Ravens-Eagles Practice #2
Posted: August 20th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 295 Comments »The Eagles and Ravens hooked up for another joint practice on Thursday. Sadly, this is the last full practice we’ll get to read about. Friday is going to be a walkthrough for Saturday’s game. And when the Eagles return to practice on Monday, it will considered a normal football practice and there will be limited access for the media.
Let’s start with some notes from Jimmy Bama.
Vinny Curry got reps at OLB, like he has over the last week. As noted when we reported almost a week ago that he would see reps at OLB, the Eagles don’t want him dropping into coverage, but when he does, his drops will be very simple. He dropped a few times today, and honestly, it didn’t look awful.
As a pass rusher, Curry looks really big standing out there on the edge. Curry is about 280 pounds, and he was able to jolt the Ravens’ RT back into the pocket with a running start from his OLB spot. He didn’t even bother trying a pass rush move; he just ran/crashed into the RT and moved him against his will. Curry said he talks to Trent Cole every day. Obviously, Cole moved from 4-3 DE to 3-4 OLB. Curry has moved from 4-3 DE to two-gap 3-4 DE to 3-4 OLB. That’s very impressive from an athleticism standpoint.
I’m all for doing anything that means more reps for Curry. And to his credit, he has embraced whatever the coaching staff has asked of him for the past 2.5 years. When Chip Kelly first got here, Curry struggled to let go of his attacking, 1-gap ways. But he did. He embraced the 2-gap system and worked hard to become functional at that, all the while remaining a terrific pass rusher.
Josh Huff made a Ravens defender look silly on a kick return. Huff faked like he was going to run to the outside, but he stuck his foot in the dirt and had a nasty cut inside. The Ravens defender was frozen, and Huff ran right by him. I think Darren Sproles will once again be the Eagles’ punt returner, and I’d lean toward Huff as the primary kick returner.
Huff returned a kickoff for a TD last year in the preseason and then in the regular season. He has the speed, toughness and skill to be very good in that role. Whether Huff is a starting receiver this year or not, he could be an important role player. He has big play ability.
* * * * *
Next up is Brandon Lee Gowton.
Jordan Matthews has looked awesome this summer. He’s looked so good that I unintentionally ignore his greatness sometimes because it’s already to be expected at this point. But today was an especially good day for him. It started off when he made some tough catches going up one-on-one against Ravens defensive backs. No matter how difficult the catch, he would pull it off. His best one was on a diving grab to catch a Bradford throw. More on Matthews later.
Bradford targeted Matthews deep. The wide receiver only got one hand on the ball before it fell incomplete. Matthews wanted a flag on the play and he got it. A little later on, Bradford targeted Matthews deep again. And guess what? Matthews couldn’t catch it because a Ravens defensive back was hanging on him like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Another flag. Baltimore just couldn’t handle Jordan Matthews.
Great point by BLG that sometimes we take players for granted. It is easy to forget Matthews and focus on other receivers who we have questions about. Those guys are more interesting because we don’t know what to make of them. But it is good to recognize how good of a player Matthews has become in only his second season.
Denzel Rice forced a fumble on the Ravens’ kick returner during a special teams drill. He ripped it out and then recovered it right away. This is at least the second time he’s done that this summer. The first time I can remember was against Tim Tebow. The undrafted rookie free agent is really doing his best to push for a roster spot.
Rice continues to make things happen in practice. That’s what you have to do to move up from the bottom of the depth chart. I don’t know if Rice will be able to make the final roster, but he has a great chance to make the practice squad.
I don’t miss the days of Curtis Marsh, Roc Carmichael and Brandon Hughes being the backup CBs.
* * * * *
Ravens first time offense has struggled to consistently move ball past two days. Eagles not having same problem.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) August 20, 2015
h/t BGN
* * * * *
E.J. Biggers flashes again, intercepting Matt Schaub along the left sideline.
“Bigs has done a really nice job,” said Chip Kelly. “He’s competing. He’s got versatility because he’s played safety before, he’s played nickel before, he’s played outside corner. But he’s a guy that I think has shown up really on a consistent basis for us and someone that’s got some experience. Another guy that doesn’t get rattled back there…I’ve been really happy with what Bigs has done so far.”
Bigs. Good sign for Bigs.
One of the reasons a young player like Rice isn’t likely to make the roster is that Biggers has played better this summer and seems more likely to make the team. Biggers didn’t play well in 2014, but he has made the most of his opportunity this year and has impressed everyone. He offers depth on the outside and as the Nickelback.
Let’s dive right into the action. One-on-ones are underway. The Eagles’ defensive backs are going up against the Ravens receivers on the far right field. Walter Thurmond gets things off to a positive note for the hosts with an interception on a ball intended for Michael Campanaro.
Every day it seems like Thurmond comes up with a pick or makes some kind of standout play. That’s important for him. If you have a Safety who is a converted corner and isn’t going to be a great hitter/tackler, he needs to make plays in the passing game. So far Thurmond is doing exactly that.
Nobody got real fired up when the Eagles signed Biggers or Thurmond, but those guys could prove to be good players for the Eagles this year.
* * * * *
Last, but certainly not least, Jeff McLane.
Cody Parkey bounced back after a shaky Wednesday. The Eagles kicker was 7 of 7 on his kicks. He converted two PAT-length (32 yards) boots, and then was good from approximately 40, 44, 33, 37 and 45 yards. Parkey didn’t attempt any kicks from beyond that distance. The Eagles are clearly trying to bolster his confidence. He may have lost a little of that juice after watching Ravens kicker Justin Tucker nail a field goal attempt (without a rush) from around 70 (!) yards. Showoff.
Good. Parkey had been struggling a bit of late. He was terrific last year so you don’t want to make too much of a couple of up and down days in the summer. At the same time, history has shown that kickers can go up and down from year to year. Everyone will feel better if Parkey has a good game on Saturday.
Back to team two-minute offense drills, and Bradford marched the Eagles down the field for a “touchdown” on nine plays. The sequence: Bradford hit Sproles on a wheel route, Huff on a screen, Sproles over the middle for a big gainer when he beat the linebacker, and then he spiked the ball to stop the clock. Bradford then connected with Cooper, who made a diving grab, he handed off to Ryan Mathews for a short gain, and airmailed a pass to Huff out of the end zone. Then on third down, Bradford threw a fade into the corner of the end zone to Jordan Matthews, who drew a pass interference penalty. Kenjon Barner ran from a yard out on the next play for the score. Parkey’s PAT was good.
It sounds like Sam will play on Saturday. I can’t wait to see him. He had a solid showing in the spring and then took things up a notch this summer. He hasn’t been perfect. And his knee will keep us on edge. But Bradford feels like he could be a monster QB in this offense.
Is it Saturday night yet?
* * * * *
MISC
* Andrew Gardner was the RG again.
* OLB Marcus Smith got hurt. He will have an MRI to check on his hamstring. The Eagles are losing backup OLBs left and right.
* The ILBs were back on the field. It will be interesting to see if Ryans, Alonso and/or Kendricks play this week. That is a trio of quality veteran players so there is no need to rush them back. Still, it would be nice to see them in action, especially Alonso. He could prove to be a terrific addition to the defense.
