp dude. He’s smart and seems to have a good sense of reality. Some of these guys are a bit delusional. Rollins told us good stories about the past year, his first playing college football. Prior to that he was a star basketball player for Miami OH. Jimmy and I asked him about the Eagles. Rollins said he was interviewing with them Tuesday night. We then asked what he knew about the team. He went back in time and talked about McNabb, Dawk and Reid at first. He then talked about the current team and said “I think they need corner help.” Jimmy and I both said “They definitely need corner help.” As long as he doesn’t become a Dallas Cowboy, I’ll be pulling for Rollins wherever he goes.
The highlight of the night was the interview that Jimmy and I had with Bryce Petty. Eliot Shorr-Parks and Jimmy were lobbing softballs at Petty. He was giving good answers, but there was no real exchange of real information. That’s when I opened up.
I asked Petty if he felt pressure to play well. He said no. Then I talked about the fact he was so good at the short, quick throws that he’d done over and over at Baylor, but NFL teams wanted to see more. I talked to him about the fact that like so many college QBs, he was either throwing short passes or deep passes. The NFL wants to see intermediate throws. They wanna see the dig route. They want to see you hit the TE over the middle. The Senior Bowl is a chance to show that. I told Petty that while he looked great on the short stuff, he was “awkward” with the intermediate throws.
Honestly. he looked bad. I thought awkward was the nicest word I could use that would still convey some sense of negativity. I’m not going to lie to him and tell him he lit it up. Petty kinda laughed and said something to the effect that “I’ll have to work on my awkwardness.”
I then explained what a great opportunity the Senior Bowl was. I told him the story of Donovan McNabb coming to Mobile in 1999 with questions about whether he could be an NFL QB. He was coached by Jon Gruden, who was tough on him. McNabb had a great week and the Eagles took him #2 overall. Petty liked that angle and left happy with the thought that playing well could boost his stock.
Jimmy and ESP were a bit in shock at my candor, but I thought I was reasonable.
Petty was very nice the whole night. He’s got a good personality and definitely comes across as a QB. I hope he does throw the ball better on Wednesday and Thursday. I’d love for him to emerge as a target for the Eagles. One point about that…he would not be someone to play right away. You would need to develop him. Petty would ideally be a mid-round pick that sat for a year or two as he adjusted to the NFL.
That hasn’t worked with Matt Barkley so far, but that hardly means you give up on drafting and developing QBs.
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A couple of misc notes…
It doesn’t sound like Ed Marynowitz will get promoted. Kelly continues the search for outside help. No scoops on who he’s talking to now. I’m sure Kelly is looking for people while here in Mobile with all the best personnel guys in the world.
Tom Gamble is here. I assume he’s looking for a job.
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Tommy, any chance you can smuggle Rollins with you back?
Also Tommy, must great for a draft nerd like you to sit there interviewing draft prospects on even foot with other media members.
I loved that story about Bryce Petty. Can’t imagine Bryce ever had a media member be that honest with him.
Yeah it was interesting. I read ESP’s write up and he had good things to say, especially about the long ball.
“Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor — Petty had a good first day of
practices, and watching him live, it’s easy to see why he is one of the
more intriguing prospects in the entire draft. Currently projected in
the third round, Petty opened the day with a very nice deep touchdown
pass during a team drill, displaying great arm strength on the throw.
What stands out about Petty is the zip he puts on the ball. He gets it
out quickly and on target. He didn’t have a perfect practice, throwing
one pass into the ground, but he was the best quarterback of the day.”
Great stories.
I wonder what the Patriots are doing at the Senior Bowl in order to get an advantage cheat.
per a poster on Deadspin-MaltedLaurelBridge
“Is this taking into account temperature differences? Because a pretty straightforward back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that if a ball was inflated to 12.5 psi at 70 F (a perfectly reasonable inside temperature) and is allowed to cool to 30 F (the ambient temperature around the time of Brady’s INT), the difference comes out to just about 2 psi. I’m happy to show my work if anyone wants to see it.”
may not be as egregious as it seems
11 of 12 of the ball the Pats provided where deflated… You do know that RAC team provides the balls their offense,will use? So 11 of 12 PATS balls naturally deflated due to the weather, why didn’t the weather effect a single colts ball?
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Enough with the excuse for KNOWN,cheaters
if you read the articles, there is no comment on the pressure in the Colts’ balls. I assume the implication is it was normal for them, but since it isn’t mentioned anywhere (that I can see) the story isn’t fully written
the NFL will either screw up the investigation, not tell us anything, or not penalize them anything worthwhile (just small cash fine, not draft picks). I’ll go with (d) all of the above.
It isn’t hard for the league to just tell everyone in a statement “we know weather affects the pressure, but we did this and that”. But Roger is just focused on how to make this a non story. You can’t have this be a big story when this team is in the upcoming SB and is known for cheating and having a killer on the team.
Agreed, but I only upvoted because you upvoted your own post, which is awesome.
Absurd. You think the investigators did a pressure test outside in the cold on the field to determine they were 2 PSI deflated? And even if they did, then the other game balls were tested under the same set of circumstances. The balls in question were not under inflated relative to the weather. They were under inflated relative to the rest of the balls used in the game.
Cool to 30 F?
Um it was raining not snowing lol and the temperature was in the 40s
Tommy- Is EJ Manuel someone you would consider trading for? Do you think Chip could do anything with him? With a new regime in Buffalo, unclear if Rex would want a new QB at the helm. Imagine EJ would be worth a 3rd/4th (total guess)- could also make it a bigger deal- something like Foles and a 2nd for EJ (I realize they have no 1st rounder).. Foles gives them a competent QB from day one.
I could see liking EJ Manuel enough to trade for him. I can’t see liking him so much that you would immediately trade away your best quarterback.
it is more on the premise if Chip doesnt want Foles.. this gets a 2nd rounder. I think Foles is worth more than EJ?? but am not certain as Foles has only one year left on his deal and EJ was a first rounder. .Maybe Foles is only worth a 3rd or 4th rounder because of that
Would be interesting to find out Tommy’s sense of Foles’s value. Going to a team like Buffalo makes a lot of sense. They want to win.
Forget about the perceived value for a moment. If you trade away Foles in an EJ Manuel deal you are putting your franchise in the hands of EJ Manuel. Does that not scare you a bit?
scares me a lot but I am not Chip and don’t quite understand what he wants to do a QB..
How about trading your second best QB – Sanchez?
He’s a free agent.
isn’t he a FA?
I’m not a fan of Manuel’s at all. Terrific young man, but not a good QB.
that’s all I need to know. Thanks
thinking logically — would you want to trade a QB that’s been here for two seasons for a QB that’ll need a couple of years to catch up to Chip’s system — IF he ever catches on. Not to mention, Manuel has limited talent.
I’m not understanding your math. Manuel = a 3rd, or a 2nd +Foles? Would Foles be worth negative value in that situation?
Manuel as a backup? Maybe. But to get rid of Foles and plug in Manuel is a death sentence. I don’t know if the kid will eventually be ready to start, but he certainly isn’t right now.
EJ is terrible and can’t play at all. I’m sure that was part of the reason their coach just quit.
Who is Tom Gamble hanging around with down there Tommy?
Heard he was talking to 49ers but also spent time with eagles.
cool thanks.
Tommy do you get to talk to coaches/pro personnel or is that faux pas?
