The Return of Sanchez and What That Means
Posted: March 9th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1,414 Comments »Mark Sanchez is coming back to Philly. The Eagles are going to sign him to a 2-year, $9M deal. It could go higher with incentives.
I have mixed feelings on the return of Sanchez. The Eagles needed to add a veteran QB to the mix. I wanted no part of Jake Locker. I wasn’t all that keen on Tavaris Jackson. There just weren’t great choices. Sanchez started 8 games last year, going 4-4 and playing up and down. He showed he can at least be a functional starter in this offense.
The downside is that he turned the ball over a lot. Unlike Foles, who did this in 2014, but not 2013, Sanchez has a history of turnovers. That would lead you to believe they’ll be an issue in 2015, should he get on the field. Sanchez also struggled at times with finding open receivers. Remember Zach Ertz running wide open down the field vs Seattle? And Sanchez was horrible at throwing the corner route, which is a regular part of the Eagles offense.
The hope is that he can get better in Year 2. He knows the offense pretty darn well at this point. There won’t be any more adjusting to the pace and that type thing. He can focus on execution. Making good reads. Making accurate throws. There is no question that Sanchez has the physical tools to be a very good QB in the NFL. He needs to play more consistently and to play up to his potential. Another year with a good offensive coaching staff can only help.
So…why is Sanchez here? Is he competition for Nick Foles? Is he here to mentor Marcus Mariota and to start until MM is ready to take over?
Chip Kelly wants to trade up and draft Mariota. That’s no secret. Kelly is going to make a substantial offer to try and pull that off. But it takes two to tango. I get the feeling the Bucs want to move out of #1. Whether they want to move all the way down to 20 is a huge question mark.
My guess is that Kelly is preparing so that he can make a run at Mariota. That means he needs to use free agency to fill key holes on the roster. Kelly doesn’t know what picks he’ll have. Kelly also is a firm believer that you must have more than one QB. Kelly might have to deal Nick Foles in order to move up. That means Sanchez can be the veteran on the roster if that happens.
Should the teams up high decide not to deal with the Eagles, Sanchez can be competition for Foles. And remember that Foles has gotten hurt in each of his 3 years. You can’t count on him starting all 16 games.
Kelly really wants to get Mariota, but he can’t count on that outcome. Every move he makes this year has to work with a couple of different QB scenarios. Sanchez works with both Foles and Mariota. And Kelly is a big fan of his.
* * * * *
Jeremy Maclin is headed to KC. What are the Eagles going to do?
In a normal year, you might focus on spending pick 20 to get a stud WR. Due to the Mariota situation, you can’t do that this year.
It is easy to see the roster now and want to hit the panic button. Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper, Josh Huff, Jeff Maehl, Quoron Pratt and Will Murphy aren’t going to scare a lot of coaches out there. But you have to remember something…the offseason hasn’t even officially started yet.
Chip will upgrade the WR corps.
The Eagles wanted Jeremy Maclin back. They valued him. But they had a price they wanted to pay. And Mac wanted more. This was just business. I don’t blame him for going for the money. He’s had torn ACLs. You have to strike while the iron is hot. And he’s not going to Oakland or something like that. Mac will reunite with his old coach and be part of a winning team. Plus he’s in an area he knows. He went to Missouri and will now be playing for KC.
I don’t know who the Eagles will go after. I’m fascinated by Michael Crabtree. I like Hakeem Nicks as a reclamation project, but you can’t count on him. Andre Johnson would be an interesting veteran addition. Keeping Maclin was part of the original plan, but you can be sure they’ve got contingency plans. We’ll have to wait and see what they are.
Chip's gotten never-before-achieved performance out of both of his WR1s with drastically different QB situations. I trust him there.
— Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) March 9, 2015
This is a great point. I’m not saying Chip can just plug in anyone. Both guys were very talented. But he got them to play their best and produce like never before.
I trust Chip to fix the WR situation. The hard part is going to be waiting until he does make a move. Could be in the next few days. Could be a month from now. Might not be until after the draft. Be patient.
* * * * *
FS Devin McCourty stayed in New England, which sucks. Apparently the Eagles were one of a few teams that tried to go after him.
Eagles could take a look at FS Rahim Moore, but I think Marcus Gilchrist might be the better fit. More versatile.
_
Like Gilchrist too. Probably the best scheme fit after McCourty although I’d rank Moore higher on pure talent.
Moore is probably the more talented saftey but his injury history is troubling. A plus for the Eagles is the DB coach connection to Moore from the Broncos, but there’s reporting that the Vikes, GMen and possibly da Bears are looking at Moore.
” He can focus on execution. Making good reads. Making accurate throws. There is no question that Sanchez has the physical tools to be a very good QB in the NFL.”
really? no question? because it seemed by the last few games Sanchez was only connecting (and aiming) short-to-intermediate
Agree. Even midrange throws were dicey. He airmailed quite a few outs and was a disaster on post and corner routes. Since he’s still an Eagle, I hope he proves me wrong, but I really thought I saw enough of the Sanchize to comfortably say “I don’t want him starting for my team.”
A couple of things. Sanchez has been here a full year now, as Tommy says. If the banged-up O line is used as an excuse for Foles poor performance, by some, well, Sanchez had the same O Line to work with.. Numerous substitutions and changes of position in front of both QBs. I don’t care who starts or backs up the QB position. It’s just that Sanchez was quicker, more decisive in 2014. Some decisions were not right, but at least he did SOMETHING. A leader who can’t make up his mind is no leader at all.
The offensive line, sans Herremans, was back on the field during Sanchez’s stretch as the starter.
You could tell the playbook was lessened and they were only going for quick short throws. That’s why the offense was so limited, so of course he is going to look more decisive and quicker. Lol and just never mind the quotes from players and college scouts that rave about how much of a leader Foles is. Sometimes you have to look into something and think about it before posting it.
About the OL – NO. During the December meltdown, Sanchez was not playing with an interior of Tobin, Molk, and Gardner. He didn’t play a game with Herremans at RT. By December, the line was playing fairly well; not 2013 dominant, but good enough that you could expect more on the deep throws, and the run game was actually productive (no 20 yard games for Shady).
Yeah, disagree strongly on that statement too. He can’t make many throws outside the numbers. Being able to focus on execution ain’t going to help. He is who we thought he was.
“The hope is that he can get better in Year 2”
news flash — he has proven HE CANT
..
then why pay the dude 9 mil with incentives fro 16 ??? MAKES ME PUKE
Yea I remember him having a lot more zip on his throws when he first took over for Foles. 4 games later the dudes arm looked dead and the field shrunk as he refused to throw it more than 20 yards downfield.
My problem with Sanchez isn’t the physical issue. Its that he has consistently show that he will turn the ball over or make the critical mistake at the worst possible time. He’s anti-clutch.
If the pass is beyond 20 yards, Sanchez cannot hit it.
Don’t worry. I’ve heard from impeccable sources that Chip had a backup plan for this very scenario…………………………….Momah
Only if he improves as much this off-season as he did last year 😀 (He actually looked like practice squad material by the end of last training camp)
What worries me is that as of right now Riley Cooper is our #1 WR. Looking around the league’s FA crop I’m not sure there’s a clear #1 to come in and replace him. And the words “Eagles #1 WR Riley Cooper” strike terror into my heart.
I think even Chip realizes Matthews is his #1 at this point. I have no idea whether his production in the slot will translate into production outside, but he’s obviously the most talented WR left on the roster at this point.
What scares me is the possibility that Chip really does believe he can scheme anybody open and doesn’t need top-shelf talent at WR for his offense to succeed. That is true in college where the overall talent level is lower but not in the NFL where nearly every defender you play against is an All Conference level player. I already saw this movie with Andy Reid and know how it ends. I don’t want to go through another five years with the Chippah telling us we’re “just fine” at WR with Huff and Cooper while their inability to produce against good defenses kills us in the playoffs.
Disturbingly good point. Counter to that is that Chip has invested in Ertz and Matthews early in the draft the last two seasons. He seems to appreciate the need to talent catching the ball a bit more than Andy did early on.
he can scheme wrs open, he just need QBs that can get them the ball and Wrs that can catch.
See NE, (Yes I know they have Brady at QB)
Not only do they have Brady, it’s a stretch to say Belichick devalues top skill position talent. Gronkowski is the best TE in the game. Welker was the best slot receiver in the game when he was with them and Edelman isn’t far behind now. Randy Moss was the best receiver in the game, period. Corey Dillon was a very good RB. Etc.
Most of the names you mention here highlight my point. While Welker and Edelman have worked hard to make themselves good receivers they were not considered top talent. Welker was an UDFA and bounced around before landing on the Patriots and Edelman was a QB in college and was a 7th round draft pick. We probably have different things in mind when defining top-shelf talent.
Cooper is not our #1. Pope all day. just look at the production==
Matthews caught 12 more balls for 300 more yards and 5 more TDs,
Mathews was targeted 9 more times than RC, and played 192 fewer snaps. No comparison
I’ll only be upset about the Gore deal if Demarco only gets marginally more money. Both are violent north south runners and I think Chip would love to have either. Demarco’s much younger though and we probably slightly overpaid for Gore. If Demarco only ends up making 7-8 mil a season, Chip may wish he hadn’t been so quick to sign Gore.
you can be sure they asked about what Demarco wanted. But there’s so much evidence that a guy w/ his number of touches in 1 year is never the same.
About the same amount as a RB’s decline after 28 😛
Side note – bet we can pitch the 2015 Eagles calendars at this point. With all the turnover, I bet that 2/3 of the months are now obsolete.
I appreciate the level-headed take, Tommy. I just have 2 things to note: 1. Mark Sanchez isn’t getting any better. 2. Hakeem Nicks is finished.
Woah.
***************
Jayson Braddock
@JaysonBraddock
7m7 minutes ago
BREAKING NEWS: 49ers have put Colin Kaepernick on the trading block. Taking offers.
I’ll give ’em Riley Cooper
He did win a game for the 49ers this past season…
you’re on fire
Blech. He’d be cheaper than Mariota, but I’m not a fan at all. He’s been starting for three seasons now, and given no indication that he’s ready to make “the leap” – in fact, he’s regressed. And unlike Foles, he’s already signed a big money extension. No thanks.
his cap hit pays him like a good QB, too much
Chase Snyder
@chiefssnyder19
4m4 minutes ago
Wowwwwww RT @VincentFrankNFL: Can confirm through my connections, @JaysonBraddock ‘s report that Kaepernick is indeed on the trade block.
we’re not interested. Most important part of the offense is quick decision making, Kaep can’t do that. But i’m sure we’ll ask frank gore.
Agreed, but if one of the QB hungry teams at the top of the draft wants to take a bite, I won’t complain.
https://twitter.com/JaysonBraddock/status/574800096216264704
Maybe to play receiver?
yeah i was totally wrong
No, he is bad; plus Foles is much better. This may be part of something bigger.
Like the apocalypse?
Thank God. Finally some level-headed thinking
Stats don’t really bear this out. Foles turned the ball over twice as much as Kaep did last year and Kaep’s passing accuracy was slightly higher. Factor in Kaep clear ability as a runner as well.
3 team trade to get Eagles to number 1 pick? Foles to SF, Keap to Tampa etc etc?
I’m not buying that. At all. I think this is Chips way of saying to the Buccs: 4 1st rounders? How about 3 and we shake hands?
IDK, man. I was watching Gore vs. San Diego, and there goes Kaep with a 90yd TD run….3 straight title games and a near SB victory. If there’s any coach who can help him, it’s Chip. Think of it as getting Brett Hundley and a Delorean
That would put another team with a QB need in front of us at #15…
“Chip Kelly wants to trade up and draft Mariota.” When did Chip EVER say this?
He hasn’t. I think that some of us are going way off the deep end in projecting that’s what’s going to happen. My opinion is it’s something he would like to do, but I’m not completely sold that he is willing to go all out to make that happen; or even if he is, if he will be able to accomplish it.
I just simply don’t understand the logic of trading to get that high. At the very least, I don’t see how it will not cost both a 1 and 2 this year and next year. If we are ting to trade up all the way to the first overall, it will cost even more than that. Given the number of new starters we will have to begin with (RB, RG, WR, ROLB, ILB, CB1, CB2, S), I just don’t think you can afford to spend that much for one guy who isn’t even filling one of those eight positions. I get it that a QB is essential, but if we draft MM, I don’t see how we surround him with talent during his first several seasons other than focusing on FA as out means to “retool” (SMH).
You assumption is based all on draft picks – there will be player(s) involved. For the 10 millionth time — Chip isn’t going to say “Hey Tampa, how about you take 40 of our draft picks the next 10 years”….
Second — JM. He’s going to be a star at WR if he continues his progress. Huff is a good #3. Just find a compliment there in the draft/FA. Draft(in later rounds) an rb that Gore can help build….
….
I fully believe in Foles(and anyone who thinks Sanchez is competition is just not thinking straight). However, if Chip really, really believes in this guy — why not get him? I’d rather him go after something he really wants instead of settling on someone he inherited and not sure he wants….
The premise of my comment is that we trade to get Mariotta. How do you purpose to trade to get MM without using draft picks? Also, go back and read my comment. I didn’t purpose they would trade 40 picks over the next 10 years. I said two first and two second round picks. That trade may not even be enough to get you as high as you need to be to draft MM. So while yes, I assume a trade from 20 to top 5 will require a use of significant draft picks, how else do you purpose we get up there?
As for your other comments, great we have Jordan Matthews. We still have to find that complimentary WR. Also, while JM had a solid rookie year, assuming he will be a true #1 WR is very optimistic. He flashed potential, but didn’t show that level of talent yet.
While I agree you need to go find your QB, it is overly simplified to say “I’d rather [Chip Kelly] go after something he really wants.” The question still is at what cost. The cost of going after MM, regardless of how much CK may like him, is going to be significant. I am arguing that the significant cost is going to hurt the teams ability to build around him.
of course I was over the top to make a point. If the trade does happen, it won’t (and can’t) be all draft picks. Player(s) will be involved which would mean, less draft picks that the Eagles give up…
As far as the safety situation goes, I look at it like this: Is Searcy, Moore or Gilchrist better than Allen? If so, sign any one of them up and our secondary just got worlds better, especially with the acquisition of Maxwell because regardless of contract, Maxwell is probably better than Williams and Fletcher combined.
I believe “The Return of Sanchez” can be used interchangeably with “Montezuma’s Revenge”…
Eagles in a Keap trade
“Kap and Trade”? #EPApuns
All the sh%t talk this weekend, there might be a carbon tax by 4pm Tuesday
RE: Kaepernick trade rumors
I know people are down on him as a QB, but I’d be curious to see what he could do in an offense with underwhelming receivers and Frank Gore as his running back. Wait a second…
So I reckon the Eagles brains trust morning meeting will start early today. But where do they start…….
acquiring brains
http://cuntinglinguist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/barins.jpg
That’s how I feel tonight after the Kaep rumor.
Only way I see the Eagles getting Kaep is to flip him to the Bucs, Kaep is awful.
Bears other team in trade mix. i could see bears more than us.
With Kaepernick, it’s not just about the assets to be traded for him, but also of the salary and cap commitments. The fact that he’s on the market at all and we all know it usually means they’re not going to get much for him.
@Robert915SCS: can you help out on this dumb rumor going around about kap— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2015
Gilchrist, yes. the good thing here is that we can be pretty certain they have set aside money for safety/and WR and are willing to spend it. Thing to watch is…. What are their walk away numbers for the remaining FA’s?
In the end this could be a HUGE blessing, because we can get similar production for a much lower price from a Gilchrist, or Searcy. This will work out to our advantage.
The added savings can now go revamping the RG, Iupati? Boling? Oregonian—Adam Snyder
WR= Wouldn’t be mad about Mr. Crabs for the right price, but what I noticed Chip’s Oregon rosters were a good mix of big targets, (which we have plenty in #14,Pope,Ertz) and speedy targets, (Huff,________ ) this is where I’d expect him to strike if he adds to the WRs. Possible additions: Cecil Shorts, Eddie Royal, Andre Holmes (who’s big and fast), and Harry Douglass. I wouldn’t be shocked if he signed 2 WRs, because I want to believe Cooper gets June 1’d.
Next OLB–When I thought we were spending mega bucks at S,CB,and WR, I thought the OLB would be more of a stop gap to hold fort until MS2 came around. A Dan Skuta, Brooks Reed type. Now they may increase the budget a bit. Why not give Derrick Morgan a run? Dude has been steady with 6 sack each of the last 3 years, he could be ready to turn the corner. And for those who believe Chip likes guys who play well against his teams, Morgan had 10 tackles and a sack in this yrs meeting with the Titans. Local guy as well, maybe he’ll take a discount?
And as long as the Maxwell deal holds up, you can find a gang of CBs to line up opposite him. Buster Skrine is a good young target if Chip can get over his lack of size, the kid can defend. Tramon Williams’ name was floating around twitter earlier today. That makes sense, Gore proved Chip’s not afraid of 30+yr old vets. Williams has missed one game over his career, and been a play maker all along. Sterling Moore could be an affordable sleeper with exp. playing inside and out. And you can’t rule out Oregon alum Walter Thurmond
We’ve got a Twitter war on our hands
braddock making a career for himself this weekend
Have to hand it to him, the guy’s been right on with everything he’s said.
Trent Baalke slamming this report hard.
didn’t they say they were going to keep frank gore?
A Kaep for Foles deals just makes so much sense , in my mind, anyway. Would prefer to make this deal and save about 3-4 draft picks if we have to move on from Foles
Big difference is Kaepernick already has a fat contract he hasn’t really played up to, while Foles is still on a team-friendly rookie deal.
Kaep’s contract is essentially a year-by-year deal though, right? Or am I remembering that wrong. Think it would allow his team to move on with minimal pain after a year if they wanted from what I remember.
Kaep deal is extremely team friendly, especially when you consider SF has to eat all the dead money if they trade him. At that point th new team has no obligation aside from whatever they give up in the trade. It’s a year to year deal
15 million dollar cap hit. Even if they can cut him without repercussions, that’s not an especially team friendly deal for a guy who’s a mediocre QB.
