Fixing the Front
Posted: February 23rd, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 229 Comments »Whether the Eagles QB is Sam Bradford, Paxton Lynch, RG III or Norm Van Brocklin, they won’t succeed unless the O-line plays better. The line was terrific at times, but really struggled at others. Even guys everyone counts on to play well like Jason Peters and Jason Kelce had their share of struggles.
I wrote about the OL for this week’s PE.com column.
You could have this projection for 2016:
LT Jason Peters
LG _________
OC Jason Kelce
RG Andrew Gardner
RT Lane Johnson
Allen Barbre was the LG last year, but I have to think he’ll be cut or moved to a backup role at the very least. Gardner is coming off injury, but played well late in 2014 and early in 2015. He’s not a long term answer at RG, but could be fine this year and for possibly another year or two.
The Eagles must solve LG by adding a key player in free agency or the draft. That doesn’t mean mega-bucks or a 1st round pick, but it means finding someone who you think could be a solid starter this year.
There is also the long term question of what to do when Jason Peters is gone and Lane Johnson shifts to LT. Does the team think Dennis Kelly could start there? If not, then adding a quality OT prospect this year would make some sense.
While Doug Pederson is a new coach, the Eagles return Jeff Stoutland as the OL coach. And Howie Roseman had a hand in acquiring many of the O-linemen. He drafted Kelly. He signed Gardner and Matt Tobin. That doesn’t mean Roseman loves those players, but he has a feel for them. I think that kind of continuity is important as the team tries to decide which players are worth keeping and which are long shots. All the O-linemen on the roster have at least some potential. The key is finding the few who aren’t just good enough to be fringe players and who might some day develop into good role players (or more).
There are good targets in free agency and the draft. I’m interested to see which way the Eagles go. I don’t think they will break the bank for a free agent, but they will have some affordable possibilities. Then again, with the way the team is handing out extensions, they may prefer to use draft picks to fix the OL. You can’t pay everyone.
We’ll start to get some clues about their plans soon. Teams and agents do some talking at the Scouting Combine. And free agency fully begins in a couple of weeks. I do feel comfortable in saying the team will add multiple OL in the draft no matter what they do in free agency. They need more talent on the line.
*****
I forgot to list Josh Andrews in my PE.com column. For some reason, Andrews is a guy that always seems to slip my mind. He had a good summer in 2015 and earned a roster spot. I’m not sure if he’s the kind of blocker Pederson wants or if he would prefer someone bigger. Again, that’s something we’ll find out soon enough.
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One interesting free agent target is J.R. Sweezy from Seattle. Watch this and you’ll see an issue with his pass blocking.
@CoreyGriffinNBC @SI_DougFarrar Seems to be a common occurrence for J.R. Sweezy. https://t.co/IOToa035fQ
— Brady Cackler (@bradycackler) September 14, 2015
Not good.
But then watch the video below. Check out what his OL coach has to say about him and see how good Sweezy is as a run blocker.
Check out this great play.
J.R. Sweezy just pancaking Panthers #PackPros RT @CoachMattJones: How To Block The Second Level #LinemanLunch pic.twitter.com/JcZFNMyPnT
— Ryan Tice (@RyanTice) May 15, 2015
Wow. Just wow.
I have no idea if the Eagles would have any interest in a guy like Sweezy. He is a tenacious run blocker, but is up and down in pass pro. How do you rate that guy?
He’s also a RG. The Eagles could sign him and then shift Gardner to the left side.
I’m not trying to sell you on Sweezy. Just ran across the clips and wanted to share them. Also wanted to illustrate how a player can look so bad in one clip and so great in another. Crazy.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor Whether the Eagles QB is Sam Bradford, Paxton Lynch, RG III or Norm Van Brocklin, they won’t […]
You can’t really blame Sweezy for getting dominated by Poe. I don’t think there’s any OL that can handle Poe just by himself. The second video doesn’t really make me pound the table for Sweezy. Yea he pancaked the LB but lets talk hypothetically here.
If the DE didn’t shed the RT and stopped the RB then the safety that has a full head of steam would have popped the RB. Sweezy is in the best position to stop that but instead he just tunnel visions on the LB that is already out of the play. It’s just not impressive if you think of the lack of discipline he had on that play.
Posted at the end of the last thread: Can’t remember for sure if there is Jayron Kearse love on this board but I thought I would give him a look and write some thoughts: Huge player at 6’4″ and around 210-220. Problem is he doesn’t play with great physicality, especially close to the line. You often will see him rush toward the LOS then proceed to slow down and kind of wait for the runner to get slowed by his fellow teammates. The above scenario will happen or he will simply crash into someone with a shoulder taking himself out of the play, similar to a kamikaze. I often saw him over shoot running plays and when he did read the plays correctly, his tackling was lackluster. Then the question becomes, “ok, so maybe he is more of a single high type.” Well, not so much in my opinion. On several plays he was slow to react to the qb, often getting stuck looking for the ball in the backfield and getting frozen by play action. It’s hard to judge “range” on the draftbreakdown film but in the few clips I was able to see, Kearse seemed average at best, partially due to lackluster foot speed and partially due to poor instincts. One play particular against ND was troubling, where Kearse had a chance to tackle the WR before reaching the endzone and simply seemed to let up. I don’t really want that in a safety. He covered pretty well in man, unfortunately his style of coverage is going to get a quite a few flags thrown in the NFL because of his constant contact beyond 5 yards. On the occasion Kearse read the play well, he was able to close on pass catchers quickly and lay some big hits. Overall I saw a huge player for the safety position with below average play around the LOS and questionable instincts and range. While he can make some plays because of his size it doesn’t make up for the fact that he is timid and often looks like he is standing straight up, not sure where to go. I think this player may get overdrafted because of the defense he played in at Clemson and his physical attributes. I would rate Kearse in 6th-7th round simply due to size and give him a “chubbymeter” rating of 3/10.