I think it was at the senior bowl last year that Howie came up and said something to Tommy? Or Tommy said something to him? I don’t know, but I remember it being incredibly awkward.
Howie said stop following me or get out of my way, I can’t see.
Great read. Thanks so much.
Rex was distracted by other cars on the road
http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.2563994.1293079170!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.jpg
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-path-to-the-draft/0ap3000000407422/Mayock-s-Slant-Eagles-special-teams
For anybody still thinking the S/T were just luck Mayock actually breaks a few down pretty nicely
Anyone who thought that was pretty foolish. Tons of strategy and technique goes into ST
Believe it or not a lot of people think its just luck. I for one LOVE what they did on special teams, just needs all 3 phases to click next year.
simpletons dont get the scheming involved… to look at film of every phase of a teams special teams, and look for a pigeon that you can design a special team scheme to attack is not easy…. being a really good ST coach is not at all EASY, and there was nothing lucky about a special teams that did it all season long.
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Fipp gets tonxs of credit, Maragos too.,.,. i seen eagles credit Maragos for showing the Eagles how much fun special teams can be
Trey Burton made a crazy amount of S/T plays
Nobody mentions Burton, he was involved big time on a lot of the scoring plays. Huge underrated pick up.
If u wanna talk to Billy Davis u have to snap your head around sooner than he can head to the DB group. He knew he should have been at the DB group the entire time
Keep ’em coming Tommy. This is the best article you have written this year. I was completely enthralled with the real happenings of the Senior and it made me feel like I was there. Keep it UP!
On Rex Ryan being “rexless” behind the wheel:
Should we be surprised that a defensive-minded coach can’t sustain a drive?
Around the League Notes:
Browns hire John DeFelippo as OC(last year’s Raiders QBs coach, did good job with Carr, I liked him as candidate for Eagles’ QBs coach)
Ravens hire Marty Mornhinweg as QBs coach
Colts block Rob Chudzinski from interviewing for OC jobs
Bengals also blocked DBs coach Vance Joseph from interviewing for DC jobs
Non-football question. It looks like the Eagles have a strong contingent of “bloggers” in addition to the traditional beat reporters.
Do other teams have similar media representation?
I’ve long thought that Eagles fans were fortunate to have high quality coverage from “new media’ sources. Just wondering if that holds up based on your Senior Bowl observations.
The Eagles have BGN, Tommy, Phillyvoice and Phillymag, I doubt any other teams have anything close to those 4 in terms of quality
Do other cities have liars like Elliot Snore Parks who spread gangland connection lies?
Well nothing in his post about Jackson was a lie
Do other cities have creative fans who show their derision for players and media members by crafting asinine insult names that sound like they came out of second grade recess? Seems a common thing around here.
I’m quite sure they do. Parks is garbage.
I think that can be stated without sounding like a 4-year old.
And I think this is somehow a Philly thing. So tired of hearing names like “Andy Bleed”, “McFlubb”, “Howie Knowsnothing”, etc. They’re ridiculous and never clever.
If you’re tired try some coffee.
Not enough coffee in the world to get over that, “Meanie-a Mike”.
ha ha ha ha. Welcome!
IMO he is the single worst local media member currently covering the Eagles.. I don’t know a worst source of Eagles Intel working in the local media
And he was roasted by several other media members, Dennis Deitch most aggressively, for having the team’s “member” inside of his anus as he was typing that trash hit piece on Jackson.
I’m over losing Desean, I don’t care at all about it any more… But what Eliiot PARKER did during the Desean situatuon, was one of the trashiest, most Embarressing things I have seen anyone do who has been covering this team the past 10years…. Just despicable…. I literally can’t think of a local media member I have less respect for…. i baffled as to how NJ.com continues to employ him,and I’m baffled as to why the Eagles havent revoked his access yet…
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does anyone think there is anyone worse covering the team?
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Conversly, there is a new woman’s voice at Novacare this past year, I’m not sure who the hell it is, but there is a woman, who is a member of the local media that covers the Eagles, I have no idea who it is, what her name is, but I have been extremely impressed with the questions, and follow up questions she has been asking players and coaches at Nvacare this past season…. She consistent.y asked quality questions, never tried to fabricate any drama,…. No idea who this woman is, or who she works for, but I hope she continues to have access interviewing our coaches and Players, I don’t know that I can think of a local media member who consistentky asked better questions than she did this year….. She was up there with Kapadia, for local media that is to be respected
LA
Good to hear that Goodley is displaying consistent hands for now. If I had him and Huff on the team, Huff gets traded asap.
Huff gets traded asap
You mean for a conditional 7th round pick in 2027?!
Yes
I wish I could be at the Senior Bowl. The atmosphere of coaches, GMs, scouts, and big-time college players just sounds awesome.
This is fantastic Tommy. It’s almost like you’re our own personal congressman sent to Capitol Hill to represent us.
Bucky Brooks has us taking Kevin Johnson from Wake Forrest at 20…….. Dupree, both Collins from LSU, McKinney all still on the board:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/mock-drafts/bucky-brooks/215607?campaign=Facebook_writers_brooks
O Bucky!
and Mariota falls to 18 and we aint trading up
I’ll be pulling weapons out of the hands of a few guys I watch the draft with if Mariota falls to 18 and the Eagles don’t move up for him.
Only trade up im interested in is for Danny Shelton if he falls past 15…
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I doubt there is going to be a player we absolutely have to have available at #20, assume we will be choosing between like 5 similarly rated prospects in which case, like last year I will want to trade back, possibly trade back twice so our first pick doesn’t come til the top 5 of round 2, get extra two 3rd round draft picks and taking the best ILB, CB, OL available
I read a lot of Seahawks draft articles because I like they way they approach evaluating player. They naturally are very clued into what is happening at U of Washington. Many seahawks fans/bloggers want nothing to do with Shelton due to atittude and work ethic. If his personality isnt good enough for the seahawks I dont see him as a fit for Chip Kelly. I dont know anythung about Shelton personally, but though I would pass the info along
Good catch. I’d like to avoid draft guys with motivational issues, bad hands, major off the field issues, etc.
That’s one thing we won’t have to worry about… If the character and Drive doesnt check out, how talented you are doesnt matter,you won’t even be on the Eagles big board of draftable prospects…….. I haven’t heard anything about his character or work ethic yet, but I have been watching washington closely the past few years since they have had prospects I have been really high on like Sefarian Jenkins, marcus peters, Shaq Thompsn..the big safety.
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Kid has some crazy talent, and behemoth size…he outclasses last years Louis Nix…I don’t care if we don’t add a single new NT in the next 7 years, but if a special NT comes around, we are fortunate that we owuld have the ability to move Logan to DE, but in his second season, bennie Logan proved to be one of the most promising young NT in the NFL, so not getting Another young NT wouldnt be a heartbreaker
.,,
Of course, DL isnt a major NEED and Beau Allen and Bennie Logan can be a great NT tandem for the next 7 years, so if his character and work ethic dont check out, no big deal,..
I don’t believe in drafting solely for your needs, but picking any defensive lineman in the first round, unless you think he’s a once in a generation talent, would seem like a luxury pick by the Eagles. Our DL is the single deepest position on the entire team. ILB, CB, S, WR, OL, QB, at all of these positions we either have severe weaknesses or at the least a severe lack of depth. If you have two roughly equally rated prospects and one is at your deepest position and the other is at any of the weaker positions, it’s a no brainer to shore up your weaknesses. It’s only when you select clearly inferior talents to fill needs that I get concerned. Last years selection of MSII or the selection of Josh Huff both come to mind. Just to keep you from freaking out, I still think both could develop into solid contributors or better, but they were both reaches.
