OTAs Talk

Posted: June 4th, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 135 Comments »

The media was able to take in another practice session on Tuesday. Nothing dramatic happened on the field. There was no Chip Kelly PC. Still, there are plenty of little things to discuss.

Sheil Kapadia has up some good practice notes, as usual.

1:10 – The inside linebackers continue to rotate. During this teach period, it’s the defense against trash cans. Mychal Kendricks and DeMeco Ryans are lined up with the first team. If you only look at one side of the secondary, it looks promising with Malcolm Jenkins and Byron Maxwell.

The other side is where there are question marks. Nolan Carroll continues to line up with the first team. But there’s a change today. It’s Walter Thurmond opposite Jenkins at safety. If I’m naming a favorite to start on June 2, it’s Thurmond.

I wrote about Thurmond on Tuesday. Now he’s running with the starters. Other than the OL, the secondary is the group who needs chemistry the most. It would be great if the Eagles could have the same guys out there each day, working with each other and learning to play as a group.

As good as competition sounds, you really do value chemistry with DBs. But that only works if Nolan Carroll and Thurmond play well enough to stay on the field. If some other CB or S is better, you have to put them into the lineup. The ultimate goal is finding the best players.

One of the guys who was going to be in the mix to start at S is Jaylen Watkins.

1:50 – Back to 7-on-7s. Jaylen Watkins gets matched up with Agholor on the outside. Tim Tebow goes the rookie’s way, but Watkins climbs the ladder and breaks up the pass to force an incompletion down the sideline. The defensive players erupt in celebration. That’s as loud as I’ve heard them so far this spring.

Watkins is seeing action at both corner and safety. I thought he’d get more of a look to earn some playing time, and maybe he will. But it hasn’t happened yet. He’s been practicing mostly with the third team as far as I can tell.

I hope the coaches don’t keep Watkins bouncing around too much. Young players need to settle in at one spot. I prefer Watkins as a CB because I don’t love his tackling, but he has the skill set the Eagles like in a Safety. It will be interesting to see how they use him between now and late July.

Onto the OL.

1:13 – During the team run period, your starting guards are Allen Barbre (LG) and Matt Tobin (RG).

The second team from left to right is Andrew GardnerJulian VanderveldeDavid MolkKevin Graf and Dennis Kelly. The third team is Brett BoykoJosh AndrewsMike CocciaCole Manhart and Malcolm Bunche.

Interesting move with the backups. Dennis Kelly goes from LG to RT, with Kevin Graf moving from RT to RG. I think Graf is better suited to play OG. I just don’t think he has the footwork to play outside.

Kelly has the build of an OT. He is huge and long. He has okay footwork. The potential is there for him to at least be an effective backup, if not more. Something just hasn’t clicked with him to the point where he’s a guy you want on the field.

I am curious if the move was made because the team wanted Kelly outside or Graf inside.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama offered his take on practice. Insightful and entertaining.

* * * * *

More than a few of you have asked about the Eagles trading for Eric Weddle, the Chargers FS who is in the middle of a contract dispute. I’m more than a little interested in him, but there are issues.

He’s 30 and wants a new deal. You have to be willing to pay an older guy good money.

The Eagles best trade bait is Mychal Kendricks, but SD just used a high pick on an ILB and they already have Manti Teo in place. I don’t know that they have any interest in Kendricks. I don’t know their CB situation well enough to know if they might like Brandon Boykin.

How high of a draft pick are you willing to give up? The Eagles are already missing their 2nd rounder from the Sam Bradford deal.

There is a tremendous lack of good Safeties in the NFL. My guess is that some other team might overpay for Weddle. Dallas is in win-now mode and might be willing to part with a high pick. Of course, they’d have to find a way to fit his cap number in there, but Dallas always seems to be able to get Romo to restructure when they need room.

While the Eagles are desperate for S help, I don’t get the sense that Chip Kelly is willing to trade away key picks and make the team older.

I do think Kendricks could be traded for the right veteran player (OL or DB), but I have yet to find the right situation. Never say never, but I doubt Weddle becomes an Eagle.

_


135 Comments on “OTAs Talk”

  1. 1 Ark87 said at 8:34 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think I like that set up in the secondary, 4 veterans. We’ve got a lot of young guys and I hope we keep as many as we can, but they need time.

  2. 2 Avery Greene said at 9:18 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Good way to look at it, and I agree.

  3. 3 GEAGLE said at 5:15 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    the 4’starting veterans would certainly be ideal. Also hope Wolff is good enough to atleast be good competition for Thurmond….maragos is a lock, but I consider him a ST player, not a Safety.
    ..
    Prosinski, I also put in the Maragos Category. I’m HOPING that we have young safeties that look really good enough to keep because of their potential at Safety and end up taking the Roster spot of a guy like Prosinski who we would only be keeping for ST ability…. ST is important, if none of the young safeties are looking promising, then I have no problem bringing back another ST stud like Prosinski, but IDEALLY our young safeties are too promising to keep BOTH Maragos and Prosinski, in which Case Maragos is the only safety who makes the roster soley because of his special teams ability.

    Things we,can’t count on, but I’m HOPING a for, because they would make us better:
    .
    1) Prosinki doesn’t make the roster even tho he is an awesome ST player because we have a few young,safeties that are looking really good on defense AND special teams..
    ..
    2) Im hoping we find a gem in the Undrafted OLineman, and we end up seeing two of the 3rd team OL take roster spots from two of the 2nd team offensive lineman (preferrably Vandervelde and Molk)…
    ..
    3) it would be awesome if travis Long manages to stay healthy for a change and,not be robbed of his athleticism and pass rush. Be BIGTIME if Marcus Smith and another OLB like Long, step up and add to our pass rush this year
    ..
    4) Barkley makes significant improvement and proves to be worth continuing to develope
    .,
    5) Miles Austin and Riley Cooper have enough left to actually help us on offense and add to our WR a corp and not have to be carried by the puppies.
    ..
    6) Thurmond and Wolff have a great competifion and both prove to be quality starting options
    ..
    7) The Starting Secondary ends up looking really Good, having a solid year behind a Front 7 that I’m sure will give plenty help to the secondary, yet even tho Nolan Carrol and Thurmond are looking good, by mid season Rowe starting to look so good that it becomes harder and harder for us to keep him on the bench
    .,,
    can’t count on any of those things, but that’s what I root for. many of those things aren’t neccessary to this years success, but they each make us a little better moving forward

  4. 4 Gary Barnes said at 8:45 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    So, should we take these June 2 OTA lineups with a huge grain of salt or should we take Sheil’s prediction Thurmond will be the S opposite Jenkins with that salt? I’d argue lineups on June 2 mean very little and Sheil is making a harmless prediction to get some clicks…

    Please do not trade Kendricks..for the love of god…Ryans & Alonso are both coming off achilles injuries and the depth options are way less talented. At a younger age, it took Ryans a full season after the injury to get back to decent production and really the following season to be good again…he is likely not going to be as effective this season and we really know nothing about Alonso as an Eagle yet….Kendricks is a really good ILB, sure he has flaws, but having one of these guys for depth and to rotate is smart.