Chubbymeter has to go.
Has to go… up… Hehehe. Get it… Chubby
You find the Chubbymeter hard to swallow?
I’m all in favor of overt expressions of homosexuality in everyday talk. It’s not my thing, but let’s encourage our brothers to explore the range of their desires and keep an open mind.
Just looking out for the guys that browse IB on work computers. Chub is on that filter list for sure.
I can almost guarentee “chubbymeter” isnt going to get picked up by anything. Its not even a real word….
Nothing like making the day of a poor IT worker by making him/her scroll down to a conversation about chubs on an Eagles blog.
If he/she is an Eagles fan, there is no place they would rather be.
I dunno. I kinda like it. lol Maybe even Chubb-O-meter. Would that help me avoid paying you royalties? :~)
WTF, isn’t it a type of salmon?
Might hit the proxy filter for “fishing sites”. As opposed to phishing…
Talking about another man’s… chubby… Is not overt homosexuality. It is, in fact, inverse homosexuality. Therefore, by the transitive property, it IS your thing… However, the bells no longer belong to Bert… Sorry man, it’s math, and math is never wrong.
You make some good points, and I like the math involved in opening up the field to dudes. Gives me a much better chance.
I may be mistaken on the nature of the chubby meter. Isn’t it like that machine they use in psych tests to determine sexual attractions? Some diodes hooked to your Johnson that measure blood flow. So when guys are doing their combine weigh in and the meter starts to rise…
Wow, that seems awful scientific. I assumed it was just standing in profile in front of a protractor-like scale mounted on the wall at waist height.
On a serious note, there’s some pretty great science that’s gone into measuring sexual responses to visual stimuli.
I am 100% certain my high school guidance councilor never told me about this option.
Hahaha! That really got me. The old analog chubbymeter lol.
Its not homosexuality, rather a measure of excitability. The Chubbymeter is a way of placing value on a player through cold hard numbers. A score of 3 doesnt seem very good but a score of 8 would have got you more interested in the player.
Right. Your penis gets excited seeing the hard numbers of college players.
It’s the 21st Century, man, it’s all good.
Thats what you got out of the whole post? Wow, i know where someones head is at.
There was nothing new about Kearse that I don’t already know.
Well then, I’m gonna have to start calling you Mel Kiper Jr……..Jr.
If only I could get paid to just make awful mock drafts.
Sounds like another Taylor Mays.
Mays could hit people. Kearse is..just tall?
Bring me the head of jalen Ramsey
Any interest in Travis Benjamin as a deep threat?
As long as they have someone other than Bradford as QB. The man just doesn’t throw deep very often.
I don’t like Bradford but the notion that he doesn’t throw deep is incorrect. Chip eased him in his first couple of games then he threw the deep ball plenty of times when he was finally comfortable in the offense.
You will see that Bradford is 33rd out of 37th ranked QBs in ALEX, which “ALEX measures the average difference between how far a quarterback threw a pass (air yards) and how many yards he needed for a first down”.
So, yeah, Captain Checkdown.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/alex/2016/alex-season-review
I wasn’t saying that he is Carson Palmer and constantly chucks it down the field but he did take more deep shots during his “great second half 7 game stretch” then he did earlier in the year. Yes I put that in apostrophes because people still refer to that stretch as if it was Brady or Manning-esque.
#eyetest? 🙂
Not just looking at his past year. His career has a low YPA.
It’s going to cost a bit…
Too expensive of an option just to replace Huff and signing him would stunt the growth of Agholor so I’d pass on him quickly.
He and Agholor on the outside, Matthews in the slot, Ertz at TE?
But yeah, he will get paid.
Id put Ags in the slot
Someone’s going to overpay for him.
I’ll take Brooks but would rather have Jeff Allen or Sweezy ahead of him.
I’d defer to experts here — from my couch — I think I’m glad S’Land is back. But I’ll disagree with a couple of things here — like the “drafted Kelly. He signed Gardner and Matt Tobin. ” as a way to get me excited about this team — and to an extent HR choices in these three…..
“The line was terrific at times” — AT times? Meaning like — twice or maybe three times? Peters/LJ/Kelce played terrible at times. Kelce more so than the other two were up and down. Still, their “at times” of bad play is not the same amount of “terrific at times” the rest played. They were terrible. Two new guards are needed, not just one.
……
Was the down play of Peters/Kelce a sign of things to come? Do they bounce back? People going to hope they return to form? Tough choices to be made but they are in a rebuilding year(s). Can’t solve it all this year but certain can’t get(either draft/fa) 1 guard and 1 tackle and say “we’re good”. OL needs an over haul…
NFL players who start to be injury prone in their 30’s rarely, if ever, bounce back. They can no longer depend on Peters. They need many new players, and a full year playing together, while learning a new scheme, before they can be expected to play adequately. That’s assuming Howie hits on all of his draft picks and doesn’t go all Marcus Smith again.