That’s what the market is paying tho. If you roll with Foles you’ll be in that neighborhood, and you’ll have the guaranteed money stopping you from changing courses. This eliminates some of that problem. they have the money.
Foles is still on his rookie deal. The only way he gets paid in that neighborhood is if he has a season close to his 2013, in which case he will have proven that 2014 was the outlier and I will be happy paying him. If he’s mediocre again this year, we wash our hands of him.
Kaepernick was mediocre last year AFTER getting a big payday. He’s been in the league longer and has more starting experience in addition to getting paid more. One more year of wait-and-see with Foles is not a huge gamble, trading for Kaepernick is.
I wouldn’t mind Foles for another year, but doubt that’s in Chip’s plans. MM or no MM
Except Kaep sucks. Badly.
Alot like Foles sucks, where all he does is win games, with mediocre WRs
….and a dominant defense that keeps the pressure off the offense to score too much. Kaep REALLY struggles if he throws more than about 25 times a game. If Chip keeps the hurry-up, this team is going to need to be an absolute outlier in run/pass ratio – somewhere on the order of 65% runs.
The thing is that just because SF ran some ZR stuff, doesn’t mean they run the same or a similar offense. Chip does his best to make the scheme simple. IT’s a better system for Kaep than what Roman ran, and probably better than what SF is about to install.
The guy was a play away from winning the Super Bowl and the defense didn’t show up to that game, and many others. That’s an easy cop out
…and Alex Smith was two bungled special teams plays from taking that same roster to the SB the year before. However you slice it, that roster was stacked, and Kaep didn’t significantly out perform Smith, in terms of team accomplishments.
Also, Harbaugh’s known for making his scheme very simple for QBs. He wants to minimize the importance of the position in terms of the team. And Kaep struggled with the decision making side of it. With the multiple reads and quick decision making Chip says, and his playcalling has borne out, that he needs, Kaep’s really going to struggle.
He def had a bad year last year but he was in the NFC championship 2 years in a row. And a lot of the plays that got them there in the playoffs was him running. Guy’s stats are pretty legit.
I hear what you are saying…. But you can argue Mark Sanchez was in 2 AFC championship games. The Jets and Niners both had stacked defenses and relied on a power run game. The difference was Harbaugh v. Rex. I believe Harbaugh would be an asset to a young QB as where Rex is detrimental to all QB’s. Opponents QB’s and his own.
Yea but he made big plays with his legs. Had 100 yards rushing against GB and then 130 against seattle. I just remember when he was doing well thinking why didn’t we pull that trade off. He would be Money with Kelly
Did Chip Kelly really get Jackson and Maclin “to play their best and produce like never before”? Or do the Eagles just run more plays than anyone else?
Having the worst starting receiver in the NFL at #2 probably doesn’t hurt the numbers for the #1 either.
% bump in stats has been way bigger than the % differnce in snaps vs other teams. The quality of the #2 cuts both ways. If you’ve got a good ‘un it means Ds can’t ignore the #2 and focus on stopping the #1. Get a bad one and it might mean the #1s targets go up but the coverages he faces will be much tougher.
I like Maclin, but barring something unforseen I expect him to get about 1k and 4-6 TDs in KC.
OT but The Jinx, HBO’s 6-part documentary on suspected serial killer Robert Durst has been excellent so far. Part 5 may have uncovered a piece of evidence that just might lock the guy up after all these years.
Did you see the season premiere of Vice? I had to watch it twice because I was on my laptop when it first came on. Crazy stuff, and one of the hospitals is in Philly.
I did, and it was very interesting. Using HIV and other viruses to cure cancer.
The end of Episode 4 where he’s mumbling to himself is just awesome.
You might be the only person I know watching the show, which is a shame. Great story, well done. The interviewer’s facial hair is a conundrum.
It sounded like Durst was rehearsing his next lie, unaware that he was being recorded.
I really hope we sign Searcy or Moore now that McCourty is off the board, both should be much cheaper than McCourty anyway.
What I do not get is people slamming the Eagles for reportedly signing Maxwell for 10.5 per year. 10.5 is a great number for a CB of Maxwell’s potential.
10.5, with 25 million+ guaranteed, is elite CB money. If a guy is going to get elite money for a player at his position, he should be a proven elite talent. And Maxwell is not that.
That is not always realistic.
You have to factor in the year the deal was signed. The fact that a few teams including the Eagles had a gazillion money and that the cap has gone up 20 mill over the last two years, mean 10.5 means much less now than 2 years ago.
It is still an onerous cap charge for a guy who’s good but not great, and is likely to be significantly exposed now that he doesn’t have Earl Thomas behind him to clean up mistakes.
I don’t believe in signing free agents to huge money deals unless they are proven elite talents (~top 5 in the league at their position). History suggests that when you pay for a guy who’s not proven on that level, as often as not you end up regretting it. Maxwell may turn out to be a good signing but the downside risk is enormous.
$13.5M isn’t the first year cap charge. It’s how much Maxwell actually makes in 2015 through salary and signing bonus.
If they get Searcy or another Safety, he shouldn’t be exposed as much. Plus, I think teams are throwing to the other side unless we get the kid from Cleveland.
look at the tapes on him. He was in one on one a TON. They run the same type defense as us and you saw how much we left our corners out there by themselves. And he was tested for sure since no one ever threw it Sherman’s way. The guy is a player and comes from a Super bowl winner and will take that all day. If we didn’t sign him to that someone else would have. Great signing. This isn’t NNamdi where no one ever tested him. This guy put in the work and earned his contract.
Again, he had Earl Thomas patrolling the field behind him. Not to mention a great pass rush in front of him.
In the playoffs I saw a guy who’s better than what we had but whose lack of lateral quickness got exposed a bit, and who was clearly the beneficiary of great team play. I did not see a $10 million/year shutdown corner. But time will tell.
They run the same defense. There is plenty of times where he is on an island. How many times did bradley Fletcher not have help. He was in the same boat but wins his battles
Well we always complain when teams pay players for past production and say you have to pay for future production not past success. Otherwise with the second most career sacks as an Eagle Trent Cole would be worth $11mil this year, but he’s not. Gotta pay for future production and Maxwell clearly has elite potential.
I think we disagree on Maxwell’s potential. It’s not his age that bothers me, its other parts of his profile.
Reading reports that Maclin’s deal is for between 8 and 9 million a year, and that he may have actually taken less than what the Eagles were offering. If that’s true, not retaining him is absolutely indefensible.
F him if that’s true
If the Eagles actually offered him more, then how is it indefensible? Sure, if you wanted them to tag him, but they probably didn’t want that type of cap hit to only retain his rights one year.
Is there a reason they couldn’t have used the Transition Tag. You can still tag players and avoid the huge cap hit of the franchise tag.
What it means is that there was something about Chip’s program – whether it was him taking a chainsaw to the roster, the unsettled QB situation, or something else – that Maclin, by all accounts a consummate professional and great team guy, disliked though to leave money on the table to get away from. That’s not good. You don’t win in the NFL by convincing good players they don’t want to play for you.
Maclin gets PAID in KC. 11m. Way too much. No discount to play in KC, they gave him that huge check we assumed could be coming out of Oakland or something.
Nothing else to see here.
If this is true than I will retract my statement. Based on preliminary reports out of KC last night. Still not happy about letting him walk though.
Nobody is happy about letting talent walk. What’s even worse though is overpaying talent where you don’t need to. Chip gave DJax, Mac and Coop career years and Matthews a very solid rookie year.
You overpay a guy like Maxwell, who your team simply isn’t able to produce and develop. You look more at value signings at positions where you have a coaching advantage. If you break it down, it’s simple.
As I’ve said before, I’ve heard that line before, when Reid was trying to win with Stinkston and Trash in the playoffs in the early 2000s. In the playoffs you’re going to go up against defenses who scheme just as well as you do. You need talent at that point. Chip Kelly can’t magically scheme plays that will enable Jordan Matthews and Riley Cooper to beat guys like Richard Sherman.
No one put many points on Seattles board when they were healthy and clicking. New Englands 28 points were a lot for Seattle and it took Tom Brady, still a Top 3 QB and maybe the greatest of all time, on his best game to deliver those 28 points.
If we play Seattle in the playoffs, we won’t get 31 points. But maybe a improved Defense (something that Chip seems to value, remember, not only did he pay Maxwell, he wanted to pay McCourty 10m) can hold Seattle to 10 and we make 14.
Seattle dominated us last year. But let’s also remember we played with Sanchez as QB. Even though Chip paid Sanchez to be his back-up, you can bet it’s not exactly Chips plan to play with Sanchez against Seattle. That’s like the famous knife to a gunfight scenario.
Maybe he just wanted to go close to where he grew up. He tired of eating cheese steaks and wanted some awesome KC BBQ.
If that is true, retaining him may have been absolutely impossible.
Reid is/was like a father figure to a lot of players while to me Kelly seems to have more of a business/boss mindset. There are pluses and minuses to that.
Maybe Maclin didn’t like how hard Chip works his people and AR is a relaxed coached when it comes to that stuff?
That’s what I would think if he took less money. If the Eagles offered more, than I don’t think the blame is on them.
If Mac took less money to go to KC then F him and all that BS he said about wanting to stay here.
Taco Tuesday and Fast Food Friday and all that.
I’ll echo other’s sentiment of F him if the only reason he left is Chip makes him work too hard. He just had the best season of his career in Chip’s offense by a mile. I’d think he’d want to duplicate or improve on that instead of going back to a coach where he was never better than average.
Don’t forget that he’s going home. By all accounts, he’s very family oriented. That may have played into it, too.
Agree.
if that is the case and he signed for basically the same thing we offered then it all falls on Maclin, If he wanted to go home and play for a coach who gives his guys all the days off and fast food fridays then so be it. it was out of our hands. To go to an offense where you couldn’t break 1000 yards and just last year couldn’t get a QB to throw a TD to a WR then there was no hope for us. the last report was he was about to re sign and then his home state offered the same thing and he rolled
As far as Kaepernick rumor goes, love how his contract is structured. Love his natural talent and how he played in 2013. Hate his 2014 season. Do like fact that could probably get him for less than it would take to trade up for Mariota. Hadn’t been familiar with Braddock before today, but his reports have been spot on so he obviously has connections. I take Baalke denying the rumors as a good thing. Why even bother respond to a reporter by someone without a national reputation unless it was a matter of putting the toothpaste in the tube. The way York was talking up Kaepernick earlier this season, I think it might be a matter of the GM(Baalke) wanting to move him and the owner(York) wanting to keep him.
he came out and denied it so fast, and it was late at night, something is fishy.
Exactly. Probably because they don’t want to price to go down on Kap.
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
43s44 seconds ago
Bills and Jerry Hughes have reached agreement as @viccarucci reported. Deal is for five years and worth more than $45 million.
So many loyal FA resigning, wonder how that feels
I put it on another post, but what about a Reggie Wayne stop gap, better low cost option ( I would assume) then dumping a ton of money on question marks of Crabtree or Torrey Smith. He lost a step but is a good route runner and would be a good veteran presence to our WR core that is so young.
Possibility if he’d accept 1-year deal. Don’t mind adding age at 1 or 2 spots like we did with Gore, but in general that’s not a great team-building philosophy.
some thing with Gore. If it was 8 years ago, this would be fantastic. Today though, I don’t think Chips building idea is re-treading old tires. With that said, Chip has pulled a few head shakers- so who knows.
Anyone up for telling us what our little mad scientist will do next?
mad scientist label, genius label…all thats in the trash….. Truth is, chip does things different, different doesnt automatically mean genuis….
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dude has to win something now, before he should ever have the “genius” label…
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i dont hate the moves as much as it probably sounds… I hate the way he is going about building this franchise.. feel like we wasted two years where we knew we werent going to win a superbowl and have nothing to show for it
Schefter confirmed that Maclin will get 11m from the Chiefs. Even if Chip liked Maclin and wanted to keep him, and we can assume that, 11m for Maclin would be a stupid move. As stupid as Coops contract. Don’t make the same mistake twice.
disagree… as of now, once they cut Coop next year, thy will have like 4mil comitted to our entire WR position which is a joke when i know from a roster building standpoint, there are at least 20-25mil allocated to spend on the WR position as a whole..
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Pay Mac 11mil
1mil to jordan
under a mil to huff
Maehl is paid in food stamps..
add another rookie WR who makes a mil a year
what you pay for a player matters more how his salary fits combined with all the other salaries of the player at the same position, and the total of all the players at a position has to stay under a certain number..
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when you have NO money invested in a WR position past this year when Coop is gone, there was no reason whatsoever to lose him for 11m…
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back when you were paying Coop,Mac, and Desean, its understandable to cut desean because you are spending too much on the position as a whole,,
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fans and media look at how much a player is making compared to other players like him.. front office is more concerned with getting the best players they can for the amount of money they have allocated to a position as a whole…basicaly the salary Cap blueprint of team building, how much you can invest in each position group total, so that you can field the best team under the cap… .
Chip will sign a WR. But probably for around 6-9m, with 9 only if he really likes the player. Maclins signing with the Chiefs was announced late yesterday. Give Chip at least a day to work on Plan B. People are reacting like Cooper will be our #1 in Week 1. Lol. No way he will be. Maclin was the first priority, got more money elsewhere, now there will be a plan B.
Who’s he going to sign that’s as good as Maclin though? There’s nobody available who’s not a downgrade.
1st: Veteran WRs seems to get a little devalued because of the young guys coming from College. You can trade for a veteran like Marshall, f.e. Or you wait until Andre Johnson is cut, f.e. You can bet that he wants to have some playoff success and you can bet Chip can recruit him with the numbers Johnson could get in Chips offense. Question will be money and if there’s a team willing to trade for AJ.
2nd: There may be no options who have proven to be as good as Maclin. But they never played in this offense. Before Chip came, Maclin never had a 1000 yard season. Now he’s getting 11m.
Relax, people. Chip can’t fix a defensive backfield with Williams, Fletcher and Nate Allen, but when it comes to Offense, he will make it work. Especially if he doesn’t have to play with a back-up QB and multiple back-up O-Liners.
He needs talent, but not elite talent at WR. After all, Maclin isn’t an elite talent. He will find talent and he will aquire talent at WR.
If he doesn’t, if he signs the twin brother of Riley Cooper, then I will agree with you. But Maclin was signed late last night. Give Chip at least a day or two to find a replacement. RELAX.
Kapernick? What happened to Mariota? I’m confused and totally lost.
the guy who broke the maxwell news, broke some news involving the eagles talking to the 49ers about trading for colin…. the 49ers GM came out and denyed it like a half hour later at lile 1130 1200 at night.. lol the reporter stands by it and said he has 3 sources that confirmed it.
I saw the twitter feud. It’s probably true, but CK is showing us to expect the unexpected.
geez..i feel like i missed a week of news…. Kapernick? wow, kid is horrible
If Kaep is the day 1 starter for this team next year, it could be a 4-12 season.
Now that Miami signed Suh for 19 million a year I wonder if Jordan will be available with his over 5 million cap hit. Would be curious to see if they make a move.
i just got off an 8 hour plane ride…. someone tell me Maclin isnt in KC? this cant possibly be true… ill strangle this coach
Sorry it’s true, no contact details though
no contract details at all? but he is def gone? signed, sealed and delivered?
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did we get anyone else after sanchez signing?
Every last person gas reported it including national media its basically done
im going crazy, my internet connection is horrible, it takes me like two muinutes just to get a post to appear on this page
Calm down everything will be OK leave the panicking to me
fuckin annoyed, to be out of the country with all this crap going on, and im so out of the loop
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i dont care about offense anyway… but i did like that this coach cared so much about building a locker room, a strong culture.. dissapointed that it was all a joke… “culture” the chip kelly excuse for not getting the most talented
We offered him a nice contract its not like told Mac to F off, It’s Chip fault we most Desean and Chips fault we lost Desean but not Mac, Mac CHOSE to turn down our offer and leave for greener pastures
how is philly taking it? everyone cool about it, or have people been flipping out? when did this even happen? late last night?
Obviously some people were upset but I would say most are taking it OK, nowhere near as crazy as Desean
hope they dont sign any of these scab WRs on the market like Crabtree, or Torrey…. i dont want any of these WRs on the market..
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and if we are going to rebuild in year 3, then Cut Coop while you are at it… i cant stomach to watch him play on his shiney contract, while 3 players who completely outclassed him are gone,… just take the cap hit and cut Coop, the reminder that we paid him and lost so much talent is just a spit in the face… really cant stomach the reminder of Coop,. hope we cut him asap, dont care about the cap hit
In fairness prior to this Chip year Maclin was considered by most to be inferior to Crab and Smith
im not most… they always been mediocre at best as far as im concerned and I didnt need Sherman to tell me..
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torrey smith is a joke, he will sign for more money then he is worth. if i thought there was any chance at getting Smith at his true value I would be singing a different tune, but that kid is going to get more then he is worth… i want no parts of either
Honestly, so you want to keep Shady at 12million over gore at 3.75. and keep Desean and Maclin at 11 million each? cause that is where their contracts would be. If so you are a fan of what the phillies are now.
Obviously some people were upset but I would say most are taking it OK, nowhere near as crazy as Desean
i dont wanna hear about this blind faith in chip… playing Musical chairs with our roster. been here two years, playing musical chairs with our roster…. i believe a team needs a few years of continuity before they can win anything….. im not so pissed baout the players we lost, Im pissed that we are seeing so much turnover still in year 3… when al these roster changes are made wjhether they are positive or negative changes, it rips up the continuity we built and force us to start all over..
