The Future at ILB
Posted: January 15th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 357 Comments »One position of uncertainty for the Eagles is ILB. Mychal Kendricks is on the verge of becoming a great player. He is a good playmaker and has gotten better each year at being a run defender. DeMeco Ryans future is up in the air. He’s an older player with a high price tag and he’s coming off a serious injury. Those guys rarely stick around, but Ryans is a great leader and Chip Kelly might value that enough to keep him around for one more year.
Beyond those two, the Eagles have Najee Goode, who is also coming off an injury, and Emmanuel Acho. Casey Matthews is a free agent. Matthews and Acho were effective while filling in for Ryans this year, but neither stood out in a way that made you think they should be starting in the future. That said, there wasn’t such a drop-off that you missed Ryans as much as I expected.
The presence of Kendricks gives the team options. You need one star ILB in the 3-4. You can build around him. My preference is for the team to find another really good athlete to put in the middle. They could bring back Ryans and spend a high pick on an ILB. Chip Kelly isn’t a believer in drafting a player and just plugging them into the lineup. He’s fine with letting rookies win jobs, but he’s not going to count on the kid to start.
I used to think the Eagles needed a big run stuffer beside Kendricks, but I’ve changed my mind on that. I’d prefer someone that can cover a lot of ground. Kendricks has become a good inside run defender. He doesn’t need a thumper beside him. A speedy ILB would help with pass coverage. While the Eagles will try to fix the secondary this offseason, it can’t hurt to help out the situation by adding another athlete to the middle of the field.
Safeties might feel less pressure to fly up if they knew there were LBs that could fly to the ball. Big CBs are vulnerable to in-breaking routes. Bigger guys just don’t cut well. This year we saw WRs open on dig routes all the time. Speedy ILBs can help with that issue. At the least, they can fly to the ball and make the tackle to cut down on RAC yards allowed.
The draft has several ILB prospects who could be of interest. One such guy is Paul Dawson from TCU. Tyler Alston wrote a scouting report on him for ScoutsNotebook.
Here is his take on how Dawson matches up to the Eagles.
FIT WITH THE EAGLES: The Eagles aren’t looking for another Demeco Ryans. In the modern NFL you need two ILB’s who can be playmakers and roam sideline to sideline. Both should be able to come up and stuff a fullback on one play, and then tackle the running back in the flat on the next. Bowman and Willis, KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner. Dawson would be an excellent fit for the Eagles 34. He would provide the perfect complement to Kendricks. Dawson would be able to immediately start in the nickel (TCU runs 4-2-5 base). As he fills out his frame (he should be able to get to 245 easily) he becomes a playmaking ILB who possesses strength, speed, and instincts.
Dawson would be an excellent LB to pair with Kendricks. That would give the Eagles a lot of speed in the middle of the field. TCU plays a 4-2-5 as their base defense, which is very demanding for LBs. Their LBs are forced to play the run and cover a lot of ground vs the pass. Daryl Washington was a star for them and is one in the NFL. Jason Phillips was very good in college, but injuries killed his NFL career. Dawson is used to having a lot of pressure on him. That would help him adjust to the NFL.
Check out this highlight play from the Oklahoma game to see the kind of playmaker Dawson can be.
There are several other good options for the Eagles to consider. I hope they add a gifted athlete. Having a pair of athletic ILBs can really help a defense. Just look at what Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly did for the Panthers down the stretch. Those guys made plays all over the field and really helped the players around them.
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Denzel Perryman !!!
Not a bad player, I put him with the second tier ILBs after Kendricks, Shaq, Benardrick. And Dawson
Any interest in Bruce Carter? Pretty difficult for Dallas to keep him.
Yeah I could see some level of interest depending on price
Carter has perfect size for the ILB position and was a pro bowl type when he played inside for the Cowboys when they played 3-4
Yea but its easy to be a prowler in Dallas lol 😉
Still loling at them sending 3 online to probowl, what a joke
No….just, NO!
So Im wrong in he has perfect size and was playing at a pro bowl level before they went to a 3-4 or just that you do not want him?
Doubt it….we are keeping Meco, so we will want to go young at the position and adress it thru the draft
is Meco going to be ready to play next season? i don’t know how long he is expected to be out…
Sounds like it. He is doing all his rehab at novacare, so chip has been monitoring his progress and chip sounds like he absolutely expects Meco to be ready to go in September, and remain our leader for another season or two…. Of course, we will still draft a young ILB, who will start to take some snaps from MEco til Meco gets phased out and the kid is ready to be a 3down ILB
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chip seems Genuinly optimistic about his return, so I wouldn’t bet against it
Eric Kendricks
Yes!
Tyler Alston will always be D3FB to me.
T&T,
I love the input of both of you. However can you please also provide an estimate in which round those players of interest would most likely be available. I have honestly no idea if Dawson is a 1st or only a mid rounder.
Thank you,
GE.
It says 2nd round in the SNB profile
Thought the same here. Anders says 2nd round, so there could be a chance Dawson or Eric Kendricks (who seems to have similar traits as far as I can tell, no scout obviously) are available in the 2nd – at least if you trade up in the 2nd. That would be good because we can use the 1st rounder otherwise.
I think ILB is the perfect draft player. We need one, but we don’t need experience (like, let’s say, at CB or S). Bring Ryans back (but please, work on his salary, Chip has to learn money value, I don’t think he has that yet), let him teach the rookie while the rookie plays on obvious passing downs and next year, he’s ready to start while Ryans retires as an Eagle.
Top 50 draft pick
Could sneak in the first round when it’s all said and done
Not a top 20 pick… 21-50 range
Link says 2nd round…
For all the players I have done, Tommy is just posting the fit with the Eagles section on Iggles Blitz. The rest of the scouting reports are over at ScoutsNotebook.
Great. Will check it out.
Dawson and Kendricks is my two favorites. Kendricks is the better player right now, but Dawson has more potential because of his speed.
Another important coverage ILB is Wagner. He is really important in the Hawks cover 1 scheme to take away everything between the hashes together with Kam
The difference in that defense when he came back was ridiculous. Definitely shows how important it is to have someone like him.
Speaking of ILB. How would you like to be colts ILB Josh mcNaly, getting accused of rape the week of the AFC championship game. Not sure how you have time to rape someone getting ready for a championship game, but if this is true, it would be truly sickening
incident happened earlier in season, maybe Nov or early Dec as i recall reading. Article hinted at a she said/he said situation. Still dumb for anyone no less a pro athlete.
Oh ok…i was about to say, how the hell can you even find yourself in that position the week leading up to such a big game
Given how hard it is to find enough evidence to formally file charges in rape cases, this dude shouldn’t get the benefit of any doubts. Look for the news of an out of court settlement, because this dude knows he’s not winning at trial.
A decent write-up: http://deadspin.com/colts-linebacker-josh-mcnary-charged-with-rape-1679572197
how do you find yourself alone in a guy’s bedroom? I’m not saying I know what happened, etc., but there’s some poor judgment there (at least). That doesn’t mean she deserved to be assaulted, etc. etc. caveat caveat but when I read this it just is like by magic she went from out with friends to in this guy’s bedroom with no one else there, and maybe you shouldn’t do that?
I’m no stranger to binge drinking myself, and I often find myself in places/situations that I shouldn’t be in or have no recollection of how I got there. You are correct, “That doesn’t mean she deserved to be assaulted”
If we’re talking personal responsibility, dude probably shouldn’t be bringing chicks home that are too drunk to remember where they’re at though, consensual or not.
I disagree innocent until proven guilty. Even if he’s innocent sometimes its easier to pay for a problem to go away. People forget sometimes the athletes can be the victim too.
There’s a realistic chance that all three NFCE teams will end up with a better DC than us (Dal: Marinelli / Was: Fangio / NYG: Schwartz or Spags) at the end of the day. #Ffs
and the better DC in Marinelli coached a worse defense than Billy D
I think Billy has been doing a pretty damn good job as DC… our offensive style puts a lot of pressure and extra reps on defence and our secondary is fully of average to bellow average players who cannot win consistently 1v1.
He has done an awesome job, for the people that understand we were building a defense from the ground up. I think Chip Kelly is much higher on the job Billy has done so far, then fans and media realize. Fortunately the decision makers DONT give a shot how much the fans cry over billy, he isn’t going anywhere and had done a fantastic job building this front 7 with so many young players. We invested in front 7, billy delivered a quality front 7…once we invest in the secondary, I’m sure he will deliver a quality secondary…
WAS already hired that dude from SD, if Giants get SPAGS good for them they have little talent on that side of the field and Dallas will likely have even less talent than them
That report turned out to be false. Schefter saying now Fangio may be the guy.
Washington hired a good GM. Please, don’t let them go from Haslett to a really good DC in Fangio.
On the other hand, I read that Fangio wants to become Head Coach. Maybe he waits and hopefully he waits too long.
http://www.hogshaven.com/2015/1/14/7545273/report-redskins-plan-on-hiring-joe-barry-as-new-defensive-coordinator
not one scares me about stopping the Eagles offense. Unless of course, our backup(whoever that may be) is in the game…
Its been proven the only people that can stop our offense , play on our offense lol
Lol
Coaching is a small part of the problem. The one thing you can fault is the % of plays he left Fletcher singled up on elite WRs. Other than that, he did a great job. Nate Allen is Nate Allen. He was not coached to bite on fakes.
I want to see what Billy D does with any talent in the back 4. He has done a Great job in the trenches, thats a start.
The way the front 3 play the run negates the need for the “run stuffing” ILB. Even the reserves seem to do a good job filling the run gaps and making contact with the ball carrier.
