So Far, So Good
Posted: March 29th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 219 Comments »The offseason began in January. There have been coaching changes, front office changes, cuts, trades, signings and just about anything else that can happen to a team.
For my PE.com column, I took a look at what Chip Kelly set out to do and how things have gone.
There are 2 big misses: not getting FS Devin McCourty to leave the Patriots and losing Jeremy Maclin to the Chiefs. Of course, if they had pulled those moves off, other ones might not have taken place. McCourty would have been huge because that is such a tough position to fill. Maclin would have been good for the sake of continuity.
Obviously judging the offseason centers around how you assess the Sam Bradford trade. If you think this is doomed to fail and a complete waste of time and resources, you are going to be down on the offseason.
I’m keeping an open mind with the Bradford deal. That’s the guy Chip wanted. They talked to the Rams off and on for a month. This wasn’t a casual decision. I’m trusting Chip on that one.
I do like the fact the offense will be more physical and that the defense should be improved.
There are still holes to fill. WR, OL, S and CB still need help. And the draft is about adding overall talent to your roster.
There is no such thing as a perfect offseason. You’ll always come away wishing you could have done something else. The key is to make enough good moves and not to leave any glaring holes.
Remember that moves will take place into early September. Sometimes you can find key answers down the road. Just think about the impact of Cody Parkey, who came here in a trade on August 20. Not every key move happens in early March or on draft weekend.
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I’ve got some interesting stats in the column in regard to Murray vs Shady. I was surprised at the numbers.
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Jeff McLane wrote about Sam Bradford and how he’ll fit in Kelly’s offense. There were some good comments by Jason Kelce.
Bradford has been omnipresent at the NovaCare Complex since the trade and has already begun learning the offense with center Jason Kelce.
“I think he’s a guy that comes off very cerebral, very smart, very quick,” Kelce said. “He’s had a lot of bad luck in his career as far as injuries are concerned. And as far as – and I don’t want to throw any offensive lines under the bus – I think he’s much better now with us.
“I think he has a good chance to be very successful in this offense.”
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A bit more on Mariota. I seem to be confusing some people.
Marcus Mariota is one of the top prospects in this draft. I think he can be a good starting QB. I do not think he is a special prospect that only comes around once every few years. Alex Smith and Andrew Luck both went #1 overall. Luck was a special prospect. Smith was the best QB in a weak group. Big difference.
I think Chip Kelly would love to draft Mariota. He knows how talented the guy is and what a good fit he would be in this system. That said, I think Kelly understands Mariota isn’t special. He’s not someone you sell out to get.
I think Mariota will go in the Top 10. A lot of teams are now showing interest in him. Some of this is pre-draft BS, but not all of it. There are too many teams that need a QB and he is a good one. That said, it is possible he will slide. If Mariota does make it outside the Top 10, I’m sure Kelly will make calls to see what the asking price is to move up. If reasonable, he might go for it. I just think this is a highly unlikely scenario.
If you had a time machine and knew how good Mariota could be, he might be worth selling out to get. But that is the difference in being a player and being a prospect. Players are known (or somewhat known) commodities. Prospects are complete projections. Would you trade 3 1st round picks for Aaron Rodgers? Probably. You know he is a special player. Mariota could be a Hall of Fame talent or a complete bust. I don’t think even Chip Kelly feels strongly enough about him to break the bank (in terms of picks).
_
But we all agree if he starts to slide for whatever reason……..maybe someone releases he has gang affiliations lol
we could take an Arron Hernandez article and substitute MM in for Hernandez, OR for FL, and UO for UF everywhere then distribute it to all the GMs…
I am sure they would fall for it!
I was just thinking he should fall the drug test lol
How CK can put Kendricks down for durability issues is beyond me. He just traded McCoy who never missed a game for a guy with a torn Acl. He claims to have faith in Barbre at RG, who missed almost all last year. Ryan Matthews, Bradford… It’s an insult to say anything bad about one of his current players when he’s accumulating injured players like an ambulance chaser.
He mentioned both Ryans and Kendricks as to why he want 3 ILBs
Maybe he is down playing Kendricks for contract negotiating purposes,
Its the only angle I can think that makes any sense
That makes sense?
Well actually he has explicitly said he wanted two runningbacks to replace the one because there is a high risk of injury to that position. That was the reason he gave for going after two guys there. If they keep Kendricks and Ryan, Alonso will be brought in in part as injury insurance to that position. He claims to have faith in Barbre because he played at a high level last year – which is probably why they gave him the extension BEFORE he got hurt. What else is he going to say, trounce the guy? And I dont think he is really putting Kendricks down. He also said that they were another team when he was on the field..
Hey buddy get your facts straight because Lesean McCoy has missed games due to injury in his career and in fact in his six seasons playing in the NFL McCoy has only played all 16 games in three of those years. In the 2012 season McCoy was out four games due to a concussion which as we all know he now is more susceptible to getting more concussions because of this injury. Also I guess you don’t know that McCoy had a gruesome ankle injury in high school that was almost career threatening so get your facts straight before you go run your mouth.
I don’t see Mariota as a big risk. I think his floor is Russell Wilson. That’s not bad at all and I’m someone who thinks Wilson’s a little overrated, but still good nonetheless.
I think the exact opposite, ie his cap being Russell Wilson.
He’s a much more natural passer than Wilson is. Wilson, for all of his good qualities, takes forever to get rid of the ball. Mariota isn’t great at getting rid of the ball quickly, but he’s better than Wilson at this.
