Miles Austin to the Eagles
Posted: March 30th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 202 Comments »It looks like the Eagles have found a veteran WR to add to the mix. Miles Austin is in town. If he passes his physical, it sounds like he will sign with the team.
I preferred Hakeem Nicks, but that was based more on talent than fit. Austin is bigger. He can play the slot or outside. I can’t honestly tell you which guy is a better blocker. That’s something I’d have to watch tape to find out. I do think Austin is more of a high character guy.
Trying to figure out where Austin would fit in is a bit awkward.
Miles Austin hasn't played special teams since 2009. Don't see him as a #4 or #5 WR, especially on team that so heavily emphasizes ST's.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) March 30, 2015
You could have Matthews and Cooper on the outside, with Austin in the slot. Austin can play outside, but he’s not a guy you feed the ball to.
You still have Josh Huff and a rookie or two to add to the mix.
It will be interesting to see if there is any kind of a signing bonus or if Austin gets a minimal deal.
Do not think of this as Austin replacing Jeremy Maclin. The Eagles needed a veteran (or two) to add to the mix. Brad Smith is a free agent. We don’t know if Jeff Maehl is coming back. There was room for a veteran. With Matthews, Huff and at least one rookie, you’ll want a veteran receiver on the team to help them develop.
Hardly a compelling move, but does make some sense.
_
Hamstrings.
I’ve been waiting for the bargain bin round of free agency to begin. Chip doesn’t disappoint!
Dude would be fine in the slot. We need depth there, so it makes sense. I have a hard time imagining Miles and Matthews on the field together though. I think Cooper will be on the outside, Rookie in this years draft on the other side and Matthews in the slot. Huff and Austin are the 4 and 5’s
WRs will have to win their jobs this year. No one is penciled in anywhere right now.
I really hope we still draft 2 WR’s. As Jimmy noted he hasnt played ST since 09, but he sure as hell better play well on ST’s if he is gonna take the 5th or 6th WR spot.
Eagles are bringing in OL prospect Terry Poole for a visit.
http://www.footballinsiders.com/source-philadelphia-eagles-host-offensive-tackle/
No guarantee the POS even makes the team
Im fine with miles trying to make the team. but I liked brad smith also unitl he dropped his like only pass of the season.
Where is the downside in this? Assuming the contract is fairly small and incentive laden, it AGAIN gives the team OPTIONS. Can not stand the all the “experts” here who think they can predict performance and health. You bring in a veteran with good size, decent blocker, good character who has demonstrated the ability to be a good possession receiver when healthy. And yes negadelphians, every single player has the caveat WHEN HEALTHY. I wonder if the Patriots fans act like morons when the LaFells, Amendolas, Welker were signed……….
At the top of the page on the logo, Mr. Lawlor has a QB wearing 7 (Vick), a RB wearing 29 (McCoy’s first number with phili), and a WR wearing 10.(I think Jackson)…Currently on the eagles roster we have a QB wearing 7 (Bradford), a RB wearing 29 (Murray), and to a lesser extent a WR wearing 10 (Quron Pratt). I just think that’s really funny, nice one Tommy!
he should put up dhani jones, todd pinkston and casey Matthews !!!!!!!
What, no Danny Watkins?!
yes he’s a good one! maybe even better because he could have had a career he just wasn’t into it!! and on that basis he can be equated to jamarcus Russell, but even pat tillman I guess. nah Russell was lazy and tillman & Watkins just had a different calling. well im jealous of all of them !!!
those were on the top of my mind .. actually I liked reno mahe because I really respected his efforts!! and the fact that he was just too slow wasn’t his fault-and it actually served us well enough in that it ensured he’d never get injured ! (like casey Matthews)
What the logo may need is:
A QB wearing 11
(Rick Arrington — grandfather of the Fanning girls — or Dutch Van Brocklin. You choose.)
A RB wearing 31
(Elbert Van Buren — brother of the HOFer — or Wilbert Montgomery.. You choose.)
A lineman wearing 92
(Smiley Criswell — a one-year wonder under the Swamp fox — or You Know Who. Choice?)
Tommy didn’t make the banner. If he did it would be Wes, Andre, Reggie, and Jerome.
Mac:
What’s the history of the banner?
I’ve never heard that story (unlike Jack Woltz and the band-leader story).
I don’t recall him mentioning a specific person or commenter on the board who made it, but I believe it was created for him by one of his fans. Would be cool to know who it was!
this month is gonna be so lame
I live in Ohio…so I caught a lot of Browns games. He actually played pretty well. And what I mean by well, is that he seemed to be open a lot and caught most everything that came his way. I always like to make fun of him because he played for Dallas and had hamstring issues, but he shut me up several times last year. This is a good DEPTH move.