…since chip arrived, he should have blown this entire thing up his first year, layed a new foundation, and spent last year and now this year on building on that foundation he put in place… yet its year 3, going into a year where every single one of us should be demanding results, and this dude is still rocking the roster down to the core.. insead of having two years invested in our continuity to show for being losers these past two years, we dont even have that to show for it, dude is still playing musical chairs with the roster…. feel like the first two years are a complete waste of time, instead of using those two years to start building something
I am far from having blind faith but it’s hard to get mad about it until I see contract.
chip is the coach, he has every stinking right to cut whatever former player he inherited, he has every single right to discard Mac, Desean, Shady…im just annoyed with the timing. new coach should be doing his demolition phase year 1, by year 2 he should be done the demolition phase and have a foundation in place that we should be building on…. instead ever 3 holes we fill, 3 more are created…. running in quicksand
Who did he get rid of who’s contract wasn’t getting out of line? You are acting like he didn’t try to keep Maclin. An hour before he signed with KC it was reported maclin would be coming back.
i really dont care about anyone they got rid of that much… I care that he is doing this still in year 3… new coach should have done this all the first two years..and now that its year 3 they should be building…. but we really arent building anything if every time you fill 3 holes, you create another 3… thats not how you build, thats how you run on the hamster wheel.
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the bad part is with 50mil in cap space, there is no reason why we should be creating new holes.. we should have built on what we had, fill some holes, and thats how we grow as a team……now we are just running in place
yes but in year 3 is when the contracts got out of line. he had plans to get mcourty and still has plans to get others and he saw where he was spending to much for a position. that 50 mill is to sign new players who are younger and not getting paid a ton just for what they did in the past. Again you sound like you would prefer to have Amaro run the Eagles. I enjoy reading your comments Geagle but you are typing with your heart and not your mind right now.
relax Geagle…This is the first year Chip has had control of the whole team, I’m sure howie was reinging Chip in the first 2 years and Chip used those years as a learning experience in the NFL. Chip has a plan, let’s let him finish it and see what it looks like on Sept 2015…enjoy the ride!!
Cry about it to your “source”.
“fuckin annoyed, to be out of the country with all this crap going on” #firstworldproblems
probably a good thing that im not sorrounded by espn, sports radio nd all the football talk.. i assume im saving some money on not breaking TVs.
We offered him a nice contract its not like told Mac to F off, It’s Chip fault we most Desean and Chips fault we lost Desean but not Mac, Mac CHOSE to turn down our offer and leave for greener pastures
if this was going to happen, they should have all been cut as soon as chip arrived, or at the very least last year…. its bad enough we are just now building a defense in year 3.,… but to finally build the defense, and then take a jack hammer to the offense going into year 3 is crazy as far as im concerned…
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hopefully he is completely obsessed with getting MM and the jets or Bucs steal him, chip gets pissed and runs back to college,… that would be the ideal scenario before he can do another year or two worth of damage to our roster
wow you are really taking this hard. Now you want Chip gone, just like that?
i want a coach who is smart enough to get hired, immediately demolish the team he inherrited and then start building on the new foundation he put in place.
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i dont care about the players we are losing or signing, i especially offensive players… I care that for every 3 holes we fill, 3 more are instantly created… I care about building on what we have since its year 3…… all these cuts should have been done by last offseason at the latest…
your looking at this wrong. The reason these players are no longer worth keeping is because their contracts now are WAY out of line. Cole-11 million, Shady- 12 million, Mac got apparently offered 9 million to stay. He got offered 5 mil last year and wanted a prove it contract because he saw what jackson could do in this offense. Now we offer 4 million more since he proved it and doesn’t take it. He never had 1000 yards before chip. And do you remember that play in the beginning of the year when maclin looked like he blew his knee out again? He is injury prone. and could go down any day. I loved the dude last year but 9 million is a lot. Cobb was being called the top option at WR and he signed with GB knowing he could have gotten more. Chip kept these guys because it was worth it. Now we pay 3 RB’s the same as we would have paid Shady. I guarantee Gore gets 1200-1300 yards this year just by hitting the hole. It might not look as fancy, but fancy ain’t worth 12 million. SF wanted him back which is a good sign.
Finally, someone without a Maclin hangover.
Chip made too crazy moves to trust him blindly, but as it stands right now, there are only two things I would criticize: too much money for Gore, too much money for Sanchez. But those aren’t big contracts.
You simply don’t pay a WR like Maclin 11m if you’re Chip. Just because you overpay for Maxwell (and imho, it’s not that much overpay, just a little) doesn’t mean you overpay every position.
And yes, he didn’t get McCourty. It sucks. But it was worth a try.
Cox and Kendricks were traded to the Giants :). JK.
did we get anyone else since we signed sanchez?
Nope
geez,.. its going to get to the point where i start watching the Eagles like I watch the Bills, just watch the defense, fast forward thru the offense… this dude is a clown… all his locker room crap meant nothing…. Hope foles is gone by the end of the day. Get him the hell as far away from this “genius” as possible
We don’t know what happened, Eagles tried either Mac chased $$$ or he just didn’t want to be here that’s on Chip, he wasn’t a 1000 wr before Chip and I don’t think he will be after him either
i know this coach made Riley Coop a rich man, but pissed away Mac, Desean, and shady.
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im digusted. enjoy your day, this dude is a joke… he created this situation. Mac outperformed in every way possible;.. If KC isnt paying a Ton, I wont be able to stomach this coach… Im fine with replacing every player on the field, and I never been a big Mac fan, but after how he performed and jumped through every hoop… you dont treat a quality, respected, class act like Mac like this…
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i dont wanna hear another word about Culture out of this coaches mouth… he lost that right… from now on his culture means NOTHING, so all i will judge him on is talent aquisition… if culture means nothing, then go get me the most talented criminals out there… I want DGB, the next aaron Hernadez, the ghost of lawrence taylor… I want the most talented scum of the earth possible!!!
He was offered good money if he left for a bunch more than isn’t that Mac being about the $$$
im not mad at Mac… the eagles created this monster when they jettisoned desean, tried to use Mac’s injury to lowball him into an extension, they settled on a prove it deal,. he shattered every expectation… I care about what this says to Jordan Mathews and all the other players next time chip preaches that bullshit culture crap
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hopefully the KC contract figures are out of control and they make us feel better about this… losing Mac is one thing, but to lose him to Andy and Alex smith… disgusting
Yea sad thing is that they only offered Mac like $5 mil last year on a multi year deal. I saw some reports that he would have signed for $8-9mil per year but they wouldn’t budge. Would have been real nice in retrospect to have Mac locked up long term for $8.5 mil per year for the next 4 years.
why would we have paid 8-9M multi-year contract to a guy coming off his second ACL surgery. That would be crazy.
crazy like a Fox..
Like I said in retrospect/hindsight it was possible to have him locked up. Sad that he’s gone when it seemed so likely we’d be able to keep him around long term. But, you’re right, it would not have been prudent at the time. Looking back though, I wish they had.
I like to call hin our little mad scientist. He is trying to see how many buttons he can push before the city blows up.
Doug Collins Jr..
Could be worse than that even. I guess he can go after MM , and pull the 6er’s stunt going on now, we need a few years to rebuild.
Ugh. Please don’t say that.
There hasn’t been any rumors about OLB’s. Maybe that will happen today?
my guess is Brandon Graham is back
McCourty is re-signing with the Pats.
has the next safety target been leaked yet?
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u know if searcy or Rahim igned with anyone?
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thanks.. I apreciate it…
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hopefully everything gets done today and tomorrow is just a formality, i will be traveling all day tomorrow
Foles, Sanchez, Cooper, Huff, Gore. I’m just not feelin’ it.
Offense looks like crap now, gotta hope there are moves
Eagles have around 30-35 mm I’ll after Gore, Max and Sanchez so there’s that
Potential target could be Jordan Cameron, he played wr in cillege , has size and would add an interesting dimension to the O
ESP claiming the Eagles have interest in Trammon Williams.
I saw that yesterday and I’m disgusted
What about the kid from Cleveland?
what’s ESP?
Eliot Shor-Parks. Guy from NJ.com.
oh — lol. I don’t use that site…thanks.
I don’t much, just when someone posts it to reddit.
That’s a good call… ESP is the worst
That’s why I put it there as full disclosure.
NE radio this morning said we offered more than the Pats for McCourtey. I’m a little surprised we were willing to spend such big money on the top CB and safety free agents.
They also don’t think the Pats are losing Revis and think he is significantly more important than McCourtey. How can you lose Revis when Brady only has a little time left (I hope).
They are so over the cap right now, even if they dump Revis and his 20mil they’ll have less than 10mil
I don’t know the cap numbers but on radio they said the Pats are most likely to redo the deal, say 48M for 3 years, and to do that they may need to cut him/decline his option that is about to vest later today I think, but they said the Pats could (but likely would not) just absorb the option year it just would make it harder to fill out the roster.
So I hear you, but I heard something different on the radio.
They’d be over the cap
wonder what their deadline is a far as timing.
I believe they have to exercise the option today. They are not likely to do so, then he will be a FA tomorrow. But I bet the Pats work out a new deal with him.
technically yes, but I read there are easy ways to fix that.
example (from Boston.com):
How to get under cap w/o touching Revis’ $25m cap
1.Extend Solder (2 to 5m savings)
2.Waive Dennard (1m savings)
3.cut Hooman (890k savings)
my point is just that the Pats are not going to lose him over the cap if they don’t want to.
sounds like you have a to pay a premium to get free agents — maybe b/c we did our players dirty, maybe b/c CK requires so much dedication during the season, who knows. Story is MAC took less in KC to go back to Reid.
If true, that’s quite a statement by Maclin.
Everybody calm down. Schefter says 11m for Maclin. No way we were giving him 12, lol.
It was the right move from Chip.
i hate sanchez i really do, i really do not want to see him start a game ever again. he is so.. meh.. and when he makes a bad play his head hangs like a lost puppy, so annoying.
that’s what drives me nuts when people say “He’ll compete” — compete for what? This guy sux. If he’s our starting QB, we’re in for a long long long season.
yeah i cant stand him, he is like kevin kolb, but he doesnt get hurt!! wtf!!! lmfao
Everyone seeing the Kaepernick talk?
thoughts?
His contract is interesting…. he can be cut after each year or some “Ricky Williams” type of ludicrous legal language lol. Canon for an arm and long strider. Brains not so impressed lol.
yeah but so much $$. Also mentally would not call him “peyton manning”
not gonna lie though. i think he could go for 1,000 rushing and 3,000 passing in Kelly’s offense lol.
probably could, but it would be like when vick was running it, except he’d be healthy.
Vick was a much better decision maker than Kaep. Kaep quite often fixates on his first read and just lets it rip, no matter if the guy is triple covered or not. People complain about Foles missing his fourth read – if Kaep is starter, get ready to watch a lot of wide open second reads get missed on picks thrown into triple coverage.
Luckily, with our new WR core, we won’t have to worry about receivers being wide open to get missed.
whats all this B.S. about Chicago being interested in every QB that we are named with?
…other thoughts. not gettin mccourty hurts.
Kaepernick and his contract make no sense. I’m still on the MM train.
it was handled by Master-P
Kaepy’s hands are too small for Kelly. Only 9.125 inches
You have a win win situation with MM now . If the eagles get him and he stinks, you can just say he had no one to throw to. If the eagles don’t get him you can blame the QB’s for not being any good.
It doesn’t hurt Baalke if he denies the rumor’s I would assume. So by him merely denying it could be more of a smokescreen.
At least I’m not the only one confused…
At least I’m not the only one confused…
I’m pretty upset we weren’t able to keep Maclin. I really never thought he’d leave. I figured the Eagles would give him a fair deal in the $9mil range and he’d be happy to stay somewhere where he put up career numbers and would continue to be the clear cut #1 WR.
At the same time, Maclin was also more of high end #2 WR than a clear #1. Before Chip got here he was a 60 catch 850-950 yard guy with around 8TDs per year. He was inconsistent with both his effort and his production. I’m always weary of giving career #2 guys #1 type money coming off of a career year in a contract year. I’ll be interested to see what Maclins deal from KC ends up being. If he got $12mil per year, then good for him, I don’t think he was worth that at all. Especially to us, in an offense that seems to take career #2 WRs and gets top level production out of them.
All comes down to what Chip does between now and week one. If the Eagles sign Andre Johnson for $8mil per year for the next 2-3 years, I actually see that as an upgrade on Maclin for substantially less money. If, as has been loosely rumored recently that Mike Evans might be involved with a trade up with the Bucs, then I’m pretty happy. A WR corps of Evans, Matthews, Huff (who I expect a big leap from this year) and Cooper is pretty darn good. If We stand pat and Jeff Maehl is our 4th WR with Matthews and either Cooper or Huff starting outside I’m legitimately concerned.
i think chip has being principled.
Where did this random, laughable trade with bucs that includes Evans come from?
thats the one where we trade all of our picks in 15-17 for #1 and mike evans
oh that old tune.
Come on… we are smarter than that to know that is just ridiculous.
now a trade for Vincent Jackson i dont think is so out of the realm of possibility.
That I could see, but the fact that he is letting young quality WRs walk would indicate he wouldnt go for older ones.
if the “Trade” were to ever happen i think a Vjax salary dump would be part of the plan in discussions with TB.
he doesnt want to pay $11m maclin is all. or should we overpay for guys just because?
Well see what the numbers truly are soon. Wouldn’t you want to overpay for maclin and then cut Cooper come June? That would save you 5 mil, then they can draft another receiver in a deep class.
Andre Johnson @ $8mill? I’m cool with that.
there’s other guys. paying maclin 11 leaves you less room to pay for D / OL. CK is an offensive genius, schemes average WRS open. why pay for super expensive guys.
Yea not likely by any means…just trying to rationalize my disgust right now. I’m in the rationalize/bargaining stage of grief. Just trying to remind myself that the offseason isn’t over yet and likely there is a plan in place to not have JMatt and Cooper as our top WRs with Maehl, Huff and Pratt as top back ups. Gotta wait and see what we look like two months from now, might be a lot different. As it stands now we’re one JMatt injury away from trotting out the worst receiving corps in the history of the NFL.
It will be interesting to see if Chip targets a FA WR or is he completely for drafting and developing young cost controlled WR’s. It would seem that it is the least important position on Offense in his eyes.
I think Matthews is also going to take a big leap forward.
the thought that Sanchez is part of the plan, part of the solution is demoralizing.
gross
i can stomach that more then I can stomach out of shady, desean, Maclin and Coop, Riley is the one THAT got PAID.
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lost shady, desean and Maclin and we have kiko to show for it?
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if the day chip was hired we knew we would be losing Desean, Mac and Shady.. it would have raised some eyebrows, but atleast we would be thinking that we would get some valuable draft picks to help build his new team…. whateverm i vented, im over it… Ill enjoy the defense while i can before the “genius” says we can win without Fletcher Cox
Roseman handles the contracts, so I don’t know if it’s CK or Roseman. CK may have said to sign him, and Roseman gave him more than he should have.
Cox and Kendricks for Kap. That way we get to watch another QB run around like a chicken without a head.
do what you want on offense… screw with my defense and ill move to buffalo if i have to 🙂
I was joking. But who knows, now.
I was told many times this season to get over desean already .. I agree w you .. but better move for Shady & Mac personally,, so I am very glad for them to be in better places..
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im starting to hate my team .. I simply cant cheer for sanchez
paying coop whle losing those 3 is the real kick in the nuts for me… especially when i only wanted us to keep Coop is for his chemistry with our developing young Foles.
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if chip knew he would tarde whatever he had to, to get MM, why even pay Coop…. we gave him a nice contract to keep him from reaching free agency as if anyone was really going to overvalue him like us…we could have ended up possibly getting Coop cheaper if we let him hit the open market and he didnt find a big market.. which is what might happen with BG this year…… you pay Coop handsomely to keep him off the market and you allow it to get to this point with Mac? hopefully Cox and kendrcks are extended in October.. I dont trust letting them get to free agency with this coach here/.
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cant imagine what Philly sports radio will sound like right now
Calm down, mate. Cooper was a mistake. Paying Mac 11m would be a mistake, too. Better not making the same mistake twice.
Coopers contract sucks. We all know that. Chip knows that. But we can’t do anything about it until next year.
Chip shouldn’t make more mistakes – and he started by not making the mistake of paying Maclin 11m (that number is from Schefter, so it’s true…)
Like someone said yesterday, it’s all the spin.
one take: Maclin bought into the program, became a true # 1 and Chip wouldn’t pay him.
another take: Self-tacklin Maclin had his best season ever b/c of Chip’s system (and Chip having cut DeSean), and Chip doesn’t value WR’s as much as other teams. This is the Patriot Way.
another take: anywhere in between. Example: Chip would pay but Maclin was loyal to his coach.
I’m just a little surprised that self-tacklin Maclin not being on the team is making people want the coach fired. I’d prefer we re-sign him but this is not the end of the world.
I feel the same way. If he took less money to go elsewhere, that’s not on the Eagles.
It’s really not the end all, I’m with you. For me I am trying to figure out his true intentions and his plan B. Chip is going to be successful no matter what. But if he hedges multiple talent in the draft for MM and we have the same skill players as we have now on the roster; then I will start to freak out.
remove the individual moves and decisions on players out of the equation..
Id be pretty curious to see Hinkie and Rosemans thoughts on chips team nuilding process. I dont care to hear them judge each individual player decision, but strictly from a program building view point, Id be interested in knowing What hinkie and Roseman think of the “franchise building” part of these last 3 years under chip
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what Id give to be a fly on the wall of Howies office aka the former Janitors closet on the other side of Novacare.. Curious to know how Roseman feels about all this…… this model is the opposite of the hinkie model
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hinkie model is about being honest with yourself, if you dont have a team to challenge for a SB this year, Hinkie would admit it, and make only moves that improve our Future. Basically hinkie sacrafices the present for future winning… chip did the opposite, came in, won immediately even tho we werent going to win a SB chip made most of his moves for the present obviously, if its year 3 and we are still partially on the demolition phase…
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feel like we wasted two years when we should have been building something…what good is getting excited about filling a major hole with a stud, if for every 3 holes you fill, you instantly create 3 more..
I don’t know what do your sources say?
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/73/162935562_daf31c14c3.jpg
“wasted two years” — wasn’t the whole point of moving Howie out? Wasn’t he the one responsible for the last two years? Or are you saying, what Howie did the last two years is now wasted?