Here’s a good read on MM’s transition to pro QB:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/greg-cosell-s-nfl-draft-preview–qb-marcus-mariota-s-pro-transition-170059763.html
Wilson does not hold onto the ball like Donavan did. He uses his legs to get his receivers open much of the time, and he can put some smoke on his passes. And he may be in the top 5 in the league at anticipation throws. If RW is his floor, damn, Chip’s a genius and SHOULD mortgage the farm.
I like Cosell, but he has a bias for the Nick Foles type of QB (Cosell seems to be the only analyst who would take Foles over Bradford)
Rodney Harrison too
I did not know that. Has he actually done a comparative analysis?
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2015/03/14/bradford-vs-foles-two-flawed-quarterbacks/
I remembered it as more in Foles favor over Bradford, but it seems Cosell is more down on Bradford because of the injury and some pocket things than his ability as a passer
His floor is being out of the league in 4 years, not Russell Wilson. There is a massive transition from college to the pro game; game speed, complexity of both offence and defence are significantly different to college football. Injury or off the field situations (unlikely in his case but always possible) could end his career.
I like Mariota as a prospect – but he is not low risk, in the last 5 years there has been only 1 really good QB come into the NFL and that is Luck. Every other QB has significant flaws and limitations.
Luck is often great in the 4th quarter. In the first 3, he throws too many INTs.
Mariota is not out of the NFL in 4 years unless he go full Jamarcus Russell.
Lets say in 4-5 years, he has had an Alex Smith or Sam Bradford start to his career, some coach like Kelly or Reid would 100% give him a chance to re-invent him self
Don’t know what you’re looking at.
I still think we overpaid for Sam Bradford. I dont really care about another team offering a first, that doesnt make the trade worth it, just like the fact that another team would have drafted Marcus Smith as soon as us, doesnt make him a player worthy of a late first round pick. Similarly, we got shafted in the value we received in return for DeSean and LeSean.
Alas, if Bradford becomes the QB he was supposed to, the fact that we overpaid at the time of acquirement won’t matter if we underpaid at the time of evaluation.
It figures we were bidding against the stupidest team in the NFL.
Exactly, if the determining factor when evaluating a trade is whether the Browns would do it, your front office is not doing a terrific job, because holy mother of Tebow they are a shitshow.
If you wanted Bradford and the Browns were standing in the way, you simply had to pay more. Whether you overpaid depends on results, starting from now. The only way you can overpay in advance of results is if you were bidding against yourself and not the market.
We got excellent value for shady.
We got decent value in return for Shady. Yes, Shady was overpaid, at a position where every team seems to be abe to bring in guys from the street and run the ball and he was getting older with some mileage. He is still a top 5 RB in the NFL, arguable a top 10 offensive player when he is firing on all cylinders. For that we got an extremely promising young MLB, another position that, even though are more important in a 34, is also a position on a downward spiral. He also has a little star next to his name that denotes injury concerns and only has 1 succesful season in the NFL.
Time may decide the winner of the trade, I think it’ll end up about a tie, but even if we end up looking like the winner, we should still have been able to acquire more than Kiko Alonso. The problem was that the only thing Chip wanted was Alonso. Same thing with Bradford. The fact that the Browns were stupid enough to offer a first rounder for a injury prone QB who has done pretty much jack shit on the NFL, doesn’t mean we should do it too. Id rather have kept Foles and our second or kept our second and gotten other return for Foles, than i’d take Bradford and a 3rd/4th by giving up what we did.
Obviosly time will tell. I’d doubt you’ll find anyone who will give you a 1st rounder for your 6th round pick, that would be idiotic. Until that 6th round pick is number 199 in 2000 and the other team just acquired a young Tom Brady for a single first round pick, assuming he becomes borderline the same player. Obviously if Bradford is a great player for us, becomes a QB that you’ll hear mentioned in the MVP discussion and Foles becomes a non athletic version of Alex Smith, it’ll look like a steal when people look back and laugh when we got Bradford. We could also be the laughing stock when we traded a player who in 2013 did better than anything Bradford has ever done, for a older, super injury prone QB with a HUGE contract and even sweetened the pot with some draft picks.
Nevertheless, the statement was that we got poor return for players that WE decided to get rid of. We got shitstomped in regards to our return for Jackson, because we straight up released him, we got mildly robbed in regards to our return for a 2nd and Foles, and we overpaid slightly to get rid of LeSean. Overall not the greatest value at the moment of the trade. Again, if Bradford and Kiko pans out we look like geniuses, even if what we gave up did great too. But we should’ve still gotten more in return.
They weren’t getting more for DeSean. Nobody wanted him on that contract. Choices were keep or release. I don’t even know why this is still a thing.
McCoy trade is fine value for a highly paid RB coming off a down year.
Bradford trade we got hosed on.
Unless he has a career year, leads us to a home playoff victory and gives 10M to your favorite charity.
1. Yes.
2. Yes
3. Undecided
it;s really easy to sit back and say you would have gotten more. We got Kiko and he is dirt cheap for 2 more years. Shady will likely have a beast year for the Bills this year, and that will about kill him. We replaced Shady easily and really upgraded. Where were you finding a fast, playmaker ILB at the store?
That was a good trade. You even say above even if it turns out to be a good trade we should have gotten more. Some folks just always think they could get a better deal. Who the heck knows. The deal we got for Shady was a good one.
Please try to understand after two years of people explaining it to you, but nobody was offering a thing for Jackson. There were no trade offers!
It’s a gamble that won’t hurt the franchise long term if it doesn’t pan out.
Basic economics says if you are worth what somebody is willing to pay, not what others are willing to pay.