I wish you were wrong but I think you are right.
It’s a young man’s game.
Agreed – can’t be done in one off season either. Article seems to say just find a guard and we’re good to go. Lots of assumptions.
They can do a bunch in one season, if they sacrifice a bunch of the draft to nothing but O line. New right tackle in the first. The Eagles have 2 3rd 5th and 7th round picks. Take an offensive lineman in each of those rounds. Then hope that two of the four kids can play, at an adequate level by the end of their second year in the league. Sort of like throwing money at the space program in the 60’s.
2 new guards would be ideal, but it may take a couple years to fix the line. I’m fine with finding a starter in FA for LG and letting Gardner and a 3rd round rook compete for RG. It gets a bit dicey though finding good depth at tackle in case Peters goes down. You could draft a 1st round tackle who could immediately start at RT if Peters goes down, roll the dice that a later round prospect could hold his own at RT in that situation, or use someone like Barbre at RT because he’s got at least a little experience there. None are ideal because unless Ronnie Stanley falls to 13, I think the other OT prospects are reaches at that point and putting Barbre or a later round rookie at RT is very risky.
I highly doubt the Eagles view Dennis Kelly as a future starting RT like this article ponders… Id like to think we don’t have to worry about that one..
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I do think Gardner is better than he gets credit for and could be in the mix to start more than most people expect
Not sure who was doing talent eval on the OL but they should be fired, hopefully it was coach kelly.
And now for some real news RG3 on the way (lol) I have zero stock in the article — http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/2/23/11102438/robert-griffin-iii-rumors-eagles-nfl-teams-washington-redskins-quarterback-free-agency
I heard he was playing safety on the scout team last season, maybe we want him to replace Thurmond?
RG3 the Redskins killer part 2?
I think his agent has his work cut out for him. Which means that there’s going to be a lot of rumors linking him to probably 25-28 teams, because he’s got to do something to drum up interest.
Weren’t they writing about Bradford coming back yesterday.
ha they think they are going to get us back for dumping mcnabb on them? not Doug and Howie no way
[…] Fixing the Front – Iggles BlitzWhile Doug Pederson is a new coach, the Eagles return Jeff Stoutland as the OL coach. And Howie Roseman had a hand in acquiring many of the O-linemen. He drafted Kelly. He signed Gardner and Matt Tobin. That doesn’t mean Roseman loves those players, but he has a feel for them. I think that kind of continuity is important as the team tries to decide which players are worth keeping and which are long shots. All the O-linemen on the roster have at least some potential. The key is finding the few who aren’t just good enough to be fringe players and who might some day develop into good role players (or more). […]
Stanford interior OL scare me
LANDON TURNER.
Really liked Graham Glasgows tape as well.
Ill take a look eventually
Landon Turner is as nimble as a sloth. And he’s a big guy but not overly strong or dominant.
You know what he does well though? He blocks well. Great 3rd round pick
How do you feel about Willie Beavers? He seems to be a guy on the rise.
I think he has a lot of potential. Not sure if he can play OT in the NFL, it’s a maybe. But he definitely looks like he could develop into a solid guard.
Doesn’t really do anything for me. Doesn’t have T feet. A bit uncoordinated so I’m not sure how he’s going to translate inside. As a day 3 guy who maybe is an average starter in 2 years maybe. I just don’t get what Mayock is seeing at all. The tape I’ve seen isn’t great and he got spit roasted at Senior Bowl.
Jason Peters is finished, and Gardner is at best a 6th man type. They need a right tackle, and both guard spots to be filled. Probably have to start looking for a new center as well, Kelce only plays well every other year. This team has one NFL quality player, LJ. Everybody else should be renting, not buying.
Expert analysis right there, do you just post the same complaining posts across all the blogs? Peters might be done but I wanna see him in a normal offense with a normal training program before deciding if he is done for sure. Gardner played surprisingly well when he was healthy. Cannot write off Kelce so quickly, but seeing your posts you write off any player who has a down year.
Blown knee. Torn abdominal muscle. Knee tendinitis that swelled and turned black to go with his embarrassing level of play last season. Kelce can’t stay healthy. He played well during Kelly’s first season, and not since. Plus this offense may need a bigger center for a more power based run game. He is fragile, undersized and hasn’t been reliable in two years. How long does he have to hurt the team before there is competition for his position?
I totally agree. If you read this post and afterwards you think we only need a left guard, then you are completely stupid.
Mitchell Schwartz should be our top priority at this point. Get another G, be it Sweezy or Jeff Allen. This is 200% more important that Bradford.
Unless Peters is released, Schwartz is a pipe dream. You can’t pay Peters 9 million, LJ however many million (I know it’s LT money) and a starting caliber free agent like Schwartz.
I like Jason Peter’s a lot, I like Schwartz even more… especially because I think this team needs to be built to contend now, but with an eye on the future (rather than the past). I’m also o.k. with only getting one good FA G because I’d like the team to draft Tuerk to play the other G this year with an eye toward playing C if the team decides to move on from Kelce (whom I also like).
