Lots of Questions
Posted: December 28th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 535 Comments »With the season being “over”, it is time to focus on some big picture issues. When a team that was expected to be playoff bound sits at 6-9, there are going to be a lot of questions. Very few people can consider themselves safe at this point.
Rather than go in-depth, I’ll offer some quick thoughts on key questions. These topics each deserve (and will get) a long post. For now, we’ll go up-tempo and keep things simple.
Chip Kelly – coach – I think Jeff Lurie will stick with Chip as his coach. Things have not worked this year, but changing coaches isn’t something to be done lightly. Lurie believes in the value of stability. Marvin Lewis has a pair of 4-win seasons on his track record, but the Bengals stuck with him. Turned out to be a great decision. Ron Rivera went 6-10, 7-9, 12-4 and 7-8-1 prior to this year. I’d say the Panthers made the wise move in sticking with him.
There are arguments against Chip. More than a few people have compared him to Ray Rhodes, who went 10-6, 10-6 and then 6-9-1. Lurie kept him for a fourth year and the team was awful, the worst Eagles team of the last 30 years.
Lurie knows how things felt with that team and how things feel with this group. He’ll use that knowledge to help make his decision.
One recent story that doesn’t bode well for Chip is the report that Jason Peters refused to go back in the game Saturday because the team was losing. Peters is a guy who Chip has said nothing but good things about. Peters was given a raise and extension last year. He should be one of Chip’s guys. If Peters is less than fully committed, that’s not good news.
Howard Eskin first had the report. His scoops are erratic. Les Bowen confirmed it. No matter what you think of Les, he’s not one to throw stuff out there. If he says it, I trust it.
While I think Chip will return as coach, this is far from certain. There are too many concerns for this to be a quick decision. Lurie needs to spend time looking at the situation from a lot of different angles. You don’t want a repeat of 1998, but you also don’t want to give up on a successful coach after one down season.
Chip Kelly – GM – I’m using the phrase “GM” for simplicity sake. Technically Chip is just a coach with roster control, as he likes to point out. For our purposes, we’ll call him the GM.
The popular thought is that Lurie must bring in a GM to work with Chip. I’m not so sure about that, for a couple of reasons. First, the Eagles are an up-tempo team. Not offense, but team. Chip has very specific thoughts on players and what he wants. Trying to find a veteran GM who had a similar set of beliefs would be tough, if not impossible.
The other issue is power. Would the GM come in with power over Chip? That wouldn’t go over well. Would a veteran personnel man want to come in to be Chip’s underling? Chip looked around the league for help last year and settled on Ed Marynowitz. There wasn’t exactly a stampede of high level candidates who were dying to take that job.
Kelly didn’t have a great offseason to be sure, but people act as if every move was a huge disaster. That’s far from the case. Sam Bradford was an upgrade on Nick Foles. Todd Herremans was released by the Colts. Age has really slowed Trent Cole. Evan Mathis has struggled to stay healthy. Walter Thurmond and E.J. Biggers were good free agent additions. Ryan Mathews has been excellent. Seyi Ajirotutu has been a solid STer. Jordan Hicks looked like a star in the making. Eric Rowe and Nelson Agholor started slow, but have played better late in the season.
Lurie could see about adding someone as an adviser or consultant. Lurie could take a more active role, especially in big moves. Maybe Lurie will take control away from Chip. My guess is that Lurie sticks with him in the dual role. Marynowitz and the personnel staff have had a full season in their roles and that should help the team to have a better offseason. And Chip himself should have learned some lessons from what went right as well as what went wrong this year.
If there was a way to make an effective change here, Lurie might do it.
Bill Davis – I struggle with what to do with Davis. The easy thing is to fire him. Is that the right thing? I bring that up because the Eagles had a Top 10 defense when Jordan Hicks was healthy and the Eagles had an effective run game on offense. Hicks injury led to poor ILB play and the offense has been erratic recently, which affects the defense because of the up-tempo style.
I have serious issues with Davis, but don’t want to throw him away to punish someone for the Detroit and Tampa debacles. If there is a better coach available, then I’m fine with upgrading.
Part of the issue here goes back to Chip. He wants a 3-4 defense. He wants 2-gap DL. He wants interchangeable Safeties, with an emphasis on coverage. If you let Davis go, you need a coach who can embrace what Chip wants. Not all DCs are going to be on board with those ideas.
One interesting idea would be bringing Dick LeBeau in to help with the defense. He works for the Titans right now. Looks like there will be change there this offseason. LeBeau might not want to be a full DC anymore, but might embrace a role on the Eagles staff. He is a 3-4 guru.
Scheme – I would love to see the Eagles switch to the 4-3 or 4-3 Under, but Chip seems to really believe in the 3-4 and the creative looks it lets you show QBs. I don’t anticipate change.
QB – Keep Bradford? Spend a high pick on a QB? RG III?
I think the ideal situation is to bring back Bradford and then to find a young QB to develop behind him. I hated losing Stephen Morris to the Colts. He was a young QB with some talent and he had been here all year long. He understood the offensive system and style of play.
I will admit some fascination with RG III, but I also have concerns with the stories about him not getting along with his teammates. They might be bogus media reports. Or they might be accurate. All I know for sure is that the Skins have been controversy free this year (player wise) and RG III has been out of the spotlight.
Personnel moves – Should the Eagles focus on OL or OLB or WR? Do they cut Jason Peters? Do they re-sign Vinny Curry?
I don’t think there is an obvious move that has to be made. The Eagles need more talent at several spots. The OL needs help for sure, but I don’t have strong feelings for the best way to make those moves right now.
Up-Tempo – Is there any chance Chip adjusts his offense? Chip says he always looks for the best ways to do things. He believes in always questioning why things are done a certain way. I don’t get the feeling he is looking to change his offense, but it will be interesting to see if he at least studies the idea.
*****
Obviously the huge decision is Chip Kelly’s future. I think if you bring him back, you are looking at very little change in terms of staff and scheme. There would be plenty of player changes, but that’s true every year.
The point here isn’t that Chip is a genius who is without fault. He has a big hand in the 6-9 record and what’s gone wrong with this team. But Chip is a unique coach. Every single part of the team is built around him and his ideas. If you keep him, you keep his ideas. That makes next year sink or swim time for him.
It is possible that Chip will do self-scouting and decide that he needs to make changes to his staff, scheme or style of play. I just wouldn’t count on him coming to those conclusions.
_
“Marvin Lewis has a pair of 4-win seasons on his track record, but the Bengals stuck with him. Turned out to be a great decision.”
Marvin Lewis, one of the longest tenured HCs in the NFL has never won a playoff game. Not one. Never. Marvin might be better at finding quality assistants than anything else. Hue Jackson is gonna get another shot at head coaching. You can bet on that.
The Eagles are in what is, currently, a very weak division. Chip is one out of three making the playoffs. If I’m Jeff Lurie, my first question to Chip a week from today is, “What are you going to go differently next year?”
I’d base my decision to retain him on his answers to that question.
agree
Well said, but I think perhaps us not being privy to what really goes on behind the scenes might be clouding our thinking just a bit. What I mean to say is that I believe Lurie & Chip have already spoken (did last year actually) about what might possibly happen this year. I don’t think Lurie will need to sit him down & say “What are you going to do differently?” because I believe when Lurie accepted whatever pitch Chip gave him on taking full control the plan was fully communicated at that time & included a scenario like this where things did not go right at all. That would explain why Lurie said a few weeks ago firing Chip was never even a consideration for him.
So if the Bengals, Somehow make a run and win it all? I would say the fans and owners would feel like it paid off
Davis is so “EWW.” What is the defense good at? It used to be run D and takeaways. What happened? The eagles D has gone from 19th-23rd-28th in points allowed, 15th-4th-29th in RZ scoring, 10th-18th-20th in yards/play and 3rd-7th-9th in takeaways. Those stats to me are the most important for a defense and the Eagles/Davis have overall gotten worse with more talent infusion and familiarity each year.
I think we all thought we were getting an innovative football mind with Chip. It may have started out that way, but now we get an offense so predictable that defenses and press box attendees know which play is coming based on formation and motion. We get reports that the Eagles recycle their first 15 plays throughout the game. We get reports that there’s only one snap count. We get an offense that is in a hurry to not be able to move the ball.
I think Chip is staying too. And I think it’s going to be a complete mess of a season.
Super important points! Predictability is baaaaad
bradford plays w/ snap count. he’s been good at drawing people offside.
The last few weeks yes. As the comfort level has increased. Im still high on this team and the parts we do have.
Im low on myself and every other fan who thought we would compete this year. Bad OL almost never equals wins.
The one thing Andy Reid ALWAYS did was get guys who could play in the trenches
I think a lot of this might have to do with trusting all the new pieces…
I think Chip knew this year was a rebuild and expressed that to Lurie. He is adjusting to NFL and thats why he didn’t blow up the team in year 1 or 2. We have never won a championship doing things the old way so I’m ok trying something new.
Last year we knew the DBS were UTTER garbage. CK fixed that. Now its OL and Passrush. I’m confident these issues will be addressed.
I hope we keep Curry he’s got one of the most explosive first steps I’ve ever seen. When it comes to pass rushing Curry is running while everybody else is walking…BEAST
The Eagles pass defense was historically bad this season, giving up more passing TDs in the history of the franchise (with one game still remaining). How did CK fix the DBs?
because this year the DBs were actually in the camera shot when the receiver was catching the ball?
Great Point. There is no excuse. Some folks seem to believe that Maxwell was good and believe Carroll sunk the secondary. I maintain that there were many games where Carroll outperformed Maxwell, and Carroll tries to tackle, has leadership qualities, and gets paid 5% what Maxwell fleeces us for.
Others say that we have one of the best safety tandems in the league, which is complete bunk.
Our players are marginal in the secondary, the scheme doesn’t do them any favors, and they are gassed from the Time of Possession disparity(which they are repeatedly told does not matter)
Jenkins , Thurmond , Carrol, Rowe and Maxwell (2015) We didn’t lose BECAUSE of this group^^^^
or
Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, Bradley Fletcher, Carry Williams, Boykin, Chung (2013) We lost BECAUSE of this group^^^^ Remember Arizona last year?
You guys might not agree with what I am gonna say, but I’ll say it anyway: I think this whole ‘the offense is predictable’ argument is way too overblown. I do not know a whole lot about scheme and plays (I am not an NFL guru by any means), so maybe someone who does, will correct me (and rightfully so), but based on everything I have heard from Chip and read about the Eagles’ offense, if the players execute the plays, it does not really matter whether the defense can predict the play or not, because they can’t stop it from unfolding relying solely on their prior knowledge of the play. The mismatches or the numbers game (we just have more people here than you do, you can only put double coverage on so many people etc.) alone is enough to make the play work, provided that your players’ talent is comparable to the opponents’ talent, and they execute the play.
In other words: the plays, or rather the Eagles playbook might be predictable, but the plays are designed to work, and with proper execution, they do.
Also, I believe, on many of the Eagles’ plays the QB has several options, so the defense can not predict exactly which of those options the QB will eventually take. Again, I might be way off on this, so feel free to correct me! 🙂
I think GM Chip needs to go. HC coach Chip needs to let the new DC run his own defense.
WR and OL coaches should be fired.
I don’t think the OL coach should be fired. The talent level he is working with at the G position is simply horrible. Peter’s is nearly 34 or he is 34 now, so it’s not surprising his play suddenly declined. Kelce, and LJ are probably negatively affected by the horrible G play next to them.
Don’t forget this OL was the best in the league in 2013. Don’t blame Stoutland for Chips failure to give him some type of talent to work with. In 3 years we have drafted 1 OL. 1 in 3 years!!!!!!! Highly inexcusable.
I’m honestly appalled at how easy you are going on Billy Avis. He’s been a train wreck and that’s not just limited to the TB and Detroit games. Our D is giving up yards at a record clip (400+ in 7 of last 8 games). Our 3rd down defense and red zone D is historically awful. Those #s cannot and must not be chalked up to the loss of Hicks. I hope no one is naive enough to believe that is the reason the D struggled down the stretch. Last I checked Hicks didn’t double up at ILB when he played.
Also, you said Chip won’t change much. That’s alarming. Some change is needed and necessary.
At some point player development gas to be discussed.
Friend, I agree with you. I am routinely appalled at the blind and sometimes illogical Kelly support that I read. You know it is bad when the Eagles are gearing up to play the Cardinals after a 2 game win streak, many are hopeful that the terrible team we have watched all season was actually an aberration and profess the team ready to play up to their “potential”, and the team proceeds to allow the Cards to drop 40 on them at home, while they muster 14? The title of the ensuing article? “Inconclusive” Mind blowing stuff.
I would love to hear Jason Peters’ perspective on why this season was a bust. I would hope that Jeff Lurie seeks out Peters for a heart-to-heart. The erratic execution and performance of the whole team this season has been alarming. Some folks are convinced that Kelly the GM is the problem, but I think Rowe and Agholor and Hicks are all keepers, and I think we have not seen the best Ertz and the best Huff yet. My more immediate concern is Kelly the HC. If he is adamant about 34 2-gap, he needs to have a DC who is down with that and who has autonomy to implement it as he chooses, to the point of cutting some players and acquiring others. I don’t get the impression that Davis has autonomy to do very much. Also, Kelly’s demeanor around his players: Is he possibly too detached? He needs to be himself obviously, but his players often look unfocused, distracted, out-of-sync. Kelly has to see that, and find out what he is doing or failing to do that enables pervasive inefficiency and under-performance. He said the bust of a season was 100% on him, and I think hat is absolutely on the mark. He needs to be retained, if for no other reason than to erase from all of our minds the pathetic play we all witnessed all too often this year. As a football HC, I believe this season has been a personal low point for Kelly, and I am looking forward to his team’ resolve and rhythm in 9 months. I am tempted to believe that they can only improve, but that would require some evidence that I haven’t seen.
Chip has all the talent on defense he needs; they are all playing the wrong positions; fire Davis, switch back to a 4-3, move Graham and Curry to DE, move Cox and Logan to DT, move Barwin to SAM, Hicks to MLB, let Kendricks and Alonso compete for WLB. If he wants to run a 3-4; the Eagles are years away from having a defense like the Steelers or Ravens had (but don’t have today). And the Steelers get away with it because so few other teams run it and they don’t compete with others for the LBs in the 20s of the first round that they draft year after year after year. If chip would swallow his ego, hire a strong D Coordinator that wants to run a 4-3, they could take the players they have and turn the defense around in one year. Then Chip could focus on drafting to improve the offensive line.
I think the only thing we are missing from a personal standpoint for a good 3-4 D is a stud OLB pass rusher. What this D is really missing is consistent play calling, good game plans, and good in game adjustments. In other words we need a pass rusher and a new DC.
So the only thing we’re missing for a 3-4 is the one thing that makes it work…. Im not a fan of Billy avis but can u fault him for not being successful.
The worst thing about this team is that it seems like they don’t work together. Everyone seems to try and do it on their own instead of just doing their fucking job.
Yes I can absolutely fault him because his play calling and in game adjustments are horrible. Furthermore the records this D has unfortunately made.
Should we give him Juan more chance???
I hope he’s gone just saying lol
I’d like to see Davis replaced. My guy to do that is Ed Donatell. He is a 2 time D coordinator and has been an excellent DB coach.
Not familiar with him. Is he a 3-4 2 gap DC? If not I really don’t see it happening. I think it’s possible that if we don’t get much needed pass rush help this off season that maybe Chip loosens up on the 2 gap. Cox and Logan could be very effective 1 gap DL. I worry what that would mean for our ILBs though. Kendricks, Alonso, and very possibly Hicks from what I have seen of his college tape are not the best on fighting off blockers.
