It Finally Happened
Posted: August 1st, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 423 Comments »Brandon Boykin played lights out in 2013. He was brilliant, picking off 6 passes and making big plays all season long. That level of play would surely get a chance to start, right? Nope. He remained in the slot while the starting CBs were highly inconsistent throughout the 2014 season.
Chip Kelly and Bill Davis believe in big corners, and that is the one area where Boykin doesn’t measure up. He can run, jump, cover and make plays, but he is 5-9, 185 and that isn’t changing.
The Eagles weren’t going to keep Boykin long term so with him heading into a contract year the prudent move was to trade him, which the Eagles just did.
Training Camp Eve breaking news: Brandon Boykin traded to PIT for conditional 5th-rounder in 2016.
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) August 2, 2015
That pick can reportedly become a 4th rounder.
I know this move will frustrate plenty of people, but it was the smart move. Boykin was going to leave in free agency next March. The Eagles would have gotten nothing in compensation (Comp picks only come if your team doesn’t sign any free agents to big deals and you just can’t count on that). By moving him now you get a pick for the 2016 draft. If that does become a 4th rounder, that’s a good pick.
Who will replace Boykin in the slot? The Eagles have several candidates.
First up, JaCorey Shepherd. I know he’s just a 6th round rookie, but this guy has outstanding cover skills. The Eagles are very high on him.
Veteran E.J. Biggers and 2nd year man Jaylen Watkins can compete for the job. Rookie Randall Evans spent most of his career at Kansas State playing in the slot. He would be a natural fit in there. He’s not as good as Shepherd so I see him as less likely to challenge for the job right away.
Walter Thurmond could obviously play in the slot, but he’s busy at FS for now. If one of the other Safety prospects plays lights out, that could change that situation.
* * * * *
The Eagles made it official. With RB Matthew Tucker gone to the NFI list, the team had to add a RB.
#Eagles sign Kevin Monangai, Villanova RB who worked out for the team at Rookie Camp. Welcome (back) to Philadelphia! pic.twitter.com/O5DSeHm90J
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 1, 2015
Congratulations to Kevin on getting his shot at the NFL.
Monangai is 5-8, 205. He has acceptable speed, running a 4.69 40. He has some lower body explosion with a 37-inch vertical. The problem is that he’s stiff. Watch his highlights.
There is plenty to like. Monangai gets the ball and there is little wasted motion. He is a N-S runner that attacks up the field. He is strong and balanced. Monangai can take hits and bounce off them. He isn’t a guy that is going down on first contact very often.
Monangai’s running style makes him a good fit for the Eagles offense. Kelly wants runners that get the ball and go upfield. He doesn’t want a lot of dancing and juking. The problem is that Monangai is too stiff. He has little wiggle. Running N-S is good, but at some point you want to be able to mix in some moves on tacklers when running at the 2nd level or out in space.
Monangai is the longest of longshots, but the good news is that he’s a RB, the position where longshots make it all the time. Chris Polk and Matthew Tucker were UDFAs. All that really matters is what you do on the field.
_
I can’t agree that this was the right move because that’s under the assumption that Boykin is gone next year. Boykin shouldn’t WANT to leave next year because he should have been starting OUTSIDE and moving inside the past two years. Talent is talent. Start the guy who helps your team win. Not the guy who has your BS measurables.
And watch Boykin start outside for the Steelers.
Boykin was never going to start for Kelly/Davis. Trading him was the right move because of their philosophy.
Do they have the right philosophy? That’s a whole other subject. I’ll be writing about that in the next day or two.
That is the $64,000 question.
Or the $63,000,000 question I suppose. But you’re right.
That second question is the reason I have a problem with this move. I’m a firm believer in the Belichick/Gregg Popovich school of coaching philosophy, which is that you adjust your system to fit your talent, not the other way around. Boykin may be shorter than they like their corners to be, but he’s proven he can play the position at an NFL level. The guys who are candidates to replace him, haven’t.
much easier in the NBA, where Pop has had his share of superstars to fill around with role players
and I bet if Chip had Brady, he’d be willing to make a few other roster exceptions and take greater risks
I think the basic principle still holds regardless of the sport. Does Pop run a traditional post up offense? A guard centric offense built around drive-and-kick plays? An offense based off of screens and perimeter ball movement to open up corner 3s? The answer is yes. He does all three, depending on whether he’s got Duncan and Robinson, or elite penetrators like Parker and Ginobili, or screen setters like Tiago Splitter and elite 3 pt shooters who can pass like Danny Green and Boris Diaw. Contrast that to someone like Phil Jackson who is wedded to the triangle and has only had success when he had players who fit it perfectly.
Belichick having Brady obviously helps him, but what kind of offense do they run? Grind it out power running? WCO-style short passing? Bombs away deep passing? Again, it depends on what talent he has in a given year. When Deion Branch or Wes Welker is your best receiver and you have a great pass catching back like Kevin Faulk, you throw it short a lot. When you have Randy Moss, you go deep. When you have Corey Dillon and an elite run-blocking line, you pound away at the defense. And that’s leaving aside the defense, which is sometimes a 3-4, sometimes a 4-3, sometimes a hybrid, sometimes a 2-5 with linebackers lined up in a standing position in the traditional DE spot.. it all depends on the talent he has available and what the offense is doing.
I don’t see this kind of strategic flexibility from Kelly. And that worries me, a lot.
I’m glad to hear that you’re addressing that subject, Tommy. I feel like that’s an aspect of the debate that gets overlooked too often. I really do admire your work and that’s why I keep coming back to read more.
I object to your 7 upvotes because you are Tommy and write great articles. Ah heck, here is another one.
Definitely sounds like Sheppard is 1st man up:
Dave Spadaro
@davespadaro
34m34 minutes ago
#Eagles trade CB Brandon Boykin to Pittsburgh for a conditional 5th rd draft choice in 2016
Team very high on CB Shepherd for #EaglesCamp
Also, keep in mind that the Eagles some times didn’t even bring in Boykin when a team went to 3 WRs and simply dropped down a S instead. I don’t particularly like that strategy that much but having two ILBs with coverage ability(assuming Alonso/Kendricks start) will help.
40 retweets
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I agree the trade had to be done.
And I’m excited to see the Eagles have improved the depth at RB. Barner sucks.
I don’t know about that. Monangai wasn’t even signed by any team initially as an UDFA. Mostert wasn’t rated that highly. Outside of our top 3, I don’t like any of the other guys’ chances.
Barner sucks. I know that much.
By being tall, his replacement will probably accidentally tip a few passes here and there.
I would rather it was a conditional 4th round that could become a 3rd round. 5th round is pretty much a throwaway! For this trade, they should have kept him this year and let him walk for nothing – that’s pretty much what we got in return!
He was a 4th round pick, he’ll get us a 4th rounder back. I think that’s fair.
Plus Billy Davis wasn’t exactly showcasing the value of Boykin by refusing to start him when he’d earned it more than Fletcher and Williams.
By definition, a 5th is something
And “something” much better than “nothing” which is what we’d be getting as a 2017 compensatory pick.
judging from history since Chip’s arrival, I doubt they’d get any comp pick at all
I made that exact point the other day when I was railing about trading away guys who we aren’t going to sign.
I’d rather it could be a 2nd that could become a 1st and the Steelers throw in Kate Upton as a bonus, but we have to be realistic.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp6anjcCwZ1qaclw9.gif
A conditional 5th? That’s like saying we’ll buy you a gallon of gas if you can push the car to the gas station before calling roadside assistance. We have 2 rookie CBs that may or may not be worse than a Boykin that had a down year.
But the Steelers suck at CB, so that 4th should be a lock.
And Boykin was going to get us nothing in return when he left as a free agent.
I’ll gladly take the 4th for a guy who was here on borrowed time.
If he gets injured and doesn’t play at all, we literally just gave them Boykin for nothing.
If he had structural issues that were going to turn into a major injury, that would have happened here anyway.
I’ll expect the 4th happens.
And a 2016 5th is still greater than a 2017 comp pick that might not actually happen.
Heinz Field man. One slip and one conditional pick is gone.
But we still get a 5th. And we weren’t going to get anything if Boykin signs elsewhere, so it’s still a net gain.
Eh I don’t feel like having an extra 5th just for the sake of having some return for a player is that worth it. Boykin might have been bad last year but so was the entire secondary.
Now we have Caroll/Thurmond (guys who were cut by CB needy teams), Watkins who looked below-average in his few snaps, and a bunch of late round rookies. It’s a bigger gamble with a bigger reward but I doubt it’ll work in our favor just due to what we know right now.
I would more agree with you if we had a more settled team in other aspects and were knocking on the door of a Superbowl. We’re not that team yet. I’d rather have the extra pick.
Hey now. Don’t knock my parade plans.
The pick isn’t conditional on him being on the 53-man roster. We get a 5th no matter what and the condition is that dependent on his playing time the pick can be a 4th rounder.
Yea I know but a 5th compared to a 4th is night and day in terms of value. IS it still better than nothing? I guess if Boykin or whoever the hell our slot CB is struggles in their new roles.
If he gets injured and doesn’t play, doesn’t that mean we got a 5th and they got a nothing?
It’s a conditional fifth based on his playing time. It’ll probably elevate to a 4th if he plays the entire season and plays well. Or whatever the hell Chip agreed with to get rid of the midgets that he hates.
no, it’s a 5th, possible upgrade to 4th. and wouldn’t he be just as likely to get hurt here (except half of the snaps when he’s on the bench)? then we’d be out, with literally nothing.
I did mention Heinz Field earlier. He’ll have a shot to start outside for the Steelers and that means more snaps. I’d say his chances of getting injured is slightly higher.
I hate midgets too…except for the guy on GOT…he’s aiight…
Already they best CB hahaha
Agree with the trade (just wondering if we could get a ealier pick for him, since we don’t have a 2nd next draft,regardless his contract situation, but OK), but don’t agree at all with him benched last year and we have to see Fletcher playing.
This was torturing.
And I don’t knew Monangai, but already like him. Cheering for him to stand out.
Cross Boykin jersey off my want list. I like Boykin n glad he’s headed to a respectable franchise.
writing has been on the wall for awhile. Kendricks is coming next as soon as DeMeco shows he can still run in camp
And/or if Hicks looks functional. And they have, in theory, a lot of extra parts at ILB this year.
And none of them are that human skid mark Casey Matthews.
Pray for Kendricks guys. I don’t think I can take any more conditional pick trades just because these guys are shorter than Chip likes.
The guys who cover the team are all saying Kendricks is gone as soon as they get an offer they like for him.
And I’ll add the Kendricks has significantly more value than a 5th that can rise to a 4th.
I’d say fair value is a 4th that can become a 3rd and then another later round pick(5th or 6th).
Boykin. Drafted in 4th. Pick is a 5th that can become a 4th.
Kendricks. Drafted in 2nd. Pick needs to be a 3rd that can become a 2nd.
Their original draft status doesn’t necessarily equate to their current trade value.
Anyone who invests is advised to not fixate on what they paid for a stock.
But wouldn’t you agree that Kendricks has shown value commensurate to what we paid for him?
Debatable. Close, but if you look at other players traded, I think it’s going to be difficult to get any pick that can become a 2nd for him.
Then I’d lean on the side of keeping him rather than trading him.
I’d argue Kendricks produced on a level that was commensurate with his draft status. Nobody would say he wasn’t worth the pick in the 2nd, so I don’t want to drop too far below that in unloading him.
One thing is for sure: he wasn’t worth picking above Bobby Wagner and LaMonte David.
ya think??????????????
Reid ‘credited’ Juan Castillo for wanting Kendricks after the draft, so his scapegoat function continues.
Agreed. With only one year left on his contract, that’s actually not bad value for the Eagles (the Boykin trade). Kendricks with a longer-term, cap-friendly contract it certainly worth a 2. Easy. Kendricks with 1 year before FA is another story altogether. Nothing against the player, just about value for what your pick gets you. I can use a 2 to pick a talented player, with some risk, but lock him up for 4 years on a rookie contract, or I can rent Kendricks for a year. Not hard to see why it would be hard to get a 2 for Kendricks.
hard to ascertain the value, not that I disagree with you personally but MK (like Boykin) would be a 1-yr rental upon trade. That’s a gamble for a team to take unless they commit out of the gate to a new contract
Kelly asked Eric Rowe to explain every missed tackle he had in college. Kendricks was a 2014 league leader in missed tackles. Kelly is run-minded on both sides of the ball, a number crunching perfectionist and I think missed tackles may have something to do with Kelly’s thinking about Kendricks, and that he’ll be traded if there’s a viable offer.
The writing on the wall with Kelly and Kendricks is when Kelly flamed Kendricks over milking a “day to day” calf strain into 4 missed games.
Missed tackles are at least better than tackles that will never be made by Demeco who needs a cyborg foot to ever catch anyone these days.
Technically Jenkins had the most missed tackles with 12. Kendricks had 9 missed tackles, but he didn’t play a quarter of the season.
The other factor here is that to keep Boykin on the roster they’d be cutting a developmental DB, be it Evans, Shepherd, Watkins, or Couplin. Boykin is gone next year. Weapon Y’s point about the larger picture of giving him a chance is a valid one, and if Boykin thrives as a corner in Pgh that’ll be the way non-Philadelphians view the deal.. It’s hard to imagine Boykin not having wanted a fresh start with a new team for a while, though.
In 95% of cases, “developmental DB” is coachspeak for “undertalented DB who won’t be on the roster in a year or two because he’s not an NFL-caliber player”.
Let’s not fool outselves by thinking otherwise.