I still kinda wish that we took a shot on La’el Collins.
https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ThotLcgknAnyek0mMPgrvqyiQBw=/800×0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4219167/lael.0.gif
What don’t you get that there was no way to get him? If he was drafted, he would’ve refused to sign and would’ve reapplied for this year’s draft so that he would make more money as a higher pick. So he went as an UDFA, which allowed him to choose where he wanted to go. He chose the Cowboys, which he said was his ideal spot.
So because he threatened to refuse to sign, then that means he would have followed through with it. Because 20 year old kids looking a few mil. in the face do that all the time?
Yes, 31 other teams also didn’t draft him because they knew they would have a shot at him UDFA. What nobody knew though was that he already made his mind up for the Cowboys.
Seems to me nobody called his bluff.
Seems like it wasn’t a bluff. Think of it this way, a 7th round rookie makes only a couple million over a 4 year deal. A 1st round rookie makes a few million per year. An UDFA gets to choose which team he plays for and gets paid right around the same as a 7th rounder. So the worst scenario for him would most definitely be getting drafted in the 7th round. I’m pretty sure he would wait a year if it meant making $16 mil over his first 4 years compared to $2 mil.
He wasn’t going to wait for a year. If you have taken a year off, teams will not give you big bucks since you might have regressed a lot.
That said, I think teams recognized the injustice of his situation and many probably didn’t draft him out of respect, knowing that his best situation was as a UDFA as you say. The other benefit of a UDFA is that they can renegotiate their contract earlier — so if he’s good, the big money comes sooner. And he could shop around for max guaranteed UDFA money, which he got.
Fair enough, but the main point still stands that nothing we did would’ve have brought him here. People need to suck it up and stop crying about the players we missed. If I had a dollar for every time someone cried about not getting Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, and La’el Collins, I’d be wiping my ass with 100 dollar bills.
Drafting him would have brought him here. Would also have been a dick move.
Being a Cowgirl is a dick move so hopefully he’ll move on from them soon.
He’s a Cowgirl fan… so probably the only way he moves on would be into jail or retirement.
Injustice or they were still scared off because the situation was not completely clear, plus the threats to sit out?
Probably some of both.
If he was not drafted, as a player available for the draft in 2015, by NFL rule, he is not permitted to reapply for the draft the following year. It’s a one shot deal, no do overs. If you are not drafted, you are an UDFA. That’s the deal, the bluff was a fraud and everybody knew it. He went to Dallas because it’s a no state income tax state. The only teams that actually met with him were from Texas and Florida. Neither state has a state income tax, saved him a bunch of money, and his agent knew that. The Birds and everybody else in the NFL BLEW it. If he had been drafted in the 7th round, he would have gone there and played.
Chip would have cut him after training camp
Kelly would never draft him
I’d be surprised if they don’t have a bit more change on the OL than just at LG with a possible new starter at RG too other than Cashner. Like to see them address LG too through FA and use the draft to upgrade the OL depth on this team too.
Figure they draft at least one G mid-round (3rd-5th) as a possible starter and for depth this year. What I curious to see is if they go OL heavy in the draft early too including picking up a T in the 1st or 2nd round (trade back or trade up) figuring that Peters’ tread is pretty bare with next year being his last year here as a starter.
Tommy – How many of the current underwhelming depth guys on the OL including Kelly, Barbre, and Andrews do you think will be back next year?
As a human being, Jason Kelce seems like an outstanding guy. As a starting center, his replacement needs to be brought in, or at the very least, some sort of competition in case he gets injured or under performs again.
I think the next 2 years (draft + free agents) should be about replacing every starter on the line, obvisously with the exception of Lane.
Hard to do that and still address other needs though.
I’d agree with you but I’m curious to see if Kelce can rebound this year. Given his contract and all of the other issues this team has to address, I’ll imagine he’ll still be the starter next year.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25493668/report-broncos-offer-malik-jackson-long-term-deal-worth-10m-plus-per-year
if there’s any truth to this then the Eagles are going to need a bigger BRINKS truck for Cox..
What do you mean? That’s not a huge deal. Suh signed 6 yrs, 114 million with 60 million guaranteed.
That article has 10 million a year example – San Diego’s Corey Liuget signed a five-year, $51.5 million contract extension with $30.4 million guaranteed last June.
Maliik Jackson had one good year.
Better article title: Changing of the Guard?
Not bad, not bad at all.
I would be shocked If that title has never been used by Tommy in the past
Good news if you want Eagles to take a QB at 13.
Baalke said Wednesday he “absolutely” expects Kaepernick to remain on the roster in 2016. Kaepernick’s $11.9 million salary becomes guaranteed on April 1, and Baalke indicated the plan is for Kaepernick to be on the roster then. That salary would seemingly give Kaepernick an edge in an expected competition with Blaine Gabbert.