Point of my diatribe, in case it wasn’t clear in the wall of text, I will be pissed if the Eagles select a DL in the first round.
IMO even if its not sexy, I dont believe you can ever go wrong spending a first round pick on either sides of the trenches.. i dont believe you can ever have enough OL and DL talent….you are RIGHT in that we DONT NEED to do ANYTHING at DL. we have starting young talent, and backup young talent,….we could not add a single DL this offseason and be fine… with that said, it doesnt mean we cant have a better DL… the damn giants won a superbowl with an average team because of its stacked DL
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you also need to rotate 6 DL in each game, so even if you are set in the starting lineup, im sure you can always upgrade a backup DL. doubt we have 3 probowl DL on our bench…
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If we draft OL in the first round, it would be a bigger need, but what I REALLY LOVE about DL, is that we have so much young talent already in place, that say we did decide to spend a 1st round pick on a DL because we think the next haloti ngata is available when its time to make our pick, unlike OL, if we spend a high pick on a DL, we will be left with extra quality backups like Vinny Curry who we can trade to replenish the pick we spent..
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so while it would suck to spend a 1st rounder on a position that isnt a NEED like NT, we could flip curry and get an extra second round pick, so its not that big of a deal. If we get Thornton under contract, we could get a pick for him too
With Logan and Sexy Beau is there really any need to trade up for Shelton? I much rather trade up for an OL or an OLB than the least needed position on the team
Mariota chatter aside . . .
Kelly won’t trade up unless the last two players on his “My 1st Rd Guys” list are 3 picks away.
I don’t think Kelly will let what happened last year happen again.
Or not.
no,,, drafting Shelton isnt a neccessity, but if the Haolti ngata comparisons are accurate, and this kid gets to 16, 17, 18…id def jump up two spots to secure him(if he is a special Haloti type) still havent looked at his tape, but i have seen him play Live alot… fortunately chip knows how special Haloti is and chip will know if he is that special type of behemoth Ngata beast..
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i would happily watch Beau and Bennie be our NTs the next 7 years, but if we have a shot at a special Haloti type of big boy over the next few years, I would love to snatch one up, trade Thornton(who i adore) and move Logan to DE
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Logan……340lb freak monster….Cox… will turn us into one of the mot ferocious front lines in the NFL for the next 7 years, with how young these beasts are…… im not 100% certain that shelton truly is that special rare Monster….but if we have a chance at a dontari Poe, Marcel Dareus, Ngata type these next few years, we always have the option of moving bennie to DE.
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what i like about shelton is you see the nastiness and attitude he plays with,…seems like an ornery 340lber
One reality check here, Geagle. If the league thinks he’s the next Haloti Ngata, there’s no way he lasts to even 15.
Wilfork made it to at least 20…
All comes down to perception. Geagle keeps saying “if they see the next Haloti Ngata.” If I remember correctly, Ngata either was top 10 or just slipped out of the top 10. If he somehow lasts til 16 or later, clearly the league’s scouts don’t think he’s the next Ngata which kind of invalidates the ‘we should immediately trade up for him’ argument.
Btw, Geagle, I believe in building the lines first too. OL was a mess last season due to injuries, but the DL was top notch. Problem was a coverage scheme/lack of secondary talent that made our excellent DL irrelevant. Fill needs in FA whenever possible and get the best talent available in the draft. Sounds great, but since we actually have no idea who the Eagles will be able to sign in FA, I’m looking at our current team and thinking that if we take a DL in the first, the front office is brain dead. Now, if we sign McCourty and even a decent corner, then yeah, taking a DL isn’t such a stretch. We’ll argue more about it as we get closer, I’m sure.
every time i see that fat bastard it drives me crazy that we drafted shawn Andrews instead… i wanted Wilfork so bad back then
Shelton is not close to Ngata special coming out (also Chip was still at New Hampshire when the Ravens draft Ngata)
Jeff Garcia, yes or no?!
He should at least get a chance at an interview. If we cant find an experienced QB coach I would be all about Jeff getting the job.
I don’t know if Jeff gets the interview, but his wife should definitely be interviewed very thoroughly…
If he smells like a rat………………
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1856715
TO was one crazy nutcase.
Yes. Quality guy who got the most out of mediocre talent. Just the type of guy who should be good at helping someone else get the most out of their talent.
I’m in.
Interesting development in the ball situation with the Patriots, the league is now saying they were first made aware of the problem during the Patriots/Colts first game during the regular season. Safety Mike Adams who had 2 interceptions in that game told coaches at the time that he felt the balls were under-inflated, and that the league was made aware at that time.
The Patriots are just pathological cheaters. I would love to know what they’ve done over the years where they haven’t been caught. I’m curious if the commish is going to come down extra hard on them because it’s pretty brazen to do something like this after the spygate scandal.
Yeah this goes back to the first game…last week, John Harbaugh actually complained to referees about the ball pressure the Pats were using on special teams… Ball pressure has a HUGE impact on how you kick a ball…
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You have to to figure, we caught the patriots cheating in a few different ways. No way, that they got caught for everything they did wrong… I can’t imagine the ways they have cheated the past decade that no one is even aware of…
Point 5 I can’t really blame them for. Now, if they knew he was a murderer and hid the fact, I could see punishing them. Kind of like the Ravens knew Ray smacked his wife and tried to trivialize it. The rest, I have to agree, the team’s dirty.
if they are getting caught doing dirty ish, there is just no way we can expect to have caught EVERYTHING they have been doing dirty…be fascinated to know all the ways the bended, brokle rules or flat out cheated that we have no clue about… who knows what crazy advantages Bellicheat has been giving them…
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you are right about hernandez, its just a bad look when it comes from the team that has the reputation of being dirty, willing to to whatever it takes to win…. they definitely didnt know that hernandez was a serial killer but when they drafted him, they knew he had some serious skeletons in his closet
Investigation continues for a few weeks. Going into the combine the following things are announced:
– $1 Million fine
– Belacheat suspended for season opener (only if Seattle wins the title), otherwise bigger fine)
– Forfeited first round draft pick
MM:
Investigation ’til the combine — when penalties announced?
That’s a fairly ambitious schedule by NFL standards in the Goodell era.
Perhaps the owners decide to expand Bob Mueller’s investigative jurisdiction beyond the “Ray Rice Incident” to include “Deflate-gate.”
That way, the NFL can push the who issue off until the summer torpor when training camp starts around the NFL and people are enjoying good weather.
Don’t think this hasn’t been discussed as the counterpoint to “Screw up SB week by Calling the Pats Cheaters Again.”
I’m glad you’re totally on board with my thought that the league is going to get this thing delayed until after the Super Bowl.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
NFL crazy to let this go on (as RobNE commented)
Deadspin is going with “Ballghazi”. It’s got a nice ring to it.
where is the league saying this? link?
there is no way Roger lets this be a story this week.
Appoint an “independent” counsel to investigate.
Poof . . . story’s off the front page.
And the leaks stop.