If you wanna buy a painting at an auction, if you think its worth 10k, but somebody else think its worth 15k, then its worth 15k, no matter how much you think its an overpay.
Thanks for that clarification Tommy.
Personally, I see MM as a little more than just a good QB.
He threw for 42 TD’s and just 4 INT’s in 2014, and showed steady improvement during his college career.
Chip has said, that he thinks MM is the best player in this draft.
He also mentioned that he thought Odell Beckham was the best player in last years draft.
If Chip thinks MM will become as good a player as Beckham then maybe Chip does think he’s special.
I guess we will have to wait until the draft to find out who we pick, but I am okay with giving Chip the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Bradford.
With Kelce helping Bradford learn the offense, the fact that he is giving Sam such high praise in regards to his intelligence, is promising.
We needed a QB who can make faster and better decisions than Foles and Chip seems pretty sure Sam fits.
I watched this video of Bradford and wanted to share it with you guys,check this out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLDkYravNA
This is going to be a fun season. Can’t wait to see what the Eagles do next.
Bradford looks like Johnny Unitas out there — when he has a clean pocket.
As others more versed in these matters than I have remarked, though, Bradford’s not looked so good in the NFL when uncomfortable in the pocket.
Those uncomfortable moments and the instinct to move just a step or two to find a throwing lane — and avoid injuries — seem to separate the great QBs from the lesser lights.
Time will tell, of course.
Kelce seems to think that Sam was behind a questionable O Line. Here’s hoping the Eagles O Line makes a reasonably smooth transition to the newer guys.
You mean like Mariota AC?
As the great Lou Saban, former Bills coach said, you’re killin’ me OD, you’re killin’ me.
what QBs look comfortable in a bad pocket? eagles defense had 2 time SB championb eli and tony Romo diving on the floor untouched because they didnt trust their pocket… but yeah, a young kid in his first few NFL seasons wasnt comfortable when his OL wouldnt protect him… shocker!.. y beloved Foles had all types of mechanical breakdowns throwing off backfoot/back peddling when our OL let him take a beating and he didnt trust the pocket..
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put the kid in competant offensive situation, and lets find out who the young man is… I trust chip, shurmurs evaluation a tad bit more then I trust the ‘others”
I hear ya AC, but I think you have to consider the other components of that rams team.
They were nowhere near what I would call stellar.
I can vaguely remember his play makers names.
I think he helped Amendola get overpaid by the Pats.
I just think with the Eagles offensive scheme and our
O-line, along with the three headed monster backfield Chip has assembled, I think it’s safe to say Sam’s never had the quality of players surrounding him at any point in his NFL career, that he now has playing for the Eagles.
“IF” Sam can remain healthy, (and I think the odds are on his side that he will), I can envision Sam being able to execute Chips playbook in it’s entirety, more efficiently than Nick Foles, using his NFL experience to his advantage.
Imagine if Bradford comes out of the gates like a bat out of hell and starts putting up fifty burgers.
Philly will love him and Chip will be lauded as one of the best, ever.
Man it’s nice to dream in the off season, LOL.
Watch the video you posted up there, and see how the middle of the OL plays with Bradford. Generally, there’s a pretty good pocket; pressure comes late, and from the outside in most instances. Compare that to last year until November, with the Eagles, and you’ll see a huge difference. Kelce and Mathis (hopefully?!) need to stay healthy, or people are going to be saying “WTF? I thought we traded Foles? Why does it say Bradford on his jersey?”
The most uncomfortable QB in the pocket, scrambling, eating breakfast, watching SpongeBob etc — is Eli. Not saying he’s great, but he doesn’t move just a step or two. I don’t think those moves have to do with injury at all…
One throw he seems to be able to make in his sleep is that sideline touch throw right over the corner. Sadly that always struck me as the perfect throw to Maclin. Oh well.
I’m pro MM but Chip said MM is the best QB in the draft, not the best player.
I stand corrected, but I think he could very well be the best player in this draft.
IMO, whoever drafts this kid will turn their franchise around.
Hey T-Law gotta disagree with Chip understanding Mariota isnt special.. I mean would you sell out to get Peyton Manning with all those rings he has won?? Best thing Chip has said n shows that he understands is you cant mortgage the future for him.. The most logical thing said n understood this entire off season
“like Chip said not even 2 1st round picks is enough to move up to where MM is PROJECTED to be”
Yeah – I don’t think it has to do with MM, it has to do with trading up to 1 or 2…
How many rings does Peyton Manning have?
1 more ring than the Eagles do
yes and no…Eagles have won 3 NFL Championships, and you arguement was for“… Peyton Manning with all those rings he has won“ and he has one to his credit and he was not even the reason his team won that game.
it’s funny — only Eagle fans count “NFL Championships” …
What exactly is the SB, if not the NFL Championship?
Preaching to the choir …
I don’t think Chip Kelly is even fully confident in Sam Bradford. He gave up a 4th but gets a 5th in return, he gave up a 2nd but will get a 4th or 3rd rounder in return if Bradford doesn’t earn enough snaps. And Nick Foles was a guy that he wasn’t interested in long term.
It’s a gamble that’s great if it pans out but won’t have major long term impacts if it doesn’t.
The long term impact is if Bradford dont pan out Eagles only have Sanchez to fall back on next season.. Meaning QB will be high priority again
That’s if you think that Kelly was still considering Nick Foles as a long term option. Otherwise they’re stuck in the same boat had they not made the trade.
