The Eagles and the Super Bowl

Posted: February 2nd, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 241 Comments »

Great Super Bowl last night. I had mixed feelings about who I wanted to win, but I definitely wanted a good game to close out the 2014 season. And that’s exactly what I got.

Why not hate the Patriots, like so many other Eagles fans? I’m hardly a fan of theirs, but Seattle is a hard team to embrace. They’re incredibly talented, but I get tired of them as people. Marshawn Lynch’s act tires me. Richard Sherman isn’t my cup of tea. I used to love Pete Carroll at USC, but I don’t care for him in the NFL for some reason.

I also struggle with Russell Wilson. Great person, but a highly erratic player. There are times when he does some things that make you question if he should be a starting QB. Then he’ll turn around and lead the team on a key scoring drive and look like Joe Montana. He can be awful and great in the same game.

It will be interesting to see how Seattle handles this. They are the class of the NFC, but losing a Super Bowl can be tough on teams. Carroll is a great coach and that is a loaded roster so I think they’ll be a powerhouse again in 2015, You just never know.

All the talk of Tom Brady as the greatest QB of all time is now going to become highly annoying. Most accomplished? Okay, that I can live with.

As much as we love to rip on Bill Belichick, he is one of the great coaches in the history of football. Some will want to call him the greatest coach of all time. I’m sticking with Paul Brown or Bill Walsh for that title. There is no question that Belichick is the greatest coach of this era. That’s not even a close competition. And he is in the conversation for greatest of all time. You can make that argument.

More than a few people thought he was an idiot for not calling a timeout last night. Initially, I was thinking the same thing. But Bill is a super-smart guy. I asked myself why he would do that. There had to be a reason. My guess is that he wanted to keep Seattle from running the ball. If he calls a timeout, there would be about 40 seconds left and 2nd/Goal from the 1. Seattle could run the ball and if Lynch got stopped they would be able to run again on 3rd down, while still having their final timeout to use.

By letting the clock run, Seattle was only going to get one running play with Lynch. Of course, they made that strategy irrelevant by throwing the ball.

Wild ending to a great game.

* There were a couple of players on the field that the Eagles might have some interest in. CB Byron Maxwell of SEA and FS Devin McCourty of NE should be primary free agent targets if they hit the market. I think Maxwell will, but McCourty won’t.

The good news is that neither guy had a great game. They didn’t make any mistakes, but also didn’t make any game-changing plays. When that happens, it changes the market for a free agent. Both McCourty and Maxwell are going to get big deals. The price for Super Bowl heroes is just more expensive.

* Were there any lessons for the Eagles? Not much really jumps out at me. Seattle’s ability to get big chunks of yards really stood out. That’s already a philosophy that Chip Kelly believes in. The Pats were more methodical with their offense. That’s fine when your QB is Tom Brady. He can string together 10 good plays in a row. That’s not as easy with Mark Sanchez.

Seattle didn’t do much at all in the way of making defensive adjustments from what I could tell. They tend to keep it simple and let their guys execute. More than a few Eagles fans love to rip Bill Davis for his coaching. You can keep things simple if you have the right guys. It is fair to question Davis, but he really needs better players more than anything.

Maybe the biggest takeaway is the need for DBs. Seattle has the best secondary in the league. The Pats have a great corner in Darrelle Revis and a very good FS in McCourty. You need the ability to cover well and take some things away on the back end.

It helps to have some players who are physically dominant. SEA had Lynch, Sherman, Bennett and Chancellor. Mix in Chris Matthews size and Russell Wilson’s escapability as well. NE had Gronk, Wilfork, Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. The Eagles have Fletcher Cox and Jason Peters. We know Kelly likes big players, but he has yet to find enough of the right guys.

Both SEA and NE are organizations run by the coach. Each has a good GM, but the coach is the one truly calling the shots. For all of those people out there who fear one person having too much power, the Super Bowl shows that works just fine…if you have the right person. Time will tell if Kelly is that guy.

* As always, I watched a bit of the postgame celebration and tried to imagine what it would be like for that to be the Eagles. Someday it will happen.

I don’t know what that day will be like, exactly, but I want that feeling. We can only guess at which coach and players will be on the field hoisting the Lombardi, but I do know that a part of Reggie, Seth, Jerome, Jaws, Donovan, Dawk, Trot, Westy, Tra, Jon and Big Red will be out there with them. The ghosts of blown Super Bowls past will be on the field, but for the right reason. When the Eagles do finally win, it will be for all the Eagles.

And that will be one glorious day.

* * * * *

Mr. Bama gave out some awards for the game. Entertaining as always.

_


241 Comments on “The Eagles and the Super Bowl”

  1. 1 xeynon said at 11:29 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    One takeaway for me is that Edelman and to a lesser extent Amendola absolutely abused the “Legion of Boom”, despite neither guy having the size Kelly fawns over. Sometimes big people don’t beat up little people, little people run around and away from big people. Kelly shouldn’t overlook the importance of quickness and athleticism (ahem, Brandon Boykin). Another is that having an elite pass catching tight end on the field makes life much, much easier for your quarterback. More of Ertz next year please, blocking or no. A third is that despite all the hooplah about revolutionizing the game and needing a mobile, big-armed quarterback to win in today’s NFL, a smart, accurate pocket passer with mediocre arm strength but a high football IQ can still be extremely effective, even against the best defenses in the league. Obviously Foles isn’t nearly as accomplished as Brady, but this ought to serve as a reminder that there are clear examples of guys who are no more physically gifted than he is becoming elite NFL quarterbacks.

  2. 2 the DONALD said at 11:30 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Huff.. he needs to watch film of those two all offseason..

  3. 3 xeynon said at 11:32 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m actually high on Huff. The guy clearly has physical talent and is a competitor. His mistakes this year were all mental, which are things that should be corrected as he gains experience.

  4. 4 the DONALD said at 11:34 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    i agree. i like what hes got, just needs to settle it down, which he will… like him to be our welker/edelmen.. he showed flashes this year, im excited to see him grow into his roll.

  5. 5 Phil said at 12:44 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I wish he could take cooper’s place so we could have Maclin, him and Matthews, with Ertz at tight end.

  6. 6 the DONALD said at 2:13 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    that’ll happen…

  7. 7 bdbd20 said at 11:35 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Great point. I really think he’s gonna surprise a lot of people next season.

  8. 8 Donald Kalinowski said at 11:42 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Even Brady wasn’t perfect. He had two interceptions and missed on a bunch of throws.

    But he makes the right reads, throws bullets in tight windows, and has good pocket presence. Foles didn’t show any of that last year. And I don’t buy a bad offensive line and a stagnant running game. Great QBs overcome that.

  9. 9 xeynon said at 12:04 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Foles is also 25, and had less than two full seasons’ worth of experience as an NFL starter going into this season. Brady has been starting for more than a decade, with the same (brilliant) coach in the same offensive system.

    Not saying Foles at 37 will be as good as Brady is at 37 – I doubt very much he will. But the comparison you’re making isn’t a fair one at all. Foles actually compares quite well to 25 year old Brady statistically.

  10. 10 bdbd20 said at 1:31 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    There is something to be said about consistency. Brady, Edleman, Ammendola, Gronk, etc. They’ve been together for a while. Belichek refused the temptation to get rid of the smaller guys. It paid off in their comfort level with Brady.

  11. 11 Buge Halls said at 2:03 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    So how do you explain 2013 when he did all of that? You can’t toss out the good year and just look at last year.

  12. 12 Andy Six Score and Four said at 2:07 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    You can’t toss out the good year and just look at last year.

    This is demonstrably false. People have been doing precisely that all year.

  13. 13 Buge Halls said at 2:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I guess I should have said you “shouldn’t” toss…

  14. 14 mksp said at 12:06 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    “Obviously Foles isn’t nearly as [accurate, poised, instinctive or quick-thinking] as Brady, but this ought to serve as a reminder that there are clear examples of guys who are no more physically gifted than he is becoming elite NFL quarterbacks.”

    [Fixed]

    Y’all have to stop comparing Nick Foles to Tom Brady. And the difference between the two isn’t that Tom Brady is more “accomplished,” its that Tom Brady is a much better quarterback because he does quarterback things better than Nick Foles does.

    I like Nick Foles, and want him to succeed, and I think he can succeed. But he will never be in the same conversation as Tom Brady, despite their shared physical limitations.

  15. 15 xeynon said at 12:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    What you are ignoring is that Brady at 25 wasn’t as accurate, poised, instinctive, or quick-thinking as Brady today is either. Go back and look at Brady’s first 30 games as a starter – they give no clue that the guy would develop into arguably the greatest QB of all time.

    I am NOT comparing Foles to Brady, or predicting that he will become what Brady has become. That is highly unlikely. What I’m saying is that dismissing the possibility that he could develop into a franchise QB because he doesn’t have ideal arm strength or foot speed is stupid. And Brady (and Drew Brees, and Kurt Warner, and a number of other HoF caliber quarterbacks who shared these physical limitations) prove that point.

  16. 16 mksp said at 12:20 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I guess I disagree with you regarding 25 year old Tom Brady. We saw those traits with him almost immediately, though clearly he had room to improve.

    The statistics may have not been there yet, but you saw the poise and the “mind” the minute Tom Brady stepped in for Bledsoe.

  17. 17 xeynon said at 12:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I re-watched the “Tuck Rule” game recently. The guy playing QB for the Pats in that game was quite reminiscent of Foles to me. Flashes of brilliance, but also plenty of indecisiveness and questionable decision making.

    What will ultimately determine Foles’ fate is whether he can separate the wheat in his game from the chaff. There’s still way too much chaff, but the wheat is definitely there IMO. Just go back and watch that last drive against San Francisco this year. He sucked all game, and then brought them down to a point where they could’ve (and should’ve) won the game at the end. The throw he made to Maclin along the sidelines on that drive and the should’ve-been game winner to Cooper were throws as good as you’ll see an NFL QB make. I’m not a fan of the Foles who throws boneheaded interceptions in the end zone or backpedals 10 yards and throws off his back foot when the pocket collapses. But the “good Foles” we saw in flashes even this year is tantalizing enough to me that I think it would be foolish to give up on him at this point. Especially to mortgage the next three drafts for an unknown quantity like Mariota.

  18. 18 Mike Giongo said at 12:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Couldn’t agree more

  19. 19 Buge Halls said at 2:05 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    The nebulous “traits” but not the stats to back them up?

  20. 20 mksp said at 2:44 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Yeah, that’s how evaluation and analysis works. You don’t have to agree with me, though somehow I’m the crazy one on this board for *not* wanting to compare Nick Freaking Foles to Tom Brady.

    Brady’s completion % was higher in their respective age-25 seasons as well (62.1% vs. 59.8%), if you’re into that type of thing.

