Winning
Posted: December 14th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 477 Comments »The Eagles were at 4-7 less than 10 days ago. The team pulled off a very impressive upset of the Patriots last Sunday and then beat the Bills yesterday to improve to 6-7. The Eagles are not exactly a smooth machine right now, but they are finding ways to win.
Ideally you want a team to play good football in December. The team should peak as they make a playoff run. The Eagles haven’t come close to peaking, but they are headed in the right direction. One of the most impressive things to me is that the team is getting contributions from all 3 phases. Offense, defense and STs all played a big part in the two wins.
As I watched the 4th quarter on Sunday, I thought to myself that this is a game the Eagles would have lost in September or October. Football games can sometimes come down to a handful of moments. Good teams make plays. Bad teams talk about what could have been. If only we’d hit that FG. What if the receiver caught that pass? And so on.
I don’t know why or how, but the Eagles in the last 2 weeks have become a team that makes those key plays. Think about the Ed Reynolds play. Dave Spadaro asked Chip Kelly what Reynolds job was on the final play. Chip gave a bit of a snarky answer, saying “Catch the ball.” There have been plenty of times this year when Eagles DBs didn’t catch the ball. Reynolds did and that sealed the win. If he drops that pass, Buffalo might go on to win that game. One simple moment made a world of difference.
I think hitting rock bottom on Thanksgiving Day helped the Eagles. In the highly underrated 1990 comedy The Freshman, Matthew Broderick has a very good line.
“There’s a kind of freedom in being completely screwed… because you know things can’t get any worse.”
Chip Kelly seemed to loosen up after that disaster. The players seem to be playing more aggressively and with more confidence. The vibe around the team is different. Sure, you have to get past the Shady/DeMarco nonsense, but I don’t think that stuff means much to the players.
There are some other things going on as well. Jeff Lurie gave the players t-shirts. Jimmy Bama has some details.
When the Philadelphia Eagles took the field for warmups against the Buffalo Bills this morning, some players came out wearing shirts that said “53 Angry Men.” It turns out that Jeffrey Lurie was angry, and he wanted the rest of the team to share his anger.
“That came from Mr. Lurie,” said Lane Johnson. “Last week we played angry against the Patriots. He was pissed that they took a Super Bowl from us back in ’04. He was angry and he wanted us to be angry. We played angry and ended up winning.”
Lurie wanted the Eagles to stay angry, so he motivated them, in T-shirt form.
We can’t discount the importance of the return of Sam Bradford. There is just something about having the starting QB on the field that helps a team play with more confidence. Bradford is becoming more of a leader, on and off the field. He now has 11 starts under his belt with the Eagles. Bradford must now feel like this is his team.
All the recent success is nice, but as Chip Kelly has pointed out so much this year…each week is a separate entity. There is no point you get to where things change and stay that way for good. The Carolina Panthers have done a great job this year of playing week to week. They live in the moment. The Eagles have done that the past 2 weeks, but need to keep that going.
At a certain point, things become habitual. Players expect to make catches. They expect to make tackles. They expect to make blocks. The Eagles aren’t there yet, but it does feel like this team is heading in the right direction. I don’t know what the ceiling for this team is, but this is no longer a group of chronic underachievers that invents new ways to lose.
The Eagles are now playing a lot closer to their potential, showing the talent that is on this roster. And they are making plays. And winning games.
*****
I recently wrote about the young talent the Eagles have in the secondary.
That looks even better with the way Eric Rowe has played the last 2 weeks and with Ed Reynolds game-winning INT from Sunday. The group still needs a lot of work, but it feels like there are some talented pieces in place and the secondary could develop into a strong group over time.
_
Thinking about momentum.
What other team besides Eagles and Panthers are in good shape right now?
Maybe the Packers, Hawks. Cards offense is slowing down a little bit, but still a great team, the same with the Patriots. December is the most important month, that’s for sure.
And for Chip, to win big games like this, it’s more important. In the first two season many people have saying he can’t win those games.
Kansas City – 7 in a row and Pittsburgh 4-1 last five games
I’m disappointed that Chip wasn’t the one lighting a fire under the team’s ass. Lurie stepping in as a motivator is probably a good thing since it’s giving results.
How do you know he wasn’t?
If he did then it surely didn’t show until after they got destroyed by the Bucs and Lions.
maybe Lurie should coach the team
Oh you joker
http://www.currentevents.today/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/jerry-jones5.jpg
I thought the same thing as well. If I were the coach, and my owner was coming down in consecutive weeks to try and light a fire under my team in some manner, I would be concerned.
However, this is going under the same assumption the players have made–that Lurie used his own speech the previous regarding 53 angry men, to make T shirts for the team.
I think Chip is flawed when it comes to communication skills and connections with his players. This flaw may end up being his undoing.
Ssssh that’s not the popular opinion her you’ll be shunned!!
I feel like someone has to be the pessimist here… It’s two games the Eagles won that they should have lost… just like the previous two weeks were games they should have won that they lost.
That being said, I’m enjoying the heck out of these wins
I think we/I need you to elaborate a bit more. Why should the Eagles have lost to the Bills? Why should they have lost to the Pats? The games against the Lions and Bucs were games they should of lost. They played like crap and it was obvious who the better team was. On another note, I’m actually glad to see the Eagles beat some playoff teams in New York, New England and possibly even the Bills. If they do beat the Cards, I may have to change my pants yet again.
I’m referencing before the games were played, when the lions and bucs looked like easy matchups that many fans and analysts (like tommy here and jimmy bama) thought would help the Eagles build a win streak going into tough games with New England and Buffalo (and Arizona).
Ahhhh, I see. Well in that case I wouldn’t call you a pessimist but more of an observationalist.
Buffalo wasn’t considered a “tough game” until after we dropped games to the Lions and Bucs. Pats and Cards were since day 1.
Wow, that was some awful defense Miami.
Dan Campbell needs a seppuku appointment.
I said it last week and I will say it again:
The Giants would be a complete dumpster fire without ODB.
这个可以有！
Miami Safety Michael Thomas is really getting his Nnamdi on tonight. On both TD’s he’s given up, he has immediately started to look and yell at someone else….me thinks he has no one to blame but himself
Matthews: 64 catches for 680 yards and 4 tds. Cooper:19 catches 305 yards and 2 tds. Huff: 22 catches for 252 yards and 3 tds. Agholor: 19 catches for 225 yards and 1 td. Woof! I can only hope these guys are still young and can develop more in the coming years, besides Cooper. Of course if you take out some of the ridiculous drops the stats would be much better. I think the WR corps will be ok but I also think they desperately need a veteran WR that isn’t Miles Austin or Riley Cooper. Would Andre Johnson made a bigger impact? Reuben Randle, Malcolm Floyd, Anquan Boldin and of course the fabled Alshon Jeffrey. Any of those FA’s appealing?
Speaking of Cooper, here’s a snippet of me on Sunday. It’s a love/hate relationship. I just want all the players to do well, but he makes it difficult.
Me: OMG Cooper made a nice play. He’s alright in my book.
Announcer: The ball hit the ground and this one’s coming back.
Me: God da***** I f**** hate Cooper.
To quote the scholar/poet, Eminem, “this ain’t love, it’s desperation. “
That sounds like the majority of the section I sit in.
Boldin/Johnson: no too old.
Randle: ehh no.
Floyd /Jeffrey – probably but not as much as we would like?
Trade for Gordon: beast
If he does I would never doubt Chip again
josh gordon is a UFA according to sport trac
pipe dream.
He’s not. His suspension does not counted as an accrued year.
Travis Benjamin from Cleveland. Is Josh Gordon a free agent?
Why not both?
Jordan is #37 in receiving yards. He also averages only 10.6 yards/per catch; all the receivers ahead of him average more, most 3 or 4 yards more (that’s huge). Sammy Watkins, for example, has 46 more yards with 36 less TARGETS. He has 31 first downs; compare Julio Jones at 71, Antonio Brown at 61, DeAndre Hopkins at 70. Even his long reception of 41 is shorter than all but a few of the top 40 receivers.
Yes, woof. We were pretty hyped on this guy in the preseason. Maybe the only problem with this season has been the preseason and the expectations it created. I know I was expecting around 9-7 until Sammy lit it up in August.
Jeffry is the only guy I’d be interested in and he’ll be a bear again next year.
Josh Gordon is the best bet because he will need to be traded.
I think its a combination of him struggling and the routes we have him run. He runs a lot of short stuff in this offense.
Do you know the number of targets? I don’t think huff and Ags have that many targets
Matthews: 100 targets. Cooper: 35 targets. Huff: 32 targets. Agholor: 35 targets. Huff’s targets are egregiously low.
Seeing the number of opportunities some of the guys get changes things some.
Huff should get more snaps/targets. Now that Ags is healthy he should be targeted more as well.
I think we need to stop some of the dinky dunk routes and throw to Matthews downfield more
Most of passes go to te and rb .
Did Huff suffer a concussion on the pick play?
He was playing later in the game, so I guess not. I don’t understand how he could not have. He looked like he was shot by a sniper.
ertz is 45 catches for 501 yards and 1 td. in 12 games
celek 22 catches for 331 and 3 tds.
murray 41 for 300 yards and 1 td
sproles 42 for 300 yards and 1 td
mathews 16 for 123 and 1 td
Julio Jones has almost as much yards as Ertz, Celek, Murray, and Sproles combined. That’s depressing to think about.
168 targets for Jones to 220 targets for those guys. None of those guys is a WR, much less, Julio Jones. Especially considering that Jones is flirting with beating the all time single season receiving record….I’m neither surprised nor disappointed.
We need a #1 WR despite Chip’s philosophy. Having all those guys on the field is counterproductive if you can have one guy that can get those yards.
None are WR though…if we got Julio he wouldn’t even have an impact on their stats.
But I think we now have the same record as the falcons. #team
Boldin is the only desirable combo of realistic and attainable.
you misspelled Pooper
Reggie Wayne, still available. That could of been a huge move.
The most surprising to me is Jordan Mathews. He’s actually regressed from his rookie year, regardless of what the stats say. Those are the emptiest 64 catches I’ve ever seen. And the drops… My god the drops.
Huff and Agholor are a mystery. I think they’ve got talent, but how much and will it be realized?
I don’t think we’ll mess with the receivers too much aside from getting rid of Cooper, or maybe bringing him back with a massive pay cut. Chip wants his YAC guys like Huff and Agholor, who have both flashed at times but are mostly quiet. It’s all a mystery still, this is a season that is full of questions that haven’t been answered.
If we were going to bring in a vet I’d want Boldin. You know you’ll get max effort from him regardless, unlike that pukestain Miles Austin. Blech, what an awful signing.
If we do end up keeping Bradford, could you and Uncle Jimmy spearhead the committee to get his sleeves shortened? Please?
You guys will like this: http://www.phillyvoice.com/expose-stephen-smith-travels-across-philadelphia-eagles-trash-chip-kelly/
Is Suh really sitting out because he’s tired?
soooo, the team has decided all-black uniforms for sunday nights game
I feel like our luck has been better in those of late, right?
eh, going back to last year……we beat the giants….then lost to Seattle. In 2013 the only game i remember was at home when we barely squeaked out a win against Arizona
Dolphins suck. Tannehill is overrated.
I hate watching Odell Beckham. It’s such a reminder how shitty our WRs are. They can only catch perfect passes it seems like.
What is even worse is looking at the stats of the top receivers and realizing that our best one is like the 37th best in the league.
agreed, but that is slightly exaggerated by the fact that most of the top receivers stay on the field. All of our guys rotate in and out of the game regularly. Buy yes, we desperately need a #1 who we can feel comfortable ( of rather feel compelled) keeping on the field for 100% of the snaps
Our offense is down in general. I think you need to take a closer look at ability if you want to rank them in the league. For instance Larry Fitzgerald has had more the a few years where he was probably well outside of the top 10 in production, but in those years may have easily been the best WR in the league.
That dude’s hands are out of this world though. They don’t even look that big. Everything just sticks to them.
They are that big tho. Some of the largest hands in his draft class if not the largest
bortles 30/13td td to pick ratio showing effect of great wrs/red zone targets.
tt 18/5 w 5th highest passer rating
cousins highest completion %
palmer avg 9yds pp 31/9.
Robinson and Hurns are a good pair but you can’t discount Bortles’s play. If Lee stays healthy enough then that’s a nice core of WRs.
plus the tight end. but agree w bortles play.
Its crazy how much Bortles have improved.
Last year he looked like the worst of the top 3 QBs and now he might be the best
not a good year for rushing ap + doug martin at 1250 no one else above 1000yds
Seems like OL play is really down across the league this year.
eagles terrible on 3rd down 1/3 made.
eagles have 5th lowest ypa.
They were pretty good against the pats top defense on 3rd down
Bad drops hurt us on 3rd down against the Bills the short slant that clanked off Agholars hands was a kick to the nuts comes to mind
From another post:
STAT OF THE DAY: the eagles get 1st downs on 68.8% of their 3rd and 4th down rushes, best in the league
Murray 15/15. WHO WANTED TO CUT’M NOW?
you know what’s depressing. according to spots trac murray and shady have the exact same deal. same years same number, shady just has a little more guaranteed $$ 5ms.
Why is that depressing? That isn’t the deal Shady had here, Shady isn’t what Chip wanted, and Shady is kind of an asshole.
1) didn’t realize murry’s contract was that bad
2) kelly went a long way to say it was about $$ in a speech many regarded as him being genuine – saying that players getting cut was about $. only to find out murray’s cap hit is higher than shady’s in every year other than this year.
Of course he’s going to say it’s about money. That’s the “high road” approach. Anything else could be considered trashing the player. Even “doesn’t fit the scheme” would be seen in that light.
Saying it’s about money is the only “neutral” thing. Because most people are crude and forgive any decision made in the name of wealth management.
Shady had a much higher signing bonus; Murray had more guaranteed salary. There is not too much difference other than that Murray is much less of a cap hit if you can trade him, as opposed to Shady.