Baalke was involved in hiring Chip Kelly, in what looks like a Hail Mary attempt to turn the 49ers franchise around and save Baalke’s job. Kelly, in turn, looks like a Hail Mary attempt at saving Kaepernick’s 49ers career. They aren’t bringing him back at that salary to be Gabbert’s backup.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000637982/article/niners-absolutely-expect-colin-kaepernick-on-roster
my offseason plan, resign bradford between 15-18 mil. sign jeff allen/brooks/schwartz/starting g. in the draft in ramsey makes it past 5 i would do whatever i could to trade up for him. dude is unbelievable. i know we need a qb but i think hes the best player in the draft and would make our defense formidable. line him at next to jenkins and you have mirrored safeties who can both tackle and play the run and line up in man to man. think he would be a much more athletic thurmond type who can actually tackle and lay the wood. i know it would cost a lot but i think hes that good. winning that stupid game against the giants is pissing me the fuck off right about now. i pray there is a run on qbs early that pushes him down in the draft.
eff the giants, everyday all day
Only 1 hole can be plugged up with a 13th pick unless you drop back. Trading way up to 5 will be mortgaging the future. I’d be shocked if the Eagles are sitting there thinking we better go get that guy…
No one is letting us have Ramsey. I came to grips with that last year. I know it sucks, but the sooner we come to grips with that the less Heartbreak we have to endure. Safeties are scarce, we haven’t seen a Truly blue chip Safety prospect since like Eric Berry, Earl Thomas draft…finally one comes around, you can bet the league wont Let the team with the 13th pick get him.
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Im sure Dallas is drooling over a potential Ramsey/Byron Jones Safety Tandem.
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Can the chargers be in a better position? They are letting long time Safety Eric Weddle walk and these lucky Pigs may have a shot to instantly replace him with Blue Chip Ramsey, where as we been looking for a safety every year for about a decade…
…
This is all part of why I think it may be wiser to pay for our Safety in Free agency, and fix our OL thru the Draft. Probably much easier to upgrade our OL in the Draft, than to hit on a safety that can fix our safety problem day one
NFL on ESPN
@ESPNNFL
“Case Keenum comes back as our starter and we’re going to give Nick Foles a chance to compete.” – Jeff Fisher
Not surprised though he has rep as a soft tissue injury player so good luck with that…
NFL on ESPN @ESPNNFL 3h3 hours ago
Bears expected to keep WR Alshon Jeffery by signing him to a long-term deal or tagging him. http://es.pn/1TFQnE8
Player School Height Weight Off. 40 Time Unoff. 40 Time 10-Yd Split Bench Arm
Vadal Alexander LSU 6052 326 — — — — 35
Jack Allen Michigan State 6012 294 — — — — 32 1/4
Willie Beavers Western Michigan 6045 321 — — — — 34
Caleb Benenoch UCLA 6054 311 — — — — 34 1/8
Austin Blythe Iowa 6021 298 — — — — 31 1/2
Evan Boehm Missouri 6021 302 — — — — 32 1/2
Jake Brendel UCLA 6041 303 — — — — 31 5/8
Joe Cheek Texas A&M 6060 295 — — — — 32 3/4
Le’Raven Clark Texas Tech 6052 316 — — — — 36 1/8
Shon Coleman Auburn 6054 307 — — — — 35 1/8
Jack Conklin Michigan State 6056 308 — — — — 35
Fahn Cooper Ole Miss 6044 303 — — — — 34 3/4
Joe Dahl Washington State 6041 304 — — — — 33 1/8
Taylor Decker Ohio State 6070 310 — — — — 33 3/4
Spencer Drango Baylor 6055 315 — — — — 33 3/4
Parker Ehinger Cincinnati 6062 310 — — — — 33
Joshua Garnett Stanford 6043 312 — — — — 33 7/8
Graham Glasgow Michigan 6057 307 — — — — 33 5/8
Darrell Greene San Diego State 6026 321 — — — — 31 5/8
Joe Haeg North Dakota State 6060 304 — — — — 33 3/4
Jerald Hawkins LSU 6-6 305 — — — — 34 1/4
Germain Ifedi Texas A&M 6-6 324 — — — — 36
Dominick Jackson Alabama 6-5 313 — — — — 33
Tyler Johnstone Oregon 6-5 301 — — — — 34
Nila Kasitati Oklahoma 6-3 317 — — — — 32
Ryan Kelly Alabama 6-4 311 — — — — 33 5/8
Denver Kirkland Arkansas 6-4 335 — — — — 34 5/8
Alex Lewis Nebraska 6-6 312 — — — — 34
Nick Martin Notre Dame 6-4 299 — — — — 32 1/2
Tyler Marz Wisconsin 6-7 316 — — — — 33 1/2
Connor Mcgovern Missouri 6-4 306 — — — — 32 7/8
Kyle Murphy Stanford 6-6 305 — — — — 33 1/2
Stephane Nembot Colorado 6-6 322 — — — — 34 5/8
Rees Odhiambo Boise State 6-4 314 — — — — 33 1/4
Alex Redmond UCLA 6-5 294 — — — — 33 1/4
Dominique Robertson West Georgia 6-5 324 — — — — 36
Isaac Seumalo Oregon State 6-4 303 — — — — 33
Brandon Shell South Carolina 6-5 324 — — — — 34 3/4
Matt Skura Duke 6-3 329 — — — — 35 1/4
Pearce Slater San Diego State 6-7 333 — — — — —
Jason Spriggs Indiana 6-6 301 — — — — 34 1/8
Ronnie Stanley Notre Dame 6-6 312 — — — — 35 5/8
John Theus Georgia 6-6 313 — — — — 34 1/2
Joe Thuney N. C. State 6-5 304 — — — — 32 1/4
Cole Toner Harvard 6-5 306 — — — — 33 1/8
Sebastian Tretola Arkansas 6-4 314 — — — — 31 1/2
Max Tuerk USC 6-5 298 — — — — 32 1/2
Laremy Tunsil Ole Miss 6-5 310 — — — — 34 1/4
Landon Turner North Carolina 6-4 330 — — — — 32 7/8
Halapoulivaati Vaitai TCU 6-6 320 — — — — 34 1/4
Chris Westerman Arizona State 6-3 298 — — — — 33 /12
Cody Whitehair Kansas State 6-4 301 — — — — 32 3/8
Avery Young Auburn 6-5 328 — — — — 33 3/4
All of these guys have good or best arm length.