  21. 21 teltschikfakeout88 said at 1:01 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    C’mon….Lane got hurt and they picked on Tharold Simon…who got abused by Edelman…..don’t think that they necessarily whooped up on the Legion of Boom…..pretty sure that Brady did not throw to often to Sherman’s side….yeah I think I saw Chancellor give up one play to Gronk which was a crazy pass in a tight window….other than that it was LB’s that got beat by Gronk….the dink and dunk that they ran were not routinely back breakers as Seattle tackled well for the most part….Also I think you are marginalizing Tom Brady a bit….that guy has just enough of the skills (arm talent included) but the one thing he has that others don’t is what Tommy eluded to….he can make great throws ten times in a row….he does not make mechanical mistakes with his throws such that you would even come close to saying he is inconsistent….has he had bad games…Yup…..have their been games where he has lost it for his team….Yup…….is that often……nope……the dude is a stone cold killer moreso than any other QB in the league save Manning/Rodgers and even that is arguable….no one can touch this guy when it comes to the mental aspect of throwing the ball where it needs to be for his guy to make plays…finding a guy like Brady is just not fair or looking to his success in relation to what you perceive are his physical skills and saying the Eagles can find someone to do that to is not fair either….

  22. 22 xeynon said at 1:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Brady threw for more than 300 yards and 4 TDs, 3 of which were at the expense of the Seattle secondary (maybe not Sherman, but the nickname applies to the whole unit AFAIK and I also saw Chancellor and Thomas get beat in addition to Simon). When the chips were down, the Seattle defense could not stop the Patriots’ passing game, and the inability of their big, slow DBs to stick with the Patriots’ small, quick receivers was a big reason why.

    Of course Brady is a great quarterback, and of course those guys are hard to find. But he is exhibit A proving that intangibles (poise, leadership, football IQ, etc.) matter as much as or more than physical talent when it comes to playing QB, which is a proposition that some posters on this board refuse to accept. Colin Kaepernick (to name one overrated mobile QB) can’t sniff Brady’s jockstrap, despite being twice the athlete Brady is. We can’t just look at this team and say “Chip needs a mobile QB with a strong arm to succeed”. Like all coaches, what he needs first and foremost is a smart, mentally tough, consistent QB.

  23. 23 Buge Halls said at 2:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Hardly anybody, except for the talking heads like Collingworth(less) and the moron posters on Philly.com, say that “Chip needs a mobile QB with a strong arm to succeed”. Even Chip himself has said that he doesn’t.

  24. 24 MagOvertheRainbow said at 4:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    As I keep saying, yes, sometimes the best DBs and even linebackers, get toasted.

  25. 25 teltschikfakeout88 said at 5:14 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    look if you want to quote the 300 yards and say they got toasted fine….but you said it was Edelman and Amendola…. Amendola had 1 catch in the second half for 4 yards albeit for TD…don’t know whose F/up that was but I think Thomas was the closest to him ….Amendola was productive in the first half with 4 catches 3 of which were for first downs and two came on scoring drives….but at the half it was a tie game….I think the game plan was to limit Gronk (which they did as he had 1 td and 68 yards)…..no doubt that Edelman had a great game…..the killer was Shane Vereen with 11 catches and 68 yards…..I don’t think anyone was expecting that… but those aren’t all on the secondary (probably very few)…..Like I said they tried to limit Gronk which for most part they did as he had six balls for 2, 4, 22(TD), 7, 20 and 13….the last two were on NE final score…..it was a group effort where a lot of areas were attacked by Tom Brady moreso than just the Legion of Boom getting exposed (Simon was the weak link as he gave up a TD to Lafell and Edelman with Gronks TD coming against KJ Wright)….thats all I am trying to say…..and also I agree with your quote on the intangibles…..but when you mention poise, football IQ and leadership in relation to Tom Brady….those intangibles are being used day in an day out on a different level…I bet that on some level that Foles has those attributes but maybe not on a level to take us to the SB….I am not hating on Foles by any means…I like him a lot……

  26. 26 MagOvertheRainbow said at 4:23 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    This game was another illustration that even the best corners, safeties and linebackers GET BEATEN sometimes. Not just the Eagles. Another thing which illustrates the foolishness of some people is Sherman pointing to the scoreboard, which read 24 points for the Seahawks, NOT at Revis’ number. Collinsworth sounds more dense every time I see/hear him. Finally, if Marynowitz showed up with a guy selling shoes at Foot Locker and said he will be a backup WR this year, the Internet would melt from the death screams on this and other Eagles boards. ;~D

  27. 27 xeynon said at 4:35 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Yeah, my point was not to take shots at the Seattle defenders, more to point out that there are inherent problems in overvaluing any one set of characteristics in your players. If, for example, a coach insists that all his corners be 6’0″ and 200 pounds plus because “big people beat up little people”, his team may suffer when trying to cover receivers like Edelman who can beat the jam with quickness and outrun a big corner once they get open.

    To me, the way Belichick uses personnel should be the model. He’s not wedded to any one body type or set of physical characteristics or even scheme – he just finds players that do something well, and then puts them in positions where what they’re expected to do to contribute to the team leverages their best skills.

  28. 28 MagOvertheRainbow said at 4:42 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    My point wasn’t to take shots at the Legion of Boom either. Or even the Patriots’ DBs. My point was to take shots at the folks who endlessly moan about the Eagles DBs when they miss, yet never notice that it happens to EVERYBODY who ever played in the secondary.

  29. 29 Dominik said at 6:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Mag, you defend our secondary all the time. I get your thinking. Everybody gets beat sometimes. Even Revis or Sherman (very rarely, but still).

    But you also have to agree that our secondary sucked, don’t you? You simply can’t resign Allen or Fletcher imho. Only because others get beat too (like I said, I get that the Eagles DBs aren’t the only ones who get beat) doesn’t mean Allen and Fletcher didn’t get beat waaaay to often last year.

  30. 30 Finlay Jones said at 11:31 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    there was plenty of time for Lynch to run it twice, because Seattle had their own TO. Maybe if Belicheck called a timeout they could have run it three times.

  31. 31 Donald Kalinowski said at 11:33 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m not even a Seahawks fan and didn’t really have a rooting interest, but even lost a little sleep over the final play. That stings. I too wonder how the Seahawks recover.

    As much as I dislike Brady and Bellichick (simply because of how good they are), I do admire what they went through the past 10 seasons. This is a duo that won 3 Super bowls in 4 years and then went on a drought for 10 seasons. I begrudgingly decided to be happy for them.

  32. 32 ACViking said at 2:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    A drought that included certainly 1 fluke (miracle?) loss and a 2nd heart-breaker.

    While Tyree was a fluke (miracle), I don’t put the Manningham-Manning pass into that category.

    It was just extraordinary execution under the most pressing circumstances — which makes it a great play. But not a fluke.

  33. 33 GermanEagle said at 11:33 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I don’t know what that day will be like, exactly, but I want that feeling. We can only guess at which coach and players will be on the field hoisting the Lombardi, but I do know that a part of Reggie, Seth, Jerome, Jaws, Donovan, Dawk, Trot, Westy, Tra, Jon and Big Red will be out there with them. The ghosts of blown Super Bowls past will be on the field, but for the right reason. When the Eagles do finally win, it will be for all the Eagles.

    You just brought tears to my eyes. If you don’t become eagles GM you will always have a career at Budweiser.

  34. 34 ACViking said at 2:29 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    All due respect to T-Law . . .

    After seeing about 10 seconds of the ’83 76s post-game celebration, I realized I don’t ever again need to hear the trite, played-out comments — or the really useless, if not embarrassing comments — of the winning Philly players. (Or the losers they beat.)

    If the game’s close, like yesterday, I’d only want to hear — after all the ridiculous hoopla is over — what the coaches were thinking about.

    Otherwise, silence is — for me — golden in these situations.

    Once upon a time, all you saw was a locker-room of happy guys and Tom Brooksheier interviewing the winning coach as he, and the owner, received the Lombardi trophy, with a question or two about an important play.

    Something timeless about classy simplicity.

  35. 35 daveH said at 3:06 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    ghost of mamula and … aw I aint even going to start thinking like that…

  36. 36 Donald Kalinowski said at 11:37 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I still think not taking the timeouts wasn’t a wise decision. If Marshawn Lynch scores on the next play there’s only 18 seconds left in the game. I have confidence that Brady could have led the Pats into FG territory with a minute left had the Pats taken the timeouts.

    Decision to throw a pass wasn’t terrible. The decision to throw a slant in such a tight window is just mind boggling.

  37. 37 Ray888 said at 12:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    When ahead in crunch time, don’t stop the clock to let the opposition – catch their breath, settle down, organize, consult among the coaches, pick the best play, and stop the frenzy. Lots of commentary as clock was under a minute that Pats should call timeout to save time for when they got the ball back. Bill chose to let it run and put maximum pressure on the Seahawks as the clock was moving. Sure enough Seahawks blew play call. My guess is that is not the play they run next if they had time to thoroughly consider it.

  38. 38 Donald Kalinowski said at 1:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    But if the Seahawks score (they’re at the .5 yard line) you leave your QB with 18 seconds to get into FG range. Also Seattle let the clock run down 25 seconds before they got the play off. So it’s not like they made the play call in a hurry.

  39. 39 RobNE said at 1:25 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    yes they let a lot of time lapse. It was like Carroll thought, I’m going to let clock go, then as it went down thought, oh now one of the three plays needs to be a pass b/c I can’t run 3 running plays with only this much time left. A problem he had created for himself.

  40. 40 Ark87 said at 1:28 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    it seemed like they were playing a game of chicken and Belichick won.

  41. 41 ACViking said at 2:24 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    R888:

    Agree with you.

    You see this in basketball games a bunch.

    Make the team with the ball make a play.

    Given the odds of scoring a TD, even at the 1-yard line, on a single play are probably less than 50%, it’s absolutely the right play.

    This wasn’t the 1998 GB Packers v. Denver, who couldn’t stop jack all game.

  42. 42 daveH said at 3:05 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I think you and the several comments below really really tapped into the core of that moment!! wonderful read !!

  43. 43 Robert T. Reed said at 11:58 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    My biggest takeaways:
    1. Watching the 6’4 Chris Matthews out-jump the 5’10 Arrington for a few long conmpletions, you start to understand the “measurables” argument. Wanting longer taller corners on the outside does make sense.
    2. However; Watching BB adjust his defensive gameplan so quickly further frustrates what we watched this year with Bradley Fletcher.

    It only took a few series before BB swapped the 6’4 Brandon Browner with Arrington to stop some of those jump balls (which worked perfectly). Watching how quickly he is willing to adjust and then considering that we didn’t see Cary Williams switch to covering Dez Bryant until the 4th quarter after giving up 3 TD’s, makes you wonder. CK always talks about adjusting his offense to what the defense gives him. Shouldn’t the same apply to your defense?

    This is putting aside the bigger picture of a coaching staff that still even gave thought to leaving Bradley Fletcher alone on Dez Bryant. Especially after watching him against Desean, Jordy Nelson, Kearse, and just about any other wide receiver.

  44. 44 Avery Greene said at 1:39 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    While that’s true, Cary didn’t do much better on Bryant. If he was out on Bryant the whole game, we would have been mad they didn’t put Fletcher on him earlier. I’d argue Cary would have looked worse, because at least Fletcher can tackle.

  45. 45 ACViking said at 2:21 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    The whole Big Guys v. Little guys — at WR and CB — was played out in yesterday’s game.

    Put Brady on both sides and I don’t think it matters what either defense does.

    When Brady had Moss, he set the record for TDs (broken later).