  5. 5 eagleyankfan said at 9:31 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I don’t think you have ‘argue’ — june 2 means nothing. Especially with CK who’s more interested with reps than line ups…

  6. 6 Avery Greene said at 9:35 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    It’s all taped too, so when they review film everyone can see where they need work and the coaches can see who’s a better fit where.

    The way I look at it, these OTAs are higher education / trade school – then TC is where we see how well they apply their trade.

  7. 7 MS said at 11:26 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I’m nitpicking, but I think sheil gets plenty of clicks already. He really does not seem to be the type of reporter who plays the “click-bait” game… He’s above that.

  8. 8 Gary Barnes said at 11:30 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    You’re probably right, but what other reason would explain why he predicted Thurmond at S on June 2nd…he must know where guys line up now does not matter…so why predict anything?

  9. 9 MS said at 11:35 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I hear you. I’m usually against early unnecessary predictions and I hate when fans/media arrogantly make assumtions or projections.
    But – in this case a) I’m a Sheil fan so I’m a bit biased
    b) if you look at his wording, he did qualify it a little
    c) this does seem a bit different in that the coaches are confirming (with qualifications) that they asked him to make the switch, they paid him decent ammount, he’s a vet, he’s an ex duck…. it just seems like a more legit “thing” than just a guy getting a few reps early in camp….usually the coaches aren’t nearly so open about things like this – this is a real thing.
    So for me this is a unique/rare situation…

  10. 10 Gary Barnes said at 1:07 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think you make a good case that this is different…we’ll have to see if Thurmond can keep the position…I hope if the competition and merit-based approach is real, that everyone will get a shot with the starters and to show what they can do and Thurmond is just the first up…

  11. 11 daveH said at 1:14 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    both Sheil and Tommy know how to cut to the chase to spare us undue fear and stress … that’s why I think he made that ‘prediction/ ..just to allay us online silly fools reading june football ‘news’ and waiting for the all-90 pre-pre-pre-season practice tapes to be released and analyzed.

  12. 12 Ray888 said at 9:00 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Do we have enough experience w/ CK to say that rookies, unless really exceptional, don’t start. Veterans, w/ exceptions like Johnson & Mathews, man the first unit. It’s almost like college with upperclassmen presumed to start and freshmen often red-shirted. Conclusion would be not to project any first year player to start for CK and, on the other hand, not to be amazed if a first year player can’t even break into a rotation. So maybe too much should not be expected of Rowe & Hicks immediately and maybe Huff, Hart, & Smith will be contributors.

  13. 13 Ark87 said at 9:09 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Good points, on a related point, I think a lot of us have assumed Agholor, Huff, and Matthews will be our starting WR’s. But there is an absurd (non-zero) chance that Cooper starts over Agholor or Huff and one of them has to wait for an injury or 4 WR sets to get on the field.

  14. 14 eagleyankfan said at 9:29 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    ‘CK to say that rookies, unless really exceptional, don’t start’ — can be said for any team in the NFL – unless there’s need(or injury) at that position. You have to earn your way.

  15. 15 Avery Greene said at 9:32 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think CK has made it clear that’s it’s a merit-based system. The best player will start. Granted, usually Year 2 kids make a step forward and should be more savvy (read:better) than the rooks coming in.

    I expect the rooks from last year to take a step forward, with some maybe even having a breakout season.

    I would expect if a rook is showing up better than a vet, they will get the time.

  16. 16 Gary Barnes said at 11:13 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    But no system is entirely merit-based when run by humans..was Fletcher really the best CB to start last year? Was Cooper the best WR to start? I think Kelly uses merit as much as possible, but in some cases the vet or young player, based on $$ or status, will get the nod if things are close enough….

  17. 17 Avery Greene said at 11:16 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I slightly disagree. Carroll was hurt coming out of TC, and Boykin was set in the slot at that point. Watkins wasn’t ready and there was no one else to man the CB position at that point.

    Boykin got hurt I think the 2nd game and he wasn’t really his best all season. We had no depth at that position last year.

    If Carroll were healthy, IMO Fletcher doesn’t start last year.

  18. 18 Fufina said at 9:44 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think Chip pretty much projects no one to start year 1, let people go out and earn starting minutes. Johnson & Matthews both started as 3rd team in OTA’s and progressed up to get starting minutes from there.

  19. 19 wee2424 said at 1:41 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Logan as well. Ertz while not starting saw over 40% of snaps. I agree with everything you have said. I don’t think CK is opposed to having a rookie start as long as the rookie is better then the others at his position. The goal is to get the best players on the field after all.

  20. 20 Jernst said at 10:34 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think Chip’s process is pretty simple. As a rookie you come in needing to prove you belong. It doesn’t seem like anyone comes in and is immediately penciled in as a starter. He’s got to put out some sort of depth chart in the early off season so players know what order to jump in to the action, but if you’ve ever seen his practices live, there’s so much mixing and matching and different players playing in different groups, that there really isn’t anything more than a rough outline of what the “starters” or 2nd and 3rd teams are. He tries to get players the most reps humanly possible, he reviews the tape and sees who’s playing the best and eventually sets the depth chart to reflect that as the preseason gets under way. If that happens to be a rookie then the rookie starts. If the rookie isn’t beating out the veteran the rookie sits until he improves and beats the veteran out. But, the one thing he doesn’t seem to do is put rookies out there that aren’t ready, just to get their feet wet and get them game experience.

  21. 21 MattE said at 9:23 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Crowded ILB Position.

    “We can rotate them into the packages that we already have,” said
    defensive coordinator Billy Davis, “and there are packages where we can
    come up with three inside backers that play different kinds of hybrid
    positions. All three have a high football IQ, and the skill sets are
    different among all of them, so we can put in some packages to have all
    three of them out there.”

    …maybe one of them takes the Nolan Carrol Dime-LB position since Carrol might be starting?

  22. 22 Avery Greene said at 9:33 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Maybe more nickel since we are healthier at the LB position? Carroll was like a LB in his role, but I think they’d prefer to have a real LB to play the nickel rather than CB.

  23. 23 MattE said at 9:39 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Nickel good catch.

    ….also found this looking for a 3-5 formation on google lol

    2-5 Front Formation Existed!
    In this variation of the 3–4, known also as the “3–4 eagle”, the nose guard is removed from play and in his place is an extra linebacker, who lines up on the line where the nose guard would be, sometimes slightly behind where the nose guard would be. It allows defenses more flexibility in man to man coverages and zone blitzes. It was created by Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur, and evolved from Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense. Shurmur created the defense in part to take advantage of the pass rush abilities of Kevin Greene, a defensive end sized linebacker. The “eagle” in the formation’s name comes from the late 1940s-early 1950s Philadelphia Eagles coached by Greasy Neale.

