How Good?
Posted: August 31st, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 226 Comments »The Eagles are 3-0. In the first two quarters of the three preseason games, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 86-17. Think about that for a second. The average score at halftime (HALFTIME!!!) is 29-6. That is mind-blowing.
Just what the heck are we seeing?
I wrote about the Packers game and just how good this team might be for PE.com.
I have been watching Eagles preseason football since at least 1992. Before that, my memory gets a bit hazy on seeing them in August. Living out of town, that means I went to a lot of sports bars and other places with big satellite dishes over the years to see my beloved Birds in action. Plenty of those games were highly disappointing. Every now and then there would be a good summer, but nothing like this. The level of play this summer is unlike anything I’ve ever seen from the Eagles.
I think it is fair to now put them in the conversation as a legit Super Bowl contender.
As recently as a month ago, I had my doubts. There was so much change this offseason that I just didn’t see the team coming together and peaking this soon. One of the big reasons this team has looked so good is that the questionable areas on the team have mostly worked out to this point.
QB – Sam Bradford sure looks like the real deal. He has had limited time on the field, but has led TD drives every time out this summer. He has been smart and thrown the ball well. Sam showed he could take a hit and bounce right up. Think about this…Sam has about 30 plays under his belt in this offense. Matt Barkley has played 11 preseason games over three years. Which guy looks like he has been running this system his whole career?
There was hope that Mark Sanchez would play so well he would push Bradford for the job. That hasn’t happened. Sanchez did play well in Green Bay and might be one of the best backups in the league. QB could go from a question mark to a major strength.
OG – No Evan Mathis. No Todd Herremans. No problem. So far, anyway. Allen Barbre has played very well at LG. You can start to see why the Eagles were so confident in him. Andrew Gardner has been solid at RG. He is the weakest of the starting O-linemen, but has gotten the job done and is coming off his best game.
Both Eagles starting OGs grade out well by @PFF. Barbre is 5th out of 129, Andrew Gardner is 28th.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 30, 2015
I have very mixed feelings on PFF, but this at least gives you some idea that both Eagles OGs are playing well.
FS – The Eagles tried to sign Devin McCourty, but that didn’t work out. Then we thought they would draft Damarious Randall, but he went earlier than expected. Then we thought Jaylen Watkins would make the full time move to Safety. He began there but at some point the coaches decided to give Walter Thurmond a shot at playing on the inside. And he looks right at home. Thurmond has the skill set the Eagles like. Beyond that, he has regularly made plays in practice and preseason games.
There is a lot of luck that comes in finding a solution like Thurmond, but that’s okay. Sometimes you need a bit of luck when putting a team together. Trent Green’s injury paved the way for Kurt Warner. The ’85 Bears had a pair of starters hold out for the season. I’d say their replacements did okay. LeGarrette Blount wasn’t even on NE’s roster last summer, but he ended up being a big help to their run game down the stretch.
We don’t know how Thurmond will play this season, but he has been terrific this spring and summer. He could end up being a key part of the defense.
CB – Byron Maxwell isn’t Darrelle Revis, but he sure looks like a good CB so far. He has helped to stabilize the secondary. Nolan Carroll had a phenomenal offseason and is playing well this year. Rookie Eric Rowe has played well enough that the team is considering using him as the Nickelback. E.J. Biggers has been better than expected, although he didn’t have his best night in Green Bay. And Jaylen Watkins has taken a big step forward. He is showing good cover skills this year.
What seemed like a huge question mark could actually turn out to be a good group, with depth. And that’s without Brandon Boykin or rookiei JaCorey Shepherd. What a difference a year makes.
There will be some issues this year. Every team has them. The Eagles ability to handle those issues will go a long way to deciding if this team can play into late January. The question marks from the spring have mostly turned out good so that is encouraging.
Chip Kelly the coach is pretty darn good. Maybe Chip Kelly the GM will turn out to be special as well. So far, so good.
_
New Vegas odds out. Eagles are 10/1 to WIN the SB. Order of odds is Seahawks, Green Bay, Colts, Eagles, Patriots.
https://twitter.com/JClarkCSN/status/638380865295413248/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is just another indicator that tells me they are legit. Vegas doesn’t like to lose money and they are obviously high on this team.
While I like seeing this…. To me it really just means that a shit load of people are jumping on the band wagon and putting money on the birds at the former odds of 25-1
how are the Pats worse odds than the Colts? The Pats beat them like a drum EVERY time.
I have to believe it comes down to their (Pats), totally depleted Secondary, as well as the pending Brady suspension. That, and the Colts seemingly going all in for this year with “let’s win it all now” F/A signings. But ya, I’m not really buying it either man.
Yeah, they’re definitely in the conversation. Question marks: Sam Bradford in real games, the secondary, the OL.
Right now the secondary is what worries me. Maybe they are legit, maybe they aren’t. Billy D has to know how to use these guys, so it’ll be interesting to see how he game plans. Carroll said he lost confidence in the secondary last year, but that’s not an excuse to keep doing the same thing without trying anything new.
I’m okay with the OL because they’ve been playing solid football, and I expect them to improve as they get more time together. OLs usually get better with more time together. The backups of Tobin and Moffitt I think will pay off. If you are getting down to your 8th and 9th lineman, than you probably are having other issues as well.
SB’s knees will concern everyone until he makes a full season, and rightfully so. We all know he has the talent, but staying upright is the issue. He took a couple shots last week and this week and just got up and kept going. That’s extremely encouraging.