Does anyone have details on the Ryans extension? Kendricks seems like he’s doomed here.
Im pretty sure its just a restructure.
I hope so.
He’s another fallen angel, coming off injuries. Perfect fit!
Thanks for sharing the info!
It will surprise me to see Kendricks on the opening day roster of the Eagles.
Bet your house on it?
Looool
I’ll bet GermanEagle’s house on it.
Yeah I have a bad feeling this is the a mistake chip is going to make. Size is nice and all but it shouldn’t mean getting rid of your second best defensive player.
They have Kiko to match up against TEs now so Kendricks can just play sideline to sideline or shoot gaps.
Mychal covers tight ends just fine though. It’s not like his lack of height has held him back in the NFL. He is one of the best athletes at inside linebacker in the nfl if not the best.
I kinda agree. Kendricks is outmatched against the elite TEs like Gronk/Graham who is just a mismatch against every shorter ILB/DB. Kiko is just the better match up in that case.
Kendricks kinda sucks against every TE. He is athletic and fast, but not good in coverage.
Kendricks is at his best moving forward or sideline to sideline
Wonder how long we will have to wait until hearing that this is just foooolish thinking of our media…
lol… yeah cuz we use him on green dog blitzes because he is matched up against the TE LOL…
..
its not like we use Barwin on TE’s or anything lol or green dog blitzes comne from an ILB matched up against Backs..
Would do that have to do with Kendricks been bad against TEs when he is on them?
Fact is Kendricks rarely covers TEs because Barwin or a safety often did it and Kendricks is bad at it, but is built to blitz and chase side line to sideline
lol Kendricksa barely covers TEs because thats what a 3-4 OLB does and kendricks is an ILB, which gets matched up against RB’s… but use whatever bullshit narrative you want to go with…agree to disagree pal :LOL
If a TE runs down the seam in almost any zone coverage, its one of the ILBs or the SS who gets the TE, but Davis sent Kendricks on blitzes because that what he does best.
Senility is terrifying. This guy thinks that we were always a 3-4 team and doesn’t remember Kendricks struggling against TEs in both schemes.
Maybe that, more than his height is Kelly’s focus. If MK was used in blitz more than Kelly thought useful, and BD’s reason was “…his pass coverage doesn’t help us…” that violates Kelly’s diversity rule. Beasley could play both inside and outside LB, but he’ll be gone by 20.
No way Beasley can play inside.
In terms of diversity the best bet is Bud Dupree (big enough to play 3-4 end and OLB just like Barwin, Cole and Graham) or a guy like McKinney who can play both OLB and ILB (McKinney is project at both, but in theory has potential for both)
lol so kendricks was asked to defend Jimmy Graham? LOL …OLB often match up with the TE, thats what we pay Barwin for, to make TE’s like jimmy graham his bitch… Kendricks covers RB out the backfield which is why he often has the grewen light for green dog bliutzes but we rip an ILB cuz he cant defend TE’s good enough? lol… makes perfect sense, let me tell you…
It absolutely blows my mind when I read that the teams isn’t as high on Mychal as the fan base. I fully understand that he isn’t Luke Kuechly or Navorro Bowman, but getting rid of Kendricks seems like huge mistake and I can’t find a single legitimate reason to do it.
That being said, MK is gone by draft day, no doubt in my mind about that.
Makes me wonder how often he screws up his assignments…as fans we don’t see that part of it. Maybe he’s a guy who is always zigging when he should be zagging…
Austin is an interesting sign. He had good production for a few years before injuries derailed him. Austin hasn’t been production for almost 3 years now so think of this as a signing for veteran presence/competition. He has to have something likable for him to stick to the league. I mean he went from a star WR to a nobody so it must be humbling and Chip likes humbleness.
He did manage 34 catches for first downs in a shit offense
It’s starting to make more sense now. Power running and possession WRs? We want first downs like Antonio Cromartie needs money for his baby mamas.
If this is a signing with any significant guaranteed money for Austin, it is a mistake. Especially with non-special teams, untalented big WR Riley Cooper lodged on the roster with his cap hit. Hate to disagree with Tommy, but the only worse option than Austin would be Nicks who was just awful last two years.
my God relax it’s a depth move.
Dude, there is no contract yet, so it is not any type of move yet — depth or otherwise. This is why I qualified it with if the signing has guaranteed money and is not a depth move/training camp competition, then it is a mistake.