    The original Eagle defense was a 5–2 arrangement, with five defensive linemen and two linebackers. In Neale’s defense, as in Shurmur’s variation, the nose tackle could also drop into pass coverage, thus Shurmur’s use of the Eagle defense
    name.

    ……personally I like Beau Allen at DT on passing downs. Him and Bennie platooning is great.

  24. 24 MattE said at 9:40 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Interesting because:
    1) Another Shurmur in Eagles/Rams history
    2) Buddy had a hand in it.
    3) It’s called the “3-4 Eagle”

  25. 25 Fufina said at 9:42 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Zona used to have some 2 DL only looks a few years back then would send 2-3 blitzers from the packages. That really only worked because Calais Campbell is a beast.

  26. 26 MattE said at 9:59 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Cox is getting there

  27. 27 Avery Greene said at 9:45 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Brings up another question. Do they sit Bennie and use Cox/Ced or sit Ced/Logan and use Cox/Curry?

    I’d like to see a 2-5 front. You could bring the pressure from either side and the middle. This should be fun.

  28. 28 MattE said at 9:57 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Yeah Cox/Curry attacking the interior of an OL might cause enough issues for opposing C/G combos that they could move the pocket enough to cause a quick through into 4LB’s waiting over the middle, three of which are probably in the upper echelon in terms of coverage for the LB position.

  29. 29 MattE said at 10:11 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    found this too….
    http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2012/6/4/3063634/theorizing-the-defense-the-3-4-eagle

    ….really good read. I can visualize our roster in these positions.

  30. 30 MattE said at 10:33 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    http://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/04/11/fritz-shurmurs-eagle-defense-the-birthplace-of-the-zone-blitz/

    Pat Shurmur is the nephew of the Fritz Shurmur who created the 3-4 Eagle, which stopped Randall Cunningham…. crazy.

    Very similar to the Amoeba defense?

  31. 31 Avery Greene said at 10:47 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Nice reference. The precursor to UNLV’s amoeba defense was when Chaney’s Owls played them and they used the same type of defense after that game. UNLV had better athletes, so they renamed it the amoeba defense.

    I watched this HBO special on Tark, and Chaney was interviewed for that – or I saw him in a different interview talking about this same thing.

  32. 32 MattE said at 10:50 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Amoeba like Pitt/Belichick used recently

  33. 33 MattE said at 10:51 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Kiko/DeMeco showing blitz at the line standing up with Curry/Cox on either side would be very confusing for QB’s in my opinion.

  34. 34 Jernst said at 10:27 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Did I miss something? Did we not have 2 LBers on the field in our nickel defense last year? Or are you talking about when everyone was injured and we didn’t want to put Acho or Matthews out there in coverage? Sorry just confused about what you guys are talking about.

  35. 35 unhinged said at 9:44 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Weddle’s okay, but any resource given up to get him is wasted, imo. The bar is set low for Thurmond, and he will exceed it. As for Kendricks, is his inferred disfavor in the House of Kelly a fact or is it conventional wisdom of all commentators outside of NovaCare Complex? The idea that Cox, Kendricks and Boykin were all dangled – along with picks to get Mariota was embraced, promoted and dissected by nearly every Eagles news vendor inside and outside of the Delaware Valley, and it was totally baseless. That includes Kempski. Kelly obviously will not tip his hand if in fact Kendricks is a short-timer, but I have no confidence in the words of experts who know less than they think they know. Taking Kendricks off of this unit now, with Ryans and Alonso not 100%, with Hicks raw will add to the pressure on the new-look secondary, and will expose Brandon Graham’s limitations as a run-stopper. If Kelly is determined to shop Kendricks, the time is nigh as regards his contract, but, as in the case of Evan Mathis, removing Kendricks now is not a way to help this team win.

  36. 36 Jernst said at 10:23 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I’m fairly certain Kendricks isn’t going anywhere this year. Chip wasn’t lying when he said the team went into the offseason with the idea that they needed to improve depth at ILB. I don’t think going into the year with a guy who’s recovering from an ACL tear and learning a new system and a 31 year old that’s recovering from his second ruptured Achilles tendon (who no one knows if he’ll ever have the explosion and speed to play at a high level again) as the starters and having a very raw rookie and Najee Goode (who is also recovering from a pectoral tear) as he key backups, is a real improvement to the overall corps from last year.

    Kendricks is just too much of a difference maker to give him up for peanuts. Even if he leaves next year for nothing, he brings quite a bit to the team this year, and it doesn’t make sense to substantially weaken the team this year for a mid 5th round pick next year. No one wanted to trade a 2nd rounder for him this offseason, which appeared to be our asking price, and I doubt other teams will suddenly offer up a high pick as the offseason wears on and I see no reason why we’d substantially drop our asking price. Kendricks is simply worth way more to us than any other team right now. Plus he’s the only guy in that meeting room who’s actually completely healthy. The next three guys on that depth chart are all recovering from serious season ending injuries.

  37. 37 BlindChow said at 9:47 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I wrote about Thurmond on Tuesday. Now he’s running with the starters.

    For the love of god, DON’T WRITE ABOUT TEBOW!

  38. 38 MattE said at 9:49 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I caught that too haha.

  39. 39 Ark87 said at 9:54 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Can we make a list of people Tommy can’t write about? I’d like to add Cooper to it.

  40. 40 MattE said at 9:58 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    but does it work the other way and if Tommy writes negatively about someone does it become truth?

  41. 41 Ark87 said at 10:06 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    this may require some science

  42. 42 A_T_G said at 2:23 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    And a Cowboys-dedicated section.

  43. 43 Insomniac said at 3:33 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Kenjon Barner.

  44. 44 PerfectTrader777 said at 3:35 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Andrew Gardner

  45. 45 Bert's Bells said at 11:41 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    We need a five part series on Kinne.

  46. 46 Cafone said at 10:50 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I watched a lot of the OTA press pass videos with the players on pe.com, and it seems like every guy is team first and extremely motivated (though Huff and Alonzo aren’t the brightest bulbs in the pack)

    This seems like a group of guys that will come together as a team.

  47. 47 MattE said at 10:52 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I was saying that Braman and Kiko might become best friends lol

  48. 48 MattE said at 10:54 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    ever see Blue Mountain State? I could see these two being like….

  49. 49 Ark87 said at 11:13 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    this seems inevitable now that you bring it up

  50. 50 Avery Greene said at 10:55 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    True, let’s hope none of the “slower” guys go all Gus Frerotte and head bump a concrete wall.

  51. 51 Jason said at 11:00 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    How about this plan for Brandon Boykin as a CB2 — put him on the outside in base sets and move him to the slot when offense goes 3WR. Eric Rowe comes in as a nickle CB, but covers the second best outside WR. This way we maximize snaps for our second best cover CB, but also maximize his unique skill as a slot corner.