Hey Tommy, I have one thought that keeps sticking in my head with respect to the offense with Sam at QB. How much more effective does he make the Offensive line? It seems that his quick reads and anticipation throws allow the lineman to engage their blocks for only a few seconds without needing to maintain their blocks since he doesn’t seem to back peddle or scramble. I can only imagine this will cut down on holding calls as well.
The TD to Trey Burton had a nice cut block by Peters which isn’t something you can keep in your toolbox when your QB has a habit of holding onto the ball forever.
Can anyone look up stats on that type of blocking under Foles/Sanchez? Seems like I can only remember it showing up from the early days of Chip’s time here on actual passing plays and not just laterals and stuff like that
Sam’s abilities to aniticipate where a receiver is going to be, read the defense, get the ball out quickly and accurately with zip behind it all effectively boost this offensive line. This line is already capable of holding their own. If you remember how long it took Nick Foles to make a throw that should give you an idea of just how good this line is with Peters, Johnson, and Kelce leading the way. If Sam continues to get the ball out as quickly as he does he is going to be impossible to touch without warranting a yellow flag. Just watching this team against the Packers you can see how many options and weapons he has to choose from and how effective this spread is going to be. You give a guy like Sam Bradford so many options and he is going to pick you apart. Just check out some of his footage from Oklahoma. They ran a similar offense and you see what kind of damage he did.
Preseason really isn’t that important, but looking at the Eagles’ 1s and 2s vs other teams’ starters and with neither side game-planning has shown that the Eagles have a great starting unit and ridiculous depth.
Our 3rd strings get dominated by other teams 3rd strings.
You mean the guys that aren’t going to make the 53? Yeah.
And the only time they were truly dominated was against Green Bay. GB still had their 2nd string in during the 3rd quarter. Eagles had put in the 3rd string by then, from what I saw.
Exactly right……
T-Law:
You should have seen them in August 1960 . . .
A pinpoint-passing QB who finally had weapons at every position — soon joined by a concrete-hard defense.
Made all the difference.
As for Bradford . . . best QB since ’61 Jurgensen — who still holds the Eagles’ team record for TDs passing in a season with 32.
That record will fall this season if Bradford stays upright.
That’s an average of 2 TDs a game, and I’m fully expecting around 2.5-3, with 2 rushing TDs a game. I really think this team can average in the 30 point range all season.
per game or per half?
LOL – per game.
per commercial break
Could be low 30s by half. But maybe Chip will keep the pedal to the metal? You know, just to break their will to win.
Let’s see their D puking and sucking wind by the end of the 2nd Quarter.
We’ll be kind enough to have Barner take a punt back for a TD every now and then to give their D an extra break.
Naw Avery, the average will be around 40. You will see some mid 50s that skew the numbers. It all depends on how long Chip keeps Sam in a game. If he pulls him at the low 40s, then my prediction will ring true. If he is more comfortable with the mid 30s then the average will be lower than 40.
OregonDucker have you gotten the chance to go to a game at the Linc yet?
I’m kind of worried that the Eagles fight song could start to get a little repetitive in these 50+ point games… Ducks never had anything you had to sing, right?
as someone who’s attended Oregon home games since ’67, I can assure you there isn’t a full fight song that anyone sings all the way through. There’s the regular college anthem, “Mighty Oregon”, but few fans know any words beyond the “Go Ducks GO! Fight Ducks Fight! Win Ducks Win!” bridge, which doesn’t even have a melody to worry about.
There’s a variation on “Down the Field” with a last verse “OSU will fight to the end but We! Will! Win!” that the team sings in the locker room after every victory. But that one doesn’t appear on the OMB playlist often.
The best points-related tradition at Duck games is the mascot doing point-total pushups on a platform after every score. That can be entertaining.
Nice!
I think some of the high scoring games could be dangerous to a mascot’s health
Hard to believe that he did that only playing a 12-game regular season! Even harder to believe that it hasn’t been surpassed yet!
actually, 1961 was the NFL’s first 14-game season.
regardless, with the NFL’s expansion to 16 games and use of flag-football rule for WRs . . . almost unimaginable that no Eagles QB has topped 32 TDs in a season.
(McNabb had 31 in 2004, but sat out the final game and most of the 15th game.)
I wanted everyone’s take on this:
QB friendly scheme vs easy for the QB scheme:
Yes this is a QB friendly scheme in that Mark Sanchez can drive the team over 90 yards in under a minute without ever throwing the ball more than 10 yards down field. And there are open receivers all over the field. The stats come out very nice from a whole bunch of high % throws. But it’s been so consistent every year now, our back ups (and often our starters), when they look down field, they sort of bounce around in the pocket looking looking looking and come up with nothing. Then you watch the tape and there are open guys all over the place.
Is it possible this Offense isn’t in anyway easy for QB’s to master? Considering the playbooks is all of, what, 11 plays? Each play has a ton of variances based on what the defense is showing you. You get going in the tempo and you have to scan the field in a short pre-snap and figure out exactly which route all of your options will be running. Snap the ball avoid the pressure then find all your guys in the play you mapped out in your head in an instant. So often our QB just looks lost when scanning the field.
All these other scrub QB’s get to look decent when they can just sling it around and show off their physical talents in a vanilla offense. So either our guys are lost if a more complicated than you would think offense, the worst batch of qb depth for a few years running, or we don’t develop QB’s worth a crap.
You can see what a QB efficiently running our system looks like and it is awe-inspiring. So what do you think, QB friendly offense or not?
Not sure what you mean. Sanchez, our backup, played like a mid-tier starter in this offense. I am not sure what more you could ask from him. Nick Foles, who appears to have average talent, put up historic numbers. Still, in this league your QB has to be good, offense be damned. If Sam Bradford can take it to a higher level than Sanchez did, we will probably have a good season.