Donatell has been around for a while, he is a 3-4 guy and his lines alternate between 1&2 gapping, he usually bases what he does on his personnel. Started out as a secondary coach in NFL and the last time he was official D-coordinator was in 2008 with Washington. Was a highly touted name to get the D-coordinator job back in 2013 when Kelly was hired, Dawkins thinks very highly of him
“4th & 26” is rumored as the play that got him fired in Green Bay
I think all coaches should base what they do on personnel that they have…. Seems pretty simple but
Gotcha.
He was the DC in Green Bay and Miami. He most recently has worked as a DBs coach under Vic Fangio in SF and now Chicago.
I’d really like to see Lurie move on from Chip. This year was a complete disaster and it all came from his doing. He took a talented team that needed some new direction and has completely gutted it.
that’s what happens when you get a new coach/gm
You go from one of the youngest teams in the NFL to one of the oldest in a matter of a few years?
The Eagles wasnt young in 2013.
Part of me says “give him another chance.” But the other part of me worries about how much long term damage he will do this offseason.
long term damage? his worst move is cuttable after 16
Yeah, long term damage, like not paying any attention to the offensive line for another year.
Or trading away future draft picks.
you really think that will happen/
why not? he did it last year.
If they don’t draft an OL or 2 I will not watch next year.
That would be BEYOND stubborn. CK deserves another chance but that would be inexcusable
yea that 2nd round pick is what is going to doom the Eagles for the next 5 years
And locking unwanted players into guaranteed money… that sheeyat thatvwe used to laff at cowboys and skins for
The only difference is that the Cowboys and Skins wouldn’t / won’t take their medicine by cutting a guy and eating the dead money; I don’t think Lurie would be that stubborn.
There’s some realpolitik thinking behind Lurie bringing Chip back for one more year. Either Chip succeeds with the team built to his liking or it all blows up dramatically and the team is in position to draft a franchise QB in the top 5 and we start over with a new coach, GM, etc etc.
I do not hate this plan, though it’s depressing.
I think your either/or will depend on how Lurie defines success. What if Eagles go 10-6 next season, make the playoffs as wild card, and lose first game? That would be season 4 matching season 1. Would anybody call that success? We’d have to tank, I think, to have a shot at a franchise QB, assuming one was available, and there are no guarantees that the player or the new coach will be any better than our current place-holders.
You are of course correct. I should say I see only two pure outcomes now: disaster or something much, much better. Perhaps I am both too negative and far too hopeful to see only binary outcomes, but it feels very Chip-ish.
Yeah I get that. That is why the way he rolls as HC is a BIG question for me. For brief – very brief instances – in Chip’s 3 years here, glimpses of dynamism, focus and palpable momentum, vaporized by errors and lack of execution from all quarters. Part of what draws praise as a “good” coach is players who reflect an urgency and a consistency, and that has been largely missing from Eagles offense and defense this season.
He needs a payoff win at the minimum to keep his job.
4 years as a coach and 2 as a GM is enough to get a P/O win. If we fail next year he’s gone and its on to hiring a defensive coach
But we’re more likely to be mediocre again – 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8. Not a success, but not worthy of a top 5 pick.
Who says there will be a franchise QB? See 2013 when we had pick 4
“It is possible that Chip will do self-scouting and decide that he needs to make changes to his staff, scheme or style of play. I just wouldn’t count on him coming to those conclusions.” — i stand behind chip, but this is my issue w/ him. He looks at successful coaches but he really looks at billy b, he’s obviously been the most successful coach of the last 15 years, but is he an outlier?
if you’re based on doing things “the best way” i think that means you have to take a look at all of your assumptions and try to adjust to reality. I think chip tried doing this last year as “gm” with personnel additions (trying to fix, secondary, short yardage, turnovers) but i really think it’s the “EQ” portion of the job that chip is really failing at. i don’t know if chip is a decent person or a guy that is cold and you dont want to be around him. but he’s clearly not a guy that people want to really “go to war for” and i think part of that is the way he’s treated players.
He can adjust. I remember ALL the Giants players complaining about how Couchlin wasn’t a players coach and couldn’t connect blah blah blah.
Now he has a pair of rings (so Fucking lucky) and lets his star players do whatever they want with no team consequence. Shooting themselves, blowing themselves up, etc.
I don’t know what kind of person CK is either but remember him going to visit Cruz last year after he got hurt. He seems decent but maybe he only has time for football and not saying “Hi” to players
..sofa king lucky
The Hick defense for Davis does not work. Losing a rookie ILB should not drop you from within top 10 run D to 30 or around 30. I get that it hurts, but that kind of a drop is on the DC. Especially when you are running a 2 gap and you have Cox, Logan, and Thornton on your DL. Thornton is the least talented but the one thing he is known for is his run D.
Agreed. If your entire D falls apart because a rookie gets injured, to me that’s basically a fireable offense right there.
Maybe now that Chip has seen a variety of NFL defenses shut down his offense he won’t be as married to the 4-3.
While I want us to go to a 4-3 under, I do think some of it are overblown because NFL teams are rarely in base now a days.
Also the 3-4 is reliant on its LBs and none of the Eagles LBs outside of Hicks have played well this year
Graham faded towards the end of the year, but he has been solid overall. Barwin has completely disappeared, and because he was good last year and is a great guy, he’s escaped criticism, but we can’t overlook the fact that the pass-rush suffered because of that.
Yep, the fact that they two didnt play better (and Marcus Smith seems to be the bust under Kelly) puts OLB pretty high on the list
If Billy Davis is back next season with the Eagles, I’ll become a Redskins fan.
Davis needs to go. Seems like a smart guy in press conferences, but his unit has got progressively worse despite huge investment in draft and FA.
Also need to see more variety on offense. Chip came in with a reputation as a great innovator, but at this stage it seems like we’re down to about six plays.
Davis is likable but he is not a good DC.
If Chip fails to make the playoffs again and has say a 8-8 record then he has to go. The downward trend has to be eliminated before long term damage is done by Chip “Egomaniac” Kelly.
[…] Lots of Questions – Iggles BlitzI think Jeff Lurie will stick with Chip as his coach. Things have not worked this year, but changing coaches isn’t something to be done lightly. Lurie believes in the value of stability. Marvin Lewis has a pair of 4-win seasons on his track record, but the Bengals stuck with him. Turned out to be a great decision. Ron Rivera went 6-10, 7-9, 12-4 and 7-8-1 prior to this year. I’d say the Panthers made the wise move in sticking with him. There are arguments against Chip. More than a few people have compared him to Ray Rhodes, who went 10-6, 10-6 and then 6-9-1. Lurie kept him for a fourth year and the team was awful, the worst Eagles team of the last 30 years. Lurie knows how things felt with that team and how things feel with this group. He’ll use that knowledge to help make his decision. […]
Tommy,
One critical angle you did not touch on is whether Chip, after thinking about it, wants to return. Its easy to say “he’s prideful” and “wants to prove this or that,” but if he’s a smart guy, he really will consider his own options. His own options are quite good. There’s plenty of marquee college teams that will overpay him.
He hasn’t exactly looked real happy. That Lions loss was a kick in the gut and he may do some serious soul searching, if he hasn’t already.
I do think he’s likely to stay if Lurie agrees (and I also think that’s likely), but I also believe there is a real chance he decides to walk and go back to the college ranks.
Chip Kelly does not strike me as a good that would back down.
Also lets ignore the college angle all together because Kelly hates boosters and recruiting.
I’m in favor of keeping Chip. Great coaches are able to self-scout.
It’s well known that Chip and Belichek are good buddies. BB runs some of Chip’s stuff, but also knows how to slow it down and play to the strength of his players.
If next year is a disappointment, then let him go. The guy didn’t just become an idiot.
We all talk about not becoming the Cleveland Browns. They had BB and let him go after he had some success there.
He needs the 4th year to prove he can make adjustments to himself.
to: tommy boy and the chip lovers
from: objective rational fans that have 2 eyes and a brain
the college fraud has been exposed…the ‘unique’ coach cant coach men, he can’t adjust, can’t judge talent, can’t win unless he is cheating and recruiting thugs like he did at Oregon….please take a reality pill and stop choking your chickens for this fraud.
Still an asshole, I see.
good one A hole…..I mean A roy
its fans like you that give us the slop that lurie serves up….you are too stupid to identify failure and demand improvement….you thank god every night lurie lets you buy jerseys from him….
To go point by point:
– I’m good with Head Coach Chip coming back. He’s on a 5 year deal, he should get 4 with no questions asked.
– GM Chip needs to take a strong look at this roster and add the right talent. A major part of that is that he needs to stop reaching in the draft and learn how to play the trade down / trade up game better. GM Chip isn’t going to demote himself, so I don’t think Lurie would even be able to keep Chip if he insisted on bringing in a personnel guy to oversee Chip.
– Billy Davis – Gone. Red Zone ranking that falls below yardage ranking is an indictment of coaching. We can’t scheme up any pass rush. We can’t scheme up any in game adjustments when one guy on the other team is wearing us out.
– 3/4 vs 4/3 vs. ? – Chip needs a massive dose of flexibility here. Does anybody really think that all of the DBs and WRs we have making special teams plays for Fipp would suddenly suck if we had 2 less LBs on the 46 man roster on game day? I’d like to give Fipp some credit and assume he could work with guys from many position groups to make a good special teams, not only the 3-4 Chip treasures so much because it gives the special teams extra LBs.
QB – I’m all good with Bradford. I hold the tag over his head, bite the bullet on the $20 mil if I have to, and hope I can get him to sign the 3 year / $54 million deal I proposed the other day.
Personnel moves – I need to see what players hit the market, what disgruntled guys we can trade for (like when we stole Peters from the Bills), and what guys I think the team should draft in conjunction with each other before I get specific here. But we all know it needs to improve; especially at O-line and pass rush.
Up tempo – If you block better and drop less passes; the tempo ain’t a problem.
“- GM Chip needs to take a strong look at this roster and add the right talent. A major part of that is that he needs to stop reaching in the draft and learn how to play the trade down / trade up game better”
Care to elaborate? Because if you look at 2015 versus 2014, it seems GM Chip did better in the draft than GM Howie.
Lets analyse the 2015 draft?
Agholor: Everybody praised the pick, perfect fit for the offense and great character
Rowe: Perfect fit and character and everybody liked the pick
Hicks: 90% of the fans had no clue who he was, but showed that the scouting staff knew something fans do not.
Traded a 4th for a future 3rd, which was a good value trade.
JaCorey Shepherd and Randall Evans was good value at the time and Shepherd looked like the real deal before injury.
Brian Mihalik was a fine pick in the 7th round, as it is okay to take a leap of faith in freak of nature athlete with size
Sure. Draft Clemmings in 3rd, get Detroit’s pick in 2016, trade back into 5th to get Hicks using the picks used for Evans and Mihalik, take Shepherd in 6th, sign Mihalik as UDFA.
rather than
reaching for Hicks in 3rd and then everything we wound up with after that.
I don’t care how great Hicks played before he got hurt, he was rated as a 4th/5th rounder by folks because of fragility, so I still would have preferred to add more talent and still get Hicks.
And there is ZERO chance that any pick made in 2013, 2014, and 2015 was not Chip’s final say. Trying to pin any of that on Howie defies truth.
Clemmings has been bad this year and the word is his foot has potential to fall of any second.
Also you aint getting Hicks in the 5th round, no matter how often you keep saying it.
After the pick, there was stories that several teams after the Eagles would have picked him before our next pick.
That “story” was put out by Cincy, who skipped taking a LB with the very next pick after Hicks and then waited to take Paul Dawson, who was rated much higher but fell due to character concerns – something Cincy doesn’t care about, with their 3rd round compensatory pick. Every last person evaluating the draft called “reach” on Hicks, yet no team has released their draft board to contradict that “reach” statement. Until I see some proof that Hicks was rated that high by other teams; I’ll go with the best available reporting.
Clemmings has been up and down in pass protection at RT while he’s been mauling people in the run game. If you watched Sunday night rushing stats for the Vikings, you’d see that Clemmings was destroying guys on the Giants in the run game all night. He would have played one of the guard spots on this team and done quite well while we still would have benefited from Hicks, just with a later pick.
I just don’t think we maximized value from this draft.
Well it only takes 1 other team. Im ok with them getting the guy they want. Wherever they want. The only thing that matters at this point is results, not potential
Hicks Tanked the cowboys season singe handedly That alone was worth the 3rd round pick
Mike loves him some perceived value
I’ll go with “reported” until I see otherwise.
And yes, I look at player value in the draft like a real estate agent looks at value for a property; I don’t want to go over market.
But there is reports that Hick would be picked right after we picked him.
I dismiss that as Cincy throwing people off of that fact that they wanted Dawson instead.
Except in your analogy you’re using simply public facing sources that don’t have full access to information. It would be akin to setting prices only by driving by a house. Sure you know it’s in a nice part of town, how many square feet and bedrooms, but you don’t know if the current owners are shitheads, or if you won’t be able to remodel anything due to structural issues.
That’s the problem with the public stuff. We get reports of stuff we relatively have a decent amount of tape. But we don’t get to sit down face to face with the prospects. We don’t get to put them through workouts to get a better feel for movement ability or actual strength.
Any time the league wants to mandate that the workout, face to face, and draft board information available after the draft ends; I would love to stand corrected.
I’m just never going to take a leap of faith on a drafted player beyond his reported grade / draft status until I’m given access to information contradicting the best information from folks are willing to public.
I’ll maintain I’d rather the team be right on evaluation than valuation.
give me a whole team full of reaches if they can play.
And that isn’t wrong, but I’d like to get both!
And I’d love for my girlfriend to be cool with polygamy and bring home Karlie Kloss and Emma Watson…
We if anybody else ever got that; I think you’re entitled as an all around good guy and Eagles fan.
There is also the fact that the public is not taking fit into account. Its like buy a house with a small living room, but the best fit is actually a large living room
Yea that’s the other problem. There will be guys with first round grades that some teams value until the third or fourth because they don’t really fit what they do. Vernon Hargreaves being a perfect example this year.
On the 3-4 vs 4-3 mix.
Assume for 2016 (due to cap considerations) – No Curry, No Thorton, No Meco
Could we roll a 4-3 with;
New DE / Logan / Cox / Graham on the line. Allen, Hart, Mihalik, Marcus Smith, Another new DE as the 9 we kept on the 53?
Barwin (SAM) / Hicks (Mike), / Kendricks (WIL) as the LBs with Kiko playing a lot in rotation along with Goode, Braman, and a signing / draft pick to be named later.
Just a thought of how we’d have 16 guys in the DL / LB group for 2016.
I would pay Graham money to Curry and go with a 4-3
That is indeed a way you could address the other DE spot, but I don’t know if we can afford it.
If we cut the people needed to be cut (like Celek and Ryans) and restructure Peters and do not sign Bradford to a terrible contract, we will have around 20 mill to work with
Problem would be resource allocation long term once you extend Cox and Logan. You’d have 35-40 mil tied up in just your DL.
We will have around 25-30 mill tied up in Graham, Cox and Logan no matter what right?
Yes but you can live with that because you can live with a guy like Hart who makes peanuts in a 34.
a guy like Buckner, but one can dream right? 😛
It’s a possibility but if they are disciplined they can get another developmental run stopper and an awkward fit subpackaged rusher because both are undervalued by the market.
is it weird that I’d be ok with that? If you’re going to be running a 4-3, you live and die with the DL, as long as you don’t go paying the LB’s too much. Problem for us would be depth I think.
You’re still lacking your true terror rusher. Curry profiles as a Justin Tuck type as a full time starter. Like you said the problem would be depth. You want to be able to come in waves with that kind of a front. You’d still need at least an undersized DT rusher and a rotational 3rd DE.