Yes, I do think it was about money, though not exactly in the way that “Shady makes too much”. I think Kelly said there was too much money on the offense (the OL was being paid well, plus Maclin, plus Shady) and, privately, they knew they wanted to add Bradford at that point. So, Kelly was looking to balance the talent a bit more towards the defense. On offense, I think he had to let an OLman leave (Herremans), and probably decide between McCoy and Maclin.
McCoy was out of guaranteed money and was going agitate for a new deal probably, so either Maclin or McCoy would be wedded to the team for 2-3 years either way. If you were going to go a different direction than McCoy, this was the offseason to do it. And if you were going to trade him, you had to do it before free agency when teams were still setting their budgets and would have the room to take McCoy and redo his deal. When the Alonso trade was offered, Kelly took that route for his plan. I don’t think he trusted McCoy… he would take him out at the goal line late last season, which was telling to me. Kelly would never say that publicly though (trashing a player, and lowering his trade value). If McCoy was still making peanuts though, no way would Kelly trade him.
I think once he lost Maclin as well, and there were no other worthy WRs to use the money on, Kelly went with Murray as the best use of the dollars. With 20/20 hindsight, yeah you may prefer to keep Shady, but I sure thought Murray would be better than this. And the timing of it meant you had to make the McCoy move before you knew what Maclin would do. And with hindsight, I sure wish we had signed Maclin. We would have gone with Mathews and probably Polk or another low-level RB, and could have used the first rounder on someone other than a WR. So I’m still not convinced the McCoy move was the wrong one.
As ATG pointed out, that is not the deal Shady had here. Shady got a new deal from Buffalo including a new signing bonus, the cap hit of which was spread out over more years. The cap hit of Shady’s contract with the Eagles was much bigger for this year and it could have restricted what the Eagles wanted to do. In particular, it could have made it very difficult to take on Bradford’s cap hit for this year.
guaranteed money is really the only thing that matters.
I read that the cap hit for KIKO,Murray and Mathews combined was 11.2 while Shady’s would have been 11.5..
He’s going off the reworked deal Shady signed with the Bills. With the Eagles Shadys deal had a high cap number this year and then came down substantially in the years following. The main benefit to the Eagles tho was that it was basically a series of 1 year deals. No guarantees left. So Shady could be cut at any time if his skills diminished with no penalty.
Murrays deal is the exact opposite. Very small cap hit this year (about $5mil) and then it nearly doubles next year and he can’t be cut because it would cost even more to cut him than to keep him.
If we wanted flexibility and a deal that would be better cap-wise from 2016 on than Murrays we could have dealt with Shadys obscene cap hit this year knowing it would come down afterwards and stayed with his deal. If we really wanted the cap space this year, we could have offered him a rework with more guaranteed money, assuming that if he’d take that deal from buffalo he’s certainly take it from Philly. And, we’d have Shady on essentially the same deal we have Murray on.
The upcoming stretch is why he wanted Murray – he wanted a physical, one cut back to use against teams in physical, high intensity games. Murray has underperformed so far, especially in the physical department. He can redeem himself in the next three weeks, but if he doesn’t, your analysis is spot on.
It is a little depressing, more so when you add in the other running backs and the fact that Huff, turning about to be one of the best receivers, is also a kind of running back. Shady averaged 4.2 ypc last year and had some major stinkers, we’re averaging 4.0 ypc this year. The take-home to me is: Damn, why you spending so much money on running backs, it’s the most fungible position!!! Get some OL talent!
I’d like to officially thank the Miami Dolphins for nothing. Also, was it really necessary to allow Beckham to beat you?
Yeah. End of half play was embarrassing. NY has one guy that can go deep. Why do you single cover him?
He had like 5 steps worth of seperation from the defenders. You can’t defend a play any worse than that
Out of curiosity, what is everybody’s expectation for the rest of the regular season?
I’m good with “par” being a loss to Arizona and wins over Washington and the Giants. I badly want to win the division at this point.
And getting ahead of myself; I’m not expecting a win in the wild card round if we’re hosting Seattle.
An 8-8 division title and first round playoff exit is well below my expectations for the year, but would be the only acceptable salvage at this point.
I can’t really believe they will take care of business and win the last 2 games. I’ll need to see it to believe.
So you want my expectation, it’s no playoffs.
I’m kind of in the same boat, well I have no expectations to be honest. If we keep playing at where we are, we will need some x-plays, turnovers, ST contributions, returns etc. I’ve seen nothing sustainable from this team to expect to go 2-1 in these last 3 games. So either this team improves or gets lucky to make that happen. Washington is probably the most competitive team, especially at home, Giants have the only QB in the division…we have special teams :-/
I’ll find a silver lining either way, either we get into the playoffs and I’m happy, or we get a nice draft pick.
last paragraph is how I am trying to see it. And if we make the playoffs, I’d like it to be b/c we are playing well, Bradford keeps making progress etc.
Also if we make playoffs no Hard Knocks.
also why do you think Seahawks and not Vikings? I’m confused. They keep changing how many teams make the playoffs etc.
Is it 2 wildcards, and so we would get the better wildcard team? or something else.
We will be the 4 seed and play the better of the two wildcard teams.
Vikings and Hawks will almost certainly be the two wildcard teams.
Both are currently 8-5.
Vikings have: Bears, Giants, at Packers
Seahawks have: Browns, Rams, Cards (all home)
Seahawks would be the odds on favorite to be the 5 seed.
thanks
Vikings have a lot of wins, but DVOA considers them an average, middle-of-the-road team. Seahawks are starting to get wins, trending up, and are considered by DVOA a top team. They keep on this pace, they might end up the top team in the league for the 3rd (or is it 4th) straight year.
One game at a time
I’m with RobNE, I just don’t trust these guys to win the final two. I don’t actually think they’ll win against the Cards, either, although stranger things have happened this season. In terms of the pain index; the Cards, to me, are simply not that interesting and they are good–no shame in losing to them. Losing to the WAS team that traded away a king’s ransom to get RGIII and then tried him out at safety, on the other hand, is humiliating. And losing to Eli is always bad, but hey, happens to the best of them. So:
losing to Cards<losing to NY<losing to WAS
losing to the Giants while watching ODB snag anything near him would not be fun.
Ug. Yeah, it will start off by showing how we’ve kicked their butts so much over the last ten years, how bad their OL is, how many interceptions Eli has thrown, how many leads they’ve blown. It won’t matter. Eli will play bad, Coughlin will get a red face, the refs will help them; meanwhile ODB will wreck Maxwell, he may even pull a Dr. Beats out of his cup and give a signed one to him after roasting him for a TD off a short curl or something. Meanwhile, they will put up graphics showing how Chip wanted to draft him and how we ended up with some loser player instead.
If I had to give my honest opinion. We lose to Az and Wash. Beat the Giants.
“There’s a kind of freedom in being completely screwed… because you know things can’t get any worse.”
I need a T-shirt with this.
I think Kris Kristofferson’s version was better.
Freedom ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free (?)
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose”
I think Jerry Jones has that tattooed on his ass.
his tattoo says “Glory Hole”
I think you might have meant Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin’s ass is a glory hole?
*mind blown*
I just puked a little…
Janis sang the heck out of the song, but it was written by Kris.
That exact thinking has made my life easier on so many occasions. I remember when I felt like I was going to break down the week before finals with a giant end of year project due in every class, my jr year of college. That thinking got me through!
Pagano had another good quote. “They can fire you, but they can’t eat you”. Sort of “Fail or not, either way life goes on”.
So, to update the possible outcomes, now that Miami let us down:
1. If we win all three we are in the playoffs.
2. If we lose to ARI, but win the last two, we are in.
3. If we beat ARI but lose to one of the division opponents, we are only in if that opponent loses their other two games.
4. If we lose two games, we are out.
Does that sum it up?
You nailed it on the head ATG, those are the correct scenarios.
Saddest thing is that if WASH, Giants, and Eagles all go 1-2 and Cowboys win out they win all the tie-breakers and win the division.
That is sad, but one of those things doesn’t belong.
Luckily, the Cowboys winning out is the least likely of all possible scenarios.
Ouch, was wondering where we stood if we lost to one of the div opponents. Not awesome.
Ignorance on my part, but why do we lose the tiebreaker to the Giants if we both go 2-1 (with our loss to the Giants)? We’d tie head to head and have the same 3-3 division record.
The Giants beating Miami really f’ed with things.
i think if we only lose to the giants, we get in if NYG loses to either the Vikes or Panthers….both of us would have the same record but own the tiebreaker
True. What would be next? Common opponents?
One thing I’ve noticed. Strangely enough, I have much more confidence that the Eagles are going to convert 3rd and short, especially running the ball. Remember those days of Andy, where we would dread 3rd and 1?
Id like to see us use Sproles more on Rd and ahort… Obviously we will have to pound it with Ryan and Murray most of the time, but I also like how Sproles can find and get thru some really tiny holes. As long as the OL ISNT getting pushed back, Sproles will find a tiny hole to pick up a yard
..
If the OL is struggling to get a push, then you gotta go with Murray or Mathews if the RB will need to break an arm tackle or get a tough yard… But in games where the OL is getting push, I like Sproles in short yardage
https://twitter.com/OhWowHmm/status/676583308008951808
FACTS!
This board needs some RANDOM CAT FACTS
yep
Can’t find any TRUE FACTS ABOUT CATS, but here is one about Armaderllos, a creature from “back when animals were more badass”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=110iUX1Ursk&index=3&list=PLOHbM4GGWADc5bZgvbivvttAuWGow6h05
I love these videos
Sea Pig and Owl are also quite fine.
FACT – Armadillos can damage your rental car when you drive over them at night in suburban Florida.
Not as good as Cho’s, but cats are scared of cucumbers.
http://youtu.be/_BRp7ezUqbI
they hate the Bengals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_VXN7LwI_A
Sadly, I still feel the same when the opponent is in 3rd and long.
Chip really straightened out the media and set them straight dropping some knowledge on them yesterday:
.
“Look at all the top QBs, they have been in their system for YEARS, we had SAM in our system for MONTHS”..
..
Makes me wonder if Chip and the coaches expected to have to a step back this year in order to get where we want to be in the future.. Chip is a smart guy, and it’s really not a big secret that if you make significant changes in the offseason, it will take time before you can gel all the new pieces and get the team playing at the level you envisioned when you decided to make all the changes…. Before the season, the rational expectation was that we would have to overcome some inital growing pains, and then see a better team in the second half of the season and it has played out that way which is exciting going forward. We always knew that this team would have to grow into the team we thought they could be, and after the rough times, it’s a relief that it’s playing out that way.
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I’m starting to be really impressed with the level bradford is playing the position, especially since he is still so young in his transition to QB/Leader of a new franchise, with a new offense… I had no idea he would be this good, this soon in his pocket presence. For starters, this kid has been taking a beating all year, yet he has avoided sacks, and you don’t see any happy feet, he is getting blasted out there yet he doesn’t blink, stays tall in the Pocket, buys an extra second or two, eyes down field the entire time and delivering some precisely placed balls. I’m actually kind of surprised he is trusting his OL enough to maneuver around the pocket so well and let his routes to unfold considering how many hits he has taken all year. The kid is the highest rated QB in the game when passing on the run while rolling out. Who the hell would have ever imagined that? I’m watching the kid play the position and Salvitaing at the how good this kid can be if we actually give him and chip years to grow together. For him to be so good in the pocket, and be able to trust a Line that has been getting him blasted all year, i, drooling over what it will look like when we upgrade the OL, Sams weapons, and once SAM knows this offense like the back of his hand….. I kind of feel bad, because the Stats really don’t do justice to how well he is playing QB… When I watch the games live, he looks really good, but I’m such a nervous wreck while watching games that I don’t really appreciate how well he is Playing until I go back and watch it again Without the nerves of not knowing if we will win or lose.
..
Sams ball placement is so much better than his 66% suggests which is nothing to scoff at anyway… Hopefully we can add some more Talemt to his weapons. While further developing his young weapons.. For Example, can’t wait til that beautifully thrown Bomb that Coop dropped, is upgraded with a kid that can not only make that catch, but also stay on his feet and run in the ENDZONE the way Tyrod Taylor gets To enjoy Whem he throws it up to Watkins..
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even if we think AGHOLAR, Jordan and Huff can be the #1,2, and 3 WR, we still need to add a weapon or two…. Id like to see a #4 WR who is a Tiny burner type speed Deamon, like a Ted Ginn jr or DEsean type who just runs straight past the entire defense and does nothing else..
..
Kelly probably expected Bradford to step in and immediately play better than Foles or Sanchez.
He’s not really a “step backward” kind of guy.
I doubt he anticipated the skill players would slather their hands with butter before each game -that’s one big issue.
He clearly didn’t anticipate the OL would be (generously) mediocre. That’s on him.
Bradford is probably living up to Kelly’s expectations, but the rest of the offense isn’t
I would classify myself instead of impressed with Bradford, as -Hopefull for Bradford.
You believe Kelly?
Awesome to finally get AGHOLAR going.. What’s really cool, is even tho he had pads and a helmet on and couldn’t see his face, you could just see the sheer joy and Happiness in his body when he ran into the ENDZONE. Cool to see, happy for the kid. Hopefully that play gives him a spike in confidence and Bradford also trusting him more.. We will NEED AGHOLAR to make some plays these final 3 games if we are to play our way into the playoffs.
..
I still have very high expectations for how great Agholar can become. Yes the Preseason is bullshit, but that Burst and acceleration he showed when he turned the jets on and ran past two defenders was very real. As he continues to Develope we will see more and more of that talent and eventually Nelson probably will become Sams #1 option…. Hopefully his career follows the Alshon Jefries blueprint of Quiet rookie season, blow up and torch the leagie in year two
he was right next to the CB (safety?) and there’s the ball, then flash he’s not next to the guy anymore. Impressive.
I was glad to see they threw deep now and then. They have to throw deep even if Cooper is going to drop it.