I specifically mean the minute they get into a situation where they need to look down field, all of our guys have struggled finding the open man down field (except Bradford so far). They hold onto the ball and you watch the film, open guys are out there, they just aren’t finding them. So often they just take the sack, check it down, or throw it away.
Don’t get me wrong. We’ve dinked and dunked teams to death. No body gets more out of the high % stuff than Chip Kelly. It’s just there is some much more out there. The numbers we put up are still mid tier levels. It’s QB friendly in that sense. But I think it’s very difficult to master.
It’s a lot to process in 3 seconds, it’s not like there’s just one ore two reads, and the routes take a little while to develop, but agree — and i also see why djax wasn’t long for this tearm (though maybe w/ a guy like him you’re constantly looking downfield).
Yeah I’m thinking this is mentally a very difficult offense to master. A different kind of talent, just have to process very fast.
less complicated on our side allows for more complex reads of defenses… but you gotta be able to read a defense lol
Well the receivers get the play from their signal,Receiver A knows he either runs maybe a slant or a come-back. Look at the coverage on his side of the field, ok running the slant. Receiver B he can run an in or do a double move and hit a corner route. Check coverage, bam he’s running a corner route. Receiver C, etc. The QB has to map all of this out in his head and have a feel for the timing and where everyone is, all in an instant. I think it is a very difficult offense to run, even with only a few plays to master. I’m just not sure there are many QB’s we can bring in to be anything more than check-down kids. And Chip can win some games with that. But I think it’s a myth that the QB doesn’t matter for Chip Kelly. He needs something pretty rare to do what he wants to do.
I would argue that yes this is a difficult scheme to run for a pocket passer. For a QB that can process on the run, like Mariota, it is easier because they can buy time.
Now having said the above, QB runners in the NFL generally get killed unless their named Russell Wilson. I believe Chip knows this so he is looking for an accurate QB who can process a lot of information quickly. Bradford is one of the few that can do this.
interesting wrinkle there OD. Something to think about.
A good example of what I am trying to say can be found on several occasions in the Packers game. The Bradford pass to the Pope is a case in point. The Pope was the right target, but the he was covered somewhat. The pass was high such that only the Pope could catch it. So you have good decision-making and accuracy in milliseconds. Or as Chip calls it “The game within the game.”
Do you think Chip has added to the system from the college days? like a pro QB is expected to track all of his receivers vs in college the progressions were like, read 1: hand off or keep, read 2: throw it to option 1 or get rolling out of the pocket, read 3 throw it to option 2 or tuck and run.
Well, he’s added quite a few West Coast wrinkles in the passing game. He seems to be reducing the zone read plays for power plays now that he has two pounding RBs.
Defenses are more complex and disguised so he has changed reads based on D sets. Also, as I mentioned recently, Chip is calling more crossing routes because of the league changes that protect the receiver. With our stable of receivers, we will absolutely kill most defenses with these routes.
We’ve been killing with crossing routes, everyone plays us Man so they can have an extra guy watching our QB/ being run support.
Yeah. This is why Sam Bradford is going to be so good in this offense. You got a glimpse of it against Green Bay. 10-10, 121 yards, 3 TD’s in just one quarter. He ran a similar offense in Oklahoma. He is way above the other quarterbacks.
Every offense is very difficult to master… When they say its a QB friendly offense, that Doesmt mean it’s easy, it’s just easier compared to some Of the more complicated systems… mark friggin Sanchez set a franchise completion record in this offense, how much more QB friendly can it get?
Even in the great cbip kelly offense, playimg QB is still the hardest position in sports
Because he only thew high percentage passes. The offense is friendly in that, that can work. But did he just not go down field because he sucks, or because it’s a complex system and he got lost?
I can answer that. Because he sucks.
that’s the clear cut answer I was looking for 😀
MWC: our QB depth blows
I’m team, “I wonder if it’s just really hard to find QB’s that can fully run this offense”
Put Sanchez in any offense and I assume he struggles with deep passing and is at his best dinking and dunking to intermediate routes… Pick any offense and My guess is Sanchez will always struggle going deep, because it’s not a strength of his by any means..
..
He could have opted to always throw to his checkdowns while he was in the Jets offense, yet his completion percentage was like 10% lower then it was under chip…. I’d say a 10% completion percentage increase is the most i could realistically expect from a “more QB friendly” offense.
..
There are Checkdown optipns in most plays of every offense… I dont see guys running wide open so consistently as much as I see it under Chip,.. Of course im sure some of that is because chip has a ton of weapons where as Andys offenses defenses just had to worry about Westbrook, and TO for one year
So I’m putting you on team our depth just doesn’t throw down field. Chip’s a god to get anything out of these Check-down Charlie’s.
We can look at some more data after the season. See how Foles completion percentage in Fishers antiquated offense compares to the numbers he put up here, and we can see how Bradfords numbers here compare to what he was able to do with the Rams….curious to see how close the results are to the 10% increase Sanchez displayed here compared to what he put up as a JET
That’s the thing, our guys can throw high% passes (like check downs, screens, etc) and there is so much RAC that they get the benefits of the high % completion, and the offense gives them a nice yard per catch efficiency. Stat-wise it looks great. I’m not saying Sanchez can’t run a competitive offense here, I’m just saying it’s all Chip, and what we get is just a shadow of what this offense is supposed to be. Just about anyone can dink and dunk competitively with the weapons and scheme we have.