“You’re still lacking your true terror rusher”
And that remains the biggest talent acquisition failure of this regime no matter 3-4, 4-3 under, 4-3, etc.
Scarcity of talent.
Agreed; that’s why you pay (or overpay) the best front office types to go find it and the best position coaches to develop it. There still isn’t a salary cap on coaching / front office.
Bengals have the smallest scouting staff and arguably the best 53.
Coaching is tough because of limitations on poaching.
I hear you; I just want the patience of Lurie coupled with the bottomless checkbook of Ed Snider. Dare to dream.
If we move to a 43 Barwin only can play SAM if we run the under. You don’t want him as a purely off the ball SAM. If we run a 43 over you can try him at SAM but you probably want him as a DE in that system.
Good to know. Thank you. Could Marcus fit at SAM in a 4-3?
The big question, and Marcus fit anywhere? Can this dude play football? Would sure be nice if we even got a back up out of that pick at this point.
We’re going to find out in 2016 for sure either way. He’s been massively disappointing, but I must stick to the 3 year rule with draft picks.
No. He seems completely lost when asked to diagnose at this point. If he’s to be salvaged its in an on the line role.
Yeah, his foolish lack of contain vs. Carolina comes to mind to prove your point.
He’s done ok when told ok here comes the run set the edge. Hey go drop hook to flat. Hey go try to rush the passer. But when it’s a muddy read he’s completely out of his depth. He’s just so broken down confidence wise. You’d love for him to get an extended run this week and hope he can get a sack a couple pressures and log some tackles. Just so that he doesn’t spend all offseason questioning himself and if he can even play.
That’ key. I’d also like to have him avoid missing valuable time in the offseason with injuries again. That did some level of damage for him this year I’m sure.
I say 4-3 DE might be his best bet for his future
The thing that worries me the most (besides the horrendous, old and too small OL) about the current regime is that it did not come close to solving any of the problems and deficiencies this team displayed throughout the season. From beginning to the end it was the same inconsistent, bone headed, penalty ridden, mistake prone team. There was no real improvement on the offensive side of the ball and the defense got progressively worse. I have no confidence next year will be any different, in fact, it will most likely be the same or worse. This team is in a downward trajectory and Kelly et al. are the reason why. I have no confidence he can fix his mistakes.
re: D Coordinator, I think Davis needs to go. His D has some good performances but on average they are pretty bad, and as others have pointed out are approaching historically bad on 3rd down and in the red zone. That’s been a problem for a couple of years now, so it’s pretty obvious Davis can’t work out how to fix his scheme to improve (or if we want to be super generous, he can’t work out how to teach his players the correct scheme, which is actually worse).
I think it might be good if Chip ended up with a DC who gave a bit more push back, I don’t get the impression that Davis is going to fight his corner against Chip much and is just making the best with what he’s given, so I think someone who has stronger beliefs might be useful. I don’t mean someone who is going to get into a shouting match at the drop of a hat, but I do think Chip needs to hear more dissent, ideally from someone who knows how to run an NFL D to a high standard.
Doesnt Seattle have a very similar situation w Carroll and the “GM” there? hes got the GM title but Carroll is still the big Cheese, seems they have a great working relationship… is that basically what we have here w Chip and Ed?
Given time, that is a possible positive outcome of our situation.
Schneider is a much stronger voice though. He’s been an NFL scout since 93. He’s a Ted Thompson/Ron Wolf/Packers protege.
That explains Matt Flynn.
Tommy, while I was initially a proponent Chip, I am in favor of blowing it up and starting over. Up tempo should be part of the arsenal, but shouldn’t be the only weapon. CK wants to simplify and out-technique the defense. It hasn’t worked. Each year, the O is simpler and each year, it’s more predictable. And it just kills the defense as the year rolls on.
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Speaking of which, my recollection is that AR always struggled against the 3-4 teams…I mostly remember BAL and PIT, but there were others, too. I think it’s more flexible than the 4-3 and there are more possible blitz packages…with the right personnel. That said, I’m not a big fan of 2-gapping. In a pass happy league, I’d rather pressure the QB first and play the run second.
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By blowing it up, I would start at the top with a Pres, such as Ozzie Newsome. Someone who knows the game and has had success as a GM. Have him put together the correct front office staff. And hire a coach that coaches.
That blowup will be coming for 2017 if Chip doesn’t get it done in 2016.
As it’s gonna happen either way, I’d rather start in 2016.
I get that impulse, but I want to see it for another year. I don’t plan on dying for another 40 to 50 years; so I can wait a year before blowing up the team.
Whilst I, on the other hand, have been rooting for the Eagles for over 40 years already. And Lurie’s 64…he doesn’t have time to fart around with CK for another year like this one.
good point A hole….i mean A roy
Kelly retooled, rebuilt, and reshaped the Eagles into an average team.
Given that they’re 6-9; I’d content they’re a far below average team.
And they might be putrid, below average, average, or above average next year.
I guess we’re going to find out.
Is it foolish to think that we got the absolute least out of the talent that we could this year? If not, probably only room to improve next year.
You point out that Kelly made a lot of good personnel decisions. I agree. He also correctly assessed that the Eagles were not ever going to be really good in the 2014 construction and had the guts to act on it. The problem is that his two big money commitments were probably bad and I fear that Kelly messed up the cap structure. After he pays Bradford $20 million per year he is not going to have much money left to address the other areas. What do you think about the current cap structure?
Also I read on BGN that PFF rates Lane Johnson as the 11th best right tackle. If that is an accurate assessment it doesn’t bode well for his success at left tackle, does it?
Lane’s been hurt since the first WAS game. It explains why his play dipped right after that. You have to contextualize that statistic.
I’m afraid of Chip getting a job with another NFL team one day and winning Super Bowls with them. Yes, that means I still think Chip is a very talented (and flawed) coach. I don’t think one bad season is enough for me to want to pull the plug.
That being said, I think some obvious smaller changes need to be made:
1. Billy Davis has to go. The defense should not have regressed the way it did. It was 2nd in DVOA half way through the season. Talented players like Alonso, Kendricks, and Maxwell underperformed. I think there will be plenty of 3-4 coaches out there like Mike Pettine or Ray Horton who would be upgrades.
2. A consultant needs to be brought in to help with the salary cap. I don’t think you can take GM power away from Chip if you still want him as coach, but he overpaid for Murray and Maxwell. Clearly we don’t want to end up in cap hell like the Cowboys. I’m not talking about a veteran GM because those guys wouldn’t want this job, but essentially a Howie Roseman accountant type (except one who would actually get along with Chip).
Let’s bring back Joe Banner!
what is everyone’s thoughts on Thornton? i get that he is somewhat of a situational player, not really worth a big money deal. but i’m a little worried that anybody else we put there seems to play rather poorly…i don’t have a lot of faith in Hart or Bair.
Just a reflection on the entirety of the Eagles 2015. The whole thing was pretty crap from start to end, to experience, as a fan.
All of the off-season moves were very perplexing at the time, even though I think in the end most of the ones I hated were actually good and the ones I loved were actually bad. That misery followed all the way up until camp and into preseason. There was a brief moment of jubilation within 2015, while we all thought the team was really good. Turned out they weren’t and now all the way up to 3 days before 2016….this year SUCKED.
It really did. We can debate angels on a pinhead, but ultimately, for an Eagle fan this year was dreary and no fun.
I can see the offensive line getting much better via the draft and free agency. What concerns me the most is the receivers. After a quick Google search, Matthews, Algholar, Huff, Ertz, and Cooper all had numerous scouting reports coming out of college showing a weakness in “concentration drops”. I’m not sure next year won’t be a repeat of this year when drops are concerned.
We can’t bring in a GM, because that’s not what Chip wants. We can’t bring in a coach who will implement a different style of defense, because that’s not what Chip wants. We can’t expect Chip to target certain types of players or make certain tweaks to his system because they aren’t what he wants.
I see these all as HUGE problems. Frankly, I don’t give a crap what Chip wants. He hasn’t earned the right to micromanage the organization to that degree or dictate decision-making on that level. His roster moves and cap management have been abysmal. The defenses the team has fielded under his watch have been historically bad. His insistence on players who fit his culture has resulted in the jettisoning of talented veterans and their replacement with inferior substitutes. He hasn’t proven himself competent in any of these areas, so I think Lurie is perfectly within his rights to tell Chip he has to cede some of his power in these areas, or else. It might antagonize him into leaving, but I’m willing to take that risk – I don’t see any reason to think it would be any great loss at this point. But then, it might not. Mike Holmgren was stripped of personnel authority in Seattle after bungling that aspect of his GM/coach dual role in his first few seasons there, and with professional talent evaluators back in charge the team quickly returned to form and made the Super Bowl. And Mike Holmgren’s NFL resume was far, far more impressive than Chip Kelly’s.
When someone who wields it incompetently has too much power in an organization, you don’t remedy the situation by ignoring problems and hoping he will improve and begin wielding it more effectively. You remedy it by stripping him of duties which he is not performing adequately or excising him from the organization entirely. Lurie has to do what is necessary. Chip demanded great power, and got it. But to quote Spider Man, with great power comes great responsibility. There has to be accountability for this disaster of a season. Has to be.
But he’s friends with Belicheck and he might win a Super Bowl with his supposed second team!!
“Mike Holmgren was stripped of personnel authority in Seattle after bungling that aspect of his GM/coach dual role in his first few seasons there” key words “few seasons”.
“…the jettisoning of talented veterans and their replacement with inferior substitutes…”
I get that your disgusted, but Maclin and Mathis were, for different reasons, motivated to make their getaways happen. Chip was willing to overpay what he thought Maclin was worth, but more $$, Andy Reid and Missouri pulled the receiver away. If Kelly had made an offer that Maclin could NOT refuse, you think Eagles would have a different record? They may have, but it is far from certain to me. The breakdowns were all over the field, not just dropped passes. And Mathis…I don’t know that his retention would have put an end to his attention-getting antics. I don’t think Kelly thought so. I do believe that Kelly fixed something that wasn’t broken by cutting Mathis, but would a healthy Mathis have been so good that Peters and Kelce would have had no execution breakdowns? Doubt it.
And Kiko was DROY wasn’t he? Personally, I thought that McCoy trade was a stroke of brilliance, at the time. Cannot account for Alonso’s lackluster play, but who could have predicted that? He overpaid for Maxwell, but that is a fact of free agency that nobody can avoid. To me the defensive backfield looks to be improved, while front 7 have gotten worse. ILB looked solid before rookie Hicks went down, but Ryans looks finished and Kendricks looked overwhelmed. Pass rush was consistently unimpressive.
On the offense, the acquisition of Sam earns Kelly some props in my opinion. He’s not Joe Montana, but he’s an improvement that can get better. The OL…a hot mess for which I think Kelly has earned the barbs. And the RB situation is inextricably linked to the OL. In last year’s draft, Washington, you know, the NFC East Champions? They selected a guard at no.5 in the first round. Maybe they’re onto something.
If Kelly had made an offer that Maclin could NOT refuse, you think Eagles would have a different record? They may have, but it is far from certain to me. The breakdowns were all over the field, not just dropped passes
Dropped passes directly resulted in at least two losses this season, and not having a bona fide #1 caliber NFL receiver was a huge weakness of this offense. I am 99% certain retaining Maclin would have made a big difference.
And Mathis…I don’t know that his retention would have put an end to his attention-getting antics. I don’t think Kelly thought so.
Guys who are unhappy with contracts do stuff like skipping OTAs all the time in the NFL. They almost always cave if they don’t have any leverage, which Mathis didn’t. Managing this kind of thing is part of being a good NFL coach. You can’t afford to send talented players packing because of stuff like this in the pros.
I do believe that Kelly fixed something that wasn’t broken by cutting Mathis, but would a healthy Mathis have been so good that Peters and Kelce would have had no execution breakdowns?
Of course there would have still been some breakdowns. There always are. But it’s likely that continuity, plus not having to worry about covering for the mistakes of guys who aren’t NFL-caliber starters, would’ve made a big difference.
And Kiko was DROY wasn’t he? Personally, I thought that McCoy trade was a stroke of brilliance, at the time. Cannot account for Alonso’s lackluster play, but who could have predicted that?
Actually, a lot of people pointed out that Alonso was coming off of his second knee reconstruction and was an injury risk. His losing a step coming back from injury/getting hurt again was not a black swan event that nobody saw coming.
On the offense, the acquisition of Sam earns Kelly some props in my opinion. He’s not Joe Montana, but he’s an improvement that can get better.
He’s somewhere around the 18th-20th best starting QB in football (i.e., mediocre). You don’t win Super Bowls by trading high picks for guys like that, nor by paying them $20 million a season. If they make a Tannehill-type commitment to him they are basically ensuring that they won’t win anything for the next 5 years. I do not consider this move a point in Chip’s favor.
The logical conclusion of this article is that they should have kept Andy Reid…he provided stability and success during his tenure….Better than Marv Lewis or Ron Rivera for sure….But Kelly’s performance has gotten worse each season and it was self-inflicted. Ridding yourself of in-their-prime all-pro players because they don’t fit an unproven system is beyond ludicrous.
Reid lost the team. That’s not something you just come back from.
I went to the flight night after Reid’s son died and you could tell he wasn’t there. Like he didn’t say anything until the end of the night and when he did it was pretty much “thanks for coming out”. It was so obvious Reid wasn’t “there”
I went to the other flight night before that and Reid was just on fire. THat fire wasn’t there his last season. The guy is a human being.
In no way am I attacking him. I’m just stating the fact that the team was lost at that point.
Did I like Reid? Yes.
Did I feel bad for the situation? Yes.
There are people out there that have taken shots at him calling him a lousy human being because he wasn’t there for his kids. Those people have no idea what they are talking about. They obviously a haven’t dealt with a child that is an addict, or more specifically an opiate addict. You can be there for your kid, but in all reality you cannot control your child’s addiction. By all accounts I have seen, before the end Reid was with him.
Would I rather have had that not happen, Reid still have the team and be the coach today? Yes.
Unfortunately the situation did not allow for that. I firmly believe that the best thing for Reid was to move on. Get a new chance. He is doing good, team seems to love him in KC, and he seems like his old jubilant self.
Good points.
Really he should have forced Reid to go on leave once his son died. Then had one more season after his leave to determine if Reid belonged here.
I’ve got to imagine there was a conversation between Lurie and Andy about taking time off.
Of course Andy is going to say no. But Lurie should have forced him.
It was probably tough for Lurie. On the one hand, it would have been the right thing to do. On the other hand, sometimes allowing someone to stay busy is the best way for them to work through their grief. Compassion can be a tricky thing.
I have a structured settlement
Just recycling the same stupid post I see.
thanks man, you’re the only one that understands, and it’s all I got right now
I understand that you are a complete and utter moron that has no sense of mind and can’t contribute anything to a blog dedicated to the Eagles. “Stupid is as stupid does” sure does apply to you.
After this season,
Moves I liked:
Trading for Sam Bradford
Signing Ryan Matthews
Drafting Jordan Hicks
Re-signing Brandon Graham
Moves I hated:
Releasing Evan Mathis
Not drafting Ali Marpet or Jake Fisher
Trading McCoy for Alonso
Signing DeMarco Murray
Signing Miles Austin
Letting Jeremy Maclin walk
Moves I’m 50/50 on:
Signing Byron Maxwell
Drafting Nelson Agholor
Signing Walter Thurmond
Re-signing Mychal Kendricks
kendricks move is sliding more to moves i hated.
I would have liked the Bradford trade but it costed us a second rounder. For a player that might only play here one year. That’s not a good trade.