Im no cap expert, but it sounds like Meco’s 6.5 guaranteed is split up in 2.5 signing bonus and then 2 mill base salary in 2015 and 2016
From DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin to Riley Cooper and Miles Austin. Thats interesting, even if they weren’t meant to be the replacements. Maybe thats why we brought Tebow in, to say a quick prayer to the development of Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff.
If Tebows connection to the big guy could actually manage to solve the shitshow we have going at WR, i’d actually consider signing him to replace Barkley, just as a reward.
You could have made lots of money in Vegas three years ago by betting that Austin and Murray would be wearing Eagles green instead of Jackson and McCoy…
Too funny.
Well, we finally know why they restructured Bryan Braman.
Who? There was a time, a very short time, where this guy was dominant. What can it hurt?
i see no point in signing miles Austin unless he is taking Jeff Maehls spot..
..
I dont see how he could possibly fill therole of everything Brad smith brought to our ST… and Id rather see Huff pushed into the lineup instead of giving Miles his snaps…. If Miles AND Maehl are both on this roster, then I have a problem with it…rather draft two WR and keep Maehl.. add a new veteran next year when we cut coop… hopefully he fails his physical
Re: Why move Kendricks?
Jimmy Kempski’s looking into the double-trouble bubbling cauldron and saying “no” to Kendricks in 2015.
Because?
1. He doesn’t meet at least 33 of the 36 or so requirements for an ILB on a Kelly team listed in the obsessively detailed notebook (that allegedly exists) which he (allegedly) showed Lurie (and allegedly caused Lurie to ditch HR).
Those standards would include the MANDATORY height requirement analogous to that about which Kelly spoke when discussing what he calls “Overachieving CBs” . . . which is another term for “That short BOYKIN kid, who’s just not tall enough to knock down passes over his head to 6’2″ receivers.”
2. Kendricks has trade value that can be used to:
(a) Move up in Rd 1 to get this year’s ODB,
(b) Move up in Rd 2 to get an ILB who fits Kelly’s 36 requirements . . . like BEDNARRICK [sic] McKINNEY, or
(c) More up in Rd 2, or get another early draft pick, to acquire a Franklin-type O-Lineman . . .
That is, someone who’s not just versatile. But who goes to bed early, gets up early, is healthy, wise — and, after getting drafted, wealthy.
READ: The persona Belichick’s been using as cover on T-Law’s blog.
you are forgetting another trade up scenario in round 1. Maybe you haven’t seen any discussion of this MM kid from Oregon.
I carefully used the all-encompassing phrase “this year’s ODB.”
He could be MM.
Or anyone else whom, after the draft, Kelly says was tops on his list, implying he wanted him, but Lurie — as owner — exercised his final say on franchise operations.
ok thought you meant WR since we have such a need, but I get it Chip said highest ranked draftee.
RNE:
I’ll make the point more clearly. Thx
I’d laugh if they’re moving on from Kendricks so that they can draft Kendricks.
since it appears everyone else on the on “silly train” about trading … I’m going on record saying the Eagles are trading up to get White. You heard here first.
too small. 35 of 36 requirements met — but not the big one.
If Kendricks and Boykin do not meet the height requirement, I really doubt Brandon Graham matches up with the OLB requirement consider he is one of the shortest starting 3-4 OLB in the NFL.
ILB height requirement? LOL where do yous come up with this shit?. kiko is like an inch taller LOL
Kendricks is 5’11 and Kiko is 6’4, that is 5 inches.
Also I never said he had one, I just made a counter point to ACViking why the height bias makes no sense consider some of the guys he has signed/drafted
There’s 100% positional size requirements.
Officially MK is 5’11 and Kiko is 6’3.
But Graham’s the exception that proves the rule.
how ’bout that!
Also, Graham fits the Steelers’ measurements for OLBs.
yea, but the Steelers are so good at drafting OLBs, they had to bring Harrison out of retirement
Just saying he fits their measurements.
Back in 2010, word on the street — as any number of knuckle-headed beat writers and bloggers like to say to sound informed — is the Steelers were very high on Graham and would have moved to OLB.
Also, you can’t judge a horse just by one color.
No, but I think Steelers suffer from Harrison syndrome. Because he succeed, they are more likely to draft and like players similar to him in style and size.
A:
I wrote a comment before the 2014 draft about the height of all the OLBs drafted by the Steelers since 1982 — when Pittsburgh moved to the 3-4 defense under Noll.
Not a single OLB drafted in Rds 1-3 was taller than 6’2″.
6’1″ or 6’2″ was the standard.
Going all the way back to Mike Merriweather.
(Carlos Emmons was 6’5″ — but a 7th rd pick.)
dam never knew that. Thats kinda of insane
Don’t look a gift cracker in the mouth.