If a team gives their 12 footballs (or 24 on bad weather days) to the officials ALREADY UNDER-INFLATED . . .
and the officials fail to do their job of checking the air-pressure in every football . . .
has that team cheated?
Nothing was hidden from the refs. Nothing was done to the balls after the game started (in my hypo).
The refs let the game go forward.
The Refs inspected the balls two and a half hours before kickoff…. After the inspection, the balls were allegedly tampered with…
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And this isn’t the first time opponents have been talking to referees about the Patriots ball pressure
you bring up an interesting point.
the league can either
a) throw the refs under the bus by admitting they did not do their job
or
b) assume the refs did their job and the balls were good after the pre-game inspection and were tampered with later on.
i can’t imagine the league admitting the refs failed like that…
No way the refs failed Like that….. Can’t wait til media day where Goodell has to give his yearly press conference. Every media in America will be there hammering Goodell about,questions from Ray rice, to AP, to the Kraken, to deflate gate, to Goodell beng at a party at Crafts house the night before the AFC title game, to how Jerry Jones had heat of officials dean Blandino on his party bus in the summer time…
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The best is, media that doeamt cover the NFL year round will also be asking questions, so they won’t care about being afraid to get their future access tampered with by the NFL for going after Goodell doing his press conference,,,
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For someones who is always talking that “protecting and doing what’s,beat for the NFL Sheild”BULLSHIT I can’t think of a commissioner that is doing more harm to his sports “sheild” than this clown Goodell.
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I’m with you on all this but really, the Commish is paid to shake hands, he isn’t a ref and I don’t think him being at Kraft’s party is a sign of anything. But I’m with you up to that point.
GEAGLE’s media-scenario . . .
that’s exactly why, if the NFL can’t put this to bed in another 24 hours, the league needs to kick the can down the road with an “independent” investigation.
You guys remember the beginning of the season when it looked like Tom Brady was on his last legs (the chiefs game particularly) and then TB came back looking really TB-like — wonder if we found the reason…
They caught it at half time. Presumably, they forced Brady to use legit balls the rest of the game, and he scored 28 more points.
My point being, the evidence doesn’t really back up your hypothesis.
could be an exception not the rule…
That’s not really how this evidence thing works.
Colts game wasn’t the only game with deflated balls. Brady could have just have had a good throwing day (not to mention that Blount was rolling for 130yds including 2 of the TDs that you mentioned)
Sure. But the one time we know for sure that a real ball was used vs the deflated ball, in the same conditions and against the same team, Tom Brady didn’t have a huge drop off.
Any other example is complete speculation on your part.
I don’t think they actually made the patriots change balls, I believe they only removed 1 ball for examination.
thats not what happened… refs inspected the balls 2.5 hours before kickoff…after they inspected all the balls, the balls the patriots provided go back to the possession of a patriot ball boy/equipment manager or whatever,and the balls the colts provided go back into the possession of the colts…and the colts and Patriots each are responsible for their own balls from the time the balls pass inspection to the time the game kicksoff
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the Patriots balls all passed inspection, but in the 2.5 hours between inspection and the game starting, something happened to cause 11 of the 12 balls in the possession of the patriots to be short 2 lbs per square inch or whatever the measurement is….nothing happened to the balls the colts possessed
Yeah as others have said here, that’s not what happened. The refs examined the balls as usual and only after removing one from play (first play of the 2nd half) did they determine that the balls were under-inflated. They later examined all the balls and determined 11 of the 12 of them were under-inflated (ball boy fucked up on the 12th one, bet Brady bitch slapped that little whippersnapper for that). So yes things were hidden from the refs.
why do you get to control the balls used for your own team. That’s just stupid.
Because the f-ing NFL is too cheap to pay somebody to do it.
the “ball boys” on both side lines . . .
employees of the HOME team.
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Refs give the ball boys half the “checked” footballs before kickoff.
watch they will decide that it was the work of the ball boy and no one else knew about it. There is no way that’s the truth.
The NFLPA ought to negotiate a penalty of forfeit for franchises found guilty of cheating. The players have to pee on demand, get game(s) suspensions for use of banned substances – some of them not performance related, they get fined for wearing game attire that is not league-sanctioned, fined for NOT wearing attire that IS league-sanctioned, fined for over-celebrating touchdowns, fined for not talking to the press, and on and on. The interest in sports begins with the presumption of equal chance. Cheating seriously undermines the integrity of the enterprise, way more than player X on PEDs in my opinion.
Pathological cheaters is a pretty accurate description of the team. I understand pushing gray areas, and I don’t have a major problem with it. Patriots under Bellicheck have consistently ignored rules whenever they thought they could get away with it.
As much as Gamble has been hanging out with Kelly and the rest of the Eagles’ staff, I almost think they’re going to rehire him.
Damn could see Roseman having a hissy fit if that happened
Who’s this guy Roseman?
Cap guy.
The cap guy in the (ultra) expensive silk suit.
That’s probably not the only silk in his wardrobe given a $1.7m yearly salary.
I’ve been tough on Roseman on this board.
But what happened to him 3 weeks ago . . . my heart goes out to him.
Complete public emasculation. A firing would have been more humane.
Not sure anyone deserves that . . .
On the other hand, that’s why they pay you the big dollars.
first time he completely played his hand wrong, chip pounced and is refusing to let Howie off the hook…
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howies heart is in personel, for howie to accept this situation without interviewing with other front offices, you can bet Lurie made some big promises and is taking more care of howie than we know….. actually, while this is emasculating for Howie we know howie got a raise and an Extension, but howie LOSING THIS ROUND of the battle, probably extended his tenure in Philly by like a decade…. if Howie never lost this power struggle, he would have had a few more years in charge of personel and if he wasnt producing, the howie personel experiement would have probably ended…
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but now, howie taking a back seat to chip for the next 3,4,5,6,7 how many ever years, unlike the GM spot where you have to produce, howie is probably doing a job that will be tough to get fired from, unlike the GM job…and you KNOW LURIE promised that as soon as the Chip era ends, howie will be the next GM….. so not only will howie be here as long as chip decides to stay, but after chip leaves he will get all his power back, and get a clean slate at GM for another 3-4 years at the very least…. howie not taking interviewing for other personel jobs, means he will get to remain with the Eagles for as long as Chip lasts, and then get his power back with a clean slate of another 3-4 years as a GM…so while technically howie contract was only extended a few years, taking these two giant steps back to later take steps forward and get his power back, will mean that howie will remain with the Eagles til atleast like 2022-2025 depending on how long chip stays, and how howie does at his next GM job…
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and BTW, this demotion and sabbatical from the GM duties, could eventually lead to a better GM howie… its not uncommon for people in new roles in the NFL to fail the first time, and end up flourishing during their next stint… howie is pretty accomplished, now he will be watchinbg how other football brains do his job, and im sure there will be things he learns watching his replacements and we could end up getting a better GM howies second time around
Lurie definitely gave Roseman a win-win situation from which to figure his next move.
Wouldn’t surprise me at all
Non potrei essere piu d’accordo
Big message if Kelly does that?
I don’t think Lurie lets that happen, not unless he decides to part ways with Roseman totally. The only scenario I could see happening is Gamble acting as a consultant who just mails in his reports like McGloughlan did last year with the Redskins and a few other teams.
GR:
Fair point. Total humiliation for the Birds’ new $1.7 M/year cap guy.