What was all that 5% talk?
So you’re saying there’s a chance!
Derrick Gunn
@TheRealDGunnCSN
9m9 minutes ago
League source tells me kendricks more than likely is staying as an insurance policy.. In case Demeco goes down , kendricks also could start
Kendricks should be starting over Ryans anyway. Regardless, there’s always going to be a price point where you’ll move a guy. Above it, and the future reward outweighs the current risk. Below it, the value just isn’t there.
Love Ryans, but I would hope that Kendricks is good enough to start over him by now. I’m not talking about the in his prime best Ryans. If he can’t start over DeMeco now, that’s bad.
There is some logic to that, but D Gunn is kind of a semi in-house back slapper.
*Goes to check comments on philly.com* Dies
Is that Bill Alt guy on there at all? He’s quite possibly the biggest dope in most of the articles on politics and education.
When hired, Chip said he would create a scheme around the existing talent. Talent first. Scheme second. That hasn’t proven true. I don’t like this rigid adherence to measureables simply because I don’t think it’s a given that Chip is here in two years. And then we’ve got a team full of prototypes for a scheme that is fairly unique in the NFL.
I would like to see more flexibility utilizing talent and spending resources wisely. When you have two productive starting wideouts, hang onto them and spend high draft picks on defense. You let these guys go and then are forced to spend very high draft picks just to replace production you already had. It’s a net loss even if the picks work out.
Boykin created turnovers, which I think is paramount for defensive players regardless of their build, position or the scheme. He could return kicks in a pinch, seemed to be a good soldier despite never getting opportunities I’m sure he felt like he earned…
I like Chip, I’m down with the risk-taking for a shot at greatness… but there is another way to look at some of this…
And the funny part is we’ll never know if the rigidity on certain positions is going to work if the QB situation never gets solved.
@ dukebowden … Good to hear from you old friend. I agree with you. Having a philosophy is good, but there are times to make exceptions. You don’t want to overdo that, but you also want to be careful about passing on talent just because it doesn’t fit the prototype numbers.
So I remember reading an article about what Chip prefers in his DBs by
Mark SaltveitL: A tl;dr version of his article Chip likes INTs (which coach doesn’t?) so Chip trades our biggest playmaker in the secondary away.
It’s clearly Saltveits fault and he should know that it’s his fault.
Is this team trying to rebuild this year? Win this year? I have given up trying to figure out Kelly is trying to do.
The only dumber thing will be when they trade Kendrick for some spare change and start a 30-something LB coming off an Achillies’ injury.
What’s your line in the sand on value for Kendricks?
I want a 3rd that can become a 2nd, but I’ll deal with a 4th that becomes a 3rd.
a conditional second or a 3rd + 4th.
or maybe a decent player with upside and a 4th.
If somebody has a starting quality younger safety buried on a depth chart as their 3rd guy and a need at ILB, that would be an interesting deal.
I know Cincy is struggling at LB right now.
He’s not buried on the depth chart but considering who else they have on their roster I thought before the draft that a deal that shipped Kendricks to the Saints and Kenny Vacarro to the Eagles made sense. They drafted Stephone Anthony in the 1st round but IMO they need help next to him.
I don’t like Vacarro at all. I think he’s overrated and dumb. I wasn’t a fan of his going into the draft two years ago and his horrid sophomore year confirmed why I don’t think he’s any good.
But I like your train of thought.
They don’t have a need at ILB but we could theoretically use the draft compensation we’d get for moving Kendricks and use it as part of getting Tashaun Gipson from Cleveland. The issue is he’s a FA after this season and I doubt Kelly is interested in paying Gipson the amount top safeties command.
He tried with McCourty. Maybe he sees Gipson as being as good?
Possibly. I don’t rate Gipson that highly. What about Kendricks to the 49ers for Jimmie Ward? Eric Reid isn’t going anywhere and they have Bethea at SS and drafted Jaquiski Tartt to groom behind him. Ward is an ideal fit for our scheme.
Jimmy Ward can’t cover. His rear end is still sore from the Bears game last year.
Most players struggle some as rookies. That doesn’t mean they can’t develop into quality players.
Possibly, but if you saw that Bears / Niners game you’d know what I’m talking about with Ward.
how about we trade Kendricks for
………..
Dion Jordannnzz?
GEAGLE is working on the terms right now, I’m sure.
Reasonable starting place although I doubt they get a 2nd.
It hasn’t helped they lost the pick in the Bradford deal already.
I have seen logic in all of Kelly’s moves so far this off season, however if we trade Kendricks and hope for Jordan Hicks and Demeco to play well then I will be baffled.
I’m curious as to what the contract Kendricks gets from another team is going to look like.
It’ll be quite good if he stays healthy all year because I thnk he’ll produce.
I am very intrigued as well. And do you believe he holds more value in a 4-3 or 3-4, that is what I am most intrigued by who will be trading for him.
I just mentioned below; Cincy could use him. Badly.
Word is that they aren’t planning to trade Kendricks
https://twitter.com/therealdgunncsn/status/627647387473965056
Time for my boy Shepherd to shine. I like it.
Hopefully he takes a smart approach to his next contract than the last guy here who played DB with that last name did.
haha yeah.
For the record, I dont think this has much to do with measurements. More to do with not living up to expectations. Boykin was arguably my favorite player in that draft class. Pre-draft, he was a player I said we HAVE to come away from the draft with. I almost cared about that more than I cared about our 1st round pick. And I had hoped we would take him in round 2.
When we got him later, I was ecstatic.
He flashed some athleticism as a rookie, but really didnt do much at all after his exceptional sky high, clutch end of game PBU against Baltimore. He kind of disappeared after that. Then the following year he made a lot of INTs, but also earned the nickname candybar. I didnt like it at the time. But last year, he definitely lived up to it.
Why didnt he replace Fletcher or Williams on the outside? Because he wasnt any better either. He just never put it all together for us. Had just as many downs as ups in his time here. I wont miss him.
Ironically, Shepherd was one of my top 3 CB prospects in this class for us. So, Im excited and hope that THIS time, one of my guys plays to my expectations. Boykin did not.
I’m frustrated with this move not because I didn’t want the Eagles to get something for Boykin, but because of what it says about Kelly’s approach to roster building – namely, that despite what he says to the contrary he’s a guy who looks for players who fit his system rather than shaping his system around the talent he has. That is not an approach that works in any sport.
Brandon Boykin is a proven NFL slot corner. He can cover, he can make tackles, and he’s a playmaker. The guys who are candidates to replace him may fit the physical prototype of a CB in Kelly’s mind, but you can’t say that about any of them. E.J. Biggers sucks. Jaylen Watkins is unproven. Shepherd and Evans are late round draft picks. It is highly unlikely that any of those guys performs on anything close to Boykin’s level this season. It’s hard not to see this as a step backwards, talent-wise.
Very well stated. No way this team is better this year without Boykins in the slot. Ditto without Mathis at G.
Although I trust the talent behind Boykin more than I do behind Mathis.
No way this team is better when Boykin leaves and we get jack squat for it, because he’s a natural slot corner who wants to play outside.
He wasn’t going to leave until next offseason at the earliest. Now we’re going into this season – in which expectations are high – counting on unproven late round rookies and crappy veterans to play a key role in our passing defense. I don’t think getting a 5th round pick is worth the tradeoff.
And if you wait until next offseason, he walks and you get nothing.
I get that people are upset; he was a playmaker. But why is the idea of getting something for someone at a position with a logjam of young talent so hard to comprehend? Boykin was going to talk no matter what because he wanted a chance to play outside. He wasn’t going to get that chance here. And I’m sorry, nothing he’s done showed me he could play outside on a regular basis.
Option 1: We play him this year, then he walks. In the meantime, we have to cut one of the younger DBs for roster space.
Option 2: We trade him for a 5th (or 4th), and we don’t have to cut our other young talent.
It’s not hard to understand why this deal happened. Frankly, I’m surprised they were able to negotiate a conditional 4th. Chip usually isn’t that value-saavy.
What “logjam of young talent”? Watkins is a second year guy who was “meh” the one time he got on the field on defense last year. Shepherd and Evans are late-round longshots of the sort who are readily available literally every single year. E.J. Biggers is a veteran player who’s proven himself to be below average. None of these are guys it would cripple the franchise to cut. This is a logjam of JAGs at best.
The “something” they got back was a 5th round pick. Maybe a 4th if Boykin performs well, maybe nothing if he gets hurt. That’s not much value for a guy who was one of the most dynamic players on the defense the last two seasons, one of the league leaders in interceptions two years ago, and literally made the play that won Chip his first division title. And they’re replacing him players who are.. again, “unproven” is the best you can say.
but dude…Shepard looked great in his highlights and like some draftniks thought he would go an entire day ahead in the draft!!
Really? I guess I have some catching up to do. I’m still waiting for Mike Mamula to have the breakout year we know is coming based on his college highlights and NFL combine performance.
Ha I’m just regurgitating and mocking some stuff people said about Shepard. I’m also a see it to believe it sort of guy. Personally, I hope Watkins steps up and takes the job. I think he can be a #2 CB in the league if he peaks.
I haven’t given up on Watkins either. I still think he has potential. It’s counting on him to achieve it rather than putting yourself in a position where him achieving it is a nice bonus that bothers me.
The “something” they got back was more than they would have got back if they’d kept him. He was going to walk.
Look, I loved Boykin as a player. But he was not a system fit. That’s not a knock on the system. For example, he was not going to ever play outside in Seattle’s system, either. We play heavy man/press. There’s no way a guy like Boykin is ever going to be effective against guys like Dez Bryant when asked to jam at the line. NFL outside receivers these days are going to run right through him. IN OUR SYSTEM (which is a system employed by a lot of other teams, not just us).
This is not a knock on Boykin. In another system, like a Tampa 2, he has much more chance of playing effectively. His skillset is much more suited to zone play than man (which is exactly why he was such a good slot corner).
So, for us, he’s a slot corner only. Never going to be more than that, and that’s not a knock on him, NOR is it a fault of the system. Same as the Jets getting rid of Hugh Douglas back in the day. Douglas was never going to play in the Jets system under Parcells, which ended up being a very good defense. So he came here, and excelled.
These are just facts. Boykin was never going to be more than a slot here. That’s not a bad thing. He wanted more. As he should. Now he has that chance. And now we have compensation, pretty much equal to what he originally cost (which is crazy considering he’s only a 1 year rental for the Steelers). It’s better for both sides.
Are we better with Boykin at slot? Sure. Are we that much worse? No. Sorry. It’s not like losing your star defensive end. It’s a position that’s easily filled. As someone else here pointed out, people were bitching when we let Joselio Hanson go and handed the starting position to Boykin. And it’s not like we’re in a position to just ignore value in order to make our Super Bowl run this year. Sorry, I don’t think you “go all in” by keeping a player like Boykin and getting nothing for him next year. We’re not THAT close.
This move makes a lot of sense. And while I get that people are upset about it, I can’t understand why they also can’t see why it’s the best outcome of an inevitable separation.
Our “system” produced a putrid pass defense that cost us a shot at the playoffs last year. You say Brandon Boykin would have no shot of covering Dez Bryant in it? Maybe not. But guess what? We know for a fact that Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams had no shot of covering Dez Bryant in it. And we have no evidence as of yet that Eric Rowe, Nolan Carroll, Jaylen Watkins, or even Byron Maxwell can either.
Forgive me if I have more faith in the proven talent of a player like Boykin than in the proven mediocrity of our system.
Our PLAYERS produced a putrid pass defense. Notice how most of them are missing? I’m not saying Billy Davis is a genius, just that the defense we’re built to play, as in, it’s overall type, is man/press. Are you saying man/press can’t work in the NFL? We play man/press, and the size and type of EVERYTHING else about the system is built around that, but hey, one 5’8″ guy at 185lbs plays real well, so let’s build everything around him. Let’s switch to a Tampa 2, 4/3 defense. Where’s Monte Kiffin?
Again, I get being upset about losing Boykin. I liked him a lot. But to act like this is gross mismanagement is simply wrong. It’s always a shame to lose players we like. But when they don’t fit what we’re trying to do, and we have players ready to step in, it’s not the goddamn end of the world. I hate that asinine Chicken Little mentality in Eagles fans.
Maybe the answer is that if you don’t have the talent to effectively play man press, you shouldn’t be playing man press?
The best coaches are not wedded to a single system. See my comments about Belichick elsewhere in this thread. If Kelly/Davis are so wedded, it is a flaw in their approach IMO.
Maybe the answer is, when you don’t have players cutting it in the kind of defense you want to run, specifically the kind of secondary scheme you want to run (because it’s highly successful in the league and because it supports the very successful and talented front 7 you have), you jettison those players, and the secondary coach, and you bring in new blood. Which is what they did.
Boykin wasn’t the answer any more than Williams or Fletcher. Not on the outside. We’re not going to switch to a zone scheme that doesn’t mesh with our front 7 because of one player with a year left on his contract. Boykin was good but he wasn’t someone you build a defense around for Christ’s sake.
They’re right to stick with man/press. it suits everything else they do, including their front 7. Boykin was not going to hack it in that scheme on the outside at 5’8″, 185lbs. Great at slot, but he wanted more. Now he gets it. You need to get over it.
I don’t need to do anything.
I think it was a dumb move. Full stop. If having a mediocre slot corner doesn’t burn them at some point this season, I’ll happily say “turned out great, it didn’t cost them”. I don’t think that’s going to happen, however. But that is why they play the games, as they say.