    When Brady’s played with 5’10” WRs like Branch and Edelman, he’s won 3 SBs.
    ____________

    The point being, put Russell Wilson — or Nick Foles or Andrew Luck — on both sides and BIG v. little probably matters much more.

    (Like on Seattle’s last play, when Browner blew up the pick by jamming Kearse)

    As long as those big CBs are also good CBs.

  46. 46 FairOaks said at 3:40 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I think I read an article that said Browner pleaded with the position coaches to let him take Matthews, which they eventually let him do. Neither BB nor the DC was involved with that decision per Browner — it was between the safeties coach and the CBs coach and the players.

  47. 47 meteorologist said at 4:18 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Shh, don’t let facts get in the way of the narrative

  48. 48 philliesfan123 said at 11:59 AM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Here is a quote from the above article. – ” By letting the clock run, Seattle was only going to get one running play with Lynch. Of course, they made that strategy irrelevant by throwing the ball. ” I’m sorry, but I disagree with that statement. The Seahawks ( could / should have ) ran the ball on second down, then called a time out. Now, with zero time outs left, they could have thrown the ball on third down ( touchdown – game over ) if pass is incomplete, the clock ( stops ) and it’s 4th down. Now on 4th down they would have one play left, with a ( run ) or pass option, to end the game. So, when their first down play was over ( with one time out left ) they had – 2 runs and 1 pass in their pocket to chose from. Based on the time left on the clock, and having only one time out available to them, the Seahawks had 3 plays left to run. They had to throw the ball ” at least “, ( one ) time. That throw, could have come on first or second down. The other 2 plays, could have been ” running ” plays.

  49. 49 Ray888 said at 12:40 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Agree. My guess is that if BB had called the timeout , that’s exactly what Seahawks would have done. And probably won.

  50. 50 ACViking said at 2:13 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    YES!

    And that’s why Belichick, by letting the clock run, not only is one smart SOB.

    He’s one gutsy SOB.

  51. 51 philliesfan123 said at 12:30 PM on February 4th, 2015:

    Agreed.

  52. 52 Donald Kalinowski said at 1:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    There was a minute left in the game. It’s not it was the last second. Seattle could have ran 3 more running plays without calling a timeout.

  53. 53 philliesfan123 said at 12:29 PM on February 4th, 2015:

    I beg to disagree with you, about that. Every, I mean every NFL / football expert ( i’m not a expert ) agrees that the only ( realistic ) options that the Seahawks had were : pass – run ( time out ) run or pass // pass – pass – pass // pass – pass – run // run ( time out ) pass – run or pass // run – pass – pass, etc. The most runs plays, that they could have used were, two ( 2. ) That’s WITH using their final time out. I personally think that they should have been under center EVERY time, with a ( run / pass / quarterback run ) option, every time. They probably ” would have ” run the ball, the final two plays, but they OBVIOUSLY never got the chance.

  54. 54 jamesbondage said at 12:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Regarding how Amendola and Edelman seemed to be more open (than usual against Seattle’s defense) can be attributed to 3 things:

    – Chancellor, Thomas and Sherman were all playing with some serious injuries
    – Seahawks lost Lane for the rest of the game just after his interception
    – Tall defensive backs do not match up well against quick small receivers

    The 3rd point applies to how the Eagles play their cornerbacks. I think Boyking should be allowed to play on the outside if their wideouts are small (e.g. DJax) just to give mixed looks to the offense. Just my 2c

  55. 55 Ark87 said at 12:55 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’ve become numb to the whole Eagles winning a super bowl fantasy. Had to let go of that one to be able to still enjoy football. Even when we do win 1 we’ll still be the runt of the division. I will say I do still get a bit depressed when a team wins their franchise’s first super bowl as we linger on the dwindling list of franchises who haven’t won one. The good news is Foles and Kelly still only need to win 5 superbowls to be the gratest qb-coach tandem of all time 😀

  56. 56 daveH said at 2:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    upvote.
    and the pregame I saw the silver football handed to a wonderful femal ecoach w mls .. by all time great B Dawk !! and felt that pain and CRINGE all over again!! >> WE LET OUR BEST EVER GO OVER A FEW MILLION BUCKS !!! AHHHHHHHH! the pain

  57. 57 ChaosOnion said at 5:53 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    >…we’ll still be the runt of the division.

    I absolutely refuse to buy into that nonsense. Eat crow for 30+ years about not having a SuperBowl ring to turn around and have to eat crow for only having one? No chance in hell.

    “Only one” of the greatest sports prize in the world? I will take that all day, my friend.

  58. 58 ICDogg said at 12:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8zsHakIQAAZQCM.jpg

    h/t greengo on BGN

  59. 59 EAGLES said at 12:57 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Just wrong.,,, but for some reason, probably insanity, I smiled a little. I’m a horrible person.

  60. 60 Ark87 said at 1:19 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I didn’t really understand the commercial, will nationwide replace your child if lost in a car accident, because that’s super impressive. Get covered people!

  61. 61 Bert's Bells said at 2:13 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m glad you explained it -I had no idea what it referred to.

    Tip: streaming the BSky broadcast from the UK is about a million times better than the US broadcast. Almost no commercials, and they use the time to breakdown plays.

  62. 62 ACViking said at 2:54 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    link?

  63. 63 Bert's Bells said at 3:17 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Next time around. Though we’ll probably gladly put up with the bullshit ads and overblown graphics just to watch the Eagles on big screen TV.

  64. 64 daveH said at 2:54 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    geico will say you fifteen or more on car issurance ..
    ..
    moron car insurance

  65. 65 Avery Greene said at 1:40 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    After watching Seattle’s last offensive play, I could hear Andy Reid somewhere saying, “I would have done the same thing, I don’t understand why it didn’t work.”

  66. 66 daveH said at 2:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    brilliant!!
    I posted that now fat andy has the SECOND dumbest timeclock/game calling of super bowl history

  67. 67 ACViking said at 1:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Re: Brady, Big Guys . . . and What to Learn

    1. Starting with his 9 play – 53 yard game-winning drive vs. the Rams . . .

    Brady’s led 18 scoring drives (14 TDs/4 FGs – 2 GWs) in 5 SBs

    Avg: 9 plays for 64 yds.

    The fastest one . . . only 7 plays (for 37 yards).

    Against the best two defenses he faced, here’s how Brady did in posting a total of 52 points:

    2004 – #2 ranked Eagles’ defense:
    7 plays – 37 yds (off a short punt)
    9-69
    9-66
    8-43
    (plus an 8-73, ending in a fumbled shotgun snap at Birds’ 13)

    2014 – #1 ranked Seattle defense:
    9-69
    8-80
    9-68
    10-64
    (plus a 13-58, ending in an INT at the Sea 10)

    No fluke TDs. No quick-strike TDs. No defense TDs. No STs TDs.

    That’s some excellent QB’ing.

    And especially against Seattle . . .

    Because Brady’s relying on little guys at WR. Against BIG guys at CB.
    ___________________

    On that last play for Seattle . . .

    Revis followed Baldwin to the offense’s left.

    On the offense’s right, CB Brandon Browner lined up opposite Jermaine Kearse, with super-hero Butler opposite Lockette.

    BIG-guy Browner puts a huge jam on little-sized Kearse, blowing up the pick.
    http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000467455/article/butlers-late-int-lifts-patriots-to-fourth-super-bowl-title (at the 2:37 mark)

    That’s a play where — before the snap — Wilson needs to see the match-ups and anticipate Browner blowing up the pick.

    ATTENTION: BELICHICK . . . is that a fair argument?
    ________________

    3. Oh . . . and Belichick has the guts of a burglar.

  68. 68 Buge Halls said at 1:58 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    As far as Belichick being the “greatest coach of all time”, I don’t see it. He’s not an innovator (except in the case of hoodie-wear). Yeas, he’s a dam good coach and has four Championship rings. But he has really changed the game. He’s a classic coach – nothing new.

  69. 69 Hinkle McCringleberry from Pen said at 2:03 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    “GOAT” I don’t know about but the man is a genius and is 1 of the GOAT. I’m still kind of young but I’ve never seen a coach be able to switch his defenses from 3-4 to 4-3 to back to 3-4 and now a multiple front defense and do while seamlessly plugging in any players to make it work from high draft picks to undrafted players.

  70. 70 ACViking said at 2:10 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Agree.

    There’s never been another coach at this level who’s done that.

    Never will be.

  71. 71 ICDogg said at 2:50 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    not to mention making Patrick Chung look like a useful player

  72. 72 Andy Six Score and Four said at 2:59 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    black magic.

  73. 73 Ark87 said at 3:05 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m impressed that his 4th superbowl victory came 10 years after his last one. Most (all? paging ACV) coaches who win multiple super bowls makes 1 great team that wins with a core of multiple hall of famers. Bill won his 4 with pretty much just Brady, don’t get me wrong, that’s a pretty sick constant, but still impressed.

  74. 74 ACViking said at 3:29 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    In the modern era, no other NFL coach has done what Belichick’s done — post-1957, and clearly not since the SB era began in ’66.

    (George Halas holds the record — 18 years between championships.)
    _____________

    Walsh, pre-free agency era, won his first and last SBs 8 years apart (with just Montana, Randy Cross, Ronnie Lott and CB Eric Wright playing in both).

    Don Shula came closest to topping what Belichick’s done, winning his 2nd and last SB after the 1973 season and then 11 years later — with the Marino Dolphins — coaching his final SB against Walsh’s winning 49ers (never a game).
    ________________

    Also, Shula led different teams to a SB 17 years apart — which is damned impressive. (Balt in ’68, MIA in ’84)

    Dan Reeves is next at 13 years apart with two teams. (Den ’86, ATL ’98).

    Landry’s Cowboys lost SBs 9 years apart (1970, 1978).

    And Cowher’s Steelers split SBs 10 years apart (’95, ’05).
    _____________

    NOTE: Vermeil led different teams to the SB 20 years apart, going 1–1. With his 16 year hiatus between coaching stints, he gets an asterick — because, had he never left coaching, its impossible to know if he’d have lasted from ’83 to ’96 to be in position to takeover a young, talented Rams team in ’97.

  75. 75 Ark87 said at 3:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    So at the very least we can put him among that company of coaches. Very impressive indeed. Amazing stuff as usual ACV

  76. 76 xeynon said at 2:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    He’s not wedded to the myth of his own genius and is willing to do whatever it takes to win based on his personnel. He’s won with bruising running attacks, dink-and-dunk passing attacks, and bombs away deep throwing attacks. He uses trick plays and nonstandard formations better than anybody. Defensively he’s used 3-4, 4-3, and hybrid fronts. He’s great at scheming to take away an opponent’s strengths, and he is willing to make unorthodox decisions when probabilities back them up (e.g. going for it on 4th and 1 from his own 30 a few years back against the Colts).

    Absolutely belongs in the discussion for GOAT in my opinion.

  77. 77 daveH said at 2:51 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    what nonyex just said

  78. 78 ACViking said at 3:03 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    110%

  79. 79 botto said at 3:30 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    how was he able to not call a timeout at the end, seemed crazy but he held tight and won. that was something.

  80. 80 P_P_K said at 5:55 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I so much hate to say it, but you’re right.