_
EJ Manuel is probably going to be traded. I wonder if we’ll have any interest if Sanchez continues to look bad.
Ew…No thanks
I don’t think he’s that bad and his worth won’t be high. Tannehill looked like crap too and he’s finally turning out to be decent.
Tannehill looked better then Manuel did his first 2 years and Tannehill played WR the majority of his college career.
No thanks in Manuel, he is garbage.
Not really. Tannehill looked like the next coming of awful Nick Foles. Manuel might not be a starter in the league but he’s definitely better than Tebow and Barkley. He has a high enough ceiling to push Sanchez out of the team if Chip can set him right.
Tannehill and Foles are nothing alike, though? Nick Foles is a flat-footed, down the field attacker with an inconsistent deep pass. Tannehill uses a lot of short passes to dink-and-dunk down the field and is fast enough to use his legs if something goes wrong.
There is a reason as to why Manuel was almost tossed to the side before competition even pretty much started at the position.
Geno Smith has done better then him.
Foles is a FAR better QB then him at every point throughout his career.
He does not in anyway posses the accuracy or the ability to read a D and his progressions the way Chip/everyone else in the NFL wants.
He was grossly over drafted due to an extremely weak QB class and just the nature of his position.
My neighbor is a die hard bills fan who had Sunday Ticket last year. I have unfortunately watched Manuel play much more then the average fan. It’s ugly.
I’ve also been stuck down here in Florida for three years so I can tell you without a doubt (have seen it on a constant basis) that Tannehill despite his relatively short experience as a QB has always been hands down superior to Manuel.
He’s still a project QB that has a decent ceiling (surprise surprise just like he was coming out of college) that could be flipped for more if you can fix some of his mistakes and get his confidence back. Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan won’t do any good for his progression. Tannehill stunk as a rookie and slowly got better through out 3 years. Put him in Chips hand for a few years and see if he’s actually that bad since youc an’t do worse than Tebow or Barkley.
1. Tannehill has vastly gotten better since his rookie year. As a developmental QB he developed.
2. Manuel did not have progression from his rookie year, at times looking worse. As a developmental QB he did not develop. Surprise surprise?
3. Your initial statement had us trading Sanchez for him, not Barkley or Tebow.
4. Barkley may not have the same arm strength, but he is more accurate then Manuel. Barkley is also better at his progressions.
5. There is a reason why he pretty much got shut out of their QB competition from the start.
6. As somebody that has seen him in action way more then you and probably anyone else on this blog I am telling you he is a #3 tops. You can say whatever you please about him but untill you really watch him I don’t think you fully know what you are talking about in regards to him.
7. I would rather keep Barkley over him and try to continue to develop Barkley whom has seemingly shown more growth then Manuel.
8. In order to develop him you first have to obtain him/have a want to obtain him.
Name one trait other then decent athleticism (completely overblown trait that Chip is rumored to seek) that Chip looks for in a QB that Manuel retains.
Accuracy? No
Arm power? Average
Decision making? Poor
Ability to read D? Has not shown
Ability to read progressions? Hasn’t shown
Turnover prone? Yes. At times even emmbarasing
Mentally tough? No. He reportedly quickly loses confidence and has been called mentally soft.
Leader? Reportedly no
Sound like somebody Chip would pursue?
eh…I have a good buddy who’s from Buffalo that I watch football with most Sundays, so I unfortunately have to watch a decent amount of Bills games, so I’ve seen a good amount of EJ. He’s pretty atrocious. I saw him play live in Houston last year and it was one of the ugliest QB performances I’ve ever witnessed in the flesh. And, I’ve had season tickets to the birds long enough to have watched Bubby Brister live, so let’s just say it was high in the running for most atrocious displays of QBing in all of recorded time. He had WRs open all over the place and still did not complete a single pass that traveled more than 7 yards from his hand. To be fair it was one of his particularly bad days. But, the stuff I was forced to witness on their TV broadcasts weren’t much better. I just don’t see a player that has the skills to develop into a functional passer, and it’s not like he adds an extra dimension as a runner either.
Well, at least you got see some really good defensive play.
How bout that LB named Kiko?
I heard he was a str8 up BEAST.
We do have Tebow on the roster and Manuel is better than Tebow 2.0. He has a better arm than Barkley but he has the same deer in headlight moments. There’s far worse #3 QBs.
Nope. Sanchez didn’t play good but Manuel is worse. Kelly has a comfort level with Sanchez. That’s important when your starter is injury prone.
how many bills game did you watch?
What a cop out reply.
Naw, I’m just curious to see how many people just bash on a guy without extensive knowledge.
hes the 3 qb in that awesome group so the coaches have seen plenty. He did have a TD in the 4th qtr though. Ok to be fair they should give him more time to develop, dont think the last coach did him justice
He has Rex Ryan now. That’s pretty much QB career genocide right there.
Yeah, I think Sanchez drank too many red bulls before the game.
He will settle down and make those throws most of the time.
As Aaron Rogers once said, “RELAX”.
Agree, many a better player then him have had some first game action of season jitters.
doubt they are looking to use a pick for a QB right now
The guy CK just signed for 2 years? Not happening.
The big fish will be RG3. If he’s released after the season, it will be interesting to see if Chip takes a bite. It will be awesome if Bradford plays great and gets a big contract. Robert could come in and learn.
NO NO NO NO NO!
no on RG and absolute no EJ.
Kind of funny how everyone was so quick to jump on the Bradford hype train because #ChipKellyQBMagician but overall nobody seems to wanna go after RG3 if he gets cut.
I dont won’t Griffin either, but still interesting that he didn’t get the Bradford treatment, considering their similarities on the injuries and circumstances, yet RG3s rookie season was arguably better than any of Bradfords season in the NFL. Maybe its because RG3 seems like a dick.
Actually, I think Bradford is a way better QB than RG3.
Watch how good he plays in this offense.
He will be top 5 before the end of the season.
i said the same thing, but Chip probably doesn’t like his off the field B.S.
Doubt Chip will be interested
Hopefully that’s the last time someone refers to RG3 as “the big fish”. He’s more of a fish you catch then throw back, he is garbage.
I don’t think RG3 is starting another game in his career. He’s just broken now.
NO!
EJ Manuel would NEVER be considered for our #2 QB… If they had ANY interest in working with him if would be as a #3 developmental QB instead of Barkley or Tebiw…
Well that’s what I said down below. We knew he was a project QB when he was coming out.
LOL what an IDIOT!!! BWAHAHAHA
Biggers is betters
biggers people beat up litters people?
Well done.
Brandon Boykin is not amused.
Neither is Missanelli
biggers peoples beats up littlers peoples
..
well done indeed, im just suggested a mild adjustments
Better to be Big than Small.
Nice to know we’re ahead of the Ravens at this point in camp. That’s a good sign.
I don’t view Kiko as a grizzled veteran who has plateaued or anything. I think he actually still has a sophomore leap in him since his second year was a wash. But you’re right Tommy, he’s already good enough that we just want him healthy first and foremost, especially because we’re talking about a concussion. Continued growth will come.