Also they wouldn’t have had to draft Algoholor who really isn’t that good – let’s be honest – if he didn’t let our entire WR corp go.
I wouldnt count Maclin as letting go. Sounds like he got a very reasonable offer from the Eagles and decided to go elsewhere.
yes and no, they could have over paid a bit for him with the cap going up. It still would have paid off looking at his production in KC
I don’t see how you let him get out of the building. Especially in hindsight.
To be honest, after we signed Murray, I thought having him and Kiko on the roster made the Eagles a stronger team. I even, gasp, thought it would be good to have Austin on the squad. My #1 hate was the release of Mathis.
yup
In fairness, some moves will prove to be better in yeàr 2… Just like Nolan was much better this year, than last year when he first came to Philly. Even Jenkins turned it up a notch..
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Some of these moves will look better next yeàr, some will prove to be hopeless no matter how much time we give them… Tricky part is trying to figure out which is which.
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For Example, Can Demarco signing be salvaged by tweaking the Offense, and building a Beast of an Interior OL Murray can run behind?
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The WORST THING we could do is completeky Overreact and turn over 25% of the roster again, because all that chamge CLEARLY takes time to take effect… If we want to have a better season Next year, changing a quarter of the roster again, is probably the Worst Thing we could do..
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Most our flaws are based off playërs that don’t know how to play together yet.. Playërs need to know what each other are thinking and how each other will react in each situation… Only way to achieve this Mindmeld continuity is by giving them time to come together, and it takes more than one offseason unfortunately
Would you trade DeMarco Murray?. It would save the team $4 million in cap and leave $4 million in dead money. Then the remaining $6 million in guaranteed salary would be count as $3 million, 2 million, and $1 million in dead money the following 3 years.
then you gotta spend a draft pick or $ getting guy who may not be as good. net net you’re in the same place.
Filling the RB position is probably the easiest position to fill, which is why it’s so frustrating to see us pay more for RB then any other team, even worse when we can’t run the ball after how much we paid..
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only “easy” when you have a good o-line. Think cart was put before the horse.
I would literally do WHATEVER lowers the cap hit Murray costs us the most. If it’s cheaper to keep him, then I want to keep him, if it’s cheaper to trade him, then I want to trade him, if we can save money by renegotiating his contract and working out a buy out, then that’s what I want..
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If Trading Murray is the cheapest option, SIGŃ ME UP!!!
I said this elsewhere, Im fine with the draft and still have faith those guys will grow. Not much to like about his FA moves at all. I didnt like:
Bradford trade
Demarco anything, esp contract
Miles Austin
Losing Maclin bidding game with the stable of WRs he would be left with was a big mistake no matter how it went down.
Completely whiffed on the Mathis hold out game.
Lurie isn’t bringing in ANYONE to work with Chip! Get that out of our minds..
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Chip already has LURIE Paying for a HUGE coaching staff, Huge sports science staff, Marynowitz and New scouts…. Chip won’t want a GM, and I doubt LURIE wants to pay for MORE staff members.
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Btw, even if Chip would be open to a GM, Chip will retain final say, so what quality GM would EVER come here if he will be stripped of traditional GM Authority because Chip will retain Final say?
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Get Real… The front office is what it is… If the front office is to improve, it will have to come from inexperienced Chip and Marynowitz, learning from mistakes, and growing into their front office Rolls..
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This talk about bringing in a GM is absurd,., more realistic to talk about Pigs flying..
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Dont Neccessarily agree with Chip, but it is the reality of the situation… Unfortunateky that moron Elliot Parker keeps putting this silly GM crap in fans heads… No GM is getting hired this offseason
Really wish people would do what you said and get it out of their heads. Some things people juse can’t get over.
Just annoying to spend weeks talking about some shit that has no chance of happening, at least not this offseason
My thoughts exactly.
Plenty of REAL Problems that need addressing
Since the bye, this defense is dead last in almost every category in the NFL. It wasn’t just the Miami and Tampa Bay games, a few injuries, or the extra snaps.
Considerable resources were invested the past offseason in the defense and they were worse than even last year. Arguably the worst defense team in franchise history.
Davis should be fired the day after the season ends.
Well it sure looks like Cary WIlliams was right.
Seattle has a top 5 offense this year and are 5th in TOP…..that dude ran out of excuses and Pete Carroll put him on the street. If you’re trying to make a point i’d advise you to not use that sack of shit to make it.
Point is the defense is worn down. Chip Kelly ruined Cary WIlliams career.
Everyone is blaming Davis, but the D was well above average for the first half of the year. Seems to me they’re worn down. The season is a marathon and the other guys are also getting paid to play football. If our D is doing 20% more work than the other teams, that’s a major disadvantage, sports science BS be damned.
I do not think Billy Davis is an above-average coordinator. But I think Kelly’s ineptitude at offense is an equal partner in these disappointing results.
It’s like running a marathon but tacking on 5 more miles at the end and expecting the runner to compete. It’s illogical.
Wait that’s not what matters. Its the number of plays. That’s what Chip cares about….
pats play 17-19 games per year every year, they don’t look worn down.
I think hicks covered up for a lot of mistakes by the other LBs, and i think bennie logan was healthy. i don’t think kiko / kendricks sucking was due to being tired – other than kendricks might be out of shape.
If the defense could get off the field on 3rd down occasionally, they wouldn’t have had so many plays.
lets assume you are right with the 20% more mark.
so by game 10, our defense has played 20% more games – or 12 games.
shouldn’t we still expect our defense to play at a high level after 12 games?
i think any team should plan to play 19 games through the playoffs and the superbowl. so if your defense can’t last through a load of 19 games, then yea … they can’t handle it.
but our defense supposedly wore down before they put in 19 games, right?
Davis has never been successful in the NFL. It was a bad hire to begin with. Maybe Chip took him on because he would get in line behind the head coach and do whatever he was told.
It’s a strange thing, though, with the Eagles D playing so darn well with Hicks in the lineup. It’s hard to believe the rookie could elevate the whole lineup so much. I wonder what the film says about the difference when Jordan was playing and after he got hurt? Did Davis change the scheme, was it personnell, and/or something else?
Hicks just went down right when the defense got worn out.
That could be it.
It was maybe a risky hire but no an outright bad one. I wanted Davis fired last offseason given how badly this defense played down the stretch and his ridiculous refusal to bench Fletcher or allow him in continued man coverage with no help.
This season has been a defensive disaster and even if the offense was scoring at a higher rate they would be back to having to score 27/28 pts to just have a good chance to win. That’s ridiculous.
Not one guy at all, it never is. The D performs well about 4 games a season over the last few years. That is all, otherwise hes outcoached the rest of the time. How many times Ive had to watch big gaps in the red zone where everything is supposed to be tight and hard for the offense. We see a guy make a catch with no defender within 5 ft of him as he barrels into the end zone from 5 plus yards out. Thats coaching/scheme, predictablility
i’m thinking the problem is that Hicks was the only ILB we had capable of 1) setting the defense and 2) actually playing at a high level.
kendricks is apparently dumb since he doesn’t have any play calling responsibilities.
alonso strikes me as a dumb jock, and to top it off played like butt this year.
demeco has the mind for the game, but not the body anymore.
so once Hicks went down we were left with a defense that couldn’t get set/couldn’t adjust (when demeco was not on the field) or we had a defense with a pretty big hole in it (when demeco was on the field).
And the next DC won’t do any better with the defensive restriction Chip puts on the defensive Coordinator…. Doubt Davis is getting fired..
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More likely IMO is WR coach getting upgraded.., im a fan of coach Minter, but the inside Linebacker room might need a new voice..
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IMo the defense won’t be truly fixed until Chip removes the press man, single high Safery restrictions he puts on the defense,.. It’s fine to have a defensive blueprint, you need one so you know what type of players to acquire in the offseason, but once Camp starts, we need a DC who has the authority to run whatever gives our defense the best chance to win instead of force feeding this singke high safety, press corner crap at all times, no matter the personnell or the matchups… Once the season starts, DC should be allowed to run whatever he sees fit… Doubt Billy is getting Fired.. Chip seems liken he type that doesn’t give a shit about giving bloodthirsty fans and Media THE FALL GUY They all want… Chip seems like he will thumb his nose at the desire for a Fall guy, and defiantly do whatever he sees fit,,, I kind of respect that about him
Fair point but I’d be stunned if Davis isn’t fired. He is the obvious scapegoat land frankly deserves to be fired.
Like I said I bet lurie prsseures him to fire Davis and make other changes.
We’ll see….. I think Chip will thumb his nose at giving the public the fall guy they all want….
totally agree, hes gotta go, has to. Maybe this is where Chip finally agrees to adjust his thoughts at the pro level, you know, growth mindset. Whatever it is theyve tried with Billy D and Chip hasnt worked in 3 years, no other way around it looking at the results.
on a Positive note to this miserable season, Hello Hard Knocks Philadelphia Eagles!!!! Whoooooo!!!
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Now we have to get ready for the LOSER BOWL against the Giants. The Loser gets a high draft pick, easier last place schedule next year, but the loser also has to play an away game in London against the Rams..
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Unfortunately there is no such a thing as TRYING to LOSE a football game, so we have to hope the Giants haven’t quit on COUGHLIN like they did at the end of last season
I have zero confidence in the Eagles losing when they actually should
I say fire Chip Kelly and bring in Mike Holmgren with a GM. Chip sucks. THis team sucks. Sam Bradford is not coming back. It is going to be a joke of a season next year.
I just started thinking about what the Eagles would be like next year if Sam doesn’t return. That would likely mean using the 1st round pick on a young qb, instead of other needs. Giving the rookie time to develop behind a crappy O-line and no running game, we could well be looking at a 4-12 season.
You can’t develop a QB when they are scared for their life. That’s why McNabb wasn’t allowed to start until the OL was solidified. The game moves so fast as it is and if the young QB starts thinking hmmm where is the next hit coming form instead of hmmm look at my WRs its career ending.
Exactly. So either throw the rookie to the wolves or put Sanchez under center,. Make that a 2-14 season.
But then you will just destroy your first round pick. I agree make Sanchez the starter. I think if a new coach comes in that’s what they will do.
I’m with you. If Bradford leaves, the team is in a very tough situation.
Dude get over it, Chip is coming back and there is no great coach walking through those doors to replace Chip. You have inside sources telling you Bradford won’t be back? Most likely not.
You don’t know that. ANd you thought the Eagles were going to win the SUper Bowl so you really have no clue what you are talking about.
Please tell me when I ever said the Eagles were winning the SB. Make valid points, don’t talk out of your ass because your clearly don’t know what it is you’re talking about. Bradford won’t be back because you said so right? My point exactly that you don’t know what you’re saying.
Oh stop you have been on the Chip Bandwagon and still are. Just stop pretending now.
Don’t feed them Bruh…
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Let the silly trolls STARVE!!!!
I know man, I got sucked in by dumb commentary.
yeah, cause you’re an idiot
Being called an idiot by an idiot is quite amusing. You are beyond idiocy and have yet to make one valid post on this blog. So before you start calling names look it the mirror you moron.
Memba you said this?
I do. I posted something on the previous article saying apologies to anybody that I doubted I ate my words. I can admit it.
You troll Howie Roseman troll blah blah blah. you are full of shit.
Well clearly you aren’t a real man and that’s obvious. I said I admit my mistake and you call me a troll? You’re a little bitch and that’s as clear as glass. Keep talking tough on the internet big guy.
troll howie roseman troll troll troll blah blah bla blah fukcing blah. you are so full of shit.
Cool story little bitch
troll howie roseman troll troll you full of shit ass mother fucker. fuck you and shut your dumb fukcing mouth you ass bitch
Still have almost zero faith that Kelly the GM will get decent return on value in the contracts he hands out, that he excludes certain types of players based solely on some basic personal attributes, and that he still doesn’t have a grand scheme to what kind of team he wants or adopts his players to it.
Kelly the coach had enough issues this year. I bet Kelly the GM is going to get the coach fired next offseason and it will take the new coach at least a year or two to clean up the roster mess Kelly leaves. New guy will have to gamble on finding their franchise QB. Hope it works out like it did for Reid and Vermeil and not Rhodes or Kelly.
Andy Reid had the foresight to draft players at positions where the team had decent but aging stars. Chip Kelly not drafting a single OL in the last 2 drafts despite having 3/5 of his offensive line over the age of 30 is a little troubling. I don’t know what his thought process was when he released Evan Mathis in June after free agency and the draft was over.
Was it arrogance?
Releasing Todd Herremans was the right move because he was injured, over the hill, and the coaching staff really liked Andrew Gardener. But Evan Mathis was one of the better guards in the NFL and the Eagles had no one to replace him. Matt Tobin and Alan Barbre were fucking terrible the year prior.
“Andy Reid had the foresight to draft players at positions where the team had decent but aging stars”
“Chip Kelly not drafting a single OL in the last 2 drafts despite having 3/5 of his offensive line over the age of 30 is a little troubling.”
How do you square these two statements? By your logic there should ave been some backup talent at OL, since the avg age was 112.
The class that Kelce came in with had I think Vandervelde and maybe and maybe one other, along with a few UDFA didn’t it? The big man had many faults, but the big man loved his big men
Yeah you have to take a shotgun approach to the draft. That’s why the Eagles had averaged 10 picks when Reid was here.
Once you get a QB, you got 10 players on O. Half of them will be O-line. You have to invest hard. Can’t assum you can pick up 1 a year, most players drafted won’t become starters.
Im sure Kelly assumes all his picks will pan out.
yup and I recall a lot of us making fun of the Skins pickups on the O line. Not looking so smart now.
skins got a great gm and a great ol coach and they’re in the playoffs – not so hard.
It was just outright foolish as was how they telegraphed and released Jackson. They didn’t have an adequate replacement for either one, couldn’t do anything at that point in the offseason, and got nothing in return for them.
Jackson release was still one of the dumbest moves the last few years by any NFL GM team. Eagles let it be known they were going to release Jacksob at least a week before it occurred. Why the hell was any team going to trade for him if they could gamble on just picking up from the waiver wire?
I think releasing DJax was dumber than taking a knee with 6 seconds left in the 2nd quarter without a timeout.
Yeah and I still think the Eagles leaked the info to Eliot Shorr Parks about the Jackson story with his supposed gang ties. Funny how Parks hasn’t led with a major Eagles’ story since then either.
Jackson made no bones about how much he enjoyed beating this team again especially Kelly. I bet he realizes that someone in the Eagles’ organization got that info to Parks which really pissed him off even more.
He was treated like he was nothing to this organization. Which really pisses me off as a fan. My #1 Eagles moment was when DJax returned that punt for a TD and we just threw him in the garbage like a dirty diaper. It’s despicable. Plus they definitely leaked that gang crap on the way out. just disgusting.
It happens around the NFL. I just thought it was an incredibly foolish move and poorly-handled. The difference is where Parks got his info because his supposed story about calling contacts in the LAPD sounded like complete BS from the start. A reporter who never lived or worked out there has contacts in a large police dept? Yeah right sure. He got that story from someone and I do think it was someone within the Eagles’ information. They used Parks because they he was willing to get the notoriety that came with the story despite it being lousy reporter ethics.
That story was garbage in, garbage out. If the Eagles leaked it they picked the right drip.
Think Andrew Gardner is our best Guard. Unfortunately we lost him way too early to find out for sure…I thought it was pretty obvious that he is ahead of Tobin.
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Barbre and Tobin got a ton of experience this year, but I didnt see enough growth to pencil them in as next years starting Guards, however the experience they got this year, should make them about as good of a backüp Guards as we could hope for..