The answer, in pro sports, is talent trumps scheme. Good coaches use what talent they have and put it in “position to succeed”. Perhaps Chip Kelly, because he’s Chip Kelly, will succeed using his own once-in-a-generation paradigm, but let’s not pretend getting rid of Boykins, Jackson, Maclin, etc. is not bizarre.
First, you can’t lump Maclin in there. They offered him a more that competitive contract. KC overpaid. That’s not on Chip.
Second, nothing Chip is doing is at all strange when compared to coaches like Parcells, Walsh, and Belicheck. They all acted similarly with their rosters, and all treated their “way” as more important than individual talent. The only real difference is the speed with which this is happening now, which, averaged over Chip’s 3 years, is again, not an anomaly.
Last, Boykin may have his differences with Chip, but that’s not what’s happening here. It’s a guy who wanted to play on the outside who never would have, and that’s not Chip’s fault. Boykin, as talented as he is, would never play the outside in Seattle, either, even if they lost Sherman. He’s not a scheme fit for man/press. If you can legitimately tell me there’s an issue with playing man/press in this league, fine, but Chip’s not going to change that any more than he’s going to change the defensive front’s alignment, and certainly not for one player.
If you like Boykin so much, be happy for him. He has a chance to start outside, which he’d never get here or on any other team that plays the same scheme (and there are a LOT of them).
I realize it’s a blind leap of faith only made by those who enjoy sniffing Kelly’s balls, but there’s an outside chance the coaches know more about the talent on the roster than you do.
Were you saying the same thing when Ray Rhodes drafted Jon Harris or Mike Mamula? Or when Jim Johnson insisted on playing an injured Blaine Bishop ahead of a healthy Michael Lewis? Or last year, when the defensive staff kept putting Fletcher out to get torched game after game until it was too late, only for it to then be proven that in fact Carroll and Watkins were (marginally) better?
Sometimes, NFL coaches are wrong and the fans are right. They’re just as susceptible to self-serving biases, overconfidence in their own abilities, etc. as the rest of us.
No, they aren’t just as susceptible. Baseball players strike out sometimes, does that mean they are just as susceptible as fans to strike out?
Anyway, the point was that you misused Occam’s Razor. That’s all.
Anyway, the point was that you misused Occam’s Razor.
No, I didn’t, and I already explained to you why not. To support the theory that Kelly is really ahead of everyone else and that’s why his moves seem so bizarre, you have to assume that numerous truisms that have ruled in the NFL since forever don’t apply to his moves and that numerous things that haven’t worked when previous coaches have tried them will work for him.
To support the theory that he’s in over his head, all you need to assume is that he’s the latest in a long line of coaches who did well with Xs and Os and failed miserably at roster building when given control over personnel (Steve Spurrier, Josh McDaniels, Jon Gruden, etc. etc. etc.)
Ockham’s razor says that the theory that requires the fewest complicating assumptions is the most likely to be correct, all other things being equal. That ain’t the “Chip Kelly is a revolutionary genius” theory.
Yeah, I saw your opinion on what the assumptions were. They were about as balanced as a Twinkie diet.
If that’s the case, you should be able to respond with a logical rebuttal rather than just an accusation of bias. You haven’t.
Having him play slot well for one season is more important than getting a throwaway 5th round pick.
Pretty sure the team is planning to play at least one more season after 2015.
I’m more of a fan of getting the 11 most talented guys and going to work, but it was clear they didn’t value Boykin.
Chip: I don’t like leftovers Howie
Howie: what do you mean?
Chip cuts 90% of what Andy left him
There are other options. In nickel, have Rowe inside and move Maxwell to nickel where he excelled with SEA. Have Jenkins/Thurmond drop down to cover the slot WR. They did this frequently last year. Regardless of what they say, all coaches draft/sign guys to fit their schemes. The variant is the degree of flexibility they have to fit in players that are outside-the-box.
And all those other options have the same question marks as the ones detailed above. Rowe is also a rookie. Thurmond is coming off a major injury and may not be any good. As for frequently dropping Jenkins down into coverage.. yeah they did that last year. And how well did their passing defense work out?
Looking at the options, I don’t see how “keep Boykin and continue to play him in the slot” was the best one, at least for this season. A 5th round pick will be cold comfort if we see another season go down the tubes because of an easily torched pass defense.
I understand people being upset about Boykin but you may be underselling Thurman.
He was ready to go at the end of last season and will probably end up playing the slot the majority time. I trust Thurmond in the slot as much as I do Boykin.
Id rather have Boykin here too, but its not like missing Boykin has turned our D into a dumpster fire
He’s a proven slot corner. Who doesn’t want to play slot corner. He was going to leave. Now we got something from him. In addition, we have a logjam of guys at the same position (Watkins, the rookies, whoever loses the other outside position). I hate to see the guy go, but even if Chip wanted him at slot long term, he wasn’t staying. Best to be made of an unfortunate situation.
Still love the guy, though.
We have a logjam of guys who either aren’t proven or aren’t good. You don’t trade a proven talent to make roster spots for guys like that.
Exactly, this blows, no way around it. Proves the measurable thing is set in stone which to me is too limiting when it’s so hard to find quality. Not smart to throw it away on a gamble of another pick
People need to get over their disdain for the “measurable” thing.
First, Does anyone seriously think ANY 5’8″, 185lb corner is going to be effective in man/press, jamming players like Bryant, Julio Jones, and Calvin Johnson, off the line?
Second, to speak to the “build scheme around players” theme, does anyone seriously think that BRANDON BOYKIN is the guy we need to drop everything for to build our defense around? The guy who is so freaking unbelievable that we have to switch from man to zone, just to appease him and make him want to sign an extension because he has a shot at playing the outside?
Think about that.
Boykin was NEVER going to be effective in this type of scheme, on the outside. NEVER. Physical impossibility. Not in our exact defense, but in the TYPE of defense that we play, that all of the other roster decisions are based around. Having one good zone player doesn’t mean you remake your roster for him, which you would have to do.
So if he was never going to play outside, I don’t care how good he was in the slot (and let’s be honest: great in 2013, mediocre at best in 2014). He wasn’t going to stick around. Chip could have made him the highest paid slot corner in football, and he’d turn it down to play outside. Because the money is better there, and there are some teams where he’s a better fit.
It’s not an indictment of Boykin, and it sure as shit isn’t some major flaw in Chip’s thinking. It’s all common sense. People need to SERIOUSLY get over the loss of Boykin, and stop throwing monkey shit around about it. We got good value for a player who was never signing an extension. end of story.
It’s not Brandon Boykin, specifically. It’s a general philosophy. Kelly inherited a roster with quite a few talented players on it. He’s taken a chainsaw to that roster and has gotten rid of several players who were productive on the field but didn’t fit his notions of what kind of scheme he wanted to run, and replaced them with players who may or may not be productive on the field. If that blows up in his face, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in NFL history, so it is completely 100% legitimate to worry about it.
Shepherd, Evans, or whoever else plays the slot this coming season had better be just as good at it as Boykin was. Otherwise, this move is a complete failure.
That talented roster went 8-8 and 4-12 the last two seasons before Kelly
I said “a roster with quite a few talented players on it”, not a “a talented roster” in a top-to-bottom sense. And they didn’t go 12-20 over those two seasons because of Foles, McCoy, Jackson, Mathis, etc. Those are all guys who have performed at a Pro Bowl level here who Kelly got rid of with questionable or no value coming back in return.
Crazy rant day. No value for McCoy? That was an outstanding deal, in every way. Too many fans don’t appreciate the value of cap space. Every player has a price value.
Excellent Post! You are the first person to state the obvious. Boykin is a great athlete and has cover skills, but he cannot be an effective press corner.
Everything Kelly have said, fits this mold.
There is nothing surprising about this and remember this is the guy who traded for all the 5’6 of Darren Sproles. This is the guy who just signed Brandon Graham, who is about 3-4 inches too low.
Highly unlikely?
Yes. When was the last time a 6th round pick, a 2nd year player who showed nothing special in his rookie year, or a castoff from one of the few secondaries that was worse than the one he’s joining the previous year played up to Boykin’s level (which let’s say is among the top half of NFL nickelbacks, just to be conservative)? I’d say it’s a pretty rare occurrence.
I’m astonished at how many fans think these rooks and castoffs are all of a sudden going to play at starter level.
It’s quite clear you would say that. You have been posting quite a few assumptions while simultaneously dismissing any facts that disagree with your tirades.
We’ll find out soon enough.
I challenge you: name one fact I have dismissed that disagrees with my “tirades”. Just one.
Edit: and while you’re add it, list a few of these “assumptions” I am making.
I am skeptical of the assumptions others are making. I am not making assumptions myself. As you say, we will find out, and that is my attitude, wait-and-see.
Dude, everything you’ve been ranting on about is based on your assumptions. You start off assuming that the majority of NFL people think he is between wrong and “borderline insane”. That’s clearly the opinion of someone who has already decided he hates Kelly and is going to support his belief however he sees fit. Seriously, what you’ve been going on about isn’t worthy of serious discussion, because it’s too emotional.
Things may not work out for the Eagles. But there have been a lot of moves that indicate the team is headed in the right direction. We’ll find out soon enough.
You keep saying I’m making assumptions, yet you can’t name a single one. The first thing you say when asked to do so is not only not an assumption, but a complete misrepresentation of what I actually said, which was “between questionable and certifiably insane”. That’s my fair assessment based on listening to the opinions of NFL observers. Even people who ultimately think Kelly will succeed tend to acknowledge that his approach is highly unorthodox and can be questioned – i.e., is questionable. So you fail on your first attempt. Try again.
I don’t hate Kelly. If you actually read my posts, you will see that their numerous examples of me calling him a good – even a great – coach. But I also don’t think that he’s some kind of King Midas and that everything he does turns to football gold. If any coach – Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick, Vince Lombardi himself returned from the dead – traded a productive, talented player like Brandon Boykin, leaving the slot CB spot to be manned by someone from among the group of unproven and/or lousy players the Eagles now have at that spot, I’d question it. Because it is a questionable move.
If you can’t read what I actually say and respond to that instead of things you’ve convinced yourself I’m saying that I’m not, and respond to measured, logically grounded skepticism as “ranting”, I don’t think I’m the one who’s letting emotion cloud their judgment in this conversation.
You are mistaking your opinion as fact, thus why you think I am not responding to you. Your “fair assessment” is a complete misrepresentation of what I’ve seen. You are of course enititled to have that opinion, as am I to disagree. The part that makes your seeming anger misplaced is that you deny this to be an opinion (or assumption, or whatever you want to call it).
Just as your silliness with all the bullet points questioning Kelly, while blithely listing only one assumption in doubting him, was blatant manipulation. If you truly see that as reality, then we need never worry about a reasonable discussion.
A statement like “most NFL observers question Kelly’s moves” is not an opinion. It is an assertion of (supposed) fact. Yes, there are some people who think Kelly’s moves are smart. But as I said, from what I’ve seen the majority ranges from skeptical to downright pessimistic. If my assertion is in fact incorrect, you should be able to demonstrate it. You have done nothing of the sort, despite being challenged to do so repeatedly. Instead you (1) accuse me of being angry (which is completely incorrect – at most I am frustrated by the lack of logic in your posts), and (2) claim that my arguments are biased, “blatant manipulation”, etc. without providing a single logical reason or a single piece of evidence that this is the case. If they are so weak, you should be able to respond with something better than you have.
It most certainly is an opinion. Repeating over and over that it is not does not make it any less so. If the premise for your rant is overstated (notice that you left out the Fox Newspeak part that “some people call Kelly insane”), it impacts your entire argument.
You also tried to make the claim that there is only one assumption needed to prove that Kelly is not a capable GM, even though we’ve yet to play a single game with the team he put together. Blatantly absurd. Rather than get frustrated over what I am posting, turn those analytical skills onto your own posts. They have some points that may be worthy of discussion, but are disguised with inflammatory language.
No, it’s not an opinion. The word “most” has a very definite meaning, i.e. “more than 50%”. NFL observers are a discrete population. Therefore it should be possible to ascertain whether or not the statement is true by polling a representative group of NFL observers. I haven’t done that formally, but I consume a fair amount of NFL media, and the majority seem to me skeptical to negative in their attitude toward Kelly’s moves. And some of those who aren’t are by their own admission in the tank for Kelly (e.g. a majority of the BNG guys). Again, if I’m wrong, you can prove it. You can’t disprove an opinion.
As for the “is Kelly a capable GM?” question, I agree with you 100% that it won’t be settled until we see the team on the field. My contention is not that he isn’t, it’s that there is reason to be very skeptical that he is until proven otherwise given that he has made a large number of moves that contradict conventional wisdom about how to effectively build an NFL team. CW is CW for a reason – it’s usually more or less correct. Sometimes it’s wrong, and a visionary innovator comes along and upends it, but until that’s proven the smart stance in my view is to remain skeptical, because percentages say it’s less likely that Kelly is the NFL equivalent of Steve Jobs than that he’s the equivalent of one of a hundred would-be entrepreneurs who started failed electronics companies in their garages that nobody’s ever heard of. I don’t hate Kelly, but I’d prefer a coach who doesn’t take what to me seem like foolhardy risks which defy historical precedent.
You just said it wasn’t an opinion, then say it “seems to me”. I am no more inclined to do a statistical study of every Kelly article than you are. You brought it up as fact, it’s not.
You say foolhardy, I disagree. No problem. Just don’t claim to be doing a math proof here.
I said “seems to me” because I have not actually done a rigorous accounting (and like you, have no desire to as there are better things to do with one’s time). I am merely stating my impression based on an informal survey of the sources I consume. I qualified my statement with that language because while it seems to be a true statement to me to say that, I am not certain. That is different from stating an opinion.