In the ACV tradition I invite everyone to take a trip behind enemy lines. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-steve-smith-sr-agitates-minor-altercations-break-out-between-ravens-eagles-20150820-story.html
Lots of positivity on this practice. The Baltimore reporter did not ignore that the Eagles offense was moving. Mentioned concern about Jimmy Smith, he got beat Riley Cooper and Mike Johnson…? we have a Mike Johnson? Ooof that’s not good
RGKnee got the snot knocked out him again (concussion, shoulder). ESPN reports that the blame is half on a bad OL and half on RGIII.
I have no problem with Chip being extra cautious with Sammy. If our OL isn’t ready for Saturday, give them another week to get it straight before putting Sam out there.
Ex eagle Philip hunt put a good hit on him…..
Their OLine wasn’t playing well and he was under fire the whole time he was in there.
I was expecting to hear the opposite out of our fans. I agree, one play he was just setting his feet and the center was pushed 4 ft back into him. Some of them were on him though, he had an outlet to the RB right in front of him and he tried to scramble up in the pocket. I think it was the one he got hurt on which looked the tamest of all of them. The other QBs didnt have that problem either so part of its on him but ya, that line looked horrible. Seattle also having some issues on O line I saw. We complain about a guard spot, we should be somewhat thankful as a lot of teams have far worse issues.
Those guys blocking for RG3 do not deserve to to be referred to as an O line.
More like the open doormen.
Sheesh.
i actually feel kinda bad for the guy. dude got CRUSHED over and over again.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Good article on OL play, specifically the adjustments T’s have to make when they kick inside.
http://grantland.com/features/guard-tackle-interior-offensive-linemen-nfl/
Good read! Thanks.
The fact that this starts with Mitch Morse, a guy who I believed you liked in the draft, is awesome.
Loved me some morse.
Always enjoy the Grantland guys.
And when I read “kick inside” I thought this was going to be about Peters and Johnson having to physically slide a step or two inside to assist poor guard play.
Good Stuff — hope MS is OK.
Agreed. I’m hoping we’re just talking some level of “tweak” that doesn’t lead to him missing significant time.
LOL – Jason Kelce fined.
https://twitter.com/Jkelce/status/634514336149585920
Well, if Parkey continues to struggle we know who to turn to now.
Continue to struggle? parkey hit 9 of 9 kicks yesterday…
.
Parkey had an Probowl season last year, but I’m sure he had days in practice were he was off, our media just wasn’t at practice to see it…. No reason to worry about Parkey, kid is a stud, he will be ready to roll for the season
I think he was just making a joke, I don’t think he was serious. Or at least that’s how I read it.
Why would you not take replacing Parkey with Kelce as placekicker seriously? Works in a video game. That dude must weigh, what, 280 pounds in real life? So Kelce could probably boot a football about 1500 yards through the uprights. Can’t believe Chip hasn’t tried this yet.
The striking difference I’ve seen this year is just how often the kickers are put in the spotlight. There are no more anonymous kickers. Suddenly kicker is an extremely important position that plays a larger role in the game, and I don’t know if that was an intended side-effect. Suddenly Kickers are kicking 25-50 extra significant kicks a season. We are going to be seeing more misses, so we’re going to have to get used to more misses being in the ole memory banks. Just have to keep it in statistical context.
Can we replace footballs with Packers? That might make things interesting.
I assume this is from our Division Round game on January 16th or 17th in Green Bay?
Maybe NFC Championship game the following week?
How’s that hamstring Marcus? Must hurt really bad. IR? There’s really no reason to cut Marcus Smith, because you have to pay him anyway, but if he can’t rush the passer there’s no reason not to play Brad Jones + Curry for pass rushes, with Braman as a backup (no worse than Smith), so IR. Jones, Kendricks/Ryan, Hicks, Braman makes 8 LBs, + Curry. That enables you to go heavier in other positions, unless they want to keep Acho on the 53. Unless of course there’s a sign Smith could contribute this year.
I’m sorry, you think we should cut Smith? I doesn’t seem like a major injury, but even if it was… what?
“There’s really no reason to cut Marcus Smith”
well to be fair, you’re leaving out the caveat now that your original post had (“…because you have to pay him anyway”). That did make it sound like you would have wanted to cut Smith, but since we have to pay him anyways, it would be pointless to cut him, so why not do the next best thing and just IR him, which is essentially like cutting him for this year, but still retaining his future rights.
If someone wants to explain why they think Smith could be better than Jones this year I’d be interested in that discussion. Putting words in my mouth and then saying that not reposting a full statement that is two posts up in the discussion is “leaving out” something for some reason is not so interesting.
Smith will be better this year because he’s superior in every way physically and not a rookie buried by three starting quality players anymore.
Jones is faster in all his timed speed sessions by a large margin over Smith and he plays much faster. Smith is bigger but Jones is still a better pass rusher, in addition to being better in all phases of the game.
Well, if that was the case why is Jones a back of the roster type? Shouldn’t people be talking about him for OLB #3?
If he’s such a good pass rusher, why did we sign him originally as an ILB? Why is he an ILB at all?
You’re right it’s not interesting at all. Especially your original post. I was just trying to point out why there might have been confusion. You’re statement made it sound like you were considering cutting MS2 and the only reason not to cut him would be BECAUSE you have to pay him anyways, so might as well just put him on IR. No one put words in your mouth, that’s an accurate paraphrase of what you wrote. “There’s no reason to cut him, BECAUSE you have to pay him anyway, BUT…” When someone asked you if you were really at the point of wanting to cut Smith over a hamstring strain, you gave a slightly smart ass response of just requoting yourself as if they had poor reading comprehension. But you requoting only half the sentence. Taken out of context you said “there’s no reason to cut MS2”, but the BECAUSE and BUT that follow change the overall meaning of that sentence dramatically. So I decided to defend the guy asking the question, because I got the same impression from what you wrote and possibly give you some insight into why someone would get that impression from what you wrote.
But, you’re right, that was incredibly uninteresting. So glad we cleared that up…see Ya out there.
I’m not saying Smith should be cut, but check out these stats:
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/9554/marcus-smith
Damn.
There is a reason to play him if he “can’t rush the passer” (reworded: it’s not his strength). He fills the role that Barwin was initially supposed to fill of the coverage/run stopping OLB, though until he develops a pass rush repertoire, he won’t do it quite as well (frankly, I don’t think they expected Barwin’s pass rush to be quite as strong as it turned out to be).
In other words, I don’t think they are ready to cast Smith aside, or play him behind Brad Jones, who doesn’t have much more going than Smith except maybe ILB versatility.
This, 100%.
OK thanks for being on topic. I still am not convinced though that Smith is better than Jones in any area of the game, and they’re not going to cut Jones and shouldn’t.
actually the problem with my little plan is that because Smith is guaranteed for 2 years, he has no incentive to accept IR unless he’s really out for the season. He’d be better off getting cut because he’ll still get paid and get a chance to play elsewhere. Players accept IR because they’d lose their salary otherwise. It’s a shame because the idea was such a hit on this board. So I guess he’ll be riding the healthy scratch list for another campaign.
I fail to see anything gained by cutting him. It’s not like there’s a backlog of guys at OLB who we’d be giving a bigger chance. Curry is here no matter what. We actually might need an additional OLB. Cutting Smith does zero for the team.