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How Chip goes about Building the OL ISNT as clear right now. For Example, Guard position really hurt us this year especially in the run game, and it made Demarco almost useless..so it’s obvious we need better starting Guards, but I’m not so sure our starting Guards ARENT already on this roster. As much as the Guard position hurt us, there is a scenario where we don’t even have to add any new Guards:
jason peters at LG, Gardner at RG, Barbre and Tobin as solid experienced Backups….. If this scenario holds true, we NEED TACKLES, a starting RT and a backüp Tackle, although if Peters moves to Guard, he still would be a fantastic backüp Tackle for is in case of emergency..
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There is another scenario where Peters spends one more year at LT, in which case we need at least 1 starting Guard (if Gardner is going to start at the other Guard spot).. And a backüp Young Tackle would be needed to start grooming on the bench
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My biggest dissapointment is that we have no idea what we have in Barrett Jones or Josh Andrews, can either be a solid Longterm Backüp to Kelce? If those two cant play a lick, we will need a backup Center since KELCE isn’t the most durable..
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What we can Count On:
Lane Johnson, LT of the future
KELCE at Center
Barbre and Tobin as quality backüp Guards.
Gardner???
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The rest is up in the air…. Regardless of what scenario we go with, looks like we have to add two Offensive Lineman, at least 1 has to be able to start next year, we will NEED two starters if we get rid of Peters(Id feel better if we kept JP for one more yeàr..
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For me, Ideally, im hoping Peters is ready to move to Guard permanently. I think he can be a very good Guard for a few more years, he has the Power to deal with more stationary DT’s instead of continuing to be a dancing bear and moving those feet fast enough to stay in front of young edge speed rushers trying to beat him outside..Peters still has the feet to do all the pulling we ask of Guards, but I think he can be dominant again, if we move him at Guard where he can use his power to battle with more stationary targets that he encounters at Defensive Tackle
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What I do KNOW is building an Elite OL is the fastest way to improve the entire offense and make our weapons a tad bit more effective, a lot will improve simply from upgrading the OL.. ESPECIALLY RUN BLOCKING, Tho Bradford could be really Nasty if he doesn’t have to worry about getting Killed like this past year
Bone head moves by this non-GM :
”
Fourth Round
The Eagles own their own fourth round pick.
The Eagles can own the Rams’ fourth round pick IF Sam Bradford plays less than 50% of Philadelphia’s offensive snaps this season. Considering Bradford’s injury issues in the past, this possibility can’t be entirely ruled out. If Bradford plays 50% of more of Philadelphia’s snaps, however, the Eagles receive no pick back from the Rams.
The Eagles can own the Steelers’ fourth round pick IF Brandon Boykin plays 60% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.
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Do you know the % of snaps Bradford has played so far? If it’s under 50% and that would result in another pick, the move would be to sit him for the Giants game.
It says offensive snaps. He is definitely above 50%
Oh, yea, that makes sense. When it gets beyond figuring out gas mileage for my truck, math ain’t my strong suit.
Kelly is behind the eight ball and basically needs to have one of NFL Executive of the Year types offseasond to get this back to a 10 or 11 win teams.
He had to do this without a 2nd round pick and no extra higher picks, real doubts by other players and agents about his long-term stability here, and convince FA players the issues which have surfaced this season and last offseason didn’t mean anything. Also has to resign Bradford too.
Even if he makes changes to his scheme and upgrades the coaching staff, it just strikes me as too many things having to align in a single offseason.
The likely accuracy of you thoughftul reason and logic has me really depressed.
“It is possible that Chip will do self-scouting and decide that he needs to make changes to his staff, scheme or style of play. I just wouldn’t count on him coming to those conclusions.”
This paragraph troubles me. If the belief is that Chip will be unwilling to make adjustments and changes after seeing this garbage season, I don’t see how anyone can want him to stay. I don’t expect major changes and for Chip to completely change his system/coaching staff/approach, but if his attitude is ‘execution’ was the only issue and that is on the players to fix, we are in for another long season and wet might as well fire Chip now. Chip absolutely had a hand in the failures of this season and he has to be willing to recognize that and make appropriate changes.
With that said, I do believe he can make some changes. Obviously he isn’t going to completely gut everything, but hopefully he does self scout and see some of his ideas are not working and he has to adjust. My point above is that IF you believe he will not change some things or is unable to make the right changes, he should be fired.
I really dont buy his stock answers at pressers as his true beliefs, ever. Hes just getting through those things hence the double speak and even contradicting himself a lot over the years.
Yeah big mistake to put to much stock into his press Confrence answers
I used “execution” as an example. I agree, what he says in press conferences is simply coach speak. Still, there is a sense (Tommy mentions it himself in this post) that Chip will not change things if he returns. That implies that he is faulting the players/injuries/luck/execution/etc. and not his scheme/coaches/style of play for this year’s failures. That’s just not reality. There are areas where the talent isn’t good enough and where players are absolutely to blame for some of the issues with this team, but Chip WAS also part of the problem this season. He needs to be able to look in the mirror and see his flaws and correct them or he will remain part of the problem. If Lurie senses Chip is unwilling or unable to make necessary changes with his scheme/style of play/coaching staff, Lurie should fire him, end of story. I think Chip isn’t necessarily THAT stubborn, but he does need to be able to make some changes in what he and his coaches did this year or else we are in for another bad season.
agree on all accounts just tough to glean much from coaches pushing their way through these questions. Its always obvious they hate dealing with the media. I get it though, I think you can actually take more from his actions also at being stubborn at times, running Murray with no success, not benching DBs etc.
I thought it was beyond ridiculous yesterday when Chip said he wasn’t the GM. Does he really think people are that stupid?
It was really odd. Eskin is a jerk but he did a nice job of setting up Kelly for that question about wasn’t it the GM’s fault too about needing to get better players.
Kelly was nostalgia pissed when he realized what Eskin had done to him.
Yeah Eskin has some big balls. I liked it when he said “It’s Einstein”
The 3-4 has been creative. It’s created a lot of points and yards for the opponent.
Indeed.
A losing season is a good reality check for Chip. I think he has been overconfident with the 10-6 seasons. At the same time, I think he knew the Eagles had to get better, hence the offseason moves. Lets see how Chip learns and adapts and moves on. Lets be honest, getting a new coach next year is not going to win us a superbowl, might as well see what chip does at this point.
I agree on wanting to see what next year with Chip holds.
He started at University of New Hampshire running a hurry up offense. THen went to Oregon with the same strategy. That gimmicky shit don’t work against good coaches and not in the NFL. Hurry up offense is a tool not a foundation of an NFL team. It’s rediculous.
I do agree that I wish he incorporated other concepts into his offense. Some under center, vary the tempo, etc. Maybe thats in the future and this year was just about getting SB comfortable with the basiics to build on for the future. Who knows.
I think Chip was always hired for what LURIE thought he could grow into, not because he was ready to step in the NFL and be a top pro coach from day 1..
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Chip had plenty of instant success, but for Chip to ever have long lasting success he would have to do a lot of growing and evolving at the pro level… Typically you Learn the most from your failures…
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I think what happens next will determine how we remember the 2015 season.
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If we NEVER have success again, until we rebuild the entire 2015 team, we will look back on it like the 2011 dream team debacle..
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But if Chip uses this as a big learning lesson, and we end up seeing a successful Eagle team next year, led by Braford, Ryan Mathews, 3 young WRs Chip selected, a rebuilt OL, a good defense with Kiko, thurmond, Hicks, Jenkins than we will look back on 2015 a little differently… Now the 2015 season looks like a disaster.. But if Bradford goes on to lead us to success with 3 young Wrs growing into big roles, we will then look back on 2015 as a rebuilding year, where Chip finally came to power and used 2015 to rebuild, and Lay his foundation for a successful Chip Kelly/Marynowtz eagle regime
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If the Eagles won’t ever be good again until they blow up the 2015 Eagles team, then 2015 will always be remembered as the dream team debacle of 2011.
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If Bradford goes on to have some Carson Palmer type of ressurection and lead us to a few successful years, 2015 will look a little different, it will look like the rebuilding year, that Chip used to lay the foundation for the SAM Bradford, Chip, Marynowitz Eagle era… But there is a ton of work to do, Ton of lessons that need to be learned, tons of mistakes we need to fix
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2015 today looks like an epic disaster, but we are 1 game away from getting Bradford thru the season Healthy, and that was ALWAYS the single most important goal for this franchise this season. obviously we would have liked to achieve that and also enjoy a trip to the playffs, but BIG PICTURE we got SAM thru the year healthy, and looking good showing growth in just about every game and we would have to be insane to give up on SAM while he is still improving and after he naturally grew into the leader of this team without forcing the issue.
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So while this was as painful of a season as it gets, big picture, we accomplished the single most important aspect of this season, and going forward, we are now in a pretty good position to build having a young QB, LT, C, TE and WRs, and a defense that showed the ability to play some pretty damn good defense before injuries piled up And we completely fell apart.. The Implosion of the ILB position is what I poïnt to as the most glaring cause of our defensive Nose Dive from the quality defense we enjoyed the first half of the season
pretty Ironic considering Chip was ripped BIGTIME going into the year for his Embarressment of Riches at ILB.. Turns out, lack of ILB play was #1 culprit for the defensive nose dive, it led to the nose dive of what was a top Run defense for over a year, and once the run defense collapsed, it made life even harder for a new secondary of players who were on the field together for the first year..
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This season was a Dissapointmemt, a failure. But going forward, we now have a young QB, LT, C, TE, Wrs, DL, Starting Secondary in place… We NEED to Build half of our OL, upgrade a player or two in the Front 7, add a little more depth to the secondary, and untangle the mess we made at RB…. Id probably take This position moving forward instead of having shady, Maclin, Desean and still having to find a QB and a Secondry……easier to find and replace Top WRs and a RB, then it is to find a QB and a Secondary… It all comes down to what happens next.
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If we build a playoff team with most of the players from the 2015 Eagles, it will be remembered as a rebuilding year… If we have to get rid of all the players Chip brought in and rebuild again before we see a successful Eagle team, than 2015 will be remembered as an Epic Disaster up there with 2011
In case GM Chip wants a jump on some draft stuff:
Round 1 Pick 13 (DET): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss (A)
Round 2 Pick 13 (DET): Max Tuerk, C/OG, Southern California (B)
Round 3 Pick 12: Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor (A+)
Round 3 Pick 13: Karl Joseph, SS, West Virginia (A-)
Round 4 Pick 12: Brandon Shell, OT, South Carolina (A)
Round 5 Pick 12: Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State (A)
Round 5 Pick 21: Devonte Fields, DE/OLB, Louisville (B+)
Round 6 Pick 12: Harlan Miller, CB, Southeastern Louisiana (A+)
Round 7 Pick 12: Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State (A+)
Round 7 Pick 31: Mekale McKay, WR, Cincinnati (A+)
Who’s idea was it to extend Jason Peters in 2013 when he still had 2 more years on his deal? He was locked up through 2015 (his year 33 season) anyways. Was giving him a raise and tacking on 3 more years (age 34-36) at over $10mil per year a real priority at that time?
Who signed DeMarco Murray to that ludicrous contract in his year 27 season after historic overuse at the most fungible position in all of football?
Who signed Miles Austin?
Whoever that personnel guy is should not be allowed to make personnel decisions ever again. If it’s more than one person fire them all…every person involved in those decisions…
Doesn’t Howie still do all the contracts?
Yes, but Chip states who he wants on the team and probably at what cost. Howie then makes the contract in those parameters.
Think its the other way around, HOWIE negotiates with Agents, then he presents Chip options of what it costs to get each contract done, and Chip decides which options(player contracts) he wants to proceed with..
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Chip was asked if all the extra GM duties has too much on his plate, and that’s why he said he is not the GM. I think he was trying to say that he doesn’t handle the day to day GM duties, so there isn’t much difference to WHATS on his plate each day.
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basically Chip ISNT really the day to day GM. the Difference is that normally a coach works under the GM, but in Philly, our GM(Marynowitz), answers to our Coach (Chip).., Martnowitz does all the GM work, but Ultimately Chip makes each personnel decision that a normal GM would make….
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So Chip Wasnt really lying about not being the GM. Just a constant disconnect between Chip in the media.. Chip answers the WHY, where as the media wants to pin hm down and get him to say ITS ALL MY FAULT each week.. But to me it seems like Chip is aware that as the decision maker and coach is crystal clear and Obvious that it’s all his fault from a Macro Perspective, and that it’s such an Obvious Given that he is completely responsible, that there is no need to say it in every single press Confrence… So when he says Im not the GM, the media scoffs and thinks he is trying to deflect responsibility, where in chips mind, it’s so crystal clear that he is fully responsible that he answers questions on a micro level, where as the media wants him to say It’s all My Fault from a Macro level in each press Confrence.
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Chip is really NOT the GM… The ONLY difference is normally Coach works for the GM, but in Philly, The GM works FOR CHIP! Chip makes roster decisipns of a GM, but doesn’t handle the day to decisipns of a GM, and the planning of running the day to day scouting department, for example setting up the schedules for where each scout is sent…
Your right.
To my knowledge, Howie does not handle contracts anymore after last year’s changes.
[…] There are a number of questions surrounding the Eagles … […]
have I ever told you guys just how much I despise Elliot Parker? Lol
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Philly fans are so fortunate to have such a wise voice educating them lol..
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The latest is Elliot Parker continuing to bash Bradford, and Elliot being convinced we should sign Kapernick instead lol…. KAPERNICK who’s attitude couldn’t handle adversity in San Fran, can You Imagine how KAp would behave during tôugh times in Philly when Media and Fans get after him 10 times more than what he experienced in San Fran? Lol this is the man you want to play the most important leadership position in one of the hardest, most negative cities to Play? Fucking Moron! This is even worse than Elliot Parkers list “of 20 QBs he would rather have then Bradford”… This idiot is telling fans that Bradford should be gone, and replaced with KAPERNICK, lol has there ever been anyone WORSE allowed to cover the Eagles?
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If that stupidity ISNT enough for you, This quote last night made me LOL:
“I think Chip is definitely going to be fine with LURIE hiring a GM with experience”-Parker…. LOL is he talkng about the same Chip Kelly Im thinking of?
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How do Eagles fans not deserve better than this ridiculously clueless imbecile? How the hell does CSN keep putting this twerp on TV in front of such a caring, diehard fanbase?
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As he ever provided any info of value to eagle fans! The highlites of his career is the silly Desean gangster story
time waster
12: R1P12
OT RONNIE STANLEY
NOTRE DAME
75: R3P12
OLB JALEN REEVES-MAYBIN
TEMPLE
77: R3P14
DE CARL NASSIB
PENN STATE
107: R4P12
WR TRAVIN DURAL
LSU
139: R5P12
CB BRIEAN BODDY-CALHOUN
MINNESOTA
145: R5P18
QB BRANDON DOUGHTY
WESTERN KENTUCKY
169: R6P12
CB ERIC MURRAY
MINNESOTA
201: R7P12
TE BRYCE WILLIAMS
EAST CAROLINA
219: R7P30
G VI TEOFILO
ARIZONA STATE
More fun than infighting over this season!
i just hate getting attached to prospects this early because, well, you know
i feel like dural and nassib would be pretty good pickups that late. no clue about reeves-maybin but OLB from temple was too good to pass up.
Agreed. So the mock drafting continues up until the real one!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0U42G_4yqQNTnVpRmhaNUtnSk0/view?usp=sharing
Good read?
Heh, I did read the non-Kelly version. Not really, in my opinion.
TY ..and fwiw..what that guy did to his backyard ..i finally clicked on it.. he made a pond pool.. kind of cool but tons of work and meszy and dangerous and not a fan of the final..but his addition however is a glass room off an old house. That was rather cool
Pond pool? What guy?