$1.7M can buy a lot of toys to take his mind off of it.
Per dirti la verita, per me sarebbe una buona mossa. mi a sempre piaciuto Gamble, e se chip a una buona relatzionne con gamble, e lavorano benne insiemme, non mi dispiacerebbe vedere Gamble tornare… Ma Howie sarrebe incazzatto Nero lol
Totally. If Gamble’s out there. And Kelly’s “not finding” the right guy . . . bring back the guy with whom he had a good working relationship.
Has Lurie basically told Roseman, “sorry you’re upset, my friend, but the train’s left the station?”
No way it happens. Lurie would look like he’s lost control of the situation.
mksp:
You’re point’s well, well taken.
Do you think the door to Gamble’s return is open even a little bit?
I just think it would be a terrible “look” organizationally to seemingly be going around “wily nily” firing and hiring and re-hiring people.
And I think Lurie is very thoughtful when it comes to the perception of his billion dollar enterprise.
I think the Howie / Chip situation has caused enough damage to the franchise’s brand as is, and the last thing Lurie would want to do is draw more attention to it.
Re-hiring Gamble would be a strong sign that the Franchise is in more disarray than any of us thought. Who is in control? What are they doing?
Was firing Gamble a mistake? It must be, if they are rehiring him. In which case, why was he fired in the first place?
mksp:
well argued. well taken.
a check-mate on Gamble’s return.
non fa mi ridere… non pretendiamo che quella testa di cazzo sa la sua testa, dal suo culo.. let alone what the eagles will do LOL
I don’t really think it happens. I’d guess he is just chummy with Kelly and the coaching staff(which is what was part of the issue that let to his axing – allegedly).
Thought I read he’s been linked to head back to the 49ers.
They won’t. Zero chance in hell that Gamble is coming back to the Eagles.
Lurie already did Howie once, not gonna do him again.
Re: Eagles’ Love
Unless Miami (OH) CB Quinten Rollins presented himself the way Geno Smith is rumored to have done with Kelly, I think Kelly has to love this guy’s intangibles.
Rollins exhausted his 4 years of NCAA basketball eligibility during the 2013-14 season.
But he still had a 5th year of NCAA *sports* eligibility remaining. So he contacted the football coach, who invited him to spring practice to tryout as a DB. As a walk-on.
In high school, Rollings played football. Very well.
He was 1st Team All Conf RB in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Against Ohio powerhouse Turpin HS, Rollins had 24 atts for 263 yards.
Anyway, Kelly’s gotta love a kid so competitive and innately talented that he decided to keep up his academics, after 4 years of B-ball, so he could walk on the football team and become a starter at CB.
Maybe Rollins is too raw. But his off-field attitude sounds like what Kelly’s looking for . . . and every other football team.
Here is his hightlight tape, it will show two things Eagles fans havnt seen since the duo of Samuel and Brown, a CB who can turn his head and tackle (Rollins reminds me of DRC who cares and can tackle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHLLwLY7fs
Rollins looks “wow.”
Hands catcher.
Cat quick, tracks the ball really well.
Lots of text-book tackling (head across the bow – arm thrust.)
Long but with a big lower body like a RB.
Hits like Deone Buchanan.
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QUESTION (for all, but ‘specially T-Law & Belichick):
Can Rollins be moved to safety?
Or is that too huge a transition?
The kid just looks so instinctual out there.
Not afraid to hit anyone.
And seems to have excellent range.
I just keep him at CB, he isnt big enough for safety (I think he is less than 190).
The CB you might want to move to safety from the senior bowl is Josh Shaw and Eric Rowe, both played CB this year, but played S earlier in their college career.
Ah, weight would be troublesome.
But his lower body is pretty stout.
Maybe a year or two on the outside to build and develop, then inside?
I just keep him outside, CB is still a more valuable position in the NFL (all tho safety is proving more and more valuable)
To have someone playing single-high safety who can go (as Belichick put it) from Gatorade table to Gatorade table has to make the CBs look better.
Wondering if Q-Roll is such a man.
I still take Rowe, Shaw or Geathers (Rowe is my favorite if you want a coverage safety, Geathers if you want a more all round safety who can also hit).
The only Gatorade to Gatorade safety in the NFL is Earl Thomas and he is still 202 pounds, Rollins is not even 190
Anders:
THanks. Wondering exactly what you answered.
Its not hard to figure out the safeties that will and wont appeal to the Eagles…. its no secret that we are extremely high on Malcolm Jenkins and we strive for MIRRORED safety tandem…
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so for example, we dont need expert scouts to tell us that the Eagles wont like Landon Collins. He isnt at all like Malcolm Jenkins,…if teams were picking on a safety in coverage you can pretty much remove him from the eagles big board…
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when i look at all the DBs in this draft, and factor in what Chip and Billy look for in outside CBs and Safety…i assume that somewhere high on the Eagles wish list of DBs, we would find Jalen Collins name at CB in one of the Eagles top 3 CB wishllists….and Virginias Anthony Harris looks like a nice compliment to Malcolm Jenkins…
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with that said, contrary to popular opinion, i dont think the Eagles will draft any safeties this year before round 6 at the earliest,…. but if we completely strike out at safety in free agency and have to draft a safety, my money would be on the kid from Virginia.
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I’m amused at how many mock drafts have the Eagles taking Landon. Show’s no knowledge of what the Eagles actually like at safety.
amazing isnt it? I like to look at the mocks to see what wont happen..or to get an idea who is worth following, and who isnt qualified to be telling me who the Eagles will be interested in… for example, if i see you mock Landon Collins, or Ifo Olomu to the Eagles, it most likely means you dont have a better understanding of the eagles than i do, thus i probably shouldnt let your opinion pollute and taint my opinion…
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i sure as hell know that there wasnt a single member of the Philly media that was giving Marcus Smith a nickname 3 months before the eagles ever drafted him lol Maaaaaaaaaaarcus Daaaaaaaaarling!!! lol
He admits to struggling with off coverage. His biggest strength is press man. Why move him to safety? Also, have to remember it’s a highlight reel. Still, for a guy who only played a single season, hell of a highlight reel. I’ll be curious to see if draftbreakdown has several full game cutups of him.
Head across the bow – arm thrust? Ive never heard this term before n i get paid to do it lol
Relic of the no-face mask era.
i have seen scouts who do like his safety potential as well… I really like the way he competes man to man against WRs..for a corner who is so raw, he exhibits that IT FACTOR, playmaking gene, rise to the level of competition or whatever you want to call it…
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of course if we draft this kid, we have to put up with fans and the media ripping the kid and ripping Chip Kelly for spending a top 100 pick on a kid that wont provide instant gratification…. This city was dumb enough to cry about a raw OLB not playing ahead of 3 OLBs who were playing lights out this year….how much will fans rip this kid and chip, when they see Nolan Carrol struggle, and their new CB cant even earn playing time…
Had my eye on this guy.. Look forward to Tommy n C3BO Alston do a scout report on him
Where’s he projected?
Late first now for some people, with great combine and Senior Bowl he might even be first CB selected.
