The Assembly Line Approach
Posted: August 6th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 307 Comments »Chip Kelly doesn’t want talent. He doesn’t want good football players. He wants talented players who fit his criteria. He wants good players who fit his system. Kelly has very specific ideas when it comes to building a team.
I think this is a very smart approach to football. Scouts know what to look for. Coaches know how to deal with those players. Everyone is on the same page.
As with any set of rules, there have to be exceptions. I cannot stand the Dallas Cowboys or their fans, but do you think for a minute that I would turn down Jenna Fischer if she wanted to get together and discuss the theory behind the 46 Defense?
Go Cowboys!! @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/AMtEXN1z
— Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) September 6, 2012
So while Chip Kelly has very distinct ideas on what he wants, there have to be some players he is willing to make exceptions for. Right?
Clearly Brandon Boykin did not fit into his Jenna Fischer category.
Kelly has said that there are exceptions. He then also pointed out that if you make too many of them, you end up with a team full of exceptions and not the group you wanted. I think Boykin was tough for Kelly. Boykin is 5-9, 183. He has a small frame, but is incredibly muscular. Kelly would prefer a CB that is 6-1, 200. We’re not talking about an inch or 5 pounds. That’s a big difference.
And Boykin is in the league at the worst possible time. Every year it seems another crop of really talented receivers come out, with many of them being big. Some absolutely huge. Here are some of the top guys from the 2015 draft class.
Kevin White 6-3, 215
Amari Cooper 6-1, 211
DeVante Parker 6-3, 209
Breshad Perriman 6-2, 212
Jaelen Strong 6-2, 220
Dorial Green-Beckham 6-5, 237
Do you really want the 5-9, 183 guy covering those players? That’s far from ideal, to put it mildly.
But the Steelers are willing to play Boykin outside! What gives?
They are going to use the Cover 2 system quite a bit this year. There have been some smaller corners who thrived in that system. Ronde Barber listed at 5-10, 185 and had a Hall of Fame type career. Tim Jennings is only 5-8, 185, but was a terrific playmaker. Boykin can start in the Cover 2. He can succeed in that scheme.
Kelly prefers bigger DBs because that’s part of the scheme he runs. This isn’t about right and wrong. One scheme isn’t better than the other. This is about knowing your scheme and finding the players who can execute it. I don’t know if Boykin could have been a successful starter on the outside in the Eagles defense. Kelly obviously felt that wasn’t going to happen.
While I think Kelly made the right decision in trading Boykin, I am frustrated that Kelly didn’t give Boykin a chance to play on the outside. The defense was really struggling last year. Why not give Boykin a shot? Even if you just mix him in here and there. Find out for sure.
Those critical of Kelly for dealing Boykin do have to realize that while he never got a fair chance to play outside in Philly, that doesn’t mean Kelly’s judgment was wrong. Boykin might prove to be in over his head when going up against A.J. Green twice a year. The frustration lies in the fact we didn’t get to find out for sure here in Philly.
Kelly’s thinking in terms of size goes beyond just wanting key players to fit a certain mold. He wants his whole team to fit those guidelines. Tim McManus had a piece on this recently.
One thing Kelly mentioned is that the Eagles want their backups to look like their starters.
“I think that just shows you have a plan,” Kelly said. “I think some people just grasp at straws when all of a sudden you have a 6-6, 250-pound quarterback backed up by a 5-10, 175-pound kid that’s a run-around guy. I think you’re trying to get people that fit into your system, and that’s why you have height and weight and speed parameters that fit your system.”
And this.
“A two-gap defensive lineman looks different than a one-gap defensive lineman,” Kelly continued. “That’s just kind of how it is. We want taller, longer guys with longer levers that can two-gap. And if you look at our D-Line, they’re taller and longer than when we first got here. That’s because we went from a 4-3 Wide-9 to a 3-4. You had to make that adjustment along the way. You couldn’t do it in one fell swoop. We did the same thing when I was at Oregon. The kid who got picked in the first round this year, Arik Armstead, most people were recruiting him as an offensive tackle coming out of high school. We recruited him as a defensive lineman. He got picked in the first round. Probably a first-round pick next year will be DeForest Buckner, who was kind of a carbon copy of what Arik is.
“But that’s what we’re looking for. When you kind of have those height/weight/speed parameters by position, it narrows it down, narrows the pool down in terms of what you’re looking for. But that’s what you play with. It’s tough to play with a 6-foot, 290-pound guy who’s not gonna be a good two-gapper. It doesn’t mean he’s not gonna be a good football player. It just means he doesn’t fit in terms of what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
There is a great deal of logic in Kelly’s approach. And he’s done a very good job of explaining himself.
Let’s go back to the subject of exceptions. I think a better case than Boykin is going to be Vinny Curry. As good as Boykin was, he was the Nickelback. The best Nickelback in the league isn’t going to make or break a team.
Curry is an impact pass rusher. Those guys can be hard to find. Curry lacks the size Kelly wants in a DE, but because of all the sub packages used, Curry has added value. He can play DT or DE. He can play the left or right side. The Eagles are experimenting with him playing some OLB. Curry was second on the team with 9 sacks and tied for the team lead with 4 FFs, despite not playing as many snaps as other defenders.
I can’t promise you the Eagles will keep Curry because some other team may offer him a mega-deal (pass rushers are coveted). I want to see if the Eagles try to keep Curry, and if so…how aggressively they go about it. I think he is the kind of player you need to keep. He might never become a full-time starter in the 3-4, but you don’t want to let good pass rushers go.
If the Eagles let him walk without much of an effort to keep him, that will be another lesson in the exception situation.
It would be great if Kelly would tell us about some players already on the roster. Does he consider Jason Kelce an exception because he’s only about 290 pounds? Is Josh Huff an exception because he’s only 5-11?
Brandon Graham at 6-1 is definitely an exception. And the Eagles just paid him big money to stick around. Maybe there are more exceptions than we realize.
Mychal Kendricks is going to be a very interesting case. He is a good starting ILB, but lacks the frame Kelly prefers. Will the team let him walk in free agency or make an effort to keep him? Making his situation more complex is the presence of DeMeco Ryans, Kiko Alonso and Jordan Hicks. Many thought Kendricks would be trade bait this spring/summer, but Kelly was recently adamant that he’s not going anywhere. Kelly’s words didn’t address the future. That’s a complete mystery.
Kelly wants a roster full of his kind of players. He has detailed thoughts on the players he wants and why he wants them. This isn’t a random philosophy. You can argue that he’s being too stringent, but Kelly would likely tell you he’s more open-minded than you realize. That said, he’s never going to worry about perception. He believes in his ideas and is going to build the roster the way he wants it.
While some are frustrated because of the limitations Kelly’s ideas can place on the roster, I fully support a coach with a defined philosophy. Bill Parcells did some of this with the teams he built. Ron Wolf had certain kinds of players he wanted in Green Bay.
Of course, having the philosophy means nothing if you don’t find the right players. Wolf and Parcells won big because they could build terrific teams. Chip Kelly has to prove he can do that.
* * * * *
Paul Domowitch wrote a good piece on Kelly. Domo separates perception from reality. The opening story from Kenjon Barner is excellent.
KENJON BARNER remembers the time during his freshman year at Oregon when Chip Kelly, then the Ducks’ offensive coordinator, paid a surprise visit to one of his classes.
What he remembers most about it is that, well, he wasn’t there. He blew off that class, as he did many of his classes his first year in Eugene. He was back in his dorm sleeping.
“My freshman year I was a complete mess-up,” admitted the Eagles running back. “I got myself together later on, but early on, I was a mess-up.
“That morning, I got a call from my academic adviser asking me if I was in class. [I said), ‘uh-huh.’ He said, ‘Well, Chip’s there.’ I said, ‘Really? I’m on my way.’ So I show up and Chip’s sitting outside the class and he says to me, ‘Hey, where have you been?’ “
That was 2008. With a lot of encouragement from Kelly, Barner got his act together both on the football field and in the classroom. Gained 4,214 yards from scrimmage and scored 48 touchdowns in four seasons at Oregon. Also earned a degree in criminology.
Smart way to find out if your players are really going to class.
* * * * *
Mike Tanier wrote a lengthy piece on Kelly. This was really insightful because Tanier focused on something that not enough people do. Kelly’s ideas lean on each other to work.
Every element of Kelly’s plan relies on every other element: For the personnel plan to work, the science must keep high-injury-risk players healthy, the culture must integrate the newcomers, and the up-tempo scheme must prove that, over 16 games and the playoffs, it is more advantageous than exhausting. And each of those elements, in turn, must inform and support the other.
A simple point, but one that is very true and often overlooked. This isn’t a case of a coach believing that his playbook is going to change the league. This isn’t a guy with some new age philosophies that he thinks will push his team over the top.
Kelly is taking old and new ideas and combining them. The hard part is saying what they form. A philosophy? A brand of football? A system? Kellyball? Total Football?
Kelly doesn’t care what you call it. He’s too busy looking for the next way to improve it.
Really good piece by Tanier.
_
Well said about the Boykin situation.
The coaches may well be right, but it would have been nice to see for ourselves last year when the CBs were horrible.
Yes, but most likely we would have come away with the conclusion that he looked up and down. He made some good plays but also made some mistakes. How much is physical limitations and how much is being new to the spot and part of a dysfunctional secondary?
Or maybe he would have Jamar Cheeney’ed us, coming in fresh when other players are worn down to look like the savior.
I think we have to trust that the coaches have a lot more info than we do, seeing him practice every day. If he offered an advantage, Chip would have taken it.
Better “up and down” than “all the way up the field for a touchdown” like Sconces and Fletcher.
Its not that I don’t inherently trust the coaching staff -it’s that the product was so bad it’s hard not to critical.
I am certainly not defending keeping those corners out there last year, I am just saying that the We Should Have Answered That Question argument is flawed, because it is likely we would not have come away with answers.
A Steeler fan buddy was asking why we gave up on Boykin….i was explaining it and couldn’t even remember Fletcher and Williams’ names….was totally successful at blocking them out until I read your post…I feel like I feel off the wagon
I can never remember Fletcher’s name either, I had to think and kept coming up with “Bradford” first. The other guy I just remember as “Sconces”.