Its an ad thats been at bottom of the page.. seems like forever… i ginally clicked on it
I have to admit, watching Bradford, he is a bit better than I thought he was. If you look at the stats, you will see that this is his best year in the NFL. He is getting more Y/A, has a higher rating, and lasting more games than usual. The common comparison is Alex Smith, who is similarly known to throw too many passes short of the sticks. Unfortunately, the truth is that Smith is significantly better than SB and has been for quite some time. Compare the stats listed below.
SB is an average starter whose ceiling, barring some kind of once-in-a-decade-Carson-Palmer-like ascendancy, is maybe the 20th best QB in the league. He has some tools, he has some guts, but if you think he’s ever going to carry this team, maybe you also buy lottery tickets? He is way behind schedule to ever be an excellent QB. The excuses don’t cut it and the numbers don’t lie.
The question is, can you build an excellent team around an average QB? Perhaps, but it increases the level of difficulty. How much can we afford to pay him to be less than Alex Smith?
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradSa00.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitAl03.htm
I think that’s why you try to run with Bradford on the franchise tag for next year and try to get him on a 3 year deal for $54 mil. That doesn’t preclude you from drafting a potential QB of the future over the next drafts. There just isn’t going to be a guy available who is currently in the NFL that gives the Eagles any chance to be better than they are with Bradford. Especially RGMe and Kaepertrash.
i’d take bradford over alex smith
I wouldnt
I would.
Look at turnovers alone. There is noway any coach or GM in the NFL would agree with you.
looking at only one statistic, out of context, would certainly guarantee one outcome over the other. for fun, though, and ignoring bradford’s improvement over the course of this season –
bradford – 252 passing yards per game; 23.25 completions per game; 1.33 TD per game; 1.08 int per game (terrible but still better than a number of “good” qbs);
smith – 228.93 passing yards per game; 19.86 completions per game; 1.14 TD per game; .29 int per game (fantastic but again one measure)
so at the very least they are comparable. add in the fact that (i believe) bradford has room to improve in this system and with upgrades to the roster versus alex smith being at or very close to his ceiling, and i don’t think it’s anywhere near as clear cut as you’ve made it sound
Man, you are looking at the wrong stats entirely. Y/Attempt, AY/Attempt, QB rating, QBR all have way more validity. The stats you cited are volume stats and have to do with opportunity, that is, how many passes the coach/team dials up. Bradford has more yards solely because Chip runs a faster-paced offense. Rate stats are the important ones.
by that logic shouldn’t we feel better about the turnovers mentioned above?
if we’re dealing with volume shouldn’t we also consider the pressure of that volume? bradford threw 30 some more passes than smith in two less games than he played. that isn’t terribly easy on a qb.
so youre saying Bradfords ceiling is a poor mans Smith? yeah, no thanks
You left out rushing statstics. Alex Smith had 437 and 2 TDs. Bradford 41. Alex Smith had almost double the rushing yards of Darren Sproles. You forgot that.
i’m not certain that every coach and gm prioritizes that in a qb, or kapernick would be way more popular than he has been of late.
WEll you should watch the Chiefs. I have seen many times when WRs couldnt get open, Alex Smith tucks the ball and picks up the first down. Many GMs and coaches like that.
i’m sure they do. i’ve also heard it used as a negative when someone endangers their health or takes off before reading all the progressions. and if, as cho says, per attempt is more important than total, wouldn’t we need to look at smith’s rushing yards in terms of how many times he took off as opposed to just a total? i can’t argue it from both ends
hey if you don’t want first downs I don’t know why you watch football.
oh well i guess it’s that simple then.
It is.
i’m sure it is for you
Not sure how you can argue that first downs aren’t good. Do you watch football?
not sure where you saw me argue that. i just don’t think runs for more first downs = better qb is terribly well thought out
there you just said it.
did i?
if you dont want your QB picking up first downs, then I dont know man. Yeah I think you dont know much about football.
It is ridiculously simple. He can just become a Chiefs fan. #problemsolved #you’reallwelcome
Just curious, did you compare the stats? It is not a small sample size.
see below
but i also don’t know if in this very special situation, 2015 stats tell the whole story. were both qb’s new to their systems? had both been out of competitive play for extended periods? did both have jeremy maclin?
Second half of the season, he played the QB position at a level I would feel extremely fortunate to have going forward.,. And what’s really exciting is that he hasn’t plateud, he is continuosly getting better, and improving his command in this offense and his leadership of this team,.. We would have to be crazy to get rid of a QB who is playing the position well and still improving..
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No idea what it will cost, but I assume Eagles and SAM will work out an extension, and SAM would get franchised before Chip łet him reach the open Market thanks to the costly lesson our GM learned losing Maclin..
The difference would be that signing Bradford to a deal similar to the franchise tag number is worth it for a QB, but wasn’t for Maclin.
The deal I would like for Bradford is 3 years/ $54 mil with a $30 mil signing bonus. Cap hits of $16 mil, $18 mil, $20 mi. Lets him hit the market again at 31.
He is not signing a 3 year deal. I can gaurantee you that.
So you don’t like him better than Alex Smith, that’s fine. But if that point is true than who will sign him out from under the Eagles on a long term team at $18 mil / season?
Tagging Bradford puts him in a game of chicken with the team. Take a good $ short team deal or risk another year. We’ll see how it shakes out.
The Eagles dont have money to tag him. He is going to be a Texan with a 5 year contract at 20 mil per year.
Transition tag is $18 mil. Regular tag is $20 mil. They have the money for that. And will Houston really give the Eagles two #1s for Bradford on a 5 year / $100 million deal?
They only have 17 million in cap space.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/cap/2016/
They’re going to carry $9.5 million from this year.
Next year they have $132 million committed on a cap that will be $155.
The spotrac website doesn’t list the Eagles 2015 carryover onto 2016 year and uderestimates the 2016 cap by $7 million.
So they’re already have appx $32 million to work with prior to any cuts.
The money is there.
I disagree. Even by your numbers leaving the team with 12 million to fill all the rest of the gaps on this team is so dangerous. If they start cutting players who are they going to replace them with? Miles Austins? They cannot afford the franchise tag on Sam Bradford.
There is additional money to be had from Cooper, Celek, Ryans, and Peters. Even if you merely reduce each guy by an average of $3 mil, that leaves you with appx $25 mil post tag.
How much do you think a starting left tackle is going to cost you? And a starting WR? Come on man. You are kidding yourself. They cannot afford it.
What starting LT comes on the market to sign as a free agent? Have you seen the free agent list for next year? Top of the market guys on O-line aren’t going to be there. You’ll need Lane to step in at LT and some mid level signings to fill out the group. And a big $ value WR isn’t hitting the market either. The Eagles need to add mid-level quality depth players via free agency, not top market guys. The improvements have to come from within, or not at all. This isn’t the year for a quick free agency fix.
If you were Sam Bradford would you sign a Franchise tag knowing you get 1 year playing with “need Lane to step in at LT and some mid level signings to fill out the group” If they sign Bradford they wont be able to sign mid-level quality players.
They’ll have $32 mil in space once the new cap year hits. Some judicious reductions / cuts get you to $42 to $45 of space. Even if they tag Bradford for $20 mil, which he has to sign anyway or he can lose the year of service, they’ll still have more than enough money to work out deals with guys who they’d like to add.
There isn’t one single big $ WR who will hit the market.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/wide-receiver/
There isn’t one single big $ OT who will hit the market
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/tackle/
There isn’t one single big $ G who will hit the market.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/guard/
They also need to get Fletcher Cox under contract next year. So this is fairy tale land you are living in.
They don’t have to do that at all. He’s under contract for next season on the 5th year option (already included in their 2016 cap charge) if they want and if they sign him to a 6 or 7 year deal the first year cap hit will be significantly lowered.
They could also tag Cox going into 2017 and keep his 2016 number at a tad under $8 mil if they wish.
He is going to want a signing bonus. Where is that money going to come from?
You pro rate it over the life of the deal. Same place every person’s signing bonus comes from.
yeah but you have to give him the signing bonus in the middle of the season.
I don’t think you understand how cap charges and prorated signing bonus money works.
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2013/2/23/4017138/salary-cap-101-proration-amortization-cap-hits-dead-money-and-more
you should just stop. he obviously doesn’t want to know what you’re talking about – be like me trying ot tell you that mobile qbs are the wave of the future.
True enough, but we’re not direct messaging each other………… so the rest of you get to enjoy salary cap 101!
franchise tender between $20 and $25 million for 2016.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/12/russell-wilson-could-go-year-to-year-under-franchise-tag/
Incorrect.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25378860/agents-take-von-miller-headlines-2016-franchise-tag-candidates
That $25 million number is only for the exclusive rights thing that New Orleans used on Brees. That isn’t in play here.
Any tag works for me, the goal is to get an extension done before he ever plays a game on the Tag anyway
The tag is 25 million in 2016.
It absolute is not.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25378860/agents-take-von-miller-headlines-2016-franchise-tag-candidates
$25 mil only applies to the exclusive rights tag. What team is giving up 2 #1s for Bradford if we keep him on the normal tag?
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/3737fz/why_is_the_qb_franchise_tag_price_projected_to_be/
A reddit? Really?
Joel Corry knows WAY more about NFL contracts than some 12 year old writing a reddit thread. My link is correct; go read it.
I am not going to argue with you. I jsut don’t think the Eagles will be able to afford to franchise tag Sam Bradford. And if I was Sam Bradford there is no way in hell I would sign a franchise tag with an offensive line they put in front of me.
Again, I’m not LOOKING to tag SAM, but If we can’t agree on a contract, he has to be Tagged before he is allowed to hit the open market and have teams like the Texans bidding on him… Even if we have to Tag Bradford, I would hope it’s just a formality to buy more time to agree on a deal without allowing other teams to bid on him… Even if he is Tagged, we would still look to extend him before he plays a game while Tagged..
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Bradford is our guy, work it out, come to an agreement, but we invested enough in Him to not allow other franchises to bid on him,., tag just buys more time to work it out keeping other teams out of the equation, hopefully it doesn’t have to even come to that, and we can bang out an extension early in Febuary so we can focus on untangling the RB mess and Build a top OL..
I think putting the tag in his mix immediately helps narrow down his final contract number. The tag is a powerful weapon for the team to use; I’d like to use it the second Bradford gets cute with demands.
Interesting,, I like your style, can’t say Id disagree, make it clear from the beginning, we can do This the Easy way, or the hard Tag way, either way you aren’t going anywhere, and teams won’t be bidding on you any time soon… And Oh BTW, before you get too Greedy, you might want to look in your bank account and decide what’s more important, taking us to the cleaners, or leaving a few dollars on the table to put someone in front of you that can actually protect you.
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Lol the day before we start negotiating, Chip is going to place a video in Sams locker, it will be a highlites tape of all the nasty Hits he took this year, and during his time with the Rams, and the second part of the video is a highlites of Carson Palmers career Ressurgence, zooming in on the protection he gets on all his big plays downfield…
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need to be Protected if you want to take 10 shots down field in each game like Palmer gets to enjoy
Joe Banner says go right at their necks.
I would Love Chip forever if he brought back Joe Banner. I miss that dirty, slimey, corporate ruthless vato that doesn’t respect Nada..
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Plus it would be an awesome Fuck You to HOWIE, and then Joe Banner wants to tap dance on Howies corpse by hiring the biggest HOWIE hater in the game, Louis Riddick to help with personnel.. It would be glorious, I would love Chip forever. The only thing better that Chip could do would be to make incoherent old Buddy Ryan our DC.
Haha… I think Joe would run the personnel side in a way that Chip can respect.
i wonder if he would take 4years/$64 million with $32 million guaranteed over the first two years….after that he is able to be cut…..or if all goes well renegotiate
I don’t think he’d sign for less than $18 mil /year AAV on the contract. You’d have to go 4 / $72 in my opinion.
I think a 3 year deal at $18 / year is the right combo of factors to get him to sign.
your probably right, but it’s what i would start at if i was trying to get a deal on him
Tom Condon is going to come in talking 6 years $110 mil…which would be a little over $18 mil per year….i wouldn’t be strongly opposed to that depending what the guaranteed money is and what year the birds could opt out
That’s why I tag him at the normal tag for $20 mil. He and Condon can chew on that for a while and then take my 3 year deal.
yea that is always an option, but if he performs really well next year he isn’t going to want to take a paycut and will be asking for at least $20 mil a year going forward. $18 mil with the cap going up may look like a bargain a couple years from now if he is here long term
I can’t sign a dude with that injury history to the 6 year deal just off of this year…….but if he has a strong enough year in 2016 to keep Chip here for a few more years; then giving him the big deal is easier for the team to swallow.
i hear ya, his injury history is the biggest factor with me too. Even if he is healthy next season and plays another 14-16 games his injury history isn’t going away although it would be reassuring to see him stay healthy. I only think he is going to get better the more he plays here, his talent or ability to progress at least isn’t much of a concern to me
Going by QB rating as a rough approximation, he is playing about as well during the time period you cite as journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick or rookie on a terrible team Marcus Mariota. For the whole season, his QB rating is the same as has-been on a terrible team Matt Hasselbeck. Yes, he makes some zippy throws, moves like a real quarterback, and is not a knucklehead, but how much further improvement can he really make from here? Give him some weapons and an OL. Is that going to make him a top ten QB?
no, but a full year of physical rehab and immersion in a system plus better OL and wideouts that can catch might
I really don’t even look at his stats. They don’t matter to me. I think he played the position well enough that it’s easy to see… With the dumb OL false starts and holding penalties that retarded our drives and momentum, WR dropping so many well placed Balls, many of which would have extended drives and put points on the board. The offense around Bradford failed so often in doing its job, that I don’t even want to confuse my opinion of the QB I saw by seeing the stats..
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The team around him IMO DIDNT play up to a level that allows the stats to accurately depict the QB I saw..
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And I saw so much good, and improvement in so many plays that don’t even register on the stat sheet for example… A few weeks ago this play comes to mind, SAM takes the snap, in a game where he was taking a lot of hits, yet you see him trust his OL. Show a pocket toughness, improving command of the offense when he takes the snaps and looks left, doesn’t like what he sees, so he looks Right, then he looks to the middle, didn’t like any of those options so he took off and ran. He only picked up like 4 yards, it wasn’t one of his better plays statistically, but for a kid coming back from a 2yr Hiatus, he had to trust the OL, and Trust his Body with the hits he was taking, and he had to show a good command of his offense for us to so easily be able to see him go thru 3 progressions on TV before he takes off, that it Shows a ton of positive signs that we need to see, and it’s more impressive that he is showing this growth even tho the team around him has failed to live up to the bargain… Lol apparently, 4 years and 4 different Offensive coordinators, and being sorrounded by that St. Louis Slop prepared SAM well for this mess of a 2015 eagle season
going by stats/metrics – no one on offense should be on a team next year. but is he going to be better than what’s on the street, i think he’s played better than anyone we’ve had since mcnabb left — as a passer.
I was never a big fan of Vick, but I’d take Vick’s quality year (2010?) over what I saw this year from Bradford.
its the same deal here with both. Just reliving the Vick years with Bradford. Maintaining. I get it though, I see the improvement and why fans want him another year. Ive actually slowly come around to it a bit I guess. So long as they draft and groom a kid at the same time.
Stats are important because the eye test is deceptive. Numbers sometimes do lie, but the eye always lies.
I think he is a decent QB, but probably not good enough for what we will have to pay him. I guess it all depends on whether you think this team needs to retool or reboot. I have a sinking feeling the latter is what’s necessary, but the former is almost surely going to happen.