  81. 81 GEAGLE said at 2:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Johnny jackass checked into rehab? Lol already? Should have taken josh Gordon with him lol . Cleveland is such a joke and Kyle Shanahan should never work in the NFL again for getting played by manzeil LOL sending him texts on draft night to “come get me so we can wreck the league together” Hahahahahaha real interpretation: ” come save me from this draft night embarrassment of me falling all the way into the 20’s”…. Kyle shamahan took the bait, hook line and sinker lol Johnny played the hell out of the Browns and that sucker shanahan

  82. 82 ACViking said at 3:00 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    My friend . . .

    Have to part ways on this one.

    No one enjoyed your “Johnny Clipboard” moniker more than I did.

    But rehab’s serious business.

    I admire Manziel, in so public a position, for accepting the responsibility and — frankly — the shame of admitting to the world that he has a problem. (Which lots of folks have.)

    Hope he takes the help to heart and gets his life straightened out.

    AS I KNOW YOU DO, TOO!
    _______________

    Now . . . the real jack-rabbits?

    Don’t disagree with you at all on this.

    The Cleveland organization, starting with Haslem, remains the problem. GM Ray Farmer. Shanny Jr. if he was pushing for Manziel at all last year.

    Whatever background check was done was not enough.

    Cautionary tale for other teams.

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 3:37 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    naive much? rehab can be serious business… If he was taking it serious, he would have checked in and they would ATleast try to keep it quiet. Give me a break, he is doing same think UFC LHW champ jon jones did, and countless actors and actors… They go to rehab for their IMAGE. Not because they are ready to ask for help……when you want to keep quiet your rehab stint, and don’t use it for your image, then Ill respect your rehab stint…. This is no different than Jon Jones going to rehab for a day after testing positive for Coke a month before his title fight… This is no different than the 15 times Lindsay Lohan went LOL

    We will find out HOW serious this is. By the length in which he stays in rehab… If he is legitimately trying to get help, he will be in rehab for the very least two weeks…..
    ..
    DOUBT IT..l johnny always talks the talk.. You gonna have to show me, before you fool me for the 15th time…..
    ..
    Publicity stunt, give me a break

  84. 84 teltschikfakeout88 said at 5:22 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Preach it BROTHER…..but still……you could show just a smidge of empathy for the guy….huh….maybe a little…cause he might be serious about it…….its plausible after all….

  85. 85 GEAGLE said at 6:00 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    the world at his feet, all types of people trying to reach out to him to help him, and he thumbed his nose at all of them, and didnt even hide the fact that he would just continue to be “johnny Football”
    … he has that mike Vick ability to tell you exactly what you want to hear and never back it up with action, and thats if he cares enough to actually bullshit you and isnt in one of his FULL BLOWN DEFIANT MODE.
    ..
    Fraternity of QBs reached out to try and help him, fraternity of heisman winners reached out to help him…

    in this day and age, all of us have loved ones who have struggled at some point with addiction so i wish addiction on no man, I dont care about Johnny Clipboard the QB, i never expected him to be any good anyway..But i sincerely hope johnny Manziel, the human can beat this horrible disease, put it behind him and live a healthy life…i hope im wrong and he is in rehab for no reason but to help himself and that he had nothing to do with this information getting leaked to the public, but to me, this looks like publicity image crap that we have seen ONE TIME TOO MANY…i dont think this kid has really hit rock botton enough yet for this to be genuine…hopefully he is one of the rare ones that get the help they need without having to hit bottom first…

    but timing, media anouncement, everything about this screams publicity to me. I hope for his famililes sake IF ANYTHING, that im wrong… no matter what we think of the kid as a player or idiot, this kid has people who genuinley cant help but to love him AND CARE about him like his mother, father, family..atleast for his love ones sake, i hope im wrong, and he takes this serious, stays atleast a month and goes on to live a healthy life….i dont know the kid personally, he never did anything to hurt me, i have no reason to not want to see him get help, im just extremely skeptical about the authentiocity… love to be wrong…
    ..

  86. 86 anon said at 5:37 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    We will find out HOW serious this is. By the length in which he stays in rehab… If he is legitimately trying to get help, he will be in rehab for the very least two weeks…..
    yes

  87. 87 anon said at 4:13 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Sold season tickets

  88. 88 xeynon said at 4:59 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Manziel is a bust. Classic example of why character matters, especially at QB.

    If I were drafting near the top of this draft, I wouldn’t touch Jameis Winston with a fifteen foot pole, for the same reasons I was wary of Manziel last year. When is the last time a guy who was a self-centered, uncommitted knucklehead in college suddenly became a mature and accountable team leader in the pros?

  89. 89 anon said at 5:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I don’t think JW is that on the field, he comes off as a great leader. He’s also a much better pro style QB than Johnny ever was. Additionally, none of his issues have been booze related (except the perhaps the alleged sexual assault). He’s all business on gameday, doesn’t do any of that money dance stuff.
    As far as drafting Johny — business decision. Sold out of season tickets immediately after drafting him. And who cares? They can dump him and they have the Bills first and their first this year.

  90. 90 xeynon said at 5:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Manziel didn’t have issues on the field in college either. When you are vastly more talented than the opposition, it’s easy to let things slide and still look good on gameday. In the pros, you need to be all business. Winston has repeatedly gotten himself in trouble doing stupid sh*t, created distractions for his teammates and coaching staff, and shown a consistent lack of maturity, judgment, and commitment. I don’t see any way that stuff doesn’t boil over once he’s playing against the big boys and can no longer lean on superior talent alone. Like I said, wouldn’t touch him with a fifteen foot pole.

  91. 91 anon said at 5:15 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    He’s obviously a knicklehead. Be interesting to see if he drops as far as Johnny did — maybe further as Johnny might really turn people on taking Winston. But to me Winson isn’t entitled the same way Manziel is. But we’ll see what happens.

  92. 92 xeynon said at 5:20 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Look at the history of talented QBs who were known as knuckleheads in college. It’s not pretty. Manziel, JaMarcus Russell, Vince Young, Ryan Leaf, Todd Marinovich, etc. I can’t think of a single QB who had major character concerns coming out of college who thrived in the pros. Not one.

  93. 93 GEAGLE said at 2:43 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Vegas gives us the 4th best odds in the NFC to win SB next year, 7th best odds out of both conferences combined…..yet philly is going to spend the next
    3 months, ctalking about starting over with a rookie QB? Thankfully chip is smarter than that…..if during the Eagles offseason, we believe the exact opposite of what our media predicts, are accuracy rate would be something crazy like 70% accuracy rate. Figure our media is so wrong this time of year, just believe the exact opposite of everything our local media says about the Eagles and we will ha e a better understanding of what the Eagles will do then the rest of eagle nation that actually look at our local media as a source of accurate info

  94. 94 Andy Six Score and Four said at 2:47 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    All of the media that I’ve read are admitting Foles will be our QB next year. 🙁 lol
    Guess that falls in to the 30%.

  95. 95 GEAGLE said at 3:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Yeah but the morons still seem to think we will draft one in the first 3 rounds…

  96. 96 Cafone said at 2:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I think it’s a little early to say the Patriots didn’t cheat. We didn’t find out about their cheating against the Panthers and the Eagles until well after the fact.

  97. 97 Christopher Miller said at 2:59 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Good and awful in the same game is exactly how I felt when we had McNabb…you just never knew when he would get hot or cold and it drove me nuts.

  98. 98 GENETiC-FREAK said at 3:04 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Seahawks still had a chance to win if they got the Safety at the end.. Bennett went from hero to zero from jumping off sides.. Get the Safety, Punt then get into FG range

  99. 99 Ark87 said at 3:43 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a crowded line of scrimmage, was watching that blob of humanity hover right over that ball, almost looked like he started to go but not 100%, one of his team mates grabbed his pants to try to pull him back. was kind of funny to see in real time.

  100. 100 GEAGLE said at 3:50 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    If they were going to throw, atLeast go play action since the entire defense has its eyes on Lynch,, call a play action fake and I bet Wilson could have walked into the ENDZONE.
    ..
    And I blame Wilson too for a bad pass, and Wilson could have checked out of the play at the Ine… We praise wilson for calling the audible late against the Pakers, changing the coaches play and winning the game…. It’s up to wilson to audible out of it at the line. If you choose not to audible out, then you better not throw an INT, throw it low and away from the defender, throw a McNabb worm burner and either get lucky with your WR going down and making the play, or it’s incomplete, clock stops, they could call a run play if they DIDNT get it, they could have them,called the time out and ran the ball again..
    ..pete Carrol, Darrel Bevel. Russel Wilson. All to blame

  101. 101 Ark87 said at 3:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Lynch actually looked like he was going to be open on yet another wheel route in that play, Wilson never even looked at him.

  102. 102 mksp said at 3:16 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Just gonna leave this here.

    http://draftbreakdown.com/ndt-scouting-report-ucla-quarterback-brett-hundley/

  103. 103 botto said at 3:19 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    quality backup project

  104. 104 mksp said at 4:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    He *is* pretty good.

    He’s not a back-up long term. Talented enough to be a starting QB.

  105. 105 botto said at 4:29 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    he would look good in this offense I think. seems tough and huge

  106. 106 Hinkle McCringleberry from Pen said at 4:01 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Definitely not worth a 1st round pick like that article says at the bottom.

  107. 107 mksp said at 4:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Um, okay?

  108. 108 holeplug said at 4:01 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    don’t think there is that much difference between him and Mariota

  109. 109 Anders said at 4:29 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Im on the Mariota bandwagon as far as trade the farm, but Im really beginning to think it might just be better to trade back in 1st and draft Hundley, then trade Foles for a 2nd and that should give 2 extra 2nds

  110. 110 botto said at 4:30 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    and then what? who starts? hundley? no way.. he needs time

  111. 111 Anders said at 4:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    He does not need time like a Bortles or Manziel because he does not have any super bad habbits like Manziel or super bad mechanics like Bortles.
    He can learn while starting and oppose to Manziel and Bortles, he will have a great offensive mind and offensive weapons around him.

  112. 112 botto said at 5:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    ok good

  113. 113 mksp said at 4:39 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m wary of trading the farm for Mariota as much as I love him. Just hard from a team-building standpoint when you give up so many draft picks, particularly just as Chip is trying to bring in the right guys for his program.

    The more I watch tape of Hundley, the more I like him. I’d take him at #20.

  114. 114 Anders said at 2:45 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    yea my same thought.

    I really think the difference between Hundley and Mariota is less than what people make it out to be.
    Mariota is in the perfect scheme for his talent, where Mora has zero clue on how to coach a mobil QB.

  115. 115 xeynon said at 4:39 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    No, no, no, no, no.

    If you do this, you’re committing to going 6-10 next year, at best. Rookie QBs do not win. Rookie QBs as raw as Hundley REALLY don’t win. You want to take a big step backward, with no guarantee that a step forward will follow (Hundley might be a bust). NO.

  116. 116 Anders said at 2:44 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    Hundley isnt as raw as people make him out to be.

    and you really think Hundley will be way worse than the combo of Sanchez and Foles?