Isn’t that “animal cracker”?
Also, necessity is the mother of invention.
We could have kept 6’3 Cole instead of 6’0 Graham
Time waits for no man.
And . . .
Every cloud has a silver lining!!!
Maybe, every silver lining has a cloud.
Food for thought…
that’s excellent
I was going to reply to ACViking with this, but it works here too. If Kelly likes what his friend Bill Bellicheck does, i.e. have LB’s big enough to pose a problem with their hand in the dirt, and DE’s who are agile enough to play in space, he (Kelly) may not be too dogmatically opposed to the 6’2 BG. BG’s biggest challenge is playing in space, but he will probably show that tendency on occasion just to create a degree of uncertainty. I do think that Kelly’s height requirement is non-negotiable for CB’s. He sees it as a benchmark that will allow his corners to compete on more passes, I think. On the 5’11 Kendricks, man’s a baller, and, as previously noted by Bert’s Bells, it would be really unwise to ditch a player unless you already have his replacement.
And if they’re planning on starting Alonso and Meco, trade Kendricks at the draft, and draft an ILB?
I cannot believe that Ryans will be ready to start in the fall. As far as drafting MK’s replacement, I am no evaluator, but I don’t like any of the ILB’s in this draft as much as I like MK.
I understand having those requirements for drafting a player (or moving them to a new position).
From a strategic point of view, Kendricks has performed above average on the field. You don’t dismiss him for an unknown talent with measurables who might be able to get to the same level of play.
There’s potential from measurables, and there’s real NFL performance. It’s foolish -in any field -to get rid of a well performing asset in the favor of another that might be good because it checks off all the boxes.
Of course, if they draft a guy this year with those attributes and he plays well all bets are off.
Obviously, I made my comment with tongue firmly planted in cheek (though not all the way in).
Seriously, Kelly’s remarked about too-short CBs more than once.
And while I’m deeply suspicious of anything he says, I’m pretty sure he’s serious when talking about his height requirements for certain defensive positions.
What we’ve never heard is Kelly has any height requirement for ILBs.
On the other hand, all the ILBs he’s scouted for this draft are, what, 6’2″ or taller?
_______________
Kelly’s repetitive nightmare is QBs completing passes a quarter inch above the outstretched arms of his CBs, S, and ILBs to 6’4″ 220lb receivers who run 4.3 40 and score 50 in the Wonderlic.
Good points AC. Yep.
OD . . .
Are you going to recede into the shadows after the draft?
Sure hope not.
Maybe. I suspect there is going to be blood. And the lynching party will be looking for someone to hang.
All the deals I hear are painful. I don’t think he will go that far, but if he does, it will be BAD. One thing I know is that Chip does not give a damn what we think or do. Hence, fans will want to kill somebody.
How bad? Are these MM deals?
I am only hearing things 3rd hand so it is all filtered. That said, the things I’m hearing are about MM and also moving up for a WR. And everything is ridiculously bad!
I refuse to give details because they are, every one, stupid and absurd. No reason for us to get excited, yet.
So basically having two high draft picks, while not having one at the moment? Lol. MM + moving up for a WR?
I’m not killing the messenger here, you know that, but I can’t really see that.
Other than, re your points about blood and lynching, Cox being involved. And boooyyyy, I don’t want to think about that.
Like I wrote Dominik, every offer is absurd. But ask yourself this – if you could keep Bradford, would you give Cox for MM and a couple of picks? These are the types of value trades that must happen for big things to happen.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating this but these are the kind of tough decisions coaches/GMs get paid to make.
“if you could keep Bradford, would you give Cox for MM and a couple of picks?”
Why would you keep Bradford if you just signed Sanchez to very, very good backup money and draft MM? Makes literally no sense to me.
And I know, you’re not advocating.
No, I most definitely am not advocating this trade (it is actually much worse). You still don’t know if MM will EVER be NFL ready. There have been too many failed top college QBs. Can he quickly read a D scheme? Does he panic in the pocket? Does he make consistently bad decisions? You just don’t know with a rookie.
“It is actually much worse”… wow. And this is coming from you. 🙂 You heard a lot of things, many of them not happened (yet, at least). So that tells me something, you are not easily shocked.
Let’s just hope Chip keeps cool and doesn’t get hot feet.
I had to join, just to get in the conversation… I’m EaglameetsDr.Philly (aka Eagla) from BGN. 🙂 Hey OD, I don’t mind the absurd and/or stupid, I can stomach it, if you can share it !!! Please !
Hi Eagla!! No reason to get fandom in a lather over stupid stuff. Let’s give this thing some time. We have a month to resolve what will work and what is stupid. I think you will be happy with what unwinds.