That gives the team so much more flexibility with the line backers.
more focus on coverage and blitzing
This is why I want Bernardrick McKinney in the first. I think he and Kendricks could make a great combo inside.
I like Kendricks a LOT but I would LOVE Shaq if he were available, if we don’t take Mckinney at 20 I hope we trade up from 52 to snag Dawson or KEN
I would poo myself if we got Shaq. He is just so versatile and explosive. So versatile in fact that I think he could play safety on some downs!!!!!!!!!! First round targets I’m a big fan of are Kevin White, Thompson, La’el, Sherff. Don’t think I want Landon Collins, I’ve soured a bit on Waynes.
I’m cool on Eric Kendricks, I’d rather not have 2 smaller guys inside.
Really don’t want Ryans back especially coming off his injury. He was a liability before in pass coverage in zone and had trouble moving quickly laterally I can’t imagine what he’ll be like this year.
Guess you will be stuck being dissapointed then
It would be one of the dumber things the eagles could do this offseason given the legit concerns about him being 100% by the start of the season next year.
ditto overpaying graham and giving him starter money for a guy who is no more than a role player in this scheme.
lol you do realize people have been saying that MECO is Done every single offseason since he arrived in Philly via trade? Lol every single offseason, some “fan” like you tried to tell me he is done, the Eagles will be dumb to bring him back, Blah blah blah… And I spend the summer arguing about how MECO ISNT going anywhere… I was really hoping we could finally avoid this silly song and dance this offseason…. Of course people like you also said the Eagles would be stupid to bring back bennie logan as our starting NT….so excuse me, if I rather trust my own opinion
You are just making up complete BS. There is almost nothing in common with Logan’s situation last year (a younger player who started for the first time but concerns about his ability to get stronger and put on weight and get better) and Ryan (a veteran who has a serious injury and is in the last year of a deal without a huge cap cost if cut).
I can’t remember a single person on here last year that questioned bringing back Ryans either.
I was fine with Logan coming back because it didn’t make sense to select a high draft pic or pay a high price for the FA NTs available last year.
The one FA I wanted who was a bust last year was Byrd instead of Jenkins. I thought Jenkins was a guy who wouldn’t force turnovers and be just mediocre. Byrd got hurt and before that hadn’t played that great.
I hated their 1st round pick and their dumping Jackson/signing Cooper.
Lol
Glad you agree that comparing Logan to Ryans is ridiculous and about as poor as an analogy as you can get.
Casey and Acho gave Demeco a lot of credited for breaking the game down and I for one wouldn’t mind him coming back ,if cheaper. Leadership matters, especially for younger players
Rather see the Eagles address the secondary issues via FA on a CB/S and address several areas via the draft including – ILB (not a damn reach player who may or may not be ready to start for 2 years), OL (a guy who can push Herremans for a job right away and moved over to LT to replace Peters in a year or so if necessary and maybe even a mid-round T because all of the Eagles reserves got exposed last year & this line is getting really old) via the draft.
Don’t think this team is that far away but they desperately need Smith III & Huff to provide them with meaningful contributions right away next year since they can’t afford to waste money in FA/high draft picks to address those areas this offseason (OLB and WR).
The one player the Eagles seem to be stuck with is Cooper. Arguably the worst #2 WR in the league and given his contract and all of the other needs this team has including signing/franchise tagging Maclin they can’t afford to spend any kind of real asset there this offseason.
Lane Johnson is slated to replace Peters, that’s why we drafted him 4th overall.
And who will replace Johnson when he moves over?
He said LT.
Doesn’t matter when you have no one on RT.
…….. Johnson was drafted to be the LT, so we would need to draft someone to be the RT. I didn’t think I would have to type that all out for you…….
Or maybe the statement is just bogus and we will draft a LT. Do you believe everything that people tell you?
What statement is bogus? What have you heard contrary to the idea that eventually Lane will slide to the left? If they dnt think Lane will be a good LT and there is one worth drafting in the first, go for it. I dnt understand the statement that all of a sudden he isn’t good enough to be a LT.
Lane is good but if you think that we can’t keep him at RT and go by a statement made years ago will remain true in the future then lol.
If they thought he was a RT then he wouldn’t have been drafted 4 overall. I still don’t understand why you think he wouldn’t be a LT.
I’m not ruling out possibilities until such things happen. I never said Lane couldn’t play LT. I’m saying that he’ll play RT until Chip makes a decision. Tyron Smith started at RT and Doug Free played LT during his rookie year. Some OTs are just better on one side.
Never a bad idea drafting OL ,DL or CB if they are BPA
For a guy who got suspended and had real questions on whether he was doping or not (I definitely think he was), Johnson never really got a lot of criticism last year despite a pretty subpar year. Still was inconsistent in pass protection and wasn’t as dominant at the end of the year in run blocking as the year before.
I didn’t think he played great. PFF graded him out as the best RT in the league. Numerically(by their grading system) that may be true as they base things cumulatively, but in my opinion he was very inconsistent. Some games he dominated, others he struggled. They should factor in standard deviation in their grading.
You’re the first person I’ve heard say Johnson was “subpar”.
Mostly people have been saying “Pro Bowl Level”. I’m not disputing your opinion (though he’s looked good to me, but whaddoino). We all know how reputation builds for OL -the commentator copy machine -so it’s interesting to hear someone stake an opposite position.
I thought the PFF grading of Johnson was as the No. 1 RT was baffling and others said they were puzzled by his Pro Bowl consideration including Jamaal Jackson.
Kind of like Kelce getting a Pro Bowl nod after notably failing off after returning from his injury. There wasn’t an Eagles OL who I thought was great this year and Peters was probably the best one. He even had 2-3 games where he struggled though too.
PFF grading is a lot more than baffling. They graded the Eagles OL #2 behind only Dallas. There is no way we had the second best OL in the league this year.
If begin with the premise that PFF is a reliable source, then you’re conclusion is certainly reasonable — based on the “Joe Minx” eye test.
If you being with the premise that PFF is a useful but limited source, then your conclusion would seem to overstate your level of disbelief.
Just sayin’.
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Stick to what Belichick says about the Eagles.
Catch his draft stuff over at T-Law’s SNB.
Sounds just like a RT
I wouldn’t mind signing Bruce Carter and spend our assumed ILB draft pick on OL/secondary.
People are bringing up Bruce Carter, what do you all think?
Obviously, if you can fill holes in free agency then go BPA in draft, that can be preferable. If the free agency is the right fit (cost, can get better, works hard, etc.).
Doubt we are interested
And why not?
Team building standpoint, some upgrades can be made,via veteran, where as some positions you have to get younger at….. ILB is a position we need to add youth at.., Mykal Kendricks is close to reaching his second contract, Casey Mathews could be brought back on cheap veteran backup deal… They won’t add a,veteran ILB from another team, especially in a STRONG ILB draft..
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Conversly, Safety is a position you can use a veteran at, in terms of team building. Makes sense to address safety with a veteran, when we have so much youth at the position on the bench that we have to figure out who is a keeper, who can be replaced.
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corner is another position that from roster building point of view, it makes more sense to go with Youth….. If you want to pay Boykin to stay in the slot, going to have to pay our outside corners on cheap rookie deals for the 4-5 year duration of Boykin next contract.
..,
Roster Bulding is about investing a certain amount of money into a position, but have a good mix of veterans and youth…
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For us to add a veteran ILB, I assume we would have to waive Demeco, and I just don’t see that happening right now.
Carter won’t be getting a huge contract. Demeco has to restructure or he’s most likely getting cut. To say that we don’t have any interest in ILBs in FA is like saying we don’t have any interest in safeties in the draft. So what if Kendrick’s contract is coming to its end? He hasn’t earned a huge payday yet. Neither has Boykin.
Ok…. You asked me what I thought. I told you. Eagles won’t even make Bruce Carter an offer. You are welcome to disagree, but I’d stand by my statement
Ernie Sims part II. Great athletic ability. No instincts.
Loved Dawson in the bowl game…..man amongst boys…..came on here the ask about him during the bowl game and D3 had him mocked as a first rounder if we want to address LB first……
I really like Sam Carter as well, #17…At safety. This TCU defense ha some solid players. I noticed several of the LBs while watching some Dawson tape and during the Bowl game ( #40, #54)
How do you like McKinney of Miss St?
He is the exact player Tommy is referencing that we don’t need. He’s a huge kid at 6’5 250lbs, and he would mostly be a run stuffer for us. Would get lost in coverage trying to cover a TE or RB, great player but I agree with Tommy that an athletic LB would be better. Would rather have Kendricks’ little brother from UCLA.
Appreciate the insights, that is exactly what I was looking for. I was attracted by his height which would be an asset dropping into coverage.
Don’t get me wrong now, he is an outstanding player and worthy of a 1st round pick but just based on what Tommy was saying in this article and from what I’ve seen watching many Mississippi St games I think we would be better off with a more athletic LB. I still wouldn’t be upset if we ended up with McKinney.
Think you will be surprised by the athleticism Benardrick displays at the combine
Oh I am sure I will brother and if he kills it at the combine I am sure my opinion on him will change.
I’m not trying to sell you on him. Truth be told, there are 4 ILbs I would be happy to see the Eagles draft. So I can’t specifically go crazy over one of these ILBs, because I think more than 1 of these ILBs can be an awesome addition to our team…. So while I don’t think Benardick would be the Best ILB for us, he would be one of the ILB who would be a quality addition.