And more to the point, I seriously can’t stand this anti-Smith stuff. Everyone gets so angry about him underperforming for a first round pick that they lose all sense and reason when evaluating his actual performance and worth. He looked good the other day. He was expected to be a “redshirt” type of draft pick. There is no real reason for people to get so freaking angry at him that they would think that cutting him is somehow even a remotely advisable move.
Marcus Smith said he would be out 2-3 weeks.
Why Your Team Sucks made it to us…
http://deadspin.com/why-your-team-sucks-2015-philadelphia-eagles-1725165274
Seems super incorrect, even by their own standards.
Well, they couldn’t really write, “Um, we got nothin’.” as the entire article.
It wasn’t his best showing, though it’s interesting to see the national perspective.
Still think Marcus Smith will make the team but he’s going to miss the final preparation for the regular season and other guys are going to pass him in the rotation. Unless those other players perform poorly, it’s going to be hard for him to re-establish himself.
I think he’ll be okay as long as he gets his speed/strength back. He’s the 1st rotation guy and I don’t see anyone taking that over. Maybe Curry at the Predator, but I think MS2 will still be the 1st one up in the Jack.
Still think marcus will make the team? Wtf, is that really a question?
I think Huff will also make the team
good Chance Fletcher Cox makes this roster if he plays well in the next two PS games…
No way Brad Jones or Braman is close to Smiths level of OLB play despite Smith not been good
Chip said something that I found interesting,.. Chip mentioned that we need to find 8 or 9 DBs that can play…. Interesting because I always assumed we would keep 10 DBs, 5 corners, and 5 safeties…
CB:
1) B-Max
2) Nolan
3) RoWE
4) Watkins
5) Biggers vs Rice for the 5th spot
..
safety:
1) Jenkins
2)’Thurmond
3) Maragos
4) Proz
5) Couplin vs. Reynolds
…
but if we only keep 8 or 9 DBs we would get to keep an extra Lineman, or a 4th RB AND TE (Tomilson)
..
I’d be a little afraid of keeping less then 10 DBs (injuries)… But the one reason we could pull this off is because we built a stable of versatile DBs who can play multiple positions in the secondary… Today Billy Davis said that Next Week we will get Nolan some slot corner reps, and that we will give our Safetis some slot corner reps next week, just to cross train all our DBs..
Or a 5th RB if he wants to keep both Barner and Mostert and tuck Tomlinson on the practice squad.
Doubt we ever see 5 RBs…. but yes it’s possible.
..
Curious to see how many offensive lineman we keep…. Last year Our backup OL played so well that we kept what 9? 10 lineman? Turns out our OL were dropping like Flies to injury so we were fortunate to keep extra OL..
..
NO idea how many Lineman we keep this year..
5 starters
Tobin
Moffit
Graff vs Kelly vs. Vandervelde vs Molk (keep 1 or 2 of these names)
..
I assume we will keep all 7 DL, dress 6, deactivate 1…
I think it depends. The only reason I think it’s probable this year is how much they want to run the ball, and having depth there helps. I’d also wouldn’t be surprised at an extra WR, since they talk about bringing them in waves.
What was the context of the comment? Was it more of “We need 8 or 9 DBs that can play (and then we will have enough on the roster)” or was it more “We need 8 or 9 DBs that can play (right now while we develop guys in the last slot or two)” in the context? Do you have a link to it?
I don’t think he meant to give up that info, people were asking depth Chart questions aand Chip said, right now all we are trying to do is find 8 or 9 DBs that we can go into the season with… He didn’t say it in yesterday’s press Confrence so it was the press Confrence earlier this week, either Weds or Tues,,,
Yeah, good point. Chip isn’t giving us those details at this point.
There is some seriously strong ganja being passed around our division rivals’ locker rooms:
“Rueben Randle believes the Giants’ passing offense will be ‘close to unstoppable.’
“If we can protect Eli (Manning), give us time to get open downfield, there’s not really a coverage you can put out there to stop us,” Randle said.
the second statement is actually true. And it’s a huge if with that O-line.
Big if. Only thing elite on that offense are the WRs and if the good Eli comes out. RBs and TEs aren’t going to scare anyone and OL is questionable at best. Even if their o-line is better then expected it’s a far cry from “Unstoppable”.
unstoppable was from statement 1
I know I’m referring to Randel’s comments in general
If they stay healthy, Rashard Jennings is a decent RB, Shane Vereen is a nice Sproles type for 3rd down.. larry Donnell is coming off an injury but when healthy he is a decent weapon… They certainly could have some nice firepower,…. But they have talent at the sexy positions, the important meat n potatoes positions they are weak like “clock radio speakers”…
..
that OL, is probably even worse then the Skins OL, they probably have the worst defense in our division, Not only is tbeir sexondary pretty weak, but they shours struggle to generate a pass rush..
..
I’d rather have NO WEAPONS then to be so weak at OL, Defense.. They got a few decent pieces on Defense, but Defense is NOTHING if they DONT play as a cohesive unit, but they have some really weak links in their chain of Defense
Agree on the OL but even their weapons don’t seem that good outside of the WR group. Jennings averaged 3.8 YPC last year which is on par for his career, doesn’t worry me a bit. Vereen could be dangerous but not a workhorse back. Donnell is an average TE, numbers bit inflated from playing behind but he’s ok.
Their defense is just a joke. They still have Cullenn Jenkins starting at DT. I’ve got friends who are giants fan and their expectation is playoffs, I have no freaking idea how.
Yeah think they are closer to the skins, then they are to winning the division which is pretty pathetic considering how week our division is,, I don’t get how some people think the Cowboys are some 11-5 12-4 team to beat…
1 or two things don’t go Dallas way, and that team could easily Implode.
If I was a Dallas fan, I would worry as much about Romo getting injured as SAM Bradford getting injured,… romo plays thru injuries, but the man is close to 40yrs old and he has been dealing with that Back for YEARS which is why I think it’s so insane they gave away Demarco and replaced him with dog crap. They should be asking less and less of Romo with every year he gets older.. Instead they are putting him in position to have to carry that team which is crazy…and they haven’t even thought about getting a young QB to groom behind him
..
They are a team full of mercenary scumbags that many teams WOULDNT touch… Greg Hardy, Rolondo McClain, Randy Gregory, Demarcus Lawrence had some knucklehead in him coming out of college… Lineman Doug Free and Ronald Leary have struggled with some injuries, doubt Free ever plays 16 games again,,Sean Lee Is made of glass… Didn’t they lose the LB Durrant? I actually liked him… Mincy is Meh, DT Crawford they view as their “secret weapon”.. secondary is NOTHNG special…if they face adversity, they could fall apart because of the Charecter and culture they built….You can’t ALWAYS overlook Character and just go for the talent.. dallas is going to find that out the next few years..
..
If we had to play with Sanchez all 16 games, I still would exect us to be better then skins, Giants .. I’d bet Sanchez and the Eagles have a better chance of winning the division over Tony Romo led Dallas, then Brandon Weeden Dallas has any shot at beating Bradford led Eagles for the division.
..
CANT WAIT TIL week 2 aka “The Revenge of Demarco Bowl”
Isnt the 2nd statement true with any offense?
No, D Mac had an incredible O line in the early 2000’s. That team was great, but that offense was a long long way from what the second statement was describing.
wow, Brandon Scherff got abused last night
very excited about how things have went for SAM Bradford.