  117. 117 xeynon said at 3:12 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    He’d be a rookie without experience in an NFL offense or against NFL defenses, playing with guys he’s unfamiliar with, under a lot of pressure to win right away. Yes, I do think he’d be that much worse than Foles and Sanchez. Or put it this way: if he wasn’t, he’d be defying years and years of NFL history.

  118. 118 Anders said at 12:52 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    I think Hundley can be just as effective as Tannenhill, Carr, Dalton or Bridgewater in his rookie year and I think Kelly is a much better offensive mind than what any of those 4 guys had to work with

  119. 119 xeynon said at 1:09 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    None of those guys were all that effective as rookies. They all showed some promise, but none was nearly good enough to win in the playoffs.

    “Draft Day” wasn’t a good movie, but does contain a relevant quote from Denis Leary’s character: “I don’t like rookie quarterbacks. They’re dumb, and they’re scared.”

    There’s a reason nobody’s ever won anything with a rookie QB.

  120. 120 xeynon said at 4:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Not interested.

    The core of this team is in its prime and is built to win now. Taking a project QB who won’t be ready until the supporting cast around him has begun to decline does not appeal to me at all. Particularly not when there are other glaring holes (CB, S, ILB, OL, etc.) that need to be filled, and this draft is strong at those positions and not particularly strong at QB.

  121. 121 mksp said at 5:02 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    You’re making a massive assumption that Nick Foles is a significantly better QB in 2015 than he was in 2014 if you believe the team is built to win now.

    We disagree on this point, clearly, but I don’t think you can just point out all these “glaring holes” and not mention QB.

    QB is much a bigger issue than ILB, for example (Kendricks is a star + we did fine with stop-gap production after Ryans went down).

    Maybe Nick is the answer, maybe he isn’t, but we certainly can’t say he is at this point.

    HOPEFULLY he is. I’d love to not have to draft a QB and feel secure in knowing we have our “Franchise Quarterback.”

    I just don’t see it. Would be great to be proven wrong.

  122. 122 xeynon said at 5:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I agree 100% that we can’t say Foles is the answer. But he’s shown me enough that I’m comfortable saying there’s at least a 50-50 shot he is. I’d say the likelihood of Hundley being the answer is 50-50 at best, and much less than that for him being the answer this season.

    We know for a fact Bradley Fletcher, Nate Allen, Casey Matthews, Andrew Gardner, Cary Williams, etc. are not the answers at their respective positions. I’d much rather take a very good prospect at one of those positions than a flawed one at QB like Hundley. If Foles bounces back, great, you’ve got your QB and a better team around him. If Foles craps out, you let him walk as a free agent and go after a QB next year. This seems the best play of the percentages to me.

  123. 123 mksp said at 5:22 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Then you lose another year of development with a young guy like Hundley, who I don’t think is as flawed as you do.

    Here’ the other thing: I don’t think the Eagles are as close as some of you guys do. I wouldn’t mind having a “down” year while we develop a guy like Brett Hundley.

    And I’m not the only one:

    Kyle ‏@IgglesNest 6m6 minutes ago
    The #Eagles are not contenders nor are they close. Last two seasons have been buoyed by unsustainable anomalies. Need BIG improvements.

    Kyle ‏@IgglesNest 6m6 minutes ago
    2013 Nick Foles is never happening again and 2014 record setting non-offensive touchdowns is never happening again. #Eagles

    Kyle ‏@IgglesNest now6 seconds ago
    #Eagles are in a bad spot. No QB, aging OL, a declining RB, aging/thin LBs and a god awful secondary with no upside. Not a good team.

    _____

    Chip has a lot of work to do. I just don’t want to miss out on a franchise-caliber QB chasing a Super Bowl that we likely won’t truly be competing for.

  124. 124 botto said at 5:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    good points

  125. 125 xeynon said at 5:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Hundley is not a clear franchise caliber QB. History suggests that it is, as I said, at best a 50-50 proposition that he even becomes a decent starter. The chances that he’s a franchise guy are likely more on the order of 10%, based on the hit rate of guys taken in the late first/early second in the past. If you don’t take him, it’s far more likely you’re missing out on the next J.P. Losman, E.J. Manuel, or Geno Smith than the next Rodgers or Drew Brees. I’m fine with that.

    As for Kyle@Igglesnest:

    A.)Who cares what he thinks? He’s just another fan with an opinion like you and me.

    B.)I don’t agree with his analysis at all. Excellent special teams play is not an “unsustainable anomaly” – it is excellent special teams play, and the guys who made all those plays this year (barring maybe Casey) will still be on the roster next year. They may not score as many special teams TDs next year as they did this year, but they probably won’t lose 4/5 of their starting OL for half the season either. These anomalies balance out.

  126. 126 anon said at 5:46 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Even if they balance where does that leave us? 9-7 / 10-6 with no hope against good teams?

  127. 127 xeynon said at 5:50 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Totally depends on the moves that are made this offseason. Add a good CB or two, a safety, a better #2 WR, and depth at OL and ILB to this year’s roster and it’s quite possible this year’s team goes 12-4 or 13-3 and is the #1 seed rather than being 10-6 and out of the playoffs. Between them Bradley Fletcher and Riley Cooper alone cost us 3-4 games (SF, Arizona, Dallas, Washington).

  128. 128 anon said at 6:06 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’d put SF game on the offense, but agree with the rest — secondary was BAD.

  129. 129 anon said at 5:36 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    yeah assume this is the reason chip kicked Howie out — if you want big changes need full control to shape in your image.

  130. 130 OldDocMcDuckle said at 5:40 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Was actually just thinking about that. It was clear last year, for example, that Nate coming back was Plan B. Or maybe Plan C, or D, or Z. But definitely not A.

    They were obviously out there trying to get other guys in but failed. Maybe part of that was Howie not wanting to ‘overpay’ for some safeties. I think there’s a reasonable level to which you can overpay FAs as long as you don’t go nuts. Maybe this year we see a slightly more aggressive approach.

  131. 131 anon said at 5:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    yeah if you aren’t hitting in FA or the draft it’s not a good look obviously. They’ve had two recent drafts where they’ve gotten guys in the secondary and we still don’t have anyone.

  132. 132 anon said at 5:44 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    If Foles isn’t the answer we’re screwed. We won’t have a top 10 pick likely, we have a ton of holes at other spots and we still have to extend Foles or give up a draft to get a QB, it’s bleak.

  133. 133 xeynon said at 5:47 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Yeah, but that’s equally true if you dump Foles for Hundley and Hundley isn’t the answer. Worst case scenario? You get rid of Foles, he goes elsewhere and succeeds, and Hundley fails in Philly. Then you are looking at the end of the CK regime.

  134. 134 anon said at 5:49 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Agree 100% I don’t advocate taking hundley unless it’s 3rd or later and doesn’t involve giving up Foles. I’d give up a draft to take Mariota if CK wants, as long as we buy a DB or two.

  135. 135 xeynon said at 5:51 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    If Hundley falls to the 3rd I’d happily pick him. Hedging against Foles not being the guy is a sound decision IMO. Using a #1 on a QB is more like betting against that happening than hedging though.

  136. 136 botto said at 5:31 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    seeing Wilson simply side step rushers at the last second to extend plays and then perfectly slide after a 20 yard run is really something that makes you think.

  137. 137 D3FB said at 10:30 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Kyle is a hell of a scout and I’m with him. Hundley has to be the guy at 20.

  138. 138 GermanEagle said at 3:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    All love to blame Pete Carroll for not running Lynch from the 1, but the Seattle D had the biggest brain fart for jumping offsides on 3rd and 3 that lead to the Pats TD just before Half Time which cost me 1000 bucks in my Super Bowl Pool!!!

  139. 139 GENETiC-FREAK said at 3:29 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Pete Carroll taking the blame for it but its the OC who made the call wasnt it? OC came out blaming Lockett for not being strong enough to get the ball.. Numb nut OC sheesh.. Uppercut yourself

  140. 140 GermanEagle said at 3:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    All I care is not winning a grand. Who was the idiot who jumped offsides? Have been quite drunk by half time.

  141. 141 ACViking said at 3:36 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Seattle came out of a TO with 1st and goal at the 5 with 1:06 on the clock.

    Carroll had to be, or should have been, a full participant in the discussions during the TO as to what Seattle wanted to do.

    That said, he sounded post-game as though he was taking responsibility for the last call because he’s the HC and he’s the boss.

    At the same time, all he had to say in his headset is, “RUN THE DAMN BALL.”

  142. 142 RobNE said at 3:57 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Carroll called pass. OC picked the play.

  143. 143 GEAGLE said at 4:06 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    LOus Riddick on NFL insider talking about a few free agents:
    .,
    1) Devin McCourty, “few players embody what a a patriot player should be more then McCourty, the Pats don’t want to lose him. Possible franchise Tag candidate(9mil)

    2) Julius Thomas may not be a bronco next year, they are prioritizing signing Demaryious, we could end up seeing this stud pass catchmg TE on the move..

    If McCourty doesn’t hit the Open market, the Eagles BETTER DO WHATEVER it takes to sign Da’Norris Searcy.!!!!

    All the Byron Maxwell lovers, seeing Tharold Simon struggle so much could force seattle into trying to keep him…. Lane dislocated his wrist but he needs to stay in the slot, not move outside…. Tharold Simons struggles, BRady picking on him, makes me think Seahawks will try to work things out with Maxwell. Seattle has to:
    1) Make Lynch the highest paid RB (offering him a big extension)
    2) Pay Russel Wilson WHATEVER he WANTS
    3) Tney are going to give JR sweezy a nice extension lock him up long term
    4) have to try hard to keep Maxwell

    Can’t wait to see how THS all effects Seattles roster

  144. 144 Alistair Middlemiss said at 4:51 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Maxwell is not going back to Seattle. They have a young outside corner they like,and too many other commitments to make with the rest of the roster. Maxwell has implied he wants to test free agency and there is no way that Seattle can win that bidding war.

  145. 145 GEAGLE said at 5:42 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    “liking” Simon is different than gladly replacing Max with Simon, the only jackass to get arrested the day before the NFL draft, who stuggled this year..you can bet they will TRY to keep Maxwell, pulling it off will be hard, but you can bet they will try before they just accept losing him, for Tharold Simon

    Richard Sherman is having Tommy Johns surgery
    ..
    Earl Thomas is having shoulder surgery’..
    ..
    CB Jeremy Lane broke his wrist and arm, gruesome injury that the camera man made sure to cut away from
    ..
    Seahawks said they will try to keep him… but its definitely not going to be easy nor a guarantee that they can pull it off

    if what Maxwell said is true and he is enjoying being the prettiest girl at the dance wanting to sign for the most money, he wont be an Eagle…. we wont Outbid like 8 franchises for him..