Seems like this division is getting more competitive down the stretch. Cousins has 12 tds and 4 ints the last 7 games with a 72% completion. The Giants have OBJ. The good news is the Eagles play both at home right? I would fancy revenge on the Skins for that pitiful game earlier in the season.
Nah, @ Giants, home vs skins
If the Eagles go 8-8 or 9-7, win the divison and make it to the playoffs. I would consider this year a success. Even though expectations were high early, perhaps they were a little too high. The Eagles are playing a tough schedule this year no? They brought in a qb who was off a year with ACL tear. The recievers caught nothing early. The main RB has been a tad off. The kicker got hurt. Injuries to the OL, on and on. Most of all, though, I feel like Chip gained a huge amount of experience this year and overall made decent GM moves if not good. Not great but possibly good. Football is a game of luck as much as anything else. Im just eaiting for the time its on our side again.
If you can imagine that Chip didn’t win 20 games in the first two years with Andy’s players, churned half of them, went on a Madden-style offseason, got rid of the QB who led Chip’s only offensive success, got a QB with legs skinnier than mine and who usually uses up his medical deductible in the first quarter, paid Mark Sanchez a lot of money to be a backup; and then that we didn’t lay waste to our opponents in the preseason, unfortunately raising the general expectations to Superbowl-or-bust; in short, if you can imagine we were an average team coming off an average off-season; then yes, I would consider getting to the playoffs a quite successful year.
However, in the times when I fail to exercise my imagination so strenuously, I can’t help but notice the holes in the team that Chip created and now has to fill, that Chip’s offensive system is average, that his prize QB is also average, and that while improvement is to be expected, it is also expected that our heads will whack against a glass ceiling sooner rather than later.
Time is not on our side, but Fletcher Cox is.
One could argue that Chip had figured out that he had already hit the glass ceiling with the team he had. So had to start the transition to a team that had a higher ceiling. We’re in year one of that transition, so perhaps it’s not surprising that there are some holes. This offseason is going to be critical.
That’s what he did but anyone who says that his moves last year in FA were good moves overall leaves me puzzled let alone that he has gotten good value for production.
Still like Kelly the coach but I have little faith going ahead forward Kelly the GM will be able to makes the moves this team requires to become a Super Bowl contender.
Thurmond was a good signing. I like Mathews. Murray has underperformed, yes. Maxwell is overpaid, but that’s what happens in free agency, and he certainly was the best option at that position of extreme need. I think as they have learned how to use him better in the defense, he’s performing better. I think he’s also a decent mentor for Rowe.
Not a grand slam of a FA haul, but overall helped the team out, and that’s with Murray seriously underperforming expectations, which I didn’t even have set that high to begin with. Then again, as was noted elsewhere, running backs as a whole across the league are underperforming this year for some reason. I think some of it is that they’re allowing DL to hold the OL on these zone/combo block schemes.
What holes did he create? At WR is the only one I’ll admit but I don’t blame him for cutting DJ and he did try to resign Maclin so don’t bring that up… And if u wanna bring up Mathis, he sealed his fate when he didn’t show up for mini camp.
This has already been written about at length.
Lol I’ll refer to the archives and research theses supposed holes Chip created.
Even if Mathis “sealed his fate”, there was no one in place to seal the middle of the O-line. Ignoring the fact that the LT is 34 with an injury history ain’t wise either.
The blame for the OL rests squarely at Kelly’s feet.
If they had brought in some guys, made some draft moves to plug the gaps, and those didn’t work that’d be one thing. But the team lost two starters and has another way on the wrong side of Father Time. Doing nothing is inexcusable.
Agreed more FAs could of been added, but don’t under estimate the Gardner injury.
I won’t fault the draft because at this point it appears highly successful. Stick to BPA and hopefully that nets 20 new linemen this year.
Agreed, that the holes were more filled from last year than anything.
The WR part is so NUTs to me. So many people keep saying that. They have spent resources in the last two drafts on players that all clearly have very high ceilings. Riley Cooper is ass, but he is the cockroach that just survives. I have learned to accept his place here.
They didn’t get much time with Sam this off-season, and need to improve, yes. I just think those 3 guys are the 3 we need. Sure add, but don’t spend high picks for the love of god.
Maybe it is just ingrained in Philly fans minds that we need WRs. I think those fans will continue to be disappointed if they expect big changes in the off-season.
I don’t know about the “holes created”. It is really starting to feel like the offense just needs time to improve as a unit, more than having any glaring holes. Sure the line needs help, but more because of Peters age than anything else. I tend to believe Kelce will be ok. They are getting Gardner back next year.
In my humble estimation the defense is very good. I think adding a pass rushing specialist or two for the off-season could really make them elite. Now I don’t mean finding a Mack in the draft or paying huge money to the biggest name FA. Sure those things could help, but I mean finding a true specialists that just fits the scheme and will probably fly under the radar in the off-season.
Of course they need to keep adding talent in all areas, but I think the draft strategy they used was very solid. Think about it. Ags has massive talent, we have seen it. Rowe is really starting to impress as a rookie which, which I never expect from a CB. Hicks… no explination needed. Evans and Shepard are both players the team seems very high on. It sucks that the BPA strategy didn’t net any o-line, but that can change this year easily. Just stay that course and you end up with a very good all-around team.
I’m rambling, but really just thinking that the team is on the correct path. The offense needs to improve, no doubt at all. I just wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the team take a big step forward next year. Looking at the rest of the East, the only team that I see with a chance for a similar upward trajectory is the Redskins. Dallas is a joke team filled with dirtbags, and the Giants just seem like a team that is holding back growth for the chance of one more shot with Eli.
That he created holes is not debatable–he did, indeed, cut or trade those players. What you are saying is that he has already filled those holes. That is highly debatable. Consider, finally, that there is a cost associated with filling holes. That cost is generally lower when you “promote from within”. And in the case of Foles, for example, he was obviously $10M+ cheaper than SB. The immediate returns have been poor, but what may be worse is the long-term impact. _If_ you cut loose players who could be helping the team unnecessarily, you set yourself back because new players, instead of _adding_ to the team, are just filling a hole that you made yourself. I will add that I am not claiming to know the future!
No friend, I am saying I don’t see the holes he created. Other than possibly releasing Mathis. That is debatable due to his season anyway. As enraged as I was about the Foles trade, I think at this point it is hard to debate that keeping him was healthy.
I am saying he filled holes from last year. Has new areas to improve this year, not holes. Last year the secondary was a gaping black hole. What area on the team compares this year?
So yeah, I guess I am debating your non-debatable claim.
Here’s the thing – perhaps Kelly already saw them as holes, even with the players that you liked in them. So he wasn’t creating any new holes, he was just ripping the bandage off to start the healing. If I can mix metaphors horribly.
Kelly, I think, saw the team as further away from its goal than you did. So it becomes a question of contextual framework instead of objective truth.
Kelly, I think, saw the team as further away from its goal than you did. So it becomes a question of contextual framework instead of objective truth.
The WRs and the offensive line are where the biggest potential holes are. I think we don’t need to devote any real time to talking about the O-line, especially because it’s so central to the scheme.
The WRs are a bigger question mark for me. I still see lots of potential (especially if you factor in Ertz and Sproles as receivers), but it’s so hard to say about where Matthews, Agholor, and even Huff will end up. If they develop right, you don’t want to dump more resources into the position right now. But we clearly need improvement in this area next year.
Every team has holes. Though I do think some of these have been unnecessarily self-inflicted.
Improvement yes, but like you say those are going to be the guys. Like it or not. Which means to me then, since the resources are on hand for the “hole”, the “hole” doesn’t exist.
doesn’t fit panicked narrative – cannot process
For some reason, fans think that players are not capable of improvement or growth. Whatever a player is RIGHT NOW is what they will always be. Our rookie and 2nd year WRs should already be probowlers, otherwise they’re garbage. I think a lot of our “holes” are already filled or will be filled shortly, it just takes time to work. OL is the only spot that needs some serious love
I find this odd too. Granted you can see limitations in players but you can also see areas of potential. For instance, you can see Huff is a special player but isn’t getting the ball enough, imo.
Need good coaching – looking at the routes they run in which they aren’t getting open might need a better WR coach. Our current WR coach doesn’t have much track record as a WR coach.
8-8 and a playoff loss in the first round? Nah. Kelly even said after this first season here after that playoff loss to the Saints that he expected to win a playoff game the following year.
3 years of no playoff victories under Kelly and none for this franchise since ’08.
Considering what has happened this year, I think it would be in the vein that I feel like its 1 step back 3 steps forward. I guess that’s what we say every year though.
You mean “perhaps” in the same way as someone saying “perhaps I will try those bacon-wrapped (anything)…,” right?
“The Eagles haven’t come close to peaking” I hope you are correct.
I think we have to gauge their preseason offense as the “peak”, for that unit, right?
Read this blurb on Roto:
“Aaron Donald now has 20 sacks in just 29 career games and is deservedly
getting defensive player of the year buzz. With Jadeveon Clowney coming
on, Khalil Mack dominating, Anthony Barr still playing lights out and
too many other good young players to mention, the 2014 draft might go
down as one of the best defensive classes we have seen.”
…and then thought about MS2.
Sigh.
well those guys went way ahead of MSII…..but i catch your drift
Pretty funny really.
the announcers were just saying what a disappointment Clowney has been during the last game.
Relative to the expectations he came with, no doubt. Of course he’s fortunate to be playing as well as he is after his microfracture.
they were saying that JJ Watt gets no help from the rest of the D. Clowney is starting to sound like a bust.
Def not worth no. 1 pick You’d think Watt and Wilfork would be enough, but they are two gapping which isn’t the best for pass rushing from a lineman, which makes it even crazier he has so many sacks.
All of those guys were higher picks though.
Ravens just cut Mostert. Get him back now!
What if we have drafted Witten instead of LJ Smith…? 🙂
That topic has been brought up to many times, please don’t rehash such a terrible memory.
Mea culpa.
this could be a great ending or a huge enormous letdown.
none of these games needed are easy at all. how many times can we beat the giants before they get one on us?
they probably have caught on but are thin in talent to do a lot about it.
It’s basically Eli and ODBJ and not much else
I see this team losing to the Cards, winning vs Skins, and then a toss game vs Giants. If the Giants are playing for the division title too, I bet the Giants take that last game. That would be an enormous letdown.
The only way I see it being a ‘great ending’ is if they do something meaningful in the playoffs.
a great ending would be preventing the other nfce teams from getting to the playoffs.
and then see what happens
Re: Bradford in the System vs. Bradford’s Time on the Field
Kelly’s selling more snake oil with his “system” pitch. When has Kelly ever told the media what he really thinks about his players?
So about the snake oil . . . Compare Bradford to Drew Brees — as Kelly has several times.
In his first season in New Orleans in an entirely *new* system, and coming off a bad shoulder injury to his throwing arm, Brees:
– led the NFL in yards-passing,
– finished 3rd in TDs with 26 (one short of his career best at that point)
– finished 4th best in fewest INTs among full-time starters with 11
– finished 3rd in QB Rating at 96.2
– made All Pro and the Pro Bowl.
Brees’s main receivers were a rookie (Colston), a veteran on his way out of the NFL (Joe Horn) and a TE few, besides his parents, remember (Mark Campbell). Brees also had RBs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister.
Or how ’bout Ben Roethlisberger in Y-1 of Todd Haley’s new system in Pittsburgh in 2013? Roethlisberger’s completion percentage, passing yards, and TDs all increased (as did INTs).
______________
Carson Palmer? Yes, he’s improved each year with Arians.
But what about how Foles and Sanchez had career years in their Y-1s with Kelly? Why not Bradford?
Maybe some will offer the excuses used to explain Bradford’s performance with the Rams to mitigate his pedestrian numbers with the Eagles.
No receivers. No O-line. No RBs.
Do those explanations hold up? I don’t think so.
______________
Next season, I expect Bradford’s performance to improve . . . but *not* because of more time in Kelly’s system.
Bradford improves next season because he’ll have played football for nearly a full season — after going more than a season-and-a-half without competing.
Only two QBs in NFL history missed two straight seasons and then returned to th NFL. These are the closest comparators to Bradford.
Who were they? Tommy Maddox . . . and Michael Vick.
What separates them from Bradford, though, is both Maddox and Vick had the opportunity to transition back to the NFL while working as *back ups*.
Bradford did not have that opportunity. And it showed.
Ultimately, though, Maddox was nothing more than a solid back-up. And Vick never became much more than he was before he missed the ’07-’08 seasons (save the early 2010 season).
________________
Back to Kelly’s sales job. Doesn’t bother me at all.
That’s who Kelly is. When he’s feeling good, he’s never telling anyone what he really thinks. NEVER.
And Bradford? He’ll probably return to his 2013 form, just before his first knee injury (which was pretty darned good) . . . whatever system he’s in.
Seriously, I’m not sure I get the snake oil salesman comparison. A snake oil salesman is a bad person trying to screw somebody over. I think Chip compares Sam to Drew for positive reasons. They may be lies or exaggerations, but they’re not meant to screw over the fans, media, or the players themselves.
Chip gets criticized when he refuses to throw players under the bus (see DeSean, LeSean, Demarco) and then gets criticized for artificially making a player look good (Sam) in an apparent attempt (my assumption) to get the fans and media behind the player and build confidence in his teammates.
BTW, I agree with your post, just tired of all the criticism Chip has taken this year. From Shady and his racist race-baiting rant, to Boykin’s saying Chip wasn’t friendly enough, to Stephen A. Smith just being his usual asshole self, to almost every media member saying Chip lost the team after 2 bad losses, now to this. For the most part, I don’t watch ESPN or the NFL Network anymore and stopped reading most of the bloggers and beat writers that offer little in the form of analysis coupled with a high amount of baseless opinion for click bait and page views. AC, your post are almost always high in historical educational value and/or well thought out in the analysis department, but this snake oil salesman thing struck a nerve in me.
can’t upvote this enough
Dave:
A couple of reactions (hope you see this).
First, I didn’t call Kelly a “snake-oil salesman.” I wrote only that what he was saying was “snake oil” — a term directed at readers who took seriously what Kelly said.