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Personally, I like too many of these ILBs to go crazy over 1. If I had my way, I’d eliminate the guess work and draft Erik Kendricks, but truth be told, I would be happy to trade back two times from #20, add two extra 3rd round picks, basically not making our first pick Til the beginning of round two, because I can safely assume that either Shaq, KEndricks, Dawson or mcKinney will be available at the beginning of round 2…..
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A SPECIAL unforseen player has to fall to #20, for me to want to keep that pick. 4 quality ILBs to be had, a position of need. Might as well get two extra 3rd rounders and tKe whichever of the 4 is still available(good chance that would be KEndricks due to his size)
I’m actually in the same boat as you, I do like multiple ILBs in this draft as well.
Bednarik’s at the top of the list right now.
Well above Kendricks.
(I’m no scout. Relying on others.)
I agree he is the best ILB in this draft, I am not disputing that but I feel that our other needs outweigh that position and that no point in trading up for McKinney. I really hope we trade back somehow and grab an extra pick and maybe grab one in the 2nd or 3rd.
JE:
Understand your point now better..
I think it’s been said that unless an ILB is truly special, do NOT use a 1st Rd pick on him.
Get value . . . as you say.
I would be ok with either, maybe not at 20th but we will see.
Kendrick would be good, this is the city of brotherly love after all!
It’s like sure I can rank them by who I like the most. But there isn’t enough separation for me bêtween these ILBs so I don’t see why I would want to specifically draft 1 of them with the 20th pick…. RATHER just trade back, take whichever ILB is left on the board, and I would still end up with more draft picks and an ILB who I would have been fine with spending the 20th pick on…
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4 high quality ILBs, stylistocally they differ from each other, but IMO all 4 have a skillset that can work next to Mykl Kemdricks behind our young Beast of a DL
Re: Trade Back
On 2012 draft boards (Eagles included, apparently), teams had Wilson, Foles, and Osweiler in the same general area.
QUESTION:
How much of the board-placement for a player is impacted by intangibles — especially, leadership?
Every regime, will value it different. Some coaches are more willing to tolerate red flags, lack of intagibles when they fall in love with the talent.
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All the Data we have since chip arrives points to it being EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to this Eagles regime. It’s going to be hard to pin point exactly who the Eagles like because we are a team that will really value the interview process, nd how a prospect will handle himself once chip starts talking football and wants to test a prospect at the blackboard…. Think we can have an idea of which prospects will be strongly considerd by the Eagles. But Character. Passion. Work ethic, intelligence, commitment. Selflessness will all matter a lot to Chip, so its going to be very difficult to pin point exactly who we like
An ILB that can cover makes pretty good sense if u think Billy D wants the same concept in LB coverage he does at safety.
Meaning being able to completely disguise the coverages, This makes a lot of sense.
Well, every ILB im interested in can cover. I wouldn’t be talking about top 50 draft picks at ILB, if I didn’t view them as quality 3 down ILBs that don’t have to come off the field…. Linebackers who can Thump, but lack ability to cover can be had in like the 5th round. In today’s NFL, everyone is valuing LBs that can over and handle themselves one on pne against a weapon in space..
Why waste a draft pick on run stoppers, macho has that covered and has gotten better at each opportunity imo.
What do u think about the mirror concept in regards to coverage. Our safeties are supposed to be interchangeable, do u think thats what Billy D wants at ILB? I think there’s some merit to that notion.
Rewetting game tape last night and LMFAO at one of the commentators at “sanchez is good at looking off LBs” while all the other QBs look off DBs
Agree with Tom in that, even tho Kendricks is technically a “cover LB”, he so good against the run, that we do not need a run stuffer next to him, and could absoluteky go with mirror ILBs like our safeties… devin McCourty is the PERFECT MIRRORED SAFETY to Malcolm Jenkins
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They aren’t the same players, but my ideal,scenario is Kendricks and Kemdricks ILB TANDEM, both are well rounded 3 down LB’s that can play,a mirrored type of ILB tandem
I’m curious to see how his combine compares to Marcus Smith…
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I like McKinney, I can see value in a lawrence Timmons type of Big ILB next to KEndricks, especially since I would bet that his athleticism will project to be able to cover backs and TE’s in the passing game…
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Fortunately, we have ILB options in this draft. We don’t have to trade up to grab an ILB… If a special player that we have a top 15 grade on DOESNT fall to #20, trade back, stockpile more draft picks and still end up with a young stud ILB to solidify our front 7….
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personally It would take a special player. Unexpectedly falling to #20 for me to want to keep that 20th pick..if we aren’t blown away with someone unexpected being available, trade back, and fill our ILB need with a young stud..
BINGO!
You and Belichick are the on it!
I really don’t pay attention to DF3 that much. Nothing against him, I think he is one of the better people to talk football with on this site… it’s just that historically, we usually view prospects the same way. He usually is high on all the players I really like, like Marcus smith last year, and it’s boring to just talk to people you Agree with all the time…..I typically agree with his point of view, and that bores me
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I’m more interested in his posts, on the rare occassions where his opinipn of a prospect drastically differs from mine, so I can see if I’m missing something..
Yeah I mean how can this board flourish without someone going around calling everyone they disagree with a donkey….
Ah . . . Bednarik McKinney.
Can’t necessarily agree with Javi Echie’s eval.
I think Bill Belichick (a/k/a here as Tyler Aston) has offered some preliminary thoughts on Bednarik that suggest he’s actually very athletic and could do ok covering TEs and the flat.
________________
Bottom line . . . I’m waiting for Belichik’s SNB report.
He would be more of the classic run stuffer. His forte is playing in the tackle box. He’s more athletic than people give him credit for, and can drop in zone effectively. This is helped by the fact he’s so damn tall. His wingspan helps deter QB’s from trying to throw over or around him. That being said, I don’t know that you want him playing much man coverage. It really comes down to a stylistic choice by Chip. Does he want the big run stuffer, which I don’t think he will, or does he want another big time playmaker.
I watched his LSU tape. I ended up coming out more impressed by Lael Collins. He would be an excellent replacement for the Toddfather.
Whenever Chip has a choice, he will choose Pac 12 so I would guess he’d pick Kendricks II first.
SEND TOMMY TO THE SENIOR BOWL!
(Need 19 more!)
Fellow Igglesblitizens:
Shake out your pockets, dig through the couch cushions, and sell your authentic Bradley Fletcher jerseys to the blind because it’s time to help Tommy make it down to the Senior Bowl. Six days hence he’ll descend upon Mobile to scout draft prospects, spy on Eagles’ personnel, and force some unsuspecting hotel maid to pick up empty Funyun bags like they’re flags in a Dallas playoff game.
This will be his fourth trip to the nation’s premiere all-star event; the kickoff of the draft season for non-draftniks… aka 99% of us (hi, D3FB!). Like other reporters and bloggers, Tommy will patrol the sidelines during the practices and post his observations, but unlike the rest he won’t have the luxury of expensing the trip. That’s where we come in…
CHALLENGE: If we can generate 36 donations (one for every turnover!), I will donate $100 ($1 for every disastrous Josh Huff blunder!). Any donation, large or small, will go a long way toward helping Tommy out. Think of it as buying him a tall can of PBR or a short cup of pudding in exchange for his unique, on-the-ground reporting that we all enjoy so much. Without him we’d be left with the musings of Howard Eskin and whatever Mike Florio’s “sources” manage to dig up. Yikes.
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Hard to believe that only a year ago we were hoping to find a pass rushing OLB and some DB help. What a difference a year makes! Sigh…
Fly Iggles Fly!
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SENIOR BOWL ALL-STARS
(looking for at least 19 more…)
MAR2691
Avery Greene
RogerPodacter
Nailed it!
goeagles55
Anders
Dirty Harry
Crus57
HawaiianEagle
pkeagle
Caligreenbirds
Ankerstjerne
Spooonius
BobSmith77
anon
Midnight_Greenville
Kelce’s Beard
Done 🙂
ThAnkYoU!
It looks like this is finally the year i can join u guys for the draft! (I finally got a reliable car that I’m not scared to drive more then 10 miles lol
Too many turnovers this year.
Thought I posted this on the other thread, albeit late. But count me as ‘done’ also.
V
Sorry I missed you in the last thread, and thanks, V!
I’m in. Tommy’s the best!
T-Law wrote:
“Chip Kelly isn’t a believer in drafting a player and just plugging them
into the lineup. He’s fine with letting rookies win jobs, but he’s not
going to count on the kid to start.”
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Respectfully, I’m not sure many (any?) HCs are ok with plugging in rookies, irrespective of readiness — which is how I read that comment.
Quick example.
In 1989, Green Bay drafted OT Tony Mandarich with the 2nd-overall pick.
The Packers were coming off a 4-12 season. The OTs on the roster were former 1st Rd pick Ken Ruettgers at LT, a former 9th Rd pick by the Broncos named Keith Uecker, and a former RFA named Alan Veingrad at RT.
Mandarich rode the bench his rookie year — even with Green Bay coming off a 4-12 season.
Despite his draft status, HC Lindy Infante wouldn’t start him. I’m guessing because Mandarich turned out not to be very good. So Veingrad won the RT job.
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Note: The 1989 draft was perhaps the best one since the 1964 NFL draft — certainly at the top.
1st overall: HOF QB Troy Aikman
3rd overall: HOF RB Barry Sanders
4th overall: HOF LB Derrick Thomas
5th overall: HOF CB Deion Sanders
All four of those rookies were instant starters, unlike Mandarich.
In the case of Aikman, Dallas’s only other QB was another rookie, Steve Walsh — from UMiami, whom Jimmy Johnson selected chose in the supplemental draft at the expense of the Cowboy’s 1990 1st Rd pick.