A stat I care about is Eli 58% completion percentage last year in first year of a new offense, and Eli improving to 63% in year two… and he didn’t have to overcome half of what bradford was faced with this year
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I saw,a QB play well enough, and continue to improve to the point where I very much want to see what his year 2 growth looks like
Carson started his career pretty hot with the Bengals then got hurt and was really never the same guy. Then moves to arizona where all the over the hill people go to die (warm dry air is good for the old bones I hear). And reclaims his former glory, Kurt Warner style.
That being said, being a good (not great or special) can go a very long way with protection, weapons, and a run game. And I think we see that with Palmer. I thought Bradford would be getting that, and he didn’t.
If we did all of that for Bradford, there is still 1 thing he needs to do to have a Palmer-like ascendancy. He needs to get the deep ball going. He has all the physical ability to be deadly downfield. He needs to get that going, if he does that, it opens up the whole offense, opens up a window to turn on the tempo, the run game, and all the underneath stuff we love.
I guess I’m saying I don’t think he’s the problem, but then I don’t know he’s the solution either.
Much of Smith’s success this season can be traced simply back to continuity within the system.
In his first eight years as a professional quarterback, Smith played for three different head coaches, seven offensive coordinators and six quarterback coaches.
In Kansas City, he’s had the same three guys in each of those positions in the three years he’s been with the Chiefs: Andy Reid at head coach, Doug Pederson at offensive coordinator and Matt Nagy as his quarterbacks coach.
“Nobody works harder, first of all,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid mentioned of Smith on Monday. “I mean, he’s a brilliant guy, but just the consistency of being in the same offense, doing the same things – you can see the comfort that he’s got there.”
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2015/12/29/billy-davis-confident-hell-be-back-next-year/
I don’t really expect Davis to say anything different at this point but to me this is a key litmus test on whether Kelly really is going to make prudent changes or not this off season.
Bringing in a serious DC coach, letting that coach have real input into staff selection and hires, and allow him to put his scheme in place with the confines of the 3-4.
If Davis is kept, it is a huge red flag. Ditto if they hire a very young coordinator or a retread who will largely do as Kelly sees fit.
I’m not sure how Avis’s status is even up for debate. We are about to become the first team in NFL history to give up 6,000+ yards of offense three seasons in a row. There are a ton of other stats I could throw out, but I think my first stat clearly illustrates how inept Avis and the defense has been over the past 3 years.
We all know what the definition of insanity is, right?
That’s a disturbing stat.
It’s pace driven, and Chip controls the pace. We also were on track to put up historic yards/points (on offense) for a three year period, until the team fell apart.
The phrase to which you make reference isn’t the definition of insanity. It’s just something Einstein said that people think is a snappy phrase.
I get that, but the analogy works here. Expecting a Billy Avis led defense to be anything better than sub par or mediocre at best is asinine. There is literally no evidence you could present me that would make feel comfortable in believing that Billy Avis can get the defense playing at a respectable level. He’s had plenty of shots and keeps whiffing.
Ok, what if they said they’re going to a 4-3 under front, fired the inside linebackers coach and drafted the shiny new DT from Oregon who is predicted to be a stud and would be paired with Cox. Resigned Thurmond, made Jenkins the box safety and had Sheppard back to be the nickel. Plus the get back the miracle rookie in the form of Hicks. Could be a totally different ballgame. Nobody said the defense was bad this year until they ran out of healthy inside linebackers. Fix the O line, get the run game going again, fewer plays for the D and more time spent playing with a lead. I know everybody is mad, but fire everybody and burn down the practice facility isn’t really a plan for the future. They don’t play again for 8 months, lots of water to get under the bridge before then.
Sure, it could be a different story if all those things magically happened. This is the NFL though and you best be prepared for plan B at all times. The injury excuse is so tired and disengenuous. We didn’t suffer an abnormal amount of injuries, it was more a team/coaching failure as a whole.
If you’ve read my posts you will see that the only coach I really want fired is Billy Avis. I’m fine with Chip coming back for one more year.
Too late
Here is a question that no one has asked:
– Is Kelly willing to try to go through a legit rebuilding year next year where they are less than .500 and try to position themselves for the following year? He wasn’t this year & it backfired in his face.
It means largely eschewing free agency this offseason especially the big dollar free agents, cutting or trading several veterans from this team, starting several younger players next year from Day 1 including their 1st round pick, and putting in a new defensive coordinator and letting him retool the defensive a bit.
That scenario still likely means they resign Bradford though too. I can’t see a scenario where they don’t resign Bradford and seriously plan on being competitive (10-11 wins) in the next 2 years.
i think he wants, and the city requires him to be competitive. i don’t know how you find a pass rusher. i don’t know how you find a quality receiver, a tackle and two guards without FA.
I don’t know if you can find an impact pass rusher or LT in free agency this year.
I’m not sure WR is a good use of cap $. We won a ton of playoff games with Stinkston and Trash.
Most likely we’re going to have journeymen of quality as signings to stabilize some really putrid positions.
oh cmon, WR absolutely is. What they cant afford to do is use another draft slot to take one. Paying for a legit 1 is worth it. I think the D and the front 7 is fine and will perform better with a different coord.
There isn’t a true number one available. Unless you think the Bears are going to let Alshon Jeffrey hit the market.
I’d love to discuss a name of a #1 WR on the market if you’ve got one to give me. I just don’t see a guy who makes that much of an impact.
I thought there was another big name with Alshon. I can dream right.
ugh, there isnt, just looked. Boldin, Alshon, Floyd, Kearse, Sanu, Randle, Lockette
i’d be interested in sanu, had a down year but he’s huge in size can catch.
Gordon? is there another suspended WR Im not thinking of. Chips boys scouts wouldnt have it though
yeah cle still has rights to him so you’d have to make a trade.
Outside of Alshon; none of those guys will/should get big paydays. And I don’t see Alshon hitting the market.
But I’d love Boldin on a one year deal. Sanu is interesting, but he misses too many games for my taste.
I feel like Boldin is done at this point. I said that 5 years ago but he has to be now right, has to be
think sanu could be cheap-ish. his numbers were decent last year. should be cheap.
Sanu misses too many games for my taste. Plus every Rutgers guy equates to LJ Smith in my mind.
Haha
I kind of like his teammate Marvin Jones who is also a FA, idk how the Bengals feel about him and how much they would invest in keeping him
Terrible mistake to not pay Maclin. His contract was expensive for like one week, and then Julio, Dez, Demaryipus signed monster deals and Maclins deal became a deal that paid Him as a top second tier WR which is exactly what Maclin is… So really, Chip would have only over paid Maclin temporarily until other deals put Maclins back in his place as a second tier WR… Not to mention the opportunity cost of keeping Maclin and not having to spend a 1st round pick on a WR to replace him.
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This is one of the REAL mistakes by our inexperienced Front office learning on the job. I’ll keep ot real and rip Chip every single time he deserves it, what I can’t stand is the stupidity from Imbeciles like Eliot Parks who’s criticism of Chip only shows their Stupidity for example, I want to Headbutt him In the mouth everytime he says Chip made a mistaje and didn’t have to pay a second round pick for Bradford which just shows how he pollutes fans with his dumb nonsense of an opinion.. We weren’t the Only team trying to trade for SAM, if you don’t KNOW what the Other teams were,offering, you Have No fucking idea if we HAD to pay a 2nd round pick or not to get SAM… For all we know, that second round pick was the only way to beat the Browms offer. So Eliot Parks is just a fool.
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If he had a brain and really wanted to accuse Chip of mistakes because of our inexperience, the simpleton could say if we had a veteran GM, we could have leveraged the fact that we were paying so much, to beat Cleveland’s offer into forcing SAM to agree to an extension in order to activate the trade and save him from going to Cleveland. parks isnt smart enough to have a realistic convo like this, but we still get into the problem that Bradfords Unique situation probably made it hard to agree on what the market is for a guy like him who has all the talemt, has never had success, but has never been placed in position to have success, and he is coming off of two years of surgeries and rehab… Even if a veteran GM would have leveraged saving Him from Cleveland to force him into an extension it would be hard for even a veteran GM to set a market price that Bradford who believes in himself will agree to… So even then, it hard to criticize Chjp for the SAM trade, and it damn sure only shows the inexperience and simpleminded pee brain of Eliot Parker, not the in experiemce of our front Office,,
Shame he polutes Eagles fans and makes them dumber with his stupidity
I’m good with Maclin being gone, I would have rather have kept Jackson.
no way, Maclin can convert in the end zone
While I don’t fully disagree with your point about cap $ and WR, your example is a bit outdated. The NFL is waaaay more of a passing league now than when Pinkston and Thrash were on the team. While WR still isn’t a top priority, in today’s NFL, it is valuable.
Ok. What WRs do you like from the free agent list?
I haven’t looked at the FAs available and my point isn’t that we should go out THIS year to target a WR in FA. I’m just arguing in general that having a good WR corps is more important now than it was when we were able to win playoff games with Pinkston and Thrash. WR has become a position that is higher in importance than it once was. It’s still not a top priority position on any given team, but there is value in using cap $ at the position IF the right player is available.
I hear you, I’m just more trusting in continued development from Agholor and Matthews continuing to grow than others are.
I think you are absolutely right… We may add a WR, but not one so good that he can carry us, we will only go as far as the growth of Jordan, Nelson, Zack and Josh…
if there’s someone that can be somewhat inexpensive, and produce adequately as our #3-4 receiver while helping the young bloods learn the position . . . basically what we needed last year instead of miles austin
Boldin
Oldin. that would be great. some extra toughness and passion never hurt
WR is a waste of money on this team. Chip’s scheme is predicated on spreading the ball around to where the mismatch exists. Think about how many touches (or put better potential touches) our WRs each get. The variance between a #1 and #3 receiver is never going to be say 10 touches vs 1 or 2. It’s going to be 4 or 5 touches compared with 2-4 touches. We simply need WRs who can win a one on one battle and actually catch the friggin ball.
It is for this same reason that the Demarco acquisition was pure stupidity.
Invest in our QB and our Oline and go to work with the position players we have.
I’m more inclined to see it that way, especially given the lack of premier talent on the WR market this off season.
WR can still be an important investment. a receiver who actually commands double teams or at least forces coverage to roll in his direction, or even a WR corps that dictates a two-high look, can make a huge difference in opening things up. there’s also the clutch moments, where a third down simply must be converted, where your star wideout catches a ball that ags or cooper might not. i’m not saying kelly sees it that way, but anything that makes our offense more consistent and puts additional stress on defenders has to be viewed as a positive
I’m not suggesting to ignore it if one falls in your lap (in the draft). I just don’t see it as a priority in this offense. Mainly because the scheme creates holes and we have guys who are open in ways that most of the time people claim doesn’t exist in NFL football. To me it’s a luxury item in this scheme. Whereas, the oline is important on every single down and as we’ve seen this year not only do we need good olinemen we need good depth.
oh i agree in terms of priority. a deep threat WR is useless if our qb is in the dirt
Yup and I see Kelly having to dip again in FA to a large degree to try to address some of those needs.
First of all, I don’t think Kelly would be willing to gut the team and rebuild, so to answer your question simply, no. But to add to that, I don’t think Lurie would tolerate that. Despite what some want to say, Chip has had three years to build/rebuild the team. Yes he got Howie out of the way only this year, but Chip has very clearly been heavily involved in the roster moves from day 1 on the team. In Year 4, fans, and most importantly Lurie, will demand real results from Chip and the team. If Chip tried to rebuid this year and the team doesn’t make the playoffs, I don’t see any way Lurie is keeping Chip around to finish the rebuild.
I didn’t say gut the team though which to means means not resigning Bradford.
he did just gut the team and rebuild
Retool – yes. Rebuild – no. If they were rebuilding they don’t sign the likes of a Murray or Maxwell this offseason while possibly tolerating a 7-9/8-8 season
I do legitimately think Kelly thought this team would win 10+ plus games this year and be in the playoffs.
me too. But kelly in2 years did cut all the big money guys and all the old guys. but he’s also 3 years into a 5 year deal, this isn’t the 76ers
For the record, the Eagles didn’t rebuild last offseason: http://www.phillyvoice.com/for-the-record-the-eagles-didnt-rebuild-last-offseason/
That’s funny, but i can’t read jimmy bamma.
I’d bring Kelly back next year too but if he insists to Lurie that the decision-making resides solely with him again then Lurie has to lay a ‘It is playoffs or your fired’ demand to Kelly.
I know Kelly would never approve it but going to a 4-3 next year would I’d bet produce immediate positive results for the team.
The have one end in Graham, could move Cox to his natural DT spot with Logan at the other spot with the LBs being Barwin SLB, Hicks MLB, and Kendricks at WLB. Secondary is CB Rowe and Maxwell, S Jenkins.
Eagles just need to find a DE opposite of Graham, what they want to do at S including resigning Thurmond or not, and a legit nickel CB. Eagles already have 80% of the pieces on their roster right now.
We batted this around before, I think a lot of us see the merits of going to a 4-3. Maybe that is one of the elements of Kelly’s plan that he’ll reexamine.
Makes alot of sense given what they have in personnel right now under contract especially Graham and Kendricks.
It means instead of having to ‘fix the defense’ they only have to tweak the personnel and find the right coordinator & staff.
Lack of a push rush would likely still be an issue but it is going to be anyways regardless if they stay in the 3-4 too.
Might be where they look some help this offseason at DE but I’d bet Graham and Kendricks would be more effective pass rushers in that scheme too.
easier to find a 43 DE than to find a good OLB in my estimation. if we run a 34 gotta be better at scheming pressure.
it’s true. so much projection to figure out if a college DE can be an OLB at the next level
Oh it’s way beyond an estimation. OLB is probably the most difficult position in football because of the mental and physical requirements. You can make a case for QBs and Safeties being harder… but I think the physical demands on an OLB make them even more rare (and particularly hard to scout). Brent at Eagles Rewind has a great chart that shows how high the bust percentages are for OLBs.
I agree. Much better 4-3 personell than a 3-4. 3-4 are always the hardest bUT can be a dominant D if the right players are found.
Plus it creates more reps for my man Curry. You can’t forget that… he is an untapped resource of sacks for this team and LOVES Philly.
OMG
GOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14/21 273 4 TDs ………..in the first half.
Welcome to the Niners kid… They don’t have the balls to pass on a QB from their backyard again after alex smith over Aaron Rodgers
We’ll see what the combine nonsense does to his draft stock.
or someone will leak that they heard his girlfriend’s mom used to do blow or something
For him to REALLY drop, something terrible would have to happen to an ex girlfriend. If something does happen, I’m looking at MM. Somehow the Cowboys would get him too, though.
Nice deep throw near the end of the half there
Nelson Agholar is a hard worker, I really think he needs to grow up Quickily and shed the wide eyed kid against grown men look. He is a kid, can’t hold it against him, but we need him to grow up Quickily befiore next year. He has all the skill and ability he needs…. Fortunately we have Jordan who we can count on being a driven work horse in the summer. excited about another Offaeason of growth from Jordan, along with improved Chemistry with SAM and a better OL that will allow those two to make sweet music.. Jordan is taking a leadership role, Hopefullyhe takes Nelson with him this summer for his extensive training with Julio,Calvin and other top WRs..
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Wondering what Jordan in year 3 looks like if he shows up with like 8 more lbs of Muscle? He is a workaholic, and with T.O looking to make amends these days for being an immature scumbag, can’t help wonder what Jordan could get from T.O? Emotionally he is LIGHTYEARS ahead of where T.O was. Jordan is a workaholic, and that’s the one thing that could never be taken from T.O, he was a dedicated Machine with the way he worked…he is probably still in crazy great shape, WOULDNT hate Jordan spending like 10 days with the crazy diva…. Randy Moss is equally great, but his game is so different from Jordan, where as Jordan runs a ton of those Physical crossing routes TO terrorized defenses with..