As for the risks Kelly is taking, I only say they seem foolhardy because other coaches who have similarly bucked the normal way of doing things have more often failed than succeeded in the past. His defenders talk about like Kelly like he’s the next Bill Walsh or Jimmy Johnson. Maybe, but to me it seems just as likely that he’s the next Josh McDaniels or Eric Mangini. I don’t think the NFL is a league that requires reinventing the wheel to win in. You need to get a good quarterback, and you need to build a solid roster around him, starting with the lines and the most critical skill position players (CB, etc.). Then you need to utilize schemes that make the most of your talent and get lucky with injuries/playoff matchups. There’s a strong belief in the cult of the genius coach but I think with a few exceptions on the history of the game that is wildly overrated. That is an opinion and one I acknowledge may make me prone to be skeptical of coaches with a reputation for genius like Kelly but I try to base my views as much on facts and evidence as possible.
Yeah, I’m judging him on his actions and the product, not some sociological experiment on crowd mentality. So far, so good. Expect we’ll know a lot more soon enough.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say “so far so good”. His team failed to progress in his second season and arguably took a step back, and while some of that was clearly out of his control (injuries), some of it is due to decisions for which he is ultimately accountable (refusing to change up the pass defense late last season). I give him a B+ as a coach to this point. As a GM? Incomplete, but with preliminary evaluations mixed at best.
…and now all the KoolAid drinkers will start trashing Boykin.
I hope not. He was awesome at what he did, but simply wasn’t going to be here past this year.
And now all the Chicken Littles will start trashing Chip.
I trash Chip Since day 1.
What a fine boast that will make.
That nj writer has an article ready?
I have never seen a more talented player NOT get a chance. not even a chance to start and we had fletcher and Carry WIlliams. NOT EVEN A CHANCE. WTH is that all about.
Tommy alluded to some soon to be released work about the rigidity from Chip on measurables and such. I’ll have fun reading it.
Just no Kendricks!!!
Kendricks is gone too. This Chip Kelly is a total a$$hole. $hits our good players right down the toilet and replaces them with….wait who has he brought in or drafted that was good? Sproles. That’s it.
Great insight, please keep posting.
I read an article from someone a while back that basically drew a correlation between Chip sticking to his measurables and lessons learned in the Columbia space shuttle disaster. When I first saw the title of the article, the idea sounded ludicrous but the article made some very good points. I’ll try to find a link.
Here it is:
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2015/7/19/8996817/eagles-chip-kelly-brandon-boykin-cornerback-situation-columbia-disaster
It was on BGN.
I just read that and I have to say… sorry, but that is one of the more asinine analogies I’ve ever seen anyone draw.
We’re talking about people here, not widgets. There is pretty much a 100% correlation between an aeronautical component meeting exact physical specifications and it being able to perform the job for which it is designed. That is not the case with football players. If it were, Tony Hunt would have been a better NFL running back than Brian Westbrook and guys like Darrell Green (who is the same size as Boykin) wouldn’t be in Canton.
The idea that measurables should matter more than actual demonstrated performance on the field is 100% bass ackwards. There’s a reason the phrase “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” is a scouting cliche. Not every undersized guy is going to be a Green or a Honey Badger. But if you refuse to play undersized guys who’ve proven they can be productive just because they’re undersized (i.e. guys like Boykin) you are further limiting your ability to acquire talent from the already limited pool that is the population of NFL-caliber football players. It’s just a dumb approach.
The Eagles have kept players that didn’t fit the ideal size/speed requirements. Brandon Graham is hardly the ideal OLB for this scheme. The idea is that you shouldn’t be satisfied with a good player that doesn’t fit your scheme/specifications but should try to find a good player that fits your criteria. At times, you may have to go with a good player that is outside the norm over a bad player that fits within the norms. Now, the Eagles arguably didn’t do that last year in refusing to try Boykin outside over Fletcher. I think it was blind faith that Fletcher would return to his 2013 level of play(actually pretty good IMO) that lasted too long. I don’t think they are simply jettisoning Boykin now because he doesn’t fit the perfect size/speed criteria. He’s in the last year of his contract and the return offered by Pittsburgh was good compared to other NFL trades. Those are just as big of a factor as the size/speed concerns.
A factor in how they used Boykin last year is that he was injured all year—couldn’t run long sprints with his hammy issues. An outside corner with a bad hammy is a disaster waiting to happen. You can survive inside with a hamstring pull if it’s mild.
He got a chance with every coach he’s played for during practices and camps and has still never been the starter outside. He’s had reps outside and has failed to impress. You don’t put him outside in a game just to appease some of his fans. People need to get over this nonsense.
Does anyone think there is secondary is going to be notably better this year given their projected starters?
Yes. I do. Boykin is a net loss at slot. But Maxwell is better than Fletcher. Whoever they start at the other spot outside will be a push with Williams, and what the attendant at an adult movie theater has to mop off of the floor of the peep show booth is better than Nate Allen.
So 2 betters, one push, and one worse out of 4 new guys is still a net improvement.
And there’s a decent chance that mid-field zone and man coverage from LB positions will be substantially improved this season, which should help CB’s keep receivers in front of them.
Yes, considering how bad Fletcher, Williams and Allen were.
Definitely.
Oh yes. Because of the starters outside alone. Do you seriously think it’s that much of a drop off at slot corner? Joselio Hanson was actually a decent slot corner. Joselio Freaking Hanson. Boykin was really good at it, but it’s a position that’s easily filled. Not as difficult as playing outside (or at least it’s easier to find serviceable players at slot than outside).
I remember people being really concerned when Hanson got cut so Boykin could take over… Unless my memory is all scrambled which is totally possible
I remember being one of those people. I think the lesson was learned.
Better, yes.
Good enough to make the Eagles a top 10 defense, as some fans are projecting? No.
So assuming Thurmond is locked in at safety………..
We have some combo of Biggers, Watkins, the 2 6th round kids, Carroll, and Rowe for the spot outside opposite Maxwell and the slot spot.
What do you all think happens?
Shepherd or Rowe plays the slot, Carroll plays the other CB spot
And let’s not let this spot provide billy d more excuses
I don’t think the slot is the best fit for Rowe.
Carroll/Rowe starting outside. At times, the safety merely drops down to cover the slot WR. I think Shepherd could win the job for when they bring in a nickel CB and also think it’s possible that Maxwell shifts inside with Rowe/Carroll on the outside. The other players will compete too. That’s what training camp is for.
Nailed it.
Not to interrupt the trade talk, but Philly’s own Danny Garcia is about to humble all of Brooklyn NY by handing out a beating on ESPN!
Boxing is fixed.
Less so than the Johnny Come Lately garbage put out there by Dana White.
Boxing is horrible, people still watch it? Til they fix ithe awful mgmt and divisions/belts nobody gets it will continue to falter
Dana is ruining MMA
In order for Chip to do this I have to believe that he has really liked what he has seen so far from Thurmond at safety and Sheppard or Watkins.
Well this is the same guy that signed Sconces + Fletcher and allowed the 2nd most passing yards per game in the league. So maybe he’s doing some risky things instead of..knowing it all.
Really like Chip and think he’s a hell of a coach. With that said, his undervaluing of players who don’t fit his mold really has hurt the team in terms of getting value back. Desean gone for nothing, Foles gone for very little, now Boykin for a fifth rounder? I don’t have an issue with who he’s brought on to the team, but a car-salesman, Chip clearly is not.
Foles blew and getting any player for a 5th is good (remember we traded a 4th for a pro bowl ILB)
And Bradford’s been better as a pro? I know everyone is gaga over his ‘talent’ but the simple fact is he has never produced as a pro and he has had health issues going all the way back to college. Guess we’ll find out if Chip’s offense really is QB-proof. He’s gotten decent (but markedly worse than Foles) stats out of the Sanchise, so I guess people who think Bradford’s automatically going to be great have that to point at. Problem is, if you weigh Foles and Bradford’s stats as pros, it’s not close and it’s not in Bradford’s favor. I don’t care if Bradford goes on to be an all-pro, Chip fails when it comes to getting value back on his own players.
Sad part is I actually think this was a smart move, i.e. trading Boykin, even if I don’t think they got enough for him. Boykin should get a shot at starting in Pittsburgh which will make him happy and we got something back for a player we were never going to start. Really hope we at least get the fourth rounder back.
This, 100%.
I love how for a lot of people guys like Foles, McCoy, and Boykin all of a sudden sucked all along now that they are no longer on the team, and guys like Bradford, who have never been better than mediocre with other teams, are all of a sudden breakout stars waiting to happen.
If another team (say, the Redskins) cut or traded for pennies on the dollar several of their best players and replaced them by signing free agents to big contracts that resulted in bad cap space apportionment, traded for a flopped #1 overall pick like Bradford to play QB, etc. these same people would be making fun of them and saying “same old Dan Snyder”. But because it’s Kelly there must be some sort of brilliant fifth dimension thinking that targets a market inefficiency nobody’s ever been smart enough to figure out going on. The Ockham’s razor explanation (Kelly is a good coach but in over his head as a GM) gets preemptively tossed away. Seems like classic biased thinking to me.
If this team isn’t really good, the backlash from these fans against Kelly is going to be something to see.
Occam’s Razor says to minimize your assumptions. Pretty sure that any deductions about Kelly as GM that are made before a game has even been played are pure assumptions. So you might want to invoke some other cool sounding principle. 😉
Scenario: Kelly sends a bunch of guys who have proven that they can produce at a high level packing and replaces them with guys who have been injured, have never played very well at the NFL level, or are unproven. The general consensus among scouts, other GMs, rival fanbases, commentators, etc. is that these moves are very risky at best, downright insane at worst.
Theory #1: Kelly is right and everyone else is wrong. Assumptions required:
1)Guys with injury histories will actually stay healthy in his health/nutrition program.
2)Guys who have never been better than mediocre players at the NFL level on other teams are actually underappreciated talents who will flourish because Kelly’s offensive and defensive schemes will bring out the best of their abilities.
3)DeMarco Murray will buck the trend that running backs who get more than 400 touches in a season tend to break down the next year.
4)Ryan Mathews will buck the trend of spending big money to sign a veteran backup RB not being an optimal use of cap resources.
5)Byron Maxwell will buck the trend of free agent CBs leaving a secondary where they’re the fourth wheel and going to a new team where they’re expected to be the #1 defender and disappointing.
6)Two of the Matt Tobin/Andrew Gardner/Allen Barbre trio will buck the trend of journeyman veteran linemen tending not to develop into good NFL starters late in their careers.
etc.
Theory #2: Kelly is wrong and conventional wisdom is correct to question his moves.
Assumptions required: Kelly is out of his depth as an NFL personnel evaluator.
Which theory better minimizes assumptions again?
Downright insane, huh?
Yes, your assumptions are quite impressive.
I said “ranging from questionable to downright insane”, and I said that about other people’s opinions. That’s way too hot take-ish for me (I am more on the “questionable” end of the spectrum). But I haven’t heard too many positive opinions from NFL people about what Kelly is doing.
11.5 mill is not nothing. Cap space = players.
Speaking of Boykin’s candybar nickname, he now joins the defense that dubbed him thee. Wonder how he feels about that. haha
That was just about the lamest attempt at trash talk. Shooter McGavin level stupid.
It didnt make much sense. My best guess is that he meant Boykin was the sweet spot in the defense. Definitely dumb. But it wasnt far from the truth. He wasnt much different than Joselio Hansen. He just came in with more hype.
Solid player who always made the tackle after the catch. The problem was that the catch was ALWAYS made on him. Maddening!
Boykin has 7 career interceptions, 4 career forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and one defensive TD scored over 3 NFL seasons, 48 games played, and 4 starts.
You know how many Joselio Hanson had, over 8 NFL seasons, 124 games played, and 20 starts? 6 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 0 fumble recoveries, and 1 defensive TD.
Boykin also has a punt return for a TD.
Boykin has made more plays over his first three seasons than Hanson did in his entire career. Please stop making dumb comparisons like this.
watching them both play tells a different story than just looking at the stat sheet.
I did watch them both play. My eyes tell me that Boykin, while not perfect, is a significantly better player than Hanson ever was. The stats back this subjective opinion up.
They both allowed receptions pretty much every single time they were targeted. Different players. Same results.
Go to PFT.com and read the comments from the article about this trade. Those Steelers fans and any other commenters are clueless about how good of a player he is.
Steeler fans are generally some of the most clueless human beings alive.
They complain about everything. They could have ten Super Bowl titles and still insist Tomlin sucks. They had the number one offense and still want Todd Haley fired.
I honestly didn’t know they were that bad. Here I thought it couldn’t get worse than over emotional Eagles fans. I guess it can always get worse.
Eagles fan are not much different. LOL.
Pure Fruit Technologies?
Was confused by this til I tried to follow the link, too 😛
There’s no surer way to induce weeping at the state of humanity than reading the comments section at the end of any PFT article.
no need to ever read one sided articles from that site. Worst site.
I expect at least 3 or 4 more changes before the end of camp… Chip is going to put HIS type of team on the field as soon as he can, and let the chips fall were they may (pun intended)….
Clearly. But if HIS type of team falls short of the Chip/Howie hybrid we had the last two years in terms of performance, he is going to catch hell for it, and rightfully so. I honestly think if the team does not make the playoffs this season, Chip should be on the hot seat going into 2017.