Wouldn’t touch that skank #JennaFischer
I wonder where you got the impression she would let you get anywhere near her?
Moot point isn’t it?
I think they have to try and keep Curry. I know if he continues to wreck, it may be hard to compete with other teams’ offers. However, since he has always been an Eagles fan, maybe a homer discount is in order…??? Regardless, he is my favorite “exception” on this team.
Huff isn’t an exception. He’s just probably as low as the parameters allow. And even then he has the weight Chip Kelly wants in a receiver which Chip has said is more important.
Great article Tommy.
Isn’t it just possible that Boykin isn’t that great? That he’s only worth a 4th or 5th rounder and isn’t good enough to start for the Eagles?
Great title.
Harsh.
Thanks for answering me directly; I think you misunderstood.
My comment was about my (in)ability to (mis)judge so quickly,as the sideways comment about judging books by their covers. So,maybe I was harsh, but with me, not you.
By the way, great title.
Well done and insightful Tommy. In the end, it’s all about winning. We’ll see soon. Could be a very special season, if both sides of the ball can gel quickly.
Good chance they will, because after-all #Culture.
I’m with you OD. From my window, I don’t care if CK is making them all wear color coordinated sweat head bands. I don’t care if CK makes them all stand on a desk claim out loud, “coach, my coach”. It’s all about winning. Bring me a SB and I’ll praise what you’ve done.
He wins a superbowl, we should all chip in on the statue that will be replacing Rocky’s.
Kendricks is also prone to injuries that aren’t broken bones or ligaments. Something Kelly seems to hold disdain. If he stays totally healthy all season he will be a good indication of exceptions. If not I don’t think he is a good case.
That Tainer article really deserves to win an award.
A side effect (or maybe a key effect) of getting back ups that match the starters is you won’t have a Boykin situation develop. It is frustrating that we developed and waited on a player, found out we made all the right calls, but can’t use him. If the back ups all fit the same mold, that doesn’t happen again.
Sometimes it seems like the bandaid approach to restructuring the team, fast and painful, would have been easier, but then I remember how much fun winning 10 games a year was.
yup, plus he didn’t have authority to blow it up, but wonder what this team would look like if we blew it up all at once?
I’m not sure the players would have been as forgiving.
As it was, Kelly had two years of winning to get key guys to buy in to his system, but if he had gone in and immediately started cutting stars like McCoy and DeSean, would the other guys have been as accepting?
I’m glad Tommy agrees that it’s frustrating that Boykin didn’t get a shot on the outside last year. With how bad Fletcher was playing, what could the harm possibly be in giving him a shot and seeing what he can do? If he struggles you just put him back in the nickle.
I think that is precisely the point. Kelly is so sure of his judgements that he feels no need to test them, hence, last year, when we were out of the playoffs, he didn’t give back-ups a chance.
Fletcher is the perfect example. They played him because he was a ‘press corner,’ though he didn’t press that much. They played him even though he was burned for game winning TDs time after time. They didn’t try Boykin presumably because of what Tommy says, they didn’t try Carroll because they ‘knew,’ from practice, that he wasn’t as good but now, all of a sudden, Carroll is a revelation and the new starting corner?
man i really liked jenna too, this ruins the dream…
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-training-camps/0ap3000000506605/Sam-Bradford-talks-adjustment-to-Chip-Kelly-s-system
look at 00:35, They use two footballs during 1 snap, so they both practice a handoff and a bubble screen play, talk about efficiency
On the subject of having matching back-ups, perhaps a key reason that Boykin was not moved when the outside corners were struggling mightily, was the net effect. If Fletcher sat and Boykin moved over, who was the new nickel? Carroll? If so, who was the dime? Watkins? If Carroll or Watkins goes down is Fletcher then the replacement? Part of the dilemma facing Kelly and Davis was a practical dearth of suitable options in the defensive backfield. Williams and Fletcher and Carroll were all FA’s. The signing of the first two was to plug into the starting line-up on the outside. If depth was not a big issue, maybe Boykin would have been given a shot.
This is a valid point. But you could have played Boykin outside in the base and inside in the Nickel. Carroll could have played the Nickel. There were possibilities.
In the end, the secondary just wasn’t good enough. Let’s hope that’s not the case this year.
I get the impression that Chip isn’t going to move around first year players like Nolan last year… First yeah Chip seems intent on having players learn one role.. Doubt we ever seem him move around first year players like Nolan last year. But we are seeing that in years 2 and 3 Chip is more willing to cross train players and move them around
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Boykin was given plenty of snaps inside and outside the last 3 summers, if he was our best press option on the outside he would have played on the outside… But whatever, no point crying over spilled milk
Kelly wouldn’t let Boykin play outside. I’m confused here. Is CK that micro-managing where he wouldn’t let Davis(if Davis wanted to)? Wouldn’t Davis have final say where the players play?
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I rarely go elsewhere to read reports on practices — are they still blaring the music?
Yes on the music.
You can bet Chip and Davis talked about key issues and where to play Boykin would bave been one of those.
TY.
“One thing Kelly mentioned is that the Eagles want their backups to look like their starters.”
Why is Tebow here then? His garbage brand of football isn’t similar to Bradford or Sanzhez at all.
He was a very bad passer. He’s worked hard to improve that. If Tebow isn’t much improved this summer, he won’t make the team. Quit thinking of old Tebow. Wait until you see the new version.
Not an unfair point, but I really hate that guy from his playing style to huckstering of nonsense off the field.
I can ignore huckstering off field if a guy can deliver on field. Tebow ain’t that guy.
I only ignore off the field things for guys I like!
I’m laughing at both of us. When DeSean was here, he was Peanut. Now he’s a schmuck. Similar to Shady. T.O., and others.
I ask myself the question, “can he help us win one football game”. Maybe he comes in and converts a 2 point conversion. Maybe he is on the punt team and helps us convert a 4th down into a 1st down and we score on that drive. Maybe it’s goal-line situations. What if he makes one play in one game that helps us win and we get into the playoffs because of it. I would think he is worth it then.
If both Bradford and Sanchez have season ending injuries, neither 3rd string QB is going to salvage our season. Barkley may be a good guy and progressing as a player, but I don’t see how having him on the roster will help us win any games. I think that goes for every team in the NFL, if you get to the point where your 3rd string QB is starting, your season is over.
Right and pats don’t even carry a qb3.
That’s where God’s gift to athleticism, GJ Kinne, makes the team as a WR/TE and when Bradford/Sanchez goes down he comes in and saves the day.
Maybe he calls down the wrath of an enraged God to smite the debauchery-laded Cowboys.
What happens when Arian Foster is there laughing at Tebow because that “call” went to a phone line with nobody at the other end?
And for the record I prefer when God smites arrogant New Yorkers.
I just can’t see a guy changing mechanics/bad habits that he has had since he picked up a football….. the 10,000 hour rule I believe does apply to muscle memory…. he can look fine in practice but under fire you revert back to instinct…. he has 10,000 hours of bad habits in actual game-play lol. I want to believe but changing a throwing motion might be the hardest thing next to trying to change how you walk….especially in his case where he is trying to shorten his motion.
He fits the measurable of height and weight, so he passes the assembly line approach :).
I was going in a stylistic sense, but if we needed a 4th TE………..
Yes, but he’s tall and big. After all, that’s what “measurables” is about, not talent or production.
So is Lurch from the Adams Family, but Tebow can’t even throw that well.
“That was 2008. With a lot of encouragement from Kelly, Barner got his act together both on the football field and in the classroom. Gained 4,214 yards from scrimmage and scored 48 touchdowns in four seasons at Oregon. Also earned a degree in criminology.”
I’m very happy to hear Barner has his degree. I’m looking forward to seeing him land a career in law enforcement starting in September 2015………because we know he’s not a guy deserving of a spot on a NFL roster.
You are certainly welcome to your opinion, but Barner isn’t nearly as bad as you make him out to be. He’s no Shady McCoy, but as a #4 RB competing for a roster spot, he’s fine. And if he has a great summer and “wins” a job, so be it. Not likely to happen, but it is possible.
For a guy who was clearly worse than Josey in pre-season last year, I’m harboring a permanent level of resentment for Barner being on the roster longer than Josey was.
I don’t really view him as the #4 RB… Sproles will be more then a #3 RB this year, he will be used in the slot more then last year (assume)… With a bunch of big backs, Barner is important because he is the Only “scat back” type of backup for the role we are carving out for Sproles… If Sproles misses game time, Barner is really the only RB that can fill his role..
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Barner is also said to be a fantastic and very versatile ST player
Interesting thought on Chip Kelly and his “do whatever it takes to win philosophy”.
I was listening to WIP this morning (and I’m sure I’ll get some backlash for that) and Keith Jones, former NHL player, talked about how he would play harder for a coach that would take the time to get to know him. I’m sure that is true of a lot of players. As much as everyone wants to win, I think players want a coach who gives a damn, and I believe players will try even harder for a guy like that. I think that’s just human nature.
Perhaps Chip Kelly, if he really wants to win, needs to stop treating his players as “parts” that either fit or don’t fit, and start treating them a little more like human beings. Perhaps Chip Kelly needs to be more of a human being himself, and less of a Football Coaching Machine.
Perhaps he’ll settle into that once he’s into his 4th, 5th, 8th, 13th year as the Eagles head coach. He doesn’t strike me as stupid, but when I think a common trait of newer bosses on jobs is that they often stake out their territory with existing staff prior to becoming more affable. I trust Kelly will develop this over time.
Perhaps Bill Belichick needs to be more of a human being himself, and less of a Football Coaching Machine.
Perhaps Tom Coughlin needs to be more of a human being himself, and less of a Football Coaching Machine.
Lots of explayers have vented in the media that they hated playing for these two coaches because they had the my-way-or-the-highway attitude with little to no personality. I think most players would rather play with them and win the Superbowl than be buddy-buddy with their head coach and lose. You’re never going to make everyone happy.
Bill Belichick is Bill Belichick. There is no changing him.
However, it is ironic that you included Tom Coughlin on this list. Prior to the 2007 season, Coughlin went through a bit of a “personality makeover”. (Example here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3200779 )
Sadly we’ll remember that the Giants won the Super Bowl after the 2007 season.