..
We were told he would be et healthy and ready to Ramp it up by the beginning of camp, and that’s exactly what has happened.. Bradford has practiced every day, taken all his reps, didn’t need to sit out at all, hasn’t had any swelling or discomfort in his knee.. And is very anxious to play a real game, even looking forward to taking a hit or two.
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Allegedly our OL has done a really good job shutting down the Ravens pass rush all week. Suggs, Dumervillle, our OL hasn’t allowed the Ravens defense to pressure Bradford … So AWESOME to have LANE and JP to trust keeping edge rushers off of SAM
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Multiple Baltimore media members say Our offense had no trouble moving against the Ravens defense, but that the Ravens offense struggled with the SAM Bradford offense!…
..
I have a Feeling that Sumday morning we will wake up to an Explosion of Bradford Mania taking over the Deleware Valley… After Chip unveils bradford tomorrow, the Eagles are going to be the talk of the NFL next week..
And that’s when the Dallas fans start getting scared.
I want to put $100 on Bradford winning the MVP…. Obviously I wouldn’t expect to win that bet, but 50-1 Odds is worth the risk..
..
if MIke Vick could explode under Andy in 2010 and come very close to winning MVP, then there is a chance that if SAM can stay healthy for a season, he puts up INSANE Stats in Chips offense… If SAM plays 16 games, I assume our record would be very good, and he will have raćked up crazy stats in chips offense… Big Ben should put up BIG Numbers this year, but our D will be much better then the steelers…
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I can’t find odds to bet on NFL comeback player of the year
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Its practice. OL OLB and S are going to get killed when the real shots get fired. Chip Kelly is garbage
False.
I was hoping he had moved on by now
lol False.
He would if people would stop responding.
just talk about him like hes not here, or a child.
I agree with your first statement, and I am concerned.
Hopefully they all settle things with football games and no guns are involved. That would be tragic indeed.
Football with guns….. hmmm.
https://twitter.com/MattLombardo975/status/634780641456979975
I just found out that I have the first pick in the fantasy league in which I play. 14 teams. Suggestions?
Standard scoring Bell, Peterson, Lacy, Lynch you cant go wrong with. PPR I would A. Brown, Demarco (because he is going to catch a good amount of passes), or Bell, but really Brown is the no brainer there with the 120 catches he’ll most likely get this year.
Heh, Peterson was my “can’t go wrong” pick last year. I was thinking about taking him again, figuring karma owes me.
It isn’t PPR.
Peterson screwed me over in one of my leagues last year as well, but this year in that offense that actually has a passing game and a legit QB I can see him going off big time this year.
Plus, he is healthy, fresh, and angry.
My point exactly.
it’s crazy when you think about the percentage of offense that is going to go through Bell/Brown
The big 3 there are all awesome picks.
Ben is going to quietly have a top5 season probably.
As long as he’s healthy top 5 easily.
yeah I picked him up mid-season last year, was great in the playoffs
I went with bell
How long is he suspended?
2 games.
I think that might be too many for me to take him. With the bye he will miss 3 out of 16 weeks? That is almost 20% of the time.
…meh just make sure you grab DeAngelo
That is the conundrum will Bell. Only thing is when healthy he is easily fantasies top RB with the running and passing yards he generates. Like MattE below just said if you invest in Bell you might have to reach for the handcuff in Williams.
well Jmatt is going to have 25 TD’s so he could be good
So many weapons in this offense, I feel like it’s not built for fantasy, but then again the wide receivers have been crazy the last 2 years
….my one league is switching to auction this year… totally different but kind of awesome.
First year in auction? They are really fun and takes way more strategy.
yeah 12-man with college buddies, been a good league same guys for about 6-7 years now….the same guy got #1 overall 2 years in a row (randomly) so we went to auction lol.
Did you prefer that? People have been considering auctions but I don’t like change.
hahaha. change can be good, but so many differnt strategies besides tiering positions..towards the end in the mocks I am doing seems like it turns into a snake draft after everyone spends most of their money.
I didnt like it. Its hard but interesting for sure.
Gotcha. And that makes perfect sense to make the switch lol
i like ESPN for fantasy, but they did screw that up last year lol….
either way he ended up with AP last year HAHAHA
honestly my main big money league that I have been in with the same friends for going on 10 years this year, we have always used yahoo and never had any problems. The yahoo app is also the best fantasy app imo. ESPN I couldn’t stand the app it constantly froze on me and didn’t update fast enough.
Yahoo is what we use. No complaints.
I use only Yahoo, but they SNAFU’d last year on draft day
NFL.com also has gotten better. I use that for work league and ESPN for college friends. I’ve used Yahoo…. the only thing i recommend staying away from id MLB.com for baseball IT IS AWFUL.
I was in an auction league for a few years, just quit it. Not my thing, then again I prefer 10 team league also so Im stuck in my old man ways
No worries brotha I also prefer 10 man league as well lol.
I am also excited to see if Polk might get a shot in Houston, him and Blue might actually be effective.
I am really hoping to grab Polk in the later rounds and hope he ends up the starter.
yeah Blue seems a little slight of frame.
My thoughts exactly. Also he performed admirably last year but was nothing to be over excited about. I feel that if that coaching staff gives Polk the chance he’ll run away with it. That is a big if though as they are familiar with Blue and drafted Hilliard this year.
I think Polk vultures TD’s like crazy this year, although that offense needs to get inside the 20 for that to happen lol. DeAndre Hopkins was a nice suprise last year even with Andre on the otherside, now he’s gone…overall I have confidence in Bill O’ Brien just being a decent coach.
…..but do i take Arian in the last round if he is there? Yes, yes i do.
Absolutely take him that late
whens he expected back?
I believe week 8 or 9 if I’m not mistaken.
ok thanks thats worth a flier for sure in late rounds to stash him
How late too late for Arian? I’d consider 7th round maybe if he’s available. He’s Ryan Mathews w/ more upside.
He does have more upside then Mathews just because he will be the clear cut starter upon return. I wouldn’t take Arian any earlier then the 9th maybe 10th round.
…auction mock draft from a few minutes ago.
…mock auction draft.
Billy Davis sounded very pleased with the improvements we started to show in terms of cormers pressing, and not letting teams throw the ball over our heads giving up X plays
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3rd down defense was really the only thing stopping us from being an elite defense last year, and it was mainly a DB issue….. Just improving our percentage getting off the field on 3rd and 7 (or longer) and drastically cut down on the X plays and we have an elite defense on our hands,,
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Our Pass rush was nasty last year, and it should be even better this year…If our Corners press and give our Front 7 one extra second to get to the QB, it makes all the difference in the world… Give this front 7 an extra second by jamming the WRs and with our ILBs blitzing and DL running sttunts, twists we should become a very good defense at forcing the QB to throw the ball sooner then he wants to, which usually means he will throw short of the first down, keep his WRs in front of us and make the tackle short of the 1st down, which brings out the Punter and Gives Sprolesy a chance to make magic,.
..,
Don’t let WRs get behind us
jam the WRs giving our Pass rush an extra second.