Second, and more important, I closed my comment by remarking that Kelly’s “system” remarks did *NOT* bother me.
I’ve repeatedly remarked here that I *never* take offense at Kelly’s public comments . . . because, in his view, keeping his thinking private is a competitive advantage.
Nor do I care if he’s “honest” or “truthful” — or whatever word one wants to use. That is NOT his job.
Perhaps I should have noted my personal views at the top.
Anyway, I appreciated your thoughtful response.
Got it and agree. Thanks for the clarification.
Ever since Donnie left, we’ve been through the following phases of QBs:
– The Kevin Kolb can be a great west coast offense QB phase
– The Mike Vick can revolutionize the position under Chip Kelly according to Steve Young phase
– The 27-2 Nick Foles phase
– The Mark Sanchez is a great backup phase
– To the Sam Bradford has al the tools and pedigree but just needs to stay healthy phase
Just looking for a little positive reinforcement and hope, which Chip seemed to oblige yesterday.
I agree with your take 100% Two years removed from football and the weight room. Sam needs to get back up to “the speed of the game” and develop chemistry with the pass catchers. He also needs to get his body back in football shape. We’ll have a much better idea what we have with him next year. (and that’s been the plan the whole time)
Yeah, I don’t buy it, either. Does anyone believe what Chip or Shurmur said about Murray’s diminished role, either? I really don’t understand why people spend time analyzing Chip’s statements here. They have little predictive or informative value.
*Bradford 2013 was okay, but nothing special. QB rating of 90, which would put him #19 in the league. Y/A 6.7, which would put him at #28–oh my, guess who’s at #28 this year? The 2015 version of Sam Bradford! His completion rate is actually a solid 3% higher this year; he ranks #17 in the league at that. During 2015, he has gone from a definite liability to a decent game-manager. If he continues to improve–well, he has a long way to go to be a “franchise quarterback”.
It is really hard to judge Sam because of missing so much time prior to this season and the ineptitude of his WRs. Give him a good OL, good WRs, and a little more time to get his legs under him, who knows?
Problem is we need a play maker. Even cousins is leading the league in completion % with higher YPA. Maybe at some point i’ll have to stop saying “even cousins” and admit maybe he’s a decent QB.
You forgot to adjust the 2013 numbers for “coming to chip Kelly’s system” inflation
I get the sense from media and general public reaction that the only way Kelly wins them back is with a division title & at least one playoff one including Bradford continuing play well.
If the Eagles lose the Skins and/or Giants and lose the division title, Kelly is going to get buried.
Who cares what the media says?
the media
IGGLESBLITZ! Must be, half the comments are complainin’ ’bout ’em.
Even the last 2 weeks does it seem like this defense is being held together with duck tape a bit?
Last night during the Players’ Lounge show that this defense is on pace to play nearly 1.5 extra games this year and that since the bye they have been horrible statistically across the board with only their ability to force turnovers standing out.
Also haven’t given up as many deep passing plays (20+ yards) as last year but given they were one of the worst teams in NFL history last year at doing that it is hardly a metric by which you should measure improvement.
What’ new? They always play more games than the average defensive unit. I’ll add that if a defense can force turnovers, does it really matter what the rest of the statistics say? I would argue further that the only stats that matter for a defense are points allowed and turnovers created.
romos flattened is a good stat
21st overall in the league in points allowed (24.8) and been headed the wrong the wrong in a big way since the bye (just a little over 30 pts/game).
As “good” as Davis has been. I think a new DC is in order.
I guess guss bradley is no longer available
I know its hard to predict, but what coach out there would you want?
Why are we using the buy week as breaking point? Of course it looks worse consider the Lions and Tampa game.
FiveThirtyEight has the Eagles of having a 44% chance of making the playoffs which sounds about right.
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2015-nfl-predictions/
It will be interesting to see the reaction here if Reid goes on a deep run especially if that Chiefs’ team makes the SB.
great defense
i would LOVE it if andy gets another SB chance.
bad QB, no run game
odds are against a bad gameday coach overcoming that much
is he really still as bad on gameday as he was here?
still has trouble managing the clock.
he should have lost to the Chargers last week. Chargers receivers were wide open in the end zone and dropped passes. His team needed a goal line stand to save the win.
the Chiefs haven’t played anyone tough since their losing streak. They have an easy schedule and should be ripe for a first round ouster.
I’m honestly not sure if you’re talking about the Chiefs, Eagles, Redskins, Giants or Cowboys….really could be any of them.
only if he faces philly
I think they are underestimating Washington.
who knew, after all these years cousins was the answer.
But what was the question?
Who will the West Virginians be marrying?
upvote for new avatar reference
who is better rg3 or cousins?
538 has Eagles with 70% chance to beat Washington next week. That seems way, way high. Whatever math they are using is skewed away from Washington.
I think a lot has to do with Skins being 1-5 away from FedEx Field
Yup. It isn’t so much the record too as just how bad they have been on the road too.
math will never determine an NFCE game
Odell Beckham in 15 career November and December games:
124 catches, 1995 yards, 17 touchdowns.
His next contract is going to be bananaland big.
i think it may shatter the record for a receiver contract
it’s like who do you pay more, him or the QB
I am trying to think of any other young players on the Giants that they are going to have to fork over huge money like we will for Cox and I am blanking.
OBJ is the only good player on the team pretty much.
Eli just got an extension too right?
21m/yr
Say hello to a bottom 1/3 of the league defense in NY. Oh wait… that’s not really a new thing is it?
Eagles are quickly headed there. 21st in pts allowed now, among the bottom 5 in almost every rushing/passing defense stat, t-16th in sacks, and really only excelling at forcing turnovers.
2 outlier games will make those stats look worse than they are when d playing well.
It is a 13-game sample. You can’t kick out 2 games out of sample that small too.
Almost feel that this team is back to being in a place where they have to score 27-28 pts every week just have a decent shot to win just as they were the last 2 seasons.
I think the performance in the bills game is pretty accurate to who the team is. Needs all 3 phases to win, no one phase looks that great.
Special teams were great again on Sunday. Been the biggest reason the last 2 weeks the Eagles have won and generally been playing much better than earlier in the year.
I see the Eagles as being ‘opportunistic’ right now because this isn’t the same explosive offense we have seen the past 2 year and this defense has a lot of leaks right now.
Why I am really interested to see how the Eagles stack up this week vs Cards. I think some of his missmatches (especially in pass defense) are going to get exposed this week.
Do I see the Eagles winning this division? I say 50/50 especially since the two other opponents are just as flawed if not slightly more so. Eagles are also pretty healthy right now with a few exceptions of guys on IR (Carroll, Gardner).
Right now I see the Eagles as a clear step below the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Panthers. I don’t see the Eagles beating those teams even at home. Packers probably too although I’d still take Rodgers vs this team.
I’m worried about their spread 10/11 looks. Can Kiko guard the slot?
Pass rush needs to be on point but it may be good b/c Carson likes to hold the ball. Also really no run game at this point. It’ll be interesting to see how we deal w/ Brown, Carroll was our fasted DB.
This site (as far as I know) isn’t stacking the stats to help the Eagles out (looking specifically at things like points per drive etc.)
Turnovers are the #1 priority of this Eagles defense (which is a good philosophy).
Points per game:
The mean is 24.77 (too high)
The mode is 20 (good)
The median is 23 (too high)
What does all that “mean”? It’s my opinion that the target for points per game should be the 20-21 range. By that metric this defense is currently failing. With 7 games where the defense has allowed “too many” points. That’s over half the season (by one game) where the defense has under performed.
Let’s toss out the games that are on the extreme edges of the spectrum for fun. We toss out the 45 point games and the 7 point stellar performance against the Giants and 17 point mauling of the Jets. In that case the Mean is 23.11 points per game. Still too high (ugh) and shoots down the idea that the 45 point games are an extreme outlier (to some extent).
If the defense goes on a miracle run the last three games and holds these teams to a total of 30 points, then their points per game for the season would stand at 22. (not ideal, but respectable) But based on what we’ve seen so far, I have no reason to believe that will happen… just putting it in numerical terms to show how hard it will be to say that this is a good defense based on the points per game stat.
Do I miss having a ton of sacks? Sure… but I’m willing to buy in on the QB pressures idea. (it seemed to effect Brady).
Our star: Cox
Playmakers: Curry, Jenkins, Thurmond
Building blocks: Rowe, Hicks
Solid: Logan, Barwin, (maybe Maxwell)
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef
21 pts/game allowed would make us the 13th ranked D, near the top 3rd. But I don’t think this is a very helpful indicator, because it’s dependent on what the situations the offense puts us in.
We are #24 in yard/drive, but #1 in pace (27th in DVOA). Bottom 3rd of the L in y/drive means we are losing the field position game. Fastest pace means the defense has to play more and scores will tend to be higher.
As of last week, FO had us rated as the 9th best D. We are sort of in a cluster of 10 or so other teams that are not that different, but not too close to the top 2 teams. We also have a quite high variance.
Eye test disagrees, I guess. It seems that, too often, QBs can move the ball at will in the 4th Q against us.
Not every team is going to want to have a shoot out with the Eagles. Some (or a lot) of teams will adopt the strategy used to stop the K-Gun of ball control and time of possession offense. To me, that seems like part of the reason why almost half of our games this year have achieved the sub 21 point benchmark.
No-one is asking our defense to “not” stop the other team on 3rd down. But we’re not scheming up to do it either. It seems like the core philosophy is bend but don’t break, which I like for 2 reasons. 1) It allows the other team more time to make a mistake (and therefore a turnover) 2) It allows our defense to play more aggressively when there is less field to control (which can also contribute to turnovers).
The top priority is getting the ball back to our offense, and secondarily keeping the opposition out of the endzone. Despite how long they’ve been on the field this year they’ve been pretty good at keeping the score down, but I see room for improvement. (just hanging on to 2-3 red zone interceptions and getting a fumble recovery in there would have us in a better position on the score board and wins for the season).
But I catch your drift. It really is a “different” type of game that Chip is playing.
we should’ve traded up for that guy. and then never hit him with a deep pass
That would be ironic.
that would be the eagles
Opportunity cost. At least the Giants wouldn’t be hitting him with deep passes either.
Similar to the way the Cowboys offense is missing a key piece?
just saw a stat i found odd, but maybe it isnt: An Alabama quarterback has not won an NFL game in 28 years. Jeff Rutledge was the last guy to do it.
AJ McCarron to break the streak?
Marvin Lewis hopes so. Tough break for them and Dalton, I broke my pinky finger like 3 months ago and the thing still hasn’t healed right. Dalton broke his thumb, don’t know how well that will heal come playoff time…..maybe another streak continues, Lewis winless playoff streak
That thumb will be getting the full TO treatment
He is going to sit in his driveway and do thumb curls?
in a hyperbaric chamber
at a Carls Jr
For those of you that cried about letting Herremans go….he’s free now. Indy cut him. If we pick him up we are no doubt going to the Super Bowl. Do it GM Chip, do it!
I actually wouldn’t be against that, he may not be starter quality anymore but he knows the scheme and he may be able to come off the bench if we get an injury.
I stay with the guys we have but bring in Herremanns for a workout/physical to see how healthy he is and tell him to be ready if we need him in an emergency.
Herremans, no. He wasn’t even average last year and he outright stunk at times. It was time to move on. Plus the Eagles did that early in the postseason and could at least plan to replace him via FA/draft.
Mathis absolutely given what the other options were at that point.
Also, with Sconces getting the boot from Seattle, are we now just waiting on Mathis to get cut to complete the set of “players we cut getting cut by their new team”?
that is not happening, Mathis hasn’t been “good” in the games i have seen him play, but he might be the best they got overall
Not so much that Mathis but what they have gotten out of the options they have used at LG/RG instead and how it is affected Kelce.
The interesting thing is that Kelly really hasn’t altered the areas he runs (at least according to PFF):
Left End/Left Tackle/Mid/Right Tackle/Right End
2013 – 21/10/40/9/19
2014 – 22/9/41/7/20
2013 – 23/9/40/10/18
vs NFL norms
2013 – 11/13/54/13/9
2014 – 11/13/52/13/10
2015 – 10/13/53/13/10
Kelly hasn’t fundamentally altered where this team runs the ball and the Eagles run the ball outside than just about any other team in the NFL.
People have harped for much of the season about Murray around and it is pretty valid. Look at Dallas last year:
2014 – 15/21/34/18/12
I’d bet money too that Murray ran a bunch between the tackles and that some of those outside carries went to other backs.
i meant i don’t see Mathis being cut from Denver, i agree that Kelce could probably be effected by not having two familiar players next to him
And DeSean, but that one is coming in a few months.
Evan Mathis: ‘I was the worst’ Broncos lineman vs. Ravens.
http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Broncos-Injury-Report-Evan-Mathis-returns-to-practice/9ee6e59e-324f-4b17-b5ac-e3acda5b6137
Didn’t see a big Herremans crowd. At the time everyone knew age had caught up to him, coming off an injury, with his salary, and we still had Mathis at the time. There simply was not much of a drop off from Herremans to his back up, and hey, 4/5 guys of the best parts of our line returning isn’t bad. There was a visible Mathis crowd when he got the boot. There was another crowd that didn’t like that we didn’t invest in the line in the draft or FA. Definitely missed the pitchfork wielding mob at Novacare when we let Herremans go though.
Best match up this week for football fans: ODB vs Josh Norman
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Im going to be furious if such an average Giants team upsets the Panthers.. carolina is too good to have a łet down against such an average team. Kuwan Short, Star, Keachly, Tommy and that Front 7 better put on a show against the crappy Giants OL…. I better see the Pathers put an epic BEATDOWN on the Panthers..
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The Bills have a lot of talent, hopefully Losimg to us fires them up and they rebound beating the skins..im going to be sick if Rex Ryan lets kurt Cousins beat his Talemted defense
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We are going to find out exactly how good the Eagles are this week against what will easily be the toughest game of our season. when facing top teams like Cardinals and Patriots, we have no shot of winning unless all 3 Phases make positive contributions, and its going to take a lteam effort to upset Arizona.