Vadal Alexander LSU 6052 326 — — — — 35
Le’Raven Clark Texas Tech 6052 316 — — — — 36 1/8
Shon Coleman Auburn 6054 307 — — — — 35 1/8
Jack Conklin Michigan State 6056 308 — — — — 35
Fahn Cooper Ole Miss 6044 303 — — — — 34 3/4
Germain Ifedi Texas A&M 6-6 324 — — — — 36
Denver Kirkland Arkansas 6-4 335 — — — — 34 5/8
Stephane Nembot Colorado 6-6 322 — — — — 34 5/8
Dominique Robertson West Georgia 6-5 324 — — — — 36
Brandon Shell South Carolina 6-5 324 — — — — 34 3/4
Matt Skura Duke 6-3 329 — — — — 35 1/4
Ronnie Stanley Notre Dame 6-6 312 — — — — 35 5/8
Id like to see us draft a RT that is capable of starting his career at Guard, AND draft a natural Guard prospect (if we get really lucky he will have Center versatility but not Neccessary)
Ifedi intrigues the hell out of me. Long arms, nasty streak, and has some power to his game. I would love to get him in the third round.
Seems Goff might get the Bridgewater treatment during the combine and pro day aka skinny arms/legs and less than 10 inch hands, so therefor he cant play at all (I want Goff, Wentz, Lynch in that order)
Still unclear if Bridgewater can play.
Yeah I really don’t get why people talk about him as if he is some franchise Gem. promise is there, but im not even close to being ready to go there with viewing Teddy as some franchise QB,.. He has more to prove still as far as I’m concerned
Yeah not saying he can’t just hasn’t shown much throwing except he’s not going to be deep threat.
I agree.. I don’t rule him out yet. He has shown promise, im just ready to view Teddy as a Longterm franchise QB yet.
..
He is in the Tyrod Taylor, wait and see group for me…. Rex Ryan sure sounds like the Bills are 100% sold on Tyrod as their guy, for those who thought the bills are a surprise team to target a QB… I like the Chargers, Saints, and Bears as possible teams who could target a QB more than I see the Bills investing in One early
RB Weigh-ins
Player School Height Weight Off. 40 Time Unoff. 40 Time 10-Yd Split Bench Vert Broad Hand
Peyton Barber Auburn 5-10 228 — — — — — — 9 3/8
Devontae Booker Utah 5-11 219 — — — — — — 8 5/8
Tra Carson Texas A&M 5-11 227 — — — — — — 9 1/4
Alex Collins Arkansas 5-10 217 — — — — — — 9 1/4
Marshaun Coprich Illinois State 5-8 207 — — — — — — 9
Kenneth Dixon Louisiana Tech 5-10 215 — — — — — — 9 1/2
Kenyan Drake Alabama 6-1 210 — — — — — — 9 3/4
Ezekiel Elliott Ohio State 6-0 225 — — — — — — 10 1/4
Tyler Ervin San Jose State 5-10 192 — — — — — — 9 1/8
Josh Ferguson Illinois 5-9 198 — — — — — — 9
Glenn Gronkowski Kansas State 6-2 239 — — — — — — 9 1/2
Derrick Henry Alabama 6-3 247 — — — — — — 8 3/4
Quayvon Hicks Georgia 6-1 259 — — — — — — 9 5/8
Jordan Howard Indiana 6-0 230 — — — — — — 9
Andy Janovich Nebraska 6-1 238 — — — — — — 9 3/4
Devon Johnson Marshall 6-0 238 — — — — — — 9 1/4
Daniel Lasco California 6-0 209 — — — — — — 9 1/8
Tre Madden USC 6-0 223 — — — — — — 9 3/8
Keith Marshall Georgia 5-11 219 — — — — — — 9 3/8
Paul Perkins UCLA 5-10 208 — — — — — — 9
C J Prosise Notre Dame 6-0 220 — — — — — — 8 1/2
Wendell Smallwood West Virginia 5-10 208 — — — — — — 9 1/4
Kelvin Taylor Florida 5-10 207 — — — — — — 8 1/4
Shad Thornton N. C. State 6-0 217 — — — — — — 9 3/4
Soma Vainuku USC 5-11 246 — — — — — — 9 1/2
Dan Vitale Northwestern 6-1 239 — — — — — — 9 3/4
Deandre Washington Texas Tech 5-8 204 — — — — — — 9
Brandon Wilds South Carolina 6-1 220 — — — — — — 10 1/4
Jonathan Williams Arkansas 5-11 220 — — — — — — 10
Read more at http://www.walterfootball.com/combine2016RB.php#qm8p3XKOxjlLGqA1.99
Les Bowen ✔ @LesBowen
BTW, I’m told it doesn’t look great for #Eagles getting deal done w/Walt Thurmond before March 9 start of free agency. No offer made yet.