Apparently Tom Coughlin, old dog, is still trying new tricks when it comes to connecting with his players (http://www.businessinsider.com/giants-coach-tom-coughlin-on-working-with-millenials-2015-4 )
If an “old-timer” like Coughlin can make subtle adjustments to his personality and his communication methods to help motivate his players, why can’t a “cutting edge” coach like Chip Kelly?
Boykin was not one of ‘his’ players. Is it a going thing, that every player traded or released ,gets to take shots at the coach on his way out the door? It is because the media loves it.
Tom Coughlin, and all Giants fans, are a complete and total bunch of human scum.
The Hate is strong in you this morning.
There is part of me that thinks like you do. I’d prefer for the Eagles to win every week, and for the 31 other teams to lose… and for the Cowboys to somehow lose twice.
It is part of the reason why I have held off on playing fantasy football for so long. It is against my nature to root for players on other teams. That said: I’ve known many douchebag fans, and many decent fans for most of the other teams in the league. I’m even related to some very nice Giants fans. I still want their teams to fail miserably, but they’re not bad people.
I can’t speak to many of them who reside up in the NY area, but I can speak in no uncertain terms that the contingent of NY team fans that attend college in the Philadelphia area are complete wastes of human life.
i think players see that this Football Coaching Machine is giving them a great chance to succeed, and is making them better players, which will lead to them getting a bigger payday.
players either want to play for money, fame, or to win that trophy. no matter which they want, they should want to play for Chip.
Here’s the thing. I want to do well at my job (win / succeed). I also want to get paid for my job (money). I also want my boss to be a decent, relatable human being. These things are not all mutually exclusive. As Keith Jones mentioned (and I’m sure he wanted to get paid and he wanted a trophy too) he played harder for coaches that took the time to relate.
i guess thats just a difference between people. i don’t really care for anyone else’s ‘relatability’ at work. i’m sure some people do care about that, though. i’d be stupid to think my way was the only way.
so i guess that means that in the end, it comes down to the player. some players will *want* to have some sort of relationship with their coach, but others will just want their coach to focus on the rest of their job.
Might be a generational thing. Perhaps it’s part of the profession. Most people want a boss who acts like he / she gives a damn. It doesn’t have to be all buddy buddy. It just has to be more than show up, clock in, work hard, clock out.
I don’t agree with this at all. “do whatever it takes to win” — man is that a blanket statement for CK and taken out of context. That’s implying he’ll sell his soul to the devil to win which is 100% wrong. CK has a specific plan, a specific set of parameters for the players. A specific program. He’s not willy nilly(technical term) about ‘doing whatever it takes”…
Second — AR loved his players and they were all chummy. That plan didn’t win a single SB.
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CK’s record is a proven winner wherever he’s been. Why does have to change now? To coddle millionaires ego?
“Win The Day”
“Sports Science”
“Culture”
“Smoothies”
I don’t believe Chip Kelly would “sell his soul”. I do believe that Chip is looking for every allowable edge to help his team win. There is a simple angle here that Chip that can use to help his team win: talk to his players about something other than football. Say, “Hi” in the hallways.
As I mentioned in the Tom Coughlin example, HIS personality change prior to the 2007 season is may have helped lead his team to a championship.
Why should Chip change? To make himself an even better coach. To give his team even more of an edge. To help his team win playoff games and ultimately a Super Bowl.
And while I don’t think Andy Reid will ever win a Super Bowl, the man led the Eagles to a playoff win in his 2nd season and a NFC Championship appearance in his 3rd season. Right now Chip, proven winner, is still looking for his first playoff win. Tom Coughlin changed because he thought he Had To and he ended up winning a championship. Maybe Chip should change a little too.
32 head coaches in the NFL. I’ll throw out a number, say 3/4 of them say Hi to the players in the hall. That’s probably a low number. Why aren’t they all winning SB’s? Saying Hi does not equal SB’s. Never has, never will. CK is CK. He’s not going to change and I don’t blame him.
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Each player is different. Some like coddling. Some don’t even like to talk to the coach. Some are motivated by a stern no-non sense coach. Why would a coach change just for a few feelings?
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Coughlin won because the defense was outstanding and dominating. IF being nice = SB’s, wouldn’t he win every year? Why did they stink last year? Did he get mean again?
I was reading an article on Grantland the other day that suggested Curry might end up in the same bracket as Pernell McPhee – a guy that his team would love to keep around but just can’t justify matching the contract somebody else is going to give him.
We had a good discussion about his contract possibilities the other day. I think the consensus was that he’d be in line for something in the $8.5 mil / year range.
Yeah yeah that’s what they all said about BG too
“Clearly Brandon Boykin did not fit into his Jenna Fischer category.”
A man who would write such a thing is on the razor’s edge between genius and madness.
As long as our fans continue to be in this mold, no need to make an exception.
http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/055qgTV3dG5Jn/0x600.jpg?fit=scale&background=000000
Sooooooooooooo overdressed. Why all bundled up?
Think of it as gift wrapping.
I think of it as unprofessional.
Just watched CK’s presser from yesterday. I really like our coach more and more, and it’s for the little details. Practicing what you preach (e.g. holding Murray out for hydration issues), making sure the back of the roster gets as many reps in practice as the starters, and holding true to his measurables.
Here’s the short presser:
http://livestream.com/accounts/8109350/events/2963279/videos/95330045
I don’t agree with every roster move Chip makes, but I 100% agree that his attention to a ton of things that other teams don’t is something that will continue to build an advantage for our team.
And in fairness to Chip, I can look at every single team’s drafts, practice squad, 90 man roster, and 53 man roster, and find all types of wrong moves.
I don’t think anyone can agree 100% with moves, because I would have loved to see Boykin stay – but the overall job is a-okay with me. I’m more of a big picture guy anyway, and over these last couple of years I have learned a lot by watching him, and not just football related.
ugh Jenna Fischer?
she was suited for one TV role – a frumpy cow who is an office secretary
Ummm I may not want to make an exception for Cowboys fans, but frumpy and cow aren’t two words that are synonymous Jenna Fischer.
I’d say immoral fool would be more fitting. F the Cowboys.
Seriously. Whether you think she’s “Hollywood hot” is a matter of personal taste I guess, but I’d wager she’s two standard deviations hotter than any woman Julescat has ever been with. Personal pet peeve of mine when guys recoil at objectively attractive celebrities. Stop frontin’.
Yeah, I won’t say she isn’t attractive……….she just has major moral failings as a human due to Cowboy support.
She was born in Indiana and raised in St. Louis. She’s 41 years old, so she has options of being a Colts, Cardinals, and/or Rams fan. She now lives/works in LA and has for a while.
None of that makes it geographically appropriate for her to be a Dallas fan.
That’s fair. I can’t condemn a Cowboys fan who lives in, was born in, or has some other significant tie to the Dallas area. The rest of them bug the hell out of me.
The updated lyric should be;
Let’s root root root, for the home team
and if you choose not to then go kill yourself.
shes also female
I have high expectations for football fans of all genders; don’t root for Dallas unless you’re from there.
I’m FROM Dallas and it’s F*CK Dallas til my final breath!!
no meaning she probably had an ex-bf that was Cowboys fan/she likes Blue and Silver/Her friend is from Texas……. i know quite a few women who have made life decisions (loosely used in terms of choosing an NFL team) based on nothing other than that their b/f is interested in it.
Again, I have higher standards of the intellect of all gendered fans than simply picking up the team of a dating partner. But I get where you’re coming from.
Plus, considering most Dallas fans are complete eunuchs when challenged; how much could she have been into the dude?
“two standard deviations hotter” Ha! That’s great.
when her “hot” picture is her wearing a girdle, that says it all.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/593df97f4c3318e4d3db7fb5774d2804ea39c8886020e59cf3c4aba0f4ed60a7.jpg
….it’s a Tempur-Pedic.
If she keeps supporting the Cowboys and is prone to poor decision making as a result she’ll wind up beaten to death on that bed surrounded by guns like the last girl with Greg Hardy.
we can change her name to Tits MaGee
I would never date a Cowboys fan, but … what’s the term I’m looking for … oh yeah, hate f*ck.
For perhaps the only time in my life I am 100% pumped that I’ll be missing a televised football game.
The place where I’m headed for vacation doesn’t have any cable / satellite TV, so I won’t be forced to watch the embarrassing lack of journalistic integrity on the HOF broadcast……because not a single one of those incompetent dopes will call out Bettis being totally undeserving of HOF induction.
I challenge anybody to find a year that Bettis player where he’d be picked as one of the 3 best RBs in football. One might be able to find two years tops where Bettis is a top 5 RB, and maybe a total of 3 or 4 where he’s top 10. His numbers where accumulated over a career in which he hung on for far too long and was relegated to goal line / short yardage duty only.
Bettis in 13 seasons had 15111 yards from scrimmage, 94 TDs, and a career yards per carry number of 3.9. That was an average season of 1162 yards from scrimmage and 7.2 TD per year average.
Compare that to the 5 other HOF RBs that overlapped his career.
Emmitt Smith in 15 seasons had 21,579 from scrimmage, 175 TDs, 4.2 yards per carry.
Barry Sanders in 10 seasons had 18,190 from scrimmage, 109 TD, 5.0 yards per carry
Ok, so Bettis isn’t Smith or Sanders, few were. But what about Tomlinson, Martin, and Faulk?
Tomlinson – 11 years, 5 pro bowls, 3 all pro , 18,456 yards
from scrimmage, 162 TDs, average year
1678 yards, 14.7 TDs
Martin – 11 years, 5 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 17430 from
scrimmage, 100 TDs, average year 1584 yards, 9.1 TDs
Faulk – 12 years, 7 pro bowls, 3
all pro, 19154 from scrimmage, 136 TDs, average year 1586 yards, 11.3 TDs
Bettis isn’t even close to those guys as well.
Look at Bettis vs. Ricky Watters, Tiki Barber, Edge James, and Warrick Dunn. He’s the same dude. And not of that group should be in the HOF.