“remove the individual moves and decisions on players out of the equation”
Convenient.
There is a huge difference between the NBA and the NFL’s roster construction. NBA you need 2-3 stars with quality ‘pieces’ around them, and if you have 0 pieces you have no way of acquiring more except through the draft and they tend to be the top 3 picks. Once you have drafted 2 ‘stars’ then you can finish the roster with free agents who will flock to join you.
The NFL is anything but that – it is a 53 man roster and your roster needs to be 30+ deep because teams will find and attack that weakest player. Draft position and importance is overblown with Fans, because top picks get the sizzle and are well known, but the reality is it is a crap shoot, top 1st round picks bust nearly as often as lower 1st round picks.
Seattle and NE’s rosters were not built with loads of first round high picks, but hit with mid round talent. If high draft position was all that mattered Detroit and the Rams will be winning superbowls.
if its true that chip kelly plan on drafting tons of draft picks away, and think he will build a contender thru free agency, thats a dangerous game.. Not many teams have built championships off of free agency…. Hopefully “the genius” can consistently invest in the Right free agents and make it work,…. but there isnt much precedent for winning SB’s that way
…
if he is hell bent on drafting a QB, i would hope he just takes hundley. rather than trade away our ability to build thru the draft… if you are going to blowup half your offense, probably going to need some draft picks to replace your offense, if you are busy building your defense in free agency
Heh. So what are you “hearing”?
NFL News: Pernell McPhee to #Bears on five-year, $40 million deal, nearly $16 million guaranteed – via Aaron Wilson
WOW…he only got 16mil Guaranteed? bad news for BG looking to cash in..
now that the other shoe has dropped, we can judge the complete picture:
..
Traded: Shady
Received: Kiko, Gore and 5mil worth of cap space.
..
good move?
…
even with the full picture i still dont know what to make of it.
Love Kiko
Love not paying 11mil for a RB
..
shady is a better RB then Gore. He is now, and he still was 3 years ago, but stylistically speaking, i do like Gores style of play for us more then shady’s electrifying ability… in theory Gore should add some toughness on the field and in the locker room. Should improve short yardage/goal line offense.. Kiko is a just an awesome addition(as long as he has a healthy eagle career of course)
Gore/Sproles, the cliche thunder and LIghtning Tandem probably makes more sense then sproles and shady, stylistically speaking of course..
…
now the Devil advocate:
1) 32yr old RB, who now not only has to play at a crazy tempo, but he has to practice at the tempo every day for like 8 months…can his body hold up, will he still have some juice in the tank come december?
2) we are paying 5mil for Gore, sproles is our 3rd down back,…. for the money we are paying Gore, whats a realistic amount of Carries that we will be giving him on average in games? 10-12 carries per game?
…
when we traded shady, we were left with Polk and sproles, two backs Im glad to have… I was more expecting us to pay like 500k a year for the next 4 years from a rookie 4th round RB………..but since we paid Gore, Im starting to worry if Polk is on his way out to make room for a rookie, and id hate to see polk go before we can really see what he can do given some decent playing time….. then again, this coach probably will trade the next 7 drafts for a QB so who knows when we will have a pick to spend on a RB lol
…
if Polk,Sproles and Gore are all here this year, I cant imagne all 3 being back for another year after this next season.. one of the 3 will have to get the axe to make room for the next rookie RB …..so for this next year, i can see keeping our 3 RBsm but after this year atleast 1 of the 3 will need to be cut…
They can’t just wait and HAVE to draft a RB, that is terrible drafting strategy. I think you are right, if the RB is there and is taken in the draft, it’s Polk’s job in trouble. I always wanted Polk to get more chances, but with all these changes I can’t get too upset about RB3 (or RB2 if you exclude Sproles). I don’t see him every day.
By signing Gore, Chip is saying you better believe I plan to compete this year. Don’t we all want that, the balance between competing now and later? He has half the cap hit, a better running style and we picked up a fast play maker, young cost controlled ILB.
I still love these moves.
“By signing Gore, Chip is saying you better believe I plan to compete this year.”
Good point.
Pass Rushing: are we even interested in any of these guys?
if McPhee is only getting 16mil guaranteed, think it gives us a better chance at being able to get a decent pass rusher…
..
BG cant be too happy seeing McPhee sign for 16mil guaranteed
secretly i think we get BG after he sees there’s no market.
i been thinking the same thing to tell you the truth….. market for him was really quiet this weekend… only rumor i saw for BG was that the giants had interest
Is there a reason we couldn’t put a transition tag on Mac? Avoid the big cap hit of the franchise and still keep him or get something in return for him. Is it just not wanting to piss him off. Were we just over confident we would sign him or did we just not care? I just hate that we lost DeSean, Shady and Maclin for Kiko and no other assets. If I knew we would lose all three I’d be ok with it, but id expect a major haul of picks to allow us to rebuild a team in Chips image. As it stands now I feel like we’re just relieving ourselves of top talent just for the sake of doing so and for cap space. I really like Chip but I feel like his understanding or feel for player worth and his ability to maximize return on investments is severely lacking.
good post
no comp pick with a transition tag.
My mistake I thought there was a tag option for less money that also would require another team to give us less than 2 first round picks if the player was signed.
The transition tag just gives us the opportunity to match the offer, doesn’t it? If we already made the highest offer we were going to pay, what is the advantage of the tag?
I also assume Mac told the Eagles that he would give them a chance to match any offer (technically, he couldn’t be forced to sign on the line until tomorrow, anyway).
Chip has drafted Matt Barkley and retained Mark Sanchez. Basically the same players. 6’2, cant run, west coast offense quarterbacks. They are the opposite of what he recruited in college. Wouldnt that suggest that he want’s pocket quaterbacks for the NFL? How could he have MM as a starting QB and then Sanchez as the backup; the offensive play calls would completely change would it not?
why?
Not exactly. Offensive plays would stay identical. Situational calls would be tailored to what the qb excels in. in a small sample, Vick ran the same plays as Foles. The only limit to a slow qb is that on the zone read the qb’s realistic chance to run for a big gain is diminished. Remember how Russ Wilson audibled then took it to the left for a td. That’s what a mobile qb gives you the option to do.
It’s not that chip can’t operate without a mobile qb. But the element of being able to run from the qb position keeps the defense still just a bit longer than they otherwise would which is all a NFL qb needs to burn the defense. Now couple this with an arm to make the necessary downfield throws, the accuracy to place the ball consistently in a given spot, and the ability to read and manipulate defenses and you have the optimal chip qb. Mariota fits this mold
Same way he had Vick at starter with Foles backing him up
I found a picture of CK this offseason.
http://i.imgur.com/nKPLOME.gif
He looks thinner. It must be the backlighting.
Jeff McLane @Jeff_McLane 2m2 minutes ago
Sounds like Jeremy Maclin got that $11 million per year, or close to it, he was looking for. Source says more than Randall Cobb ($10 mil).
Sheil Kapadia @SheilKapadia 4m4 minutes ago
Per @AdamSchefter on SportsCenter, Chiefs will play Maclin in the vicinity of $11M per season.
Then that’s why he left. I like Mac, but not at $11 mill.
I agree. Nice player. Not $11M player.
Yep
So we lost both DeSean and Mac because Andy Reid pays WRs too much? Awesome.
He’s still making penance for McMullen/Mitchell/Pinkston/Na Brown/et cetera
Regarding players who take less money to stay where they’re at… Players know that if your cap number gets too high at the end of the contract, you’re going to be cut or traded, with the best case scenario being that you restructure for less money. I don’t begrudge McCourty for staying at a team that won’t trade him (though Pats might be a bad example after the Nate Soldier trade, McCourty has got to know about Asante Samuel’s contract running him out of town here) or Maclin taking a deal with Andy, who will never, ever cut him. More money does not always mean more money.
*Note: at the time I wrote this, it’s still assumed that Maclin signed for less money tan he would have gotten here.
why did Bills give McCoy a new deal? just b/c he was pouting?
Oh, he probably got more up front cash, and the Bills probably got some cap space to use.
ok that makes sense.
Bills.
Mcphee going to the bears…16 mil guaranteed…
You would have hoped Mac would be willing to stay in Philly for $10mm per if he took $11mm to go to KC.
If your guys aren’t willing to give you hometown discounts like Cobb / McCourty did (and Kelce did last season) it can cause cap problems down the line.
I hope Chip understands this. He’s got some “Culture” repairing to do I think.
I think his hometown is Andy not Chip. That doesn’t mean Chip is wrong or bad or anything.
Plus, Maclin can still sign with us on Wed right?
hahahah
KC is double hometown for Mac.
right so we shouldn’t complain that he didn’t stay. If he also got more money, then what can we do.
Loooooool!
Well played.
I think it is a sign of things to come. I personally think that the WR is ‘inflated’ at the moment, and they get paid too much compared to the impact they have on the game. Getting cheaper there when seem to have a constant stream of talented rookies coming into the league makes a lot of sense.
Matthews – Cooper – Huff – Celek – Ertz – Sproles is not the worst group of pass catchers in the league. Do we need more talent outside? hell yeah but we can draft that or sign a 1-2 year rental.
Matthews – 1100yard
Cooper – 600yards
Huff – 600yards
Ertz – 700 yards
Celek – 500 yards
Sproles – 500 yards
Is definately possible for this group – and would get us 4000 yards of passing. add in a free agent or rookie to improve that and we will be ‘ok’
Well argued. I’m still skeptical, if only because those numbers would require a very good decision maker at QB to achieve that much distribution.
I think your initial point about WRs being overvalued is correct. Your estimates on production are going to be difficult to meet from this bunch of guys, though. And with all the talent coming into the league we would still need to have the draft picks available to get it, which we may not have if we make the drastic move for Mariota.
Okay, this makes more sense:
Andrew Brandt @adbrandt 17s18 seconds ago
Am told Eagles were hovering just below $10M per year on Maclin, with KC moving to $11M range, enough to make move.
Guess it comes down to guarantees. If they were similar and he left, then that’s just a Maclin personal issue
I think the most interesting part of all of this is Chip waiting until year 3 to blow this thing g up. Most successful coaches that start a new team usually blow up the whole roster and start from scratch. I would be curious to know if Chip wanted to do this 2 years ago instead of now.
He showed a couple years of success, which buys him a much longer leash to do what he wants now.
Good point, but ultimately I wonder if Chip is thinking “I could have done this 2 years ago.”
Sure, but would he have been allowed to do it 2 years ago? Roseman was in charge, and Roseman most likely liked where his team was headed. It’s certainly not his anymore…
Exactly. You think Lurie just says to Chip in Year 1: here you go, trade or cut everyone you want.
It doesn’t work this way. Chip showed everyone that his ideas can work in the NFL, now he’s doing things his way. We’ll see how that turns out, but I won’t cry about not paying a guy like Maclin 11m.
Not sure about that. If he blew up the team in 2013 and went 5-11 his first year, nobody would think twice – they were 4-12 the year before. Now that he’s coming off back-to-back 10 win seasons a mediocre or bad record will be seen as a significant step back.
disagree. intelligent people would have given him time, but as soon as one boo-bird read a fan-piece on bleacherreport comparing him to spurrier there would have been a mild freakout. and the philly sports press would have polls up by October 2013 asking “was signing chip a huge mistake?” and then Peter King would report it as fact.
You have a fair point, but I think patience would win out.
If he goes 6-10 this season (a distinct possibility with a rookie QB and a supporting cast around him less talented than last season’s), I don’t know that it will. The howls for Chip’s head will be loud and furious. The heat is going to be on him this year in a big, big way.
no disagreement here
thats my real only problem with any of this… i dont really give a crap about any of the players we lost… I care that its being done now.. demolition phase should take place first 2 years of a coaches tenure and then he builds over it… we wasted two years doing nothing, and now he is blowing this up? he can cut any offensive player he wants for all I care with the exception of foles, Lane, Ertz and Jordan…… but I care that we wasted two years, and are now doing this all in year 3, when I have been patiently giving him time to build however he wanted in the first two years… now that we are in year 3, we should be filling holes and building on the moves chip made the 1st two years… instead for every hole that is filled a new one is created, and I cant stomach that in year 3…not when i would have supported him cutting whoever the hell he wanted the first two years,as long as we understand that year 3 a coach needs to start being judged on results…. now what, we are supposed to rewind the clock, give him another two years and startto hold him accountable for winning when exactly? year 5?
Have a feeling Howie wanted to keep his ‘core’
this is really my only beef with any of this… i dont care so much about the talent we lost, I care that its done now… Moves that i despise Now, i would have fully supported a new coach doing during his first two years.. I hoped we were all past that and we were going to spend money strengthen this team and try to contend next year… but we arent strengthening our team like this, we are merely shifting strengths and weakness around to differnt positions.. when in reality we had the money to keep the pieces that worked and some money on top to add some nice talent, actually building on our 20 win teams in the first two years.. i hate the Timing, I hate the effects these moves can have on our locker room…. which is why I would have so much rather this happened in the first two years so we could be past it by now and ready to compete in 2015….instead i feel like we are on the hamster wheel, instead of building we merely create new strengths, and new weaknesses.. when in year 3 we should be only worried about plugging some holes without creating to many other ones
the timing is when the contracts got more out of whack.
it’s not a fun answer, but maybe he needed time to adjust his vision at the NFL level and to see where he needs playmakers versus where he needs “adequate” guys. at my job i didn’t know as much about the organization one year in as i do after two years.
Maybe that time was for Chip to adjust his game, not just to prove that he can be successful. I’d like to think he wanted to get his feet wet in the NFL with the players he had, and see the types of players he needed to make it work. I think he’s seen that now, he’s seen what Nick Foles can do, he’s seen what the players we have can do, and he wants to go in a different direction.
Its the same principle with Lurie giving Chip time to perfect his methods and prove that he can be a winner. He gave players time to prove that they can work in a 3-4, buy into his system, and work with what his vision was with the team.
I won’t claim to have any insight into his plan, but to me this makes a lot of sense. We praise him for his ability to think and adjust his game, maybe that past two years were just that, and now he knows what he wants, knows what he thinks can be successful, and is pursuing it.
I feel very uncomfortable with this offseason, but I’m willing to let it all play out and not jump down his or anyone else in the organization’s throat until its all played out this fall.
he didn’t have personnel control. He also may have reasonably wanted to get a feel for the league before he made drastic changes.
I mean, it’s not like we all are going anywhere. If he gets it right now, can we all really complain that he should have done this in year 1.
I really like Chip and don’t mind this at all. Just hope we can all be patient enough to see his plan realized.
He didn’t have control yet. Howie was still running personnel and they tried to build a team with 2nd and 3rd tier players. Chip maxed out that squad, so here we are.
Our Mr. ‘High Percentage’ might get a heartache… Eagles were shopping Foles at the senior bowl…
That’s what a few people are saying now…
I hope Lurie realizes that if this crazy Chip Kelly experiment comes apart in 3 years and he runs back to college, this franchise will be set back for years. And for anyone who thinks that the Chippah won’t cut bait when he realizes his genius is only genius in college, they are mistaken. The guy was non committal in regards to coming to the NFL anyway. MM may turn out ot be a stud, he may turn out to be another version of Kapernick(albeit with less tattoos). But if we give up a serviceable young QB who has proven that he can win for MM, plus a boatload of draft picks, this has the makings of a “do or die” situation for MM and Chip Kelly. Not liking the odds. Plus, are we asking MM to take the field with Riley Cooper as his only proven (relative term) outside WR right now?
Nick + Picks to TEN, Bucs to #2 and Eagles to #1. Just like I said yesterday. Get it done CHIP.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2015/3/9/8174857/nick-foles-trade-rumors-eagles-quarterback-rams-titans-texans-senior-bowl-interest
I think maybe the move is to Jets #6, then up from there. We’ll see. However it happens, just so it happens.
And we are just hearing about this report all the sudden? Seems convenient for the media.
grab Evans somehow in that trade too? would be nice.
Patrick Willis going to retire
Wow.
damn, wonder if he’ll get into the Hall. He was the defacto best ILB/MLB (were they a 4-3 at one point?) for most of his career until this past year or 2. If he doesn’t I don’t know what ILB/MLB does.
Problem is I don’t know if he had the longevity.
exactly my concern, doesn’t really have that staple moment in his career either. Just consistently being the best for the majority of his what suddenly feels a little short (for such a great player) career.
Is this injury driven?
Or something else?
He just turned 30 in late January.
Eight years in the NFL. Pro Bowl the first 7. All Pro 5 of those 7.
He was on injured reserve last year with a severe big toe problem that’s chronic
Markets are wrong all of the time.
It’s pure falsehood to when people parrot “the market is always right”. Simply not true.
The market would be more right if there wasnt a cap and there was only a finite number of teams (see soccer, market is much more right in general than the NFL)
I don’t know anything about soccer, but in US sports bad deals are made all of the time regardless of cap.
Baseball has (virtually) no cap and you see teams make crazy deals all of the time.
Markets, in fact, guess wrong more often than they’re right. They’re fixed in the favor of banking/finance/government interests so that those players always win regardless of outcome. It’s like Vegas -sometimes you’ll find a gambler on a lucky streak who comes out ahead. Mostly you don’t. The house always wins.
More specifically, a contract goes well past the immediate market state.
Cary William’s contract was true to the market at the time, but it was a lousy FA class for CB and everyone needed a CB (we were deperate).
It’s less like buy a car and more like buying stock. We’ve gotten in a bad habit of buying high and watching player’s value plummet. So every year after the contract there are questions if we will actually pay the contract, restructure, or cut the player. Maxwell will likely be talked of like this in a year or 2.
Market is also skewed when one team offers something way above market. $9mil for Maclin was fair. $10mil with the recent Cobb signing was slightly above for both guys, but still reasonable. $11 plus was way out of line for Mac. Doubt anyone that wasn’t as desparate as KC would have offered that.
any WRs anyone actually like on the market? i know the big names are crab tree and Torrey, but I dont really like either for what i expect they will be making during this next contract…
…
not much talent left out tere…Denariuos Moore? Cecil Short? i would actually like to see Cecil in this offense but i feel like he is always injured..
no need to worry. It’s still time until Wed when Mac will re-sign with the eagles.