12:17 PM – 24 Feb 2016
I’m ok with this
Much better odds of seeing us reach a deal with Nolan
yeah we need a box safety to cover for our poor tackling LBs
Definitely expect more than a pure box safety. Also Schwartz doesn’t blitz a lot so expect him to like safeties who can cover but it may not be to extent of Davis.
http://www.buffalorumblings.com/bills-news-notes/2014/6/5/5782274/buffalo-bills-jim-schwartz-aaron-williams-interchangeable-safeties
DeMeco-Ryans-Released
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/LB-DeMeco-Ryans-Released/6fba07a0-4021-45f8-8d5f-a024674cf7aa
at least they sent hi off nicely.
Sad, but not surprising. Leadership is valuable, but only so far.
Stephen Tulloch might interest them but I don’t know if he’ll be interested in backup job.
If you want to go with Schwartz Familiarity, Nigel Bradham IMO is more likely than replacing 30yr old Mufasa with another old man in Tulloch
Yeah maybe but there are many unanswered questions with either considering our current LBs
I don’t if Bradham is a leader/mentor/playcaller. Tulloch might (or might not if he doesn’t want to) be cheaper and more open to rotating and being a backup.
I hope we NEVER pay for a 30yr old from another franchise unless we are talking about OL
I’ll take Nigel for sure.
I like to consider him because he had a down year because of the coaching change to Rex Ryan, he even talks about possibly having to sign a Prove it deal.. Could provide an opportunity to “Buy Low” on a kid who’s stock was pretty high playimg under schwartz
I don’t think they can afford him (resource allocations) because you have Kendricks and none of these guys are natural SLBs but it’s intriguing. From Bills blog:
I would project Bradham to receive a new contract from the Bills (to be slightly higher if he enters free agency) in the range of $4.5 to $4.75 million average per year. Run over the course of a four-year contract, the Bills should pay Bradham $18.5 million for four years, with $5 million fully guaranteed (Carter received $4.25 million, or 25%, Bradham would receive 29.72%) at signing and another $1.5 million guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed at the beginning of the 2017 league year.
http://www.buffalorumblings.com/buffalo-bills-analysis-all-22/2016/2/24/11102358/nigel-bradham-contract-projection-nfl-free-agency-2015
Mostly glad I don’t have to hear “Mufasa” ever again.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m72yxzrNvb1qm6oc3o2_500.gif
https://twitter.com/atalasnikcsn/status/702588166109171712
He sucked last year. I was faster than him.
Declining players need to go, especially one owed some cash. Liked him and wish him luck but glad they are moving on…
was a great signing. understand why he got cut.
Very pleased that we did right by him, cutting him in time to hopefully land on his feet via free agency…
..
Hopefully Mark Sanchez is the Next to get cut…
As far as I’m concerned we have 4 Linebackers as of now.
.
Out of our 4 LB’s, only Hicks can be called a Longterm Lock to start
.
Hopefully Kiko and Kendricks bounce back and go on To be the Longterm starters we hoped they would be, but I don’t think we can assume that with either. contingency plans need to be put in place if Kiko doesn’t end up looking healthier than he did last yeàr. on the Bench we have Najee Goode, solid ST player, capable backup WIL short term, im not sure he is someone I want Starting 10 games because of an injury to starters, but 3 or 4 weeks, he could hold up for us… We have other LB under contract, but until proven otherwise to me they are all camp bodies and practice playërs. Id love for one to surprise us and prove to be more, but we can’t assume that..
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This all means one, if not two LBs need to be added. If the Eagles felt the need to allocate the 3.5 we freed up cutting Meco, to pay a younger potential Starter like Nigel Bradham, I wouldn’t blame them. If we were discussing Bradham after 2014, he was on his way to becoming a Really good LB. the Coaching Chamge to Rex Ryan hurt his stock so much that the kid is now talking about possibly signing a prove it deal because of how poorly he was effected by the switch from Schwartz to Rex..
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Doesn’t have to be Nigel, but he may provide us to buy a good player while his stock is low, so I hope we at least look at the idea of adding him… Personally my ideal LB addition would be a big kid with SAM and MIKE Versatility.
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Adding 1 LB this offseason may not be enough. Signing a Free Agent, and drafting a LB would be ideal, im just not sure how realistic that is when we still have to pay a starting Safety, Bradford, and hopefully Nolan, along with Cox needing to be signed,
.
Going to be interesting to see how much Makeover Schwatz feels the LB position needs, and how they go about attacking these needs..
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As long as the doctors sigń off on him, IMO Jaylen Smith shouldn’t make it past 13th… I don’t mind being patient if it means adding one of the ten best talents in this draft at a position we need help at…
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Moesher is pounding the table to draft Reggie Ragland at 13… Haven’t seen enough of him, but that sounds kind of high from what I hear
LB Tahir Whitehead is another player i could see signing as depth.. Like Bradham as a target
Not sure we will pay a LB, but there are a few Id like us to investigate in Free Agency
There is a “report” that Carlos Hyde wasn’t even on the Eagles draft board when Chip was a coach… This can’t make niners feel too great, probably has them hoping this doesn’t end up being the precursor for gutting what little talent they have left..