Ricky Watters – 10 seasons, 5 pro bowls, 14891 from
scrimmage, 91 TDs, average year 1489 yards 9.1 TDs
Bettis – 13 season, 6 pro bowls, 2 all pro, 15111 from
scrimmage, 94 TDs, average year 1162 yards, 7.2 TDs
Edge – 10 years, 4 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 15610 from
scrimmage, 91 TDs, average year 1561 yards, 9.1 TDs
Tiki – 10 years, 3 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 15632 from
scrimmage, 67 TDs, average year 1563 yards, 6.7 TDs
Dunn – 12 years, 3 pro bowls, 15306 from scrimmage, 64 TDs,
average year 1275 yards, 5.3 TDs
Bettis in the HOF is a joke. He’s the product of media hype due to a nickname, non-quantifiable BS like “big back”, and two of the most deluded and stupid fan bases in all of college and pro football in terms of Notre Dame and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What a HORRIBLE vote by the HOF.
F*ck the Steelers.
Agreed, but the HOF lets in Steeler after Steeler after Steeler after Steeler.
Certain guys, like Penn State’s Jack Ham and Franco Harris, are no doubt about it HOF players. Rod Woodson as well. Mean Joe Green as well.
But John Stallworth and Lynn Swann? Get the F out of here! But Tim Brown and Chris Carter had to wait endless years to get in?
WAY too much Steeler fellatio taking place in that voting room.
I feel like AFC fans just have an arrogant-aura about them in general, like they are upper class and the NFC are blue collar guys.
I’ve never been offended by a Colts or Broncos fan. Jets fans don’t bother me either. Pats fans-pre Brady were also tolerable folk, but they ruined that. I dig Ravens fans as well.
The only AFC fan group who constantly get on my nerves of those of the Steelers, but leaving a nod for current Pats fans.
Dolphins fans, Marino-era, were like Cowboys fans from Maryland. 20 years of hard blowing, they’re gone and we’ve forgotten how annoying those people were.
I was always on Team Elway in the debate, but the Marino people were vile scum. I don’t remember them being overly boorish about the Dolphins in general however. Unless they were trying to claim being undefeated in 1972 vs. the worst strength of schedule of any Super Bowl champ makes them better than the 85 Bears, several Niners team, and/or the 98 Broncos.
I actually cheered for Miami a bit once my boys Keith Jackson and Keith Byars landed there……..but F Marino.
I’d take Montana over either of those guys (as long as Bill Walsh comes with him).
Agreed, but the argument was always Marino vs. Elway with my schoolmates. It was just assumed Montana was better, but older as well.
There’s still plenty of Cowboys fans here in MD still. But, interestingly I understand why in some cases. Over some conversations with some of the fans down here (the older ones), it seems the Redskins have always been a racist team, and so as not to cheer for them, a lot of people chose the Cowboys.
Now, I can’t fix a poor decision made about poor decisions, because I found some Eagles fans down here who became fans in the same way (and others as well). But in the case of some of the older Cowboys fans down here, I can understand.
They’re all mostly past 50 or 55 at this point, but there was always a strong contingent of Philly based African American Cowboys fans who perceived the Eagles ownership / management / fan base as hostile to having African American players of high stature on the team.
I’m not old enough to tell you if that was the truth or not in the 60s and 70s, but guys have said that to me.
This will be interesting conversation for my dad when I talk to him later. He’s 76 and has seen quite of bit of racism in Philly over the years, but he’s as diehard as they come to Philly sports – including the Phillies.
That said, Jackie Robinson is one of his all-time fav athletes.
And Robinson may have received his worst road game treatment in Philly.
🙂 That’s why I mentioned it. My dad and I had a conversation back in May about whether we should have shipped the Phillies out of town and kept the A’s. He for some reason thinks we got the better end of the deal.
I respectfully disagreed.
I think we should still have both teams.
And the Warriors.
Agreed.
The only argument for the Phillies is no DH.
BUT, the KC Athletics basically became a farm team for the Yankees. It was a real low point in MLB history. That’s saying something.
You’d have to be a special kind of ignorant to pretend that Philadelphia wasn’t amongst the worst cities for black players for a very long time.
Philly certainly had hard-line out-sized ugly racism in the ’60’s. Nonetheless, I remember how a lot of folks sure did love Timmy Brown, and Bob Brown. I loved the Al Nelson / Irv Cross CB position (hated “Sweet” Nate Ramsey, boy, could he whiff on a tackle – you think the newer Nate was bad!). Same with Lane Howell – a turnstile at left tackle. Old as the hills Ollie Matson sure looked good with a bit of a head start too.
Cheering against the Washington Racists is a noble cause, cheering for the Cowboy though? I guess that’s like teaming up with Stalin to defeat Hitler.
much like Broncos fans of the last 3 years.
You think they had a lot of band wagon jumpers because of Manning?
much like the Seattle Seahawks of the last 3 years lol
I’ll admit to being a fan of Seattle’s because of the constant humblings their D gives out to that piece of shit Kaepernick.
i just don’t like Kaep, he’s got a douchebaggery-aura about him.
I haven’t encountered many of them, but I will absolutely take your word on it.
What a difference a Superbowl makes to your resume. Seth Joyner has better numbers than Derrick Brooks, but isn’t in the HOF because unlike Brooks he doesn’t have a SB.
One quibble. Derrick Brooks, even though some people don’t like using pro bowls as a barometer, was in 11 pro bowls and was a 5 time first team all pro. I can’t shit on that level of well deserved accolade.
There are some other LBs that I’d say Seth was better than by far. I find it shameful that he never got talked up as one of the best LBs in the NFL.
True, and that’s a fair criticism.
excellent comparisons.
Thank you. I might be a total raving a$$hole, but I’m not coming into a huge rant without some material to back me up.
I thought I would have missed NFL games in the past because of my travels to 3rd world countries.. One of the best memories I have was being at a small remote Island my family has frequented for generations in the Carribean called Dominica, 3rd world country, no cable, no internet… One Sunday on the island I happen to go to some hotels beach resort and at the bar I was shocked to learn they were airing the Eagles vs 49ers live (the game that featured a big brawl).. Watching the Eagles play, 20ft away from the Carribean Ocean is a memory I will never forget,,, I was so hype when I stumbled onto a live broadcast of the Eagles
..
You might get lucky and find a TV
I suspect a lot of the difference is in the body type — Bettis was incredibly unique for a guy that size to move so well (and for quite a number of years). He stood out in that respect. Your stats above are using yards from scrimmage, which includes receiving stats — something that Bettis was never going to be much good at. If you use rushing stats alone, it’s much better. And Bettis really didn’t have the breakaway speed to rack up huge long gains like the others did (which really help the YPC stat), so he had to earn his yards more. The fact he’s competitive with those much much faster guys stat-wise is actually pretty impressive.
Not sure it was HOF-worthy, as (since you mention) there certainly were other comparable backs who have not come close to getting in, but I can’t go so far to say it was HORRIBLE. He is 6th all time in yards, and that with after his rookie season never having a run longer than 50 yards. He was the kind of guy who wouldn’t have many negative plays — I actually think Chip Kelly would have loved him. (And might have traded away Barry Sanders.)
I don’t 100% disagree with your concerns, but I last time I checked its not called “Hall of Great Lifetime Statistics”. Jerome Bettis was a very memorable and famous football player for a lot of years, and endeared himself to a lot of fans, players, writers, and coaches. I think you can make the argument he did that more than any of the other guys you listed. The point of the hall is to memorialize the players we love, one of whom Bettis was.
The Assembly Line Approach: It worked for Henry Ford!!!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/84cb143665f947e643db54df99bd52320d202bb96f8a7fc2e74bb04d8dea82db.jpg ….. also i added the picture just because i like it so much lol.
Next up: Chip Kelly’s 5 Dollar Work Day.
he’s got some Cro-Magnon in him
Quite possibly the dumbest human being alive
https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/status/629660712261042177
wowww. you’d think the team would assign a security guard/babysitter to follow him around and keep him from doing this shit by now…
There must be a serious mental health issue driving this behavior. Nobody keeps messing up this many times unless they clearly don’t have the ability to give a crap about their own career.
Drugs are a helluva drug.
PE.com explains what the technique numbers mean for DL.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Football-101-D-Line-Techniques/c7cc57ea-5b0d-49ba-9edb-0de5ae25cafa
Not something worthy of a lot of stress
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Don't_Sweat_the_Technique.jpg
You have to be about the same age as me or older.
38 if we’re keeping score.
Yup, I’ll be 39 at the end of October.
Enjoy your birthday and make sure you’re on the rocking chair telling the little ones how good music used to be………..
I know I am!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5IwKY0qHfJw/UCA8RQDfQpI/AAAAAAAABA8/GGVR8V-lOyI/s800/Old-Man-Yells-At-Cloud-the-simpsons-7414384-265-199.gif
That is Les Bowan
This is just sad.
https://twitter.com/philllyducks/status/629664965801213952
We can trade them Tebow for a 3rd.
I want Nicky to do well out there, but if he struggles early he may go into a hole he can’t get out of.
Here is the video
https://twitter.com/brandongowton/status/629669890299801600
Still throwing off his back foot I see.
Thanks man, it looks like zone coverage which Nick seems to have trouble with. Deja vu all over again.
He’s not used to practicing against an NFL quality secondary.
With CFL quality receivers.
To be fair, one team is in Royal blue, the other in white. Nick is in red with a gold and dark blue helmet. He probably just got confused. He hit that safety right in stride, though. That is accuracy.
gotta say looks all to familiar
Gotta feel for rams fans who stood by Bradford and are now seeing reports of Bradford dropping dimes all over movacare “Bombs over Baghdad”-Outcast
Style
So DM had an upper respiratory infection and didn’t practice yesterday. I wonder with all the tests (hydration, heart, lung) if there’s something they can pinpoint about prediction illnesses like they do injuries.
That’s an interesting question, but infections come from outside sources (viruses or bacteria) so even if they could predict increased susceptibility I am not sure if they could predict exposure.
Good point. CK needs to go to NIH and add some doctors to his sports science staff to help with detecting exposure. Either he wants a great sports science program, or he wants his players to keep getting sick!
True, but they may be able to detect the infection before the player becomes symptomatic.
Excellent point, may help with shortening the infection or at least minimizing its impact.