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Fun match up is seeing Malcolm Jenkins line up in Nickel for us against his former mentor, the Eagle killer, Larry Fitzgerald
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It’s been a crazy ROLLERCOASTER season, no idea,what to expect any more from this team, but I don’t care what happened this year, don’t care what our record says, if we beat Arizona in a DECEMBER game, we are a tough team. You can down play beating the Pats and the Bills, but there is no down playing this estremely Talemted and well coached Arizona team
Fitzgerald is hobbled by a couple of injuries right now but i still don’t like that matchup or the other ones in pass coverage. Interesting to see who Floyd gets matched up against.
based on recent comments, my guess would be Jenkins in nickel vs Fitzgerald. Let’s see if he can add to his INT totals!
Billy Davis was saying in his opinion Fletcher Cox grades out much higher than DonkeyKong Suh…
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Seth Joyner, very critical of Eagles, says that there are plays that Fletcher Cox makes that JJ Watt can’t even make…
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Friggin Buddy Ryan claiming that the Jerome Brown comparison is Legit.
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That’s some serious praise for our young Franchise player who just turned 25yrs old this week
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Can’t wait to see a healthy KIKO and Hicks fly around behind this force of a DL..
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BG and BARWIN are also playing some really good football
JJ Watt is the best player in the league defensively and it isn’t close. Even Belicheck who almost never gives heaping praise last week said he was the closest to LT he has seen in the league since LT’s heyday.
the hoodie always praises opponents. it is, at the very least, close. cox is the realest of real deals
Generic praise not analyst ball-washing type praise. He just keeps it to ‘yeah so-so is a great player and a great competitor’
all i know is “ball-washing” is a hilarious phrase
Some also have to be rapidly moved up and down to be effective.
http://www.checkyourgolf.com/images/171xNxgolf-ball-washer-14577738.jpg.pagespeed.ic.v5DkrvPk7E.jpg
he and kelly always try not to give any bulletin board material.
Where do you see anyghing in my post that says I think Cox is better than JJ Watt? Little reading comprehension please… I think its a consensus opinion that JJ is the best defensive player in the NFL. Good luck finding anyone who disputes that.. Doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that cox can do that even JJ Cant,.
So we’re talking 2nd best of that era? Because we all know Reggie was far better than LT, but simply didn’t play in NYC and/or have to use coke to pump up his stats.
Seriously, I do not get the love LT gets. The way people talk about him, one would think he was breaking sacks records left and right
If you watched LT play, you know how he changed games and gameplans.
Not saying he wasnt good, but was he really better than lets say Deacon Jones?
I was young watching Deacon Jones play. But guys like Butkus and him certainly changed games on a regular basis. LT did it as much as anyone I’ve ever watched. Of course, winning SB helps, being in the NFC East helps, and being in NY helps. But he was the real deal.
I’m not sure I understand why anyone would compare a defensive lineman to a linebacker. LBs can move around anywhere, while DL are more restricted, at least in their starting position. NFL films did not include LT in a Top 10 list of pass rushers for that very reason. LBs like Taylor or Polamalu can run wild and get all the glory and money because their teammates mind the store. As for JJ, no doubt he’s great, but how is his team doing? Even with Clowney finally contributing.
Record 6-7.
A perfect Maggie post.
Why thank you. I try to cover a lot of territory since I don’t comment every day. Also I’m pretty good at multitasking!
Anybody ask turnstile Kelce what he thinks of Suh?
So damn disappointing this year.
Kelce, I mean.
Yeah. I cannot work up a healthy anti-Suh argument when he wore out our “pro bowl” center out all game and was a major contributor to why we lost.
Well, Suh was doing a good impression of late-years Albert Haynesworth until we missed the damn FG and let them back into the game, but yeah from then on he ate Kelce and our Gs.
That was his best game all year. Doesn’t have a consistent motor. Can turn it on when he wants, but will dog it a lot too.
I didn’t watch KElce closely this week, but considering the Great Marcel Dareus was a non factor for most of the game, probably shouldn’t be ripping kElce after this last game, but yes he has been frustratingly erratic this year
It’s “Turnstile Tobin”.. KELCE needs his own nickname.. His erratic snaps look a man trying to take a piss with an erection
Last week i posted a little blurb about OLB Kamalei Correa and my feelings about how he may (or should) be a guy the eagles look at during the draft process. I’m definitely enjoying this little surge from the team, but i would be lying if i said i didn’t check out after Thanksgiving and start rooting through the upcoming offseason and mainly the draft, honestly i have been looking at draft prospects since August. Upon looking through players i came across a guy who entered College as a 2 star prospect 3 years ago, but will most definitely hear his name called sometime during the draft, i think most likely during day 2 (2nd-3rd RD). That guy is an Australian named Adam Gotsis. When i first saw him on TV he immediately reminded me of “Lattimer” from the movie “The Program”. Gotsis is a tall lean guy, i’ve heard he measures in at 6’4″-6’6″ 285 pounds, he will get bigger and we can nail his actual height down at the combine. He plays for GA Tech in Ted Roof’s 4-3 defense….but i see Gotsis being able to play anywhere in any system, he just has that dynamic package of speed and strength. I re-watched two games he played in this season (Florida St. and Clemson) and the Junior DT has matured pretty well, but still pretty raw. He was pretty dominant in the Fla St. game, taking on double teams in the run and not getting moved back at all, splitting double teams on a pass rush, and at times when the defense switches up it’s fronts it appears that he is being asked to two-gap, and Gotsis does a great job of taking on Guards head on and getting his strong hands inside and keeping his guy in place while he seeks the ballcarrier, only to throw the guard off to side and pursue the ball. In the 2nd quarter of that game he did a great job of splitting a double team and laid a big hit on QB Everett Golson just as he got rid of the ball, Golson had to sit out a couple plays after that. Earlier in the game he got past the blocker and went after Golson, but the QB scrambled away and found a checkdown in the flat who caught the ball and quickly headed back towards the middle of the field, only for Gotsis to completely clean his clock back at the LOS….This play was a great illustration to show Gotsis’ athleticism and motor….some guys would have called it quits after not getting the sack. Later in the game Gotsis showed off his brute strength by “walking” a guard back into Golson’s lap, actually the term “walking” doesn’t even do it justice, he more or less power-walked his man back there unfortunately earning a 15 yard hands to face penalty in the process. He was less dominant in the Clemson game and honestly that game was over at the half because Clemson has played well all year and Ga Tech’s defensive line starts and stops with Gotsis….at times some guys on the d-line next to him weigh under 240. He played well but didn’t show out like in the seminoles game. He made a play on the opening drive on a 2nd and 2, where the Clemson offense ran a quick screen to a wide receiver, Gotsis was playing somewhere over the guard but was able to recognize the play and ran towards the sidelines stopping the receiver from picking up the 1st down…..really impressive play. Unfortunately Gotsis hurt his knee earlier this year, and called it a season so he doesn’t have much gametape out there, He still has his senior year to play and idk if he is returning or not and people in the know can’t figure it out either. None of his games are on draft breakdown…yet. With the Curry/Thornton contract situation to play out, i thought Gotsis would be a nice addition as a bit of a project with a big payoff. The guy just started playing American football about 5 years ago (in Australia it is called “Gridiron”) and he said his practices were only one or twice a week. Ga Tech Head Coach Paul Johnson found out about the kid through a friend of his, who both coached together at Hawaii. I believe Johnson was one of only a couple HC in college to offer him a scholarship, and i think the only HC in Div-1. Just someone to pay attention to.
Bookmark for later 🙂
Correa is super fun to watch.
Random question for Sunday night’s game;
am I alone in seeing us lose via 2 long 4th quarter TD passes to John Brown when he gets behind the CB and S?
Yes.
IF we give up one I don’t think we will give up a second bomb
I guess I’m more stung by last year’s loss to AZ due to that type of play than you are.
You see a win, or a different manner of loss?
I think it can go either way. Neither team has dominated the other. And I don’t know which Cards or Eagles teams show up.
I think a lot will depend on our offense not giving Palmer chance after chance to air it out deep over and over.
If Sam keeps playing well against the blitz I think we can burn them.
That would be great.
I think a lot will fall on our pass pro and ability to run
a lot of carson palmer will fall on his butt because MANDOG
I’ll be happy if we’re still in it at any point in the 4th quarter, really.
if the defense can stop their offense and the offense can beat their defense we have a good chance.
considering they have a top 5 offense and top 10 defense, we have to get lucky
Yes – because it’ll be Floyd…
any suggestions on where i might be able to get a gif of Cox dragging shady down?
all over the internet
haha i mean i tried. “fletcher cox shady mccoy bills 2016” and every other combination of similar descriptors . . . idiot alert by adding the word GIF i became successful.
http://www.phillyvoice.com/fletcher-cox-destroying-bills-offensive-line-gif-form/
TIL it’s 2016
whoa. i’m even dumber than i thought
Pornhub?
I think PhillyMag has it in an article where Lane was quoted saying Cox looked like a grizzly bear sprung out of a trap and mauled his ass, describing what Cox did to shady
Blount out for the season. Could Pitt take the AFC?
I think they have a chance esp with Brown, Bryant and Wheaton
Wouldn’t a Pennsylvania Super Bowl be fun? Of course it would be a nightmare for the broadcasters, advertisers and the NFL! Even more fun. ;~D
I think they could sell that Angle. The battle for Pennsylvania!
Now that Shady has been ruled out
Steegles
that is a scary team offensively and they dont even have Le’veon Bell, that o-line has played well all year too
I say yes.
Patriots < Karma
In order for the Patriots < Karma scale to even out again I think the karma scale would need a hell of a lot more piled on top than that.
I think Easly is also out for the season
The Geno Smith era sounds like it’s over in NY.
It’s been over since his jaw was broken. Fitzpatrick has played too well for them to even keep Smith on the roster.
he is on a cheap rookie contract until after next year. No need to cut him
Am I correct in thinking that none of the NFC east games this week matter?
they could end up mattering down the road, regardless of what the eagles do in their game
No.
If we win and the Giants lose then the Giants are out of the playoffs if I am reading it correctly.
Hope springs eternal is how I would title this article…..hopeful that we can get to .500
Sammy didn’t even make honorable mention for comeback player of year. I find that hard to believe.
Sammy by objective measures isn’t good. Carson Palmer had an acl last year, way better . Patrick Peterson. Ap . Etc .
Carson wasn’t that good after he first went to the Cardinals, which coincidentally was after an ACL injury. Sammy wasn’t good at the beginning of the year, but since he’s really come on. He’s definitely trending the right way.
https://twitter.com/RoobCSN/status/676498169522462721
Not to mention he is the top Ranked QB throwing on the move when we roll him out the pocket…
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But forget Sams stats, his ball placement has been fantastic and stats don’t even do justice to just how accurate he has been because of drops
Palmer came back from an ACL to put up MVP numbers in an offense he spent two years in already and had a year and a half of experiemce Playing in..
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SAM barely played in two years, he is playing on a new team, with new coaches, with new teammates in a new scheme, After being away for two years, and ONLY practicing as QB of the Eagles since August 1st
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What San is overcoming DWARFS Palmers comeback
https://twitter.com/JoshPaunil/status/676801531832885249
This was hilarious.
https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/676772614392684544
Donnie “Donkey Leg” Jones with a booming punt after SAM had a brain fart..play as a team, win as a team. Loved how Sammy B owned it after the game too.
The WD-40 has kicked in and hes at the level we all thought he would start the season at.. took longer than any fan would have liked but glad hes showing why Chip sent that 2nd rounder with Foles to get him here..
…Getting hot at the right time as they say…
Apologies if this has been discussed before and I forgot. Regarding DeMarco Murray. Even though he has been far from successful with the Eagles, our acquisition of him is also a denial of his services to the Cowboys. Even though he might be in our bench, this could be better than having him in the Dallas backfield.
Better than a good cup of Joe.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4748040/arrogant-offseason-approach-has-cowboys-at-bottom-of-nfc
That was tasty. Thanks for sharing.
Reads like it was written in June by an Eagles fan predicting what would happen when Romo was inevitably knocked out for the year.
Letting Murray go for the deal he got wasn’t the issue. The issue is how bad Weeden/Cassel have in place of Romo which isn’t surprising at all. Both of them are in the worst-rated 10 QBs (by QBR) of the last 5 years.
What I thought would happen last year is that Romo would get hurt, the Boys would finish 7-9/8-8. Instead he stayed healthy with a great year.
If Romo stays healthy, the Boys win this division by at least 2 games.
I agree. But you can’t count on Romo to stay on the field for 16 games.
I think Kevin Hogan would be another qb to look at for the draft. Im not saying he should start right away but what does he have that Chip will like? Plays in the conference Chip likes to draft from, good anticipation, pretty good pocket presence, can rip a ball well, good size, not afraid to drive it deep, can get out and run. He has some accuracy issues and can hold the ball a bit too long but worth a look none the less.
I was reading/watching Fran Duffy’s all 22 piece. I attached a screen shot from the long TD pass to Agholor because it made me wonder what the rhetoric would be like if that pass wasn’t caught and the player wide open at the near 40 was passed over.
Really, the whole article is excellent, but the 5th clip shows the TD pass from behind Bradford. It is an awesome angle to see him sidestep the pressure, to see the anticipation and accuracy in his throw, and to see how quickly Agholor separates from the defender. Nice soft hands on the catch, too.
Unfortunately, it cuts out before Agholor is attacked by the swarm of bees in the endzone.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Eagle-Eye-Beating-The-Blitz/f85eed9b-5433-4244-85b3-f6614f1a3974
On his celebration, it looks like he wants to flip out because he is so excited but knows thats not what Chip is about. Seems to dial it back on purpose.
check out the coop play had a guy running wide open in the middle. but no one really talks about ooop play.
The one where he was/wasn’t facemasked and his knee wasn’t/was down, resulting in a lost timeout? That was an all out blitz and a hot read, I don’t think you can criticize Bradford for not going through his entire progression.
yeah that was something to see how open the other guy was too, but Bradford goes for it!