Is the end goal MM ?
I LOVE IT!!!
When there’s blood in the streets, buy property!!!
Eagles have been the gold-standard for conventional thinking (save 2011, perhaps) since 1999.
And the trophy case remains empty.
SO LET’S DO IT.
lol so they adjusted Meco’s # making it easier to justify keeping him on the bench with kendricks/kiko starting, and people take that as it means kendricks is more likely to be gone? LOL of course, its philly after all
Kempski is trying to make a case, always have to read tea leaves with this team.
LOL, if he wants yto read tea leaves, Meco taking a pay cut makes it MORE likely that kendrick stays, then he was two days ago when Meco had a 6mil cap figure…. then again, people still think he can play 10 months after his injury, so im probably wasting my time having this convo
take 50% paycut, but you’re still starting. sure, he’d agree to that. 3m is backup vet money.
i wonder if it also is a plan for next year. lower his hit for this year, but also, have him on contract for next year… in case you can’t extend MK, you will at least have an old ‘Meco. If they do extend MK, they will be able to release ‘Meco for a pretty minimal hit.
Yeah, everyone was so wrong about Nick Foles too…..oh wait. No, we all expected that. Well, most of us.
Yous all fooooooolz….!
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McShay’s Mockdraft 4.0 is so laughably terrible that he must be trolling at this point. Almost every pick goes completely against the philosophy and history of the team making it. Landon Collins to us, Jags taking Amari Cooper over Leo Williams, Houston’s goody-two-shoes owner signing off on scum like DGB. Does this guy even pay attention or just make it all up?
goals is to mock every player to every team – that after the draft he can say, i called it in my March 30th mock, or my april 5th mock.
The only mock drafts I trust are T Law, Gil Brandt’s top 100, and Media Mike.
I don’t see the Jags taking Leonard Williams. They signed Jared Odrick to a substantial deal to play the spot Williams would play in their D. I think they look to one of the edge rushers to eventually replace Chris Clemons as the LEO in their D. One of those guys could also fit in the Bruce Irvin role(Von Miller in Denver) of pass-rushing LB.
I hope Williams doesn’t land in Washington. Of course they pick #5 and will get elite talent, but please not him.
I see Williams either going to TEN at 2 or OAK at 4. Maybe JAX trades down to a team targeting him.
I don’t understand why so many people are having such a tough time understanding the Kendricks situation. Because of his athleticism, he’s been a really flashy (if not always responsible) player for us. When Chip came on, he inherited a roster full of players that didn’t necessarily fit his criteria for roster building. He jettisoned some, and worked with what he had with others. With the exception of Fletcher Cox, the rookies of the 2012 draft class are going into their final year of team control. Now that Chip has full control of the roster, he will not give high value 2nd contracts to players that do not fit his detailed personal criteria for the positions that they play. Foles, McCoy, and Jackson are gone. Kendricks and Boykin will presumable be gone in short order. All of these players have been successful as Eagles, and under Chip. Nonetheless, they do not fit his criteria of what he wants at their positions, and he will not commit valuable financial resources to such players. Better to get what value you can for them now, than to lose them for nothing at season’s end.
There is value in having Kendricks especially with Alonso and Ryans both coming back from major injuries.
All 3 injury prone. But also means our 43 D would amazing
Plus, Kendricks has played pretty OK.
A good coach/personnel guy is not so married to his own schemes that he risks losing talented players because they’re not the perfect fit. It’s a case-by-case basis but at times a coach has to adjust his scheme to fit the talent he has. Bellichick is a master at this.
exactly what’s the point of draft well if you just get rid of the few guys that you do hit on.
For sure, and that’s exactly what Chip has done for the past two years with the roster that he inherited. When it comes to giving 2nd contracts though, I think that sub-optimal scheme fit will prove to be a deal breaker.
I think Kendricks has fit the scheme just fine.
I love Kendricks, and think he’ll go on to be a great player wherever he ends up. But Chip doesn’t give a crap what you or I think about Kendricks and how good of a scheme fit he’s been. Chip has detailed size-based criteria for every position and Kendricks doesn’t fit those criteria. It’s really a pretty simple equation.
So, he’s a few inches shorter than the ideal. Chip needs to get over it.
Lol, I suppose you could write him a letter detailing your pro-Kendricks feelings, but I think it’s more like we need to get over it, and stop getting too attached to players that Chip inherited.
Again, he doesn’t care what you think. You’re the one predicting. Do you think Brandon Graham is Dion Jordan?