I just broke into my happy dance.
https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/629675335412514816
I hope you checked your hydration levels first. I would hate for it to lead to a soft tissue injury.
i don’t believe in that stuff
Pat shurmur said he had a big smile when he found out we signed Ryan Mathews, who he claims to be a big fan of
I officially hate Evan Mathis… He is allegedly asking for the 5.5mil he was complaining about in Philly… Dolphins seem to be intent on getting that
Price down..
.
Aldon Smith is a donkey… Jim Tomasula is the most cursed rookie head coach ever!
..
I would have bet the day we cut Mathis that he would be playing for less else where… mainly because he has zero leverage…. I would bring him back in a second and even pay him what he was gonna get,but on a 0% guaranteed contract lol.
Anyone know exactly what Aldon smith did? What’s the story? How do you get in trouble for hit and run, DUI AND Vandalism? When did he have time to vandalize property after he hit and run?
..
Aldon spoke as he was released from prison and he claims there was no DUI.. But he didn’t say there was no hit n run or vandalism
I’m not positive with US laws, but i’m guessing the vandalism is just him hitting something and causing minor damages.
According to some quick research a hit and run involves people or objects(legal term fixture), and requires the object to be fixed to a piece of real estate. Vandalism would then probably be him hitting trashcans or something similarly not permanently attached to property or land. Since he’s apparently getting charged with both, he really done fucked up. Probably causing a pretty severe crash, even without anyone getting hurt, presumably quite a big amount in damages.
I dont believe for a second that he wasn’t doing a DUI. Aldon Smith has lost his benefit of the doubt in those cases. The guy is done. Suspend him and move on.
Sometimes, I get this feeling that the whole character thing has gone way to far in the NFL. Every minor mistake gets turned into something huge. Hell, if its just a normal guy who doesn’t treat his body like a temple or spends every free moment reading to the elder and donating his salary to charity, you’ll hear how he isn’t not perfect.
Othertimes, I thank every deity out there for Chips requirements and how we get to avoid this kind of crap. This is one of those times. #Culture!
Bradford getting high remarks at training today — wish there was video
Uh oh – PFT will take your comment and run with it as a headline:
“Bradford getting high … at training today — wish there was video”
Boykin’s comments and subsequent backpedaling tells me plenty about why Chip was willing to trade him…
I thought DBs were supposed to be good at backpeddling
they should be good with the press
If you are back pedaling it means you are facing the QB, and therefore the ball. We don’t play that way.
just read a story that Arian foster says h doesn’t believe in God.
that’s new for a pro athlete
He’s vegetarian too, right?
I don’t know but he was apparently raised a muslim praying 5 times a day
In Kenya, no less.
ha, new mexico…
Kenya believe it?
Kenya. Believe it.
Who’s h? And why does anybody care what h believes?
no see, he doesn’t believe, that’s the point…
just interesting because you don’t hear anything like that from pro athletes, usually its all about god
Kind of refreshing. Many pro athletes are conditioned to go with the flow and question very little. That is one reason that so many love them. Simple is safe, and thinkers subvert.
Considering he is a chronic walking soft tissue injury, he should start believing in a friggin Hydration test…. How atent they trying new ways to cut down on his injuries?
maybe he doesn’t believe in water either
What positions, if any, are we considered weak compared to our division Rivals?
WR, maybe LB, but our division is pretty bad
LB? WTF? We EASILY have the best LB’s in the division, we might have one of the top 3 LB corps in the league.. Only LB in our division who’s talent is up there with our guys is Sean Lee, and that dude is less durable then Travis Long..
Pass rushing only, I think we have the best front 7 no doubt.
…yeah i am worried about depth at OLB more so than ILB, but overall i would say guard.
I understand why OLB is a concern in terms of Depth, but because we play a 4man line on 3rd down,we should be fine,
…
When we need LBs to cover, we have plenty..Barwin,Marcus,KIKO,Kendricks, Brad Jones.
..
When we need edge rushers we have Barwin, BG, Curry, hopefully Marcus… We can use curry as OLB depth on 3rd down if we need it,.,bu t hopefully Barwin and BG stay healthy, and Marcus adds to our pass rush…. I’m sure ILB blitz packages will also be a nice weapon for our pass rush
In terms of starters, everyone seems to think Barwins numbers were a Fluke. some of his sacks came from the dominance of teammates like Fletcher Cox.. but Bawin continuos to work on his craft, and he is playing with those same team mates again, and guys like Cox and curry should be better then they were in past years…. I cant say Bawin will lead the NFC in sacks again, but I would comfortably bet Barwin reaches double digit sacks….. Brandon Graham is a question mark. He has been an extremely efficient pass rusher but we have no idea how that translates to a bigger role yet… But Barwin is our #1 edge rusher,,, Teams in our division have good #1 pass rushers, but teams don’t have dominant #2 edge rushers who significantly dwarf BG in Talent and ability…
..
Redskins probably have the best pass rushing TANDEM in our division with Kerrigan and Junior Gallette… But the rest of the division is Meh… I’d Take BG and Vinny Curry over Damontre Moore who will rush opposit of JPP.. BARWIN has been out playing JPP the past few years. JPP was in a big contract year and BARWIN still out produced him last year. And now the dude lost finger, fingers, parts of fingers whatever.. I’d take our pass rush over the Giamts all day..
..
Cowboys are interesting, Greg Hardy two years ago would have been the best edge rusher in our division, but who knows what he looks like not having played for what will be over a year and a half? He doesn’t seem like a Discaplined type who would have kept up with his weight, stay in tip top shape knowing he was serving season long suspension last year, and that he won’t be able to play in september this year… If he comes back and doesn’t skip a beat, looking like the OLD Kraken, that’s BIG for Dallas… Second year DE Demarcus Lawrence has plenty of talent, but I wouldn’t take him over BG and Curry today…
..
Yes I know Curry ISNT an OLB for us… But when we talk about “Edge rushers”, we usually talk about 3rd down, and we typically go to a 4 man line on 3rd down, and it’s not at all uncommon to see Curry line up as a DE for us when we go to a 4 man line,,. So while Curry ISNT an actual OLB, it’s not fair nor accurate to talk about our pass rush without accounting for that QB Hunting Mofo!….. As for this upcoming season, I would rather have BG/Curry as our #2 Tandem then Lawrence and Randy Gregory..
..
And this discussion doesn’t even include Marcus Smith who I expect to be a pleasant surprise in a backüp role..
..
Maybe we can make a case,that we would Rather have Junior Gallett, Kerrigan and that scab Trent MUrphy… But I expect to get high level okay from our OLBs (health permitting of course)… Heck the Bills were the only defense that had more sacks then use ast year, and our puppies should be better then the kids who put up those numbers last year
Including curry makes the pash rush stronger obviously, I consider him a lineman and not an OLB, again i’d put the front 7 (rotation) against anyone.
You have to admit that on 3rd down, if you see Curry line up as a 4-3DE, it’s not a special occurrence..we are pretty used to seeing it at this point.. Back when we still played a 4-3, it was trendy to see “NASCAR package”, 4 DE’s on 3rd down.. We saw that as a rookie we would move BG into the DT spot on some 3rd down pass rushers,,,,, so even back then a 4-3DE would also rush inside from the DT position on 3rd down…. We see the same thing now, guys like BG, VINNY, and even Cox(used to be trent Cole too) rush from all 4’spots of our 4man line on 3rd..
..
Vinnys main niche is pass rush. So I think you have to include him…. But one of the keys of our pass rush is the dominance of Fletcher Cox. None of our Rivals have an interior Force like him. 5.5 sacks last year was a gross misrepresentation of Cox’s pass rush value.. I would credit 20-30% of his teammates sacks were a direct result of his dominance… And at times, we even see him line up at DE of our 4 man line, looking Dare I say “Reggie white-esque”…. He is a key to our pass rush that our rivals DONT have, but it’s not fair to Include him when comparing our OLB/4-3DE(edge rushers).. But I don’t thinks it’s fair to talk about our. 3rd down pass rush without talking about Curry….. And we aren’t even accounting for what MS2 ends up bringing to the table,,
..
But you are right, Ultimately the front 7 as a whole is more important, and we Dwarf our division Rivals in that Regaurd… Skins will have a much improved front 7.. If Hardy is still a stud, and Lee stays healthy, Dallas will have a nice front 7… But at full strength our front 7 will prove to be on a whole other level, an elite level up there with the best of the best like the Biuffalo Bills….we probably have the best Front 7 hands down in the NFC! Hopefully good health will allow us to prove it,,, but I wouldnt want to trade our entire front 7 for anyone else’s in our division! I wouldn’t trade our front 7 for that of the seahawks.,,. The ONLY front 7 I would consider swapping for is that of the Rams.. But the Rams pass rush DL is amazing, but they don’t have the level of LB’s we have against the run and in Coverage. So as amazing as the defensive front of the Rams is, I don’t know if it’s worth losing our LB’s to acquire their DL? Two years ago I would have given my arm to swap front 7 with the Rams… That’s how far we have come..
..
Our secondary is going to be much improved,… The problem is there was such a huge gap between where our secondary was last year, and where we need it to be, that even tho I know this secondary will be MUCH better, we needed to make such big improvementis, that im not sure what MUCH BETTER is going to mean? I’m confident we have the best secondary in the division, but that’s a serious case of “tallest midget in the room syndrom”.. I know the secondary will be so much better, but I’m not exactly sure what that means because we had such a long way to go to get this secondary where we need it to be if we are going to compete for Lombardis..
Barwin will get 10+ sacks if he is left 1v1, but struggles if teams scheme against him and bring some extra support. As long as the rest of our front 7 keeps defences honest he will be able to get his.
Curry gets many of his sacks/pressures as a DT when we move to a 4 man front. Guards just cannot handle his speed/power in that position. Think his ability to rush from outside consistently would be diminished if he was matched up on tackles who are better equiped to deal with his speed.
We have the best and deepest front 7 in the division by a lot, individual teams have 2-3 guys who might get into our starting 7 but our group is so much deeper than anyone else that unless we have an injury disaster we should be pretty safely the best run defending and pass rushing unit in the division.