    Davis just got quoted as saying that Maxwell could follow opposing WR1 on both sides of the field. This would keep Boykin off Dez when we play Dallas. Moreover, how many WR twin towers are there in the NFL when Boykin’s supposed shortcomings would be exposed? Four, right? Chicago, Tampa, NY Jets, and maybe CAR. We play three of those teams and maybe in those base defenses we adjust Boykin back to nickle slot corner.

    All I remember from last season were taller corners with longer arms being beaten by speed and technique by DeSean and OBJ and John Brown. Even Dez was beating Fletcher with speed not posting him up. Surely, Boykin’s vertical can compensate to cover all but the tallest WR out there and cover most WR 2 which are average sized. Why not give it a shot?

  52. 52 Fufina said at 11:13 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    That is a lot of burden on Boykin since he will have to learn 2 sets skills/techniques, plus prepare for the game both inside and out, maybe they try to do this, but why would you keep your bigger more physical CB off the field on running downs (Rowe) but then bring him in for passing plays?

  53. 53 Jason said at 11:21 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    That’s a fair question as to whether the slot/outside techniques would provide additional challenges, but Kelly/Davis value versatility and if Maxwell is assigned to follow he may be covering WR1 in the slot on occasion too.

    As for your other point, you maximize snaps for your best coverage CBs. If Boykin’s superior coverage skills outweigh the advantage Rowe might have in the run game, then you put Boykin out there early. Teams also pass in WR2 sets.

  54. 54 Jernst said at 10:10 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I agree. I think the issue with run defense isn’t really an issue at all. Boykin plays close to the line a lot and has been adequate for a CB in run support. I mean, come on, we’re talking about Billy Davis here, the same guy that was absolutely convinced for four games in 2013 that Boykin would make a terrific 3-4 OLB at 180 pounds.

    If our defensive coordinator can rationalize using our smallest corner as a rush outside LB and send him to take on LTs on a regular basis as part of his “let’s do crazy stuff to mix it up package”, but is so concerned with that same players ability to get off a WRs block and make a play on a sweep that he’d rather start an inferior player on the outside, then we’ve lost all hope.

    I think the real issue is two fold. One, the technique assignments and ability to bounce back and forth all game long would be difficult. Not impossible, but it adds an additional level of difficulty for a player that would be starting full time and on the outside for the first time in his career, so it’s not nothing.

    The second issue, which I think is the real reason he’s not playing outside, is that Chip and the coaching staff place high value on the nickel corner position and they aren’t lying when they say they consider it essentially a 12th starter on defense. In addition, when they look at Boykin, they see the prototypical slot CB. The best nickel CB in the entire league. And, someone that really excels at that position. They also see a guy who has the skills to be a pretty good, if not, really good outside CB as well. But, despite that, in their eyes, he’ll never be ideal as an outside CB and he’s probably not as good outside as he is in the slot. He’s the best nickel CB in the game. I highly doubt he’d be the best outside CB in the game. So for them, the decision is easy…if he’s the best nickel CB in the game and he’s a good, but less than ideal outside CB, and nickel is really important, then let’s keep him at nickel and get the right guys in here to play outside.

  55. 55 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:12 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    It must be kind of surreal practicing with Tebow. On the one hand, he’s a low-end QB. But he also has the aura of fame and celebrity. If you break up one of his passes, it’s not much of an achievement, but it’s probably kind of fun and a good chest-beating moment.

  56. 56 MS said at 11:41 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    I guess maybe but I personally highly doubt that the players on the team view him with cool-aid ESPN/Disney googly eyes like the media and some fans do…no offense. I doubt they are at all phased by ex-heisman trophy winners (we have a few:)), guys who’ve gotten a lot of press (it’s not long ago that we had players with names like __sean), or guys who talk frequently about religion….
    (though I do hear Tebow’s sweat drops cures aids and jinglefootedness)

  57. 57 Bert's Bells said at 11:41 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Destro has the AIDS cure.

  58. 58 MS said at 11:46 AM on June 4th, 2015:

    Thanks. I was not aware of that. Now I’ve got half the battle.

  59. 59 laeagle said at 5:10 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    But he’s using it to power his weather machine.

  60. 60 ACViking said at 12:14 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    something like this, maybe?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t8xwpW8gJQ

  61. 61 P_P_K said at 2:46 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Cosmo Tebow?

  62. 62 botto said at 12:27 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I like how Jenkins says that coach undlin was the most important pick up of the off season.
    even more so the Maxwell.
    he and Boykin both said they are already better and have learned more in the few weeks then they had in their previous years.

  63. 63 Gary Barnes said at 1:11 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    That’s pretty sad if true…who was the previous CB coach? Was he a holdover from Reid or a Kelly hire?

  64. 64 Avery Greene said at 1:16 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Kelly hire, I think he was from the college ranks. He’s now a scout, but I forget which region.

  65. 65 Greg Richards said at 5:05 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Pro Scout, so he doesn’t have a region.

  66. 66 Avery Greene said at 6:21 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Ahhh, I stand corrected. I couldn’t remember the details, just that he wasn’t getting thru to the players.

  67. 67 Avery Greene said at 1:17 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Here’s his Wiki profile:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lovett_(American_football)

  68. 68 FairOaks said at 1:18 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Kelly hire (John Lovett), but a longtime college coach. He was moved to scouting, and we let go of Todd Lyght, the assistant DB coach, so obviously Davis or Kelly wasn’t thrilled with either of them.

  69. 69 Greg Richards said at 5:05 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Lovett was the very last of the coaches to be hired by Kelly his first season so I have a feeling he wasn’t Chip’s first choice.

  70. 70 anon said at 5:14 PM on June 5th, 2015:

    kelly guy from college ranks, still employed, but as a scout

  71. 71 Michael Winter Cho said at 1:43 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Yeah, guys like Cary and Fletcher who’ve been playing CB their whole lives–if only they’d had a teacher like Undlin to tell them how to do it in a couple weeks.

  72. 72 botto said at 1:45 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    that’s true, If only they had some one teach them not to stink

  73. 73 Jernst said at 9:54 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Yea, I’m pretty sure, even with perfect technique Fletcher was going to get abused by a top wideout like Dez regardless. Technique will only get you so far. If you’re just not talented or fast enough it ain’t gonna matter. Undlin’s techniques aren’t going to keep someone like DeSean from blowing past someone like Fletcher who he’s substantially faster than.

  74. 74 anon said at 10:19 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Hopefully the safeties will have better instincts and know when to give help — allen was terrible in that regard last year.

  75. 75 Jernst said at 10:42 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Allen was a robot who never adjusted or anticipated anything ever. He had all the skills to be a good centerfielder, but you can’t just sit in the dead middle of the field and wait for the ball to already be out before you make a move. That and for some reason, after 4 seasons in the National Football League he never realized that the rule book allows for the QB to fake a hand off and then attempt a forward pass. Watching him go screaming towards the line of scrimmage every time the QB even half heartedly showed play action is something I most certainly will not miss.