So yeah, Nick’s #’s should plummet across the board. We definitely have the more stat-friendly offense in Philly.
Hmm, well I think you’re getting pretty greedy if you expect average to below-average QBs to be running them ragged in quick hitters but _also_ hitting over the top. If we had Brees or Rodgers or Manning, that is what would be happening. Maybe Bradford will prove me wrong and get to that level.
ultimately i think it’s the QBs ability to read a defense in those 3 seconds and converting that read into a confident throw….. Vick could put the ball where ever he wanted, but always double clutched and didn’t trust his read and had to see it open…. Vick/Sanchez/Foles have never thrown an anticipation throw in their life lol
Absolutely agree.
Quality #1 of great QBs . . . ability to know what they’re seeing faster than most other QBs.
Q#2 – accuracy to take advantage of what they see.
What’s your take ACV?
Generally our QB’s (not named Bradford) tend to struggle to find the open man downfield because:
A) they suck
B) This offense is pretty complex at the pace we run it so they just don’t have the processing speed to handle it and get lost (ie cleaning house and replacing the guys we have with a bunch of these kids who have been slinging it and showing off the arm talent during the pre-season might be a step backwards since the limitation in this offense is mostly mental not physical)
C) we haven’t been developing QB’s very well.
D) other/ this isn’t a thing
Or a mixture of A, B, and C.
I think — to paraphrase Parcells — the universe is filled with only about a 10-12 men who consistently can (i) see the defense, (ii) read the defense, and (iii) accuately throw the ball 30 yards from where they’re standing — all in the span of 2.7 seconds with 4-7 other very, very large and angry men trying to drive them into the ground.
In other words, I think it’s a combination of A, C, & D.
Good stuff but in the spirit of discussion, here is a counter point. There are many ways to fall short of being one of those 10-12 guys. Some guys can find the open man but not hit him. Some guys are overly aggressive and careless with the ball. Or maybe they’re gun shy. Maybe they crumble under pressure, from the defense or the stakes. Some guys just physically can’t make the throws you need to make in the NFL. And most guys fall short just because of consistency. Manning and Foles are tied for most touchdown passes in a game. In those games both played QB brilliantly in every phase. The difference is Manning has been brilliant for over a decade and remained brilliant, and Foles has been up and down since. The difference is consistency. Foles simply can’t sustain a high level of play.
All of our guys have fallen short the same way: They don’t find the open man down field (not just the guys running go routes either). Is it just an example of similar prospects? Maybe they are gun shy because they are all being coached to protect the football first and foremost as back ups? The time is there, is it the vision or the processing speed, coaching, or personnel decisions? I just find it curious they all have the same problem.
I keep wondering what McNabb would’ve looked like in the Kelly offense. Obviously, the read option could be used more. McNabb certainly wasn’t the quickest processor or most accurate QB, but he was certainly good in the pocket and could buy time even after he became more hesitant to run. In the end, he’s someone who I’d have fun arguing is a HOF QB (though I wouldn’t quite believe it).
This is all to say that I think McNabb was a great QB who doesn’t exhibit the traits we’re talking about for a Kelly offense. But I think the offense would be killer with McNabb. Super defined reads might’ve been the best thing ever for him.
I guess “repetitive accuracy” and quick decision-making are obviously huge. But there are other styles of play that could fit this offense well too.
I think McNabb would have put up huge numbers in this offense, and then Kelly would have traded him after one season.
McNabb:
* was never able to learn how to run a 2 minute offense throughout his entire career.
* was unable to hit his first reads and made his living on holding the ball forever behind an excellent offensive line and waiting until everything had broken down before he threw.
* had less touch on his short passes than Tim Tebow.
McNabb was the opposite of a Chip Kelly quarterback and Kelly would have gotten rid of him ASAP.
this sounds dead on lol. You could see him being prolific just improvising out of his @#$ but just so hot and cold and so, so, so far from what Chip Kelly is looking for.
Mcnabb would have been amazing with chip + all these weapons
This isnt true of foles at all. Or sanchez really but less so.
If you look at Chip’s QBs at Oregon, he won with a mix of different player styles and skill sets. People hear so much about the read option and mistakenly assume that a running QB is best suited for maximizing Chip’s offense, and while that may be true at the College level, in the Pros Chip has been adamant about repetitive accuracy and the ability to process information quickly (which is why I’m not sold on RGIII being a good fit for Chip’s O). Sam possesses both the arm and the mind to make Chip’s offense really go. And don’t forget, the strong running game is going to help our QBs tremendously!!
As for the route trees and the QBs ability to work through his progressions, from what I’ve read Chip uses a lot of triangle routs (as does most of the NFL) that assists a QB in working through 3 options in their progressions:
http://smartfootball.com/passing/snag-stick-and-the-importance-of-triangles-yes-triangles-in-the-passing-game#sthash.hX2qD6CP.dpbs
The difference with Chip is the myriad of formations and motions he incorporates, along with the biggest difference – tempo. Also, the Eagles are ridiculously deep at the skill positions on offense, which makes it all the more frustrating when you watch Sanchez or Foles or Barkley or Tebow miss a wide open receiver from a missed read.
What was so attractive about the possibility of Marcus Mariota running Chip’s offense was not his running capabilities, but the fact he was so familiar with Chip’s offensive concepts and had both the arm and the mind to process and make the right reads in the up tempo mode. Sam Bradford possesses those same skills and is a perfect fit for what Chip wants to do. With the skill positions going 2 deep on the offense with little to no drop off, this Eagles offense is poised for a record season.