I’d say we have the best front 7 in the Confrence.. Rams can compete with our DL but don’t have our LBs.. I’d rather have our front then the seahawks….. Need to look to AFC, like the Bills to find a front 7 on our level.. We have TALENT and DEPTH… The secondary will decide how great our Defebse can be…
#1 receiver
Possibly…. Individually it’s certainly too soon to rate our young Wide outs over Desean, Garcon, Cruz, Dez, ODB…. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan Mathews puts up more numbers then some of those established names..
.,
It’s certainly fair to rate us as the worst WR corp in the division today, but im confident the season will play out different
I don’t necessarily think we’re the worst corps but we don’t have an ODB or a Dez and that was what I meant. It’s a huge advantage to have a single player who draws that kind of attention.
Can’t disgree.. We don’t have that WR yet that can command extra attention,..
..
HopefulLy we can get that out of Sproles and ERTZ… Certainly a huge advantage to have a weapon defenses feel they have to give extra attention to..
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We certainly can’t claim we have a #1 WR on par with those other names,..but when we talk about our pass catching weapons as a whole, Our arsenal of weapons is up there with the best of them..
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im completely sold on the talent and elite skill of ODB…. But part of me is starting to wonder if he will go on to be the WR version of Arian Foster, great weapon who’s career will be riddled by soft tissue injuries that keep him off the field… We are going to need ERTZ to step up and seperate himself from the rest of the TE talent in the division like Jordan Reed and Larry Donnell… At this point, Witten is a glorified Brent Celek as far as I’m concerned and Dallas has done a piss poor job developing Gavin Escobar… Giants got themselves Vereen who is a nice player that gives them a Sproles type scat back,,
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curious to see how much our young weapons grow, and how they will compare to the rest of the weapons in our division,, For Example, we don’t have a thoroughbred like Dez BRyant, but it would be big if Jordan, Agholor, Huff all grow into better weapons then Terrence Williams and Cole Beasley these next two year..
That’s the good thing about NOT having a true #1 WR and be very good at all other positions, IMO. Then you have to play honest and cover EVERYONE equally. Like you said, DM in the backfield, Sproles/Huff in the slot, Pope and Nelson wide, Ertz at TE. Choose your poison.
Very true…we should enjoy that while it lasts because after this season Jordan Mathews will be a proven #1.. Kid is going to be a Beast.
.
He already is our #1 WR… When 3 WRs are on the field, he will be in the slot(unless Sproles is in the game)… But he isn’t a REAL slot WR, because when we only have 1 or 2 WRs on the field, Jordan will be one of them.. So really he Is our outside WR who happens to move into the slot when we put 3 WRs in the game…
..,
jordan is ready to soar past Riley Cooper. Once Huff and Agholor are also ready to play ahead of Cooper, our WR corp should take off…especially if Bradford stays healthy.. Thinking Jordan Mathews will become one of the best in our division. He sounds ready to Dominate
OG.
now that we don’t have desean….
(And I’ll take this over that weak Eric B…)
Fullback
Lol TEBOW?
Tebow is a position now in football lol
Right now, maybe G – because everyone is in love with Dallas’s OLine. Though I guess the Giants and Skins have bad Olines, so nix that.
QB possibly. Eli has 2 rings, and everyone loves themselves some Romo. But I’m not buying it, tho other might.
WR is probably the safest guess like anon said.
Obviously injuries can change everything,,, but in terms of roster building “on paper” (which is all we can go off at this point) we are pretty damn strong at Most positions,,,. And the few positions where we have questions, like Safety and Guard, the rest of our division has its own issues with those positions,.
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I’m sure there will always be a few positions where one of your 3 rivals is stronger then us at.. But what I don’t want to see is a position where all 3’of our rivals look stronger then us at,,,, and outside of true #1’WR, I can’t really say that about any other position which is a great sigń for how this roster has been built, especially since our depth is as strong as ANYONEs in our division,,.. On Paper, things look really nice for us…. The fact that so many of our key guys come with a history of injury concerns is what really scares,the Bejesus out of us lol
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If we were sitting here with a Roster of this same exact talent, yet all of our players had a perfectly clean injury history, we would be so damn excited about this football team, but because of our players injury history they got us walking around on eggshells..
Wonder what the Giants think of Mathis, that they are so weak on the offensive line, yet they seem to have No Interest in Mathis? I get that they run different blocking schemes, but their OL is trash, you would think they would kick the tires on a Guard PFT claims is the best in the game?
Giants need to get younger. They’d rather take their chances with somebody who’s raw now who might be feasible in 2-3 years over a guy (who doesn’t fit their power scheme) who probably won’t be in the league in 2-3 years.
elliot Shor Parks: “If The niners cut Aldon smith I would 1000% be for the Eagles bringing him to philly”
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Elliot’s value to Eagkes nation has no limits.. Smh
guy is clueless
reporters are saying Bradford is going off at practice today
Apparently Bradford is on fire again today… SAM and the Pope are connecting all over the field.. Reported marveled at the very tIght window SAM fit it in to get it to jordan,. He also having some moments where he throws it up and let’s Jordan do the work, out jumping DBs…from our reporters tweets it sounds lik the,SAM and Jordan show today…
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TEBOW also sounds like he is having another good day, minus Prosinski picking TEBOW off… reporters count 3 INTs so far from Prosinski in camp. He was playing with Wolff and the 3rd team today. Wolff tipped the TEBOW pass and Prosinski intercepted it… THat is the first I heard of Wolff so far in camp… Prosinski is an excellent ST player, no clue what to expect from him at Safety, but if he keeps making plays in the secondary, you can bet he sneaks on to this roster..
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bad News, bunch of guys aren’t practicing: Murray, Kiko, Kendricks, Ertz, Couplin….Jordan Hicks getting some first team reps..
Wolff apparently made the hit of the camp on Tutu. decleating him and separating him from the ball. Lets build that hype train up again haha
Nice.. Thanks.. il. Take any wolff news I can get,. I hear very little bout him other then he took All the snaps in the first practice..
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Anyone know if he has been a full go every day so far?
full go every day.
Wow…. Look at that… If he plays his Ss off in the preseason my jaw will be on the floor… It would be awesome if a young player steps up and proves to be legit competitipn for Thurmond… wolff should be fighting for his life, fighting to not lose the starting safety spot to a new corner..
FWIW
https://twitter.com/kracze/status/629706089353883649
following the twitter tracker on BGN, it sounds like Bradford absolutely lit it up today.
That’s the same one I’m looking at.
I think people saw the Foles video and had flashbacks
This is nice to hear now, but quite honestly people should have known this once the reasoning for the trade was explained. There was ample evidence of Bradford’s talent from his college days, & despite the less than ideal circumstances, even his time with the Rams. Too many people (especially the media) were running around like headless chickens screaming “Chip Kelly’s insane!!!” to realize it.
Maybe we should let him play in some NFL games before, as the character Mr. Keitel plays says in this clip:
http://tinyurl.com/kmcuhk7
We should. But if Ed Kracz can make a statement like this after a few days of TC I can say this is the part you should have known you were getting.
This is going to come up again and again until one of them is cut, but on the Barkley v Tebow front, can anybody confirm that the Eagles have been trying for some months to move Barkley? Kempski has stated this and I know it won’t get officially acknowledged, but maybe some agent chatter will corroborate. In Kelly’s last PC he touted Barkley as having looked “very, very good” in the spring, and I would not assume that such a plug disproves the alleged trade efforts, but I can’t help but believe that Barkley outlasts TT.
I haven’t seen any real reports about barkley being shopped other then Roto,PhillyMag, quoting Kemoski reports..
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I would expect Barkley to show some obvious growth playing in this same offense for his 3rd summer, so I don’t know what To expect out of him.. If he doesn’t show obvious growth, we have a problem… I don’t need young players to be great right away, but I need them to show a certain continuos growth rate that makes it worth while to continuing to invest in their development for another year..,,Im actually excited to see Barkley vs. TEBOW… But I have no idea what it’s going to look like.
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Kempski claims we want to get rid of barkley before we see what he can do.. Maybe? I have no idea… But I also have a hard time understanding the reports talking like TEBOW is a lock to make this roster, which is essentially what Kempski is saying when he says we are trying to trade Barkley…maybe Chip does life TEBOW, I have no idea…. But if he loves TEBOW so much, I can’t help but to ask, why NOW? We could have picked up TEBOW a long time ago. this could he the 2nd or 3rd year for TEBOW in a chip kelly offense, having years of our coaches developig him under our belt,.. Instead we had no interest in him for years, so why all the Love now? Can he really have improved THAT much in 1 yr, that he we was never able to accomplish in the past under the tutelage of pro coaches? He was always a hard worker, and we could have gotten him a while ago, so I struggle with the WHY NOW? If the TEBOW love is true that is,,…did 1 yr of training really change everything for TEBOW?
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I’m no TEBOW fan, and I’m no Barkley fan, so I don’t care too much what haooens, but I have to admit im about as intruiged as I will ever be to see a battle for the #3 QB spot,, color me curious,,.
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But after a few preseason games, if Both QBs look improved, and chip is leaning towards keeping Tebow, it would be great if he could get a pick for Barkley two weeks before we cut him… But for my sake of entertainment I hope I get a few preseason games of entertainment out of Barkley and TEBOW before they get rid of either…. In my Dreams, Barkley goes all “Devil went down to Georgie on Tebows holy ass, lays the smack down and looks great in the preseason. everyone rants and raves about how great Barkley looks, and september first I look at me TV and see:
BREAKING NEWS…. Eagles Have traded Matt Barkley, the pick from the steelers, and a 5th/condition 4th of the Eagles to the Cleveland Browns for Safety Tashuan Gipson who Browns can’t get under contract,…BOOM!!!!
And the Browns sucker owner buys the Barkley preseason improvement hype, and we get our stud coverage safety (24yr old playmaker, former corner)… And then I woke back up to a world I have to pray for the health of Jenkins and Thurmond….
I am so pumped to actually see some games…. even though i know it will take about 2 drives for me to wishing the regular season would get here already.
I just want to see the finished product on the field so we can kick butt and take names.
I dunno man,, im conflicted…. I’m so excited about what this roster can be, but our injury history has be walking on eggshells.. I have never been so nervous because of how special I think this roster can be… When I’m away from the Internet for a few hours, you have to see how damn nervous I am to log onto Rotoworld praying that I don’t see ANY EAGLE NEWS! NO News is GREAT NEWS this time of year..