Force the QB to get rid of the ball faster then he wants to, throwing short of 1st down,,
make the tackle short of the first down with our more physical corners, Max,Nolan,Death ROWE
…
Just these simple improvements on 3rd and long transcends us to elite defensive level….no reason why these improvements aren’t attainable Especially if our front 7 continues to shut down the run without much safety support allowing Thurmond to focus on helping our WRs and not letting opponents get behind him. Which he should be able to do better then What Nate gave us,,
I think the defence will be much better this year, and we may be even better against the run but i think it will be hard to get better pass rush (at least numbers wise). We stayed fully healthy last year and had monster years from Curry and Barwin, both of which we can probably expect a little bit of regression. Losing Cole is only a few sacks but it will be interesting to see how Graham reacts to taking more of a pounding.
Biggers, Carroll, Watkins, or Rowe? Who is going to be the starting nickel?
Biggers is now nicknamed Bigs by CK. Is that a hint? Do they like Rowe enough outside to move Carroll inside? Will Watkins step up and be the guy? Or do they think they want Carroll outside, but like Rowe enough they want him on the field?
Chip used to refer to Auerelious Benn by his nicknames”Rejus”… Didn’t seem to save Benn…
It’s a funny Kempski theory. He’s noticed Chip gives everyone a nickname, then right before they get cut, Krugs turns back to Kruger. Barks is back to Barkley, uh ooooh. It’s a funny side project he is doing, tracking nick names.
Considering the absurdity that Chip has to deal with. He is better off avoiding to publically say the name “Biggers”, sounds too close to something that would end his career”… He is better off saying BIGS, then BIGGERS
This is probably true, but Kempski is sometimes laughable in his theories. He swore up and down Bradford was injured, and now that he’s about to play we don’t hear anymore about it.
I just think he is a fool and hate giving him attention..
…I see what you did there lol.
Regis? Philbin?
He calls that other WR Joey Bishop.
With the news that Carroll is getting reps at slot CB, how about an approach where Carroll starts on the outside opposite Maxwell in base sets and then moves to the slot in nickel packages? Rowe comes off the bench as nickel CB, but stays outside in coverage.
If the offense is in 12 personnel for third down, then I imagine we stick with 2 cb as Kendricks/Alonso can cover TE.
I think that would be an excellent way of working Rowe into more regular work.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/634789597743026176
Sure, I guess, now that taco Tuesday is gone. I am still holding out for Cheerleaders with Tequila Day, though.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Jordan Matthews was “the best player on the field” at this week’s Ravens-Eagles joint practices.
Is a second round fantasy draft too high?
2nd a reach, 3rd value, 4th you stole him lol
I have first overall in a 14-team snake-style draft. I was considering the idea of Mathews and Bradford with the back-to-back picks at the end of the second and top of the third. Might be a little early, but neither of them are making it back around.
l Peyton Manning worries that the Patriots bug the visiting locker room LOL
i’m not worried about it because I KNOW they do.
It would be so awesome to see us beat them this year.. I’m dying to see Barwin vs Gronk after how badly Barwin dominated Jimmy Graham.. Gronk may be a little too big for Kiko..
Their DBs were def downgraded. Hard enough to repeat or even get back to the game. I see them taking a step back. Then again Ive thought that a few times
Hopefully they’ll go 0-4 to start. Though in that division they can still make playoffs at 7-9 probably.
an 0-4 start? does that imply a win vs dallas? i think i’d lean more towards 1-3 to start the season 😛
They have a nasty front 7…. But some young OL charged with protecting Brady… And they,face some nasty defenses in that Division..
saw that yesterday, another notch in the patriot way belt. Ever read about the headset signal theory, fun stuff
Why is that funny? He is probably right.
It’s not funny that the QB with one of the best reputations in the league adds to the list of accusations towards Bellicheat? Soon they are going to get caught flying Drones above opponents practices
I’d take the bad reputation and the 5 rings that brady uses to keep his fingers “icy”
Just silly nonsense. Manning was just joking around and the Pats have the digitized recording to prove it from his halftime conversations with Welker during the 2013 week 9 game. Pffffffftt.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000287437/GameDay-Broncos-vs-Patriots-highlights
Manning’s losing record against NE for home games in Indy and Denver is only slightly better than his losing record at Foxboro.
If thinking the Pats cheated makes Manning feel better about losing, ok.
Getting antsy for tomorrow’s game…
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When are we going to officially know if Marco and Sam are playing tomorrow? Hour before the game when we find out who is deactivated on game day?
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Hopefully Couplin or Reynolds can step up tomorrow..
We need a quality young safety to emerge as depth
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Wolff has been away all week visiting the Doctors
That’s what I would think, especially with Chip who doesn’t throw anything out there.
yeah man, really looking forward to seeing couplin a.k.a “Cup” play. rooting for him to emerge as one of our safeties
Earl Wolff waived/injured per McManus. Knew that was coming. If he clears waivers, he reverts to IR. The two sides will likely try to come to an injury settlement.
It’s a shame for him. However, if his knee is never going to be 100% again, the last thing he needs is to keep trying to play football. Keep your ability to walk, Earl.
About time. I wish him the best on his future but this was a move that had to be made.
The epilogue to a sad story.
Not the saddest story of a knee injury to a young Eagles safety…that would belong to Damon Moore.
I’m the guy that lives next door to Earl and I actually told him about Moore last summer…didn’t think their fates would so closely parallel unfortunately.
Nasty Nate Allen?
Let him know that this little pocket of fans wish him all the best, as long as his next team is in the AFC.
Also, you can offer to put out a request if he needs help moving. I am sure there would be a few volunteers.
I think Andre Waters may be the saddest story.
Does he look “shot physically” as one tweet quoting an anonymous NFL player who’s trains with him stated?
I honestly haven’t seen him walk without a limp since pre-Packers game 2013.
Damn, yeah I’d say so. If stairs are kicking your ass you have bigger problems than this NFL thing.
Can the Eagles waive him and not put him on IR if no one claims him, just choosing to move on from him for good? See no point in keeping him.. If his knee is ever strong enough to return, probably won’t ever be mentally strong enough to trust it… Cut the cord, move on and hope Reynolds can surprise and become what Wolff was supposed to be, tho Wolff has more talent
He has an injury so if they wanted him off the team they’d have to agree to an injury settlement. They could pay him for the whole year or mutually agree to pay him based on a lesser amount of games so he could be picked up elsewhere if he got healthy. If you’re going to pay him for the whole year though, might as well retain his rights just in case he magically is okay next year.
I agree. Hoard him.
I don’t think he was dealing with phantom pain.
I don’t either…but even at full strength he may have not made the roster, they may not have faith in him ever coming back from it… He is a 5th round pick who is going to have played like 10 games in the past 3 seasons… not that it really matters to us if he is on IR or Not.. But I doubt Wolff plays again, so how long does he get to stay on IR?
yup, plus I don’t think he was that good at defense, just athletic, but you hate hearing these stories anyway.
Since when is a swollen knee only mental?
That’s it… Good one
So Lache Seastrunk was waivered by the Cowboys, despite 0 healthy or good RBs. How big of a mental case is he or is he injured as well?
They probably found out he was only ever charged with misdemeanors.
Colin Cowherd used to say he knew when a D was going to be good when their players would be getting arrested. Supposedly there is some correlation with aggression, testosterone, criminal behavior, and prowess on D. 🙂
He was just never good in general.