  76. 76 GEAGLE said at 3:08 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    To add, nolan Carrol said that “focusing and stressing technique is one of the things that was missing last year, and it seemed to have really cost us down the stretch the Last month of the season. giving up X plays kept us from making the playoffs”

    I have no clue WTF the DB coach was teaching last year, but to a man, the DBs seem to really appreciate the attention to technique and detail that Undlin brought in. for Pro’s to be this impressed with a coach stressing technique, that doesn’t speak too well of our Former DB coach

  77. 77 Jernst said at 9:52 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Yea makes you wonder if Undlin is really that amazing or if the last guy (forget his name already) was just really that bad. Our CBs played with some terrible technique last year for sure.

  78. 78 Ark87 said at 12:45 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    The case for Boykin:

    While the general feeling is that Boykin has a bright future ahead of him (somewhere else it seems inevitably), he might be worth keeping around in Philly and paying well to stick around. In my opinion 2 of the top 3 WR’s in the league for the foreseeable future will be in the NFC East. One might be able to be slowed down by a big physical corner like Byron Maxwell. Beckham however, not many people have anyone who can stick with him, and if you play zone he will be used to stretch the field and make holes in your zone coverage for others to exploit. There’s 1 man in the NFC East that is fast enough, agile enough, and talented enough to compete 1 on 1 (but give him some help over the top). If that means following Beckham to the outside, I say let him do it.

  79. 79 anon said at 1:31 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Hopefully Boykin does the Brandon Graham.

  80. 80 Ark87 said at 1:40 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Great point, Graham’s departure seemed inevitable not that long ago.

  81. 81 GEAGLE said at 3:03 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Not to everyone 😉

  82. 82 Ark87 said at 3:10 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I remember, what’s the crystal ball say about Boykin?

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 3:48 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    That’s a tough one…. I don’t buy that his fate is already sealed and has been like many of the doom n gloom fans seem
    I think the media has embelished him not being happy. I think he understands that being the best nickel in the NFL is nothing to scoff at and that even if the media doesn’t understand, it really is like a starting position. Boykin is getting half his reps on the outside, and has always gotten reps on the outside… I think Boykin is more annoyed at the media and their bullshit of undervaluing his role on the team for years and assuming he should be unhappy with being a Nickel WR.. I could understand if he was a Dime, but Nickel is EXTREMELY Valuable and I think Boykin is annoyed that for years the media has tried to stir controversy assumining and insinuating that he should be unhappy, when in reality
    ..
    I think Chip likes boykin much more then the media writes. I think hehighly rated league wide, but because we are paying Rowe on cheap 2nd round rookie contract for the next 4 years, I won’t be surprised if we can come to terms on an extension keeping him here, Corey Graham proved that slot CB can get paid in Free agency, I’m hoping a contract similar to what Corey signed with the Bills this offseason, 20-24mil for 5 years, could keep Boykin in Philly, and right around the time we have to pay big money to extend Rowe, by then it will be the final years of Bpykin contract, he will be approaching 30yrs old, we could move on from Boykin, and take yje money we were giving him, add a few more dollars and Use it to extend Boykin
    ..
    I think we can lose both Boykin and Kemdricks, but i do not at all believe it’s the lock that people make it out to be… I doubt the decision has alreDy been made, and my understanding is the ONLY reason we ever talked about trading them was to get extra picks we needed to trade for Mariota. I don’t at all believe the bullshit rumor where we could ever get Mariota for 3 young players the Titans will have to commit big money to and draft picks. I do NOT believe that was real, it was one of the most pathetic fanboy crap the media ever reported, Chip needed to acquire extra picks to have any chance at trading for Mariota, and you have to trade value to get value. thats the ONLY reason I think we considered trading them away, of course we took that and irresponsibly ran with it and assumed chip doesn’t like those players, but my understanding is chip likes and values both of those guys
    ..
    To be honestl, I hear chip got a little Annoyed with Mykal Kemdricks last year, because Frm what I hear we wanted to come back sooner from his injury and Mykal sat out a game or two more then chip would have liked.. I think Mykal has to stay healthy this year to have a shot at being extended by the Eagles. If he doesn’t stay healthy, I think he is def gone. If He stays healthy, Mykal and Kiko will look so good together that we will at least try to keep him…. Boykin is complicated… I think we would have to keep him off the open market, get him signed to an extension in August or September, if he gets to the open market, someone will fuck it up and throw stupid money at him like the raiders and nate Allen
    ..
    I think both players like it hear

  84. 84 GEAGLE said at 4:08 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    That one is tricky because Boykin is thought highly of league wide..
    ..
    I will say that I think the media has been extremely irresponsible with how the covered Boykin. Boykin has been frustrated with the media for the past few years and the media takes that frustration and acts like Biykin is frustrated with the Eagles.. The media acts like boykin should feel under apprexiated because he doesn’t olay outside when in reality he should be very proud of the fact that for two years he has the best Nickel in the NFL which is so damn important in TODAYS NFL and really shoud now here considered a starting position..
    .
    my understanding is Chip really likes boykin as a nickel and would love to keep him as our Nickel. I think the contract Corey Graham got from the Bills shows boykin can be happy in the slot and get compensated for it…
    to keep Boykin, I think it’s IMPERATIVE to get it done before he hits the open market. Hopefully we extend him in August or September. Because we are paying our starting #2’CB of the next 4 years, cheap rookie money, we can afford to sign Boykin to a 20-24mil similar to what the Bills paid Corey because by the time we have to pay big money to extend Rowe, boykin will almost be in his 30’s, he would be at the backend of his contract where you can cut him without eating dead money. So when we have to extend Rowe, we can just move on from boykin, take that money, add a few dollars to it and give it to Rowe

    I think there is hope for him having a future past this year in philly. We are going to look like a top defense by the end of this season, I think remaining in this defense will apeal to guys like Kendricks and Boykin. I do NOT believe they are Locks to be gone after this season the way the media pretends they are.. My understanding is the ONLY REASON we ever wanted to trade eithet player was because we needed extra picks to be able to get Mariota, since the BS offer of sending 3’young players that thetitas had to commit big money to and two draft picks for Mariota was the most oathetic, fanboy media fabrication they ever reported… The ONLY CHANCE chip had of getting Mariota was to acquire extra picks to trade, in order to do that, you will have to trade away value.,. When getting Mariota was no longer possible I don’t think we have any interest in not having Boykin and Mykal on the field this year..
    ..
    Everything I heard is that chip really does like both players, if I’m being honest I did hear that chi was annoyed because he wanted Mykal to come back a game or two sooner from his injury, but other then THAT chip values both players and we will try to extend both players. I do think Mykal has to play 16 games this year or chip won’t pay him.. I expect to try and keep both, I think it’s foolish fo people to think decisipns have already been made on young players that are still growing… boykin didn’t give up a single TD a last year. Chip is quoted as saying “we are a much different defense with Mykal on the field”…. It’s ridiculuos to think decisions to throw away those players Has already been made when it’s probable that both hardworking young men are going to take another step and be much better players then the quality promising players they haven been since arriving here…we might want to see their best before we assume they are done here… Both I think have a chance to be here Longterm, but I don’t THNK it can go the way BG went. If we can’t get them to sign an extension before they reach the open market, it will be very very hard to keep them.. hopefully we get them extended no later then October.. We could end up losing them, but I think we are so far from it being the foregone conclusion media pretends it is…

  85. 85 Jernst said at 9:48 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I agree that the media tries to push Boykin on the issue so they can get a juicy quote to generate clicks on their articles. But, Boykin goes out of his way to mention it too. He had that tweet earlier this year where he said, “what do I know…I’m just a nickel.” And, it’s not like Boykin doesn’t give the media exactly what they’re looking for when they throw those questions at him. He was quite blunt at his press conference the other day. Basically came right out and said, “If I’m not going to be the starter here, I’ll definitely be a starter somewhere else next year.”