How many frames from release is this?
The ball is in the air a second later (first shot), but the safety had already committed to the deep route before Sam had even moved up in the pocket (second shot) so it wasn’t a case of a guy looking like he was open after the fact.
It would probably be like, shit Sam missed a wide open guy and couldn’t hit the guy he was going for anyhow.
As it should be.
I having a hunch it would not be as fair and focused as that. My hunch is there would be a lot more sweeping terms used, like never, always, etc.
Watching the NFL network this morning. *barf* It seems like the consensus is the Giants will win the east because of OBJ. Not looking forward to watching he Eagles play against him again in a few weeks. Hopefully the pass rush shows up!
Eli and OBJ are the only things the Giants have going for them. Miami put little pressure on NY and couldn’t even stop the run.
At different points in the season, chip has taken a ton of heat for his offseason moves as first year GM…. The up and down play should be a lesson in why decision can’t be judged until we see the entire season.., there were stretches were his Offseasons over looked like mistakes, but not that we are getting a little more clarity, fans and media may owe chip an appology. A major gamble was takng on injured players…. If we were to judge the first chip/marynowitz offseason moves today it would look something like:
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1) took a big gamble on Bradfords health, yet the kid has been getting blasted all year, showing more toughness than I thought he had in hm, while also improving each week and now playomg the position at a high level for a QB first year in a new offense.. Looking like a great move by chip
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2) Chip also took a gamble on often injured CB Walt Thurmond, and then chip gambled that he could move to safety…. Now we are in December and chips gamble looks brilliant with Thurmond Playing every snap this year and grading out as one Of the best safeties in the Game…. Great move by chip
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3) Trading for KIKO off an injury was a big gamble. If you judge it today, it hasn’t been a great addition, but I have total confidence that if KIKO can avoid knee setbacks, Id bet next year we will be talking about how awesome KIKO is and how he just needed to wait Til he was two years removed from the injury to get back to his rookie of the yeàr level of play… So this move is yet to be determined
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4) Byron Maxwell. You have to eliminate the contract when trying to analyze THS move. The market meant that you had to overpay for the top corner in the market. He got off to a rough start so fans are down on him, but he has gotten it together and played some solid football even tho he gets no credit for it…. I see a very bright future in a ROWE/Maxweel outside CB tandem. This move looks better and better each week…I do think Chip gets an A for putting together the secondary for this eagle era, ROWE, Max. Jenk, Thurmond is an excellent foundation to build on
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5) Ryan Mathews, I despised this kid Whem he was a charger, boy was I wrong about him. I love this addition and look forward to seeing him run behind an OL that will be upgraded
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6) Demarco Murray is the one bad move that isn’t looking any better. I do think that with a better OL and anothet offseason to get comfortable running in this offense. murray can be solid for us, but he won’t ever live up to that contract in a 3 back timeshare and we won’t be able to keep him happy, and the worst part is we may be stuck with him for one more year…. Hard to justify the move
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7) AGHOLAR, ROWE, Hicks all showing a ton of promise. Not bad for chips first draft as the man, especially if JaCorey also turns out to be a player
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8) cutting Cary Williams and bradley… Ton of injuries in the NFL yet today, both corners are unemployed
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9) letting Herremans and mathis walk. Herremans was cut yesterday and camt play. Whether Mathis can still play of not, his body has been breaking down the past few years. With JPs injuries in and out of lineup, we can’t also deal with Mathis injuries… The replacement Guards HAVENT looked great, but we lost gardner to injury who IMO is clearly our best guard… Hard to argue with chips decision, but this positipn ismt done, chip still needs to improve this position so this is another To Be Determined judgment
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10) cutting Trent Cole proved to be the right move. No shot he would be worth what we had to pay him to keep him, and after a slow start, BG is playimg at a high level, now that COle is out of his way.. good Move by Chip
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11) Miles Austin was a mistake, but he was a #5 WR, no big deal andIm happy chip manned up and cut the sorry Cowboys ass
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12) im sorry, but I just DONT miss shady at all, which shouldn’t be the case since he is our franchise leading rusher and our Rb postition hasn’t been great, but I don’t miss shady at all.. He was a FUN RB to watch, but as good as he is, he Never won anything. Came up short in every playoff performance, where as Westbrook would go into playoff games as our ONLY weapon, every playoff opponent game planning to stop westbrook, yet the man still showed up and carried us to play off wins for YEARS, while shady came up small in his few playoff games…
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Starting to seem like fans and media were dead wrong ripping and ridiculing chip for his first offseason as head honcho… A lot to like about the first offseason of Chip/Marynowitz era, and I think alot of these solid addition will look evenbetter next year having gotten comfortable in this scheme
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Whether chip and Marynowitz did a good or bad job in their first offseason, both have to learn and grow into their new roles so hopefully they learn from mistakes and do an even better job this next offseason,,,
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The ONLY move that HURTS is losing Maclin. With as well as Bradford is starting to play, would have loved to see what he could do with Maclin, but we tried to keep Maclin, offered him a fair deal. And he chose somewhere else, so while losing MACLIN hurts, I’m not going to crucify chip for it.
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A lot of moves are looking good, hopefully they look even better next year and chip and Marynowitz learn from their first Offseason in charge
any interest in Alshon? would free up some space for the rest of the crew. pricey but would be a big help..
Sure, great young player, love to see him in Midnight green..
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Unfortunately I see very little chance of it actually happening because I struggke seeing how the Bears could let him get away, and we have some players who need to be Paid
Cox needs a new deal at some point in the next 365 days
bradford is getting extended,
thurmond and Jenkins need short extensions,
curry may get a 2-3yr extension while we let Thornton walk
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Then again, we can finally get out of the Cooper contract, his money isn’t enoufh to get Jeffries, but we could take the money we had allocated for Coop and use it t get a solid WR..
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Hard to know How chip views our young WRs, specifically Josh Huff…. Does Chip believe they will grow into quality #1,2 and #3 WRs? I’m sure he is sold on AGHOLAR and Mathews, but the question becomes does chip see Huff as a future starter? Or a #4 WR in which case we would prioritize getting a starting WR….our 3 young WRs aremt there yet, but they have a lot of untapped potential and It wouldn’t shpck me if they Develope into a quality starting triplet
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I would assume that the MOST TALENTED WR that will end up changing teams will be Josh Gordon. Acquieing him is probably much cheaper than what an elite youmg WR would usually cost… Now that Chip has his locker room cultiure in place, with leaders emerging, maybe chip is more open to take a flier on a problem child like Gordon.
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Chip gambled on Talented players who he said would have NEVER been available to us had they not gotten injured.. Well Josh is a Young WR talent we would have no shot at getting if it wasn’t for his suspensions. Andy Reid eventually Gave in, and brought Terrell Owens to try and get us over the hump, maybe chip has learned the importance of Talemt at this level and is open to taking a flier On such an elite young talent….. Josh Gordon is in trouble because of unfair rules, he actually hasnt committed crimes or broke rules that were so serious that it Warranted this extreme punishment for the top young Wr in the game, his punishments have been way too severe for the crime, so maybe chip is more sympathetic to taking a flier on this kid.. On the flip side, while he doeamt deserve this punishment, he knew the rules and his lack of Discapline allowes this to happem to him. That’s what chip will view as a negative…. This Kid has paid such an insanely steep price so hopefully it’s a serious wake up call. Rock bottom has changed people for the better. No idea if Gordon has changed or not, but he is a crazy young talent who should be available, and I hope that chip does his due dilligence and has the kid investigated to know if we can consider trying t get him or not… Don’t hold your breath Tho..
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Either way, with Austin gone, Coops contract getting Axed, we probably have to add at least 1 WR… No idea what caliber, or if we look to the draft, or to a veteran free agent.. …. The MOST improvement to our WR corp NEEDS TO COME from developing the young talent we have
In terms of spending money wisely and allocating a fair [salary cap] portion to each position, we currently haven’t invested any serious money in our WR corps for the foreseeable future.
Gotta see what Sam’s K looks like, lots of players need new deals.
You build a roster by drafting to fill needs at a position, or you can throw money at fixing a position in free agency…
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We decided to build our stable of RBs by paying for veterans so we didn’t have to spend picks on RBs..
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We rebuilt our stable of WRs, by investing high picks in the Wr position, a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick on WRs over the course of two drafts.. Just because these kids HAVENT taken the league by storm in their 1st year or two. Doesn’t mean that they won’t Develope into a quality starting tandem for us. We have big money invested in Coop, and signed worthless veteran Austin to help the young WRs make the transition.The WRs HAVENT torn the league up yet, but Huff and Jordan spemd the 2nd half of their rookie season with sanchez. They struggled the first half with a QB who hasn’t played in two years who they only been Practcing wth since the beginning of August. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also were dealing with shaky OL issues… Now it’s the second half of the seasn, SAM is way more comfortable and they are starting to make more plays.. Even if they don’t end this year with a bunch of TDa in the last 3 games, this season will have been very valuable for their development. They will have a season of experience being counted on to carry the WR load in the Pro’s, great learning experience to build on. And with SAM getting better each week, and will hopefully finally get an entire pffseason to train as a QB instead of injury Rehab, learn this offense in and out, and most important. Have an entire offseason to work with his young WRs, I could see chip Kelly plan on going into next season counting on jordan, Nelson and Huff to be our starting WRs without investing in free agent starter or spend another top 100 pick on a WR….it probably will all come down to what Chip seea as Huffs Future? Does chip still see a starting Pro WR, or does he think Huff will be more Of a #4 WR?…
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Now we finally get to axe the terrible Cooper contract, so it is possible that chip could take coops money, and allocate it to bringing in a Free agent Veteran, but I find that unlikely. Think Chip will take advantage of having his WRs on chip rookie deals for the next few years, and take Coopers money to take care Of extending another player like giving Coops money to keeping VINNY Curry for 3 more years, or giving Coops money to Thurmond…
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With Coop n Austin gone they will have to add a WR or two, but it will Probably be a 5th or 6th round pick, or a cheaper veteran to be a #4 WR
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Personally, I’d like to see us add a cheap specialist at Wt, like a Tedd Gin style Speed Deamon who does nothing but run straight and try to catch a bomb
he had a few “problem” players at oregon.. masoli and blount to name a few.. would love to see Josh Gordon on the squad.. but your right they will bring in someone.. maybe ruben randle isnt resigned by NYG.. hes solid as well. would be shocking to see bears let their stud walk but w a hopeful young stud in White they could take a chance.. doubt it though
Wouldn’t make sense, sure wouldn’t be upset though. He won’t be leaving the Windy City anyway.
Lol Thank you to INSIDE THE NFL for Mic’ing up Shady for the Eagles game and making me enjoy the win even more..
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Put a Big smile on my face watching inside the NFL showing the eagke/Bills game and before the game, they caught shady all hype and demonstrative saying “These Motherfuckers are going to pay today, Rex they are Going to pay” as shady and Rex Ryan pumped each other up..
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Lol Fletcher Cox made sure that shady was the Only Mofo who had to pay…
My comment above was supposed to go here.
Cant find anything.
and at the end of the game Shady is basically all “cheque please!” and gone.
Did he leave a tip this time?
Arians made it seem like he would have come to philly if we gave him the chance, any thoughts on arians v chip?
Arians seems like a whiner. He’s a good coach, obviously (results), but complaining about the refs in a press conference… meh.
One thing about coaches like AR and Chip, they take the heat and don’t make excuses.
would he have brought the cardinals D and carson palmer?
other then that screw him.
but we would have sure liked him here no doubt.
he’s kind of perfect for the eagles in a way, but that ship has sailed
Probably would have brought Carson to Philly instead of signing VICK for a year.. And Bruce would have probably tried to take a run at the Super Bowl building around Carson, Shady, DESEAN and Maclin.., where as chip wrestled power away from Howie so that chip could try to build his own team… This was year 1 of the cHip/Marynowitz Eagles,probablt need to give it another full season until we can judge the Eagles/Marynowitz Eagles compared to year 3 Of the Bruce Arians Cardinals..
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Bruce has been building on the previous year since he arrived, where as this has to be looked at as a quasi Rebuild by Chip in year 3…. Lack of Patiemce is why I was so against allowing chip to rebuild in year, but now that the first year is almost out of the way, it could end up proving to be the right decisions especially when the majority of the players he got rid of aremt having success
screw arians.
Yeah hard to say. I like Arians, but since he got Carson it is hard to judge.
After Eagles deffense łet kirk Cousins get a comeback win against us, the next day Billy Davis went on record that he Hoped the defense would be in position to close out games and that next time they would make the play and close out the win….. Billy Davis sure is delivering as of late… The Last two game ended with the defense on the field, getting a big stop to win the game, and put a stop to BRady and Tyrod Taylor’s comeback attempt..
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This reminds me of 2013 after the Broncos blew us out, Billy went to the media and people thought he was nuts telling them he sees improvement and soon it was going to click for the defense and they went on a long streak of impressive defensive play helping to lead us into the playoffs..
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Say what you will about Billy, but he has proven that he does not talk out his ass, and whenever he makes a bold proclamation, it has been backed up and proven to be true…
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This season has been torture to endure, but with a team with so many new players that needed to gel, facing the extreme level of adversity this team has faced, stay together, fight thru the adversity and went on to beat the Patsand Bills, instead of quitting on each other can be absolutely HUGE for this team going forward, overcoming so much adversity with so many new players could be so BIG for the growth and gelling of this new Eagles team…. The sky was falling, shit got really ugly, then SAM came back from injury,United the troops and led us out of those dark times..while that was Horrible to have to endure, it could have been absolutely HUGE for this eagle team that was still jelling…
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And now we get to play the perfect team to test us and show us exactly where we stand… We are one 3rd down stop away From being 2-0 against Bruce Arians cardinals. After the last two wins, we shpuldmt be intimidated to play anyone, and I hope to see an eagle team raise to the level of play Of the Cardinals and show that we can hang with the big dogs this year..