Lurie will give Chip his five years no matter what the record is this year…book it!…
Maybe. But let’s say things don’t go well this year and the team finishes 7-9. That would make Chip’s performance over his first three seasons no better than those of Rich Kotite or Ray Rhodes. Arguably worse, since those guys both won playoff games. They were both fired after their fourth seasons when their teams bottomed out.
I don’t think that will happen to Chip, because he’s a better coach than either of them. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility, and if the team misses the playoffs two years in a row after Chip assumed total power, he should at the very least be stripped of his personnel powers a la Mike Holmgren in Seattle. Being a good coach doesn’t mean he has any idea how to construct an NFL roster.
One piece of the puzzle we don’t know is Boykin’s attitude about another year in the slot. He never said anything publicly to make me think he would be a pretty blem, but he also wants to play outside badly.
Everyone under 5’10 cut from this team has connections to a gang. More details from ESP coming later this week.
Bunch of little gangsters.
Good one.
According to the piece at philly.com he was perfectly happy to do whatever he could do.
Your and Anders’ comment sum it up perfectly. He said all the right things officially, but there are clues that he is not satisfied. We don’t know what that looks like behind closed doors.
Some of Boykin’s tweets have sounded like he wasnt totally happy about his role.
You know who this move impacts the most don’t you? The Eagles’ offseason basketball team just lost their best dunker.
Agholor has “big” shoes to fill then.
Monangai looks like a Herschel Walker mini-me.
Walker was world class fast.
*is* 😉
The simple litmus test to see if the BoyKing could play outside would be to man him up against Riley Cooper in practice and see the results…Chip and the coaches had 2.5 years to watch this and decide – we’ll see what the Steelers decide.
Boykin would have left next year and the Eagles would have gotten nothing.
Yeah I don’t get that got nothing argument. He would have played the season. That’s something.
Exactly.
Somebody else will play the snaps he played. Chip obviously believes there’s more value in that player’s potential performance and the pick used to get future potential talent than there is in one more year of Boykin. All decisions are weighing risk versus reward and they obviously feel this is on the positive side of that line.
He would have played, at nickel, with him and his brother bitching on Twitter about him not starting every time a starting CB gave up a TD.
So Monangai is basically a poor mans Murray/Matthews and I like it.
Certainly fits better than Barner.
I like barner for the sole fact that he went to Oregon, but that’s it. What do you personally hate about him lol?
I hate that he went to Oregon and was clearly worse than Josey, yet he lasted on the roster longer than Josey did while costing us a draft pick for essentially zero production.
He didn’t cost us a draft pick. We only had to give up a draft pick if he was on the 53-man roster for a certain amount of games. He wasn’t so we got him for nothing.
That approximates his true worth if we indeed gave up nothing for him.
Oh ok I see now. Thank you.
Of course we traded Boykin for a side of fries. Fits right in with what we have done all off-season.
Who is the slot?
Pass the ketchup please.
Shepherd
Boooooo!!!!!!!
Adios Boykin, Kendricks you’re next!
Writing’s on the wall. Damn shame, but almost certain. If not this year, then the following off season.
With Wagner getting $10 mil / year from Seattle last night, I’d have to think that Kendricks will be about a $8 mil / year player. I doubt they pay that.
We don’t need Boykin because we have Kenricks. Wasn’t Kendricks the talk of all off season that he was trade bait? Was sounding like we didn’t need him either? I like Kendricks but I think his time here is short as well.
So, those of you who aren’t complete optimists, which is scarier? Sam ‘hop along’ Bradford at QB? Or, Walter “gets hurt every time he sneezes” Thurmond starting at safety?
Bradford’s likely to have the bigger impact, especially if he sucks, but anyone who expects Thurmond to play the entire season is absolutely ignoring history. Assuming he’s hurt, our choices at safety are Earl ‘dog house’ Wolfe, Jerome ‘never done anything’ Couplin, Jaylen ‘Howie’s boy’ Watkins or EJ ‘OMG we’re starting Skins castoffs’ Biggers. Oops, missed Ed ‘sure looks like a wasted pick’ Reynolds.
Excited but scared for this season 🙂
Bradford playing super well and then going down.
Bradford, absolutely.
We’ve played (and survived) seasons with lousy safeties before. I don’t expect Thurmond to be great in any case, and even if he’s hurt, I think they’ll get along okay.
If Bradford gets hurt, or sucks, they are S.O.L., and not just for this season but for the next few seasons as well. You need that franchise QB to win it all and Sanchez, Barkley, and Tebow definitely ain’t it.
Reynolds was a 5th round pick and more often than not they are indeed, “wasted.”
I expect fifth rounders to make a push to make the team. It’s not like we have Seattle’s safeties in front of Reynolds, either. Besides, isn’t a fifth rounder what we just traded Boykin for (barring him going over 60% of the snaps)?
The more I look at the season and all the moves, I think we’ve all been hitting the Kool-aid a bit to hard this season. He’s replaced so many starters, and maybe that will work out, but it probably won’t pan out this year. Maybe 2016, but 2015 is a stretch. In that context this move makes some sense, Boykin wasn’t going to be here for 2016 so he got a head start on looking for the nickle CB of 2016.
lol, thanks for the “not completely optimistic” viewpoint.
sport science, check, mate, match.
What really frustrates me is that Tommy won´t criticize anything this guy does. It´s all good and all moves are brilliant and a stroke of genius.
My prediction is: We would love to have Nate Allen back, because this secondary will get torn apart.
But Maxwell will have an outstanding year, because no QB will even hesitate to look to his right. It so much easier to pick a part whoever starts at LCB and in the slot.
How can you crticize a move when the outcome isn’t clear? Tommy is pointing out the positives. Its not like Chip traded Revis. Here’s what we do know: Boykin wasn’t to the height standard. He couldn’t beat Williams and Fletcher for outside playing time. He was a good slot corner but would have only have been here for another year and then walked. At least this way we get a 5th/4th back. Finally, qbs aren’t gonna pick on anyone this year because Kendricks, Barwin and Graham are gonna be in the backfield constantly.
there will ever be time, ever, where the Eagles will miss Nate Allen. Nate Allen sucked – which is why he’s not here now.
Read Tommy’s work in total. I don’t think you’ll find a more balanced (presenting positives and negatives) analysis of Chip or any topic. Nor will you find an Eagles writer who lays out the reasoning behind his opinions in a clearer fashion. Sounds to me like you want to read a hatchet piece, and you’re upset not to get it here.
Maybe you could reference where he said all moves are brilliant and a stroke of genius. Those kind of exaggerated generalizations make for nonsensical discussions.
Another negative vote on this one. In one key respect, Chip Kelly seems worse than Reid . For 10+ years, I, and many others complained about AR running his system and not adapting to who he had. Reid was rubber band pliable compared to Chip.
I think in Chip’s opinion what some fans would call flexibility he would call compromise. I don’t think Chip believes in compromise. Regardless this is his world now. Either the Eagles will reach new heights or he’ll flame out spectacularly. Just sit back and channel your inner TO and get your popcorn ready.
Yeah, Reid installed a west-coast offense without a west coast QB, and had to dust off Duce every third game because his hell-for-fire passing game was playing to his opponents expectations. His in-game adjustments were non-existent, and on the strength of Jim Johnson’s defense primarily, Reid is fondly remembered as the best HC in Eagle history. After having drafted Wellbourn, Andrews, Mitchell and Watkins, it is arguable that Reid placed little if any importance on the mind-set of the players he selected. Personally, I’d rather have someone signing players who is demanding and picky than someone who is indifferent. I like Boykin, and I liked Shady, and I like Nick, but that team is history. To me, Kelly is more determined to win a championship than any HC I’ve seen in this town, including AR.
Reid was too flexible. Kelly is on the other end of the spectrum. Theoretically, it’d be nice to find a happy medium.
Chip’s NFL resume is piddling next to Andy Reid’s. Reid accomplished more than Chip in his first two seasons as an NFL coach – took over a team that was literally the worst in football and had it winning a playoff game by the end of his second year. Chip hasn’t done that. He might still prove to be a better coach than AR but let’s not act like he’s already done so.
They both won with the former team’s players. With Chip’s player turnover rate, his team will be truly his team much sooner than Reid’s Eagles. Reid would have been completely lost without the players he inherited saving his ass year after year. Kelly won’t have that crutch.
Given that Chip won with 10 games with a team that Reid only managed to win 4 with, I’d say Chip’s the better x’s and o’s guy. Reid was excellent at building a program and developing and working with what talent he had, but he lost his focus his last few years. Losing Jim Johnson basically broke Reid here.
I think everyone forgets how putrid the team Reid took over was, and what a feat turning it into a playoff contender so quickly was.
I also disagree that losing Jim Johnson was the primary thing that did Reid in. It certainly contributed, but losing McNabb, and being unable to replace him, was a much bigger deal. Having a franchise quarterback is everything, as Chip Kelly says.
Toss in the death of Andy’s son. I fully remember how putrid that team was. It was shortly after I started watching football every single weekend. I take nothing away from what Reid did. What he wasn’t able to do was improve his weaknesses and get over the hump. I really do believe that Andy lost focus his last few seasons here. Shame, because he was a very, very good coach. Just not great.
Yeah. Just saying, I think Kelly inherited a team with better than 4-12 talent. McCoy, Jackson, Maclin, Peters, Mathis, Celek, Cox, Cole, Kendricks… those are some pieces. The team Reid took over had one of the worst offenses I’ve ever seen. Duce and Tra Thomas were the only guys who were even average NFL players at their positions. The defense had a few more pieces with Dawkins, Trotter, Douglas, and the CBs but was still bad top-to-bottom.
Boykin was expendable because the Eagles defense will now feature heavier nickel and dime packages with excellent cover linebackers (alonso and hendricks) versus smaller cornerbacks.
Hendricks! About time we added somebody good!
http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/ted-hendricks-at.jpg
They are excellent cover linebackers in the sense that they can cover a running back out of the backfield or match up on a tight end, neither can cover a slot WR. Boykin’s job will be done by a less talented (but bigger!) slot corner.
Drafting Boykin was an absolute steal in the 4th round. Just a level of talent that is very hard to find in the fourth, and will be harder to replace in the 5th. Chip’s made a habit of dumping talent and now we have another position in the secondary to fill with an unproven commodity.
But hey this is mega progress. Normally we just cut talented players with time left their contracts, this time we actually got a (relatively worthless like a $1 scratch-off ticket) draft pick!
Harsh, but I tend to agree with this sentiment.
Wow
https://twitter.com/TheRealDGunnCSN/status/627839926692765697
https://twitter.com/TheRealDGunnCSN/status/627840169647849472
https://twitter.com/TheRealDGunnCSN/status/627840708993380352
Real thing, sour grapes, or something in between?
https://twitter.com/geoffmoshercsn/status/627844742760562688
https://twitter.com/geoffmoshercsn/status/627844970578362370
Yeah, fascinating point / counter-point. It really is an interesting conversation.
This is what we want. A guy who “is” football. I don’t care if a coach goes out and gets a beer with a player. I want the wins and in the end, that’s what the players want.
I hate to say it, but this is officially a thing.
Shady? Jackson? Yeah, those guys were known as malcontents and you can attribute them saying this kind of stuff to sour grapes. But guys like Mathis, Boykin, and Foles have never been anything less than professional. When you have guys like that intimating that they are glad to be gone, or outright saying it, there is a problem.
I don’t think Chip is a racist. But he is clearly lacking a bit in the people skills department. That can be a big problem because people skills are part of the job of being an NFL coach.
Good point. Just too much smoke for there not to be fire. It’s just a question of how good is he at putting out the fires. That is, are things getting better or worse as he purges the roster. That is, how many players left on the roster are good soldiers.
Head coaches are the generals, he doesn’t need to be their friends, just that they believe in his ideas and want to execute as expected. So yes he needs people skills in the context of motivation & communication of ideas, not necessarily in terms of being a father figure or mentor.
I’m not saying he has to be a father figure. I’m saying he has to be an effective psychologist. The “my way or the highway” approach works well in college, when you’re dealing with 19 and 20 year old kids who are just happy to be playing Div. I football on scholarship. In the pros (1) you’re dealing with grown men who expect to be treated with a certain amount of professional respect, and (2) you don’t have as much power to remake the roster and can’t just only recruit guys you get along with or kick guys you don’t like off the team because they can be easily replaced. If you have a guy who’s a difficult personality but has NFL star-level talent, you may have to find a way to work with him even if you don’t want to.
Obviously, there are limits. TO was poison on any team he joined. And when Kelly cut Jackson loose, I thought it was justifiable because DJax went past those limits. But these other guys? I don’t see it.
I agree, there has to be flexibility and compromise. That said, I don’t think Boykin was cut because he didn’t fit the culture, I don’t think he was valued as highly within the organization as we fans valued him. This became a value vs return problem and I can see both sides of the argument (personally I would have liked to see Boykin get a fair shot last year but believe the damage was done at this point and that he would be gone no matter what next year).
Mathis was a culture issue (contract dispute that spilled into his interaction with the team), Jackson was a culture issue. Shady is in the grey area. All other moves were value vs return.
He “has to be”? Why?
It seems to me that he is proving he doesn’t have to effective psychologist. He just gets rid of the players that need this kind of extra kid glove handling.
And it looks like he might be just about done getting rid of them now, and the team still looks pretty damn good after the cleanup.
Bill Bellichick is one of the biggest assholes around and it works for him.
Granted, Bellichicks come few and far between.
Bill Bellichick is one of the biggest assholes around and it works for him.
Granted, Bellichicks come few and far between.