Nope i didnt think Chip thought of Foles as a long term option.. But him wanting to keep him instead of trading him when going for Bradford i see it as he saw Foles as just another option
I don’t either and the Bradford trade was as much about as wanting to move on from Foles as anything else.
Eagles get a 1-year trial demo of Bradford & hedged their bets with Sanchez.
Hmm they gave up on Foles who can win you games in this league for a reason and I have to believe it was because Chip thinks he can win more games with Bradford.
I think from a fan standpoint, you gotta trust in Chip in this leap of faith and buy in to the fact that he thinks Sam can get us to the big game.
We have a winner!!! He knows if Chip is/isn’t confident in a player! At least we have 1 person who knows…..
Tommy,I know you don’t think that Kelly was wrong to let Maclin go when he offered to overpay to keep him, so if that is a miss, as in we are missing a #1 WR, yeah it is. And some evidence that Chip is correct when he calls the draft a crap shoot: That “weak” QB group you cited where Alex Smith went #1, Aaron Rodgers went #23. Of course the book on Rodgers was thin, and by his own reckoning he would have been in way over his head if Green Bay had put him in his first year.
Remember when Maclin re-signing with the Eagles was just a matter of time and formality…#somuchchange
Remember that dude who bet his house that Maclin was staying n resigning too
No. But I do remember that nothing can be taken for granted.
He only rents that house. ;~)
It’s his mom’s house, she just makes him rent the basement.
I try not to remember but he makes about 15 posts a day.
Ah yes..and Cary Williams would still be on the team too. What an awful thought..hurray for Maxwell!
And that Barkley was totally going to be awesome, our QB group was 1000% going to be Foles/Sanchez/Barkley again.
Same thing with the Dawkins back in 2009. I knew Dawk was a free agent, but it didn’t cross my mind that the Eagles would let him walk in free agency.
I still think it’s kind of shitty that they only wanted to bring him back on a 1 year deal for $3 million.
Thanks for bringing that nightmare memories up. I still cannot forgive Joe Banner for letting him walk. And Joe is sorry about that too.
Hate to admit it but I agreed at the time with not re-signing him. He had developed a bad habit of leading with his head on every tackle and I was worried he was going to cause himself a serious injury. Plus, I had too much faith in Quentin Demps’ ability to build off a promising rookie season.
I had a lot of faith in Demps as well. I thought he was a future pro-bowler.
I wud paid Dawk 5 mil for 2 more. he is the best.
still hurts. Joe Nickles stays and we lose Dawk. and they don’t even call him. and they immediately claim him as one of the greats.
no one cheers the mgmnt just the favorite players.
and when the mgmnt dumps the best player, the real true eagles it is a violation. like what chip is doing now. ok it might work, but he just dumped everyone’s eagles jersey.
..
and Joe Nickles and fat andy would have let Bednarik walk over a few hundred bucks. /without a phone call.
only one person here kept saying that.
I was all over IggleBlitz & 247 comments section complaining that joe nickles and fat andy just let Dawk walk and they never even called him!!!
and then imiedaitly claimed him for eagles greatness.
I hat joe nickles.
Tommy, DF3B or anyone…Chip has talked up Allen Barbre as starting RG. Is he serious, blowing smoke, nuts or none of the above?
He may actually start next year but considering his age/limited upside its fair to say I doubt he views him as a long term fix but maybe the bridge for a rookie we get
If are starts and is as good as Todd H. was in 2013, I won’t complain. I hope we do grab a rookie this draft.
Even if they draft an OL in rd 1, Kelly will want competition.
Good point. My only hope is that our line holds together for Bradford like it did in 2013.
I’m still grinding through the Tobin tape. Through 4 of the 7 games and I’m totally ok the winner of Tobin/Barbre starting.
Everybody wants to point to Dallas and say omg you have to have all studs on your offensive line. People forget that 2 of their starters are Doug Free and Ronald Leary (2012 UDFA from Memphis).
If you make up a best of the nfc east offensive line, 3 of the starters come from us. Dallas’ oline is kind of overrated.
If you made an NFCE all star OL it would be Peters, Mathis, Kelce, Martin, Smith.
I would say not changing players positions.
Smith, Mathis, Kelce, Martin, Johnson.
Peters is better than Smith and Smith played RT in college and first year with the Cowboys.
I think Peters v Smith comes down to are you playing a 1 game tomorrow (Peters) v are you starting your own new team (Smith), Peters is going to start to decline, and Smith doesn’t turn 25 until December (damn).
I havnt watched tape like you do, but I always thought people overreacted to our need at OG.
Yes we need an OL early, but that is for depth and the future, not as an eminent need.
It’s certainly a need, there is no denying that, but the need is for competition at G and preferably to get RTOTF. That could be one guy, or it could be multiple picks.
Guys in this draft I would put money on to beat out Tobin:
-Scherff
-Clemmings
-Fisher
-Collins
-Morse (maybe)
That’s it.
Thats high praise consider the first 4 is most likely 1st round picks
I mean he’s good to very good in the run game and while some of his pass pro issues from college still exist, it now takes damn good DL ala Aaron Donald or Calias Campbell to exploit them, not some 275lbs sophomore from Purdue, so he’s clearly improved with coaching.
and those two aint choped lived even in the NFL, so that makes me feel really well for his future.
Do you think any of his struggles in pass pro might be because of switch from left to right?
I haven’t gotten to the games at RG yet.
The problems come with guys who have great lateral quickness or extremely long levers. They’ll never be his strong suits but he’s managed to avoid them popping up except against the best of the best.