We get it.
I’m being serious. Nothing is official until tomorrow. Wouldn’t surprise me if we see another Bentley scenario….
wow. I remember that. We dodged a bullet with that one.
But hindsight has the Eagles being lucky passing on LeCharles who shortly blew out his knee after signing his multi million $$$ contract! Sadly he never recovered from that…
Can’t say he would have blown out his knee with us
Nah, not yet.
Andre Johnson
Maybe the Eagles can have Erik Decker as a throw-in for a Mariota trade.
Wait, I thought we are in a holding pattern until Wednesday when Maclin resigned with us? Has your perspective changed? What are your “sources” telling you now?
There are some good ones in the draft this year again.
Everyone! RELAX!!!!! Maclin Obvioulsy wanted to go back to his home state and it just so happens his old coach runs a team there. IF he took the same or less to go to KC then there is nothing we could do. The last report that came out was Sanchez and Maclin were coming back and would be reported later that night. Then all of a sudden KC comes in and offer the same thing or whatever they could muster. And Maclin Jumped on it. He is going to an offense where he never had 1000 yards and just had a year where they didn’t have a TD from a WR. He wants to go home. That is not Chip’s fault or the Eagles. He was in their plans from the start and thought they had a deal in place. This deal would have been done a while ago if Maclin didn’t switch agents. His old agent works VERY WELL with the eagles.
In Regards to why wait for 3 years to re build.? Is this really a re build? We are getting rid of players whose contracts are WAY out of line. That is what we bashed amaro for doing and ruining the phillies after just 3 years ago having 104 wins. Shady at 12 million with 1319 yards or Gore at 3.75million with 1106 yards and with 57 less carries then shady. Yes i would have loved to keep Shady but not at 12 million. and maclin at 9 million i thought was too much when i thought he was re signing with us. Maclin was a 70 catch 900 yard receiver before Chip. He can find another one of those no problem. Relax this isn’t a step backwards. our defense is already getting better and he will find a WR to take maclin’s spot. And Maclin will be watching Sportscenter one friday in KC eating his Burger King and seeing the Eagles #1 wideout blowing out his stats while reading the KC times about how overpaid he is.
good post
is that photo from the 1970’s though?
However i will be pissed if we trade Kendricks during the draft. Then i might have a problem. Because Kendricks and KIKO are gonna be nasty together. It is just odd that Demeco is still there. Makes me think.?!
Don’t forget, trade isn’t official til tomorrow…just in case something happens in the trade process it is insurance to keep him. Beyond that, it makes you wonder. Would hr le be on board for a backup role?
Crabtree would be interesting to me, depending of course on what he would cost. He’ll be in the DeMeco situation of being in the 2nd year after an Achilles tear (when we got him).
I don’t think he’s a good locker room guy
Does he eat lunch in his car or something?
Nnamdi makes him sit in the back seat
andre johnson hitting hte market today
Would be a fun pickup. asking price, 5M per?
that’d be nice. can join the old folks home.
Yes, please.
Yuck. Sorry dude. If this were 2009, please. He’s got no wheels anymore.
he’s still got stats.
I mean, I am not against the signing if it is a reasonable deal. He seems like a great guy and will fit in with #culture. I just hope and pray that is not our answer to losing Maclin and Jaccpot in consecutive years. As it stands now, we have absolutely zero deep threats. Maclin was two steps down from Desean as a deep threat, but he was still respectable in the area. Jordan Matthews does not have the wheels for that. I really have no clue what we are doing, but our skill positions have really become pedestrian in the last few years.
Huff? Ertz? Those guys can stretch the defense.
They can stretch a bad defense into a good defense, in fact.
ehh…to an extent. Neither is really a true deep threat that can run by CBs and hold a safeties attention.
Ertz, while a weapon, doesn’t take the top off of a defense. He is a good tight end, but it is hard for a tight end to modify a defense the way a fast wr on the outside can do. And there is nothing about Huff that has made me believe that he has the ability to take a safety with him on a deep route. To even make that jump, I would have to believe he could consistently catch the ball deep. The kid struggles with the simple catches, I don’t think he can be relied upon to mitigate Maclin’s loss.
Can smoothies fix hammy issues?
Smoothies beats Hammies.
Sign Johnson, trade him to Tampa for Mariota pick.
Maybe we could sign Stevie Johnson and Crabtree, too and bundle the players so they throw in Evans. Sounds fair to me.
that’s how it works in fantasy.
apparently they put foles on the block at the senior bowl.
The report actually says they enquired about value from teams, which is very different from shopping. I don’t doubt that Foles has a price – especially in this draft (Mariota), but the question is did any team rate him enough and is there anyway to get to no2 in the draft? (Mariota does not slide this draft)
The Maclin situation reminded me of something I saw on Inside the NFL at the end of last season. There was a segment on the crazy number of breakout rookie wide receivers, and how that might become closer to the norm each year going forward. Afterwards, Phil Simms (whom I typically loathe) said to Brandon Marshall, “You’re not going to like hearing this at all Brandon, but with so much consistent young talent coming out year-after-year, able to perform right away, why are teams going to keep handing huge contracts to older receivers?”
I think mega-contracts are still necessary for the mega-star receivers (Dez, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, ODB eventually), but for the next tier of guys, it’s hard to justify bank-breaking re-signing efforts. Spend the money on the defense, or other positions that have a multi-year learning curve.
Good thought.
Matthews came on strong last year. Most of us were hoping he’d push Cooper down the depth chart, who’s to say that he can’t take Maclin’s touches?
I’d much rather have a guy on a rookie contract with speed to spare along with an extra $5mil to throw at a Safety or OLB that’s harder to find production than Maclin and a rookie at either of those spots.
Jerry Hughes- 5 years, $44.5M; $22M guaranteed
Pernell McPhee -5 years, $40M; $16M guaranteed
Market coming in softer than expected. People had both contracts being 1-2 million per year more. May help the Eagles.
Gives us a good chance of signing af guy like Jabaal Sheard or O’brien Schofield to a reasonable deal. Give us some pass rush opposite Barwin and outside Cox and not having to pressure Marcus Smith into starting.
patrick willis and justin smith retiring wowser
Wow. Remember when they were in the Super Bowl 3 years ago and with that young roster and young HC, everyone thought they would perennial contenders?
Maybe they are not willing to play with Foles. Or, maybe they are not willing to play any more with Kaep. Or, maybe this has nothing to do with the QB situation and I am just projecting my own anxiety onto every situation.
Justin Smith makes sense at 35 years old. But, I’m shocked by Willis. He just turned 30 and has only played for 8 seasons at a position where players seem to last well past 30. I know he has chronic big toe problems but I think this has a lot more to do with not wanting to go down with the sinking ship that is San Fran than truly being ready to retire.
I think Foles’ value is at least a 1st round pick.
Get your number to Chip -he’ll make that deal with you yesterday.
I can call him “Chip” because I eat a shit ton of Tostitos.
Maybe the first time I’ve ever seen “shit ton” used accurately.
I completely agree. Look at recent QB trades. Even career back-ups get a decent return if the team sees them as potential starter. Foles has proven that his floor is at the very least a mid level starter. That’s worth at least a 1st round pick.
QUESTION: Is Matt Cassel a fair comparator to Foles — not contact wise, but performance-wise?
If not, then how much more valuable in a fluid trading market is Foles than Cassel (for whom Buffalo paid very little, I think).
Age, recent performance, and current contract also come into play. I think Foles is worth more than Cassel but expecting a 1st rounder seems silly.
I wouldn’t mind giving Bruce Carter a 1 year deal worth around $3-4 million.
So – right now(I know, more to come in the next couple of days) — but right now — at pick 20 — who do you think the Eagles pick? Before all the mock drafts didn’t include losing Shady and Mac. Do RB and WR come into play? Eagles happy with Grumpy Old Men in Sproles and Gore?
….
One thing is for sure — us fans are not bored with this off season…lol
We trade back!
god i hope so!
If we don’t make a huge deal to move up for Mariota, which I think it’s already a foregone conclusion at this point that we will at least try, WR becomes an immediate need in round 1, along with ROLB, Safety, CB and possibly guard depending on what we bring in in FA. I think RB would be in rounds 2-4.
JAELEN STRONG
Sounds like Mac, despite all his talk of really wanting to be here, was all about the money. Eagles wanted to pay him $9mil per year. Reportedly they upped their offer to just short of $10mil per year and he jetted to the only team willing to pay him an extra mil and signed for $11mil with KC. That is a lot for a WR of Maclin’s abilty. Deal makes him the 8th highest paid WR in the league. Only people infront of him are: Megatron ($16.2mil per year), Percy Harvin ($12.8), Dez ($12.8), Demaryius Thomas ($12.8), Mike Wallace ($12), Dwayne Bowe ($11.2), Vincent Jackson (11.1). Larry Fitzgerald makes an average of $11mil per season. Of the 7 players that make more than him on a yearly basis 4 almost assuredly won’t see that money going forward as they are grossly overpaid. Essentially, you have to ask, is it worth it to pay Mac as the 4th best WR in the NFL in the same vacinity of guys like Dez and Damaryius Thomas?
I agree with this. Spend the money elsewhere and make the team stronger.
By comparison, you can get some good production with a whole lot less of a commitment financially to the position: Jordy Nelson ($9.7), Andre Johnson ($9.6), Victor Cruz ($8.6), Pierre Garcon ($8.5), Antonio Brown ($8.5), DeSean ($8.0), Colston ($7.26), Golden Tate ($6.2), Wes Welker ($6.0), Roddy White ($6.0), Boldin ($6.0), Crabtree ($5.3), Emmanuel Sanders ($5.0), AJ Green ($4.9), Nate Washington ($4.5), Edelman ($4.25), Julio Jones ($4.0), Hakeem Nicks ($4.0), Malcolm Floyd ($3.85), Steve Smith ($3.5), Michael Floyd ($2.5). Granted I know a lot of those guys are on rookie deals or are a bit older than Mac, but it’s certainly possible to field a decent set of WRs without over paying a guy like Mac to that extent.
If Jordy Nelson were a FA this year, he’d be heading off to KC.
And Maclin would be staying here.
These numbers highlight Joe Banner’s tweet about so much cash chasing too few players — that is, old contracts won’t reflect new market.
The problem is you have to go back in time to get old contract prices, and not even Chip can do that.
lots of these deals are just last year. should maclin be your break the bank guy?
The cap has gone up per team about 20M in 2 years.
But no, I’ve never been Maclin’s hugest fan.
Percy Harvin is expected to be cut.
Like I said, 4 of the 7 won’t even see that money
Good perspective.
The Eagles low-balled Maclin last year and forced him into a prove-it 1-year deal.
If the Birds can be all about the money, why is Maclin the bad guy in this picture?
He’s not. And the real question is whether it was worth it to _the Eagles_ to pay that much money for that kind of production, not whether he makes as much money as players who are better than him. We don’t have access to those players, so what they make is irrelevant. Apparently, the FO thinks they can replace his production more cheaply.
Absolutely agree.
Two parties couldn’t come to a common understanding as to value.
Happens every day in every business.
How many big corporations are loyal to their 50+ year-old employees? Other than the executive management team with written contracts, I mean?
All true. And, a lot of those guys would make a lot more if they were FA this year, just like Mac did. But, I think the point that you can get good production without paying that kind of money, whether it’s with rookies, reclamation projects, players not coming from a good situation or a career year, ect, still holds true.
I’m fine with that. But this is a high leverage decision, and they’d better not be wrong about it.
To paraphrase the great Omar Little from “The Wire”, you let your #1 receiver walk over a few million dollars thinking you can easily replace his production, you’d best not miss.
Yep. They’d better not be wrong. I’m still on the fence about whether they were wrong about DeSean. Conventional stats aside, the O sucked last year.
you have no source for your “low-balled” comment do you? we have no idea. They just didn’t reach an agreement.
My source?
I’m relying on:
1. The fact that Maclin signed a 1-year contract for $6 million (about 60% or so of the tag figure last year, at least); and
2. The inference — reasonable, I think — that any multi-year offer was, based on the 1-year price, below $8 million; and
3. Maclin and Eagles couldn’t reach a multi-year deal; and
4. The cap was abt $120 million last year.
Never claimed to have a “source.” Or to have “heard” anything.
Just connecting dots.
If you think I’m wrong, I won’t take it personally.
“If you think I’m wrong, I won’t take it personally.”
An all-too rare statement of integrity. Tip ‘o the hat to you, sir.
Disagree… Reunited with old HC + Going back to hometown + mo money = a decision that is obvious. At even money… he still goes to KC.
Also, cost of living/income tax/property tax etc…
True, philly is expensive (NJ is not cheap either). Have to get outside philly for better tax areas and then you end up with a nasty commute.
By the way, I’m not arguing Maclin’s worth relative to what other WRs are paid.
His contract is strictly the product of the 2014 FA market.
Just like Maxwell’s deal.
Very true…a lot of guys are going to get deals this year and the next 2 that are gonna make a lot of fans go cross eyed. There’s just so much cap space these days.
Agree for sure.
And there’s no end in sight to it. Will be even crazier in future years, most likely.
Maclin is from Missouri and played with Reid. I might fault him if he took the money and ran to Oakland. He’s playing in his home state, with the coach who drafted him, and that was offering the most financially. Eagles were smart to not pay him that amount but I don’t hold him going to KC against him at all.
What about Nolan Caroll moving to safety like McCourty did?
i hate mocks because they assume every team will pick based on need. but uh, i found an updated mock:
1. jaelen collins
2. Ajayi
3. devin funchess
4a. eskridge (S)
4b. Bryce Petty
5. clayton geathers (S)
see what i mean? “oh the eagles need these positions so that’s their draft.” that said, i’d be pretty ok if this is how it went down
Yah this is a pretty decent draft.
key thing for everyone to remember- this is year one Chip has the keys. I think this is more than a 1 year plan. Don’t have to fill every hole right now
Re: QB- going with Foles isn’t horrible. They could franchise him, worst case scenario and have 2 year period to see if he is the man to lead the team
Wow, Chip would LOVE to have the public buy into that logic at this point… Don’t think it’s likely though
this isn’t the most patient of fan bases. (though ironically the Sixers fans are quite the opposite, though the same city)
Wow. Chip does not care what the public thinks at this point.
Wow… would you believe he’d like to have the media believe that, at this point? I would
Going with Foles makes little sense at this point. If the plan is to with Foles, why not keep Shady and Mac and make a run for it. Franchising Foles would cost us almost $20mil next year. No way they pay that even if he lights it up. These moves only make sense if the offense is entering a 2 off season blow-up and rebuild. Foles is not going to be better than last year with no Shady, no Maclin and no Jackson with a hole at RG.
Goddddddddddd I hate the Sanchez signing, especially for that money. Sanchez, just like any other QB, benefited statistically by playing in our system. I bet we could have pulled someone off the scrap heap and gotten similar results. Maybe you can count on him to string together a .500 stretch in the middle of your season if your starter goes down but shit he is going to weigh you down drastically against good teams or in the postseason.
He’s so mistake prone too, why not get someone with a better track record there?
God I hate that.
I bet you anything that we could get similar production out of someone else.
who?
Kyle Orton, Josh Mccown, I don’t know what trash tier QB’s are out there right now? Sanchez was brutal for a lot of last year in a QB friendly system. I want no part of giving him 4.5 mil.
Edit: Find me a fast QB who can actually run the option properly, I’d take that. As long as he doesn’t have a noodle arm and turn the ball over all the time and his brain wasn’t made of cranberry jello I think he could do just as good for us as Sanchez.
he knows the system- as someone to plug in for a few weeks, he can play .500 ball which isnt horrible
Hate it. Can get someone else to do the same for cheaper. His decision making sucks, which is what chip wants the most for this system. He doesn’t have the wheels or the decision making to run the option properly. Why not roll the dice on someone else maybe turning up roses for you? This feels like such a “safe” move for all the other ballsy shit Chip is doing.
Seriously who? McCown is with the Browns. Orton isn’t a FA.
Hoyer? Matt Moore? Colt McCoy? Christian Ponder? Sanchez is better than all of them and we don’t have to waste time with them coming up to speed on the playbook.
That’s the truth. Sanchez sucks for sure. But, the other options were far worse. At least Sanchez will have no learning curve and can win a game or two if need be.
Without researching the issue, just going off your list I would take both Hoyer and Matt Moore, and possibly McCoy.
I think you forget how awful Sanchez was before he came to us, remember he only got 2 million to be our backup – that should tell you what the market thought of him before he got in our system.
Hower would be more expensive, if you’re considering either of those other 2 it’s purely b/c you don’t like sancehz not b/c they are better than he is.
I think Chip knows what he needs (vs what is available) better than anyone on this board.
But who else would give us food critiques in game?
Tommy, why do you like Marcus Gilchrist? The Chargersfans doesn’t seem very upset about losing him. The limited viewing i did of him showed me a safety who didn’t impress me in coverage and a guy who isn’t a reliable tackler. I think i’d prefer Searcy who the Buffalo fans doesn’t really want to lose, but damn the drop off from McCourty is huge.
Can’t say I’ve watched tons of film on him, but I wouldn’t necessarily take what a team’s fans say about a player as an accurate reflection of their abilities. In the FA preview series at PE.com, Greg Cosell thought he was the #2 FA safety after McCourty.
Saints fans didn’t exactly think they would miss Malcolm Jenkins either.
He had a great start, but leveled off down the stretch. Sounds like exactly the mid tier guy we signed up for. I can imagine them being happy to upgrade to guy like Byrd (at that time).
Losing out on Mccourtey and Maclin both… going to be interesting to see where we spend this truckload of FA money we’ve got. Lots of mid-tier FA’s incoming!
At this point, with McCourty and Mac off the table, I’d be much happier with a bunch of mid level talent on reasonable contracts. Sign a bunch of Barwin, Mathis players and hope you hit on some due to volue rather than overpaying for the few remaining name players available.