  146. 146 GEAGLE said at 4:14 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    What are the two players we don’t want to see the skins and Giants draft in the top 15???… I’m thinking that I don’t want to see Brandon Sherff and Trent Williams as the Skins OT’s(Sherff is that good I think he will leap Andrius Peete (or whatever his name is an be the 1st OT drafted)…. And after watching the Giants steal Wr “ooh baby i like it raw” in round 1 last year, I will throw up if I see the Giamts Drat Danny Shelton and stick him next to Jonathon Hankins, that’s alot of scary Beef for smaller Kelce

    Wonder if we end up seeing the WR from West Virgina jump ahead of Amari Cooper and become the first WR drafted?
    ..
    vikings best WR was CHarles Johnson, since Cordarrell struggled and Jennings is old, wondering how hard the Vikings will try to reunite teddy Bridgewater with his high school WR Amari Cooper?
    ..
    I continue seeing natipnal morons mock Landon Collins to the Eagles. How dumb do you have to be…. All you need to ask your self is “does this safety remind you of malcolm Jenkins stylisticalky?”… If the answer is “HELL NO”, he won’t be playing safety for the Eagles… It’s not that complicated to know which safeties we won’t have interest In….smh

  147. 147 Brian Mahoney said at 4:17 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Please quit with the “Bill Davis” needs more talent. He just can’t coach. Patrick Chung went back to the Patriots and earns a 8 million dollar contract. Boykin can play and he stinks in Davis’s system. Seahawk DB’s are coached to be more physical. Our DB’s just escort WRs into the end zone.

  148. 148 GEAGLE said at 4:18 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Delete this crap before more people see it lol smh

  149. 149 MagOvertheRainbow said at 4:37 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Three things, People here complain about Davis. Yet the team released 2 DBs coaches right quick after the season ended. People complain about Chip not playing Ertz, yet the long term tight ends coach is now gone. Could it possibly be that the tight ends coach was making decisions about who to play, just like Staley made decisions about running backs? People here complain about Chip and QBs or Shurmer and QBs, Yet the Eagles pay big bucks to a quarterback coach. Surely assistant and position coaches are there for a reason? How many times must it be explained that the Head Coach, or CEO, delegates? And takes advice in the board meetings?

  150. 150 47_Ronin said at 5:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Your examples of the coaching changes are inapt. Ted Williams was effectively the long term RBs coach, he returned to TEs when CK was hired but he spent the majority of his time with the Eagles coaching RBS ( and I believe he is probably well liked and respected at NovaCare). Williams and Lovett (1 of the 2 DB coaches) weren’t released they received FO positions which I surmise is similar to an emeritus position with the Eagles as Williams (idk about Lovett) is 70+ years old and probably didn’t have it in him for the grind of coaching and also to get younger coaches in those positions.

  151. 151 Mitchell said at 4:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Boykin stinks in Davis’ system, you say? We must have been watching a different player last year.

  152. 152 Brian Mahoney said at 4:22 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    That was not the Legion of Boom. They were depleted and injured. And they still had Brady throwing picks and getting happy feet. At full strength the would have held the 4th quarter lead and probably blown the patriots out.

  153. 153 Brian Mahoney said at 4:31 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Russel Wilson was one play away from back to back SuperBowl Victories. Please quit with the pocket passer crap. In his prime Vick was unstoppable. RGIII when healthy was unstoppable as a rookie. If either had the sense that Wilson has, and would slide and be patience, they would be healthy and we would have won a superbowl with Vick running this offense. Russell Wilson is proof that if you can coach and disipline the athletic QB you can win a Superbowl. Oh Steve Young wasn’t too bad, running around either. He won a Superbowl as well. Fran Tarkenton won 3 NFC championship.

  154. 154 botto said at 4:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    how was it then that vick was stopped?

  155. 155 Anders said at 4:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Vick was stopped becasue Mora is a bad offensive coach and they had zero weapon around Vick.

    Also Vick didnt wanna learn, Wilson does.

  156. 156 anon said at 4:47 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Vick and Chip, Randall and Chip. Dynasty if they could have gotten their minds right.

  157. 157 MagOvertheRainbow said at 4:39 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Andy and Marty were determined to make Vick a pocket passer. The fact that he was repeatedly absorbing late hits and repeatedly injured did not stop them. The always ‘saw a little something downfield” that was non-existent.

  158. 158 anon said at 4:48 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    trying to confirm him to a scheme instead of building a scheme around what he could do seemed dumb to me.

  159. 159 shah8 said at 7:10 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    The fundamental reason?

    Right guard. The Eagles offense was not stoppable, mostly. That meant that people were pretty much all out against the OL in late ’10 and ’11. Remember, those delayed CB/S blitzes are NOT safe plays. If we had a RG worth a damned, either year, we’re in the Super Bowl.

  160. 160 xeynon said at 3:00 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    They didn’t even win a playoff game. They didn’t score more than 20 points in a playoff game. They lost critical late season games to teams like the stinky Joe Webb-led Vikings. They were extremely stoppable when it mattered and were a good deal more than a good RG away from being in the Super Bowl.

  161. 161 xeynon said at 4:42 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Nobody is saying that you can’t win a Super Bowl with an athletic QB. Clearly, Young and Wilson prove that you can. But saying you can’t win with an unathletic QB is equally stupid, as Tom Brady just proved.

    Michael Vick was never more than a mediocre QB. Give it up with the “unstoppable” nonsense – he was quite stoppable. So was RGIII, who has yet to win a playoff game. Nobody is unstoppable.

  162. 162 anon said at 4:47 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Neither has Foles, or Andy Dalton it even took Matt Ryan a long time to win one and he has white, jones Gonzalez.

  163. 163 xeynon said at 4:56 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    No argument there. I’m not saying Foles is a sure thing either. Just that RG3 is no more accomplished than he is – in fact, he’s less accomplished – so people acting like he’s some kind of nascent quarterbacking legend while denigrating Foles as a career backup is ridiculous.

  164. 164 anon said at 5:00 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Def plenty of ways to skin a cat. But it really takes a coach and QB to be on the same page. RGIII in Gruden’s system doesn’t seem like the case. Neither did Vick in Andy’s after his first year.

  165. 165 KAJomo said at 5:41 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Seriously? This guy didnt even complete a pass until midway through the 2nd quarter. That team win on defense and Lynch’s ability to move the chains.

    I am so hapoy the Patriots won because I could not live in a world where both Eli and Wilsonhad 2 SB rings. Both QBs are so vastly overrated due to team success it is ridiculous.

  166. 166 anon said at 5:42 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Wilson does what he needs. Lynch didn’t have a big game against us but Wilson moved SEA’s offense with ease.

  167. 167 KAJomo said at 5:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Do you remebr that game? Wilson was running for his life and some how got away with like 5 intentional groundings. The reason the won was because Mark Sanchez shrunk against the best defense in the league. Our league’s worst secindary aso let up some terrible 3rd and long conversions. It was hardly Wilson playing at an elite QB level.

  168. 168 anon said at 5:48 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I remember he ran for a couple of TDs, found a lot of loose receivers on srambles / extended plays. If your definition of “elite QB level” is putting on a Peyton Manning impression obviously it’s not going to look the same.
    Eagles not the only game where that happened, can think of a couple more. Team was way more balanced between LOB / RW / Beastmode than in previous years.

  169. 169 KAJomo said at 5:54 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    There is doubt wilson can make some great unscripted plays. It has been proven again and again that those results are not regularly duplicated. He gets away with it because he only has to make a handful of plays a game becuas of the team atound him. I do not recall a game where Wilson carried his team on his back to a victory. He never wins a shoot out. To me an elite QB is that guy. The one who carries the team. Wilson is simply an athletic game manager at this point.

    He reminds meso much of Big Ben early in his career. Wilson can certainly develope into a high end QB the way Ben has, but right now he is just in a vry good situation. foles wiuld have a SB ring if he had been the Qb of the Seahawks the lst 2 years

  170. 170 Bert's Bells said at 5:48 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Nobody rates Eli all that highly. He’s probably only entered the conversation for top 8 QBs maybe twice in his long career. He’s only been to the Pro Bowl three times in 10 years -considering the other guys who’ve been to Hawaii that’s not saying much.

  171. 171 botto said at 5:50 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I wish we could not rate our qb’s so highly and have 2 rings from it

  172. 172 KAJomo said at 5:55 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Amen to that.

  173. 173 KAJomo said at 5:57 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Not so much anymore, but after his second SB tere was a ton of talk about how he was now elite, who was better eli or peyton, etc.

    I never felt he was elite, but the media portrayed him that way because of what his team accomplished. The same thing is happening with Wilson.

  174. 174 anon said at 6:03 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    he was elite that year, broke the single season record for 4th quarter comebacks.

  175. 175 shah8 said at 7:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    You know…it might be pointed out that the Seattle WRs were absolutely horrible when it comes to standard WR stuff like getting open, both against the Packers and the Patriots.

  176. 176 ACViking said at 8:21 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Seattle called 2 passes in the 1st Q (result: sack, scramble).

    In 2Q, Wilson started 1-3 for 6 yards.

    Then went 3-4 for 78 yards, 1 TD.

    In 2nd H: 8-14 163 yds 1-1.

    Not bad, considering the play calling.

  177. 177 Bob Brewer said at 5:17 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I just look at the Eagles’ roster and think, they are not close.

  178. 178 GermanEagle said at 6:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    The Eagles are one new starting CB and S away from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I would say they are pretty close.

  179. 179 Insomniac said at 6:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Nah.

  180. 180 Mitchell said at 6:37 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Good argument but what all do we need to be a contender? We have to get 3 new OL, at least 2 new starting WR, a new RB thay doesnt go backwards, an elite qb, 3 new secondary players, at least one New pass rusher, and another amazing ILB. He didn’t say they are a lock but we aren’t far away from contenders. Every team has flaws.

  181. 181 GermanEagle said at 7:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Si.

  182. 182 OldDocMcDuckle said at 6:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Also need a QB that throws to the right team consistently.

  183. 183 anon said at 7:38 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    They look like it against bad teams, but against good teams…outplayed and often outcoached on defense.

  184. 184 GermanEagle said at 8:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I strongly believe that two above average starters at CB and S would have made a difference in those games against good teams.

  185. 185 GEAGLE said at 8:12 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    give me my starting healthy QB and starting healthy OL,Searcy, Davioon HOuse… and im happy

  186. 186 Bob Brewer said at 4:56 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    I’d argue they’re a QB away.

  187. 187 eagleyankfan said at 9:38 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    how can you look any nfl team today and make any judgment? No team, ever, returns full rosters that ended the season with. nfl is too fluid.

  188. 188 GEAGLE said at 5:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    OvertheCap says we save almost 8.5mil by cutting Cole…

    REALLY CURIOUS TO SEE how we handle the OLB situation, and How we handle the vinny curry situation. sorry but a compensatory pick isnt enough for me to live with the horror of watching Curry blow up for some other team, i dont see how we can make him happy to keep him here, so we BETTER trade him and get a pass rusher that we can KEEP longterm, MORE IMPORTANTLY dictating WHERE WE SEND Curry…. The LAST thing I can stomach is watching the modern day Papale go blow up as a 4-3 DE for the Giants or Cowboys… thats too much for me to endure….

  189. 189 GENETiC-FREAK said at 5:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    You think there is any chance Curry can beat out Thorton? Big loss losing Curry

  190. 190 wee2424 said at 5:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    If he were to gain another 20 pounds in which i dont think his body can carry, and if he does it would extremely affect his burst/quickness which is what makes him good. He just doesnt have the size to be able to 2 gap in a 3-4 and take on double teams. Opponents would be trying to run on him all day. Not saying he is Freeney level, but it would almost be like putting Freeney as a 3-4 DE. Wouldnt work. Im honestly a little suprised they didnt give him a long look at OLB. Quicker and more athletic then BG or Cole. Coaches must see something in that regard that makes them think it wont work.