After 11 games, Johnson benched Aikman and started Walsh — who beat the playoff-bound Washington team for Dallas’s only victory in a 1-15 season.
Johnson later flipped Walsh to New Orleans for the Saints 1991 1st Rd pick — which Johnson used to acquire the 1st overall choice in UMiami DT Russell Maryland.
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Closer to home, in 2011 Andy Reid wouldn’t start OG Danny Watkins.
In 2001, WR Freddie Mitchell rode the bench behind James Thrash and Todd
Pinkston — while other rookie WRs, all drafted after him, Reggie Wayne,
Quncy Morgan, Chad Johnson, and Chris Chambers, were all 1st-year
starters.
Was it necessary to bring up all of the Pro Bowl receivers that were taken AFTER Fred Ex…at least WR have 4th and 26…
Now I’m depressed…
if we assume that the drop off in play was not so much after losing Meco, do you think it would be better to allocate our resources (draft picks, FAs) to other positions? and fill out the other ILB spot with a low priority FA or UDFA?
my only concern would be that we could potentially not have a good ILB if Kendricks gets hurt…
this is interesting, because I was kinda shocked with Matthews being respectable. But Meco is better, and it’s not my money. If there is a real world choice between doing something else productive with that money, then yes maybe. But we are way under the cap and I doubt cutting Meco makes any difference.
I think we need him another year.
Best to move on from Demeco ( 0 dead money if waived ) and spend that $ 6.9 million on a younger, faster and healthier free agent. My thoughts would be : Brandon Spikes ( Buffalo ) 27 yrs. old. – Sean Weatherspoon ( Atlanta ) 27 yrs. old. Neither should balk at approx. $ 8 million per year. That’s a younger , healthier player for only a approx. $ 1 million dollar increase in cap money. Note *** I know Weatherspoon played weakside linebacker for the Falcons, but he is a terrific athelete and could / would easily adjust to the move.
I cringe every time I hear Mel Kiper called a draft “expert”… What a jackass. Why would anyone think he is qualified to tell the what the Eagles will do in the draft? I don’t understand. Year after year he is completely innaccurate, yet he remains an expert…
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Why didn’t the “expert” know that MS2 was NEVER going to last Til mid round 2, round 3, when few of us knew he would end up drafted in round 1? But the leading expert in the draft didn’t know? It’s one thing if ONLY the Eagles ranked him that high, but there were atleast 3 teams interested in marcus in the 25-35 range… Why didn’t Kiper know it, when fans knew Marcus would NEVER last Til our pick in round 2?
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Now this donkey is mocking a CB who practically choked his coach and was kicked off the team to the Eagles at pick #20… SMH. Feel like he gets more clueless by the year.
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Personally, I think extremely Highly of Marcus Peters ability and potential. But I’m sorry, Chip Kelly hs been Here two years already. If you think Chip is spending a first round pick on a walking red Flag, you are a moron who ISNT qualified to put his opinipn in impressionable, passionate fans heads.
the other problem is that doesn’t he basically fill out his draft by each team’s need. BPA out the window.
can’t say that enough about ALL mock drafts . . .
making them useless.
People can barely accurately predict the top 5 picks, let alone, the rest of the draft.. mocks are so useless.. Even if you have a good grasp on prospects and needs, predicting how the top 5, top 10 unfolds is hard enough And rarely done accuratly
Not to mention a lot of it is Going by what NFL execs tell him, and half of them use him to spread counter Intel on who they really want anyway…..
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It’s amazing to me how the leading “expert” in a particular field can possibly be THIS bad…
i HATE that. as if drafts can be picked based solely on what a team’s weakest player is.
Especially when no team ONLY has 1 need… Every team has multiple needs.
It’s almost impossible to predict ( BPA – best player available ) after the top 5 picks are gone. Teams ( draft boards vary ) BPA’s can be very different, but the top 5 -7 are usually a very similar.
GEagle wrote:
“I cringe every time I hear Mel Kiper called a draft ‘expert’.”
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Pearl #1 of the draft season.
I would pay my life savings, to go on National TV against him, and debate him on the draft prospects…
maybe not the best use of your life’s savings.
Shhhhhhhh.
I’ll live… Do ok for myslelf lol
Not only would that great.
You’ve just suggested a very interesting idea for the 4-letter network.
That network should take applications, including a video-clip, from folks who want to go head-to-head on TV with Mel Kiper.
And pick three of the applicants for draft day spots.
Pick any local eagle media member, I’ll destroy him in terms of accurately predicting more of the Eagles Offseasons moves At a higher percentage than any local media member. Pick whoever you want, Kapadia, Les Bowan, zackBerman… Whoever… But I’d want money to be on the line,
O.K. , let’s have your predictions for the Eagles 2015 draft picks – 1st , 2nd and 3rd rounders. It ( would be ) really fun to go back ( at least 3 years – Lurie says you must wait at least 3 years to properly evaluate ) and see how bad kipers picks were.
Not ready yet.. Only a fool would try without the combine,
,,,
But let’s see: I did have the Eagles adding:
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maaaarcus Darling
taylor Hart
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I had us NOT DRAFTING a NT early to replace Logan like everyone wanted to do. I had the Eagles waiting Til the 7th round to draft a NT, I figured it would be the kid from Cal or from Conneticutt, but I did have the Eagles signing Beau Allen as a UDFA, so I was close.
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Had us signing Malcolm Jenkins
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The year before I had us signing
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cary Williams
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James Casey
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Everyone knew it was either going to be Dion or Lane at #4
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had the Eagles drafting Jordan Poyer, and Kruger
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Doubt many local media had as many players correct these past two years. heck, you are competing with 30 other teams, predicting two free agent signings and two draft picks is hard enough…
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I would view other eagle fans as more of a challenge,than anyone in our local media
True, Tommy is pretty tuned in. Enjoy his thoughts around free agency and the draft.
Tommy is definitely one of the best sources you can find for predicting what the Eagles will do. I would strongly suggest, paying attention to the few people with an opinion who watch Film for themselves, and you can certainly count on Tommy being one of the few who is actually providing his own opinion having put in the work, instead of regurgitating someone else’s opinion… If a media member isnt watching film for himself, he is useless… Figure, our local media has all the access in the world, and they still can’t figure out their heads from their ass when it comes to the media….yet can you imagine what type of coverage we could get if someone like Tom or even Tyler had the access that a worthless jackOffs like Les Bowan has to ask players and coaches whatever question and follow up questions they want every single day?
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Apparently you can’t know anything about Football, to get a job with our local media
That’s hilarious that you say that, I just crushed Les with some choice comments about a article he just wrote. His article was about the Eagles player personnel executive search and free agents. Check it out ( or not ) , I swear that the guys elevator doesn’t go all the way up.
He is horrendous. I cant even explain how he has a job. All he is good for honestly, is like a fluff piece where he finds out family stuff about a player. He can’t tell you anything about football, but he is good for finding out that KEndricks likes long walks on the beach, belly dancing to Shakira and has a foot fetish
.,,
I always say I would love a site that keeps track of our local media, the crap they say, so they can go back every 4 months and asses a grade, and show fans, who were the most accurate media members, and who are consistently innacurate making it pointless to pay attention to.
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I feel like if anyone kept track of the percentage of the time, our media provides opinipn that proves to be wrong, these hacks WOULDNT get to keep their job no matter what every year, and we may get some better coverage
i’d throw in 20 bones on that
What I really really dream of, is the opportunity to Fight Dustin Diamond. Aka “screech” of “P-Diddy” in a UFC Octagon, live in front of millions of people lol.. Those are My real lifelong dreams…
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Seriously tho, I say it all the time that I wish their was an Eagle site that paid attention to what crap our local media tells our fans, and keeps track of every media members opinipn, and every 4 months grade how accurate the Eagle Intel they provided to the fanbase turned out to be…so fans could know which media members are worth following, and which are so inaccurate that their opinipn on the Eagles is completely worthless. A site that would keep track of the crap our Hack media puts in fans heads, would be awesome…curious to see how our local media members were ranked in terms of who provided their fanbase,opinions on the Eagles that turned out to be accurate the highest percent of the time
Someone on BGN made a comment that Kiper still being used as a draft expert was like when Dick Clark kept doing New Years Rockin’ Eve after having his stroke.
RE: The New Guy at Scouts Notebook — Update
T-Law inadvertently ID’d the new SNB contributor as “Tyler Alston” . . . that’s Alston with an “L.”
Actually, Belichick is going by the nom de plume of “Tyler A-S-T-O-N” on SNB.
No “L.”
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Only posting this comment because I’ve noticed the misspellings in this thread.
Thanks ACV.
I also go by Keyser Soze…
It’s been said of Keyser Soze that . . .
“he is a crime lord whose ruthlessness and influence have acquired a legendary, even mythical status among police and criminals alike.”
________________
Ruthless. Influential. Legendary.
That spells: B-E-L-I-C-H-I-C-K.
Keep hearing people question Chip Kellys eye for talent and I find that to be pretty Absurd…
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chip Kelly and Andy Reid’s experiemce with Talent evaluation was very different at the time they came into personel power. Andy made his bones as an NFL position coach, so he had very little experience, having to Evaluate young players and draft the best ones…
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Chip Kelly is a very different background.. The one good part about a college coach, as opposed to promoting NFL position coaches. Is that in order to be a college coach, half of your job description is practically being a GM. As a college coach, you are responsible for recruiting talent…Chip Kelly has years and years of experience, evaluating players and deciding which are the best players to go after to build his program. A College coach is probably way more Experiemced at some of the GMs job description than an NFL position coach is.