    I think you’re absolutely right, though, in saying that Chip values him highly. I think Chip sees Boykin as the perfect slot CB and the best nickel he’s gonna find, and while he might have confidence that Boykin could be an effective outside CB, he’s less than ideal in that spot in Chip’s mind. So, for Chip, when he looks at Boykin and sees a PERFECT nickel corner back and a probably pretty decent, but less than ideal outside CB, the decision is pretty easy….keep Boykin at nickel. Because, as you say, nickel is a highly highly important position to the defense.

    Unfortunately, though, when Boykin looks in the mirror he doesn’t see the same thing Chip does. He sees a guy who in his mind can be a great outside CB and certainly much better than the slop they trotted out last year and he’s dead set on being just that. Why settle for really good slot CB money and play 50% of the snaps when you’re sure of yourself that if given the opportunity you’d be a top outside CB, get top outside CB money which is substantially more, and play twice as many snaps?

    If Chip leaves Boykin in the slot this year, and trust me, he will, Boykin 100% leaves in FA next year. The only way he doesn’t is if he’s the starting CB on the outside by the end of the year, or if for some mysterious reason there’s zero market for his services as an outside corner when he goes into FA. And, I just can’t see either of those things realistically happening.

    Kendricks I’m a lot more optimistic about. Like you said, if he plays all 16 games and continues to play at a high level, he’ll be a top priority resign going into next year. I’m not expecting much from Ryans this year. Anything he gives us will be added bonus as far as I’m concerned. There’s a good chance he’s lost a good deal of explosion and speed with his second Achilles rupture and I don’t think he’s going to continue to be a guy you want starting long term for you at 32 years old next season.

  86. 86 Bert's Bells said at 5:13 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Same thing it said about DIon JOrdan or FOles in Philly ’05?

  87. 87 GEAGLE said at 6:33 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    The Case for Boykin:

    he is the best Nickel CB In the NFL and his best ball is still ahead of him. Didn’t give up a single TD last year, and Nickel is so much more values then dumb media thinks..What’s really pathetic is our media should understand after Al Harris and Joselio Hansen, but they weren’t half as important as the nickel CB position is today.. When Al Harris and Joselio Hansen were thriving at Nickel for us, slot WRs were just thought of as fast, smaller Az hakim types..
    ..
    TODAYS NFL, you can end up having to face,a big Jordan Mathews, Marques Colston type of WR in the slot, and plenty teams also move their #1’WR all over the place giving guys like Dez BRyant looks from the slot
    .,
    In TODAYS NFL, you BETTER have a Nickel who is good enough to be an NFL starter…The Media needs to learn the difference between the Importance of the Nickel who in Today’s game better be starting caliber corner, and the Dime CB who is a subpackage, backüp type….. your NICKEL needs to be good enough to matchup with Dez BRyant on occasion, Victior Cruz, Odell Beckham, Garcon, Desean, they will all see time in the slot… Pissing away the best slot nickel CB in the NFL to make him a solid outside CB is one of the dumbest crap this media got in its head…. ITS NOT OK to move Boykin outside and just replace him with whoever in the slot. We have the top Nickel in the Game, why would anyone want to screw with that?

  88. 88 Jernst said at 9:32 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I think Chip and the Eagles really value Boykin as a the nickel CB. I get the feeling that they might think that he’d make a fine outside CB, but there he’d always be less than ideal for what they want to do, while he’s literally the perfect slot CB. I’m sure they’d offer him really good money to stay as their nickel CB. However, he also get the impression that Boykin has every intention of becoming an outside CB and is not going to settle for the nickel role at all after his contract is up at the end of this year. He basically came right out and said it in his press conference the other day. He said if he doesn’t win one of the starting CB spots this year, it’s no big deal, because he’ll be out next year playing for another team that will offer him the opportunity that he never got here.

    So, yea, I think everyone would like to keep Boykin around. I just don’t think he’ll have any interest in staying here and playing mostly in the slot. He wants to be on the outside playing the whole game and if it’s not here he has every intention of leaving next year to the highest bidder that offers him a job as a starting CB.

  89. 89 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:55 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    “A QB is like a teabag. You don’t know what you got until you put him in hot water.” -Kelly during a press conference at Oregon in 2011

  90. 90 GEAGLE said at 3:02 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    If the Eagles are going to give up value for a safety, we have to be fools to trade for Weddle instead of the young Stud safety from the Browns, Tasuan Gipson, who is younger, and a much better fit for our scheme.. Long, converted CB out of Wyoming..
    ..
    the Browns are already paying too much money to their secondary. Joe Haden makes Big Money. DONTE,Whitner isn’t cheap, and they were forced to sigń Tramon Williams becayse Justin Gilbert sucks… I don’t see how they can pay big money to another Safety….Tashuan Gipson is a dream fit for our scheme and what we look for in Safeties…
    ..
    Browns probably won’t want Kendricks after stealing my boy Kirksey in the 3rd round last year.. but spending a draft pick on a stud safety is well worth it as far as I’m concerned… I’d Try and trade our second 3rd rounder and a 5th round pick the following year….
    ..
    but I’m fine with continuing to transition thurmond to safety, and I’m pleased with Nolan at corner for as long as it takes Rowe to develope..

  91. 91 PerfectTrader777 said at 3:18 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    While it doesn’t make too much sense for teams to spend too much on any position (ie browns secondary) it makes more sense when you realize they don’t have a QB to pay or any great WRs. Their O and D lines are in great financial shape as the guys with contracts ending at the end of this year will be replaced by guys they got in the draft.

    If they want to get rid of Gipson, that’d be great for the Eagles. I wouldn’t count on it though.

  92. 92 GEAGLE said at 3:22 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Even if they don’t trade him, I would assume they will lose him in free agency at the end of the year

  93. 93 PerfectTrader777 said at 3:24 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Ya, my point is that they’ll be able to pay market value for him because they’ll have enough cap space.