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I’m so damn excited to see what this looks like, but part of me wants us to bubble wrap guys like Bradford, Murray, Cox, KIKO, Max TIL the regular season..
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I think I’m Really going to enjoy the second half of the preseason games, significantly more then past years,, normally im at the PS games, and by the 2nd half, me and my friends are drunks, talkimg and I don’t even remember most of the second half…..
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but This year we have so much depth on this roster, that I don’t know that I will ever be this excited to watch the second half of a preseason game. We will get to see some serious Talemt that maybe didn’t get many snaps with the ones.. players we should get to see some of in the second half:
marcus Smith
Agholor
Possibly Huff
Trey Burton
ROWE
JaCorey
Wolff
jordan Hicks
jaylen Watkins
Couplin
Hart
Beau
Denzel Rice
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I don’t know how good the QB play will be in the second half, but we have to admit that Barkley vs TEBOW is about the most interesting 3rd string battle we could ever hope for… It’s certainly more interesting then watching GJ Kinney, MKe Kafka or Koy Detmer running the offense in the second half…
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sanchez should probably also get some playing time,,
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When can we ever expect to see a more interesting second half of a preseason game then this?
So ok. Why do smaller CBs work well in a Cover 2?
It’s not that they work better in a cover 2, it just helps minimize their weakness. He will have a safety behind him more times then in our system to help him. Jump balls or 50/50 balls are usually deeper balls. A safety will be there to assist.
Not all of them do, but cover 2 D’s usually have 11 guys who can run, cover the field from sideline to sideline, and get a pass rush with 4 down linemen. It is mostly zone (area) coverage with very little man-man, and each outside corner has a safety watching his back, so in theory, if a smaller CB is athletic and fast and can get to the ball first, his lack of size is of less consequence.
The prototype for Cover 2 started in the early 70’s. When teams like the Colts and Steelers were bringing in LBs who did not look like Butkus, but were lighter and faster.
e.g. Mike Curtis, Colts, was a good blitzer,also had as many picks as sacks. He started his career as a RB. His defensive coordinator was Chuck Noll, who later drafted Jack Lambert and Jack Ham in Pettsburgh, both vicious tacklers who could make interceptions and were fast.
There were others, but these come to mind. Lighter, faster defenders in general, as unhinged says below.
Gotta love this forum. Thanks fellas.
49ers release Aldon Smith… Baalke says he met him after his prison release and he refused to take any responsibility so he has been waived!
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great, This time next year Jerry Jones will be picking Aldon up from Prison and we will be getting ready to Block the Greg Hardy/Aldon Smith Tandem, with “Prince Charmiinds” Demarcus Lawrenfe and Rady Gregory behind them on the all scumbag team.,.
need not worry, the smallest adversity and that team will be a sinking ship.
Very true,.. That’s what I’m banking on for teams like the skins who make the choice to prioritize talent above all else, adding guys like Junilr Gallette, Desean Jackson… Correct me if I’m wrong, but during the hard times last year, we didn’t seee any of our WRs blowing u on the sideline, arguing with position coaches,, that crap seemed to leave with DEsean.. And now that shady is also gone….I’d be surprised if during adversity we see those types of blowups between teammates and coaches on the sideline… I get the impression that this is a locker room that will stick together and pick each other up thru adversity.. And it will b interesting to see what impact, if any that will have for us…
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even the Defense, you won’t see a Cary Williams type who can get nasty and ornery during adversity.. We have leaders like Jenkins, Demeco,Maxwell,Barwin who all stress team unity and sticking together. Guys lke Malcolm, walter, Maxwell kNow the type of unity and work ethic it takes to contend…
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But what I do like is that even tho we high CHARECTER leadership. Our Leaders are also STERN… It’s one thing to rave about Barwin taking Marcus under his wing, being there to help marcus tnru his maturation as a young player, but what I love the most is how Barwin is there for Marcus, but he is also STERN with marcus.. marcus made it known that Barwain stays 10min after practice every day to work on the pass rush with Marcus and how he appreciates it..amd then you hear the media ask Barwin about it, and while he is there for Marcus. You can tell he is also stern with Marcus,. Explaining, he isn’t just staying extra to work with Marcus. He explained that this is something Barwin has always done for himself, and this type of Extra work is WHAT Is EXPECTED of Marcus,and it sounds like Macus really takes it to heart and he is responding to the stern approach because thru the past year, when Barwin talks about Marcus, he always says something like “make him understand this is what is expected of him, so it’s not just that Barwin is babying him and teaching him everything. barwin is also leading by example and basically showing Marcus the blueprint regimen of working twards greatness… You can also hear Barwin say things like “He understands he is expected to put the weight on and add the strength he will need in order to play in this league….Barwin can have the greatest approach to mentor ship, but what is most important is that Marcus Smith responds to it, and it does sound like Marcus really takes it to heart, appreciates them riding him and wants to make Bawin and BG proud and gain their respect… Kid had ALL THE TALENT and ABILITY we could ask for. We just are waiting for him to get his strength where we need it to be… Kid sounds Like a hungry brand new man, and iM extremely excited to seeing this kid explode in the preseason.. As soon as a team runs the ball at him, we will know if MS2 is ready or not….. practice aganst the Ravens should be extremely valuable for that kid,.
It’s sad but true or he can go to the redskins, they’re obviously not afraid to dabble. I guess it’s pick your poison bodily injuries or “mental” injuries both lead to a lot of time off the field.
49ers are totally busted out.
They’re all desperate to keep up with the Beast of the East.
Graham says Agholor, Jordan Matthews, Tebow, Brandon Hepburn and him are always first to arrive at Complex at 6 am.
From ESP “TDs can be a subjective stat in 7o7, 11o11 drills in camp, but I have Bradford at 84/107, 7 TD, 1 INT through 5 practices.”
Dissapointing to see Wolff allow others to outwork him… As Burried as he is on our depth chart, his name should NOT be missing from that group.. He can make an argument that he can’t control injuries, but he can control his teammates not out working him,,,. I worry that he doesn’t get it…
Gotta give hepburn credit, i just had to look up he’s a linebacker, the deepest position on the team, he has vertually no shot at making the roster but is still out there out working everyone.
For Media Mike and other FFers:
Some have wondered about Matthews’ role. Will he stay in the slot? Go outside? A series here may offer a glimpse. On the first play, he’s outside. Then Matthews sets up in the backfield with Sproles. And on the third snap, he’s back in the slot.
Bottom line: Matthews is their best receiver. He’s going to lead the team in all pass-catching statistical categories and play more snaps than any other Eagles receiver.
Im hoping to snag him in later rounds. Problem is there a few philly fans in my group so its no secret. Just when to pull the trigger depends on how the WR position falls as is the case a lot of times when you draft.
yup – there’s a lot of receivers he’s lest talented than, but philly receivers put up numbers with sanchez, plus there’s the Bradford curve.
Saw a tweet where he ran a beautiful wheel route and caught a laser deep from Bradford.. I assume that’s the play where you say he lined up in the backfield..
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As for Jordan Mathews, it’s a mistake to call him a slot WR… Because when we only have 1 or two WR’s on the field, meaning NO SLOT WRs on the field, Mathews will be the outside WR.. No way they play huff or Coop outside,while Mathews is on the bench when their is no slot WR in the game…
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mathews will play more then every WR (health permitting).. When we have 3 WRs in the game, he will be in the slot, except for when Sproles is in the slot in which case Mathews moves outside. But when there is ONLY 1 or 2’WRs in the game, Jordan will be one of them..,. And the same can’t be said about a typical “#3 slot WR”
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jordan is our #1 WR, we Will see him line up everywhere, and play the most snaps of all WR’s.. But unless Sproles is in the game, he will OWN the slot when we use 3 WRs..
You can have only 2 WRs on the field and not necessarily align both outside.
You don’t say…
The Niners cancelled practice today because of this… Wonder what really happened in that building.. Very sad day for this young man, but at some point, he can’t keep getting a pass for endangering society driving drunk..damn shame..
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When,you stress the importance of character And you actually PRactive what you preach which is pretty rare, it minimizes the risk of one day losing one of your best players because of off the field injuries.. And in a game where you already lose so many players to injury, if you minimize the risk of players who could get suspended for behavior or falling drug tests, it should pay off for you in the long run,, but you have to be Discaplined to not fall for THe allure of talemt… It’s rare that GMs have that discapline..l the skins GM had the audacity to claim it was a new day in Washington and they would not add any more players with bad character lol. Few weeks later he was trying to explain to the media how they feel junior Gallette is “a good guy”. Lol they all talk that character bullshit, and none of the Discapline to turn down the allure of talent, to the point where you stand in front of the media explaining how a guy that assaulted woman on two different occasions, one time on video assualoting a man and woman with a belt, is really a “good guy”, because he is so Talemted at the important edge rusher role…smh
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chip Kelly is interesting because he actually has the Discapline to practice what he preaches in most occassions, and Chip has the ultimate Power to where he can make this a high character franchise that won’t prioritize talent overlooking the fact that a guy is human scum…. Every franchise will give a player a second chance, see Riley Cooper.. But it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the next 3 season if Chip continuos to be Discaplined enough to not overlook character.. Will this pay off for us in the long run… Or will we allow our rivals to close Big talent gaps, by,taking advantage of adding elite talemts very cheap because they are human scum, like Greg Hardy, Gallette, Aldon Smith?.. Hopefully 3 years from now we prove to have lost the least amount of players to suspensions.. if we can have that stat, along with the stat of one of the teams least effected by injuries going forward, that is a Huge advantage Over a 3-5yr period for us…
If chip stays for 3 more years and sticks to this it’s interesting to get to compare and contrast us with the rest of the division since Washington and Dallas are extreme Opposites in that regaurd…
just saw he vandalized Kaepernicks car… drunk. then left then came back and got arrested.. bc of an Ex GF kaep is now dating.. but lets see if that comes out as the truth… but that would explain why practice is off ..
Wow. Just wow. I have no idea how to take that. The absurdity if it’s true is troubling.
WHAT?!?! Lol he trashed his QBs car?