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Obviously chip had scouts working for him at Oregon, but there wasn’t a single p.ayer recruited that Chip didn’t evaluate and personally sigń off on. Chip had to have an eye for talent to be able to recruit and build the college program he built at Oregon,,,
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Does anyone really think that chip DOESNT know a GREAT NFL player when he see’s one? Can we really think.we could find. Personel guy, more qualified to tell chip what he needs on offense,than Chip?
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Doubt other NFL coaches where spending their Saturday’s evaluating college prospect the way Chip has, I struggle to understand why Chip chosing his players would be a bad thing?… We gave Andy Reid control, and he never wS in charge of refruiting, or having to buld a college program.,
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Chip might have not worked well with Howie, but when Chip respects you as a football brain, he has known to delegate authority and not micromanage his assistants… chip will listen to personel guys, we just need personel giys who he respects
How is a college coach like an NFL GM? They couldn’t be more remotely different and require largely different skill sets.
Lol ok
Lots of administrative responsibilities for college coach — along with projecting talent.
College coach chooses his players, NFL GMs pick their players. Pretty obvious, surprised this needs to be explained
It has been a lot easier though to project talent from the high school level to the college level than from college to the pros. Sabermetrics is really clear on that.
Plus a college coach is dealing with a completely different set of aspects in recruiting a player than a GM drafting a player who is not in a slotted system & has almost no leverage in where he chooses to play.
It’s possible that Reid made his bones when Kelly was still going out with cheerleaders.
Wonder how different our Eagles teams would have looked, how different those drafts would have looked, had Andy never gained that power, that he clearly didn’t do a good enough job with, considering he ran this franchise into the ground before leaving, and finally understanding that he had no business being more than the coach, not wanting too much power in KC.
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Wonder exactly who we would have had instead of guys like Jaquan Jarrett, if andy Wasnt in charge of personel
Painful to think about.
Rhodes should have been a full-time personnel guy. He hit on some great picks. (Jon Harris remains an absolute mystery.)
Reid? 1 draft. (and a few other guys . . . . but compared to Rhodes, Reid didn’t get it done)
I hated when Lurie made Reid king of the Eagles world.
Don’t like it that much now with Kelly.
Matter of leverage for Kelly. Massive leverage.
With Reid? I think Lurie may have been motivated as much by Tom Modrak’s alleged “disloyalty” than anything else.
The one reservation I have is his ability to jockey for position in the draft/free agency to get his players, but I trust he will hire the right person for that responsibility.
More to your point, The draft/free agency is very different from college recruiting, but in philly he probably is on a much more level playing field with his competition than he was in UO at least in huge beginning when he was competing with the football factories like USC and the SEC.
“I trust he will hire the right person for that responsibility.”
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Bill Walsh had final say on the trades being discussed on draft day by his “phone guy.”
Jimmy Johnson, same thing.
The weight’s ultimately on Kelly to make the right calls with “yes” and “no.”
Yes, the responsibility and weight of all decisions falls on Kelly. However, the “yes” or “no” will be based on the information given and there can only be a “yes” or “no” given on options that are available, all requiring the right people to generate the information and create the options… So yes, Kelly has to make the right decision and he will get all the credit/blame, but his decision will ultimately be influenced (heavily influenced) by the people he puts in place.
I guess I should reword my comment to be: I trust Chip to get the right advisors to help inform his decisions and I also trust him to listen to varied enough opinions to gain perspective. And I hope that is enough.
EN:
absolutely agree with this comment.
a GM/Coach is only as good as the information he’s given
Yes, I do agree that the actual negotiation of trades,and maneuvering in the draft worries me…. But from strictly the point of view of evaluatong p.ayersand identifying ones that can grow into great Eagles, Im confidemt in Chips ability…. It’s very IMPORTANT that the guy we hire is good At:
1) Negotiating Trades
2) Knowing how much is too much for a certain free agent
3) Knowing who every other team wants on draft night
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Interms of breaking down a player and adding ones that can be successful in Philly, I expect Chip to do well…
Good point about Reid. He was drafting defensive players that totally degraded his defense because he was not up to it. Kelly has displayed his defensive chops by knowing what his own offensive schemes and tendencies find the most challenging. I don’t think Chip will miss on early picks too often, but the midas touch is needed to hit on the late rounds, and he’ll be aided greatly by somebody with great instincts. It’s not a matter of telling Chip what he needs, but finding him the player X who will be that guy.
Hey Tommy, in watching some video of Dawson (who looks like an exciting prospect) on Draftbreakdown.com I kept seeing #17 Sam Carter making some plays. Doing a little reseach, I found that he has nice size at 6’1″, 215 lbs and that he went to TCU originally as a QB, but was converted to DB and was a 3-yr starter. I was wondering, what is your take on Carter as a possible Safety prospect for the Eagles?
As I said below, I really like Carter also. Smart player, leader of that defense. Also played Corner. Has at least 4 INTs each season with TCU. I think question with him is speed. Is he 4.5, 4.6 or 4.7?
I’d love to hear what someone who actually knows what they are looking at thinks.
He does flash. I haven’t done a ton of work with safeties yet, because it takes me alot more film to feel comfortable with DB evaluations.
He played the SPUR position in the bowl game, so I think it’s going to be a question of where is his size and what does he run?
I will tentatively say that for us he would probably be more of a role player who we could use in a BIG Nickel package, or he could play the Nolan Carrol spot in Dime.
Cardale Jones is not taking his talents to South Beach. He’s staying in school.
be interesting to see how much money he just gave up, should have called matty b. Helps you as a QB when your running back is going to 250 and 4tds per game….might not get that next year.
Yes, my guess is he would have been taken pretty high (2nd round if not the 1st).
I’m pretty sure Meyer told him he would be his automatic No 1 next year and that if he sticks around he can make him a possible Top 10 pick next year (maybe even Top 3-5)
In order for this move to be worth it financially for Cardale Jones, he almost has to be top 10 next year.
Be a shame if they don’t make it to the playoffs
I missed this tweet from earlier. Seems to confirm to me that he should have left school.
haha yeah, hope he didn’t listen to that. Remember when he was trying to mentor RGIII. Doesn’t he have an assistant that can put this stuff together / proof for him?
Cardale Jones is a mentor for Mcnabb?
Teaching him how to be clutch?
No way. He has Braxton, who won back to back Big10 player of the year awards prior to getting hurt this year. Than he has true freshman in JT who also came out of nowhere and finished 4th in the Heisman voting.
I doubt it. No one knows anything about him.
When it comes to QBs, someone always seems to swing for the fences.
Did he really have to hold a PC to announce that?
That’s why I made the South Beach reference, it’s kind of silly.
Thought him trolling the media zeitgeist was pretty awesome.
Yeah Jones’ education will take him 10x further than his athletic ability. Like he’ll stick around for more than another year if he is projected to be a Top 10 pick next year vs the likelihood of being at best a mid-to-late 2nd round pick and more likely a 3rd round pick this year.
He is going to be a back up next year.
Jones said at the PC that he was not promised the starting job next year, and assuming that’s what he was told, it’s an especially dumb decision to stay in school.
For those waiting for confirmation that he wasn’t the sharpest knife.
Hard to take that at face value but if that is the case then Jones made a shaky decision.
I still cannot believe this utterly stupid decision. The QB class is as weak this year as in a very long time. I am sure he would have been picked no later than the 2nd round. Next year looks totally different though.
We have been saying that for years though, oh next year will be better and then it never is any better. The current college landscapes doesn’t call for QBs to progress as players. So they end up not doing so. What they are as freshman or sophmores is what we get from them every year they play in college. There is no development anymore so we see the young guys and get excited but by the time they enter the draft they never did anything to become better players. So then the whole process of next year being better starts again.
You all are crazy. I doubt he would not be a 1st or 2nd round pick.
Divisional News –
Giants hire Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator
Spagnuolo gets too much hype. He was a good DBs coach here and had a nice first stint as DC with the Giants where he had tons of talent but has sucked everywhere else.
Redskins hire Bill Callahan as OL coach
Poached him from the Cowgirls. Callahan is a good OL coach. However, he’s been Dallas’s OL coach for 3 seasons. He’s helped develop their talent but they’ve also improved as they drafted more talent. The Redskins don’t have much in the way of OL talent. I expect them to gradually improve but he’s not going to be able to work miracles next season.
No determination on Vic Fangio? That’s the real news
He’s a possibility for the Redskins unfortunately. Apparently his family lives in Baltimore, MD which isn’t that far from Ashburn, VA where the Redskins offices/training complex is. Then again, Philly isn’t really that far either.
Agree. The EAgles need to upgrade their defense coaching staff.
Considering the problems with the Eagles secondary shouldn’t Lovitt be on the hot seat? It’s interesting with Fangio being available would Kelly give him some consideration.
I would bet they are coaching the techniques that CK wants. If they weren’t i don’t think they’d be here.
Yeah, but let’s keep in mind that CK is the HC and I don’t think (and based on what has been reported) that he is a micromanager that dictates “this is how they should be playing press coverage.” Also part of the job of the position coaches is to “coach up” the players, so if one guy is struggling the position coach should/hopefully coach up someone and get that guy in there. The Eagles had other CBs on the roster, Flecther should have been benched well before the season finale (but maybe the CB issues fell on Lyght’s plate).
Somewhat related but OT, ESPN broadcast the Alabama spring practices last year or the year before that showed Saban (a former NFL DB coach under Belichik) really drilling the Bama DBs on man coverage techniques. Very interesting watching Saban.