  191. 191 anon said at 5:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I think CK learned with letting djax go not to let assets go in division, plenty of teams need interior pass rush.

  192. 192 GEAGLE said at 6:06 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    whats that mean? IF Brandon Graham doesnt sign an extension with us, he is a free agent, he can sign with Dallas, NY or whoever he wants,,, if we cut Cole, he can sign with Giants or Dallas. when Vinny becomes a free agent next year, he is free to sign with Giants, cowboys and whoever he wants….. Its bad enough losing quality defenders Im high on, but asking me to watch these guys trying to beat our offensive line so they can blast Foles is too much for me to bear.

  193. 193 Greg Richards said at 6:07 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Cut Cole, extend Graham now, try to extend Curry mid-season, let Thornton go next offseason, run-stopping DEs are more replaceable than pass-rushers.

  194. 194 anon said at 6:08 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Really is a battle btw cole and graham. agree with thorton and curry. You can probably get a rookie or cheap FA to run stop, but honestly I wouldn’t want to shake up the continuity on that line.

  195. 195 Greg Richards said at 6:09 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    We’d still have Thornton for the Super Bowl run this upcoming season.

  196. 196 GermanEagle said at 6:10 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I’m in the same boat with you guys. Would rather keep Curry than Thornton long term.

  197. 197 GEAGLE said at 6:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    only way im willing to sacrafice Thornton is if we move up a couple spots and steal Danny Shelton..

    what we need to do is kidnap Curry, shoot him up with HGH all offseason, and see him become a beast like Justin Smith who can handle being a starting two gapper in our base defense…long shot

  198. 198 Insomniac said at 6:35 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Or let both go for the price of one Justin Houston that might not even hit FA..:/

  199. 199 Greg Richards said at 8:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    KC would be insane to let Houston hit the open market.

  200. 200 GEAGLE said at 6:09 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    also compensatory picks arent an exact science, its an equation of the totality of what you lose and what you replaced it with, so for Example, if we lose BG, Nate and Casey Mathews, but we go out and sign Maxwell, Searcy and Worlids, we aint getting any compensatory picks in return….. if you are awarded a compensatory pick it means you lost players without being able to replace them…its not exactly a prize for something good happening…

  201. 201 Greg Richards said at 6:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Yes, but it’s based largely on the number of players lost. We could say sign Byron Maxwell and Devin McCourty and lose Nate Allen, Bradley Fletcher, Casey Matthews, and Mark Sanchez and end up with 2 compensatory picks(likely 7th rounders). Ideally you minimize the number of unrestricted free agents you sign. Go after a few big ticket guys but after that target players that are released by other teams and don’t count against the comp pick formula.

  202. 202 GEAGLE said at 6:15 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    no its a financial formula if im not mistaken..

    first of all i believe you only count the players you drafted…. if you lose Nate, Casey, BG(players WE drafted) and combined those 3 end up getting signed for 15 million, we would have to spend less than 15 million in free agency to get a compensatory pick…
    ..
    if we lose those 3 at 15mil, and we pay 20mil for Maxwell, searcy and Carpenter, we get NOTHING
    ….
    so losing Vinny curry and getting a comp pick is only good if we dont plan on being active in free agency next year, if we are, we can end up with nothing.

    financial formula of what you lost and how much you spend replacing it…they figure the money will speak for the quality of talent you are losing or gaining in the equation.
    ..
    i dont think bradley and sanchez count because we didnt draft them,

  203. 203 Greg Richards said at 6:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    No, the primary driver is net players lost. Then after that it’s based on the value of the contracts the players signed and to a degree their performance with their next team.

    If you sign more unrestricted free agents than you lose, then you won’t get a pick regardless of the values of the contracts lost. The Pats for example could theoretically lose Revis and McCourty to big $ contracts to other teams but if they signed 3 lower level free agents they wouldn’t receive any compensatory picks. If you do sign less UFAs than you lose, then the values of the contracts come into play to determine the level of comp picks you receive.

  204. 204 GEAGLE said at 6:31 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    If you are right, then im really confused now….
    ..
    so letting bradley Fletcher, and Sanchez WALKS helps, even if we didnt draft them?

    so what do we get from last year? nothing? who did we lose? Kurt Coleman, Colt Anderson, Chung,…

  205. 205 Greg Richards said at 8:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Whether or not you drafted the players doesn’t matter. It’s if they’re unrestricted free agents or not. RFAs, trade acquisitions, street free agents(players cut by other teams) or UFAs signed after June 1st don’t count toward the formula.

  206. 206 Anders said at 2:09 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    I really doubt curry would ever sign with an ncfe team

  207. 207 GEAGLE said at 7:22 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    thats a silly baseless claim

  208. 208 Anders said at 12:51 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    Curry is a different player than most, Would you ever sign with the an NFCE team?
    Remember Curry didnt want cameras at his room on draft day because he then had to take all his Eagles gear down.

  209. 209 unhinged said at 5:37 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    This draft is pretty rich in defensive 1st rounders. If we can find an eventual starter on DL, ILB or OLB in round 1, I’ll be happy.

  210. 210 GEAGLE said at 6:26 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    lol doug baldwin caught 1 pass for 2 yards and a TD.. Kearse caught like 3 passes for 35 yards or something crappy like that…. lol starting outside corners combined for 4 catches in a superbowl is Pathetic? i wonder if Doug Baldwin still needs dion sanders to explain to him when Baldwin and Kearse arent considered Elite WRs lol…. this jackass was dead serious arguing that he was an elite WR, as if he ever seen bracket coverage in his life…
    ….
    Brady was able to throw to edleman, gronk, amendola and Vereen agaiunst the Legion of Boom, and Wilson,kearse,baldwin had a disgraceful superbowl performance. Imagine how pathetic Wilson and the WRs #’s would have been if THAT bIG NO NAME WR stepped up and made some huge catches… without that WR, wilson, baldwin, and Kearse were pretty pathetic for a superbowl game. LOB cant even make QBs and WRs look as bad as wilson and his staring WR

    piss poor passing performance by the seahawks. Wilson couldnt run an NFL offense, only success he had was playing Johnny Manziel ball. Without the busted plays were wilson ran around bought time and gave a WR half an hour to get wide open, he wouldnt hav completed any passes. I know New Englands secondary were balling, but wilson, baldwin, and Kearse cant be THAT bad.

    ffuckin hate the patriots, but the right team won….no way wilson deserved to be the QB of a dynasty when he couldnt complete a pass

  211. 211 ACViking said at 8:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    GEags . . . must dissent.

    Wilson went 12-21 for 247 yards — 11.8 YPA.

    Throwing to WRs Baldwin, Kearse, Lockette, and Matthews.

    And no TE, apparently.

    Against Revis, McCourty, Browner . . . and Belichick’s scheme.

    Wilson led Seattle’s offense on an 80 yard TD drive in 29 seconds at the end of the 1st half against a BELICHICK defense. I never thought I’d see something like that.

    And Wilson — with a different play call — hands off for the winning TD . . . to finish 12-20 for 247 and 2 TDs.

    Yes, he had a slow start. But the guy put up huge numbers with a bunch of WRs whom you knocked pretty hard in your comment.

    (Not saying wrongly. Just, if Wilson’s WRs were so weak, how the heck did he put up those numbers.)
    ____________

    Full disclosure: I’ve liked Wilson from the start — and became a true believer when he nearly led Seattle from 28 behind in the 4th Q to an upset over the Falcons in the Divisional Rd of his rookie season.

    He’s in a great situation. But he wasn’t yesterday. And did pretty darned well, given the talent limitations with which he seems to have been dealing.

  212. 212 shah8 said at 8:27 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    thank you. Goes for xeynon and the rest of the anxious people. Good QB’ing is good QB’ing, no matter the package it comes in, all right?

  213. 213 xeynon said at 3:04 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    When did I ever knock Russel Wilson? I like him a lot. I think he’s a top 10 QB in the league, on his way to being higher than that. Seems like you’re delusional about a lot of things.

  214. 214 unhinged said at 5:31 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    That pick in the end zone at the end of the game should have been a completion. Good pass, wrong receiver… AND the Bellicheat strikes again: word is Browner told the DC that if they throw a pick on Scrappy, ball’s going to slant-in. When Seattle went to block Scrappy, protection covered the block and Scrappy knew to jump the route. I agree w/Tommy – Seattle is the class of NFC, and without a doubt RW is a franchise QB.

  215. 215 mksp said at 11:39 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    “Wilson couldnt run an NFL offense, only success he had was playing Johnny Manziel ball. Without the busted plays were wilson ran around bought time and gave a WR half an hour to get wide open, he wouldnt hav completed any passes. ”

    god knows you mostly say dumb things.

    but this is one of the dumbest yet.

    go home, you’re drunk.

  216. 216 BobSmith77 said at 6:33 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Real good clip and if you have HBO/HBO On Demand you should watch this story HBO Sports did with the ’85 Bears recently including talking to McMahon, Dent, and Ditka among others.

    Stunned to hear that Ditka wouldn’t let his 8 or 9-year old play football today.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHOS6KLp7K0

  217. 217 ACViking said at 7:55 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Ditka’s grand kids don’t need the long-shot lure of earning enough money playing a potentially life-destroying sport to take care of 1, 2, or 3 generations of their families — or even more if you’re one of the very best.

    Same reason poor kids — of all nationalities, faiths, and colors — gravitated to organized crime 90 years ago. No less than today.

    But — yes — sad, nonetheless about what Ditka said.

  218. 218 GEAGLE said at 6:47 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    out of curiosity, id like to make a list of all the current NFL players who were at ALABAMA while Marynowitz was there…..
    ..
    for example, Seahawks LG Free agent James Carpenter, 2011 former first round bust out of Alabama who has started to get his career back on the right path…Carpenter isnt as athletic as our starting OL, on the other hand we dont have any 320lb Guards on our line either… to get drafted in round 1 as a guard, im sure he showed some type of athleticism for his size. with a smaller Kelce at center I wouldnt mind trading a little athleticism for some Girth at one of the guard spots..Seattles Offense is very different than hours, and they definitely dont play at our tempo, but they are able to run zone reads with this kid just fine….,,,,, fortunately, dont have to waste time looking at this kid. We have Jeff Stoutland and Marynowitz who know him well, curious to see what they think of this kid for us……

    let me warn, ts probably a long shot, because when I look for guards that we might like in the draft, they dont resemble James Carpenter, but its not looking like a very great OL free agent market, and after last years traumatising season, i want 8 starting caliber OL on our roster…hopefully a few better OL fits unexpectedly get cut and reach the market. wont spend bog on Iupati…hopefully we can find something better than Barbre, but nbot as good as mathis obviously, two gems we found in free agency

    curious to see what alabama players that Marynowitz knows well become available these next two years,,,,hate alabama DBs…

  219. 219 BobSmith77 said at 6:51 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    What NFL roster carries 8 starting caliber OL/quality blocking TE? Yeah the Skins did back in the 80s before the advent of FA but at best you have 1 maybe 2 decent backups who can step in.