  94. 94 GEAGLE said at 6:21 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Think they would have paid him by now instead of letting the relationship deteriorate. They are trying to use his MCL Injury to devalue him. If they let him get to the open market next year, he is gone!,

  95. 95 CrackSammich said at 4:13 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Well, they *did* have a pretty great receiver… Shame about that one.

  96. 96 PerfectTrader777 said at 4:15 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Agreed. Even if he comes back he’s got a low salary until 2017

  97. 97 GEAGLE said at 3:18 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Malcolm Jenkins and B-Max, are leading this group of young DB’s and WRs who stay after practice every day getting in extra work with Agholor, pope, boykin, Couplin and Rowe (that I know of, I’m sure there are a few other names), and the WRs and,DBs are exchanging information. Besides picking the brains of Mikes Austin (who I also hear has been a great resource for young,players) and Riley Cooper, Jordan and Agholor are picking the brains of our talented veteran DBs to get the defensive players perspective…

    ILB Coach Minter raved about Jordan Hicks, and talked about how he has been following Hicks since high school and that he is everything the Eagles look for in a ILB…kind of reminds me of a poor mans Bobby Wagner

  98. 98 Insomniac said at 3:41 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I actually want to see Watkins a lot this pre-season. IMO, he’s not as bad as he showed he was in the few times he got on the field last year. He has all of the tools to be a good cover CB but hasn’t had enough time to learn the nuances + time to build up confidence as a CB.

  99. 99 Mitchell said at 7:22 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I didn’t think he was that bad when he played last year in the first place.

  100. 100 GEAGLE said at 4:46 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    so tar so good with Nolan starting outside and Thurmond in the slot. It would be HUGE for us if both players can continue to grow and progress in these roles and maintain their grip on the starting spots so that the starters get as many snaps as possibke playing together this summer. of course other players will take reps with the starters but best case scenario, Nolan and Walter keep playing so well that they end up running away with the starting spots, tho I do hope young players step up enough to push them and make it a competition
    ..
    When fans get Bradley friggin Fletcher out of their heads and take the time to watch Nolan Carrols technique, I think they will realize he is a more caoable player then people thnk. Take BradLey out of the equation and judge Nolan on his own ability, tecnique, and merits and you will realize he is perfectly capable of babysitting the #2 CB spot as long as we need him to Til Rowe can take over (I assume next year).
    ..
    Most fans seem to like the Job Nolan did playing Dime last year, yet they automatically assume he is a sucky option outside. that’s dysfunctional thinking when you realize we SIGNED nolan as an OUTSIDE Corner. ALL the Film we watched that led us to wanting to sign him was of him playing OUTSIDE Corner, NOT in the slot! If you are pleased with how the kid played In the slot when he had so little previous experience playing inside, why would you automatically assume you won’t be happy with him playing outside, when THATS really the position he played the majority of his life? He is an outside CORNER, if you liked him inside, give the man a chance at the position he is most comfortable at. Stop judging Nolan as the kid Hradley Fletcher played in front of, and judge the kid on his ability and technique, and when you do that, I bet you realize we have a better outside CB then we maybe thought.
    ..
    Nolan can play!! When Rowe is eventualLy ready to take over, Carrol won’t be Burried on our bench, we will still want tyou use him in subpackages because he really does have nice ability in coverage with some decent Size and strength.
    ..
    Don’t be surprised if you find yourself becoming a fan of the kid. He can play, and he plays with toughness and tenacity.
    .,.
    I TRUST Nolan at outside corner for a year more then I Trust Thurmond at safety for a year. nolan has been an outside corner his entire career with the exception of last year when we stuck him in Dime. Thurmond, has never played a game at safety, and while I really do like the idea of Thurmond at safety in THIS scheme, and think it could end up being a great idea, I don’t KNOW that he can do it, like I KNOW that Nolan can play outside, I have seen him do it…
    ..
    Ideally, Moving Thurmond to safety proves to be brilliant, but hopefully a few of our young safeties prove that they can also play…
    ..
    What I don’t undersyand is when they say “Ome side of the secondary Looks GREAT with Byron and Maxwell”.. How is that possible? Didn’t Jenkins play on Bradley Fletcher’s side, while Nate played on Cary Williams side? Byron Maxwell is replacing Cary Williams, so shouldn’t Nate Allen be on that side? Which right now would be Thurmond? With Jenkins being next to Nolan Carrol/Roew?

  101. 101 GENETiC-FREAK said at 6:32 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Yeah saw that bit about Jenkins n Maxwell side.. Maxwell played RCB in Seatle maybe they keeping him there??

  102. 102 Mitchell said at 7:21 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Where are you seeing his technique on the outside? Dolphins games? He didn’t play that much last year did he?

  103. 103 D3FB said at 8:38 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    “I don’t watch tAPe”

    -GEAGLE

  104. 104 GEAGLE said at 10:09 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    I haven’t seen him recently… When we signed I download most of what I could find from the Dolphins, and he stuck out a lot early the first couple open practices I went to so after that I always made it a point to keep watching him.. But I didn’t do any film work on him as our DIME last year.. Back when I had the time to check guys out, most of his tape was all playing outside.. I know he did well last year inside but I didn’t get a chance to go back and watch it..
    ..
    What you do is look for his career stats, see what games he got a nice amount of snaps in and then download torrents of those games. I used to also try to get a few examples of a guy at different points in his career to try and see what his growth rate looks like or at times regression

  105. 105 RobNE said at 8:07 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    so far so good? we’ve had a few OTA’s so far.

  106. 106 anon said at 8:26 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    “The Detroit Free Press projects 2014 second-round pick Kyle Van Noy as the Lions’ “third or fourth linebacker” this year.

    Appearing in eight games as a rookie, Van Noy earned only
    51 snaps while SLB Tahir Whitehead was a top-notch run stuffer. With
    MLB Stephen Tulloch and WLB DeAndre Levy locked into starting jobs”

    PFT

  107. 107 anon said at 9:09 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    “According to Pro Football Focus, 22 percent of Joseph Randle’s carries last season went for 10 or more yards.

    That was the highest percentage in football and double the
    league average. Of course, that number is skewed by Randle’s lack of
    reps: he only logged 51 carries last season. A whopping 214 of Randle’s
    344 yards came after contact. The 23-year-old certainly has big play
    potential. With DeMarco Murray gone, he should have a decent workload
    this season.”

    That’s 11 carries over 10yds. Be interesting to see what happens there.

  108. 108 Fufina said at 9:35 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    He averages under 3 yards per carry when he has more than 10 rush attempts in his career, so lets see how he does with a heavy workload. Is easy to come in and spell in the 4th quarter the league leading rusher behind a strong OL… in the first quarter when they are trying to shut down the run and are fresh is a different challenge.

  109. 109 anon said at 10:17 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Agree 100%.