I’d sign two safeties, two CBs a OLB and a guard.
kaepernick has the wheels to make our option plays dangerous, but I wonder about his long release. A lot of our plays rely on the QB getting the ball out real fast after the snap, and Kaep has always had a long windup on his throws.
Please not Kaep… Anything other than MM makes no sense at this point.
And it would take Eagle fans quite a while to warm up to Kaep, Gore, etc, in lieu of Jackson, McCoy, Maclin. Very surprised if Lurie has given Chip THIS much leeway….
If we are NOT planning to trade the house for a QB, i think we keep to our guns this FA trying to build secondary and defense and leave offensive holes to the draft.
It is hard to play any of the simulator games and not come out with RB’s and WR’s being BPA at some point in the draft.
Round 1 Pick 20: T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh (A)
Round 2 Pick 20: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma (A)
Round 3 Pick 20: T.J. Yeldon, RB, Alabama (A)
Round 4 Pick 14: Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami (Fla.) (A)
Is totally possible (DGB excluded i doubt he falls that far)
If Chip’s not all in on MM at this point, then I think this offseason could be a washout
Yea…Foles (and Sanchez as well for that matter) strikes me as the type of player that needs some real talent around them to be succesful. I just don’t see the reason in blowing up all this offensive talent to go all in on Foles’ last year of his contract and hope that he’s the answer.
Seems obvious that the defense is in plug and play mode with a solid foundation in the front 7 and a free agency rebuild going on in the secondary.
The offense on the other hand seems like it’s in full blow-up and rebuild mode. Obviously, status quo was not good enough for Chip after last years offense sputtered down the stretch and he feels drastic changes need to be made. I’m not sure taking away Shady and Mac and seeing if we improve with Foles, Gore and Huff makes sense.
If Foles continues to be mediocre at best and the offense sputters we’re at the end of the road with him and either need to pay him top dollar, limiting our ability to sign other needed talent on offense or were in year 4 of Chip’s 5 year contract with no answer at QB and his ideal QB sitting on Tennessee’s roster. Either paying Foles a big contract to be surrounded by inferior talent or starting off with a rookie question mark at QB in year 4 makes no sense.
Giving Mariota this year to get his feet wet, the rest of this offseason and next to surround him with more young talent and having a young up and coming defense set and locked up for his prime 2-5 years seems like the play here.
You have a lot of faith in a guy who has never thrown a pass in the NFL. Are we on a 6 year plan with Chip?
I have no faith whatsoever. I know next to nothing about Mariota so he could be the next Tom Brady or the next Jamarcus Russell for all I know. I’m talking about what I think Chip thinks. I have a feeling Chip Kelly thinks he’s Jesus Christ with better abs mixed with the mind of Peyton Manning.
Given the recent moves, I think Chip going up and getting the guy he “thinks” is the answer, is a lot more likely than us continuing to wait it out with Foles, minus his two top weapons from last year.
Yep.Just been there for a couple of these ,and they didn’t work out very well. Jergenson for Snead, Roman Gabrail for a ton of draft picks ,etc.
Lest we forget Jack Concannon and Mike Boryla.
Great stuff.
It’s been a long list over the years.
indeed, it has. some great college players who flamed out in the NFL (Mira, Huarte, King Hill, Reaves).
a long, ugly list.
The real issue is Foles being on the last year of his deal. If he stays here this year we NEED to make an absolute decision about him after this year. That means he either he leaves next off season as a free agent and we have no one waiting in the wings or we sign him to an extension.
If Foles completely sucks, we don’t really know if that’s because he in fact sucks or because we took away all his weapons, but most likely that ends his time in Philly and we have a high draft pick to address QB next year. That’s the worst possible outcome and no coach wants to be in full rebuild mod with a rookie QB in year 4 of a 5 year deal.
If Foles is mediocre and we go say 8-8, we’re out of the running for top QBs, we again have to decide on paying Foles or moving on with whatever crappy rookie or FA options are available. And, if we decide to pay him even mid level QBs like Alex Smith make $17mil per year, so we’d be committing massive cap space to a question at QB. This is another shitty scenario.
If Foles lights it up next year despite losing Shady and Maclin…Awesome! But, now he’s going to need a $20mil contract at least to lock up long term and we still have a lot of holes to fill. Don’t forget that on top of CB, S, ROLB, WR and Guard, Peters and Mathis are both getting up there in age and need to be replaced. We also have to lock up Cox, Kendricks, Johnson, Ertz long term in the next few years. So his contract will severely limit our ability to do that. That’s all based off only one full year as an awesome starter too. That’s probably the only good outcome since we’d have a starting QB locked up moving forward, but it’s not even what I would call ideal, given the cap ramifications and the commitment to a player that has been seriously up and down throughout his career. It’s also, by far the least likely outcome to occur. Chances are that Foles doesn’t suddenly light up after we take away Shady and Maclin.
So, why would it make sense to set your team up in such a way that the only good outcome is also the least likely to occur? The answer is that it doesn’t make one lick of sense. If the plan is to figure out whether Foles is worth a huge extension, then it would make sense to give him the best possible chance at success. Keep McCoy and Maclin around and go all in all Foles. Try to win this year with a group who has had success in the past together and see if some tweeks here and there get them over the hump.
Getting rid of this much offensive talent, however, makes sense if the plan is a complete offensive overall. Shed the extra salary, get the QB that Chip wants in the middle of it. Have him cost controlled for the next 5 years, so we can build around him with young talent that fits what we want to do and build this offense to what Chip envisions.
I think is right on. And it’s all because the worst possible thing for strategic team-building happened last season: Foles had a mediocre year and got injured before the jury was truly out. It was our one year to really find out what we had in him before his value as an asset – whether we keep him or not as you say – starts to drop.
Exactly. Last year was our tread water with the status quo and see if that’s the direction we were heading in long term year.
By all accounts Chip was seriously miffed at missing the playoffs last year and was not at all happy that his offense (his baby) sputtered going down the stretch.
There’s a reason he asked for complete control of personell and by all acounts had an extremely detailed plan that convinced Laurie to neuter his golden child and give it to him. And, I’m sure the plan wasn’t let’s get rid of McCoy and Maclin and tread water with Foles for another year, because I really think my offense will take flight with Foles handing off to Frank Gore and throwing jump balls to Riley Cooper like it never could before with Jackson, Maclin and McCoy and silly Howie just won’t let me do it.
And, while I’m sure that he doesn’t see Sanchez as the savior and long term solution to his QB problem, that signing does not make me think that he’s just a back-up plan for us going all in with Foles. He’s the low risk place holder for something much more important.
Chip wanted to make some seriously unpopular moves to ultimately improve this team to reach the vision he has in his head. Everything points to him being head over heels in love with Mariota. He has a chance, albeit an expensive costly chance, to land his ideal QB this year. All these cost saving moves point towards him trying to offset the loss of draft picks to make that happen and the recent restructuing of the FO points to him having the next few years to put that plan in to practice.
Brandon Graham choosing between Dolphins, Titans and Giants…
I am hearing that him signing a contract, somewhere and with someone, is imminent.
You have great inside sources!
Inside the rectum in fact!
Your sources are not Mr High Percentage himself by any chance, are they?! 🙂
Excuse me, that’s Mr High Perscebtage.
lolezzzz
not the giants!
Who here doesn’t have nightmares of him putting up 15 sacks a year in New York?
i was thinking specifically of 6 in a game against us.
Nightmare scenario: Giants at Eagles, week 15. Brandon Graham beats the Eagles new starting RG on an inside stunt and strip sacks Marcus Mariota, who has looked completely lost all afternoon in going 13-29 for 112 yards and two picks. Frank Gore, kept in to block, fails to fall on the ball and the Giants scoop it up and return it for a TD to run the score to 38-10. As the Eagles fall to 3-11, Kelly gets testy in the post game press conference when asked about rumors linking him to the job at Texas, while Buccaneers fans, already enjoying a Nick Foles-led playoff run in a weak NFC South, gleefully discuss how their team can bolster itself to take the next step and become a perennial NFC power with the two top 5 picks they have coming in the next two years and the six top 90 picks they have this year. Meanwhile, Jeremy Maclin goes for 142 receiving yards and his 11th TD of the season in a 31-17 Chiefs victory over Denver that puts KC in the driver’s seat for the AFC West crown.
Not as far-fetched as I would like it to be.
Wow, that is a nightmare…
Wouldn’t be quite so bad if it were year 1 of Chip’s tenure, but taking apart an org after back-to-back 10 win seasons is a tougher sell…
What, does McCoy have a bye week?
ZING
Hah. Wanted to keep it to “nightmare” and short of “mass suicide”.
but before its over mariota leads the eagles to miracle in the meadowlands 3 capped off by maxwell picking off eli intended for OBJ and going the other way for the go ahead TD.
GE:
Where the heck are the Dolphins getting all this cap space?
Even the the players they’ve cut in the past week, Miami was at about $15.5M on Friday.
I happen to believe more and more that a salary cap doesn’t exist. Same with global warming.
Reports are we offered Mac just under 10M which I’d fair but he bloated for 11 that’s not Chips fault for not overpaying
Jimmy Kempski @JimmyKempski 15m15 minutes ago
I’ve heard that the Eagles think Josh Huff has more upside than Jordan Matthews.
Interesting.
More upside to do what? Be the best wr3? The comment gets a big… Whoopidy do…
I think the indication was rather having Huff playing outside than Matthews.
And keep Mathews in slot?
yeah he’s a mismatch for the brandon boykins of the world
and Huff is a mismatch outside with speed…i hope
I’m not buying Huff is a mis-match against anybody. I’m not buying what Kemp is shoveling…
Yep. That’s how I was reading that.
Chemistry with Mariota.
This 72 hour official tampering period is reminds me of my wife’s 72 hour labor. Knew what was coming – all the build up was crap – just gimme the payload already. MM new baby QB.
did you tell her to move it along?
No, that would have gotten me moved to “Director of player Personnel” or something demoted’ish like that…
You forgot about listening to the blowhards every couple minutes, people telling you with absolute certainty what you were getting, and the gaping holes uncovered in the process.
Did you follow MM when he was at St. Louis, HE?
Have to think if the Dolphins signed Graham that Jordan is on his way out. I don’t think he fits as a 4-3 LB. He’d be 4th in the rotation after Wake, Vernon, and Graham.
talked to my friend who’s a diehard Dolphins fan. He said he would take our 3rd rounder for Dion in a heartbeat.
Does Dion still stink as a passrusher? If so why do we need him.
Who knows, was doing crystal meth last year and stuck behind Wake and Vernon.
he sucks at everything
how would the Dolphins signing BG change their interest to trade Dion for Curry?
By a lot I would assume. Unless they’d like to have a DL with Suh, BG and Curry.
Unless they view Curry as a DT in a 4-3, they wouldn’t need Curry after signing Graham. And they just signed Suh to be DT. They would want some other type of compensation.
I thought Curry was in fact best rushing from the DT position, but what do I know.
His first step at DT is elite.
Probably what it would take. We’d be paying for the Dolphins taking a cap hit as much as for the player.
I think the discussion with Mac has a little bit to do with something Chip talked about when asked about his desired measurables and his famous quote of, “big people beat up little people.”
When asked how strict his rules were, Chip said something to the effect of, of course we can and will make expetions on a player by player basis. I’m not gonna get rid of a top player or not draft a really talented player because he doesn’t fit all my size criteria. But, I also don’t want to make expections a routine thing. Then you end up with an undersized NT with undersized ILBs behind him and a set of small tweener safeties behind them. That’s a problem for us and what we want to do.
While you can make a case for going above our set contract value on Mac due to the lack of set starters at the position and the loss of McCoy, ect, Chip might be looking at this from the perspective of big picture and whether Maclin was worth making the exception for. Because, while an extra $2mil per year for Maclin alone wouldn’t make a huge difference, if any team were to start giving an extra $2mil to every player on it’s team that’s of Maclin’s skill level they’d very quickly find themselves with a depleted roster.
Maclin’s great, but he was not a difference maker in any way. There is nothing in his game that was elite or irreplacable. Hard to justify that kind of money for a player like that at one of footballs most easily replacable positions.
we basically gave sanches an extra 2 mil .. 9 gt’d and up to 16 with incentives ?? disgusting ..and if they don’t believe he can reach those incentives then whats the point!
..
cut shady saving 10 mil and sign a much older RB for 5 ..net savings like 4 mil (including the bills guys’ moola included) .. that’s not a huge win for us .. its deck chairs in the atlantic
..
is jeff maehl really going to be part of solution ..yikes his biceps are smaller than mine almost. hey I wish I was living his life, but I don’t see him as a difference maker. and I am game to see how and what young josh huff does ..but he is still just a project player
The QB market (even on the margins) is ridiculous now. There was an ESPN piece about that this morning.
I like the incentives for a backup QB. Paying him more if he actually gets significant playing time seems fair to both sides.
It is how you get him to sign a 2 year deal, if you don’t put those incentives then no way you get him to sign for 2 years. And obviously they like him as a backup/locker room guy.
i agree with the structure ok .but not the amount .. id rather have any aging QB with experience
Interestingly . . . Kelly’s given us the H/W/S for 21 positions.
sorry, ACV, I’m not sure what you’re saying…what are you getting at?
Oh . . . didn’t mean to be so cryptic.
Kelly’s kept his formula for what ingredients make the optimal QB in his system more secret than Coca Cola’s century-plus formula (minus the cocaine).
Has he? I bet Sproles and Huff don’t fit
Ok . . . 20.
My point was Chip isn’t going to pass on talented players because they don’t meet these predetermined set of measurables. He would be foolish too.
The HWS requirements forcing a player out this offseason are about the only reason I put any stock into Kendricks being possibly traded.
Note: This is just me complaining.
Steven A Smith is a waste of space and an idiot. He’s saying today that CK got rid of Maclin and Shady because he wants a white team. I guess signing Gore, Maxwell, and going after McCourty doesn’t count.
SAS is a big a tool as the guy he sits across from. It’s like it’s a requirement for him and Skip Bayless to say a bunch of stupid stuff per day.
I thought you must have misunderstood something because I figured no one, not even Smith, would be stupid enough to say something like this. I looked it up and, yea, Smith is that stupid.
I had to look it up too. Still SMH.
shocked you guys had to look that up…I might be more shocked that people actually listen to that idiot.
wow what a kook.
heh
But what about cutting Herremans??? Pretty sure he is white or because he has been known to partake in the MJ smokey smoke he is an outlier…….too damn funny…..
herremans didn’t go to Oregon so obviously that’s all there was to that decision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slSOTCqzChI&t=30
This is one of the most ignorant things I’ve ever heard from a journalist in any field. Actually, from any human being. It’s insulting and inflammatory. I hope there’s blowback on this. Smith should apologize. Trying to establish his street creed by referring to “brothers walking around saying…” is bs.
I was done with him a long time ago, but I was really upset with the DJax stuff. It’s okay to flash gang signs because that’s where he’s from. But Riley Cooper using the n-word isn’t okay even though that’s where he came from.
I really can’t stand SAS, and I hate this race-baiting that he does. Plenty of real issues of racism, and football isn’t it.
wow, that’s some backward logic.
I know. He’s not necessarily the brightest bulb on the christmas tree.
To be honest, if I were black (and had experienced a lot of racism first hand) I might have an eye brow raised at #culture (watching the Eagles turn Patriot levels of white) on a hot take until I talked myself out of it, definitely wouldn’t imply Chip is a racist on national television no matter how hot the take, though.
I dunno makes a lot of sense. That’s why Kelly is NOT going to draft Mariota -forget draft position, MM ain’t white enough.
LOL – and so we get to keep Foles!
Sanchez is kind of like a white guy but add him up with Barkley and you’ve got at least enough cracker for two white dudes.
GEAGLE is gonna be sad when Foles is traded….
nahh….so long as there are “idiots/morons” working in the media……GEagle will have something to rail on……
Yous a fool!
Not looking good for his percentages…
I am going to be sad when Foles is traded. Especially if we have to give up a lot of picks.
Mike Iupati to Jets, Michael Crabtree to Bills
It’s fake
You’re right. It came from the Sacramento Bee newspaper but the reporter got punked
(as did I, by extension)
ugh
rather have crabtree than Andre Johnson but Im probably in the minority on that one
Patrick Willis planning to retire…..wonder if that bad knee injury to his boy Bowman caused him to rethink life…..
WTF Gil:
Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt 55s55 seconds ago
I know #Eagles 1st pick in draft. Sealed name in envelope, mailed to colleague @Andy_Fenelon. To be opened 4/30.
Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt 10s10 seconds ago
Two things about #Eagles pick:
1) It’s not Mariota
2) It’s contingent on player still being there (he should be)
Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt 1m1 minute ago
I could be wrong on #Eagles pick, but I like my odds.
10-1 I’m right.
Who do you think it will be?
Interesting.
Jaelon Strong.
Maybe in a few years after we draft him, he’ll stay home instead of chasing $1m more like some other ungrateful WR.
1 MILLION is a lot of money. Over 4 to 5 years that’s enough to pay for 10 of his children’s and 10 of their children’s college tuition.
I’ll never fault a player for taking more money.
I’m not going to rant about Maclin yet since he hasn’t inked the deal with the Chiefs yet. But when you say you want to be here and won’t meet the middle ground with the team then screw you.
Contingent on the player still being there? Really going out on a limb there.
hundley obviously
That would make sense.
I am a hell of a lot more comfortable with Hundley at 20 than with Mariota at 2 or 1 and all that entails. Think they have very comparible upside (Mariota is just coming form a better situation).
yeah hundley looks tough with a good arm, similar type of offense.
Marcus would be better for us though.
If you say so, but Hundley will be there at 20? If not, I’m not willing to trade up for him
Jake Fisher , Jaelen Strong, or Jalen Collins please
Just speculation from him probably he’s thing Brett
Trae Wayneeessssss
it has to be Jake Fisher though. Oregon bias duhh
Is he in a position to know anything?
we can all guess…
Only way this offseason (so far) makes any sense is if they grab Mariotta…
My guess is Brett Hundley (since it assumes we don’t trade up to draft Mariota).