Belichick is an asshole to the media. That doesn’t mean he’s an asshole to the players. When was the last time you heard an ex-Patriot rip Belichick or the culture in that locker room? They all speak highly of him from what I can tell.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/wes-welker-says-put-bill-belichick-relationship-deteriorated-210746921.html
Welker didn’t speak to high of him.
But even Bellichick allows Gronk to act like a clown 24/7 away from the field.
Last I checked, none of the guys Kelly has cut was near Gronk level at their position.
Look at what Cox does during his free time. He drags-race. Connor Barwin and Cole goes bow hunting.
#1 rated guard?
There is some guy in Baltimore there is better and a few at least as good. Nobody is close to Gronk
Jimmy Graham?
Of course it’s a thing. When Chip didn’t sufficiently discipline Riley Cooper and then gave him a new contract with numbers well beyond his worth, he guaranteed it would be an issue.
I think we can all agree that getting rid of Riley Cooper would solve many problems.
He should be released just on account of the goofy looking hair.
Boykin has been grumbling on his twitter account for a long time. #justanickel
Boykin has a background in writing and I think he was very careful about he said this.
1) he took a subtle dig at Chip being a college coach, “grown”
2) he was careful to point out it’s the culture not the skin color. So a guy like ‘Meco can be a poster child for everything Chip wants in a football player.
3) this is Chips team. He controls the finest aspects of it.
I don’t think Chip would see it that way, but I think a number of Black players felt this way. I could definitely see Chip preaching 1 culture above all others, that’s his thing. It seems to have more in common with the military than anything. He doesn’t care about where you came from, who your parents are, who you were, but there’s a person you’re going to strive to be while on his team or you can play for someone else.
Again, this worked in college, it’s tougher with grown men as Boykin pointed out, but also this isn’t dissimilar to a lot of the “Patriot way” type stuff, which seems to work just fine.
Yeah, those are all really good points. I find the whole conversation fascinating.
Everything works fine when Tom Brady is your QB.
The truth is that many, many, many white men in their 50s are uncomfortable with young black men ad/or their “culture.” It only becomes a problem if Chip loses the locker room because of it. No sign of that yet, right?
Any player that doesn’t buy into Chip’s culture is just waiting for his one-way ticket out of town.
My intent in putting “culture” in quotes is not to disparage. I think the word wrongly lumps everyone of a race together when obviously there are huge cultural differences based on region, ethnic background, personal taste, etc.
I don’t see a lost locker room at all. If there were, we’d 100% be hearing about it through the press non-stop.
How do you explain chips Love for Grown Black man Jason Peters?
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how do you explain him being comfortable enough to give 60mil to be around grown black men Byron Maxwell whp is very outspoken guy?
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Cooper is on his way out, and we invested a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick on young black men at WR, not to mention Miles Austin, Tutu, and 3 Undrafted black WRs… Heck we only have 1 White WR, a redneck Im sure they can’t wait to cut after this next season when his contract allows it… Btw, Howie Roseman did the Riley Cooper contract, just SAYIN…
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how do you explain Chip loving and respecting Black man Mufasa more then any man on our team?
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how do you explain Chips admiration, and respect for Grown Blackmen Demarco Murray and Darren Sproles who chip has drooled over since the moment both arrived here?
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how do people mention getting rid of Black trent Cole, who is a humble, hunting type, and paying to replace him with Black Brandon Graham and his more flamboyant personality?
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how do people explain chips respect and love for our,young, black DL that Chip often calls the strength of his team? Ced Thornton, Bennie Logan, Cox, Curry, these aren’t exactly Nerdy White guys
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Sorry, but any smeering of chips character over Racism is nothing short of disgustng!… And the truth is, the ONLY people who have these trashy disgusting accusations to make, are black players who thought they had contracts here who got cut or traded out of the blue like Desean, Trent Cole(who later backtracked), Avant, shady and Now Boykin….. Funny how the black players who left as free agents when their contract expired don’t have a negative peep to say about Chip. You don’t hear Maclin say anthing like this. You don’t hear a peep from Bradley Fletcher and Nate Allen…. Only the players who thought they had safe contracts and status in Philly who were cut or traded when they didn’t expect it have anything negative to say about chip…. That’s no coincidence
WESTBROOOOKZZZZZZ!!!
Wow, good riddance.
Boykin and these other players need to learn that football is a job and Kelly is their boss. The boss has every right to “like to be in control of everything”. Kelly has strict parameters with respect to height/weight/speed and logic may dictate that that attention to detail carries over to his standards with regards to behavior/appearance etcetera. The only culture that matters is the one that the boss is trying to instill and Kelly doesn’t need to be “comfortable” with them. It is incumbent on them to fit into Kelly’s culture and if they don’t then it’s time for them to leave.
The problem is that this kind of approach rarely if ever works for an NFL coach. When was the last time somebody succeeded by alienating half the locker room and doing stuff that provoked parting shots from literally every guy who left the team?
Half the locker room. We’re talking about a small cadre of malcontents left over from the Reid era and Kelly is systematically eliminating them one-by-one. Bottom line, Kelly is the boss. The players are the employees. The employees should act like the boss tells them to and fit in with the culture the boss is trying to instill. If not, they deserve to be removed the organization. Now if Kelly’s culture doesn’t work, then it is his boss’s(Lurie) call whether or not to remove him or not. That doesn’t garner any of these knuckleheads any sympathy from me.
We only care if it works for Chip Kelly, not anybody else.
Does it seem to you that Chip Kelly has alienated half the locker room? It seems to me that the result has been the exact opposite and he now has a locker room that is 100% behind him.
Half the locker room might be an exaggeration. But it seems like literally every single guy who leaves has something negative to say about him. Who was the last guy to say “I had a great time in Philly, thanks for the memories, but it’s a business and it’s time for me to move on?”
Again, a lot of these guys are not people who have ever had any kind of reputation as malcontents. Some of them (Mathis, Cole, Foles, etc.) are known to be high character players.
A lot will come down to whether the team wins. If they do, Kelly will get some leeway from the guys who are left. If they don’t, he could lose their respect, fast, and then you’re looking at a regime implosion scenario.
Who was the last guy to say “I had a great time in Philly, thanks for the memories, but it’s a business and it’s time for me to move on?”
Herremans?
Yeah you’re right, Herremans didn’t have anything bad to say.
Still, that’s one out of how many?
Maybe Chip just happens to be getting rid of the type of guys that talk trash to the press about their former organization when they get moved?
Don’t think Maclin had any negative comments either. Or Trent Cole.
Trent Cole I recall definitely had some things to say. Maclin did not, but he left as a free agent and had 55 million reasons to be happy and not dwell on the past, so that may or may not mean anything.
If I remember correctly, Trent Cole’s ill feelings were more about getting let go by an organization he had played for his entire career, a place where he probably wanted to retire. I don’t think he had a problem with Chip Kelly.
Trent tweeted #norespect on his way out. That was the extent of his negative comments. I can understand both his and Boykin’s reactions honestly. Trent leaving had to do with declining production/age vs. salary expectations while Boykin was pigeon holed the day Kelly and Davis walked in the door. I don’t have a problem with anything either said.
Actually, guys who leave in free agency like casey Mathews, Maclin, don’t have ANYTHNG negative to say about Chip. guys who thought they were safe here who got cut or traded like COle, Desean, Shady, Mathis are the ones that had ANYTHNG negative to say… The guys chip got rid of run their mouth…. Most of the guys we lost in free agency left amicably
You seem confused.
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The only players who took shots on their way out where players who had contracts and were cut or traded unexpected like Cole, Shady, Desean, Boykin.. None of the black players who left when their contact expired like Bradley, Nate, Maclin haven’t had anything negative to say about chip..
I already stated that it was an exaggeration to say that everyone seems to have a problem with him. But a significant number of players appear to.
As for the racism stuff, I’m not black, nor am in the locker room, but with those caveats, it appears to be ridiculous to me too. Chip has brought in plenty of black players and there are plenty of black players who clearly don’t have a problem with him, and last I checked some of the guys he has antagonized, like Mathis, are white.
Surprised that AR didn’t acquire him for KC. Maybe that was a cultural divide too; don’t remember Boykin sporting any Hawaiian shirts or buzz cuts.
Yeah, that’s not actually how it works. Football is a job where if you are good enough to be employed, there are 31 other places you can work. Football isn’t a normal job and if you try to view it in that light you are bound to come up with incorrect conclusions consistently .
Not while you’re under contract. When you’re under contract you act in accordance with the desires of the organization and if you’re incapable of buying in you’re either removed or allowed to leave when your contract is up.
And if you are removed you can go get a job somewhere else. Brandon Boykin isn’t going to go hungry.
Of course. What the players do when they leave isn’t that relevant. Chip is trying to instill his own culture/system and outliers are going to be removed. Not all of the outliers are outright character problems. Their personality just may not fit. That’s why IMO Chip wanted total control of the draft, so he could bring in players that bought into his philosophies and didn’t have personalities that questioned authority. Chip having success with his culture/system and the outliers having success elsewhere aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
I don’t think we disagree much on the actual issue here. I just think it’s silly to try to put the NFL in the context of a “real job” for players because the actual employer/employee relationship is not the same.
The NFL is a “real job” for the people who work in the offices. If one of them pisses off Chip Kelly, they get fired. They don’t automatically get a position for another NFL team working on the same contract at the same exact salary level.
No doubt, but I think Chip works a lot more from the boss/employee mindset than the buddy/family mindset that Reid did and some players brought in when Reid was in charge confuse his authoritarian nature with being against their race or culture when it is really just the nature/mechanics of how he does things. In that scenario, I think it is encumbent on the players to adjust or Chip is going to get rid of them. Throwing out accusations upon leaving just shows their immaturity IMO and shows at least part of the reason why Chip got rid of them.
Parody?
generally I would agree,… The problem is, there was never even a peep about Boykin not buying in, being a selfish teammate, or being a bad kid…Mai sure remember chip hugging, and kissing boykin for coming up with all sorts of huge, game saving INTs back in 2013.. Yet I don’t have anything negative about Boykin to poïnt to, so while I generally agree with your statement, I domt understand how you conclude that Boykin warrants that when we have never heard any negative reports about the kid… Young kid, who made plays for us, and wanted to be here, if the ONLY negative is that a young kid had his feelings hurt on the way out, I damn sure don’t think it puts him in that category of players we should say “Good Riddens” too…..
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I would have been fine with losing Boykin, because that increases my chances of seeing Cox, Kendricks, Curry and Thornton extended, but I friggin DESPISE the Timing of losing Boykin. In August, EVERYTHING should be about having the best team possible for the upcoming season, and to say we are better and deeper secondary without boykin, then with Boykin would be absurd… So I don’t see why anyone would want to weaken our defense a month before the season for a mid round pick… And I damn sure don’t THINK a good kid, who wanted to be here, needs to be ripped on his way out…
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this is NOT a shady situation. There were no baby mamas cursed out on Twitter from Boykin, there was no kicking woman off the bust and leaving them on the side of the road on a highway at night. there was no reports of leaving 15 cent tips…and most importantly, Boykin didn’t bring this racism crap sneering chips name… Shady started running his mouth about Racism on his own… You can bet, boykin didn’t just solicit this culture stamens by himself. When he was cut, you can bet media started asking Him about the racism accusations and instead of piling on to smeering chips name, and joining the racist accusation to defend his hurt ego which media was leading him to do, he simply said he didn’t feel like he could relate to the coach. Our PLAYERS DONT NEED TO LOVE Chip. They NEED to Buy in, and do what the coach asks… And while Boykin said he couldn’t relate, there isn’t even any rumors of Boykin insubordination, work ethc issues, or not buying into ANYTHNG,… So I don’t THNK the kid who wants to be here warrants getting spit on during his eagle exit…
Don’t know if anyone mentioned this but, anybody remember after the McCoy trade Boykin tweeted something (can’t remember what he tweeted) but he ended by saying something like what do I know #just a nickel. I kinda felt he would be gone after that.
Does people here forget how cruel Andy Reid was during his first few seasons?
Do people forget how many “stars” left Philly because of money?
He cracked the whip his first mini-camp but after that he geniusly set up a system where the players bought into the idea that not giving them money wasn’t Reid’s call but was the fault of that evil little troll Banner.
And that is despite Reid getting total control similar to Kelly.
Reid didn’t get full control til later. Yeah, he was quick to blame anyone leaving on Banner, but frankly, the Eagles under Reid made almost every right call in terms of players at the end of their career.
I don’t mind losing Boykin in free agency for nothîng next year, because it increases my odds of seeing Kendricks, Curry, Thornton and Cox Extended… But I would so much rather keep Boykin to try and contend this year, losing boykin to free agency, then to weaken our secondary for a 4th round pick..
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I can live with losing Boykin, but I think losing him now was foolish and damn sure not worth risking a season over a mid round pick… heck, boykin would have signed a nice deal on the open market and we will be busy retaining our own players next offseason so we could have gotten a similar compensatory pick for losing him after we used him to contend this year, buying some time for guys like ROWE, Shepard to grow…. Rookie Corners are best suited to spend the year on the bench, playing only ST… Besides rookie corners, we don’t have any depth at CB now that losing Boykin forces Jaylen Watkins into a starting Nickel or Dime role.. Then again, we Probably won’t even have a dime package this year because of this move…. the ONLY way This Boykin trade can turn out to be OK is:
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1) Eric ROWE proving to be the extremely rare rookie corner who is so good we can’t justify keeping him off the field, starting him opposite Maxwell, moving Nolan back into the slot…. I prefer rookie corners spending the year on the bench
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2) Earl Wolff Shocks us, comes back 100% Healthy, Flying around and ends up winning the starting safety spot, moving Thurmond back into his natiral slot corner spot (but chip said today Thurmond is staying at safety, so chip doesn’t have much faith in wolff pulling this off)
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3) Jaylen Watkins having no NFL experience in year 2, proving that he would be as good as playmaking Boykin was gpimg to be in year 4… DOUBT IT, and rookie Russell Shepard proving he can start at dime in September which is a terrible idea..