Broncos cut Zac Dysert… At this point I WOULDNT mind cutting Barkley and Tebiw and start taking closer looks at QBs who hit waivers… Any unknown is better then guys we have seen ARENT good enough
i was very surprised/semi-impressed by Hundley on Saturday…. not a waiver option, but was linked to us before the season.
yeah I agree, he looked better then people gave him credit for I think
Well, we can’t quite cut them at this point, we need them to get us through Thursday first. But yeah, that devil you know expression was not made by somebody with Barkley and Tebow on their roster. I’ll take the devil we don’t.
After the Redskin disaster finally ends, there are only 2 possible destinations for RGknee….. Obviously the Cleveland Browns, but my money would be on him joining the Cowboys, at least I hope. That would be so much fun for eagle fans… I don’t want RG3 to leave us too soon, I enjoy smacking him around so much.,
“I enjoy smacking him around so much.” we lost the only time we faced him last year. I’m happy with RGIII and Kurt Cousins, both are terrible. I remember a game last year were Kurt literally threw a pick every time he had the ball.
I was at the last game at the Linc where we beat on him And his teammates wouldnt help him up…. I’m not ready to be done with him yet.. Give me 3 more years of him staying in this division… What can I say, Trainwrecks fascinate me…
It would be funny if we got RG3 just to see Chip troll you. Eagles are where wounded QBs come for rehabilitation.
Fortunately thanks to Charecter I don’t have to worry about fools like him… Throwing your OL under the bus to the media every time you have a bad game just doesn’t scream “Fly Eagles Fly” to me…
I would love to see that. Dude has potential.
Do you live in Baltimore?
Live just outside. Work in DC.
Same here. Want to link up for the first game at an Eagles bar? There’s one close to my house.
Raiders? They might not even mind the money since they may still need to hit a salary floor. May not go over well with other QBs on roster though.
Think they like Carr tho, and Bortles seemed to do decent for the Jags… LOL when you become more dysfunctional then the Raiders or Jags, Snyder should just off himself…
.,
If RG3gets cut, would he even get a job right away? Any chance he is out of the league for a year TIL someone gives him a training camp invite next year?
Josh freeman is still floating around. Though he’s so bad w/ the media that I think it’d hurt his chances of getting picked up. But he’s gotta be better than anything on the Jets / Texans / Browns right now.
Don’t know if he is a good enough teammate to be considered by chip…
Never for this team, hard worker but his attitude seems all wrong — other teams maybe.
When every team has to make cuts like this week, players don’t have to pass thru waivers rigjht? We can try to sign whoever we want, we don’t have to worry about the waiver wire order of worst teams getting first dibs….right? Correct me if im wrong please..
Waiver wire stilll applies.
Lame
You have someone in mind GEAGLE?
Not yet,,, but I’m sure someone unexpected will get cut.. At QB, I think Barkley and TEBOW are trash, and I’m willing to cut them and pick up anyone because an unknown is still better then a Known Bum… The most noticeable name right now, is probably Zac Dysert… A Bills QB might be getting cut…. at this point, I’ll take anyone over TEBOW
…
Andy Levitre has garnered a lot of speculation from eagle fans, if him or some other Guard we like hits waivers, there are a lot of crappy OL needy teams on the waiver wire before us..
..
be Awrsome if we can find 1 or 2’roster upgrades on waivers, doesn’t have to be a starter, I’d love a capable backup Center that allows us To tell both MOLK and Vandervelde to piss off, a backüp Tackle better then DENNIS Kelly would be nice too
Yeah, I agree. Any type of significant depth upgrade at the very least would be great.
would have been nice to get one of those guys in the draft, they all went pretty late
Maty B has been here 3 years and can’t move the best offense in the league down the field against scrubs. Gotta be frustrating, especially watching the first two guys put up 5TDs.
Wrong.
Only veterans — 4+ years in the NFL — don’t pass through waivers.
All other players are subject to reverse order selection, worst to first.
ACViking nailed it, but if you want a longer explanation SBNation did an article on this last year.
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/3/5351372/2014-nfl-waiver-wire-how-it-works-guide
Thanks.. Good read
I pulled the trigger in both leagues this year….. i took Bradford lol.
what rounds?
10 man standard: 9th rd, i saw the guy after & me were the only 2 left on the board without a QB, i took Sam he got Rivers after me….. then we both took another QB in the 13th i got Palmer he got Newton (so decent trade off there lol)
12 man auction: i got him for $5 (A. Rodgers = $41 & A. Luck $30) not sure why luck went so much cheaper missed that one lol.
Awesome, I have an auction draft coming up, hoping to get bradford cheap, might just suggest him first and then have no one else want to pay for him.
9th round seems like great value — though his value may shoot up after that performance this weekend.
Foles went undrafted in the 14 team igglesblitz league. How times have changed.
I planned on taking Brady (who has been going like 10th or so out of QBs) with Bradford as a backup… but then a guy in my league took him as the 3rd QB off the board after Rodgers and Luck. I’m an Eagles fan, but that’s just insanity
you thought you were a true believer but then that guy out believered you. We need that guy here (turn in your FOB).
“believered” is a great word!
PRESEASON
TROLL
NUMB DAME
Eagles have moved from 30:1 or 25:1 to before preseason started to win the SB down to 10:1 to 8:1 this week in Vegas.
It takes a lot more money to move the odds that much & it did in a big way since the Packers game.
When was it 25:1?
I don’t think I ever saw it go below 20.
If I saw 30:1 in Vegas I would’ve jumped in a plane and flown out to LV myself.