You guys realize this is exactly what he wants you to do, right? Play his little game?
Fine. Does this still involve trading up, just not for the player we thought? If so, Vic Beasley. If not, Trae Waynes.
Troll level: Gil Brandt.
That’s easy. It’ll be whichever Oregon player is projected to go in round 2.
BC delivers!
Geez, all this shakeup and he doesn’t go for Mariota, but takes a flyer on a decent prospect in Hundley? I hope that’s not how it goes down.
word
Regarding the Huff has a higher upside than Matthews thing..I don’t really agree. Huff and Matthews aren’t WRs that can go up and get the ball (Matthews irks the living hell out of me because of it how are you 6’3 and don’t know how to use your size?????). Personally, I think at least 10 WRs this year are better than both of them.
Just because there is 10 WRs you like in the draft more than both, does not mean that Huff cant be better than Matthews.
Anders live in the present not the future. Huff has done nothing as of now but return a extremely well blocked kickoff return to warrant playtime.
Again, why does 1 thing exclude the other? I liked Huff more than Matthews last year, and I can 100% see why Kelly might like Huff more on the outside than Matthews, but I also have a good number of WRs I like above both
Again, why does 1 thing exclude the other? I liked Huff more than Matthews last year, and I can 100% see why Kelly might like Huff more on the outside than Matthews, but I also have a good number of WRs I like above both
Matthews while not anything special showed that he can produce without screwing up as often as Huff. It’s not excluding anything. Huff may or may not ever adjust to the NFL level, that is something no one really knows yet.
Matthews > or = Maclin
Never a Huff fan — never will be. If he hadn’t gone to Oregon, he wouldn’t even be on this team….
Two things:
First. I find it amusing that Kelly likely talked to Tom Gamble about how healthy Gore was before pulling the trigger.
Second. Any chance we are going to go after Julius Thomas? Just wondering given that it doesn’t look like we will break the bank for a WR.
I think Thomas was offered 9mil a year by the Jaguars.
Yeah Cameron is more likely it anyone
He needs to call it quits. He’s had like 4-5 concussions…
With the Rams apparently being the front-runners to land Foles in a trade, what do you think will the compensation look like?!
Somehow I feel that swapping first round picks may not be enough for Nick from an Eagles point of view???
Who will play QB if they trade Foles? MM isn’t falling to 9 or 10 where they pick.
Mark Sanchez, sure it’s more than we want to pay for a back up, but paying a starter for that money is a steal! #sportsscience
Well, if sport science could help him not get rattled, I guess it could work. Maybe a pill that would erase any emotion or feeling.
hundley
Would you take Hundley that early?
doesn’t matter, you wait and he’s gone.
take who you want and don’t let anyone else get him.
I am not Hundley’s biggest fan, but I agree with this thinking.
how does this make sense? Hundley worth major dealings, but MM to worth even more major dealings? i.e. “Value” (Chip’s favorite word, lol) does not seem to be there for Hundley pick
If we get the Rams 2nd round pick for Foles, we’ll have to move up past the Jets to get him if he falls out of the first round.
Hundley may be there at 20
Any details on what we’ll get for Foles?
Nope, only that other teams are also interested.
That’s why we can only guess what a fair compensation would be.
If the ultimate plan to get is to get Mariota, then the Eagles would be making a huge mistake in trading him now.
I wouldn’t trade Foles to move up 10 spots. The most I would do is Foles and our 2nd for pick #10.
Agreed. If we can draft Hundley at #10 and still keep pick #20, then we could give our new QB a nice toy at WR.
Dream scebario: Kevin white at 10. Hundley at 20.
That would be awesome. In this case you would have basically traded Foles + 2nd for Hundley and Kevin White.
Quit getting me excited! Can’t take anymore disappointment lol
Kevin White at 10 and trade down if there’s no CB/OL worth the pick for Hundley. That’s a dream scenario.
whoa whoa whoa whoa
Have we gotten to the point that we would be excited with taking Hundley with a 1st round pick??
The fickle winds of change
If foles is gone and Sanchez is our starter, then YES! Things are bleak here these days.
That time of the year. Weren’t we talking about trading down for EJ Manuel at this point?
thank you Donald!
Hundley at #10? I think I’d rather wait to see what next year’s QB class looks like.
The twitterverse it out of control.
That’s the tweet I was referring. Thanks for embedding it.
Figured, I need to make a couple twitter accounts to follow stuff.
So if we got Tavon Austin and a 2nd round pick for Foles..how happy would you guys be?
not happy. he should be going to the Jets.
An undersized slot receiver who’s done nothing to justify his Top 10 draft status?
Maybe Sam Bradford instead?
Bradford still has that outrageous contract but he’s a FA after this year. I don’t think we should absorb it.
what?!
Mr. Magee . . .
A touch of irony, there.
Kelly’s the QB whisperer who’s bent on making Mark Sanchez part of his core group.
So lets see what Kelly can do with Bradford . . . then tag him and flip him for a 1st Rd pick . . . at the same time Kelly’s flipping Sanchez, still under contract, for another 1st Rd pick.
Ok, I got ya 🙂
So many other players I rather want than Austin now that we have Huff and Sproles.
True but I couldn’t think of anyone else the Rams would want to part with besides underachieving Austin.
could kelly get on of those stud DLineman?
For Foles? Sure if we’re talking about a straight up trade but for picks? Probably not.
Benjamin Allbright@AllbrightNFL
Foles to Rams talk is legit.
The Rams are so perfect for Nick.
They are. But going into the draft with Mark Sanchez as our “starter” is frightening…
Sanchez . . . starter.
May be enough to take the season off in Portugal.
Suck for..(insert QB here if we don’t draft one)
or I’ll just stick with my original Suck for Ezekiel Elliot.
This. None of us can get away from the train wreck though.
Can’t look away, indeed
Who’s the new OC there?
I think you’d like this answer presented in this format:
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16043/looking-at-frank-cignettis-oc-history
Couldn’t have asked for more.
Interesting choice for OC by Fisher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVEcBMx4i60
Interesting stuff about our RB of the future.
I think the Pats will sign Sheard and the Titans will sign Worilds
Take your negativity elsewhere!!!!!
And us?!
And we trade for DION JORDANZ
I’m confused by these posts. First we heard they were talking to teams about Foles. When did we jump to they are trading him to the Rams, and possibly ahead of and not contingent on a trade for MM. Are there sources for any of this, or are you all running amok in here?
Check this guy’s timeline:
https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL
ok we might be shopping Foles. Until something happens, could mean anything. I still like to think it means we have a deal in place for MM. Maybe Foles wasn’t part of it, now they have the MM deal finalized and can push to trade Foles? who knows.
I don’t think Chip is trading Foles with no deal for MM in place. That doesn’t make sense.
agree, but who knows at this point!
Re: The Return of Sanchez
I wonder, if Foles had been hurt in one of the early games, when the O-line was imitating a sieve, how Sanchez would have looked to Kelly?
By week 8 against Houston — when Sanchez replaced Foles — the O-line started 4 of the 5 projected Day-1 starters. And Mathis was just 1 more full game away from returning.
Sanchez v. WASH (I) . . . no O-line starters in the 4th Q
Sanchez v. SF . . . 2 O-line starters
Sanchez v. Rams . . . 3 O-line starters, with Molk anchoring
Sanchez v. ARZ . . . etc
______________
Maybe Kelly wouldn’t cared.
Maybe Kelly’s banking on the (non-scientific) rule that injuries come in clusters.
I get that the 2nd-string QB market’s barren.
Heck, the 1st-string QB market’s pretty barren.
But Sanchez?
As my 2nd-grade teacher once said to my best friend (still) about a drawing of his house . . . “PRETTY SICK LOOKING”.
Strong, true. But visceral.
Three team trade with rams and titans. We end up with the titans second pick for MM. Rams end up with Foles and Titans with 10th pick and other picks. Makes no sense to trade up for Hundley who will be there at 20.
Depends what Foles value is. If it is outright no.10 then it makes a lot of sense, get a pass rusher or stud WR there and pick Hundley at 20.
That’s if TB doesn’t take him with #1.
Eagles and Tampa swap picks for like a 5th or we take Winston.
See, the Winston thing is the problem. Winston strenght is his track record in a pro style offense – something that’s not that important for Chip, one has to assume.
The negative is Winston not being 100 percent football guy and out of all positions, Kelly won’t tolerate this at the QB position. Say what you want about Nick, but he’s really good about that part of being a QB. Even his strongest critics have to admit that.
I thought it would go Jets – Titans.
That would check off all the boxes that common wisdom says is needed to make sense, and so is probably completely wrong.
I guess I have a little more faith in our HC than most.
We all need to remember 3 years ago, he was coaching College.
Most coaches make a slow transition from College the pros so he gets the benefit of a two year learning curve at the very least, if you ask me.
Now that he is in year 3, he sees things through much more experienced eyes and I trust he knows the value of each position at this point.
He saw Maclin was a very good receiver, but just not a #1 that commands a huge salary. To me, he never lived up to a #1 WR in any, way shape or form.
He is and always will be a #2 at best.
I believe Matthews can be a #1 and Cooper can be a #3.
That means we need to draft or sign a WR #2 or a #1 if we can.
We also need good depth but thats another story.
As far as getting Gore? I love the idea of having a RB with his traits.
No dancing, but he does have some wiggle to his game. He’s a beast of a runner who hits the hole like a freight train and plows ahead falling forward.
We will love Gore, as he is exactly what we needed at RB. A guy that hits the hole hard, and has the size and strength to break tackles. You never see him dancing while losing yards, not his style.
I am also a big fan of Gilchrist too, I hope we get him.
I agree. I like all Chip’s moves so far. He won’t hit 100%, but he is making tough calls on value etc. And in trades like the Shady one, his GM hat was on. The short-term coach play would be to just pay Shady.
gore is like an anvil he will put the hurt on some folks..
he will be good for the eagles.
Cleaning out older players on big contracts . . . Ozzie Newsome does that every year.
But Sanchez as a starter just hurts to think about.
Please, there must be more.
Maybe Matt Barkley is our future franchise QB!
I hoped so for a year or two. But I don’t think so anymore.
Barkley doesn’t have the NFL arm that Sanchez does, apparently.
Or the keen decision-making abilities of Sanchez.
49ers Losses: Mike Iupati, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Harbaugh, Crabtree
49ers gains: Torrey Smith, Darnell Dockett
Let’s hope they don’t lose Kaepernik!
I’m fine if we get Kaepernick for Foles.
I’m not. And that’s not happening anyway
If Chip pulls off a successful ladder trade up and gets good value for Foles, I’m going to be even more impressed.
By “ladder trade up,” how far do you mean?
It’s never been done in NFL history, i.e., a double-move to go from the latter portion of Rd 1 to the very top.
that’s why it’s going to kick ass. I mean to 2 or 1, jumping from 10 or 6 or wherever.
Again . . . would be a truly historical accomplishment.
the first of many.
You’re going to be extremely impressed when he mortgages the future and puts all the franchise’s eggs in the Marcus Mariota basket?
I’ll say this – if that happens, I’ll be more impressed by Kelly’s cojones than by his football acumen. I have a strong feeling his reputation for the latter will end up taking a huge hit from such a move.
I think Chip’s given this some thought. I love how I am defending and you are attacking (or questioning) a trade that has no parameters yet. I just hope it happens tomorrow and not draft day, so we can have our 3,000 post column and all work through this together. I can’t wait until draft day, my heart can’t take it. Just tell me what we’re giving up already!!
If Mariota falls to the 10-12 range and all they have to give up for him in addition to their own first rounder is a 2nd round pick or the equivalent, I’ll be fine with it. It’s the “trade the next 3 drafts to move up to number one” scenarios people are talking about that upset me.
there are outcomes in between those two. My guess is we don’t wait for 10-12 range but we don’t trade the next 3 drafts either. I wish we could know already.
Re: Foles fans
Two of the more vocal Foles supporters in the locker room — guys on the record with the media — were Maclin and McCoy.
Gone.
Gone.
Who exactly were the Sanchez locker-room guys?
Just wondering? Not an ironical question.
chip and shurmer?
cooper?
the chicken fingers guy?
Chip and Shurmer . . .
the only guys who count
Herremans also made some very strong pro-Foles comments after the season.
I don’t think Chip is trying to purge Foles supporters, but there is a chance he could lose the locker room if Foles is traded elsewhere and succeeds and Sanchez/rookie QB stink up the joint here.
I don’t think there is a more damning statement about a guy who started half the season than:
“Who exactly were the Sanchez locker-room guys?
Just wondering? Not an ironical question.”
They re signed Sanchez and Mac ran to KC. Does that give an idea?
if foles is on the rams, I will root for them this year as my second favorite team to watch, then the bills too.
and what about Bradford?
Given some of Kelly’s comments about Sanchez last year, I do wonder just how much of a ‘fan’ of Sanchez he still is at this point.
Just strikes me as a ‘hedge’ signing even if it was a bit of an overpay. Sanchez was arguably the best backup available in FA & knows Kelly’s system.
exactly, best backup you’ll get honestly, 2 years 4.5m isn’t terrible — damn that’s a lot of money to each chicken fingers on the side line
Price of chicken is going up.
I wonder if the chicken fingers were negotiated into the contract? Something like free chicken finger orders (fcf) will be credited using the formula:
fcf = 4 + (# of completions/pass attempts * 1.25) + ((# of touchdowns – # of intercepts) * .75) + (games started * 2) + (games entered * 1)
One order for each preseason game, one free order per game, with incentives to earn more based on playing time and performance.
Wonder just how many chicken fingers at the Linc it would buy even at inflated prices?
I can’t support it though, I absolutely killed the Cowboys about paying Kyle Orton 10.5 over 3 years. The eagles paying a minimum of 5.5 and up to 16 over 2 years is the Karma I brought down upon us, I’m so sorry everyone.
Pssh, you only get chicken thumbs from here on out.
I wouldn’t pay Maclin 11m a yr. Im still a fan of Maclin and I’m glad he had a great year here. Chiefs def over paid , best of luck to them.
You do have to ‘wait and see’ until the draft but more and more I get the impression that Kelly is flying by the seat of his pants & going to put all of his chips into the center of the table for Mariota.
My friend says he bets that Kelly does get Mariota but pays the king’s ransom. In doing so, he handicaps the franchise enough so that they aren’t able to substantially improve enough to become anything more than a 9-10 win team over the next 2-3 years.
Kelly leaves with a year remaining or his deal or after his deal is up because he is frustrated to return to a lucrative job with a premier program in college football.
your friend is wrong! he’s not going to give up the king’s ransom. that’s why he’s Chip Kelly.
I am glad to see I am not the only one who has not lost the faith.
I have so much faith if we don’t get MM I will be shattered.
nah 12-4 next year.
I have a friend that’s says we will be undefeated, now what?
That scenario is extremely concerning. It’s also increasingly plausible.
Snider was determined to get Lindros hell or high water too. Really the last time I can think back of an athlete that a Philly FO figure was utterly fascinated with regardless of the price. Maybe Halladay and Amaro because Amaro pursued him for nearly 2 years even if the price wasn’t nearly as high.
Flyers only really improved after the Feb 1995 trade that sent Recchi to Montreal for LeClair and Desjardins. LeClair became the winger that Lindros desperately needed and Desjardins their staple on defense & the PP.
oh my god, Chip >>>>>>>>>> Snider >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Amaro
9 – 10 wins if we were going to give up the kings ransom…. we would challenged to go 8-8…..as we need to replace OL in both Peters and Mathis very soon…..at best we need to find replacements in the next couple of years…..Lets not get into some other holes that need to filled in FA…..
That was best-case scenario. He basically was saying a marginal playoff team.
Bob…I am just messing around….we still got holes to fill and I just don’t think giving up multiple first rounders for anyone at this stage is worth it…..
Panthers re-signed QB/WR Joe Webb.
Thought so.
As in that his twitter was pretty indicative to me that would happen.
I think he genuinely does have interest from other teams, but Webb wanted to move back to the South and stay there.
“I think he genuinely does have interest from other teams”
I think there could be some CFL teams dying to sign him.
He’s just a WR…….LOL
Hometown discount.
Birmingham doesn’t have a team!
Now it’s apparently down to Giants and Eagles for Brandon Graham!
He gone!
Now these rumors might not be true. I personally don’t think BG will be back. I don’t want to see Mr. High Percentage missing out on another prediction, though.
saw that. but saw another tweet that said eags havent had any contact with BG. hopefully it’s a case he’ll give eags a final call to match an offer
Poor BG is going to be so worn out when he plays against us.
Okay whuh? Gil Brandt is intimating that the Eagles will not get Mariota, but a different QB, assumed on my part to be Hundley, should he still be there when the Eagles pick.
I know a QB who’d kick ass in Philly’s college system but they too racist.
Hey, Philly’s college system still think Barkley’s a QB…
If only they played more games on Tuesdays. Joe Webb is the winningest QB in NFL history on Tuesdays
To paraphrase a movie line from Ghostbusters:
‘There is no plan, There is only Mariota’
Alright…..thinking we need to look at 1 safety, 1 CB, 1 safety, 1 OLB, 1 WR and 1 OL potentially in FA…..who do you like and for how much?
That’s is a long laundry list of needs now.
Safety: Searcy. Keep an eye on Tashaun Gipson, Browns RFA. Still not tendered yet.
CB: Draft
OLB: Sheard, Ayers, Worilds, Morgan
WR: Draft
OL: Boling, Draft
Gibson tendered
Late breaking news. I’d give up a 2 for him. I assumed he would get a 1st. Risky play. Def worth keeping an eye on still.
CSN Philly’s Geoff Mosher disputes a report that the Eagles are still in the running to sign free agent Brandon Graham. Specifically, Mosher says to “beware” reports the Eagles are still in play.
Wow — but who is going to chase the passer?
Obviously we are just going to blitz a DB or two every time, because they’re faster than OLBs.
probably a combination of players from free agency and the draft?
sheesh — I go away for couple of hours and now everybody has Foles being traded….slow down peeps….unless there’s a nugget from OD – Foles is NOT going anywhere…
Still negotiating. Lots of back channel twitter disinformation. Kinda like a Statue of Liberty play.