Yeah, I’m certainly not shaking in fear because of the coaches recently added to this Division…
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The NFC east practically never has back to back division winners any more, no way the Dallas friggin Cowboys will be the team to bring stability to the top of the NFC East. We saw first hand, how much Luck has to come into play to have a good year, 2013 we enjoyed the best health imaginable, the next year we had the worst nightmare imaginable in terms of all the injuries. dallas had a horse shoe stuck up its ass all yer like Frank Mir had… Just like Brock Lesnar, we will pull that horse shoe out of the Cowboys ass next year, and beat them over the head with it.
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I would assume that the Giants will be a tougher challenge than the Cowboys next year.
For starters Dallas has cap problems, lots of them. On the other hand, I knew the Giants HAD TO STRUGGLE LAST YEAR, when they added 27 new players. No way that 27 new players could learn a new system fast enough, and gel fast enough to win a division. But Giants are going to get a lot more continuity this year since Coughlins returning, so I would expect the Giants and Eagles to take the steps forwRd next year, Cowboys take the step back, with the skins sticking to their Normally dysfunctional default mode…but I don’t believe that the Giants will ever win another division with BOTH COUGHLIN and Eli… They should be a much tougher team next year, but I would be surprised if that coach/QB combo ever wins another Division title…but they are on the right track with some of their decisions…like stud ODB, and those idiots sound like they finally are ready to admit what everyone already knew and that’s that Justin PUGH ISNT a OT, and finally he will hve moved to guard…. I would bet money that their first round pick will be on the trenches. either build the pathetic OL. Or improve the DL since I assume they will lose Piere Paul in free agency…. My guess is Brandon Sherff doesn’t make it past the Giants.
I don’t agree. Spags should have won MVP of the Superbowl in 2007. Nobody had a blueprint on how to beat Tom Brady before Spags figured it out.
Ravens did…Billick timeout from winning that game
Jim Johnson gave the blueprint the week before. Eagles defense played the pats well that game – hit Brady a bunch of times. If I’m not mistaken, aj feeley was driving the eagles at the end of the game with a chance to take the lead but threw a pick – in typical feelet fashion
What made me mad about that game is they told Feeley not to throw to the sidelines. Did it all game until the end, and when he did it was the game ending INT.
Other than his first pass of the game to Asante Samuel for a TD, you mean.
First and last throw. Remember, Feeley threw a pick 6 to Asante to start the game because Buckhalter didn’t pick up the blitz well enough.
He may not have to. One thing Snider did recently that made a whole lot of sense was turning his draft over to Scot McClaughin. If anybody can find starting guards and tackles in the 4th, 5th and 6th rounds, it is this guy. I am really curious about his take on the Skins’ QB controversy.
Do u believe he really can turn over the power? The skins are his toy/hobby
I assume that old Dan will wake up one day and realize that he is the main problem he has to fix. I hope that he runs SM out of town before he can fix anything, but he did hire the guy, just like the other hundred big “names” before him. If Griffen is dealt, that will, perhaps, mark a new day in Skins history.
I think you’re being revisionist to claim the Giants had tons of talent when Spags was DC. They were a 6th seed wildcard team and the 2dary was average on good days, bad the rest. It took the Giants defense a good part of the season to get comfortable with Spags concepts, early in the season the NY press were ridiculing the defense and Spags.
A hall of fame D lineman helps make a DC look good. I think Chip will troll him lol
Why was he available again if he’s so great?
It is unbelievable how many mocks have Bud Dupree going to Cincy at #21.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/mock-drafts/daniel-jeremiah/215603
I don’t really pay attention to this stuff until after the combine. Draftniks are more fickle than the fans lol
You mean mock drafters.
I would consider myself a draftnik. I watch players during the season, talk about them, watch the film and write a report.
Mock Drafters post a new mock draft daily/weekly etc. They move players up down all around, just because they have to for page views.
Big difference.
Apologies, yes u are correct. I think they put ALOT of weight into the combine. Didn’t mean your Report, I have enjoyed those.
Sorry if I have offended u, keep up the good work!
No worries, just wanted to make sure people remember the distinction, too often the two get lumped together.
Learn something everyday. I will say I completely ignore almost every projection around this time of year.
I personally hope we get Gurley at RB. If he is not fully healthy we can IR him next season. I imagine with his injury he will go much later than his talent dictates.
How about stop teasing us with ILB prospects:) and gives us what we really need, FS,CB, or OL. If we don’t have a BPA at those positions I think we move back.
Scherff, TJ Clemmings, and Ty Sambraillo will be written up tomorrow and posted in the following days. DB’s are really hard to write up due to the lack of ALL-22. Some guys you get lucky and can do it with 3 tapes. Most take 5 plus to get enough of a feel for them.
Each writeup takes 2-3 hours between tape, background, and writing. With some of these DB’s you know they’re going to do some really dumb shit, or run like crap between now and April.
The ILBs are the appetizers for us lol
April is so far away unfortunately. FA should be tellling with what direction chip wants to go. Ideally we get a FA DB and 1st-2nd round DB. That would give me hope for the D
On O all we really need is OL depth and maybe WR/QB but not glaring needs
Will senior bowl/ shrine game factor into your evaluations? should help with extra tape on DBs.
The All-Star games are certainly useful. I don’t watch much tape of the game but the notes that come out of the practices can be helpful. Questions like where does a player project best from a position standpoint, raw talent outside of the scheme they were utilized in etc.
yeah — don’t insult tha don d3fb.
I would like to punch Cardale’s advisor in the face.
Probably parents, who always want their children to get education.
Holy crap..l thought we were doomed with this Marriotta crap by our local media, and that was already unbearable for me. now, all the National media is also starting to debate if the Eagles should, or will go get Marrriotta? I know I complain about the level of media coverage we get, but how can NFL network, and ESPN, national media outlets provide such worthless crap?
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It’s a disgrace if you are being paid to provide passionate fans with football news for you to even speculate on if trading LeSean McCoy and a few picks can get you Marriotta… How the hell, can you be given q natipnal platform. And a lucrative salary, and have such a poor understanding of the NFL that you would even think that shady McCoy is this super valuable trade chip? How can this even be possible?
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This Nation is Bat shit crazy over this sport, how can fans not deserve better than major natipnal outlets have such a poor understanding, that they would speculate on using shady to trade up for Marriotta? I am just baffled by it.
Kornhieser made a good point that Chip should definitely trade up for marriotta considering he is a guy that chip can get his full system going with.
that if we are going to go with his system and this experiment let him have the guy he recruited to do it….
its sounds good but its just not possible.
and could be an actual detriment to the team
Guess you wouldnt want to read this then being a Foles supporter..
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2015/1/15/7553363/the-current-state-of-the-qb-conversation-in-philadelphia-is-unbearable
I won’t read anything posted on that site. I’d rather hear Les Bowans opinipn on the Eagkes than MIke Kaye.
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I Genuinly mean it when I say, I couldnt care less what gets posted on that site
That’s just because you are banned from posting there if I remember correct
Huh? I can post there… Write a fanpost, post a link, and I’ll comment on it if it would make you happy. I’ll support your post,
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I can post on 24/7 too, I just let people run with the rumors. I don’t post on 24/7 because I won’t support McManus, although Sheil is excellent, and that comment section has completely gone to shit… One day, I’ll get bored and post there just to set the comment section off. Sort of like throwing a gernade in a room, and turning around, waking away without looking to see the damage lol
Speaking of horrible analysts at the big networks, how bad is Ray Lewis??? The dude can’t formulate a sentence without saying “you know what I sayin” at the end of it. The best was today when he said that if it weren’t for the tuck rule nobody would even know who Tom Brady is.
That’s the rivalry talking. But when it comes to breaking down plays and football knowledge he’s the only one that knows what he’s talking about. All the other stuff — yeah incomprehensible.
Bill Musgrave is reportedly a possibility to go to Oakland as offensive coordinator. He was Del Rio’s first OC in Jacksonville. Would suck for Foles to have to adjust to a new QBs coach for the 4th year in a row.
Geez..WTH. Can we get a Little continuity please? I agree with chip not believing in blocking his coaches from advancing, but Come on? at the minimum can we atleast get a two year commitment..
I’m fine w/ a new QB coach
I don’t care about Musgrave specifically but it’s got to be hard on Foles constantly switching QB coaches. All coaches teach things a little bit differently. They’re all probably trying to get his mechanics exactly how they prefer.
I’d prefer if Foles wasn’t doing backpeddle drills throughout practice.
I’d prefer him not having turnstiles blocking for him. I expect better (not great) foot work and pocket presence from Foles next year.
Again, that started when Kelce and Mathis were gone. Before that, his problem wasn’t footwork, it was decision-making and accuracy; his footwork early was actually quite good, and showed in the increased velocity on his throws. When Molk started, Nick started backpedaling furiously. I think the two are definitely related.
Rescue lazor from miami
Not saying he’s definitely leaving. From what I’ve read, Marc Trestman is Del Rio’s first choice. If he can’t get him, other possibilites are Musgrave, Seattle QB coach Carl Smith, and former Bears’ QBs coach Matt Cavanaugh.
Interesting that all the defensive coaches are getting hired as HC so far… I’m a defensive diehard, if chip doesn’t bring us a Super Bowl I want a HC who cares less about offens than Buddy Ryan did
Is that even possible?
Lol prob not…
Long time since anyone really cared about that side of the ball.
Could it be that the pendulum has shifted towards HCs from the defensive side since the SB has been dominated by defensive coaches (Belichik, Fox, Carroll, Coughlin+Spags)?
Sean Peyton and Mike Mccarthy does not count?