Reviews out of the Senior Bowl is that Rollins and Rowe (another great potential Eagles target) is that both are looking good in press man 1v1 versus the WRs
He won’t be the first corner drafted.., he won’t be the only sexy corner to put on a show at the combine… If Jalen Collins really measures in at 6’2, with Long arms, and has the type of combine im expecting the kid to have, he is going to shoot up to that top Cb spot…. I have Jalen Collins at one of the players out of all the positions that has one of those freak salivating combines… If he has the combine I think he will have.. If he is as tall and long armed as they list him(he will have the frame to get up to 210, 215lbs), with his experience and high level competition at LSU, I can see Collins becoming the first CB drafted.
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CB is a serious need leafue wide… It’s a long, crazy draft process. Who knows maybe Marcus Peters starts to rebound his stock and start to look irresistible to GMs and coaches, His game tape against some of the top WR in the nation is extremely impressive…
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I have a hard time envisioning Rollins jumping a lot of talentef corners and end up being the 1st cornerback drafted… If that happens, I’ll be sure to give you props, because I’d be pretty surprised to see him end up in round 1, let alone as the first CB off the board….
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I don’t mind seeing him become an eagle at all. As long as it’s at the proper value
I had totally forgotten about Collins, but right now, nobody is talking about him. Maybe a great combine will boost him, but people (draft nerds) say he wasnt really that good this year.
he struggled against Amari Cooper…. who didnt struggle with Amari?… im pretty confident he will have an impressive combine, im more more curious/worried about his official measurements… is he a legit 6’2 or is he a bullshit calvin Pryor 6’2 (cough cough 5’11)… if he is legit 6’2, with long arms and puts on the show i think he will at the combine, he has to shoot up and end up being one of the first 3 corners off the board….but I sure as hell wouldnt mind looking at the big board when its time to make our second round pick and see that Collins is still available…
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of course people also seem to like Trae Wayans and the CB from Wake Forrest.. struggle trying to rate the FSU corners… wouldnt mind stanford corner if he is as big as they list him to be…
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id be surprised enough to see Rollins get drafted in round 1, if he ends up being the first corner drafted, ill really be shocked….. but i do like the kid, and wouldnt mind seeing him become an eagle if his character and work ethic are a fit with our culture..
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also seen some scouts who think he could be moved to safety as well.
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I hated Curtis Marsh coming out of college, but i think the Rollins kid could be legit…. i just dont look forward to hearing all the donkeys cry that we drafted a corner who they will deem to be a bust in October when he isnt getting playing time
Kind of curious why you are so down on Wayans. I haven’t watched tape of him and only seen a few games. Everything else I know about him is based on what I’ve read. Someone on these boards posted that he ran sub 4.3 (to which I cried B.S.). Reality check, college posted 40 times are almost always a tenth or more faster than they actually end up running at the combine.
not down on Wayans….i just dont think he will be as good as Jalen Collins, who is my favorite CB prospect since Desmond trufant two drafts ago… Wayans is certainly in my top 5 CB draft wish list…. i like him much more than Darquez Dennard the year before…i wouldnt hate to see us draft Wayans, i just have a hard time seeing us draft him at #20 like all the mock fools seem to think… now if you were to tell me that the eagles would trade back to #26 pick up an extra 3rd and draft Wayans(because Collins is off the board), i wouldnt complain or bash the pick….
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its pretty RARE that i LOVE ANY CB in round 1…its just not a position i like to address in round 1… ..Lets say 6 CBs get drafted in round 1, i would think 2 maybe 3 were solid first round corners…. i see 4-7 corners drafted in the first round every year, and a low percentage typically go on to be worth the 1st round pick, especially since rookie corners suck and i have to hear this dumb city complain every time a first round pick isnt playing in October…. if we draft a corner in round 1, i hope its Collins…but i can see Wayans becoming a solid pro..,..
Interestingly there are currently only 4 CBs from LSU playing in the NFL, and when you look at those players, you have everything from Boom (Patrick Peterson) to Bust (Morris Claiborne), with some relatively unknown players like Tharold Simon (Sea) and Ron Brooks (Buf) in between.
Here’s hoping Collins will become a second PP rather than a MC…
He was 1st Team All Conf RB in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Against Ohio powerhouse Turpin HS, Rollins had 24 atts for 263 yards.
Sounds like a lot of Curtis Marsh to me.
He is already a better CB than Marsh was at the time.
Yes, I just found it funny that he used to be a RB as well.
Jimmy Rollins will make sure that he is the only beloved Rollins in Philly.
Jimmy Rollins stopped being beloved once he starting blocking trades so he could “break records” rather than help the team acquire assets via trade.
never heard the stories of geno smith, what happened?
The initial news stories had Kelly and Roseman visiting Smith at WVA. (Subsequently, Lurie admitted accompanying them on the visit, offering some excuse about having somewhere else to go on his private plane near Morgantown, WVA.)
Anyway, what emerged in the press from “sources” was that Smith made a poor impression on Kelly.
Apparently, Smith — whose senior season started very well — blamed the coaches for the fall off in production down the stretch. Also, didn’t impress with his chalkboard knowledge.
Again, these stories were all sourced by people “familiar with the situation” (or words to that effect).
Kelly’s never struck me as a “kiss-and-tell” guy.
So I’m assuming it was either Lurie or the same source for the story about Kelly wanting to take Matthews in Rd 1 — which came out a couple days after Roseman’s promotion.
I like the Kid.. He is certainly someone I wouldn’t mind taking a flier on…
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I expect it to become harder and harder to get playing time as a rookie for the Eagles. I don’t expect to see many rookies making immediate impacts the next few seasons. need to strive for. A quality roster that makes it hard for young players to earn playing time…I always view anything we get from a rookie as a bonus, I don’t believe in counting on rookies… You build NEXT years team in free,agency, you build your future in the draft.. So if I’m not expecting much out of rookies, I don’t mind investing in raw Talent as long as the drive amd work ethic is there to realize close to their full potential.
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In addition, cornerback position isn’t an easy one to transition to the NFL level. Most corners really shouldn’t be counted on as rookies… for example, Im extremely high on the LSU corner Collins, I been raving about him since October, I love his experiemce playing press man in college against some nice WR prospects. He is my favorite CB prospect since Trufant in the 2013 draft.. With that said. Even if we draft Jaylen Collins, a CB im so high on who has good college experience, I still would prefer to have him sit and learn for ATleast the first half of his rookie season. As high as I am on Collins, I wouldn’t count on him til the 2016 season anyway, so I don’t see why we would be turned off by the fact Rollins lacks experience and probabky needs a year of growth before we can count on him…. I like Him way way way MORE than the last Raw CB project we took on, Curtis Marsh whos never liked at all…
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def wouldn’t be upset if the Eagles draft Collins or Rollins even if I will have to sit thru a year of this dumb franchise calling him a bust when he doesn’t provide much instant gratification as a rookie
Agree with you on that CBs should have at least 1 year to learn (even Revis, Peterson, Sherman etc. needed at least 1 year).