Earl Wolff
@Ewolff28
2m2 minutes ago
Surgery was successful yesterday. Want to thank the @Eagles organization for giving me the opportunity. God has a plan for me #FlyEaglesFly
9 retweets
17 favorites
Microfracture?
Details unknown at this point.
must have been serious, said he went to dr. two days ago, surgery the following day or day after.
Yeah, surgeons like to cut. They also like the big checks that come their way when they do.
Given the recovery and rehab time for microfracture surgery, the CBA’s injury-protection provisions likely would have prohibited the Eagles from waiving Wolff.
The waived-injured designation for Wolff suggests less than a 16-week recovery period for whatever surgery he had.
That said . . . it possible the Eagles paid Wolff for the entire 16-week season in exchange for a CBA grievance waiver.
I’d like to think — since the team and Kelly have been wrong about Wolff’s knee problem for 2+ years (read: he actually was injured) — the team gave Wolff a parting gift of a full season’s pay.
I wouldn’t say the Eagles are wrong. Two doctors can look at the same body part and reach different conclusions. Just because Wolff was able to doctor-shop and find someone that gave him a diagnosis that is different than what the Eagles’ doctors were saying, does not mean the Eagles were negligent in any way.
I don’t know what the Eagles’ doctors said about Wolff’s knee this week or a month ago.
Did Kelly say Wolff went to a physician not associated with the team this week?
Even if he did, Wolff had every reason not to trust the team doctor(s) who missed the missing piece of cartilage on his 2013 MRI for nearly a year.
The report of missing cartilage comes from Wolff himself, quoting what Andrews told him. I have no reason not to accept that at face value but if you read what Wolff paraphrased Andrews as saying the missing cartilage only became apparent during surgery and wasn’t something that was detected beforehand on an MRI. Not everything shows up on an MRI.
Regardless, it’s apparent from the various comments by Kelly and Undlin that they haven’t believed that Wolff’s injury is as serious as Wolff believes and it seems to me that they believe it has been largely a matter of pain tolerance. While I’m no expert on microfracture surgery, I believe the whole point is to build up scar tissue, some of which serves to replace any missing cartilage. As such, there is going to be pain when scar tissue breaks but the player actually has to push themselves through that to get healthy. During the spring, per Kelly at least, Andrews had cleared Wolff to practice but the player held himself out. That clearly contributed towad Kelly’s dissatisfaction with the player.
The fact that Wolff had to have another surgery, again by Dr. Andrews, shows that either Andrews misdiagnosed the extent of the injury himself or was unsuccessful in his first surgery. That or Wolff’s failure to push himself in the spring contributed to him requiring another surgery now.
The Eagles’ doctors could very well be partially to blame here as could Andrews and as could Wolff. However, medical science isn’t perfect and there could be complications that aren’t the fault of anyone. As unconnected observers, it’s impossible to know. While I think it’s wrong for Eagles fans to suggest Wolff has a lack of toughness(they’ve used less kind words), I also think it’s wrong to assume the Eagles screwed up somehow.
I’d also say that players (clowney for instance) take a long time to come back from microfracture, clowney just got off the PUP list and I think had his surgery before Wolff’s (though maybe Clowney’s was more serious)
Yes, he went back to Dr Andrews this week who is believed to have done this surgery.
He also did the first surgery and said it wasn’t that bad, which was presented almost as a reason that the initial MRI missed the condition. Now either either it was worse than initially described, or the first surgery failed.
You seem to be suggesting that it is equally plausible that he “doctor shopped,” got the dubious diagnosis that he wanted – surgery, painful rehab, and the end of his career – from one of the most respected doctors in the field, a chose that as his favorite?
Two doctors can look at the same body part and reach different conclusions. But one of those doctors is right and the other was the team’s doctor.
Yet Wolff is having another surgery, indicating either
a. That same non-Eagles doctor misdiagnosed the extent required for the original surgery
b. That same non-Eagles doctor botched the surgery
or
c. That same non-Eagles doctor incorrectly cleared Wolff to participate in practice
I can’t imagine Wolff would go back under the knife with the same doctor if it were any of those choices. The circumstantial evidence we have leads me to guess
d. The surgery improved the problem, but was not extensive enough to correct it.
If it was my knee, these actions would indicate that this possibility was discussed before the surgery and perhaps even that there was a plan to try to fix it while minimizing recovery, knowing this was a possible result.
I don’t know exactly what the impetus was for the original surgery, but if you read Wolff’s quotes after the Nov 2014 surgery Andrews did not know beforehand that there was missing cartilage and that micro-fracture surgery would be required. I assume Wolff and Andrews discussed a wide-range of possiblities beforehand and Andrews had permission to do whatever was required, but doing microfracture surgery wasn’t something that was dictated by Andrews reading something on an MRI that the Eagles doctors missed.
Ultimately it’s the player’s right to seek a second opinion and make a choice about the course of their medical treatment, but it seems to me that Wolff had continued knee discomfort but the cause of that discomfort was not indicated by MRI or any other scanning technique. The wisdom of whether a player should have exploratory surgery or not to determine the cause of an undiagnosed ailment is something that I can see two doctors disagreeing about but each having legitimate arguments. Again, it’s the player’s decision. Obviously the original surgery wasn’t extensive enough. Whether Andrews could have predicted it or not is impossible to say. My point isn’t to disparage Andrews(actually I was pretty condescendent in another post, that was just me being flippant). It is that the Eagles could have disagreed with Andrews on the appropriate treatment for Wolff without either side making a mistake.
All of that makes perfect sense. And I agree, the doctors could look at the evidence and each reach different conclusions that are appropriate for the information they have.
But if there was missing cartilage, which no one seems to refute, and if micro fracture surgery was required, then the doctor that concluded they should operate was the one who was right. Or, I guess, more accurately, the one that said not to operate was wrong.
This is theoretical, but it brings to mind the case of Jerome Harrison. As a refresher, he was an Eagle in 2010 I think but signed with Detroit in the offseason. The Eagles signed Ronnie Brown, who didn’t work out. The Eagles traded Brown for Harrison mid-season and when conducting the physical Harrison mentioned that he had been having headaches. The Eagles’ doctors decided to give him an MRI and found a brain tumor, likely saving Harrison’s life. Some Detroit fans and Detroit media criticized the Lions for not conducting an MRI on Harrison themselves. Rightly even the Lions’ NFLPA representative dismissed that logic as many players suffer headaches and the odds of actually having a brain tumor were so remote that it did not justify the cost of giving every player that complained of a headache an MRI. The odds might be different in this case but doctors/teams have to do a cost-benefit analysis for every decision they make and just because the results factually favored Andrews’ decison that does not make the Eagles’ decision wrong.
I needed the refresher, but I remember that now, that was one of those head shaking series of events.
Maybe this is where we decide that we don’t have enough information for this to be productive, but I think if the factual results support Andrews decision that absolutely makes the opposing decision wrong. Not negligent, or sinister, or unprofessional, but wrong.
Perhaps, but what if Andrews’ decison to have the surgery in November is contributing to Wolff’s problems now and necessitated the additional surgery? A conservative treatment plan of rest and rehab could have potentially been a better option. I agree that we just don’t have enough information.