Oh no doubt they are recognized, but I could add Dungy, Tomlin and Harbaugh to the list of defensive coaches.
Can Del Rio not rather take Billy D with him?!
Musgrave stinks apparently, lets get foles a new coach
Kelly needs to hire a personnel director soon, unless the plan is to promote from within. Haven’t worried about it up to this point, but the Senior Bowl practices begin next week.
Kelly trusts himself, he’ll be there, he’ll likely do evals himself. Howie can come back from vacay in Feb and start talking to impending FAs about $$. But i think it’s clear CK is doing to be doing the leg work on choosing players.
Howie doesn’t work with contracts. Jake Rosenberg does all that.
The basic legwork, sure. Roseman is his boss.
Thought I read they have Howie counting jock straps or something
Lol yeah he is in charge of like the equipment managers lol
Roseman pretty much doesnt have a job, why he wasn’t just fired makes no sense.
Whoa! That should be a big time red flag. I believe D3FB posted a link to a post by a former NFL personnel evaluator who wrote about conflicts with scouts and the coaches when the coaches come along and start “scouting” at the pre-draft bowl games and combine. I’m not comfortable with the HC doing a truncated scouting routine, scouting is done by going to the regular season games, watching film and talking to folks. I know Chip is a bachelor and likely has a LOT of time on his hands, but i hope the personnel dept issues are resolved sooner rather than later.
yeah i’d be making better use of my time. Interesting to hear whether it’s good or bad, i guess we’ll see in a couple of months.
CK was everywhere last year too.
Indeed, and did the Eagles land any draft steals
That wasn’t the point of the comment. The point was that it looks like Kelly is doing all of his own scouting this year. My reply was that it’s the same as last year. I’ll add that the Eagles have a full roster of scouts who still do their job regardless of who’s who in the Front Office.
Dunno if anyone mentioned it yet.. But speaking of Daryl Washington how about a trade for that guy or even Arthur Brown?? Washington been banned for a full year but got the skills
Don’t think we’d trade for Washington because he’s doesn’t fit our saint criteria but is dig Arthur Brown if the price want too high
Wasnt Washington just done for PEDs? Lane Johnson n Jake Knott had the same thing.. Not as lengthy suspension.. Was thinking 4th pick or lower for them.. Either LB paired with Kendricks ooh making all kinds of plays!
Daryl Washington has had several off-the-field incidents. PEDs, arrests. Not a culture fit.
Cool thanks for the clear up.. Tought was just the PEDs. Well i got my eye on either trade for Brown or Weatherspoon as FA target.. Lastly the draft
No chance we would add him, Tho I am a,fan of his
unclear they let him leave ARZ. Oddly wasn’t he supposed to be Honey Badger’s mentor — that guy has been a (injured) saint in his couple of years in the league.
He wasn’t exactly the horrible kid he was made out to be. All he ever did was smoke weed… Watch the cardinals be the ones to take the walking red flag Marcus Peters, end up getting the best corner in the draft to replace Cromartie because character issues cause him to fall, Nd the cardinals will capitalize, or the Ravens
100% agree. LSU turning out some studs in the last few years.
LSU . . .
Turning out better — and more? — NFL players than the vaunted Alabama program.
And then there’s the Les Miles question, if you’re a Bayou Bengals fan.
jalen Collins!!! jalen Collins…. Best CB prospect since Desmond Trufant.
Well Peters is but yeah he’s something… Like Collins too though
I like Peters physicality and toughness.
I mean how big do your balls have to be to choke the coach on the sideline!
GEagles:
If you’re poking around still . . .
Do the Birds have a shot at JC?
Would a trade up be required?
And is JC a Kelly-culture guy?
I know I’m not Geags but as of right now JalenCollins is considered a high second round guy but is likely to rise between now and draft day. Currently not looking like a player you’d have to trade up for but who knows what his stock will be
O:
No offense meant.
And I like what you have to say — i.e., fact-based. (Regardless of agree/disagree.)
_________
So I’m glad you jumped in.
OK . . on to J.C.
I don’t know anything about him.
Size?
Playmaker?
How many years a starter?
Redshirt kid?
Any chance he’s graduating?
_________
By the way, do you know who donned No. 18 for LSU this past season?
Is he a pro-prospect?
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/08/senior_running_back_terrence_m.html
Magee wore 18 but can’t say I know much about his stock. JC has good size 6’2 about 196 and he will probably run around a 4.5. He has real long arms too. He’s versatile and displays his athleticism on jump balls. Got burnt a lot early in his career but he’s gluten better at that from what I’ve seenseen and he’s a check in the character department with no of field issues and in fact if I remember checkout Less had called him a hard worker in the past
If gluten free makes you a better defensive back, Chip may need to revamp the smoothie recipe.
Damn autocorrect
Haha. I wish bradley fletcher could be cured with adhering to a gluten free diet
Yeah wouldn’t want his d*ck flying off : P
yeah he wouldn’t be able to catch it if it hit him in the hands
Sure seems to have worked for Vinny Curry
Doubt he last TIL round 2, if he does, he won’t make it to our pick. If we wait til round 2 for a corner, I would assume the 200lb corner from stanford, Alex Carter… Stanford players aren’t ready to play as rookies for the most part thanks to their dumb graduation rules, but ET corners can’t play as rookies anyway, so drafting Alex Carter WOULDNT be bad. Nolan and Cary start outside in 2015, and he can be ready to replace Cary in 2016
I think he will be available for us. The only tape available on him on draftbreakdown showed good and bad. He got beat by Amari Cooper on slant routes consistently. Luckily Cooper’s QB is awful and missed him a few times. The good thing is that he blanketed Cooper when Cooper didn’t make a cut/comeback. He’s good but I think he’ll be there in the second since there’s better CBs ahead of him.
pretty typical of larger CBs, which is why wes welker has made so much $$
This wasn’t even like trailing behind coverage. He just froze and had to process what the hell Cooper did before trying to run him down. It looked very awkward.
If you want to watch him have a rough game, check out the alabama tape vs. Amari. I remember that game live, it was the only time I had seen anyone consistentky beat Collins… But he has played a ton of press man on an Island, and more times than not, he held his own.
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Best corner prospect since Trufant, who I thought was under rated and I liked much more than last years class of Justin Gilbert, Roby and Fuller.
He should be available at #20…. Not a Charecter concern that I know of.
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He has some great press man tape against quality WR, although he did have some rough moments against Amari Cooper
I say it’s different choking our coaches and smoking weed
You thnk?
Also seems the report about Peters choking his coach is wrong
Why hasn’t the coaching staff said anything? They could kill the rumor of it’s not true rather than hurt the kid
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/20/uw-huskies-call-report-that-marcus-peters-choked-coach-bull/
Very interesting…normally say where there’s smoke, usually a fire…but maybe not this time. Interviews will be huge for this kid. Both his and with UW coaches
Do you know how much of a piece of ahit the best corner in the nation had to be to get kicked off a team, when we let football players get away with so much? The best corner in the nation probabky was given a million opportunities.
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They cover up crimes for great football players, you have to be unbearable to get kicked off a team when you are as good as that kid and have had monster games against top WR like Jalen Strong…
Oh I’m aware. But being a pain in the ass and choking someone is completely different. If I’m a scout, I’m spending a lot of time with UW coaches and Sark to figure this kid out.
Very weird that we’ve heard nothing about time under Sark…clearly wasn’t grtting slog with DB coach and DC
I also love Jaelen Strong…one of my favorite guys coming out
BEAST!!!
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Strong, White, Coates, devin Smith, TY Montgomery…… Gladly take any of them
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WR used to be hard to draft, I have a feeling, it’s going to become a very easy position to draft,and we will see bust rate of top WR prospects diminish significantly as these WR are coming into the league more prepared and finding similar concepts in the NFL that they had some experience with in college…
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So for me it’s not important to get a certain WR, I just need one of the good ones..I’ll I ask is that they are eithet A) 6’3-6’5 in height, or B) Deep threats
Regardless, marcus issues weren’t an isolated issue… He has had numerous “issues” to my understanding..
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We kiss football stars ass enough as it is… The best CB in the nation was kicked off the team… You have to be real piece of work to get kicked off a team when you are the best corner in the nation….That doesn’t happen after strike 1, it doesn’t even happen after strike 2…… It’s not just 1 thing, with the kid
100% agree, but at least the worst part for me most likely isnt true. Plenty players get kicked off from their team because they do not fit the new coaches culture.
Until there is futhere reports on what classes they had, I could see us drafting him (it was 100% nono when I thought he had tried to assault a coach)
That’s also true… Him not choking his coach probably makes him more likely to be drafted by the Eagles than he was yesterday when we thought he went “Sprewell” on a coach…. Fortunately he is a Pac 12 player, so chip should have some solid connections that can paint an accurate picture of the kid for our decision makers.
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I’m sure we would all be pumped to see the Eagles call this kids name in the draft. Hopefully the “red flags” are things we can overlook, but it’s hard to assume that at this point knowing chips low tolerance for bullshit, and that it’s probably not easy to get yourself kicked off a team when you are the best player in the nation at an important position…
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Hopefully we get lucky and chip finds out he is just “mis understood” lol
Washington has gotten suspended like 3 or so times no? Brown is a solid player, personally I want our ILB of the future to be one if Dawson, Ken, Shaw, Mck but if we got a brown for cheap I wouldn’t mind
Brown was inactive most of the season. Apparently he’s not a good STs player and he wasn’t a starter for the Ravens, so he sat.