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Jordan ISNT a burner, but he has more football speed than given credit for, I seen run by plenty of corners.. Wonder how much more muscle he could pack on without negatively impact his football speed? He runs like a physical young Beast, time to put on some man muscle for Jordan..
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We threw AGHOLAR in the deep end from day one. Listen kid, you are going to be our #1 WR, go out there day 1 in Atlanta, line up in front of desmond Trufant, oh and btw, we don’t huddle, you will line up as fast as you can everytime, look to the sideline, and be ready to snap the ball as fast as you can lol.. Don’t worry that we have no run game, and our QB is just as new to the system as you are lol… Few weeks later, he found himself against Revis… You can just see the wide eyed kid, with the deer in the headlights look, head spinning because everything is moving too fast for him…. CLEARLY it was Too Much, Too Soon.. Silver linning, getting thrown in the deep end like that and being given a year of experience is probably the best possible PREPERATION for year 2. After this year, the game will ONLY SLOW DOWN for Nelson. It can’t ever be as fast as it was this year for him,,, the more he gets comfortable, the more the game slows down for him, the better he can put his talemts and ability to use, gashing pro defenses,,, also helps that his QB is still improving, and their timing and chemistry can only improve.
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I trust Jordan and Nelson to grow into Eagles we are proud of, Huff is the knucklhead ugly duckling of the 3. Very Easy to see talent, ability and physicality that Can allow Huff to do some big things, for whatever reason the knucklhead is struggling to put it all together and play with some consistency. We are probably harder then we should be, because you can’t rule him out after only two years. The talent is there, hopefully he eventually puts it all together and can be a solid top 3 WR.
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There is no Big 50million dollar WR coming to Philly in free agency.. WR will only go as far as our puppies take us, and it’s up to the coaches and SAM to Develope them. Improving the OL, and run game can make it a little easier on them, and Ertz can compensate for the occasion struggles of one of the young WRs, but the imprvement of Jordan, a nelson, and Huff have to step up and grow up because it’s going to be their WR room next year.. Austin gone, Coop probably gone… If we bring in a veteran it would be a #4 WR type, so its going to be up to the young WRs to develope.. I hope we try hard to find a better WR coach that can get more out of them then Bicknell
http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2015/12/jordan_matthews_adamant_about_wanting_eagles_to_re.html
DSJ and Maclin both contributed as rookies. Agholar seems to have stone hands. A first rounder who can’t catch is a bust.
well if two guys looked good as rookies that must be how all receivers develop. nevermind that it was under a different coach and qb.
He didnt have stone hands in college. Unless they had a rendezvous with Medusa, he’ll be ok.
Now I’m excited for next year.
There’s no way Lurie dumps Chip one year after giving him roster control – that’s Daniel Snyder/Cleveland Browns style. Obviously improvement is needed for next year.
I don’t see how they let Bradford walk – there really isn’t a viable second option on the market. If you want to take a chance on RG3 or Kaep, then you let Sanchez go – really couldn’t be much worse.
I don’t see how Davis stays – the defensive #’s were skewed early because of all the turnovers they were forcing. When those stopped, the results were awful. I’d like to see them bring in a real defensive guy and Chip give him autonomy over the defense, but I doubt that would happen. When Davis was hired Chip not only told him what scheme he’d run but had already hired a good chunk of his staff, so unless Lurie forces this I don’t see Chip “self-scouting” that much!
“If you want to take a chance on RG3 or Kaep, then you let Sanchez go – really couldn’t be much worse.”
Sanchez sucks, but RGMe and Kaepertrash would be much much worse because they’d cause a huge stylistic change if they entered the game for an injured Bradford. I want no parts of either of those scrambling buffoons.
If they went with one of those guys it would be because they didnt retain Bradford. I cant imagine theyd have both
If you take away RG3’s scrambling ability (which he may or may not still have), he is still a gifted pocket passer.
Memba this?
Looking at 2016 cap figures,
Jason Peters – 6.3mm saved if cut (he should be restructured)
Mark Sanchez – 3.5mm saved if cut (2mm dead money)
Riley Cooper – 2.9mm saved if cut (100% guarantee he’ll be cut)
Brent Celek – 5mm saved if cut (100% guaranteed cut or restructure)
Darren Sproles – 3.5mm if cut (this is a tough one but he could be a cap casualty)
Demeco Ryans – 3.5mm if cut (see ya)
Chris Maragos – 1.5mm saved if cut (see ya)
Bryan Braman – .9mm if cut (maybe)
It’s basically impossible to get rid of Murray at this point. Maxwell will be a 10mm cap hit, it would be great if they got negotiate that down.
They have to re-sign Carroll and Curry. They get one more year on Cox’s contract but that isn’t ideal. They have to re-sign Bradford. Other than that I think they’re clear contract wise.
Am I missing anything?
out of that group i am cutting Peters,Cooper,Ryans and i am looking to restructure Celek
I let go Carroll, i just have a feeling he is going to ask for a good amount of money and Rowe is the starter outside now, sucks that he got injured but it is what it is. I also think Curry is going somewhere else, coaches around the league know what he can do as a 4-3 DE and i think he leaves here. We are going to need their money to put into a deal for Cox anyway
I don’t think we should cut Peters if we can help it. He was really banged up this year and it showed, but he was outstanding in 2014 and 2013
http://overthecap.com/player/jason-peters/756/
Peters is no longer worth a $9.3 million cap charge. D3 suggested we drop him to his dead money figure of $3 for the year, I agree. I’d like him back with a chance to play guard, but his number need to come WAY down.
not after the skins game when he quit
I don’t know. First, we all know that CK is worse than Bill Belichick when it comes to reporting injuries. We really don’t know what he was dealing with throughout the year. I think that could be a large culprit. Obviously he missed the 2012 season, but I believe he’s been pretty healthy otherwise.
I look at him as the opposite of someone like Chris Johnson. CJ2k had many decent years, but had one really outstanding year (the 2k year). It would be foolish to assume he’d have another 2000 yard rushing year based on one year of outlier performance, when all his other years say otherwise. Applied to Jason Peters, he has really had nothing but outstanding years, and had one down year. I don’t know if it’s wise to cut him based on one down year, when he has proven to have a track record of excellent performance.
Hopefully they give him a full medical and then trust the doctors. They’ve gotta have good analytics on him.
It is a cold move, but it felt like he was hurt in every game this year. Lane is more comfortable on the left side and did well there the few times he got the start there. I would just rather get the lineup started with Lane over there and find a RT in FA or someone in the draft
I’d ask him what he wants to do, restructure, find a contender or retire. Can’t have that much $$ rolled up in him unless he’s going to hit that HGH train
the cold move is not playing because team is losing
Why Maragos? He is a ST stud.
We could trade Murray. Some team might be interested in taking a chance by overpaying for him once the Eagles take the prorated cap hit and he can be cut after one year.
gotta draft a back or pick one up in FA. Mathews and Sproles won’t last all season w/ full workload.
I don’t know who Coppola on Air Force is, but I hope he becomes a KIA in a future military conflict. Seriously this dude needs to die.
Cheap shots like that on Mr.Goff will not be tolerated.
https://twitter.com/dailycalsports/status/681947274734342144
Got a soft side for Goff I see huh Mike.
I’m a huge fan. Unless he winds up on the Giants or Steelers I’ll be a big fan of his for his whole career.
Cleveland is an option there for him as well and to me is his most likely landing spot. If he gets drafted by them he should hold out because as we know CLE is where QBs go to end the careers in mediocrity.
Cleveland’s owner has a perpetual hard on for running QBs. He fired multiple people over failing to get RG3. I’m confident in saying that Cleveland bypasses taking a QB early because they add RG3.
That would be awesome to see RGKnee flame out worst in CLE then he did in DC.
Agreed.
RG3 could be available to Cleveland now
Here is the tackle market if we’d like to find a new one to replace Peters moving to guard or moving off of the team.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/tackle/
Mitchell Schwartz is interesting for RT
Cordy Glenn from Buffalo should be in high demand.
I don’t see him leaving.
UFA and Buffalo has no cap room. Incognito UFA too.
Edit: Bills are $4 million over the cap next year already. No way they can keep him without lots of maneuvering.
Kelechi Osemele of Baltimore should be in high demand too.
My dream scenario is him and Glenn and then draft 2 lineman in 1st 4 rounds.
+ Tamba Hali to rotate w/ Graham
Osemele wouldn’t really fit the zone blocking scheme the Eagles run. Even though I don’t think Chip would consider him, I’d love to add a road grader like him.
Not sure he makes it out of Baltimore, Tackle Eugene Monroe’s future is in the air due to multiple injuries and Baltimore could choose to outright cut him although it would cost them about $6 mil…..he will probably be back but i think Baltimore would be wise to hang onto Osemele to replace him after this year
Buffalo will be getting back $13 mil vs. the cap by trading Mario Williams.
he’s due $30 mil over the next 2 years…don’t really see a market for him at 31 years old and that contract.
i think he gets cut, he stated how unhappy he was in Rex’s defense multiple times this season
we’re 1/2 on buffalo tackles
God, Bell was horrible.
not many exciting options there. You are either wayyyyy overspending or getting a guy like Dennis Kelly. The only guy there i may have an interest in is Ryan Harris who is a bit of a journeymen but has the athletic skill to challenge for a starting job here. Only problem is he is a Kubiak-guy and will likely be re-signed in Denver who has had problems keeping guys healthy this year
Harris was already here and was laying down on the job far too often. I don’t trust him.
I was going to say the exact same thing about remembering Harris’ time with the Eagles.
Total quitter.
wow, that slipped my mind completely
You’re most likely a nice person and way less vengeful than I.
Kelvin Beachum when healthy has played extremely well for Pitt. That would be my #1 choice of anyone on that list.
Interested in Harris as well. Move LJ to LT and have Harris play RT.
See below comments about Harris’ previous stints with the Eagles. Didn’t go too well.
Read them after I typed comment. Completely forgot about him with us.
The Jaguars have confirmed coach Gus Bradley will return for a fourth season in 2016.
That team seemed to improve as the year went on; there goes one possible Billy Davis upgrade.
[…] There are a number of questions surrounding the Eagles … […]
I know I put a draft up somewhere around 300 comments below, but I figured I’d do another for entertainment purposes.
I only got one o-lineman, but I figured he’s good enough.
Round 1 Pick 12: Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss (A+)
Round 3 Pick 12: Bronson Kaufusi, DE/OLB, Brigham Young (A)
Round 3 Pick 13: William Jackson III, CB, Houston (A)
Round 4 Pick 12: Ricky Seals-Jones, WR, Texas A&M (A-)
Round 5 Pick 12: Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State (A)
Round 5 Pick 21: Kevin Byard, SS, Middle Tennessee (A)
Round 6 Pick 12: Yannick Ngakoue, OLB, Maryland (A+)
Round 7 Pick 12: Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State (A+)
Round 7 Pick 31: D.J. Reader, DT, Clemson (A+)
Tunsil is a monster and I would happy if he was the only o-lineman taken. Oh what a fall from grace Hackenberg has had, a once potential #1 pick to who knows where he’ll drop to.
Hack, due to arm talent and Freshman year potential, is worth a shot as a developmental prospect. He’s got WAY too much Gabbert / Kolb in him to take with an early pick.
I hear ya on his freshman year potential but what really hurt him is refusing to put the time and work in to be successful in Franklin’s system. I’ve seen the word “lazy” get tossed around a lot about Hackenberg since Franklin got there.
But what you have to place against that is all of the terrible coaching going on by the OC. When Penn State was beaten by Temple recent grads were KILLING the OC on Twitter rather than Hack.
That’s understandable to. I was never really that high on Hackenberg from the get go but he does have some talent to have some success. He reminds too much of Zach Mettenberger for some reason, I guess its the arm strength and potential.
Which is why you take him with a mid round, not an early round, pick.
Absolutely agreed.
if the world lazy is anywhere near a prospect he won’t be on this team.
Loser to London Bowl on Sunday. Giants-Eagles loser plays the Rams as an away game at Wembley.
I’ll be entering every contest to win a free trip to see the Eagles in London possible if we’re lined up for that game.
My question is – is what Geoff is going to give you way better than what Sammy Bean will give you? Understand the pricing difference 18-20m vs high first and maybe a year or two to learn. Is that first better allocated to getting a G/T? Or would we rather spend the $$?
Geoff who?
Future upside
Interesting quotes from Jenkins: https://twitter.com/ZBerm
Mike Petine for DC in 2016! He always had a top 10 Defense as a DC including #1 in 2009 for the Jets. He is from Philly area as well. Make it happen!
he’d be nice, or at least as assistant coach or something lame like that. But he’d want autonomy to do his own thing.
Eagles website hacked? http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Eagles-Release-Head-Coach-Chip-Kelly/fb1d79b9-7dd3-41c9-b964-85ac79d74f2b
Looks legit
Chip Fired! What!??
Holy Moly this board is about to go crazy!!!!!!!
WOW! Oh SNAP. Damn.
Gotta be fake right? it looks real though
100% real everyone is reporting it
Twitter is broken. Nothing will load.
yeah it’s on the eagles twitter too
Andddd the next couple of weeks there will be no end to the stories of how dysfunctional this team became this year (whether true or not). BOOK IT
When can Shady or DJax be reached for comment?
Big balls jeff
What the f#*k! We for sure regressed but to fire him one year removed from completely revamping the roster and taking over personnel control!? Come on!
Man, gotta wonder what that meeting was like.
Awful desperate move
Player driven?
maybe
I don’t understand firing him. This season was disappointing but that seems like an overreaction.
I didn’t want him fired but this is Jeff saying that chip will never be able to get the players to play for him
Well let me be the 1st to apologize to anybody that I called out for saying Chip will not be fired this year. I eat my words on that and I admit it.
…
Now on to my surprised self. Holy shit Chip Kelly just got fired!!!
Well that happened… wow.
As Les Bowen noted on Twitter, for Chip to be fired before the season is even over something happened, whether it’s Chip wanting out or whatever, something went down other than just the team sucking this year
If he wanted out he should have just resigned his position. Not removed.
Sure, I’m not sure that it either, but Lurie doesn’t seem like the kind of owner to make this decision at this point in time only based on the performance of the team
Before the last game of the year. Something happened that we do not know about. Cannot wait to hear what it is.
That damn Hard knocks scared chip away
So if Lurie knew he was going to fire Chip, why the hell didn’t he call the Titans to inquire about possibly trading him? I really think Lurie jumped the gun on this decision.
Gottta be a personnel thing since Eddy also fired. Maybe it was chip’s comments about not being GM yesterday.
Interesting theory on timing. Because the NFL will have allot of openings could give the Eagles a jump on candidates. But really who knows
Also must have been something bad – none of the beat writers knew anything, just sort of reported on eagles website.
well maybe that switch to the 4-3 defense will be coming now
#Eagles did not tell the players that Chip has been fired.(according the ESP)
If you do one thing tonight read @38godfrey twitter timeline of his story on walking behind Chip in New York. I got a laugh.
From Acho’s twitter: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
I have made a decision to release Chip Kelly this evening. I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change.
As we move forward, the search for a new head coach will begin and will be led by myself, Don Smolenski and Howie Roseman. To the extent that we are able, we will try to keep you informed as we go through this process.
Pat Shurmur will be our interim coach for the Giants game Sunday.
We have also released Ed Marynowitz, vice president of player personnel. Tom Donahoe, who has been our senior football advisor since 2012, will assume the role of senior director of player personnel.
I am determined and excited to select a new coach to help us obtain our ultimate goal.
Thank you for your consistent and enthusiastic support. It is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Lurie
Chairman and CEO