  220. 220 GEAGLE said at 7:05 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    US!!! considering we might have like 7 of them already. They dont have to be ready to play at that level next year, but need atleast 8 starting Caliber ceilings, guys like kelce,mathis, Peters already reached that ceiling. while Lane, Barbre, possibly Tobin are growing into that starting caliber ceiling still.
    ..
    i think Tobin can grow into a quality starter, his problem is I think he is one of those lineman that cant easily switch sides.. I like him so much more on the left and im not even sure he should ever be on the right. im almost at the point where id rather move him from LG to LT, rather than go from LG to RG…. Mathis has the LG spot on lock for atleasy two more years, he had so little mileage on his tires when we got him. not sure he will stay healthy for the next 32 games tho
    ….
    The RG is worrisome. do they keep Heremans, if so for how much longer? i dont love Garner on our bench, dont see true starting potential in him,,,,i dont know what they are thinking about the RG position…. if I had to bet, i would bet on them drafting Oregona Grasu or Fisher,, Grasu is a Center but can bw moved to guard, or Oregon Jake Fisher who is a Tackle but can start at RG, and when Laqne eventually replaces Peters, slide Fisher to RT… I cold see tLane
    Barbre
    Tobin
    Jake Fisher
    Grasu

    heck what if chip wants to run the ball so bad and hatred last season so bad that he cuts herremans and replaces him with Iupati? iUPATI DOESNT FIT OUR SCHEME,its not like the niners power scheme, but Iupati is one of those really good players that i believe can olay in any scheme…
    ..
    or nstealm franklin from Broncos.
    ..
    im a defensive diehard, but the offense effects the defense so much that for my defenbses sake,, i want them to stack the OL

  221. 221 Mitchell said at 7:32 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I would not be upset if we get Clemmons in the first or Fisher/grassu in the 2nd. I woul really enjoy WR,OL,S/CB in the 1st 3 rounds.

  222. 222 GEAGLE said at 7:45 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Arnie Koundijo Guard Alabama, stoutland will know if he has the work ethic to handle our tempo, Laken From duke, Matias FSU.. all guards outside of round 1…

    If I cant have someone unexpected like danny shelton, bud dupree fall to 20, id rather trade back once or twice and add Kendricks and an extra pick or two. after getting kendricks we would have our 2nd rd pick, two (possibly 3 if we trade back twice from 20) 3rd round picks, two 4ths, and a 5th..Package those 6 picks and a pick from next year if you have to thats 6 or 7 picks total to get Grasu, Fisher, Quintin Rollins, Devin Smith or Phillip Dorsett… thats 6 or 7 picks to get 4 round 2 and 3 prospects. after already getting Erik Kendricks

    Either Extend Vinny Curry, or trade him for Dion Jordan, Cordarell Patterson, some other young player on a rookie contract or for a late 2nd-3rd

    after signing Da’Norris Searcy and Davon HOUse in free agency of course, and a starting RG wouldnt hurt either lol

  223. 223 GEAGLE said at 7:52 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    that would leave us with
    .
    Secondary
    CB: Rollins, House, Cary, Nolan
    S: Jenkins, Searcy, Maragos, Wolff, Reynolds
    Nickel: Boykin
    Dime: Jaylen Watkins.
    ……
    OL
    Peters, Mathis backed up by Barbre, Tobin
    Lane, Herremans or FA, backed up by Grasu, Fisher
    Grasu backs up Kelce and someone replaces him at Guard with kelce gets hurt

    WR
    Maclin
    Devin Smith
    Pope
    Huff
    Coop(til next year)
    If we trade for a WR he has to be on his rookie deal since we still have to pay Mac and Coop…someone like Cordarrell..

    Kendricks and Kendricks at ILB!!

  224. 224 deshawnbentley said at 8:44 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Ed Marynowitz was with Alabama December 2008-2012. Since he joined late 2008, he more than likely has zero ties to the 2009 draft class. The players he recruited that became drafted probably began 2013 at the earliest. So I’d say Ed has a hand in the players drafted from 2013-2016. However, I included all notable Alabama players that joined the NFL from 2009 onwards.

    2009

    Andre Smith OT
    Glen Coffee RB
    Antoine Caldwell C
    Rashad Johnson S

    2010

    Rolando McClain LB
    Kareem Jackson CB
    Javier Arenas CB
    Terrence Cody DT
    Mike Johnson G
    Marquis Johnson CB
    Brandon Deaderick DT

    2011

    Marcell Dareus DE
    Julio Jones WR
    James Carpenter OT
    Mark Ingram RB
    Greg McElroy QB

    2012

    Trent Richardson RB
    Mark Barron S
    Dre Kirkpatrick CB
    Coutney Upshaw LB
    Josh Chapman DT
    DeQuan Menzie CB
    Brad Smelley TE

    2013

    Dee Milliner CB
    Chance Warmack G
    DJ Fluker OT
    Eddie Lacy RB
    Nico Johnson LB
    Barrett Jones G
    Jesse Williams DT
    Quinton Dial DE
    Michael Williams TE
    Robert Lester SS

    2014

    CJ Mosely LB
    HaHa Clinton Dix S
    Cyrus Kouandjio OT
    Kevin Norwood WR
    Ed Stinson DE
    AJ McCarron QB
    Vinnie Sunseri S
    Jeoffrey Pagan DE

  225. 225 FEATURED POST: The Eagles and the Super Bowl | Eagles Nest Online | Philadelphia Eagles Blog said at 7:21 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    […] The rest of the article can be found here: Iggles Blitz […]

  226. 226 shah8 said at 7:22 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    I think we can all agree that this last playcall was worse than the Ronnie Brown play?

  227. 227 anon said at 7:31 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    you think the call was a FB backwards pass?

  228. 228 GEAGLE said at 8:11 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    if the Patriots dont let McCourty reach the market, Browns will match any offer for Tashuan Gipson, it will become so damn important to get Searcy… The Fact that Da’Norris Searcy told the bills he wont sign an extension without testing the market first, is the only hope thats keeping me from getting depressed by the safety situation……other names on the market are Rahim Moore, Dashon Goldson, Bernard Pollard

    if we cant get elite Mccourty and settle for a little cheaper Searcy, we probably would also have room to sign Davon House,,,if we were to sign House, i wonder if we would also keep Nolan and Cary? or if the signing of house, means we lose both Cary and Bradley, draft a corner, and go with House and Nolan as our veterans? sure wouldnt mind having depth like Davon House, Nolan Carrol, Cary Williams, Jalen Collins, Boykin and Watkins at corner…thats excellent corner depth even if you dont have elite lockdown pro bowl corner, buT THATS why we sign stop gap veterans but draft young talent like Jalen Collins or QUintin Rollins and hope they grow into our studs….

  229. 229 GENETiC-FREAK said at 8:24 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Hey i mentioned Searcy before but you thought you were weary of players playing with talent all around on D.. Something along those lines lol Whats changed?

  230. 230 anon said at 8:34 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    No way McCourty gets out of NE.

  231. 231 ACViking said at 8:43 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    A:

    The NFL’s becoming more Safety-centric.

    It’s taken Belichick 6 years to replace Rodney Harrison.

    And while it’s difficult to find CBs, finding good Safeties is next to impossible.

    I’m with you . . . I can’t see DMc getting away from Pats

    Also, how the heck can Pats bring back Revis? Don’t see that happening. But who knows.

  232. 232 anon said at 9:07 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    3 years $35m? Unclear if that $20m is guaranteed, or if Revis wouldn’t want to go to Buffalo.

  233. 233 GEAGLE said at 7:20 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    mcCourty not hitting the open market…

    i am wary of players that only started one year, but atleast searcy played some subpackages in the past…
    ..
    main thing that changed is searcy told the Bills he wont sign an extension with them, so he will be available, and he will be changing teams… if mccourty isnt available, Gipson is restricted an the brown will match any offer, searcy is the best that we can count on hitting the market and being available..

    hearing that the Pats would be willing to franchise mcCourty rather than lose him

  234. 234 ACViking said at 8:40 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    1. Assume the Birds cut loose both CWms and Fletch . . .

    How much, roughly, should the Eagles spend on a pair of new CBs to maintain the kind of cap integrity we’re used to?

    Also, is there anyone at CB worth busting the bank for (not Revis-level busting, either)?

    Would you do that?

    (You’ve said CWms may very well redo his deal, at least for family reasons to avoid another move, into what amounts to a 1-year deal the Birds can live with cost-wise. Seems like the route to go for the Eagles . . . to hard to find CBs)
    ____________

    2. At Safety . . .

    How much do the Birds spend on McCourty if he gets free?

    On Searcy?
    ____________

    3. How much will all the foregoing cost . . . PLUS extensions for Fletcher Cox and Kendricks?

    What’s the (artificial) deadline for the Birds giving new deals to Cox and Kendricks?

    Before the draft?

    Before training camp?

    During the season?

  235. 235 GEAGLE said at 3:21 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    eagles wont sign two CBs, because if they cut cary and Brad they will view Nolan as an outside corner… we signed Nolan because he was an outside corner, this is the first time he ever played dime or nickel slot corner… eagles will sigh Davon House and draft another corner to learn behind Nolan..

  236. 236 unhinged said at 5:10 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    Buffalo News guy thinks Bills won’t let Searcy get away: http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/12/22/will-they-stay-or-go-bills-have-decisions-for-2015/
    Isn’t House just a younger Bradley?

  237. 237 Cafone said at 11:57 PM on February 2nd, 2015:

    Seattle is really good, but I don’t consider them the class of the NFC. I’d give that title to Green Bay, assuming a healthy Rodgers.

  238. 238 Anders said at 2:46 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    Which NFC team beat the Packers twice in 14 and has been to two SBs in a row?

  239. 239 Cafone said at 12:06 PM on February 3rd, 2015:

    The 2nd best team in the NFC.

  240. 240 Eagles News: Birds could open 2015 season at New England Patriots | nflfans247.net said at 6:50 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    […] The Eagles and the Super Bowl – Iggles BlitzThere were a couple of players on the field that the Eagles might have some interest in. CB Byron Maxwell of SEA and FS Devin McCourty of NE should be primary free agent targets if they hit the market. I think Maxwell will, but McCourty won’t. The good news is that neither guy had a great game. They didn’t make any mistakes, but also didn’t make any game-changing plays. When that happens, it changes the market for a free agent. Both McCourty and Maxwell are going to get big deals. The price for Super Bowl heroes is just more expensive. […]

  241. 241 Eagles News: Birds could open 2015 season at New England Patriots | Sports Feedr said at 7:00 AM on February 3rd, 2015:

    […] The Eagles and the Super Bowl – Iggles BlitzThere were a couple of players on the field that the Eagles might have some interest in. CB Byron Maxwell of SEA and FS Devin McCourty of NE should be primary free agent targets if they hit the market. I think Maxwell will, but McCourty won’t. The good news is that neither guy had a great game. They didn’t make any mistakes, but also didn’t make any game-changing plays. When that happens, it changes the market for a free agent. Both McCourty and Maxwell are going to get big deals. The price for Super Bowl heroes is just more expensive. […]