Of course not, but look at the context in which Graham was re-signed. They didn’t lock him up before free agency, they let him test the market, and he ultimately came back on a pretty low $ guarantee. He’s not an optimal fit, but there really wasn’t one available, and the $ was right. If they had more clearly hit on Smith in the draft last year, I feel pretty confident that Graham would be gone.
I’m not trying to say absolutely that Chip will never make any compromises, just that where able he’ll avoid it. Kendricks is not a good fit for what Chip wants at ILB, so Chip will not commit market value (or very close to it) to such a player when there are opportunities for better (lower cost) fits. I feel pretty confident that Kendricks gets traded, and we’ll see a 6’2″+ rookie ILB come in this year to develop behind Meco. Maybe not. We’ll see.
No compromises? He traded for one of the shortest players in the league a year ago.
And what position does that player play…
We will see if Kelly is willing to risk Demeco as the guy alongside Alonso both coming back from major injuries at demanding positions.
I think I’ll just peck away angrily at a keyboard here. You might not see me, but I’m wagging my finger with a disapproving glare.
I agree Chip doesn’t give a crap what you think.
I will say that I think more than him being excluded based on size I’d say that he could be excluded because he doesn’t fit into the cap equation long-term. You only spend big on certain positions. They’ve spent big at one CB position. A healthy amount has been spent on both 3-4 OLB spots. Cox will receive sizeable money when he is extended. The ILBs in a 3-4 is usually not a postion where you invest a ton of money. They acquired Alonso and they have his rights for 3 more years(RFA after 2016 season). Most, not all, 3-4 alignments have slightly different roles for the ILBs. The Buck ILB is traditionally larger and more of a run-defender(usually comes out in nickel situations). Ryans fits this role. The Will ILB is more athletic and used more in coverage. Both Alonso and Kendricks are in the Will ILB mold. So you may let Kendricks go just so you can spend the money it would cost to extend him elsewhere. If that happens, you may want to get a ROI now and trade Kendricks. You then draft an eventual replacement for Ryans this year.
That said, it’s a passing league now, and some teams forget about the whole Buck/Will thing and go with two athletic ILBs. An argument could be made for keeping both Alonso and Kendricks long-term. We’ll see what the Eagles’ philosophy is.
But yeah, this was my whole point. You keep Kendricks & Boykin and you play them while they’re on rookie contracts, but Chip will not commit to them by giving them that 2nd high-value contract when they’re sub-optimal scheme fits. If you accept that premise, then it makes much more sense to trade them both at the draft this year, while they’re both highly thought of across the league and can return a decent value, than it does to lose them both next off-season.
I’m just saying IMO with Kendricks it’s more about the budgeted money for his position and him being in the last year of his deal than it is about any perceived lack of scheme fit.
Fair enough, and I’m sure that just like with McCoy, Chip will spin it that way. That being said, if McCoy was less of a dancer, we probably would have simply re-done his deal this offseason. And if Kendricks was 3″ taller and better in coverage, he’d probably have been signed to a Banner/Howie-era one year early sub-market extension.
Under the new CBA, you can’t sign a player to an extension until after they’ve completed 3 years of their rookie contract. No more mega-early extensions allowed.
Uh, yeah. So going into this offseason Kendricks, Curry, Foles, and Boykin were all eligible to be given extensions, and there has been zero talk of the organization approaching any of them to do so…
The premise of your argument is Kelly doesn’t want Kendricks. You’re all over the place.
All over what place? My argument is that Kelly while liking Kendricks does not see him as an ideal scheme fit, and will not give him the 2nd contract that it would require to keep him as an Eagle past 2015. As such, Kelly did not approach Kendricks about a long-term extension this offseason, and will instead trade him at the draft. That is the only place I’ve been.
That was weird on my part, I misinterpreted your response as sarcastic which was stupid.
When news like that leaks, it’s because you’ve got a blabby agent. If there’s an agent that the team trusts that has the discipline to not leak info to the press, then the team could be working on an extension and none of us would ever know. With Ryans, all of us assumed at some point we would try to reduce his cap figure, but there weren’t any reports before today that we were actually talking to his agent about doing so.
I don’t think extending Ryans is a sure sign that Kendricks is gone. I think they want his veteran leadership regardless if he is starting or not. In addition, I definitely see a possiblity of having all 3 LBs on the field on early downs in a 4-3 under where by alignment the OLBs(Alonso and Kendricks) are protected by the defensive linemen.
Especially b/c i don’t think BG is an every down guy.
Shouldn’t this be MS II’s season to explode on the scene?
Hopefully, but I think Chip makes him earn it. If Smith or Long don’t emerge, the above might be best way to get most talented players on field.
yeah almost feel bad for smith, not like he was asking for eagles to take him.