I need to watch more of Collins, but Rollins is riding a wave of momentum right now and it does matter for an FCS guy like Rollins (it was around this time of the year that Eric Fischer and Khalil Mack picked up steam to become top 10 picks).
i certainly like the kid…. of course, the combine should start providing some clarity so we get a better idea how to rank the kids at positions like Corner/Wr
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there arent many corner prospects I love right now, but this is certainly one of the few that eagles fans should keep their eyes on…
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after Calvin Pryor was listed as 6’3-6’2 AND ENDED UP only being 5’11, really want to see all the DB measurements… loving that we are getting some measurements from the senior bowl…im alreday getting antsy for the combine
My only question is what does he run. He has the highest ceiling of any of the corners because of how quick his feet and hips are, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to run a sub 4.5
Exactly what I’m waiting to see, I share your concern which is why I’m trying to slow down on the 1st round talk until we see what type of speed he has
I still don’t buy the whole, “this is a weak draft for secondary.” Maybe it’s just easy for me to forget the years before and while there may not be a lot of “gotta have” secondary prospects early, there is a lot of depth from the bottom of the first/early second and on. Rowe, Gunter, Rollins, Shaw, Collins, Geathers, Derron Smith, Williams and Darby (even though we won’t take them), Harris Drummond, Waynes. There is no way we don’t come out of this draft with some talented prospects for the secondary. I just don’t see it.
There is always talent to be had at every position in each draft for the GMs who khow what they are doing, and the coaches that know how to cultivate the talent…
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We can absolutely come away with quality CB talent from this draft, the hard part is finding CB in this draft that can pay dividends providing instant gratification as a rookie..
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If we have a PRESSING NEED, that has to be addressed and a young player already on our roster who will improve ISNT the solution, then IMMEDIATE starting NEEDS for NEXT year have to be made in free agency…..Fans/media Need to stop making the mistake of thinking that they can fill immediate starting needs with a rookie… How do you go into a draft thinking you can count on definitely finding a great player at the position of need? And how the he’ll do you go into a draft thinking you can not only find a player who wills a need, but a player who can fill that need from day 1 of his rookie season?
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Immediate, pressing needs have to be addressed in free agency, and people need to stop expecting instant gratification from a rookie… Anything you get from a rookie is a BONUS…. If free agency ends and you still have openings at starting positions, you failed in free agency…the draft isn’t an exact science, it’s extremely foolish to go into a draft thinking we can get our hands on a kid who can be the answer to our prayers at a starting position from day 1
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I KNOW that the Eagles will come away from this draft having added cornerback talent. It’s OBVIOUS. Doesn’t take a brain surgery to know we are drafting a cornerback, when we don’t have a single young outside cornerback being groomed on our roater. ATleast we have a handful of 4th round safeties, No youmg outside corners on the roster, so they will obviously NBÁ drafted,…. I’m just Noy sure those corners can pay immediate dividends,,,
I don’t necessarily expect them to. I was simply pointing out that I don’t agree with people saying that this draft class is particularly weak in the secondary.
gotcha…. considering that the recent DB drafts havent been all that special, i dont know why anyone would be down on this particular DB draft…
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last year was a pretty crappy safety draft, 2013 was much better. I think this is a better safety draft than last year, but not as good as 2013
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CB IMO is pretty consistent with whats been available in the last two drafts…tho im really curious to see who will be the first corner drafted and when will the first one come off the board.
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doubt anyone would say DB is one of the strengths of this draft, but IMO its pretty consistent with the last two years…
Agree. Assuming better coaching i think the late round approach is viable. Size (obviously including hips and hands), smarts, and coachability.
The D works when people do what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it (assuming they can physically keep up). So i’m fine taking people late and coaching them.
I agree. There is no patrick peterson or eric berry type this year that is a truly elite prospect. Who cares we never have a shot at any of those guys anyway. There are a toneof guys to like from late round 1 to the end of the 3rd. For that reason I almost prefer going in a differnet direction in the 1st. We can get similar quality player in rounds 2-3 for the secondary
If Sean Mannion is the more “NFL” of the two, between him and Petty, then this has to be an all-time worst QB class.
In terms of depth.
or both if Mariota doesn’t translate and Winston gets kicked out of the league.
Take a look at 1972.
1972111111Jerry TaggePackersNebraska
211414John ReavesEaglesFlorida
321440Pat SullivanFalconsAuburn
4711 167
Jim FasselBearsLong Beach State
5723179Dean CarlsonChiefsIowa State
6822204Van BrownsonColtsNebraska
78 25207Craig CurryDolphinsMinnesota
81016250Mike FranksCardinalsEastern New Mexico
91113273Joe GilliamSteelersTennessee State
101221307Don BunceRedskinsStanford
11132314James HamiltonBengalsArizona State
121318330 Brian SipeBrownsSan Diego State
131418356Eric Guthrie49ersBoise State
14158372Rusty LachausseeSaintsTulane
15161391Brian LinstromBillsArizona
161622412Gary WichardColtsC.W. Post
171624414Neil GraffVikingsWisconsin
181626416Gordon LongmireCowboysUtah
19175421Kelly CochraneOilersMiami (FL)
Remember Gary Wichard? I remember him as Brian Bosworth’s agent who Boz accused of ripping him off.
Yep. Gary Wichard from C.W. Post.
Played in the 1971 Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City’s Conventional Hall against Tubby Raymond’s Delaware Blue Hens.
Delaware ran up and down the field.
Don Bunce was an interesting guy. He went to the CFL for a short while, then retired, went back to school, and became an orthopedic surgeon.
ICD:
Great stuff.
Watch out for those Stanford-educated QBs . . .
19 QBs and Jefferson Street Joe is arguably the best.
Have to go with Brian Sipe.
1980 NFL MVP.
Had some pretty good seasons in Cleveland under Forrest Gregg and Sam Rutigliano from ’76-’81.
Yeah…he’s why I said “arguably.”
Ah . . . understand.
Howard Cosell loved Gilliam . . . talked him up on MNF when MNF was a TV show, not a game.
Big-time gun for an arm.
Terry Bradshaw himself has talked about Gilliam’s arm.
I’m amused that even NFL scouts see a guy put up video game numbers in a spread offense and believe they will instantly be able to run a pro style drop back offense. I’m pretty sure Petty hasn’t been asked to drop back his entire high school or college career. Expecting him to do well at it at the Senior Bowl is silly. He’s a project. You look for measurables and how well he accepts coaching. I think Petty could be a pretty good QB down the road, but expecting him to make an impact this year seems foolish.
Kiper just said the same thing about MM (unless he plays in Philly).
i hate that people look to kiper as if he is an actual expert/.. he looks like Charlie Sheen on more drugs than usual……. this time last year he was calling Timmy Jernagan a top 10 pick LOL…………… feel like McShay isnt great either, but INFINITELY better than Kiper…. rather hear Mayock or Cossell
Mayock is better than everyone at ESPN combined
Mayock actually played football at one time.
he’s literally just stating the obvious. All those guys are terrible, live everything else on ESPN they are just there for airtime.
Several knowledgeable folks said the same about EJ Manuel and Geno Smith, but the Bills and Jets started them anyway. Probably screwed them up forever.
No patience in today’s NFL which doesn’t make much sense to me. Not when it comes to developing QB’s anyways. All three still have a toolbox where they could become something but I agree, forcing them to start so soon has probably ruined them all.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/01/21/redskins-fans-arent-happy-with-hiring-of-joe-barry/
Wow, Washington sucks. I’m not sure how I missed this yesterday.
I don’t know if should be crying or laughing?! Oh boy I almost got depressed myself reading that. Lol
I was dying reading some of those tweets.
We wanted Son of Bum not an actual Bum haha
Where do they get the idea that Wade would be a savior? Isn’t he 103 years old and hasn’t worked for quite a few years?
Thanks for the laugh. Best one was reference to Marion Barry.
The fans reactions are right up there with ours when Reid hired Castillo.