MKSP:
At 10-1 odds, aren’t the Birds still a good bet . . . ’cause they sure seem better than a 10-1 odds team?
(I don’t bet, so I haven’t a clue.)
It’s not interesting enough to me to bet it. Seems about “market” if that makes sense.
Vegas hadn’t caught up to Chip earlier when the odds were around 20:1, which is when I should have flown out there. But they’re about where they should be now.
Preseason has almost entirely been confirmation to me that this is a legit SB team, but that’s mostly because I have a lot of faith in Chip (maybe too much).
I get that it’s just preseason, but last year we saw all the warning signs that this team, and particularly “NiCK RaiNmakre FOles”, would regress. Which was made painfully obvious versus JAX.
After we beat ATL by 40 and DAL by a couple TDs, SB odds will be something like 6:1.
Thanks. Great stuff.
sorry just saw this, I agree it may be “market” or “true odds” as I refer to it.
If I remember correctly, the Eagles opened the pre-season at something like 18-1 to win the Super Bowl. My plan was to wait out the first three games, make sure Bradford was healthy and played well, then place a bet. I waited too long.
10:1 to win the SB? no, that’s not a good value bet. Lots and lots can go wrong, but everything has to go right. Let’s say you think they can’t get a bye, and they have to win 3 games to get to the SB and then 1 more to win it. If you estimate each game at 50%, that’s 1/2 * 4 times or 1:16. If you think they get a bye that’s 1:8.
If you think well they are more than 50% to win each game, maybe the first game but right now, against the Packers or Seahawks or AFC winner? That’s hard to argue it’s a material difference. More likely they are slightly favored, then slight underdogs and the 1/2 odds of each game in total averaged out is not far from true value.
And this is just “assuming” at least a division title. Which I would have bet a ton on last year (I did make a couple hundred dollar bet on them winning the SB) and it didn’t happen, b/c sh#t happens.
So no, I do not think the 10:1 odds a good. It may be what I might consider “true odds” but you are hoping when you bet to find something where you think the true odds are bit better than the betting odds.
But if the question is this a good bet, I would say no.
very illuminating.
i’ll stick to poker
poker is same thing really, no? consider the true odds of your outs versus the pot?
no fumbles/injuries in poker lol
Poker provides a good example. In poker, the worst hand is the second-best hand, because that’s the player that loses the most money. In a “futures” bet, like a Super Bowl bet, 10-1 isn’t that great because anything other than the winning the Lombardi means you lose your money.
A few books I saw. Boys were equal if not better bets before the preseason too.
Yeah. They were pretty high, I guess Vegas didn’t like what they saw in their couple games this preseason.
I know before preseason they were favored more than the Eagles.
I agree with your previous article where you said you’d like to see the Eagles cut both Barkley and Tebow. Neither seems worth wasting a roster spot on. Either sign someone else or just slot Sproles as the #3 QB.
The struggles of Barkley and Tebow put the success of Foles, Sanchez, and — from all indications — Bradford into far better perspective.
Kelly’s offense sure appears to be QB friendly, “so anyone can do it.”
But “anyone” can’t do it.
T-Law:
So much talk about how rich with WRs the 2014 draft was.
How ’bout the 2012 draft for LBs?
With the Eagles’ extending Kendricks . . . I took a look at the LBs — especially the M/ILBs — selected in the first couple rounds of the 2012 draft:
9. Luke Keuchly, MLB – Panthers
25. Donta Hightower, ILB – Patriots
26. Whitney Mercilus, OLB – Texans
46. Mychal Kendricks, ILB – Eagles
47. Bobby Wagner, MLB – Seahawks
52. Zach Brown, ILB – Titans
58. Lavonte David, OLB – Bucs
There’s never been a single year since the common draft started in ’66 in which so many quality LBs, especially in the middle, were selected.
Love how Kendricks plays, but Wagner going right after him is a major ouch.
And Alshon was the pick right before him.
2012 draft was stacked
Absolutely.
I’d love to see RG3 end up with Andy Reid out in KC. The kid has too much potential to wash out this soon. Let AR work his magic.
I dont think RGKnee can be as good a Alex Smith at throwing 7 yard passes every game.
Griffin needs to go to a team with a passing game that works primarily off play-action, gives the QB deep drops, and — if working — time to scan the field.
Unfortunately, the last team to run that offense with great success was the 1983 Oakland Raiders.
Sounds like Eagles anno 2008-2011
don’t think the Eagles routinely ran 7-step drops — like the old-time Raiders.
no question, though, once DJax came here, more 7-step drops
But that as close as you get with modern day blitzes. Think RG3 would be great in that type of offense with more pistol (which he runs now in Kansas)
Skins almost have to release him now, or create huge risk for themselves.
You want to see RG3 die on the field?
does he?
he has looked so bad I have a hard time even seeing potential anymore.
he looks awful
Because he is awful. And doesn’t put in any work.
He needs some time away from the train wreck going on in Washington before anyone can really answer that question, and it’s entirely possible that his time there and the injuries have ruined him. But while he definitely wasn’t a complete QB in his rookie year, he did have that electricity about him that you could see turning into something.
I thought overthecap said recently it’s hard for the Skins to cut RGIII this year.
Its hard to trade him bc of his 16 mill cap hit next year
trade but easy to cut? I thought his contract was guaranteed, or guaranteed for injury or something.
But if they cut him now they only owe him 6.8m
ICD . . .
I think the $6.8M is the cap hit. (Salary + remaining bonus)
Out of pocket for 2015 is $3.4 or thereabouts.