My favorite play by far is we had a pass but the line sold run action and Tobin just absolutely tosses Michael Brockers.
Wow. You win/lose games in the trenches. It’s on old cliché and 100% true. To dismiss on OL is silly.
Im not dismissing the OL. I pretty much want Clemmings or Fischer at no. 20 and also draft a guy like Morse later.
Im just saying people overreact like that our OL is pure crap now that we cut Herremans (who was the weakest link of the suppose starting five) and for some reason people assumed Mathis was already gone
Yeah, I re-read to figure out what you were saying…
Games are won in the trenches. OL is important…
While this is true, let’s not forget we had 9 games, starting with the Texans game, with 4 stud OL healthy (you can say 8 games if you don’t want to include Todd) + Tobin/Gardner.
People like to say “well, Molk played and Gardner played and everyone was injured”, but the reality is, Packers, Seahawks, 2nd Cowboys game, our nightmare performances, we had 4 Offensive Linemen we all think highly of in the lineup and healthy.
If Tobin or Barbre win a camp battle against a rookie who was drafted early (with good upside, we hope…) – fine with me. I just don’t want them to win a starter position by default, and imo, battling against each other would be kind of by default.
Thing with O-Line need is: if you don’t just cut Mathis (and right now, it at least looks like Rosenhaus was allowed to look for a trade partner and didn’t find one), the need gets smaller. If you just cut Mathis or trade him for a 7th: sorry, you HAVE to go O-Line, imo in the first. If not, there is a need, but not a “we have no one at Safety” like need.
Mathis doesn’t has a long future, but Guards don’t take that long to develop. You can draft one next year if you replace Mathis next year.
I’m a former offensive lineman, I’m all for drafting OL.
My point is that based on last years film Tobin is a starting quality G. That’s based off film. Not the teams perception, not fans perception, but film. Barbre also has acquitted himself well during his time with the Eagles and also deserves a crack at starting. Having the two of them battle each other is a fine as far as allocation of resources.
I also think the talk about outright releasing Mathis was just Mosher taking the bait from Rosenhaus.
Like I said, I’m not saying we should cut them. If nothing else, you need depth. And if they win in camp, so be it. I’m not rooting against them by any means, I simply want to add one OL early. Doesn’t have to be 1st (as long as Mathis stays), but 3rd the latest, imo.
I think I am one of those people. Thanks for input.
I am also comfortable with having Barbre and Tobin battle it out.
Both of them seem to step in and play well when asked.
They can get the job done in a rotation for now IMO.
I am encouraged by your perspective which others have echoed. I still hope we get a future starter in this draft. Thanks for playing.
All Oregon offensive players worry me.
but you’re not on the team anymore so you won’t have to worry 😉
Touche’ and a well done to you sir.
over/under of Oregon players drafted now that HR is removed from picking them?
i like Oregon Offensive Lineman…. Kyle Long, Jake Fisher, Grasu… and a few RB’s have done ok…
marcus peters and DGB seem to be immense talents but with serious character concerns who have a high probability of being there at pick 20. CB and WR are huge holes on this team. Any chance talent trumps #culture and chip takes a chance of any of these guys? I think Ryans strong presence in the locker room would keep peters in check and Kelce seems to be taking a leadership role on offense.
DGB in the first and peters in the second round would make this an excellent draft for the iggles but i doubt chip pulls the trigger. It will be very interesting to see how there careers pan out. dez bryant was considered a character risk but he got our entire secondary fired last season. just saying!!
Peters? Not so much of a problem child as DGB but Peters definitely has the ego and attitude (see Djax and Shady) that Chip doesn’t like.
Take out the huge variable of the QB swap, and it’s pretty clear the roster has been significantly upgraded. Factor in all the players who stayed and are still in the upswing of their careers. Personally, I’m fine with the Bradford gamble. If he can come close to running the O the way Kelly wants, we’re solidly in the mix for SB contention. If he can’t, our major loss will be about $11 mill cap space for next year’s free agency. Certainly a significant loss, but you don’t win without risking something.
Why would Sam Bradford count as $11 mill against next year’s cap? Isn’t he a free agent after this season?
maybe he means no roll over for next year in that amount
Not trading for Bradford would free up 11 mill, so if he doesn’t work out that’s the biggest cost, along with a 2. Could carry it over to next year, or just simplify and say it could have signed Macln instead.
So, no WR, no safety and a backup Guard that we’re hoping will play well as a starter counts as a “significant” upgrade? Interesting….
I think they looked at the tape and looked at herremans who was clearly declining even in 2013 and thought the could get similar production.
Agreed, I think we’re ok — but the QB swap doesn’t mean the roster has a “significant” upgrade when there are still holes…
So, WR, Safety, and G are the only 3 positions on a football team? Interesting…
Wait, we don’t have a WR on the team? Where have I been?
apparently in la la land or you have a crystal ball…because your statements are without facts…
Was unaware from your post that you preferred facts.
Not bringing a safety is disappointing. Drop off after McCourtey was big but we have nothing but question marks and now looking at a guy making a position change, a guy coming off micro micro fracture surgery, or probably over drafting a guy when at least one of the available guys could have challenged for the position. Seeing the crazy money even poor safeties got maybe we should have been even more aggressive on McC.
We offered him >10mil a year. From a financial standpoint we were the most lucrative.
At some point you can’t make players come play for you.
sounds like we had no interest in any of the other guys?
The two top guys after McCourty was Searcy and Morris, and we had zero interest in either (and both got less or same as Nate Allen)
Maybe, I subscribe to the theory that everyone has a price, but he said he really wanted to stay in NE. I just can’t believe no other option available was seen as an upgrade.