The NFC has NEVER been this wide open, and with Peyton Manning falling victims to father time, and the Patriots being Ravaged by Injuries, the NFL is wide open. Who is Goimg to take advantage of a down year and win a Lombardi? Just get in the playoffs, this is a whacky year, anything can happen
Link to the Shady video?
No idea… I saw it watching last nights episode of inside the NFL… if I come across it on BGN or PhillyMag, il make sure to post a link.
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Unfortunately for some reason, inside the NFl hates the Eagles. They show long detailed highlights of games, but when it’s time for an eagle highlight they only show like 3 plays. Whoever edited last nights episode should be Fired for not including the highlight of the play where Fletcher Cox destroyed shady…
Did you miss the games where the defense got historically roasted?
I was lucky enough to miss one.
Let’s not pretend like Billy Davis is some kind of defensive oracle: “whenever he makes a bold proclamation, it has been backed up and proven to be true.”
He’s not as bad as his detractors say, but he’s not on a Wade Phillips or Jim Johnson level either.
Since you missed it let me fill you in what happened those games:
Defense takes field, makes stop. Offense walks onto the field, has 30 second 3 and out, trots off no sweat broken. Defense takes field, makes stop.
How many time can they do that before they don’t make the stop? Did you see the Miami game? The defense did work over and over, and the offense failed miserably. That game broke them for 2 weeks. They seem to be back.
The offense is bad. Playcalling isn’t very aggressive / is very predictable.
OT: I don’t know how closely everyone follows the Flyers, but I just want to say how fun it has been to watch one of our young players emerge this year. Ghost Bear is an absolute stud.
6 goals 1st among rookie D, 11 points 2nd among rookie D and 3 OT goals T-1st in the entire NHL. And that is playing in only half of the games the other leading rookie Dmen have played in.
So fun to watch our farm system actually producing!!!
With the rest of the young pups primed to come up next year or the year after the Flyers are looking so good for the future.
PS I also love Hakstols system and approach.
in 2 years, this team has a chance to be sick.
Stop me if this sounds like a broken record around these parts, but the biggest challenge to Ghost is going to be staying healthy. He’s also not going to ever be a great defensive Dman, ’cause his boardwork is going to be subpar, but you can live with that and pair him with a beast (like Morin hopefully becomes) and his skills will cause teams to hesitate a little on the forecheck, compensating for his deficiencies.
The best thing about him, though, is what he obviously brings to this newfangled 3 on 3 OT. He’s going to be a big weapon for that.
BIGTIME test for Eric ROWE and the Eagles secondary this week against the most potent stable of WRs in the NFC (Steelers in the AFC). too many good WRs, we can’t double team them all, Eagles DBs are going to have to step up and hold up in man coverage, becayse as soon as we double one WR, Carson will throw elsewhere…
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This is also a major test because the Cardinals are known for taking 6 to 8 shots down field every week, so stopping the X plays will be even more importamt than it normally is..
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Last years Eagle secondary was bad and we were 1 third down stop away from winning @ Arizona…. Now we are at home, we have a significantly improved secondary against the same Cardinal WR’s so im expecting the secondary to step up and earn respect for how they perform against the Cardinals, but THAT CANT HAPPEN Unless Fletcher Cox continues to be the best player on the field. If Cox dominates this game against guys like Massie and Iuapti, the rest of our DL feeds off that and we have the DL Horses that can step up and win one on one MATCHUPS against the Cardinals OL
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if the Eagles DL plays the way they did against the Patriots and the Bills, no reason we can’t beat this team, we have played them tough, and chip put together solid gameplans against the Cardinls the past two years… This game should end up decided by 7 points or less and we have recently learned how to start winning these close games. bradford and the Offense won the cloae overtime Dallas game for us, ERTZ and Sturgis got us a 3pt lead in crunch time against the Bills, and then the defense stepped up, and sealed The Bills win and the Patriots win for us.. very exciting to see both the offense and Dfense learning to win close games for us…
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After the past two weeks, no reason the Eagles SHOULDNT play with Fire and Confidence feelimg that they can Win on Sunday, but can’t even think of winning unless we get a big day from Cox and the Front 7..
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I see,Carson in that Category of Eli Mamming, QBs that you want to hit a lot, but you don’t want to sack them because Eli and Carson are confidemt and they will be aggressive, so you don’t want to sack them, you want to hit them, and force them to rush their throws and they will end up givng us opportunities to come down with an INT or Two.. But if you DONT beat Palmer, he can have a big day on us… The Key to win is holding up against all the shots they take down field, and pressure and batter The aggressive Palmer into mistakes we can captilize on just like we saw this past week. Cox and the DL dominated the second half, until Currys pressure forced a QB who hasn’t thrown INTS in like a month into a bad throw that Reynolds was able to capitalize on, and the week prior we battered bRady and forced him into a bunch of Bad Throws..
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The ONLY way we can make the playoffs is if Cox sets the tone as the best player on the field. If Cox has big games against Carson, Cousins and Eli and we may not lose another game this year. If Cox and the Front 7 are held in check and don’t have a big game, we will get killed.
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This years Eagles can ONLY go as far as Cox carries. The kid has had a special season, and he has an opportunity to put a big cherry on top Of this season by dominating the next 3 games and carrying us into the playpffs..
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For a team with so Many new first year Eagles, to overcome the serious adversity this team encountered, come together and fight its way into the playoffsm would be huge for our growth and make for a very promising foundation for the Chip/Marynowitz Eagles to build on
Eagles need the 2015 defense prior to the bye. This group is almost lock to give up at least 23-24 pts week which is going to make it really hard to beat anyone in the playoffs and even make them.
In Order to really contend, we NEED:
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SAM Bradford continuing to improve
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The 2015 Eagles Defense
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2014 Eagles Special Teams
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2013 Eagles OL that stayed healthy for 17 games, (would be interesting to see SAM throw to Maclin and Desean, but I still have hope for our young WR)
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ST is back on the right Track. Next years Defense should be even better than 2015 defense) and the WRs will continue to grow and Develope..
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So the Biggest NEED we have to address is the OL… We NEED 5 quality Lineman, who can hopefully stay close to as healthy as they were in 2013, but we also NEED 3 Quality backups that can be counted on…. Give this group of RBs and Elite OL, and stick the always improving Bradford behind a OL that protects him much better, and also Let SAM play off of a potent run game, and we could see the best Eagle team since the 2004 SB team, or the Eagles team that lost to the Cardinals in the NFC championship..
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I’m not overly confident about the rest of this season, but Big Picture, im very excited about the direction this team is heading.. Hopefully we find two free agents that turn out to be studs like Thurmond and Jenkins and another solid draft where we get first year contributes from 1st rd (Agholar), 2nd round ROWE, and 3rd round Hicks…
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But even tho no one is talking about firing chip anymore, I still believe that he will need to evolve and tweak some of his approach and Philosophies to be able to grow into a Pro Coach that can lead us to success. These past two wins HAVENT SOLVED ALL OUR PROBLEMS, chip stil
What about Reggie White? Could use him too.
I think chip wants to build a team like SEA or Alabama. OL is obviously the missing piece and that drives everything on offense. I also think we need a new WR coach. Unless there’s a coverage breakdown the WRs aren’t getting separation, lots of jumping and body catching especially by matthews, very little disguising of routes, double moves, etc.
When you invest the most money in RBs and commit to a Qb with a history of injuries, OL better be one of the strengths of your team.. We have the ability to keep throwing fresh RBs at a worn down defense in the second half. Sure would help if we have a dominant physical OL wearing down the defense and keeping a smart, accurate QB like SAM healthy and give him time to go thru his progressions
If Chip wants a team likea SEA, he needs to convert all his late rouind DL picks into OLs and wonder why they blow in pass pro
Bradford has the beard going. That’s whats been missing. Problem solved.
Playoff (run) beard?
Love to know what RG3 and Kapernick are doing these days? Playing two on two to ” stay in shape” with Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher?
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I need to take the time to appreciate that a hated rival of ours invested a TON in RG3 who is completely healthy all year, but has been invisible and completely irrelevant to the 2015 season…
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Seems pretty immasculating to be walking around the Niners locker room,having lost your job weeks ago to friggin Blaine Gabnert lol.
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Johnny Jackass Manziel and Matt Cassel have been more relevant than RG3 and KAp…. That’s awesome
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Akso get great Joy from a Tony Romo-less NFL season
I wonder if RG3 would fit in CK offense. He has a lot more accuracy than Kaep, and is actually not that dumb. He got a 24 on his wonderlic, which is decent. He was so good his rookie year, even if you take out all of his runs.
No!
No he won’t. And neither does Kaep.
There’s no way to tell without seeing it. Can RG3 recapture what he had his rookie year? Can Kaep return to the guy who took the Niners to a SB and NCF Championship game?
With that said id rather give Sam another year in the offense then take a flyer on either of these guys right now.
No.
No.
Yes, give Bradford another year over either of those two clowns.
Neither of those guys has looked very good since the league’s defenses have developed and practiced the scrape exchange. Either one can probably put up amazing numbers against weak defenses, but they’ll both struggle mightily against quality defenses who have prepared for them.
Sam may not be the guy, but those two definitely aren’t.
RGIII can’t do what you want him to do which is (a) be athletic and (b) stay healthy. He’s shown he’s not great as a normal QB. Gruden basically got him injured so he could play Cousins.
sounding like Stevan Jackson is headed to New England
Got home back to the office and spent a little time reading twitter updates of today’s press conferences.
Let me see if I got this straight, from the 1st week of the season through a few weeks ago, the brilliant Philly media skewered Chip over the Bradford trade, especially giving up a 2nd round pick.
Yesterday Chip states that he wants Sam here beyond this year and the media all write articles on how Sam is playing pretty good and maybe he is the real deal.
Today, Sam says he’ll worry about the future after he season. The media’s interpretation…Since Sam didn’t say he wants to be here, he (choose one or more of the following):
a.) doesn’t like playing for Chip
b.) doesn’t like how his bff DeMarco is being treated
c.) doesn’t like Philadelphia
d.) doesn’t like the receivers
e.) doesn’t like the o-line
f.) doesn’t want to play for the franchise tag
BTW, looks like Shady just confirmed Chip never called him last week. What will the media make up next week?
Yeah i was about to post: get ready for a media shit storm over Bradforda harmless comment that will Be blown epically out of proportion.
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Now that he is playing so well, the media is intent on making him as miserable as possible and try and chase him away…. Fortunately he has seemed to handle our absurd joke of a media just fine this year and doesn’t let the donkeys get to him…. Thru hard times he Probably looks at his bank book and smiles..
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I have no idea how playërs actually like playing in this city.
“I have no idea how players actually like playing in this city.”
Exactly what I was thinking the entire drive home today listening to the radio. They were queefing that Bradford should have said he wanted to be here next year. Ever stop to think maybe he actually doesn’t want to be here because of you butt munchers?
Lol No Shit chip Never called shady.
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Those poor dumb media bastards actually think an NFL coach is allowed to call a player on another team a few days before we play that team? LOL it’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
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If Chip kelly really called Shady a few days before we played the bills you know that media whore, drama Bitch Rex Ryan would be crying bloody murder.
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Coaches ARENT allowed to even talk about another teams playërs without getting in trouble, let alone go calling playërs under contract with other teams behind the back of his agent and curremt head coach and owner?
Of course chip DIDNT call shady.
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What I want to know is if That poor excuse of a man, gossip bitch McLane just made it up, or, I wouldn’t put it past the slimey Media to have gotten shady’s number and prank call Shady saying that they were chip kelly.. I wouldn’t put that past the philly media.
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It’s getting bad, worse and worse this year, the media adds to our adversity, I wish Lurie would grow a pair and put an end to this crap, start pulling media access credentials for jerk offs like McLane… The media can figure out a wAy to do their job without adding to the adversity we have to overcome each week.. I mean chip Kelly Phone Gate? We are reaching new heights of scumbaggery from this media
Damn, tell us how you really feel;-)
tabloid journalism. you’re right, they should hold these reporters accountable.
especially bad since mclain doubled down on the story afterward, i wonder who their two sources were.
Shot in the dark… his mom and his cat?
sal pal
ole’ Anal Piano Stool (anagram)
McClane actually wrote he is sticking to his story.
Instead of admitting to being a fabricating tabloid bitch? Shocker
makes sense what he said, just like Chip, no hypotheticals. what if he get’s hurt? so many things can still happen between now and then…
he could retire, he could get wooed by AR in KC or any other QB needy team, there are a few…
plus can he handle does he want to handle the Philly media? Foles was happy to get out.
Do you guys think the transition tag is a safe risk with Bradford to hold him for 2016 at appx $18 mil?
Would the franchise tag make folks more comfortable for appx $20 mil?
Can we get Bradford on a 2 or 3 year deal at appx $18 per?
Do we need to full Jay Cutler / Matt Stafford level contract at $18 per for 5 to 7 years?
i actually like Sam, but if he wants anything more than 18 million per year, even if it’s only a 2-3 year deal, i would tell him to hit the bricks. He’s progressed, but hasn’t been impressive per se, and how many times has he actually played a 16 game season? I like the guy and think we need stability, but idk how he or his agent would justify anything more than that.
I have a feeling Chip feels differently
What’s nice is that you can freeze him out by tagging him no matter what he wants. I just don’t know if he fits in with the guys who have hit $20 mil / year.
18 mil/year for Sam Bradford sounds like something that would get a person incarcerated in a mental institution. Pure insanity.
Going rate if you’re talking next year’s cap which will be, at a minimum, $153 million.
2 years ago I’d agree with you, but the market has continued to go up.
You’re basically paying Bradford the same as Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson and a couple of mill more than Tom Brady, who in fairness took a pay cut to win.
If Bradford wants anything more than 10 mil/year, good luck to him in his future endevous.
Wilson is on a $20 / year deal and Rodgers got $22. And those deals were signed a year and two years before Bradford will sign his. If Rodgers was up this offseason, he’d be looking at a $24 or $25 mil / year deal. That’s a big difference from Bradford getting $18.