As far as Austin goes, his ability to contribute on STs is going to be key to whether or not he makes the roster or not. #3/4/5 WRs have to contribute on STs. I do think he can help the offense. He might have lost most of his big play ability but he still helped Cleveland last year in a possession WR role. He was clutch on 3rd down last year. If they move Matthews outside, he can play a Jason Avant type role. Now ideally you’d get a true Maclin replacement with some speed to open up the offense(or Huff emerges) and it makes Austin redundant and you release him before the season but it doesn’t hurt to bring him in now as a backup plan if the WRs you were targeting get taken earlier or whoever you draft isn’t ready a la Marcus Smith.
do you know what $$ he got? he’s about the same size as cooper i wouldn’t be surprised if he played outside, but he could also be insurance.
I don’t think he’s officially signed yet. I don’t think he’s even taken the physical yet and that could potentially be a deal-breaker. I haven’t heard anything regarding terms but I don’t expect it to be expensive. Incentive-based, likely.
QUESTION . . .
Does anyone know where the banner on this blog comes from?
And whether T-Law can change it to *his specs*?
____________
And if he can, maybe T-law will take proposals, yes?
___________
This would seem to be a job for . . . bum, bah, bah, bum . . . BLIND CHOW.
Pretty sure it was a commentator who made it
Hmm. Ok. Thx
If mountain ranges and oceans can be overcome, then anything built by man can be overcome.
Here’s an option…
And since the Eagles are all about options…
Wait until the draft until you do anything. There is only one man on this plant who knows (let me correct: who knows what the plan is on…) how the team will look like May 5th. 🙂
OD?
It’s not like OD is giving breaking news that anything can happen with Chip. 😉 That statement alone isn’t even news after this Offseason.
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
45s46 seconds ago
WR Miles Austin and the #Eagles have agreed on a one-year deal worth $2.3M base with another $700K available in incentives, source said.
Okay, that’s too much money for Austin IMO. I hope little to none of it is guaranteed. I was thinking more like 1 year, $1.5M. Everyone’s contract is inflated this year with so much cap room league-wide.
Too much money
so that leave 4mil cap space to sign rookies
we just gained around 4 mill from Meco, so around 8 mill before rookies
Well shoot, there goes my theory that chip was just using the small amount of restructure money from Braman’s deal.
The Braman restructure saved about $200K. That’d pay for an extra PS player or two(if they’d let us have extra).
Seems about the right $ amount for Miles in my opinion… i guess I disagree with Chip on this deal.
It basically happens all the time that I think “wtf” the first minutes after Chip makes a deal. After a while, thinking about it and getting more info, I kind of see at least logic, often I agree with the move.
But this money, I don’t know why you would do something like that. First of all: who are we bidding against? Second: he earned the vet minimum with the Browns. I read he played solid for them, but what would justify giving him such a huge raise?
Many hate Austin as a player, I don’t. If healthy (big freaking if, I know), he’s solid depth, with a good camp, maybe even #3 (in an ideal world, Huff and/or the rookie beat out Cooper).
But, again, why this much money?
COULD be Rapoports source has the years wrong. 2 year, 2.3m, that would be much more reasonsable.
Guarantee is key. If there’s no or little guaranteed money, then if he doesn’t earn a significant role, then you cut him. If he does end up one of the top 3 WRs, then that amount of money is fine.
Giving him guar. money – please. I know we were surprised he earns that much, and I know Chip will deliver a speech in which it seems like Austin is a top 60 WR in this league and all that. But giving him a pay check way over his pay grade AND guar. him money? With this injury history (it never stopped Chip from anything, but still).
Well, you never know with Chip, but I hope it’s not that way.
But even if there’s no or little guar., I think he could make solid depth. If he turns out to be solid depth, you don’t want to pay him that kind of money.
Another thing is: Chip claims that the injuries hurting the money for the players and therefore give you value. Where is that element with Austin? Would he earn 5m for his 500 Yards/2 TDs last year if he didn’t have an injury history?
Apparently the $700K in incentives are solely tied to Austin getting his teeth straightened.
And me thinks it was for straightening his hammy…
So we can basically cut Mufasa before the 3rd day of the new league year 2016 without swallowing any dead money, right?!
It’s guar. for injury, so if he has another significant injury, it will be guar. (as far as I know, I don’t know how injury settlements etc. work). But if he’s healthy and we want to cut him, yeah, it will be 0 dead (I think).