I guess our crap is starting to infect and spread thru ohter cities…. when our rumors coincide with that of the Browns, thats pretty much Rock bottom lol;
..
The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot believes the Browns are not done upgrading at quarterback, and expects the team to target either Oregon QB Marcus Mariota or current Eagles QB Sam Bradford.
It’s no secret by now that the Browns previously tried to trade the No. 19 overall pick for Bradford, first to the Rams and (allegedly) later to the Eagles. Specifically, Cabot writes that she thinks the Browns “will try to trade up to draft Marcus Mariota, and I also think they could make another run at Sam Bradford.” If the Eagles are willing to deal Bradford as rumored, they would presumably want both of Cleveland’s first-round picks with eyes on getting to No. 2 overall, where Mariota is likely to be selected.-roto
At the beginning of this process, if you told me Foles, a 2 next year, a swap of 4 and 5 this year and our first rounder gets Mariota– I’d say go for it. 12,19, and 20 is quite a bit to move up in a weak draft though. Gosh the offseason is so long…
19 and 20 are worth more than 6. We wouldn’t even need 12 to get up that high.
Interesting. I say we keep Bradford and see what he can show us this season and use our draft picks to fill some of the glaring holes.
I agree with you on the rumors with the Browns though.
You never want to be associated in any rumor with that dumpster fire of a team, known as the browns.
Skidmark’s come to mind when I think about that franchise.
and if he’s terrible? then you’re trying to sort through osu qbs. although i wouldnt be surprised if we tried to sign a vet, brees etc
just a rumor… wouldnt make too much of it… its just disturbing how often we have been competing with the Brown(yuck).. going back to trying to sign Chip Kelly
Thing is, landing with the Browns is something Mariota simply doesn’t deserve. I think Chip would cry a little, seeing how that crap of an franchise ruining the QB he developed and who he loves as a player and person.
+ AFC North is a rough division to throw in if you don’t have a cannon. While Mariotas arm strenght is ok, he has no cannon. I don’t think there is a place in the NFL that would be worse for MM.
He doesn’t seem like the person to do it, but I would even go full Eli on them if they draft him and say “No, I won’t play for you”. It’s very risky, of course, but good QBs play for a long time and earn money in the 2nd and 3rd contract. I would gamble that anyone (doesn’t have to be the Eagles) trade me out of that misery, because I wouldn’t be sure you can get a good 2nd contract with this Franchise.
And playing meaningful football games in December and January? I don’t even want to start about that.
Going full Eli would be a great idea for Mariota to force a trade to the Iggles. Their leverage would greatly decline from a hypothetical pre-draft trade. Bad franchises with bad OL are where good prospects go to die.
like Bradford and the Rams.
Mary Kay Cabot is the ESP of Cleveland. Throws crap against the wall. Sees what sticks.
“I do like the fact the offense will be more physical” — By the addition of a rb and minus Shady? I thought Shady was pretty tough. The offense scheme isn’t going to change. The blocking will be the same. Minus a WR, so I’m assuming the straight running style of DM means more physical?
There`s a difference between tough and physical(i think)
Compare Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson.
I agree with you, but I also think that lesean clearly lost a step last year. I wish him the best but it’s better to part ways now and get something in return. (Compare to last year with the desean disaster).
Agreed. Love Shady…but I’m ok with the plan…
Dancing in the backfield is less physical than one cut and but a hole.
dancing and one cut are different styles — has nothing to do with “physical” … Beast mode DM — Beast is physical. DM vs. McCoy has nothing to do with physical…
Yeah one style is more physical than the other. Not saying either IS NOT physical but it can be argued Demarco is more so. There’s a difference between toughness and physicality. Lesean was very tough just not as physical.
you’re still talking about the difference of 2 players. An offense “now” being more physical doesn’t make sense. Ok, so we have a move “physical” runner but not as tough? Splitting hairs. The offense is still Eagle offense. If they signed(for example) two massive guards than ok, maybe they’re changing scheme to be more smash mouth. But switching runners has nothing to do with a “more physical offense”….
The difference between the two players` styles will mean the offense will different because the results will be different. Which means the play calling will be different, situationally it will be different(2nd&6 instead of 2nd&13–3rd&2 instead of 3rd&8). Kelly`s schemes will be the same, only he will be closer to finding who he wants/needs to make it work the way he wants.
He could be just as tough but more physical. Any time you change any player in a given scheme you change the way said scheme will operate. This is a dumb argument though and I see where you are coming from.
DM is a north-south runner. LM is more an east-west runner. LM does what Bryce Brown couldn’t do. DM does what either of them don’t want to do.
I agree 100%. Still doesn’t mean the offensive is more physical. Seattle is more physical because of smash mouth run style. Eagles offensive scheme is still what it is..
I think we’re fine at OG for now. Gardner and Tobin are fine. I don’t think Kelly releases Mathis until he sees what he can get in the draft.
Gardner is flat out awful. By comparison, Nate Allen is a pro-bowl safety.
Raiders paid him like one…Hahaha
Gardner. Sucks. Bad.
you can bet Offensive lineman will be drafted no matter how “set” we are..
I really hope this is sarcasm. Our G situation is scary. My bet is that we draft O line 1st round and possibly 3rd or 4th round as well.
That’s where my head is at about the situation. I also think they need to address the next T when Peters leaves.