Regardless, I feel bad for the young man. I hope he never learns that he could have made different choices and that they would have made a difference.
I agree. To me it sort of sounds like he was screwed either way.
As awful as it sounds, I hope so. It will be much easier to live with that way.
Forgot about that.
I’m very familiar with micro fracture surgery. It’s not done as a staged procedure like you are describing. The reports at the time of surgery was that it was minimal and the procedure was done to hopefully speed recovery. Then Dr Andrews cleared him for a full go for camp. Nothing sounds like this was at all planned or expected.
What does it sound like to you?
Microfracture doesn’t work on diffuse areas of cartilage loss. It is effective on focal areas, like patching in a pothole. My guess is he has more generalized cartilage loss. So the eagles doctors looked at the MRI and said its generalized cartilage wear, not a good surgical candidate, just rehab.
Then he goes to Andrews, who says that rehab hasn’t worked. Lets scope and see if anything else is going on. While in there he works on the most significant areas. Now he isn’t really better, so Andrews says, lets go back in and Microfractures some more. Will it work, who knows? Would he have the exact same physical limitations if he followed the Eagles conservative treatment plan, who knows? But I can’t say either Dr did something wrong or that something was missed.
Whether either doctor was right or wrong, it sure sounds unlikely that Wolff ever manages to get back to being a viable NFL football player.
Fair enough, although your closing sentence doesn’t seem to fit with a few of your earlier comments.
I find it hard to believe that a player would elect to go back to the doctor who ruined his career hopes unless he believed fully that the doctor had done all the right things. To me that is the strongest evidence we have here.
I may have come down harder on one side, probably because I felt the other was being disparaged. I don’t think Andrews ruined his career, but I’m not sure he helped it, I’m not sure he had any impact.
A lot of these decisions are made by agents and advisors. Andrews has the best reputation in the world. I’m not surprised he went to him or went back. He probably feels like he gives him the most hope for recovery, but that doesn’t mean he is any more right, or that something was missed and thats why he went back.
The thing is, it has appeared that Chip has been essentially calling the kid soft. I think that turned a number of us off, so when medical evidence turns up that he had a legitimate injury (ie, wasn’t just being a pu$$y), that puts things in a different light.
If the second Dr was so right, why didn’t his “correct” treatment course work?
Greg beat you to it.
Dr. shop? Andrews is the most respected DR. In his field. He is a near celebrity.
I think it’s pretty clear the team misdiagnosed him.
why doesn’t he ask tebow what gods plans are?
no sense in going in blind…
Eagles players are blessed. They have the choice of going to Tebow or the Pope for spiritual guidance.
so lucky
Tebow ask? He probably helped develop the plan. That doesn’t mean he can just go around telling people, though.
Redskins acquired TE Derek Carrier for a conditional fifth-round pick. We dropped DC in 2013, he’s been in SF ever since. Wonder if WAS cam calling for one of our guys.
Doubtful. I don’t see them trading an asset or pick for any of the UDFA TEs and the Eagles were not trading any of Celek/Ertz/Burton.
In 2013 camp, we had Celek, Ertz, Casey, Clay Harbor, Emil Igwenagu, and Derek Carrier all in camp. We initially kept 4 TEs including Igwenagu so it’s understandable Carrier didn’t sign to our PS.
We seem to scout TEs well. Wonder how much Ted Williams has factored in there.
Doubt it. With Ertz out for possibly game 1 they knew we weren’t going to trade any of our guys. Outside of that UDFA that has looked decent (forget name, starts with S) who would we possibly even think about giving up that they would actually want? They are looking for someone more experienced then a UDFA.
->
Anybody see what Leonard Williams just did to the Falcons LT?. If he can do what he just did then Cox may feast on the LT all game.
Looked to me like he beat the LG, James Stone, not the LT.
I was referring to the play where they got a safety. Was that the LG for sure?
Saw the replay. Looked to me like he beat #62, who is the LG. I did a search on twitter to verify and the overwhelming consensus is he destroyed the LG, James Stone.
Oh ok cool, thanks for the correction friend. My point still stands though that if a rook can do it Cox should be able to.
The Falcons are hurting on their interior line. Stone is an undrafted rookie from a year ago. They went out and paid RG Jon Asamoah big money a year or two ago and he’s played pretty well but they’re switching over to a zone-blocking scheme and Asamoah isn’t a fit. So he’s now on the 2nd team behind Chris Chester and they are trying out a cast of characters at LG.
The Falcons oline is not good in any way and wasn’t good. The switch to a ZBS isn’t gonna make it better. The Eagles dline will feast.
No, it wasn’t good but Asamoah wasn’t bad. Not great, but not bad.
Trying out a cast of characters, searching for a guard? I am glad we aren’t in that boat…
I am surprised Mathis isn’t offering Atlanta a discount in order to play against us.
Thought all along Atlanta would be a good spot for him but I haven’t seen any reports of them showing interest.
If they had the money I’m sure they would of pursued him.
Rumor in the twitterverse is that Evan Mathis is hooking back up with Reid in KC.
Mathis was a big fan of Reid so that wouldn’t be surprising. Not aware enough of KC’s O-line to know whether it would be an upgrade or necessary. Doubt KC pays him what he wanted from the Eagles though.
Yeah, but fast food Friday’s are back in play. That must be worth a couple million discount.
The barbecue in KC is worth sacrificing at least a few hundred k.
Big Red likes overpaying for players so I’m sure Mathis will get the money he is seeking from Reid.
I heard Reid and Maclin showed up at his house in an old sedan, wearing sunglasses, and convinced him by saying “We’re putting the band back together.”
While wearing Hawaiian shirts.
Contract details reported include a full tank of gas and a half pack of cigarettes.
I am half watching the Falcons, meaning it is on and I am looking at Iggles Blitz, but they don’t look particularly scary.
Looks like they can be carved up on the ground
I must have a Falcons broadcast team, because the conversation was whether it is time to name their group of pass rushers. Even the players didn’t think a few minutes of preseason action was enough.
Me too. We are going to put it on Matty-ICE, and he is going to be under pressure and will surely cough up an INT.
Their running game will be shut down and I think we can dominate this team.
Eagles 38 Falcons 6
I don’t know about you guys, but I really like our QB room.
Sam Bradford has way more upside and skill than RGME has shown since he arrived in the NFL.
Once his legs were shot he lost his only weapon.
Sam does not need his legs because he has anticipation and can throw into tight windows with his rocket arm.
He has all the tools except being a running QB, and I think we have had out fill of those.
He is worlds better than any QB that is one the verge of being released IMO.
If you really analyze Bradford and his story of how he entered the NFL to his current status as an Eagle, you couldn’t ask for a better QB not named Manning, Rogers or Brees.
I think he has the potential to be a top 5 QB now that he has the right team, scheme and coach to get the most out of his god given talent.
As far as Sanchez is concerned, he has come a long way from that butt fumble guy, and we may have trouble retaining him when his contract is up.
Even Barks looks solid this season and it it going to tough for Chip to keep Tebow, unless Timmy shows drastic improvement.
When I hear RG3 or E.J Manuel, I just don’t see why we would want to take on those guys when we have really solid depth that do not have to be brought up to speed.
Things could always change, but right at this moment I want to stick with our QB’s and trust that Chip will choose the best three.