18 mil/year wouldn’t be as ludicrous to me if he could actually finish a whole season entirely
I agree, but the structure is important. You’d almost have to structure like like Murray’s deal where you can get out of it in year 3 no matter how much per year.
D3 had a really good explanation about going more per year than would be ideal if the Eagles got more protection from injury based dead money.
oh yes of course….restrictions and language and buy-outs and all that happy horseshit definitely make a difference
Rodgers and Wilson will get paid 18 million this year and next year. Thats the marquee for Bradford, and he is in no way comparable to any of those guys.
Dont pay Sam Bradford as a top tier QB when he so obviously is not. Especially with a player who has never finished with a winning record in the NFL and has currently missed more games than he has started.
Too many teams get punished for giving bad contracts to QBs. Kaepernick, Flacco, Cutler, Ryan, Stafford. Dont fall into the trap, especially to a guy who isn’t good. Or isnt great, would be the right term.
You’re correct for this year, but I was giving you the averages over the life of their deals as announced at signing.
I totally get your point about not being stuck with a bad deal with a QB, but if Bradford is making strides here and Kelly wants to keep him I think $18 is right around where it’ll be as an average over the life of the deal.
I don’t think 18M is crazy money to pay a starting QB in 2016 esp if Bradford keeps playing like he has been.
maybe something that’s incentive-laden
I got you, even with the increasing salary cap. My main point is, Sam Bradford is not great QB and paying him like one will hurt us, not help us.
I’d much rather spend that money on keeping Cox, Logan, Thornton and Curry. Its not about what others do, its about not overpaying. Overpaying in panic leads you to giving Byron Maxwell the 5th best CB contract in the league. Dont spend money just because other do, when its painfully obvious that other teams get punished to shit with those contracts, especially if Bradford is the guy. I can understand the Ravens paying Flacco after his post season, I can understand why the Falcons gave Matt Ryan when he was leading them to 3 straight 10 win seasons with a shit defense, I can understand the Steelers paying Big Ben. Theres no argument for paying Bradford out of anything but panic. And for what, an average QB? Maybe sightly above average?
BTW, how is Rodgers’ average 22/year when he never gets paid more than 21.1 in a season?
And that all makes sense. The counterpoint would be that you’re eventually going to lose non-QBs because you can’t afford to keep them and a franchise QB. If you’re not going to invest in Bradford, you’re looking at another year (or two) of having to see if somebody else can be “the guy.”
If you want to go all-in on the draft and get me Goff, I’m down with that. I’d need more convincing to go all-in for Lynch. I don’t want Cook. Hack is a guy who needs a full year of learning how not to be Gabbert Jr. before you can put him on an NFL field, arm talent be damned.
Wentz and Kiel are interesting to me, but are project type dudes at best.
I think Bradford, to me at least, has proven enough that I could be ok with signing him to be here for a tad longer.
The thing I keep bringing up about Bradford is not thats he is bad. He is not a bad QB, he is just not great, and thats not gonna cut it in the NFL. If you do not have a great QB, you wont win without a historic defense and special teams, and frankly a top running game. Its borderline impossible. Now, weave seen Flacco and Manning be good, borderline great QBs and then have those years where they get to the playoffs and start to dominate, before going back into that borderline area. Thats great, but not how you build long term. Its simple, the good teams who have a shot for the championship every year are the ones with Brady, Rodgers, Manning(before old) etc. Can Bradford slowly develop into that Eli Manning/Joe Flacco bordering elite player? Maybe. Is it possible that he has that one post season where he goes off? Again, maybe. That year he still has to avoid the Brady/Rodgers/Wilson having a similarly dominant year. Meanwhile we’re paying him a shitload and letting great players leave in FA because we can’t afford them, for the slight possibility that a QB has a career year? No thanks.
The real calculation is this. You either have a great QB or you have no QB. Having Bradford over having a rookie or having say a Brian Hoyer, will probably make us a better team, but it will not get us closer to winning the SB. It might make it bearable to be a fan, but it wont bring us closer. The only thing bringing us closer is finding our Brady/Rodgers or Luck/Wilson.
i have no problem not paying him if you don’t think he is the guy, it’s a decision the organization is going to have to make and i respect all opinions whether it is “yes pay him, it will bring stability and he has progressed” or “he will never be an elite guy, he is mid-tier at best”, both are fine explanations for keeping or not keeping.
Chip is in a tough position, and he only has himself to blame. At this point in time he realizes he needs not just “the guy” but “a guy”. He’s been shuffling different guys into the starter role each year and that is an obvious bad way to build long-term success. I trashed the idea of Bradford getting an extension for $18/year, but on the other side of the coin…..it isn’t that much money if your in team friendly deal and there are ways to get out at any time. I actually think that is the only type of contract Sam can expect given his injury history. My ideal scenario would be Sam on a team friendly deal and finding a way to draft a QB to develop. I’ll go on record and say that if we win the division and are picking at 22 or whatever it is, i would pick Carson Wentz (if teams don’t fall in love with him who pick ahead). I know there are glaring needs at other positions, but like you said, you need a great QB, and i think with a year of development that Wentz would be pretty good in this system. He is now being talked about as a late first round prospect and there is quite a few teams who would be interested in him as a guy to groom behind the veteran they have now
also got a lot of guaranteed $$. That’s a thin line to walk. I think same is worth about what we’re paying him maybe $15m range. Either you pay more and have a deal you can get out of or you try to go cheaper but have to pay more guaranteed $. Seems clear that he and his agent will be taking all offers.
Aaron Rodgers and Wilson are about $22 million per year, contract average. If you sign players to long-term contracts, the first years can be lower. Also, a huge part of contracts is the guaranteed dollars number (Rodgers has a staggering amount). The cap is going to skyrocket as well, so what was a high contract even two years ago will be middle of the road very soon.
Bradford is not going to get a franchise-level contract. But 18 mil is no longer one of those. Basically, a starting QB who is earning less than $10 million a year is on his rookie contract, or a backup just getting a chance. (Or Tom Brady as mentioned.) Foles got a 12 milliion fully guaranteed for goodness’ sake. If it’s a one-year contract, the dollar number will be higher too (since you can’t spread a signing bonus over several years), so $18 would be very reasonable for a one-year contract where the team does not take long-term risk. Alex Smith has a 17.8 cap figure next year. Salary is fully guaranteed for him too.
18 M isn’t crazy money for a franchise QB
Maybe we should find one of those then.
If it was that easy every team would have one.
The cap is going up and 18M wont be out of the question for a QB.
Sam has played really well his last few games. He played well enough for us to beat Carolina. It really looks like he has shaken off the rust and is starting to grasp the offense.
I’d rather roll with him then start over with a new QB in 2016. You need stability at the QB… As before gets on Sam about missing 2 games…. lets not forget how many times our OL let him get blasted by the Dolphins. Not many Qbs take that kind of beating.
So what you’re saying is to hell with what Bradford is actually worth paying based on his current level of play, lets pay him something similar to what other teams do?
Thats like paying an uneducated, untalented person with no interest in working, learning or improving the average salary of a certain profession and just having him do that poorly.
You cannot pay Bradford a certain amount just because, you pay him what he is worth, and giving him 18 million in 2016 will be the equivalent of saying that Sam Bradford = Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. Which is insanity.
You think no other team is willing to throw money at him now?
He’s gong to be an UFA… this isn’t Chip offering Sam money because he wants too. Other teams are going to be willing to pay him. I think its going to coast 15-18.5M a year to keep him here.
And its only going to increase if he rides this hot streak into the playoffs
Looks how he has played over his last few games and name a better QB that’s available
I applaud your principle, but what Bradford is “worth” is more of an objective market assessment than a subjective, analytical one. The market is constantly rising, and there is nothing fair about it except that it hits everyone eventually. If the Eagles took your approach and stood firm on a price based on their comprehensive assessment, and lost him to Dallas or anybody, the criticism would be deafening…unless of course, they signed somebody better…and who might that be?
LOL
18 M is way below market for a franchise QB. And that is about to jump, I think. If Bradford plays like he has the last few games, yes, the 18 mil would be worth it. And the franchise tag might be worth it too.
If he signs a longer-term contract, I don’t think the yearly averages would be 20 mil though. Part of the franchise tag is paying more short term to avoid long-term risk.
Bradford has been playing well, but no chance in hell I want to pay him anywhere near franchise QB money. Ryan Fitzpatrick makes 3.5 million right now. Sam doesn’t deserve more than him in real life.
Unfortunately in real life he is probably gonna get paid just like he did as a rookie, and stay hurt again.
Well sure, if you sign someone to backup money and they become a starter, there is a short-lived time where they make peanuts. You think the Jets are going to get him back next year at 3.5 million?
You can be principled and say he’s not worth that much (which is often based on past salary caps)… then suffer a go-nowhere year without a real QB and be very ready to overpay for something, anyone after that (or get lucky in the draft). It takes just one desperate team.
Texans, 49ers… possibly the Redskins, maybe the Browns if they decide to ditch Manziel, and usually a surprise team or two will be looking for QBs. And if someone like Fitzpatrick signs elsewhere, then the Jets could be in it, etc.
He has been given contract for starting in the league that were no where close to those numbers though. Honestly, at this point, Bradford = Fitzpatrick. Their value should be very similar.
Fitzpatrick is 33 years old, and did not have much of a good track record until the last two years. Bradford will get significantly more than Fitzpatrick, based past performance and (especially) age. The question is will Bradford keep improving to get closer to Carson Palmer.
It could well be that if he wants a higher dollar contract, he’ll have to take less in guaranteed money. Bradford is not trying to hit his huge payday — he did that on his rookie deal — so it may be hard to gauge if he’d take less for a comfortable situation. But we’re going to need to offer more than the $13 million he’s getting this year, that’s for sure.
What are we paying now?
13 million, but it’s the last year of Bradford’s rookie deal (and the signing bonus was paid by the Rams which is charged on their cap). No way we get that low going forward.
13M
Correct me if I’m wrong, but with the transition tag, someone else can sign him and we get two of their first round picks?
Sign me up.
No. Transition we get right to match.
Franchise tag we get right to match, but we get their two ones if we decline to match.
Thanks. Just did some reading on it, and found this hilarious:
“In an act of apparent revenge, the Seattle Seahawks included their own “poison pills” when signing restricted free agent wide receiver Nate Burleson. The total contract was seven years and $49 million – not coincidentally the exact amount of the contract Hutchinson received from the Vikings. The first poison pill stipulated that the entire contract would be guaranteed if Burleson played five or more games in the state of Minnesota during any year of the contract. This of course would be impossible as a member of the Seahawks, but an inevitability as a member of the Vikings, who play their home games in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minnesota. The second provision would guarantee the full contract if Burleson is paid more on average per year than all of his team’s running backs combined. At the time of his signing, the averages of the Vikings’ tailbacks fell well shy of the $7 million average of the Burleson offer sheet. However in Seattle, running back Shaun Alexander alone made an average of over $7 million per year.”
I think the poison pill contracts like that (and those may have been the only two) were outlawed in the most recent CBA. But, teams could still structure a contract which could make things uncomfortable for us (particularly if we are against the cap in other ways).
Sorry hadn’t read this yet
Heard that as well.
That Minnesota clause can’t be legal under the CBA. You might as well say it jumps to 200 million guaranteed if you play for the Vikings. It’s just improper on its face. I call shenanigans.
Quickly looking at the rest of the teams in the NFL, the only other team that seems like they would be interested in Sam is the 49ers for sure, and maybe the Redskins and Jets since both their QBs are on the last year of their deals. Is Kurt a RFA or UFA?
I feel like he should honestly be a bargain. Hopefully they are letting Howie do the negotiating…
I assume we work out an extension and won’t have to bother with these Tags…
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I think chip has found his QB and will lock SAM up to an extension and build around sammy As long as he doesn’t suffer anothet knee injury of course. Think chip locks him up and ends the game of musical chairs we been playing with the QB positipn since chip arrived in 2013
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A kid with injury history like SAM, I assume will want to work out an extension instead risking getting injured during a franchise tag year But who knows…
Interesting piece over at BGN that says Murray has converted 15/15, 3rd and 1. Pretty good considering the Eagles didnt have that mich certainty on 3rd and short in recent years.
Murray, when you let him go right at the line, is a really good running back. We are not, or cannot, call running plays for a whole game based on that philosophy. I really do enjoy his ability to pick up short yardage first downs; we’ve lacked that forever.
why we got him. He was perfect i think on goal line runs last year.
Cross your fingers.
If u look at Sam next to Eli, not much difference.
Browns stole Mostert.
He was let go from the Dolphins *practice squad* this year (he spent just one week on the Dolphins 53-man after getting signed from ours). So, he’s on his 4th team for 2015 already.
I think he is making fun of Media Mike
Probably, now that I read it again 😉
https://twitter.com/TesslerSports/status/677234787967303680
Better than how our guys have been running back kicks. And better than Barner.
You’re embarrassing yourself.
There was a time when people like Media Mike ran Shah8 out of here for his insistence on talking about a certain backup quarterback. Now the inmates are running the asylum.
Not a fan, but a believer. Klay Thompson dropped 27 in a quarter tonight. GSW rolled to 25-1. I have to say I haven’t been this fascinated by a sports team in a long time. Their dominance is almost unrealistic.
The media here is ridiculous. Just heard the comments yesterday by bradford. Could not have been more innocuous. Money is king tho and they need to generate clicks and listens.
We’re going to have to get used to the idea that its going to be expensive to keep bradford. In a world where mediocre qbs get paid, we may be lucky that he didnt play so well in the beginning of the season so we dont have a bidding war.
Gotta extend him before free agency… Losimg Maclin should have taught chip, why you don’t allow your players to hit the open market where other teams can drive up the price… Gotta extend him before free agency starts
i doubt tom condon will agree to a deal before FA. no reason to.
Except we can franchise. Then he has to get through another year (major) injury free.
Rams are going to be sick if Bradford goes on to stay healthy for 4 or 5 years…
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