TY — now get back in there and don’t come out until a deal is done! LMAO.
You are the user I wanted to see. 🙂
Heh:
Benjamin Allbright @AllbrightNFL · 2h2 hours ago
Can confirm #Rams have “upped their offer” for Foles from what they floated in January, do not know specifics of that offer or current one.
Benjamin Allbright @AllbrightNFL · 2h2 hours ago
I don’t have any info on specifics at this time, & hope I’m not being used as a back channel leak to further negotiating leverage w/ Titans.
And if a trade does happen it will occur on draft day. Not 2 months prior when the Eagles have no idea how the draft will play out.
Chip be rolling around Novacare like…
like what?
Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter 49s49 seconds ago
Patriots not picking up $20 million option in Darrelle Revis’ contract; now set to become free agent Tuesday.
Make an offer chip
means nothing. Pats are still leaders to re-sign him.
I would rather fuck with the Chiefs and call Justin Houston to tell him about the joys of Philly Cheesesteaks and playing alongside Fletcher Cox. He is unhappy, Chiefs have no cap room, if we’re going for crazy targets, i’ll take Houston. Maybe we can trade a 3rd rounder and Riley Cooper who had 3 more TDs, than every Chiefs WR.
Steal our Mac, I’ll steal you fucking pass rusher!
If by steal you mean give up two first round picks and $15 million a year.
Can’t they agree to a trade?
That’s the trade. They could “trade” him but you wouldn’t like what it costs, especially since you’ve got to sign Houston to a monster deal.
Yes they can agree on a lesser compensation.
Why would they.
What other people said, trade for him, not pay the tag price of 2 first rounders. Still ridiculously unrealistic, but its fun to think about. The entire “plan” is based on Houston being so unhappy he doesn’t want to play for Chiefs and lowering his value to someting like a second. Then theres the contract, which will be huge.
https://twitter.com/Rotoworld_FB/status/575015021261905920
That could work out with the cap space we have this year, we take most of the toll this year and soften it after
I’d rather give a little more to sign Jason Worilds.
Where does your faith in worilds come from? Steelers fan don’t really believe in him, makes me worried.
$30M for 4 years for a role player in this scheme? Easy decision to let him walk if that is the case.
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
Patriots not picking up $20 million option in Darrelle Revis’ contract; now set to become free agent Tuesday.
I WANT HIM. Legion of Boom reloaded, just with lesser Safety play. 😀
that was obvious to me when they signed McCourty
For me, too. But I’m only half kidding. Since we missed on McCourty and Maclin, we have some wiggle room. If you give me Maxwell and Revis, I don’t care about the safety as long as he’s a little bit better than Nate. Which shouldn’t be too hard to do for solid, not huge money.
But it won’t be easy. Pats will have an offer, the Jets probably will break the bank. Remember, Bowles likes to bring exotic blitzes, you need good CBs for that and he has 0 good CBs on the roster.
He’s just too expensive if you’re not a SB calibur team. Pats used him right.
He’s expensive, yes. And it probably won’t happen. But he’s just so damn good and he fits the #culture perfectly. I hoped for a few weeks now that McCourty or Revis become available. McCourty was and we were all in, I hope the same goes for Revis, altough, to be clear, the need for a CB is not the same (anymore) as the need for Safety.
But in an unorthodox way, you would fill the need for a Safety with Revis (kind of). Even Nate couldn’t f*ck up too many plays if Revis and Maxwell are covering the WRs. Safety play helps CBs, but it goes the other way around, too.
You’re tying up at least $15m for a soon to be declining player. Champ Bailey was a phenomenal athlete but even he couldn’t stop father time.
Revis play hasn’t exactly missed a step last year… +, I would argue that what makes Sherman and Revis great isn’t their speed, but their anticipation and their vision. Hell, Sherman isn’t fast for a CB. Was never fast.
So was Nnamdi.
I’m not saying all slow CBs are good. Otherwise, I could be a good CB. 😉
think Pats have same issue with Browner. doubt Revis being cut is even news in novacare. but Browner might be
But does Browner fit #culture?
i dont give a ratzass. this point, i’d sign Hardy
graham has always said he wants to be here, if he chooses the giants well then, that’s as bad as it gets
don’t think he has other options.
the eagles
mosher said eagles not interested
Makes it super weird that we apparently just resigned him.
yeah you’re right
With the amount of information out there, it still baffles me how a reporter who is supposed to be knowledgeable about Philly, can be so wrong to feel confident saying we have NO interest in him.
Mosher slam!
bg coming home. 4 yrs 26m 14m g’d. per mcnamus
really? Awesome!
Quite a discount from the rumors of what he was expecting. Chip Kelly you racist, pay him like a white dude.
yup, he played the market and lost. i thought 4yrs 30m with 18m g’d. market last yr for BG type was pretty aggressive. wasnt it griffen who got 3yrs 30m w/ 20m g’d?
5 years 42.5m$
guaranteed money is what matters. he’ll never see that 5th yr, might just be thrown in to extend prorated bonus. my guess is it’ll look like a 3yr deal, with salary ballooning in 4th, sort of like how shady’s did. if bg is terrible, can get out after 2, but let’s hope it doesnt come to that.
Good news. I’m sure not what Graham expected and if he’s happy, but I like it. Fair avg., fair guar. Graham is one of those players where I can see upside with more playing time.
Yes!
Tim McManus @Tim_McManus 1m1 minute ago
Two sources close to Graham suggest he’s returning to Eagles. 4 years, 6.5 million per, $14 million guaranteed.
This seems okay. Good deal for both parties.
In general, the pass-rusher market hasn’t been as hot as I expected. Jerry Hughes got $8M per from Buffalo. I was expecting him to land a deal closer to $10M a year. I think depth of pass-rushing OLBs in this year’s draft may be affecting market.
Home Discount
Stephen A must have guilted them into signing another black guy
I didn’t see that but Stephen Smith is a complete idiot.
eags held tight and got their number. think bg was at 16m g’d and eags were closer to 10m during season. not sure it really matters, either way he’s a 2 yr liability.
I don’t think he’s a liability but I don’t know if he’s a full-time starter either. Best role is rotational pass-rusher.
Maybe we can get T. Cole back now??
liability as in, he’s on the team no matter what, per money. i dont mean his play.
MKSP (if you see this):
Graham’s deal is the flip side of Maclins . . .
The market set the price.
Graham came back here at just $14m guaranteed for a supposed Rush OLB — and less than McPhee! — because no other team in the NFL saw him as worth any more.
Maclin? Just the opposite.
Graham would be going to the Raiders if they offered him more money than the Eagles.
Great kid. Bad scheme.
And couldn’t beat out a 32 year-old converted DE for 2 years.
The market’s spoken.
Awesome news!
Pretty reasonable contract. Less than McPhee — could have been more expensive. Dispels the assumptions about him having to go to 4-3 team.
he had no market
I can’t decide if that’s good or bad…
for us good, we know what he is represents value over guys like Worlids who can’t rush the passer.
Sounds really weird why, so either NFL teams are stupid (100% is) or media/fans overrated Graham (most likely also 100% true)
yeah he’s meh status in my book, but so are the rest of the guys that are out there, we’ve been discussing for a while whether Worlids or any of those other guys are actually good,
I have zero clue how McPhee got more than Graham.
I 100% take Graham over Worilds, Graham can rush the passer and I still value that the most in my OLB.
I think he had a market. The market for pass-rushers in general is somewhat depressed.
geagle called this one I think
anon called this a couple of hours ago, GEAGLE co-signed.
Then I change my mind — I hate the deal.
Yes, it is good for his percentages. He needs those hits though with Foles most likely getting traded.
Per Mosher on twitter:
Whiffed on that one!
maybe he meant “be aware”
Mosher is a hack!
Mosh’s headed to the same bag with Roob, Les, and Spuds.
Not as high as some reported but still not a fan. Just not a good fit for this scheme and seems questionable value lot for a player who is on the field for maybe 50-60% of the defensive snaps.
might be on the field more now though, no cole.
If he gets most or all of Cole’s time this year, then Smith was a real bust.
So if Graham gets most of Cole’s time and Smith gets Graham’s, how is that busting? that would mean Smith got around 40% of the snaps
You would hope a 1st round pick in his 2nd year is getting on the field more than that.
I would bet it would be more around 30-35%. Basically a role player.
Smith was the 26th pick, essentially a 2nd rounder (there is never 32 1st round talents in a draft), so would you call Ertz a bust for not getting starter snaps in year 2?
You don’t get to rewrite the rounds. 26th is a first rounder, like it or not.
But NFL teams do not put draft picks in boxes like that, they put them in tiers and give them round grades and there is never more than 15 guys who get 1st round grades, so the 2nd half of the 1st round consist of a lot of 2nd round graded targets.
That’s fine, but there are 32 picks in that round………all of whom are contractually treated differently than picks 33 through the end.
True, but you cant treat the 26th pick like you would the 6th pick.
True, but you cant treat the 26th pick like you would the 6th pick.
Agreed, and I certainly wouldn’t.
No but I don’t think Ertz made much progress either as a player last year. He did have more catchers but that was almost solely a result of that fluky Skins game where Sanchez was literally throwing him on every down for an extended stretch.
His blocking was still pretty shaky & kept him off the field more than he should have been.
But that still does not make him a bust.
I think Green Bay picked Rodgers 31st. Not bad.
I think Green Bay picked Rodgers 31st. Not bad.
But sat him for a while to be fair.
Yeah. Behind the other bum QB they had.
This knock on B. Graham seems a red herring. He was kept from snaps because of scheme and other personnel. And becuase Jim Wasbhurn was an idiot who didn’t want to play him. Didn’t Tommy emphasize his motor in college as being a plus?
The question on Graham was whether he could play in space occasionally as the Predator in this scheme. I think he answered that this past season.
Andre Johnson cut. Is he worth the $$?
yes!!!!!!!!!
Depends on the $$. 😉
Would be cheaper than Maclin at least. Make it happen
yes, he is someone defenses would game plan for right?
and break tackles and goes deep and red zone.
and a vet for Jmatt and Huff to work with
He knows how to high-point, which we haven’t seen much of since Buddy Ryan cut Cris Carter because “…all he did was catch touchdowns…”.
Really excited to see what BG can do this year as a full time OLB. I mean, assuming he’s the guy. Getting a guy that productive in our system on a deal like that gives me something to look forward to.
I got my concerns given his physical abilities. He doesn’t particularily strike me as a super fit 3 down LB who will not wear down after playing many snaps on D.
But for that price [14 Mio Gtd] I don’t have a problem with him coming back.
he does look out of shape to me too sometimes
How can I put it kindly…His belly looked cute when I met him after the season opener last year.
Guy can get after the QB though, and we really needed that. On 3rd down he will probably play with his hand in the ground, leaving Kendricks and Alonso to cover. Graham-Cox-Curry-Barwin can bring the heat on 3rd and long.
Thats one nasty 4 DL set, with Alonso and Kendricks ready to blitz as well
Our front 7 is incredibly talented. Could turn out to be very dominant. Connor Barwin is the oldest and dude is 28. Obviously Graham needs to prove he is full time starter, but we can stop the run and hunt the QB.
Now we just need 2 more DBs.
Hasn’t the knock always been on Graham that he is a ‘gets close but no cigar’ pass rusher?
Nice to see some stats on him that looked at his production and by play type (2nd/3rd down and yardage)
Yeah, but he has never been a starter either, and still made plays for us and brought pressure. It’ll be interesting to see if he can develop into what I think could be a player similar to Trent Cole. Vicious run defender and an above average pass rusher.
With injuries, being stuck behind Trent Cole and shifting from DE to OLB, his breakout season have been pushed back consistently. Now he really gets his chance.
He started the last couple games this year, didn’t he?
I can agree there, we’ve never really had the chance to see him in a full-time role, but its nice to finally have the chance to see it and if he can handle it. He got his money, now its time to shine.
Role player’s gotta roll.
He needs to get into better shape. Now that he has his contract and starting spot for the first time in his career hopefully he does that.
I think this whole PFF/PFT or whoever ranks him as the 3rd best pass rusher is kinda silly, but one thing is for certain. BG has much better pass rushing skills than a guy like Worilds, and with Barwin on the opposite side, we needed someone to bring pressure of the edge. Very good deal for the Eagles too.
Now bring me a safety and another corner, bringing that Philly defense back to where its supposed to be. Searcy and Cromatie, and we’ll have a mean and most importantly young, defense with loads of potential.
Given how much Twitter and Instagram to a lesser degree stir the pot in FA, I have to wonder if it wouldn’t benefit a professional team to actively employ a ‘Disinformation Dept.’
Question is how effective it actually would be and more so what the ramifications would be if caught. You obviously couldn’t use team employees and would use a contractor through an intermediary so that you would have complete culpability even if caught.
I think those already exists. Teams feed reporters false info all the time, particularly about the draft.
Barwin Kendricks Alonso Graham sure looks good to me
That makes a great DL, a good-great LB corps, just need to fix that 1 safety and CB spot and we are set on paper (it’s football, injuries burn that paper every year)
Been saying this but I think Carroll may be a good 2 CB with a good defense around him. Watkins would take over his role from last year.
good point, I have hopes for Carroll if he can stay healthy
Plus Maxwell and Revis as our corners. *wetdream
I would prefer Moore and a draft pick to challenge watkins, caroll for the 2nd cb.
Watkins was a 4th rounder, Carroll never really looked like a guy about to light up the NFL and rookie CBs rarely do well, counting on one of them to be an NFL starter looks a little to risky for my taste.
its not Revis or bust, but we need to bring in someone who has played in the NFL with at least some succes.
2 years ago that was Bradley Fletcher.
We won’t have any draft picks this year left. 😉
I would rather save some money by having Carroll start at the other CB spot and see what we can do with the G position in FA.
wetdreamteam?
Not quite the same ring as ‘Gang Green’ defense.
not at all
Grham’s signing (and the low # for “starting OLB) should demonstrate that they think Smith II is going to contribute a ton more this year. You don’t go out and go hog wild at OLB with a big money deal unless you’ve given up on Smith II playing better.
Yeah, I think the idea will be for MSII to rotate in more this season (basically the Graham role from last year), and if things work out, eventually replace Graham (or Barwin).
Has to be or they would have invested more money into the position.
The Eagles clearly knew this signing well before it was leaked:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/LB-Brandon-Graham-Returning-To-Eagles/349a6a4e-79fa-411b-b2a9-db8a33cb8737
No way they had time to do that segment in that short time since it was official
Nice. I hope the post the Reavis one early by accident.
haha that would have been great (and cost us a draft pick or 2 tho)
Think they have pre-written articles and graphics for players already on team and most of the FAs outside of the team just in case. Like pre-written obituaries.
How does the Reavis one look?
Can’t you just wait for later tonight?
No, I have a meeting to attend from 6 to 8 and fear I might miss it.
I bet there’s a “Welcome Back Mac!” segment sitting in the archive somewhere…
And to think this day started with vile and disgusting rumors of the Eagles adding that piece of garbage illiterate Kapertrash to the team.
Things have improved nicely.
*bicep kiss*
Of last place, a dead end career, and overall poor play. He can kiss off.
For the record. I hate him as a player.
Word! I love when he’s dominated by Sherman.
What happened? So out of the loop.
Report came out Niners were shopping Kaepertrash and a subsequent report said the Eagles were in on it.
Balke went ballistic about it being false and that falseness was confirmed by Shefter, etc.
if all it means is he said eff you to the giants, that’s good enough for me.
I also love the fact that the primary line of effort for the Giants in free agency was to pursue and sign Graham, and we pulled the carpet right out from under them. As Sun Tzu says, the best strategy is to defeat your enemy’s plans.
coming from a giants fan regarding graham return: “Disappointing
,It would be nice if the Giants actually land a FA of impact soon”
Is this a better team than the one that ended the season? I clearly say ‘no’ but I guess it depends on what they do in the draft.
I’m have been pretty underwhelmed by what they have done so far. Willing to see what unfolds since it is early though.
Can’t judge yet. Need to see how the rest of the signings go and add that to any possible draft picks that play year one and any current young guys on the roster who step up from what they did last year.
You have to wait for the draft really.
Maybe. We’re not done with signings yet and I want to see who is ready to step it up in camp this year going into the season.
Somebody out of Smith II, Huff, Hart, Watkins, etc. should improve and add some value we didn’t see last year.
I’m not counting on anything in the draft, unless we get Marriota, Chip doesn’t look to rookies to be difference makers. He actively rejects that expectation the rest of the league has for rookies (having difference-makers on rookie contracts has become huge in the formula for making a super-bowl roster).
Want to see us get a decent S and at least one WR in FA.
I like Shorts at WR but I know I’m in a pretty small fan club on that one.
yeah he won’t come for a while — be interesting to see what AJ gets on the open market.
AJ’s a tough one. Personally I think he might be done and I’d be worried he’s the sort who’ll fall off fast but he’s not that old, and plenty of WRs have been productive into their late 30s.
Someone (not the Eagles) probably throws money at him but if he could be got at a discount I think he’s worth the risk.
85 catches last year. He’s still very very good, he’s just not explosive. He’d be open all day every day in this system.
catching td after td he’s like 6’4″
and his impact will be big in an area where we need it
Browns’ assigned a 2nd round tender to Tashaun Gipson. If he were unrestricted, he’d be clear #2 option behind McCourty. Don’t think I’d give up a 2nd round pick for him but it’s close.
What pick in the 2nd round do you think would be better than Gipson, taking the need for a safety into account?
It’s not Gipson versus 2nd round pick it’s Gipson versus 2nd round pick and other FA options we can sign at safety(Rahim Moore, Marcus Gilchrist).
Agreed, it’s not like we can draft a safety (looks at current track record).
I would,.,kid can really play. Great fit for our scheme
2nd round tender for gipson.
probably the best safety available. worth a second rounder?
Not happening. There is massive collusion in the NFL on restricted guys.