No point in stacked ILB,draft,not trade a draft pick away for an ILB… I like the ILB available much more than I like Bryce Browns brother, and drafting an ILB means we get him at cheap 4-5yr rookie salary, while KEndricks is getting paid good veteran money the next 4-5 years…
I feel like everyone is having that Calvin Pryor moment with McKinney right now.
More, please.
Big, fast, and can hit. Not great in coverage. It sounds just like Calvin Pryor from last year.
Prior: Total Tackles 61, half a sack, 2 Passes Defensed.
During the 2014 season, thigh injury, shoulder injury, fined for being late to meeting.
yeah he got bench, but it’s hard being a DB in that scheme, everyone was terrible.
Rex Ryan is a DB guru…if he can’t coach him up…doesn’t bode well
Not very good considering how awful their offense is.
Im not a fan of McKinney, but I think McKinney wont disappoint at the combine (like been 3 inches lower and less athletic than anticipated)
Think he is more capable in coverage than being given credit for
Adam Caplan
@caplannfl
1m
1 minute ago
#Eagles OLB Connor Barwin hit his full escalator worth $900,000, so his base salary for 2015 will rise from $5.5 M to $6.4 M.
i dont believe in his sack number from last year but he deserves to make $7m. We need a guy that can create sacks (Houston) not get “effort / broken play” sacks. Watching the Giants game and the Houston game and the Tenn game and the Carolina game you see that’s what it is for both him cole and graham. They aren’t winning in big games.
[To be clear i love what Barwin does, but pass rushing isn’t his thing]
Nor was he signed to be a primary pass rusher. Marcus Smith needs to step up into that role big time because that is why an OLB is drafted in the first round.
Good for him! Darwin has been a god send for that D. Half his sacks were clean up/ not quitting on the play.
Interesting tidbit:
John Middlekauff
@JohnMiddlekauff
16s16 seconds ago
FWIW: Kaepernick’s base salary for 2015 is not guaranteed until April 1. Remember that sweet 120 mil dollar deal he signed
Colin Kaepernick’s ability to read a D isn’t guarenteed ever.
That deal looked like a mega deal, but the truth is, they only guaranteed like 13million of it which is NOTHING for a QB
I don’t believe in the narrative that includes Casey Matthews being terrible throughout his pro career, then suddenly becoming a viable player. I know our secondary was ineffective and needs improving, but my guess is that covering for Matthews inability to stay with any sort of receiver contributed to their ineffectiveness.
The season ended in Houston when we lost Ryan’s and Foles.
100%
He was alright, just don’t have him cover wheel routes. Think Barwin only got burned bad once in coverage. If we got houston maybe Barwin shifts inside?
So it’s Matthews fault that Fletcher couldn’t cover wrs on the outside or Allen couldn’t so the right place to be?
We spent the first half of the year joking about his spider graph being a tic, how useless and terrible Matthews was. Now we’re saying his addition had no negative impact on the pass defense? Double Dez! Can’t, Safeties have to compensate for the gaping weakness at ILB. It’s too simplistic to believe the front 7 was awesome and the secondary less Jenkins was the whole problem.
http://www.phillyvoice.com/where-eagles-season-went-wrong-big-plays-allowed/
How many of those big plays allowerd (some with Ryans in the game) is because of the ILB?
Yep, you’re right. The secondary has been a problem all year, including when Ryans was there. I read Kempski’s “What went wrongs”.
Shutting out the Giants made it seem like we had an improving defense and maybe the secondary wasn’t horrific. With more information, we learned it was. We have lots of information that says Matthews is ineffective, but, for some reason, everything I’m reading neglects to mention that he must have contributed to the problems.
It’s not like Ryans was great in coverage, though. He was better than Matthews, but it was his weakness, too. He was good in short zone/chipping, but his drops and range were below average. Getting an ILB or a ROLB (obviously, best case = both) that can be above average in coverage will help the safeties and corners. But clearly, the corners and Allen are a problem, too. No group was good enough to cover for the deficiencies of the others. It’s possible, though I doubt it, that getting 1 decent safety and 1 3-down ILB who has strong coverage skills can make a big difference in the x-plays, even with Cary and Brad returning.
Mixed bag here. Did they miss Ryans? Absolutely. He was the QB on the field and knew when to check out of blitzes so that the secondary wasn’t exposed. I doubt Matthews, Acho and/or Kendricks had that same level of knowledge. I suspect the Eagles did have to adjust their secondary to adapt to Matthews’ lack of coverage ability. However, they probably had to with Ryans to some degree. I also think it’s obvious that Matthews did improve from his rookie season. His tackling was vastly improved. Matthews is a good STs player and proved the ability to be adequate as a starter in a pinch. Obviously, you don’t want him to be a starter. He’s not particularly talented obviously but he proved himself “viable”.
Eh, we agree, if you mean “viable” to win a couple games. If we’re going to make, then succeed in, the playoffs, it’s fix secondary first. The coaches likely understand that the disastrous injuries at ILB impacted our pass defense too,
I agree. Just saying that Matthews’ play this season moved him from “Has no business being on any team’s 53-man roster” to “I can live with him as #4 ILB/STs guy” in my mind.
Only Tommy gets 260 plus comments on a post called “The Future at ILB”. What an awesome blog (non-sarcastic font). 🙂
I was going to say we need more articles!! What about a guest D3FB post. Maybe some FA articles. I’m not good at analyzing tape, but i know I love Parrish Cox, STer, great CB, shut down the eagles — diagnosed their plays, so you know he’s a film guy, had a couple of picks.
That’s my pick for FA acquisition to replace Fletch. Anon certified!!
I want someone to chart every negative shady run and then the next play afterwards. I know he put us in long distance 2nd down and 3rd down a TON.
To what end? Try to send him packing?
No but he needs Deuce to hammer it in to his head we need the O in favorable situations so whoever at QB doesnt need to force shit. I love Shady, just needs to work on taking 2 yards when thats all there is.
Also would help explain some of the turn overs from QB position
Tommy will post fa targets once we get closer to fa
We won’t have interest in Cox… Charecter issues
Any FA corner you do like?
I mean sure, no one would mind a corner from the legion of boom…but his price tag should become absurd… I hate feeling this way, because this ismt what I would do, but I really don’t think the eagkes will sign any corners. Eagkes won’t pay 50mil, for a 40million dollar corner, and a lot of teams have serious corner needs so I figure the few decent corners in the market, you will need to win a bidding war to sign, and I don’t see that happening with all the players we need to extend long term….. I guess there is a chance they could Cut Cary, and sigń a different corner to start opposite of Nolan next year…. But if I had to bet money on what the Eqgles will do at corner, I would put my money on Cary and nolan starting in September, while corners we drafted are being groomed on the bench to take over the following year.
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Kareem Jackson is a nice corner, but, he has a sexy INT total, and is a top corner on a weak market. you will need to win a bidding war for his services to.
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Good news: I think We haven’t even seen Nolan Carrols true outside ability yet. He should be a pleasant stop gap surprise on the outside, all his experience is playong outside, last year was the first year he played inside,,. I assume he would have beaten Bradley Fletcher for the job if he didmt gets hurt in preseason.
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More good news is, I do think we will put an end to the safety issues once and for all and sigń RahimMoore or McCourty, who paired with Jenkins, should make life easier on our corners, providing them with adequate support.
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We have a bunch of young safeties on the roster, which is why I think we will sign a free agent safety, especially since Devin McCourty will really appeal to us as the perfect fit like Malcom jenkins did last year. Eagles will spend money on quality, but he has to be the perfect fit on every level…. That’s devin McCourty, former CB and perfect mirror safety pairing with Malcolm….I’m expecting safety help in FA, but CB help via the draft. Just look at our roster, it’s clear we lack young outside corners in training
If McCourty leaves Pats…he’s going to command top dollar. You see us shelling out a huge contract for him? Think he gets Byrd $$?
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/20/uw-huskies-call-report-that-marcus-peters-choked-coach-bull/
Hmm, sounds like Marcus Peters is less of a trouble head than I thought (We have zero clue why he was dismissed, but the choking thing was a no no for me.)
We get an extra combine this year. I just read the NFL is doing a 100 player combine for veteran players that struggle to find jobs. First of its kind, and maybe we get lucky picking up someone that can help the roster.
D3FB or other with more knowledge than me about the draft.
What are your thought on Eric Dargan and Tony Washington as later round targets?
Dargan seems like a much better safety prospect than he is currently hyped in the film I have seen and he seems like a safety who can do several things well.
From what I have seen Washington seems like a SAM in a 4-3, but could potential be a SILB for a 3-4 team
Tony is much closer to A young trent Cole than he is to a 4-3 SAM IMO. View him as a down hill player… Dude is like 250lbs
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Don’t hate Dargan, but i DONT want to spend a draft pick on him, not when we have a bunch of mid round young safeties that are going to Duke it out at camp, wolff, reynolds, watkins, kid from the Lions… I expect to sign a starting safety, so I would hate to see us spend a pick on a safety. Rather draft two corners…but kelly is welcome to add as many Undrafted Ducks as he wants
Washington is a 3-4th round guy. Haven’t done any specific film work on him but overall: Plus coverage guy. ok pass rusher, decent at point of attack. Backup in short term, maybe develops into more.
Dargan is a day 3 at best safety for me. I see his ceiling as a 3rd safety. He’s a solid tackler and is ok in coverage, but I think he’s going to come in smaller than listed, and I don’t think he’s going to test particularly well.
Just a thought: If the Eagles can’t revive DeMeco and whiff in the draft, would Trent Cole be interested in moving inside as they could possibly redo his deal? I’ve always known him to cover well in both the run and the pass, so WTH? Why not give him a shot inside?