  110. 110 HawaiianEagle said at 10:43 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Jamie Dukes projecting boys in the SB.. Good thing he’s an idiot…

  111. 111 GEAGLE said at 10:44 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    That’s ridiculous

  112. 112 RobNE said at 8:06 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    Polk’s stats were similar skewed.

  113. 113 anon said at 10:18 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    Apparently AP is back looking like vintage AP, vikings will be interesting this year.

  114. 114 BreakinAnklez said at 8:23 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I can’t believe they didn’t draft Parker…reunite him with Teddy B. Help out your young QB…seemed like a no brainer to me. Not like this is a stacked group of receivers even with the overrated Mike Wallace.

  115. 115 GEAGLE said at 10:44 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    1) How many teams have a better #2 QB then the Sanchize?
    ..
    2) How many teams have better #2 and #3 RBs then Ryan Mathews and Sproles?
    ..
    3) how many teams have a better #2 TE then Ertz?
    ..
    4) How many teams have more depth then us at ILB?
    ..
    5) How many teams have a better PR(Sproles) and KR(Huff/Agholor) then us?
    ..
    6) How many teams have a better Combo of Kicker and Punter then Cody/Donnie?
    ..
    7) How many teams in the division have a better secondary then us?
    ..
    8) How many teams have a better stable of Linebackers then us?
    ..
    9) How many teams have better stable of RBs?

    10) assuming Mathis plays, how many teams have a better starting OL then us?
    ..
    this is a very deep roster, scary to think what it can be after one more offseason? If our health can be similar to 2013, this season could be a lot of fun

  116. 116 Jernst said at 10:52 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    There really are only a few holes on this roster. RG is a bit of a mystery, but as long as we stay healthy and Mathis plays, it shouldn’t slow us down too much. Depth at Oline is a potential issue. Half of the secondary could be much improved or a total disaster, but I’m leaning towards improved. And, 1 CB spot is vastly improved from last year. That’s really it. 1 of the starting Safety positions and back up offensive line are really the only spots that we don’t seem to have covered the way you’d ideally want.

    At the end of the day, it all comes down to QB, though. If Bradford is a revelation in this new offense, we’re instant Super Bowl contenders. If he he’s a mix between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Cassel we aren’t. Simple as that.

  117. 117 Bert's Bells said at 10:58 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    “At the end of the day, it all comes down to QB”

    Exactly. Those 10 points are completely irrelevant if the Eagles don’t get above average production from their starting QB.

  118. 118 eagleyankfan said at 8:09 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I’ll disagree. 100%. I’ve seen mediocre, at best, QB’s win SB’s with great defenses. I’ve seen elite QB’s win very little, if at all, because of no defense.
    …..
    At the end of the day, it does not come down to the QB. (I’m not saying it doesn’t help, but history shows, it’s not the case)

  119. 119 bsuperfi said at 8:20 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I think we’ve all seen this. But it happens so rarely. Very good to great QBs give you the best odds because it’s such a high leverage position.

  120. 120 BreakinAnklez said at 8:22 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I get the argument, but if it were true, Peyton would have more than one Super Bowl

  121. 121 eagleyankfan said at 8:28 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    Elway we can bring up too. This guy was amazing. I get that he won 2 but man, that guy deserved 5 SB’s. I think the list of ‘OK’ QB’s are greater than the list of “comes down to QB”. I’m not a fan of Ben Roth either….
    Who was the QB when TB won? Or for the Ravens etc etc. I’d love to have Luck as our QB but ok knowing we don’t need him to win.

  122. 122 Bert's Bells said at 9:45 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    None of that matters. The Eagles are built to be an offensive team.

    If you’re suggesting they revamp the whole philosophy, get a new head coach and defensive personnel that’s a completely different argument.

    This team can have a good defense. They will need above average QB play to get them anywhere.

  123. 123 eagleyankfan said at 8:22 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    Eli Manning — twice. How many does Peyton have?

  124. 124 Bert's Bells said at 9:41 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    The Eagles need above average QB play.

    They’re not going to put up a 2000 Ravens defense.

  125. 125 bsuperfi said at 8:18 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    It’s hard to imagine that we don’t get at least average QB play. I’m no Sanchez fan, but he played alright last year, and I’d think he’d get at least a little better (if not significantly) with another year in the offense. And of course, his new rocket arm! And he should be better in an offense that (theoretically) runs the ball better with an improved D.

    I’m also trying not to drink the homer juice, but I think Bradford has a very high ceiling in this offense…to go along with a very low floor given his injury history. But if Bradford physically can’t play near where he needs to, we’ll get what I think is at least average QB play with Sanchez.

  126. 126 BreakinAnklez said at 8:21 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    Or this defense turns into a historic juggernaut circa 2000 Ravens

  127. 127 FairOaks said at 3:08 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    Depth at OLB. Starters are Barwin and Graham, the latter of which was rotated in last year and it remains to be seen how effective he is with more playing time. But behind them, we have MSII, which is anyone’s guess at this point. And behind him? That is a position which usually gets pretty heavy rotation from backups; if MSII doesn’t step up or we get any injuries there, that could get ugly.

  128. 128 anon said at 12:00 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I’m excited about the team but no reason to brag about the bench just yet.

  129. 129 GEAGLE said at 9:06 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I asked a fucking question, where do you see “bragging?

  130. 130 PerfectTrader777 said at 12:04 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    We keep the bench a lot warmer than our opps

  131. 131 CrackSammich said at 12:26 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    #8 and 4 are the same question.
    #2 and 9 are the same question.

  132. 132 RobNE said at 8:04 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    wow we are going to win the preseason when the starters don’t play.

  133. 133 EaglesHero87 said at 11:20 PM on June 4th, 2015:

    If you only look at one side of the secondary, it looks promising with Malcolm Jenkins and Byron Maxwell.

    I know Chip Kelly and probably more so with Bill Davis value a mirrored defense, but has anyone considered the possibility of having Maxwell cover one side of the field and Jenkins cover the other side of the field?

    Since Maxwell is clearly the Eagles’ CB1, I imagine he’d cover the right side. But when he was on the Seahawks, wasn’t he relegated as a CB2 which meant he covered the left side since Sherman was exclusively used on the right side, right? Either way, I think I would feel comfortable leaving Maxwell on an island with the opposing team’s WR with minimal safety support, whereas Jenkins could provide safety support for the Eagles’ CB2 (whoever that’ll be).

    Thoughts?

  134. 134 anon said at 1:02 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    TBD i think having a bunch of LBs that are good in space is going to help the safeties out a lot. From what i can tell it didn’t look like jenkins played center field a lot and his level of play plateaued pretty early in the year – i don’t think anyone in the secondary is capable of playing on an island against the WRs in this division.

  135. 135 ICDogg said at 3:55 AM on June 5th, 2015:

    I think with Undlin the team is moving towards a different approach in the secondary, with less emphasis on disguising pressure and more emphasis on matchups. I don’t know that for sure, of course, until I see what they actually do on the field, but based on what he and some of the players are hinting, that’s the tentative conclusion I have come to.