We are not fine at G. As of right now we are extremely thin, and Mathis while good is very old and might start piling on injuries. As of right now the RG position may be filled by average to below average players with absolutely no depth behind them. If we suffer injuries along the line we are in a worse situation then last year. Even without injuries we are in a worse situation then the start of last year. Quality Oline in the draft is a must.
God, miles austin to visit the eagles. Another injury prone player and on the wrong side of the 30s. must trust the plannnnnnn.
like all the other players…probably just doing their homework….
isnt he like a real free agent? we do our homework on guys that have been out of the league like Tebow… when you bring in a real FA, there is a chance he leaves with a contract… I cant root for this dude… Demarco fills my acceptable cowboy quota
I remember, when Austin had those couple good seasons, how much I hated his idiotic smile. Ugh. Well he technically isn’t a cowboy but a former Brown. I’ll give him a chance but the greater chance is, he’ll be sidelined with a hamstring injury before preseason is over.
Miles Austin is real? A real what? LOL.
demarco is an eagle.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/582567834280017920
Fun fact is that the best nfl comparison in terms of physical of Agholor is Miles Austin
Paint me surprised…lol
Not a good comparison. Agholor is smaller.
I was refering to his spider chart after his combine
Actually Austin is more physical than Agholor. Agholor is pretty much a Maclin clone (comparing what Agholor did in college to what Maclin did in the NFL, Maclin was way better in college)
What?!
If he comes cheap, why not? If he was the star free agent, that’d be concerning. This is just bargain shopping.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet 5m5 minutes ago
The #Eagles will sign WR Miles Austin when he visits this week, source said, assuming all goes well with the physical.
So how do you feel about this signing?
Eh? Doesn’t make sense to me, maybe plays a Jason Avant role?
I’m not overly excited either, but I think it’s to add depth so they can have more flexibility in the draft.
I think he may see a decent amount of balls come his way. He is more talented then Avant.
miles knows what he’s doing out there
I can’t see the browns drafting mariota, even if I dislike manziel how can you let a qb go after just 1 year. The team I see trading up for MM is da bears.
Because the Browns.
Woo hoo! Team injury history!
Austin actually makes sense when you look at the free agent WRs. The Eagles in all likeliness aren’t looking to spend a lot of money. Austin won’t. They like bigger WRs. Austin is 6-2, 215. They’re probably looking for an older guy who can serve as a leader amongst the WRs, who outside of Cooper are pretty youg. Cooper doesn’t strike me as a leader. Austin fits. Other options either likely don’t fit the culture(Crabtree, Moore, maybe Nicks) or don’t fit the scheme. Greg Jennings probably doesn’t have the speed to fill Maclin’s role. He’s better at this point as a slot WR and the Eagles like bigger guys there.
I don’t know, Austin isn’t that good, he’s old and injury prone. I would have prefered if they have kept smith.
He has been injury-prone in the past but he did a nice job for Cleveland last year.
I agree here. Austin has missed almost as many games in his career as he has played. He may not cost much, but it will be a waste of money. He is not the guy I want to sign to possibly steal reps from a young guy like Quron Pratt.
All these young guys need competition. If Pratt is so great he can beat out Austin or X.
that’s what im saying, lets get pratt out there!
Red zone, vet so can probably run routes. We also have no $$
I wonder if this signing with Austin means that CK is going after 2 of 3 OL in the first few rounds. If they can’t get an extra 2nd (very doubtful), then something’s gotta give. So their first 3 picks would go something like this possibly (obviously depending on the board) OL (Fisher, Clemmings, or Peat?) -> S (Rowe or Drummond) -> OL (Ogubehi?)?
They’ve said repeatedly they think this draft is stocked with WR. Maybe they get Conley with the 2nd pick in the 3rd?
I feel like CK wants a couple OL because the whole left side of the line is on the wrong side of 32. He needs a starter at RG. D3FB is doing his analysis of Tobin and maybe he’s got that spot, at best if he does we need to start grooming 2 other starters (IMO tho Lane is moving to LT when Peters is gone). Not sure if Barbre is the answer.
Signing Austin means we have a guy who can play the outside and makes that position less critical than S. I think Drummond would be a great pickup for us (or Rowe), but not sure how the draft will pan out for us to get either of them.
I don’t think signing Austin would or should have any affect on who they draft whatsoever.
That would be my thought too, but we knew they needed CB/S last year and they brought in Carroll. They didn’t pick one until the 3rd last year. Just a thought about their thought process.
Also, Daniel Jeremiah mentioned there was a team that wants 3 OL in this draft and considering the Eagles missed getting any last year, I could really see them being that team.
We’re in a great position to have the most talented IR in the league for sure. That squad is going to be loaded.
who’s hurt?
last year we were pretty good at the IR in the end: Foles, dameco,. etc..
I think Chip understands guys will get hurt but he is hedging his bets by signing a boatload of players. Its kinda like a Klingon having two hearts. Of one goes down you’ve got another I.e. Demarco and Ryan.
Well count me among those still confused (won’t be the last time I’m accused of that 🙂
When Chip first arrived, much of the talk was about how he wanted a QB who could execute the zone read. Now that’s out the window in favor of the spread. I know Chip is / has to be flexible, but obviously he’s looking for a wrinkle that he can exploit.
Maybe I missed it, but has anyone attempted an analysis of how Mariota might be used in a CK designed, NFL offense? To me, that’s the only way to look at it, especially if one accepts the premise that the marriage of the HC and the QB is pretty important.
To be fair, I admit I have an anti-Bradford bias. I agree it is likely that MM will not be wearing Eagle green. But I continue to hold out hope that something will happen on draft day to move Sam on to another roster.