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If we sucked and were on our way to a 6 win season, I would 100% agree with trying to get something for him now before we lost him for nothing in March, but we have a chance to win our division and make the playoffs, so I can’t fathom how anyone can be happy to get a mid round pick for weakening what was already the weakness of our defense. Our Starting secondary is much weaker today then it was yesterday, and our depth is a bigger problem then it already was yesterday… Getting a 4th Round pick damn sure ISNT worth the impacts this could have on our season,…. This was the worst decision so far in the chip kelly Era,,. I’m sorry, but an entire up coming season is worth more then a mid round pick that have typically resulted in Matt Barkley, Earl Wolff, Ed Reynolds and hopefully Jaylen Watkins at least pans out..
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I really can’t see why We would want to weaken our secondary and remove one of our playmakers a month before the season.. Why now? It damn sure Couldnt have been too hard to get a team like Miami or the Steelers to give up a mid round pick for one of the best young inside CB in the game….Steelers CBs are atrocious..
Read that they’re planning on starting ‘Meco over Kendricks at ILB. Curious to see if ‘Meco can even run anymore after that achilles last year. Dude wasn’t exactly a burner before the injury.
Non issue….If Meco is healthy, im sure we will see plenty of all 3, Mykal, Meco and Kiko rotating.. meco played an absurd amount of snaps for us, even if he never got hurt, we couldn’t keep going the way we were going needing to play two ILBs an insane amount of snaps. Defense should have 15-19 players good enough to rotate and use in every game.. having 3 ILB who can play at a high level is a good thng… I wish all our “problems” were like that.
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Even if Demeco starts, and Kendricks or Kiko DONT start, we are going to see a ton of Mykal and Kiko flying around the field together this year (Health Permitting of course)
Eagles Insider
@EaglesInsider
44s44 seconds ago
Kelly: Talking to Brandon Boykin last night, I thought he was stunned, he liked it here … Pittsburgh tried to get him back during draft
Geoff Mosher
@GeoffMosherCSN
7s7 seconds ago
Chip said Boykin shook his hand and gave him hug last night so “surprised” to hear comments.
Geoff Mosher
@GeoffMosherCSN
27s27 seconds ago
Chip: lot of different candidates at slot but Walt Thurmond staying at safety for now.
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Geoff Mosher
@GeoffMosherCSN
36s37 seconds ago
Chip said Boykin entering last year of deal big factor in decision to trade him.
Albert Breer
@AlbertBreer
45s45 seconds ago
Eagles coach Chip Kelly says QB Sam Bradford has been cleared for 11-on-11s.
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Bradford will not be playing with a brace, full go for all football activities according to Chip in his presser
Good. I found it interesting that the medical expert quoted by one of the news sources pointed out that after two ACLs in one knee he actually has a slightly higher chance of getting an ACL injury in the good knee rather than the previously injured one. So, ironically, if he were to wear a brace, he’d be better off putting it on his good knee.
That’s a good call man.
“The truth is, Chip is uncomfortable around grown men of our culture.”
Leprechauns?
Jeff McLane
@Jeff_McLane
1m1 minute ago
Chip Kelly said the conditional 5th rd draft pick for Brandon Boykin will become a 4th if he plays 60 pct of snaps.
So if he stays healthy and is a starter on outside. There’s also a chance he could play 60% of the snaps as a nickel CB.
So, it’ a 5th round pick unless a Pittsburgh starter gets inured.
Sure, he might play close to 60% as a nickel, but it would seem very easy for Pittsburgh to monitor and reduce his snaps a bit to stay under that threshold.
Pittsburgh has crap CB’s, and from what I’ve read William Gay was good in the nickel last year.
It’s possible Boykin is an outside starter out there…
The coaches aren’t going to play an inferior player or use suboptimal strategies on game day to get the front office a slightly higher midround pick in the next draft. I wouldn’t worry about them throttling his snap count.
Besides, their secondary is so bad I expect that he’ll start there. If he stays healthy, I think we’ll be getting the 4th rounder.
Not early in the season and not if they’re in playoff contention late. However, if in the last 2 games or so, Boykin is very close to making the threshold and they’ve already been eliminated from the playoffs then it definitely will be a factor on his playing time IMO.
Have you seen Pittsburgh’s “starters”? Cortez Allen blows and William Gay is 33 and is better as a nickel. They play a Tampa 2 style in the secondary and aren’t looking for bigger, press corners like the Eagles are. There’s a very good chance Boykin starts for them.
No, I hadn’t. good news!
Chip said something of Kendricks isn’t going anywhere, you can right that down on paper.
Seems like Kendricks might be in the same situation as Graham: fans assuming he doesn’t fit, but the organization feeling otherwise.
I hope that is the case.
me too.
Or maybe Kelly just realizes that DeMeco is not going to be around forever so he doesn’t consider 2 young ILBs and 1 vet ILB to be a glut at the position.
3 young…. Hicks.
It’s not as if Chip Kelly hasn’t been known to lie to the press before.
However Kendricks is still here even with Alonso, Ryan’s, and Hicks us the other depth guys.
It’s really been media and fan driven like you said. Kelly has openly praised Kendricks, and unlike Boykins Kendricks has been a starter. The influx of LB talent really isn’t a step to get rid of Kendricks, it’s a step to sure up the ILB core. Mathews left, in come Jones as backup. Traded for Alonso to start next to Kendricks to make one of the youngest most talented ILB duos. Our 3 top ILB either tore an Achilles or ACL or missed extended playing time due to injury so there is strength in numbers. Hicks was drafted to take over for Ryan’s when he gets to old or if he doesn’t make a full recovery. Kelly also clearly loves ST so Hicks who can play ST will fill in for someone like Casey or BG who played ST last year.
Chip has praised Kendricks more then most players. Chip has consistently spoken extremely highly of him, but fans and media ignore it because it didn’t fit their narrative. Apparently this city is against having nice depth at positions..
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“We are a different defense when Mykal Kendricks is on the field”-chip Kelly
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“He is so good at blitzing, AND so good in coverage, that you wish you didn’t have to pick one or the other each play”-Chip Kelly
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the Fan/Media notion that Chip already decided Kendricks won’t be here long term is ridiculous. not Only has Kendricks constantly improved, not only is he a 3down LB that is well rounded and plays at a high level, but Kendricks is also a great teammate, hard working guy dedicated to football greatness and the Eagles… So it really made no sense on any level to think Chip didn’t value Kemdricks… If anything, losing Boykin increases the odds of Curry and Kendricks getting extended
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Literally, the ONLY thing I have ever heard that chip was down on Kendricks for is a rumor that we thought he could come back from his injury a week or two before he did.. That’s THE ONLY possible negative of Kendricks that anyone can even point to, and we don’t even know if that’s true… So to assume that we were hell bent on getting rid of Mykal before this next season was seriously CRAZY TALK.. If Mykal stays healthy, I think there is a great chance he gets extended. What allows us to extend him is Kiko and Hicks have multiple years of service left on cheap rookie contracts..
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As awesome as Kendricks was last year, I expect this to be the year his game goes thru the roof.. Pairing Kendricks and Kiko is going to pay off in a MAJOR way so I think it’s pretty crazy to assume chip can’t wait to get rid of Kendricks after the season…. Kiko and Kendricks are going to set the league on fire this year playing behind Cox, Logan and Ced, so I don’t see why anyone would assume we can so easily piss away what will be a dominant Kendricks/Kiko tandem after this season..
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This city has grossly misjudged what chip thinks of Mykal and it really never made any sense considering he is a heckuva player, who lives for the game, wants to achieve greatness, and is a great kid, who is loved by his teammates and coach Minter..Meco Mufasa Ryan’s claims that Kendricks is His favorite teammate that he has ever played with…
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I really don’t get how people could so badly misjudge how chip would feel about such a good kid, and a fantastic talent.. He has too many strengths and things going for him to put so much importance on him being 5’11.
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Mykal and Kiko are going to put on a show this year. I have a hard time believing we will want to piss away the dominant tandem we will see this year, especially since we can give Kendricks a new deal that we can easily get out of 3 years later when we need to pay Kiko and Jicks
Agree for the most part. I don’t think it’s 100% that he gets extended though. I think there are to many variables to say that for certain. Say he does light it up this year like we think he will. He is going to be asking for Wagner money if not more. If Hicks ends up impressing I’m not sure if Kelly will be willing to pay him that especially if Bradford has a big year and we have to pay him the big bucks. We have seen how Kelly views big contracts at times (Jackson, McCoy). Admittedly Jackson and Mccoys release had to do more then just money but it is an example. Now imagine how Kelly would view a big contract with Kendricks if Hicks is ready to go. Add to the fact this is Alonso’s third year and he is going to be needing a contract in the not long future. Cox’s contract may weigh into it as well.
Another example. Maclin was asking for more money then Kelly thought he was worth. So Kelly let him walk and got his replacement in the draft. Kelly loves Ryan’s, and reportedly Hicks has many of his qualities. Again if he impresses then I think it’s very possible to say that Kendricks may not be extended.
Don’t think it’s 100% either. He will need to stay healthy, and not make crazy contract demands….. if Mykal kenzricks and Kiko stay healthy, they will look so good together that it’s going to be hard to give up having that tandem, especially when you have years of cheap rookie contracts from Kiko and hicks
It’s not that I think the organization doesn’t ‘like’ Kendricks. It’s that they’ve clearly shown they think Demeco’s better. This offseason it’s been obvious that they’d rather start Demeco and Kiko despite Kendricks clearly being the much better athlete than Demeco and being the only one of the three not coming off a major injury. When Chip was asked about Kendricks, he brought up his injury issues, which is laughable when you consider who we’ve signed this offseason.
Albert Breer
@AlbertBreer
25s26 seconds ago
Chip Kelly: “Mychal Kendricks isn’t going anywhere. You can write that down in ink right now.”
Chip Kelly: “He’s the starting quarterback for the next 1,000 years here,”
Yea uhh Chip needs to have a gun pointed to his head if you really want the truth.
Tone matters. You could tell he was being facetious when he made the 1000 years comment. I haven’t actually heard the quote regarding Kendricks but the impression I get from how it’s been reported was that he wasn’t joking around.
Invisible ink?
Ink can be erased. Not easy, but can be done. And you can always cover it with white-out.
shocker…. Not!!
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Finally people hopefully can stop with this absurd notion
If Chip is trying to get players that fit his system I can only assume that Bradford has exceptional speed and that he will run the read/option better than Fol….oh forget it. How is Vick’s 40 these days? /s
We are all still learning about Chip Kelly and his system, but I think now we can say that part of fitting into the system is not complaining on Twitter that you aren’t happy with your role.
Wasn’t aware of that. Hope it doesn’t it apply to fans.
I’m surprised at this point and time people still think Chips biggest thing is speed and the option.
He has stated multiple times that the most important thing he looks for is a smart accurate passer. That is what he mostly wants in his system, and it has been shown multiple times in his decisions at that position. He has even gone to say Bradford is the type of QB he is looking for.
To add though, yes Bradford is faster then Foles. He ran a 4.76.
I thought with Vick and the read-option, then the Mariota love. I do believe that Bradford has a bigger upside than Foles, and I hope so. Chip’s NFL career may be riding on it.
Of course there is Martiota love, he was Chips QB in college. Chip inherited Vick and stuck with Foles when Vick got hurt.
Let’s suppose for a moment that there is an issue here. That there is a certain kind of player that needs a little extra handling that Chip Kelly just can not work with.
So who’s next? Who are the players that won’t be able to work with Kelly that are still on the current roster?
I can’t think of any. I think Chip got rid of them all. I think we’re good.
Like any other head coach who remakes his roster to suit his plans.
No, dude, there is no issue, how dare you pull the race card. This is the 21st century, racism doesn’t even exist anymore. If it ever did! What’s more, I’m glad we got rid of most of our best players. Who needs ’em? Hall of Fame, Superbowl-winning coaches have sometimes done that, so it makes complete sense that Chip should too!
Most of our best players have been replaced with better players.
Hoping that one day — when press conferences are offered, the tv audience actually gets to hear the questions…maybe one day…
So the Eagles’ pass rush was tied 2nd in the entire NFL last year (49) with less blitzing. Didn’t even realize that. I think the best pass defense starts at the defensive line. Anyone can run free if the QB is sitting back in a nice pocket. If they can get to the quarterback and it seems they have upgraded at one corner plus this talented linebacker from Buffalo. then I worry not about the short corner we lost. Speedy, creates turnovers, yes, but I think there are more guys here now that can carry that load. Yes, I’m in the minority, but I like living on the edge baby.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2015/5/18/8621745/eagles-pass-rush-sacks-stats-blitz-2014-fletcher-cox-brandon-graham-vinny-curry
From our friends over at Bleeding Green: “Another surprising part about Philadelphia’s pass rush is how effective it was without blitzing. According to Pro Football Focus (hat tip to Birds 24/7), the Eagles had the third best pass rush productivity without blitzing. In 2013, the Eagles ranked 18th in this category.”
Have we improved on that? Will losing Trent Cole hurt that? We didn’t have DeMeco for a long time from what I remember. My opinion: Overreaction all over this board. But I’m not even close to you guys as far as following what packages they run, etc. Like I said, I don’t feel overwhelmed by this.