Joe Banner:
Another Eagles signing that shows how strongly Chip believes in sports science. I will be impressed if he is right on this one
Couldn’t agree more! Will surprise me if Austin makes half of the games in chips no huddle offense…
Banner made a very good point with that. It’s said that this season hinges on Bradford. To take it deeper this season really depends on sports science. All these moves indicate that Chip believes in sports science to a degree that we didn’t think was possible. I think if the large majority of these injury prone players stay healthy this season, and the rest of the roster of course, then you may see this sports science truly sweep the NFL and other leagues.
hes also got guys at skill positions that are all that same larger, lumbering build. Only guy left with speed in space is Sproles. Sure, Demarco and JMatt have speed, I get that, but that quickness and game breaking plays guy. I mean Sproles won how many games for this team last year single handed. Gotta have guys who can break open plays. I guess if the D improves enough and run game is that powerful and controls the game it can work. In Chip we trust at this point.
Then I think they are in trouble a bit. This same thing got debated on here last year at length especially the health of the OL given how few games players missed in ’13.
Well the mean reverted to the norm last year especially at the OL.
My bet is that the sports science program does help a bit with preventing/healing some types of soft issue injuries but the effect is minor. I also would bet that it doesn’t do much to help with help preventing non-soft tissue injuries either.
I forget who it was but there was a study. Even after the 2014 season the Eagles were still considered one of the healthiest teams only behind I believe the Ravens. I think you have to look at what happened with the Oline in context thought to. They are the oldest or 2nd oldest group in the league. No matter what there will be injuries.
So we’re still paying ‘Meco at least a few million coming off a torn achilles, no clue if he actually can make it back onto the field in serviceable form or not, and we’re giving Miles Austin a couple of million, terrible hamstrings and years past his usefulness.
I wonder how many people will still be gung-ho about do it your way big balls Chip if this whole dog and pony show crashes and explodes into a ball of flame, leaving nothing behind but years of shit ass rebuilding for the next regime to do.
Wondering about ifs – ah, the joys of the offseason.
DF3B,
You just ruined my dinner with your last tweet! Shame on you, my friend.
Thems the facts.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
It will take a 2nd to get McKinney or Anthony so if we got that for a LB entering the last year of his contract then that’s a good trade. Very difficult to get a 2nd in a player trade if it’s not a QB.
Ehhh.
Mankins, Stevie Johnson, and Bryce Brown all went for 4th rounders.
Harvin got a 1, 3, and 7.
I don’t think teams will be falling over themselves to do it but if Chip shuts the hell up I think Howie could find a team.
Yeah, I don’t really understand Chip’s vocally over-stressing Kendricks’ injuries in the presser. Unless he already has a firm offer on the table, it wasn’t very strategically advisable.
Maybe since he doesn’t seem to consider prior injuries when thinking about players, he assumes other coaches don’t either?
Chip obviously feels confident in his doctors and training staff, that he can get players fully recovered and healthy. He’s said multiple times that good healthy players rarely come available, and he obviously believes he can find veteran bargains around the league that have been somewhat written off as injury prone.
I really don’t think that all injuries are created equal in Chip’s eyes. Ligament tears and things of that nature are freak accidents, but nonetheless endemic to the game. I think the muscular issues that someone like Austin has had in the past are things that Chip believes his sports science program can effectively address. However, I do think it irks Chip a good bit more for players already in his system to develop those types of injuries (see: Kendricks’ calf issue last year).
I mean, Ryans had a much more severe injury than Kendricks did last year, but that doesn’t seem to deter Chip from extending Ryans. We don’t even know if Ryans can play at an adequate level this year yet, achilles tears in aging players is not a good combo.
It seems pretty intuitive if you can get a 2nd for Kendricks and parlay that into a better system fit who’s on a rookie deal for four years…
I agree in theory, but theory doesn’t always hold up on game day. What do you do if early in the season DeMeco is still recovering from the torn achilles and the rook isn’t ready. You’re playing long-term versus short-term but every one of us will bitch if getting rid of Kendricks results in us not making the playoffs or not getting home-field advantage.
Except if that’s exactly why you signed Jones, and you also like Goode, then it’s certainly a worthwhile risk.
I agree, until I don’t.
I thought this over the weekend, but got distracted before I could post, oh well.
If we are going to get rid of Kendricks, the most advantageous time to negotiate with DeMeco is now. Getting a guy looking at backup/cut options to take a reduction is much easier than a guy looking at starting.
So, I guess I am saying that this move makes sense whether they are,planning on keeping Kendricks or not.
miles from Austin you’re on the air.
4th or 5th receiver?! Have people forgotten just how bad Riley Cooper is? Freddie Mitchell could come out of retirement at age 40 and beat out Cooper. He’s friggin’ horrible. He’s complete shit.
Camp body.