Thing is, Chip never said that. It was all the National pundits based on what he did at Oregon the past couple years.
My sense is that MM would be used to extend plays not to run. Chip saw with Vick and RG-knee that running QBs get hurt. He prefers an athletic QB because they can avoid pressure.
As he said at his Breakfast PR, there were too many turnovers last year and too many missed open receivers. Primarily, he’s looking for accuracy and fast, correct decision making. Bradford brings these qualities to the position. Lastly, he wants durability which you sometimes find with athletic QBs.
Finally, most pundits that I’ve heard say Chip ran a spread offense at Oregon and that he is running one with the Eagles. Zone blocking and zone plays are part of what he uses to take advantage of mismatches and real time D adjustments.
Thx for the response.
Interesting if only upside Mariota offers is extending plays… Russell Wilson does that quite well, but if you have a good OL, I guess you don’t really need that?
More importantly, if the goal is to get the ball out quickly and accurately, then athleticism and running ability would seem to be pretty far down the totem pole in terms of desired traits.
I think you may be missing the point. First, MM is very smart and dedicated football player; i.e. a tremendous work ethic. Chip loves his decision making under pressure and ability to accurately get the ball to the target. MM’s athleticism is a big bonus.
Having said all that, we don’t know if MM can stay healthy after getting hit over and over again by vicious, talented killers. Can MM read a complex NFL D? Can he lead men? We don’t know the answers but maybe Chip thinks he does.
OD:
Love your stuff.
Always.
I don’t think I’m missing your point at all. I never said Mariota was not accurate, or insufficient as a decision maker, etc. You said his advantage has to do with using his athleticism to extend plays, and I simply responded to that.
“Primarily, he’s looking for accuracy and fast, correct decision making.”
__________
Insisting that Foles make quicker decisions to cut down on sacks seemed to hurt his decision-making — and performance.
End of the day, Foles was not a Kelly QB.
__________
ASIDE: All Mariota had to do was say something akin to:
“I think I can perform in any NFL system . . . heck, Darron Thomas and I have a lot in common that way.”
Obviously, Mariota doesn’t want to be an Eagle.
That’s fine. If he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him.
?
“MM would be used to extend plays, not to run.”
vs.
“[Chip’s] looking for … fast, correct decision making.”
A doesn’t make sense if B applies to MM. If B does not apply to MM, MM will need to run quite a bit, like Russel Wilson, to be effective in the NFL, especially considering that he won’t have anything close to the defense Wilson’s been blessed with, allowing him to settle for conservative decision-making. Especially since I don’t think MM is as good as Wilson in the passing game (and I think Wilson has more flaws than most do).
bill – I think looking at these traits as either/or is incorrect. When plays breakdown (OL misses a block, RB runs the wrong side, etc), then the QB either takes a dive or tries to extend the play. If the QB is not athletic, his risk of injury increases. Ultimately, the coach decides whether athleticism is a good or bad trait for the QB he wants. From what I know and hear about Chip, he wants an athletic QB. (By “athletic”, I mean Aaron Rogers elusive.)
So basically, MM is expected to be veteran Aaron Rodgers? A+ passer with A mobility?
Glad to see that the kid won’t be crushed by the enormous expectations of being a once/decade talent.
With mariota could look like it did when Vick was running it. But maybe ck wants more spread bc it’s been a revolving door at qb and mariota is smaller than foles.
its going to be funny when mariotta is sitting behind foles in St Louis.
I can see foles rolling his eyes now…
We extended Demeco through 2016 wonder what his new cap # will be for this year?
all he’ll be doing is wearing a cap on the sidelines
Mufasa extended
Most. Boring. Offseason. Ever.
Jeff McLane @Jeff_McLane 1m1 minute ago
DeMeco Ryans’ two-year deal is for $7.5M worth up to $10.5M with $6.25M guaranteed, per NFL source.
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Basically, spread his 2015 salary of $6.9 over 2 years, plus a few extra dollars in un-guaranteed salary and incentives he may never see.
Turns his cap number from $6.9 to about $3.5, or thereabouts, I’d guess.
Came for the football, stayed for the math
Jimmy is stirring the pot.
Jimmy Kempski @JimmyKempski 9s10 seconds ago
Nope. RT @PhillyFreck215 you think Kendricks stays?
Why move Kendricks?
1. He doesn’t meet at least 33 of the 36 or so requirements for an ILB on a Kelly team listed in the obsessively detailed notebook (that allegedly exists) which he (allegedly) showed Lurie (and allegedly caused Lurie to ditch HR).
Those standards would include the MANDATORY height requirement analogous to that about which Kelly spoke when discussing what he calls “Overachieving CBs” . . . which is another term for “That short BOYKIN kid, who’s just not tall enough to knock down passes over his head to 6’2″ receivers.”
2. Kendricks has trade value that can be used to:
(a) Move up in Rd 1 to get this year’s ODB,
(b) Move up in Rd 2 to get an ILB who fits Kelly’s 36 requirements . . . like BEDNARRICK [sic] McKINNEY, or
(c) More up in Rd 2, or get another early draft pick, to acquire a Franklin-type O-Lineman . . .
That is, someone who’s not just versatile. But who goes to bed early, gets up early, is healthy, wise — and, after getting drafted, wealthy.
I know I learned somewhere that there is a theory about proven and unproven commodities. Ah, well its probably not too important though anyways…
we would be blowing it if we got rid of kendricks.
big time.
the guy is an athletic monster.
it would be a really bad move to downgrade a defense we are trying to upgrade.
it’d be the only move this year I didn’t like.
bs