Tommy is so on chip’s tip that he lost credibility
Wow, you need to seriously increase your reading comprehension skills. Then you need to crawl back under your rock.
You add nothing to the conversation. If you think Tommy’s lost all credibility, then please just go elsewhere.
Chip has had made moves that have infuriated me at first, but after consideration have seemed to make a lot of sense. Perhaps Tommy is just able to look at the moves objectively sooner.
Harsh and untrue. Tommy’s questioned many of Chip’s moves. He chooses to remain positive. Given that we’re from Negadelphia, and I’m as guilty of any in that regard, I enjoy Tommy’s relatively unbiased opinions.
Anyone who would use such a screen name is in the same category as any other overcompensating male.
http://nickandzuzu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Bucket-List-05-04-11-400×400.jpg
Well, one of those guys is a member of the 2015 Eagles
I took this from another site. That would make me a stealer.
Boykin took that ball from Miles Austin, that makes him a Steeler?
Alright last rant then I’ll take another gulp of the Kool-aid and moving on with my life:
1) I believe Boykin was the quickest and fastest player on our defense, He’s the only guy I thought could hang with Beckham on this team, was hoping we could capitalize on that.
2) Boykin was a special teams ace, we’ll need a new gunner to get Jones into the probowl
3) I grew up in PA and hate the Steelers almost as much as a division rival. Some of you will point out Chip knows what he’s doing and this will work out for the better for us because we’re unique. That said we have become the bargain shop for everyone else who is a conventional nfl team. Kills me to see Boykin go to that finally-way-past-their-prime Steelers D. He has a chance to thrive there, and it kills me.
The Eagles are far and away my team. If someone asked me who to consider as a distant second, I would say the 70’s Steelers who beat up on Landry’s Cowboys. There’s nothing more I hated than that 70’s Cowboys’ team, second only to the 90’s scumbags. The Steelers never bothered me, the Ravens, now that’s a team that bothers me. 90 minutes south, an established football team falls in their lap and they win a Super Bowl. They cried and bitched how Indianapolis stole their team unfairly, didn’t see them crying when they took the Browns from Cleveland. I understand the cross state thing, but they are so far away I can’t believe I share lottery tickets with them. There’s a few football towns closer to where I’m at than Pittsburgh. Plus it’s Pittsburgh, a boring, boring, boring place to be. Did I say boring? That’s an understatement.
Steelers aren’t in the division or conference and we don’t play them this year. One of the better teams to trade a player to IMO.
The scary thing about the Steelers aggressive pursuit of Boykin and getting the Eagles to to give him up is they eat, sleep and drink defense and may turn Boykin into a terror to play against.
If this is a “smart” move, I have no clue what would need to happen to actually see a criticism of a chip kelly move, but whatever. To each his own I guess.
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I have been on board with most of chips bold moves, but this is just dumb. if we had a 6 win season ahead of us, then yes it would be smart to get something for Boykin before we lose him at the end of the season… But to weaken our defense for a 5th round pick when we have the talent to make the playoffs is just dumb. I don’t see how I can get behind this move..
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Not that I cared dearly about what happens to Boykin after this next season, but there is NOTHING “smart” about weakening your defense a month before the season starts for a 5th round pick.
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Even if chip thought we don’t even need Boykin this year because our secondary is so good, I would rather have Boykin sit on our bench all year as insurance and then lose him for nothing, then to weaken our secondary and its depth by trading the best nickel in the game a month before the season starts..
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At full health, I believed strongly in this years secondary and love the direction it’s headed, but even if you are like me and were excited about our starting secondary this year, depth was always a concern. We don’t have depth to handle injuries..
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Our best two safeties competing to play Next to Jenkins are Wolff and Thurmond, two players who have been about as injury prone as it gets.. Behind them we have Jaylen Watkins, Couplin, Reynolds and Pros and Maragos who are special team players, not real safeties….. At CB we will now most likely start Nolan and Byron, with Jaylen Watkins as the Nickel, and Russell Shepard as the Dime which is a terrible idea. I have no desire to ever expect a rookie CB to play. If he happens to prove that he can handle it, great. But you don’t go into a season counting on rookie Corners.,. Because Boykin is gone, I assume our Dime Package goes out the window, and we will play Nickel all season, since Thurmond is basically an extra CB on 3rd down anyway,,, doubt we will line up in Dime this season..
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last years Dime corner, Nolan is moving outside, and we have two inexperienced young players Watkins and Shepard starting in the nickel and dime slot roles,,, how anyone can call that “smart” baffles me.
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Because we should be a playoff team this year, even if we thought that we didn’t even NEED Boykin this year, I would so much rather sit him on the bench and keep him as insurance during a playoff year, losing him for nothing at the end of the season, then to piss away our depth and trade him for a 5th round pick..,, NOTHING smart about prioritizing a 5th round pick over an NFL season
I think this move, and the decisions that led up to it, underline the inconsistency of Chip’s philosophy that the best players will play.
Boykin was certainly one of the best CB on the team in 2013 and, even though his play dipped a bit last year, an argument could be made he was in 2014 too. Yet Fletcher continued to play (and stink) and our team suffered due to those decisions.
All Boykin wanted was an opportunity to play on the outside; let me show what I can do, coach…no thanks, Brandon, back to nickel for you. And Boykin was frustrated and upset about that. He continued to play hard, but he knew at that point he was done here and would need to move on. It was clear the team did not believe in him and any athlete with any pride would not take that lying down.
I think that is at the heart of his comments after leaving about Chip, the control freak charge and the lack of comfort or understanding for players who are different than what/who Chip want them to be. This is not a race thing IMO, never has been. This is a control and power thing. Chip does not want any friction, any confrontation, any wrinkles and when they appear, as they always will since we are human beings, Chip does not seem to handle them very well or have much patience for them fall-out or consequences of the actions he takes to “fix” it.
Also, please do not put this on Billy Davis alone. Billy Davis is the DC, but this is Chip’s team and Chip manages/approves/oversees every single element of the team. Billy and Chip may have consulted on this approach, Billy may even agree with all of the size/height/body shape metrics Chip is looking for, but Chip is making the final calls and Billy is carrying out Chip’s orders. This is ultimately on Chip.
We do not know if Chip’s system will work, so far he’s done it with the players he inherited or was able to grab in his first off-season. This season’s team will be a much closer model to what he wants and we’ll know by the end what is what.
I completely agree with the 1st half of this. Disagree on the 2nd about not putting this on Billy. Billy was the one who flat out stated Fletch and Sconces were better than Boykin.
Chip has said, over and over, best player plays. Unfortunately, especially on defense, his size requirements have often gotten in the way of that philosophy. If I were Brandon Graham, I wouldn’t get too comfortable despite being resigned.
I said do not put it on Davis ALONE. Sure, Davis is responsible for his part as well, but Chip is in full control. Davis is the DC, but he does what Chip wants him to do. Again, Davis may even agree with all of it, but it does not matter because, even if he did not, he would need to carry out Chip’s orders and do things the way Chip wants them done if he wanted to retain his job. Like most of the players, we’ll probably hear what Davis really thinks once he leaves the Eagles.
Davis leaving can’t come soon enough 🙂 Point taken though.
Chip: We’re trading you to Pittsburgh
Boykin: My eyes are down here, coach
#measurables
So it’s “smart” to trade one of the elite Nickel CBs in the game, not only weakening our starting secondary but also hurting our depth which was already a concern, over a 5th round pick?
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It’s “smart” to give away an elite slot Corner and be left to go into the season with probably Jaylen Watkins at nickel and rookie Russell Shepard at Dime? Two young players who have no NFL experience?
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Its smart to trade away a young player who is still growing and was probably going to have his best season as an eagle for a 5th round pick rather then lose him for nothing? Maybe if we were a 6 win team this year we could make that case, but to give away our most talented inside CB a month before the season, taking a playmaker away from what already was a team weakness is something I can’t call “smart”
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With Boykin gone, we are going into a season where we should make the playoffs with our best inside CB now being Walter Thurmond. problem is:
1) Walter Thurmond may have to start at safety
2) Thurmond will never be mistaken for a “durable” player..
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A 5th round pick is soooo not worth weakening what already was the weakness of our team, when we should be trying to contend. With the state of our secondary going into this season, I would pay a 5th round pick for 1yr of Boykin in a heartbeat.. I would pay a 5th round pick just to keep Boykin for a year on the bench as insurance..
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There is nothing remotely smart about prioritizing getting a 5th round pick for losing Boykin, over the success of this upcoming season.
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I have agreed with most of what Chip has done, but I don’t understand how anyone can defend this or how anyone can be happy to weaken our secondary over a 5th round pick. I would so much have rather lost Boykin for nothing at the end of the season, instead of weakening both our starting secondary and its depth of what should be a playoff team over a 5th round pick…
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I didn’t even think spadaro could fathom a way to defend this crap…
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When August rolls around, the entire FOCUS needs to be on improving the team as much as possible to have a successful season. EVERYTHING you do starting in August should be about having the best chance at success this up coming season.. If we do ANYTHING, it should be ONLY to strengthen the team. No clue how anyone can argue for weakening what should be a playoff team the month before the season for a 5th round pick, but whatever..
the ONLY thing good to come out of this is shutting people up and putting an end to the absurd Narrative of giving away Kendricks…
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I think this was a dumb move that has the ability to Fuck our season up, and I can’t disagree with the move more. Losing Boykin in free agency was better then not having him this year for a 5th round pick…..
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With that said, As against this move as I am, I think it’s disgusting and Absurd that our GM can’t run this team how he wants, without Ignorant, trashy, Pathetic, poor excuse for men playing the Tired, lame, pathetic race card,
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I have never seen anything like this. A sport dominated by black players, An offseason where we barely even added any white players, yet a man with a clean past can’t run his team and make whatever decision he wants without black peoples crying bloody murder.. Smh. This is absurd, and it’s not really Boykin, it’s fans and media who brought this bullshit up after we traded Boykin…. Even accusing someone of Racism can be so damaging in the court of public opinion, a man like chip who dedicated his life to this sport, and has tried to put together a quality team full of good people does not deserve to have his name dragged thru the mud, every time he makes a fuckin roster move. It’s pathetic, and such a trashy reflection of our society.
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It’s 2015 and you can’t disagree with a roster move without playing the race card? Grow up… I think Chip trading Boykin NOW is flat out stupid, but to once again bring race into the equation is fuckin disgusting., Media was never going to let Boykin be happy being a top Nickel corner, and I don’t know how long chip will want to stay in a place where he can’t even make decisions without getting accused of being a racist.. We can’t have anything good in this city. We have a good coach, who seems like a really good man, and we are basically intent on chasing him away,, who the hell would want to put up with this crap? Who would want to be called a Racist every friggin time he makes a roster decision?
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Funny how when Chip is handing Black men like Byron Maxwell $60million dollars, you don’t hear a fucking word about race..
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The Chip Kelly’s racist talk, to me is as disgusting as what guys like Greg Hardy and Junior Gallette do. Publically accused of Racism In 2015 is a very serious accusation. To tarnish a mans reputation who dedicated his life to this game is just trashy and disgusting, and while I think this was probably the worst decision chip has made since joining the Eagles, it’s disgusting that people are once again inserting the color of a mans skin into the decision, and chip Kelly deserves better then that.
I’m not quite as against this move as you are (though not completely in agreement with it either) but you’re dead on with this. Sick to death of this f’ing racism crap.
I’m actually fine with losing Boykin, I just despise the timing of it,,. Lose him at the end of the year to free agency and I’m fine with it.. But to not have him for this season over a mid round pick is foolish IMO. At this point EVERYTHING NEEDS to be about being the best team we can be THIS YEAR and getting rid of boykin ISNT in our best interest for september football.
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But yes, the Racism talk is a friggin Joke… Of course, only the black players who thought they were safe here with contracts who chip cut or traded out of the blue say this trash.. The black players who leave us in free agency after their contracts expire don’t have anything bad to say about Chip like Maclin, Nate, Bradley Fletcher…. Yet as soon as a black player gets traded or cut when he didn’t expect it, like COle, Deseean, Shady, Boykin, it’s bloody racist murder.. Smh what a disgusting Joke!.. And you don’t hear any Blackmen who recently got paid say anything like this….shocker.. Sounds like trashy, butt hurt, emotional cripples who’s egos can’t handle being cut or traded to me…
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Sucks for guys like James Casey who get cut and can’t play the pathetic, ignorant race card to pad the blow to his ego…
I think Tommy writes fine articles and his opinion, whether you agree or not, is nice to hear without having to read him whining or crying. Why some(tiny minority) get upset about that, say he’s Chip’s boy, blah freaking blah is their problem. I think being level headed and giving his feedback on what’s going on without needing a diaper change and a bottle is refreshing. Hey, you can always listen to Eskin, Missanelli or Cataldi if that’s your thing.
There’s very little if any positive spin that one can put on this. This year we are without question weakened substantially by this move. Now rather than having one of, if not the best nickel CB we are relying on a rookie (6th round pick) most likely to step up. Next year we get an extra 5th rounder…meh, I’d rather have Boykin for one more year and get nothing when he left in FA honestly.
If Boykin was going to be moved, now was the time. Keep him for the year then get nothing back would be foolish and the usual screamers would go on about that. If he doesn’t really fit the scheme, trade him to a non-conference team who just lost half their defensive backfield and give him a chance to start, and make some money.
One thing to not overlook is that Boykin was our best gunner on punt coverage…how many times did we hear his name called downing a punt inside the 20…I hope someone else can do that….just saying…