Around the NFL Notes:
Bears hired Adam Gase as OC and Ed Donatell as DBs coach(Good staff they’re putting together)
49ers hired Jason Tarver(Oakland’s DC last year) as senior defensive assistant/LBs coach
Raiders promote Marcus Robertson to DBs coach(asst DBs last year)
any viable QB coaches (fired OCs) available? Isn’t Dick Lebeau quietly still out of a job?
The only OC last year that is without a job currentlly is Nathaniel Hackett who was with Buffalo last season and could potentially get the Rams’ OC job. LeBeau will wind up in ARZ or TEN to be with coaches that were in Pittsburgh with him previously.
Thats a real good coaching staff! Fangio there too.. Shea McClellin might actually do something in 3-4D.. Hate the Bears! lol
is jeff Garcia actually a viable qb coach option?
I think he’s worked with people in the offseason before. I don’t know if he’s good though. Would be interesting b/c he was a mobile guy. Maybe he can help foles be more mobile / throw on the move.
I heard him on sportstalk radio a while back and he’s into coaching now. I think he takes it seriously and I’d be glad to have him.
I like him. I actually think foles throws well on the run the problem is he can’t really run fast enough to escape my grandma
His first year coaching was this last year with Montreal.
However the first two stories when you google jeff garcia at the moment are:
“Jeff Garcia REALLY wants to be 49ers QB coach, Work with Kapernick”
“Jeff Garcia wants to become Philly QB coach”
It kind of sounds like Jeff Garcia just wants a job.
or that he was a mobile QB that wants to work in a system w/ a mobile QB or that could use mobility at the position. I sort of wonder why SEA’s QB isn’t heard from in OC positions…
Probably because he’s 66, and his only three years of NFL OC experience was JAX 05-07.
Damn, the Saints owner(Tom Benson) essentially fired his granddaughter. Removed her from working for the team in any capacity and she will no longer inherit the team.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/
Danny Kelly from FieldGulls.com with a great assessment of one of my 3 favorite Eagles targets in this Free Agency:
“It’s always hard to really isolate a player’s talent level in a vacuum — with nearly every position in football, a team’s scheme and philosophy play a big part in performance, so projecting how well Byron Maxwell would play in a different system is tough. What I can tell you is that Maxwell does very, very well in Seattle’s system, which emphases physicality at the line, bump-and-run coverage, and throws in a little bail cover-3. He’s strong against the run, has excellent ball skills, and is known for his deadly punch-out, which has forced some key fumbles and broken up passes many times over the past couple years.
The main tenet for Pete Carroll’s system is to not get beat over the top, and Maxwell is fundamentally sound in that area. In fact, the only time off the top of my head that I can remember him getting beat deep was in last year’s Arizona matchup in Week 16, where Michael Floyd made a miraculous catch in the back corner of the end zone even after Maxwell had gotten a hand on the pass and deflected it. So, he does his job well, and that’s evidenced by Seattle’s second straight season giving up the fewest passing yards in the NFL. Obviously, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, and Richard Sherman had a big part in that, but at the same time, because those three players are so dominant, Maxwell does get a lot of action coming his way, and it doesn’t seem to faze him. He only gave up one touchdown this season, is generally very good at closing and tackling quickly (the Seahawks play everything deep, so underneath routes are often conceded), and is fast, and tough.
He adds value to a team too because he’s able to play both inside and out. Eagles fans will remember when Maxwell lined up on Jordan Matthews in the Seahawks’ matchup in Philly this year and more or less shut him down, especially on third downs. Maxy can flip his hips, has good feet in coverage, has good makeup speed, and like the rest of the Legion of Boom, appears to put in the time to study route concepts and combinations, giving him a huge advantage in predicting where a receiver may go within a given formation.
I may be biased because I’ve watched Maxwell develop over the years, but I believe he’s a very good player that would excel in a number of schemes.”
Yip i saw the same thing when he shut down Matthews.. He was playing man coverage too
Given the weak CB class this year in FA it’s probably a long shot that the Eagles will get him but if they do it’ll be one big step towards improving our pitiful backfield finally.
I may be in the minority, but I wouldn’t complain if the Eagles signed Cromartie or another older CB for a one or two year rental. Draft Waynes, Collins, pick your favorite CB prospect and let them develop. I’d love to see us sign Maxwell, but given the competition and probable pricetag, I’m ok with us taking a different direction.
I just really do NOT want to see Fletcher and Williams lining up on the outside again next year. I realize one of them might be back, but please, please PLEASE, let it not be both of them.
GOOD NEWS: you wont have to watch CARY AND Bradley start on the outside next year…
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BAD NEWS: you will be watching Cary(or Brad) playing across Nolan Carrol next year LOL
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better news; there is a chance the safety behind them will be significantly upgraded… Eagles will draft corners, hopefully we get lucky and draft a corner that tranbsitions to the NFL really well and can take Cary Williams job at some point during the season..
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BEST NEWS: This will be the last year the Eagles ask you to watch Cary or Bradley… Nolan will be here in 2016, but by 2017 two outside corners will be starting who arent on this roster yet… hopefully we strike gold and the corners we draft can play as rookies so we can shorten this timeline,,
Rookies are not allowed to develop in Philadelphia. They must be All Pros halfway through their first season.
Too many !@#$ idiots actually believe that bullshit. I’m worried about Smith developing into a contributor, but I’m not about to write him off. Fact that there’s large portions of the philly media who are writing Smith off makes me nuts.
Me too. It’s ludicrous. And it’s not only the media. The NFL, and for that matter, many other sports have countless examples of players who grow into their roles.
did you really need someone to tell you that a member of the Legion of Boom was a pretty damn good player?
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the Patriots and Broncos are probably the only two teams in the NFL with absolutely no interest in Maxwell…. cant think of too many other teams where Maxwell wouldnt be a clear upgrade to one of the corners if not both…..
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how are the Jaguars corners? how much cap space to the Jags have? what about the Falcons, who is the corner opposite of Desmond trufant(drawing a blank), a guy leaving pete Carroll, could be interested in familiarity of Gus Bradley or Dan Quinn…
No, but some posters need to since they think he will be a FA bust for another team than the Seahawks.
The biggest problem is that when Eagles DBs tried to bump-and-run they were flagged for PI or holding.
LOL at the owners meeting, Goodell added an “Integrity clause” and made all the GMs and Coaches sign it…. why stop there goodell? make Bellicek wear a promise ring while you are at it, you joke of a commissioner
Eagles were looking at Louisville OLB Lorenzo Mauldin, Marcus Smiths former room mate, and the OLB that played opposite of Marcus last year.,.
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really like his game, watch this kid start climbing the charts the next few months
[…] Senior Bowl Day 1 – Iggles BlitzThe best interview of the night was with CB Quentin Rollins. That is one sharp dude. He’s smart and seems to have a good sense of reality. Some of these guys are a bit delusional. Rollins told us good stories about the past year, his first playing college football. Prior to that he was a star basketball player for Miami OH. Jimmy and I asked him about the Eagles. Rollins said he was interviewing with them Tuesday night. We then asked what he knew about the team. He went back in time and talked about McNabb, Dawk and Reid at first. He then talked about the current team and said “I think they need corner help.” Jimmy and I both said “They definitely need corner help.” As long as he doesn’t become a Dallas Cowboy, I’ll be pulling for Rollins wherever he goes. […]