Any trade for Griffin would parallel the Jets’ acquisition of Harvin from Seattle last year. A very late round pick with the understanding that, unless his contract is restructured for 2016, Griffin would be 1-and-done.
its guaranteed only for injury, so once he is healthy, he can be cut with little dead money
The question nobody wants to ask: Can the NFL avoid the fate of boxing as a commercial entertainment form?
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25285658/watch-will-smith-stars-as-doctor-who-discovers-cte-in-concussion-trailer
So far, so good is exactly right…beyond that we still know really nothing about how this team’s season will turn out to be. We can project and dream about the SB, but that is all they can be right now. Pray hard for health and the luck that is necessary to go that far. We’ve certainly seen many seasons that started promising and went down the toilet – hopefully this will not be one of those. I’m very excited at the potential, but have been a fan for far too long to count any chickens before they hatch.
wait so is it time to discuss who would rest starters in week 17 when we are 15-0? I say let them play.
Depends on the point spread.
The fact that we’re good enough that we don’t need to tank for a 2016 QB by starting Tie Rod Taylor is a good sign.
TT has played pretty well, considering.
He’s a sucky bastard, pre-season play aside. I doubt he’s equipped to handle a real game and a real game plan.
Every time I hear his name I think of Tyrone Shoelaces
Chris Shenkel, don’t sing nuthin.
Do any starters play on Thursday, will it just be barkely and tebow? I’d rather have marky mark and the funky bunch play the whole game than watching those two not move the ball.
Mark Sanchez 90yds in less than a minute against a playoff team in GB, that’s pretty special.
Do punters count?
what we know:
sam will throw some interceptions.
we will lose a few games at least.
the defense will get beat for a deep play now and again.
all this we know already, but this team looks really good right now.
but you can’t win ’em all.
we just need to win the last few games of the year and not get over bummed when we lose a few, and when sam throw the INT’s because it will happen.
and boy do the offenses of the Rams with Nick and TN with Marcus look so crappy compared to us.
Agreed. I’d like to work on getting a stranglehold on this division and go from there.
When that happens (not if) is this group hungry and disciplined enough to not let up, or will Kelly accuse somebody of reading too much of their fan mail? Any time one of AR’s teams was riding high, they would, on cue, play like shit and get their asses handed to them. Kelly has waxed golden about Meco, Jordan, Sam, Nelson, Celek and others’ work ethics. “Never satisfied”, “never arriving”, “ultimate team players”, etc. It could be interesting to see how, as a group, they respond to a 6-0 start.
Bennie Logan wants to whip some Dallas ass for a while.
https://twitter.com/da_king_son18/status/636551044378529792
I won’t be disappointed to find out.
I drafted Sam with the knowledge that every one of his drives ended in a touchdown. That is now the expectation going forward. I will hear none of this interception talk.
How about we just rail on Kelly if they do gimmick bullshit on 2 pointers instead of letting Bradford pass for them?
Honestly, if Kelly has them averaging 30 points per half, he can have the 2-point conversion squad drive onto the field in a clown car and squirt the official from a lapel flower when the try fails.
5 for 5 in the redzone… so far so good
Bradford upright… so far so good
Maxwell/secondary by committee… so far so good
OG replacements… so far so good
WR replacements… so far so good… kinda
RB replacements… so far really good
depth across the board… so far so good
what else am i missing.
tebow/barkley?
we should have a young developmental guy for 3rd string.
not two mental guys
Kevin Norwood traded to Carolina, they must have inquired about one of our WRs, right? Would have loved to drop Riley C for a conditional 5th.
I’d drop Cooper for a painful medical condition if that’s what it took.
He’s still here because he’s committed to blocking
Somebody needs to be committed to paying a blocker that much money. I wouldn’t mind him at $2 mil / year.
He’s definitely overpaid. But at this point he’s better than whatever you might replace him with
How about future cap space? According to some people, that had great value in the Shady trade………..but no so much for Rams w/ Bradford.
If you cut him this year you save $1M this year. If you would otherwise cut him at the end of the season, that is all you would gain in future cap space. Actually less, because you’d be paying someone at least minimum salary and that would now go to cap space.
Yeah, the dead money vs. future salary saved difference is only about $200k if we cut him this year because of the structure of the guaranteed money being salary rather than signing bonus.
I don’t think Chip wants to trade Cooper
I think you’re right, but there’s gotta be someone that can block AND get open to catch balls. Coop also went undrafted in the IgglesBlitz 14 team league, our “starting” WR.
He’d go undrafted in a 28 team league.
Shit, I missed it
I’d GIVE them a 5th to take him off our hands with that salary
This is a running team and he helps string those runs out. So having him is more useful than not having him.
Norwood’s in Y2 of his rookie contract.
Carolina may have taken Cooper if the Eagles included a 4th Rd pick and took back “future considerations.”
Norwood stinks.. He is like 26 or 27yrs old, yet inconsistent,.. I thought he was going to get cut… I know Carolina is weak at WR, but I don’t see how he can change that
They are committed to having that offense be terrible. If i was Cam i probably would have looked at FA.
And stink elsewhere? Scam is doing a nice job stealing top dollar in Carolina where they’ve got some nice blinders on for his ever decreasing QB rating.
They don’t have a receiver that would start on another team. Cam is no peyton manning, which makes it even more absurd they don’t help him out w/ some weapons.
I agree completely. He lacks a ton of skills as a passer and they don’t give him anything except guys who are fringe talents.
Cam is still an above average quarterback,
silly.
This sounds remarkably similar to Donovan’s early years.