OK, if that’s true -it fucking HILARIOUS.
Not to defend Aldon Smith or anything, who is a true idiot, but the wannabe lawyer in me questions how they’re going to make a DUI charge stick. He hit another car when driving, left the scene, and then came back and talked to the police and they noticed signs of inebriation. Because he was inebriated when he came back doesn’t necessarily prove he was inebriated while he was driving. He could have consumed alcohol after he hit the car and then left. Now of course everyone knows what the likely story is but he has a theoretical defense.
This is the same guy who said he had a bomb at an airport. I’m pretty sure he might have been DUI.
Of course, but past convictions/idioacy typically aren’t admissible when trying a person for current charges.
It sounds like he hit the car while parking/backing up. He then damaged the car again while opening his door, hence the vandalism charge. This is whole thing is unbelievably stupid
Locally there was an off-duty cop who caused an accident. He had been drinking, but was sly enough to walk several blocks away, then come back and say, who me? drinking and driving? No proof for court.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Might not be moral but it’s a loophole for the evil smarmy lawyer types.
So are we just pretending that the Eagles didn’t have practice yesterday? No post on highs, lows, takeaways from yesterday?
There are other sites to go to. They get paid for doing it, it’s their job. Tommy has a full-time job. He doesn’t get paid for this.
Guys lets pick up Aldon Smith now that we don’t have Travis Long!
We should hurry before the Cowboys or Redskins pick him up!
Because he fits under Chips culture category? Why would we sign somebody that won’t even play this year? His career is in serious jeopardy.
**The Joke**
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**wee2424’s head**
Lol, yeah went over. Apologies.
Yer’ a good sport.
I kind of feel sorry for him. A little bit. He’s still in denial.
Sorry, I had to do it. But this is a great way to break from the football talk.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/629725074489278464
Did the Eagles re-sign Casey Matthews?
Or coach ’em up. ;~)
So Bradford lit it up today dropping dimes. Good shit.
Mathews is definitely staying primarily slot. It plays to his strengths and greatly minimizes his weaknesses. He is killing it in there.
Really sounds like Tebow is starting to do better then Barkley with throwing the rock. Not going to lie, I am surprised.
Would anyone be surprised if Kelly started Mathews over Murray? Kelly has seemed to be higher on him then Murray from the start. Also a better receiver. Just interesting thought that goes against what many of us have just assumed.
They have been moving Matthews around. He’s been in the slot, outside and even the backfield. I think match ups are going to determine where he lines up
Mathews ONLY stays in the slot when there are 3WRs oh the Field… Bet when we only have 1 or 2 WR’s on the field, Mathews will be one of them.
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Basically he is going to be our #1 WR, who moves into the slot during 3 WR sets..or he will move outside when Sproles is in the slot.. Jordan should play the most snaps at WR this year, which means he isn’t a real “slot WR”… He just moves into the slot when we have 3 WR in the game…. Last year he was a rookie who we only wanted to learn one role, plus we had Maclin…. Jordan is our new #1 WR…
I will agree with that, but like you said he will definitely move in the slot on the majority of 3 WR sets.
I think not putting Sproles in the slot more was a mistake last year. I think we will see it more this year.
So in 2 WR sets I’m going to assume you think Mathews and Agholor are the starters?
Long term… Yes….
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Probably not in September… Mathews and Huff or Cooper in 2WR sets… But eventually ahholor shojld pass them and we see Agholor and Jordan in 2WR sets
The Eagles could come out ready to throw the ball with Mathews out Wide, Ertz out wide on the opposite side, Sproles in the slot, Murray in the backfield, Celek blocking as a TE…..Ertz and Sproles are such good Recievers that we can even run our 3 WR, 1TE, 1RB sets with those 3 in the game.. Which is a weapon especially with our tempo.. We can come out throwing using Sproles, Ertz and Sproles as 3 WRs, with Celek blockimg as a TE and Murray picking up the Blitz. Throw to one of our 3 weapons, hurry up and get lines up in a completly different run heavy formation with Jordan out wide as the ONLY Wr, both Celek and Ertz on the line as blockers, with Murray or Mathews, lead blocking for Sproles, or using them as decoys running one way while Sproles gets the ball and runs the other way….
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When we use our tempo, nothing more dangerous then a group of Versatile players THATS Can drastically change their roles and how they line up from one play to the next without huddling and Gving the defender no more then 10 seconds line up against you while you are in a drastically different role from the last play…. Ertz especially if he improved his blocking and Sproles are the ULtimate weapons when you play at chips speed. Not only are they normally match up Problems but they give you the ability to morph into a drastically different formation then the previous play, and do it very quickily without huddling. Putting a ton of pressure on the defenders… Sproles can go from slot WR in a 4Wr set, and 6 seconds Later he can lineup as a RB in a two back, 2TE power run set.,.defenses scramble to get lineup up, not only tires out the defense but it shops pressure them into blown assignments opening up big play opportunities,,.. Sproles and Ertz are the keys to this offense. A kid who can lineup as a blocking TE, run the play, 6 seconds later we are snapping the ball and Ertz is lined up wide as a flanker. Run the play, line up, 6 seconds later he is lined up in the slot….. It’s hard enough for a defense to play at our pace and keeo up with Ertz moving around like that, but when the defense also has t worry about Sproles lining up all over the place, and you only give them 6-10 seconds to get lined up, they are going to get pressured into mistakes and communication breakdowns for us to take advantage of..
When did “drop a dime” start meaning something other than “snitch”?
Serious question.
I’m 26, as far back as I can remember. Or maybe I read it wrong and Bradford is a snitch.
When you roll the bones and they are coming up numbers, you pull your 5 bill and put down 10s, or dimes if you will.
To get to heaven don’t snap for a seven…
I would imagine sometime after the death of pay phones.
Thought it was basketball jargon?
If CK liked Mathews over Murray…A:Murray wouldn’t have been signed and B: if Murray was signed as a back up he wouldn’t have been paid that money…baring injury…there is now way Murray is not the main man…
Can we really say that with Chip? Let’s not forget that the plan was to get Gore and Mathews. Chip has been raving about Mathews from the start.
Mathews is the better receiver which is important to Kelly and he is the bigger home run hitter out of the 2.
Mathews is a VERY talented back. I’m not saying the plan from the start was to have Mathews start, but if Chip likes what he sees in him over Murray then he isn’t going to let Murray start because he is paid more and because he wants to start.
When I say start I don’t mean one will get so many more carries then the other. I think it’s going to be by committee with one getting a decent more snaps.
Lets speculate here guys. If religion saved a murderer in Ray Lewis, why can’t we just sign Aldon Smith and have Tebow convert him to a proper Christian?
Tebow was friends with Cooper and Hernandez in college…
It isn’t humans who do the actual converting. A question also remains as to whether either Lewis or Tebow is a real Christian, just looking at behaviour.
How is he not a real Christian?
Only God knows.
If nothing else, I’m glad it sounds like Bradford is living up to his laser accuracy. We have play makers but in previous years it felt as though we couldn’t get the ball into their hands in stride. From BLGs notes today it sounds like Sam can pretty much put the ball wherever he wants. Hopefully now we limit the receivers losing momentum jumping up and reaching back, instead putting full steam ahead for extra YAC. Speaking of momentum, you can sometimes tell a polished reciever from a not by watching to see if he jumps to catch balls he doesn’t have to jump for. Its just wasting energy and time in the air.
“Bryce Brown can’t shake the fumble issues at bills camp”….
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Kids in like his 4th or 5th year, if he hasn’t stopped fumbling, I don’t know he ever will..a 4th rd pick for him was robbery.. They should have asked for Chris Polk,instead
Why do Eagles fans always sound so happy when they perceive a former player struggling? Maybe the Bills like what they see. You do know that DeMarco Murray has a fumbling history too, don’t you? Be careful what poke fun of. Karma is a bitch.
anyone else still getting used to #29 being a celebrated Jersey?
Summer Sanders: “Katie Lidecky has the heart of an American Ninja Warrior in the body of a long-distance swimmer.” This girl is a pheee-nom!
Foles signed a 2 year extension with rams
Smart by him and his agent. Get paid before their sorry ass line kills him.
RAMS: Here’s $26 million for the next three years
FOLES: No way
*Foles’ first throw in practice is an INT*
FOLES: *quickly signs extension*
Surprises me.
Good for him. Nick always seemed like a good guy. I’m not sure he’s a $24.5 million good guy, though. Getting traded sure worked out for him.
Over three years it’s less than 10 million per year, which is pretty much the bar for an NFL starter these days. Plus it’s not guaranteed. The devil is in those details. This wasn’t much of a risk for St Louis. If he plays well, they still have a starting QB for less than the new going rate. If he doesn’t play well they can cut bait with little dead money. It’s the sort of deal the Eagles offered Bradford but he turned down. Short term contract extension with terms that favors the team over the player.
I didn’t know about the details Thanks, good stuff. Still seems like a good deal for Nick as he doesn’t have much leverage at this point and would have been playing this season for a whole lot less.
I don’t have too much problem with Kelly’s height/weight requirements for players but there is a big difference between too many exceptions and no exceptions at all. Where exactly the Eagles are in that area is up for debate. Could be that Kelce really isn’t an exception. Consider this when informed that even Jason Peters has shed 30 pounds and the Eagles run an O line scheme that resembles the old Denver zone blocking featuring lighter, more athletic linemen than the big fat guys. But this is happening league wide right now. The era of the 350 plus pound O lineman might be over — for now at least.
Which is good news for Curry.
Vinny Curry looks like a stud and I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually takes over a starting spot now occupied by Cedric Thornton. Thornton is good but in a passing league like the NFL it doesn’t make sense to have the run stopper playing most of the snaps just because of height and weight. And if Thornton continues to take the majority of the snaps, it would indicate that Kelly is more stubborn than smart with his approach. That’s where criticism of Kelly is warranted.
We’re going to see if jettisoned players like Bradley Fletcher, Cary Williams, and Brandon Boykin turn in seasons like Patrick Chung – who seemingly stunk in Philly but looks pretty good in New England. When that happens several times, a reasonable fan would have to look at coaching and scheme rather than player talent.
[…] I already covered the question of Kelly and not wanting small players in a previous post. […]