To me it seemed,like they just slept thru the offseason… They needed to fix the OL and the WRs, and they accomplished neither…
This team still has some issues, but what team doesn’t
Fred Jackson situation is sort of sad, 10yrs with the same franchise reports are that he would have “done anything” to retire a Bill (who else would honestly say that), wasn’t given a chance.
Sort of seems like he must have said something OR maybe Shady is just getting paid too much to have Freddy J vulture his TDs.
did Bills give him a chance at a pay cut? would it have even mattered if he offered?
No chance at a pay cut, Was rolling through his twitter totally family guy. Be interesting to see what he does — dallas and cleveland both need RBs.
The total down side of the NFL. That type of sucks really sucks for the player and the fans. Jackson survived multiple attempts at dues snaking his job.
He will get over it once he is contending with the Patriots…
.
Think Rex could have used him in the locker room at least for the first year. Highly respected in that locker room
Calling the spite signing, are you?
Quite plausible.
That is a great call by GEAGLE for a change… Seems like a 100% Belicheat move and makes sense for both sides.
Fuck off muAh
Seriously, man, you need to chill out when dealing with people. Among other things, but that’s first and foremost when participating in a public conversation with others. No call for simply telling people to F-off. Especially when they’re telling you that you made a good call.
It’s coming….
Things are coming together nicely. Been saying for a while, this season could be real fun.
http://creativexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/trophy-design-25.jpg
Superb Owl trophy
When did Temple start giving this out?
Why is ESP on CSN again? Where can I get Eagle coverage away from this imbecile ? Please take this fool off my TV
..
barkan, ESP and that troll Marcus Hayes… What awesome analysis
Steelers have already lost 2 kickers
Couldn’t happen to a nicer fan base.
They traded for Josh Scobee of the Jaguars.
Trent Richardson cut from the Raiders. What the hell happened to that guy?
He lost the will to win. He saw football as a business that sought to use him and his god-given talent. He never had a coach like Chip. Thus, he lost his way.
Has to be more to it than that. His rookie year was decent, and if you look at his scouting reports, dude was compared to Adrian Peterson by a LOT of people. So weird.
First, I must admit I am now drunk and stupid but I have to say this. I may not be around much longer, but I hope I can share with you a WIN in Super Bowl 50. As a fan base, you f**kin’ deserve it!!!
For me, it’s the triumph of a coach and his winning concepts that I feel are the future. That is, it’s not about the prima-dona, wonder kid but about the team, and hard work, and scheme. This may not be the answer to the Brady’s, Rogers, etc teams today but I hope to God it is. Because this game is bigger than one blow-hard, wonder kid.
So there you have it. I want a SB because I believe what the Eagles are doing is RIGHT. And I believe in the players who have bought-in to Chip’s plan. I will die an Eagles’ Fan forever.
Amen! Glad to have you here, always liked your insight and point of view
What is you drink of choice? You strike me as a scotch man
I once was a Glenfiddich 15 guy but after retiring I sought good Kentucky Bourbons. Lately, I tend toward Elijah Craig and Pappy Van Winkle 15. Pappy 20 is a little spendy.
I also prefer bourbon to scotch.
Funny, I drank Bourbon for decades and now prefer a good single malt.
You’re not drunk.
Good words. Next round is on me.
Hope you are around for awhile.
That is quite a bit to chew on. First, I am pulling for you to be a voice here, at the very least, until the team we are all rooting for brings home the prize.
Don’t know that the future is ready for a league of Chips, however. The billionaires of the NFL are, by and large, driven, corroded takers who, through a mere insight to cooperate for the sake of growing their own portfolios, have produced a wonderful spectacle that has grabbed so many of us.
Chip loves the purity and the honesty of the true soldier, and he’s operating in an arena that is very often sullied and false and contemptuous of the moral center…but THAT is a big reason that everyone is watching Kelly. That arena also affords him the opportunity to make a statement that is in sync with the ideal soldier that he so admires. A violent game, undertaken with respect and intelligence, by talented and committed gentlemen can be at least as successful as any contenders who choose to cut corners, bend rules, buy favors and celebrate their own greatness. Through a dialectic lens, Chip looks like the NFL’s shot at redemption. Maybe 90% of his innovations will become the standard throughout the league, but if his player’s character is the lynchpin of Kelly success, that will be almost impossible to replicate. The world cannot abide.
I have enjoyed your comments here, and I hope I see many more.
Best wishes with what ails you Ducker.
Raiders are cutting UDFA Cody Fajardo. Could be a PS candidate. We showed a lot of interest in him pre-draft.
seriously.
cut the tebow/barkely parade, get a young guy like Cody for number 3 no?
1st cuts by raiders? you gotta look pretty bad.
I think it is time we admit that if my 48 pound 8-year old filled in at guard next to Jason Peters, he would likely still crack the top-10 rankings by PFF.
deez
doze
I question PFF’s accuracy but it should be pointed out that Mathis ranked 1st in their rankings even when Peters was injured the whole season.
So you aren’t looking to start an Allen Barbre Fan Club then?
just watching the gb game — please let cody parkey be healthy.
Is Kip smith really the best they can do though. First murderleg and now this guy.
I do feel like they are trolling w the backup kickers. what ever happened to kickilicious
I think our team will be a lot like the warriors. Crazy offense decent defense. Defense won’t beat you, but it’s just impossible to score as many points as us. Hundley is sort of carving us up, but we’re so far ahead that field goals don’t cut it..
hundley looked a lot better then people were giving him credit for.
he would be a nice 3rd stringer for the eagles.
He could start in Washington.
warriors had the #1 defense in the nba last year