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“Entering his senior season, former Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde had to answer questions about his suspension for the first three games of the season in connection to an altercation with a young woman at a bar.”
http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2014/5/9/5695656/2014-nfl-draft-prospects-ohio-state-running-back-carlos-hyde
Doug Pederson sure doesn’t seem to have a problem talking publically about how Bradford wants to be an eagle..
Do you think Agholar can fill a Maclin type of role.. “certainly”-Pederson
Pederson being interviewed at Combine now.
Several questions about Chase Daniels, whom Pederson likes.
Politely positive on Bradford, but essentially put the decision in Roseman’s lap.
Concluded QB discussion by saying the staff has a plan, has looked at several options, but won’t elaborate.
______________
Impossible to hear the questions. So when Pederson refers to “he” or “him,” you don’t know who he’s talking about.
Bradford is probably a better assumption. I found some of his answers really confusing when I was thinking Charlie Sheen.
Even Roseman seemed surprised by the questions on Sheen.
I still get shocked every time he comes up too. I thought he died a long time ago like Keith Richards.
If I had to make a bet, it is that Roseman has terms and AAV ($17-$18M) he won’t budge including the ability to move on from Bradford after 3 years if necessary.
If Bradford refuses to budge, the Eagles aren’t going to let this drag out but move to contingency plan in short order in FA (e.g., Chase Daniel) and looking to draft a QB.
The only thing I’m not crazy about with the later scenario is that it might almost force the Eagles to take a QB in the 1st round to feel they have their ‘franchise QB.’
BS77:
Agree.
Roseman all but said today that the Eagles have offered material terms to Condon for keeping Bradford.
And while there may be some wiggle room, Roseman’s made Bradford what the Eagles consider an offer consistent with the market based on Bradford’s relative value compared to other NFL QBs.
Roseman seemed to say that the only thing keeping Bradford from being an Eagles is . . . Bradford.
i believe Pederson when he speaks pretty emphatically on Jason Peters position here being safe. Not only has he made that pretty clear every time he is asked,but he also refers to Peters when answering questions about the QB draft prospects “I need to see that these kids have a command to come into the Huddle and make a guy like Jason peters believe in him”
Pederson talked about how the Bradford situation won’t have any effect on what we do about the QBs in the draft. I really hope that is true, as someone who wants bradford here, we really still need to be in search for a young QB, hopefully find that kid and bring him in so he can have a few years being groomed behind SAM….I would think retaining SAM allows us to be more honest about our QB prospect evaluations than we would be if we were desperate to find a QB we have to put on the field next year… I hope there is a QB available to us in this draft that we really believe in longterm, but retaining SAM allows us to not have to force it and kick that decision down to next years draft if there isn’t anyone we are really sold on in this draft. Bradford vs Drafting a QB is a mistake, we need BOTH!
I wouldn’t put too much stock in that comment. Just can’t say anything of substance right now regarding Bradford.
Bigger question is to me is what (if any really) input does Pederson have on Bradford coming back.
He said plenty
I don’t think he tipped his hand at all really. The only thing I really learned is that whether Bradford is back or not is Roseman’s call with little/no input from Pederson.
I just see this as more ‘back and forth’ on the negotiation process that has been ongoing for a while.
Ok, we will see how different the results are from the picture he has painted all offseason… I don’t think he is crafty or experienced enough with the media to say nothing… But we will find out shortly
He didn’t sound like he was trying to be ‘crafty.’ Just wasn’t willing to say anything of substance including that Bradford was their guy and keeping an optimum degree of flexibility in the negotiation process.
“AHA! but that means . . . ” im with you man. sick of everything anyone says being super duper triple interpreted. “oh he didn’t say he wouldn’t kill bradford so we can assume he meant . . . “
When DOESNT Roseman ever hand out a contract he can’t get out of after year 3?
“Doug was even more adamant about SAM being here when we talked to Doug in the hallway after his pressconfrence”
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“If this were posturing, you would go the other way leaking rumors about how you want FOles, Eagles making it clear that it’s real, and both sides have every intention Of getting a deal done”
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“SAM is part of the Eagles family”..Pederson post pressconfrence
Players drafted #13 the last few years:
Andrews Peat(2015)
Aaron Donald(2014)
Sheldon Richardson(2013)
Micheal FLoyd(2012)
Nick Fairley (2011)
brandon Graham (2010)
hopefully we get a talent closer to Aaron Donald/Sheldon Richardson than a Fairley/BG type…
..
2011 NFL Draft
#1) Cam Newton
2) VON Miller
3) Marcel Dareus
4)’AJ Green
5) Patrik Peterson
6) Julio Jones
7) Aldon Smith
8) Jake Locker
9) Tyrone Smith
10) BLAINE Gabbert
11) JJ Watt
12) Christian Ponder
13) Nick Fairley
14) Robert Quinn
15) MIKE Pouncy
16) Nate Solder
..
That 2011 Draft is a Scary Lesson of why you better have a true evaluation of QB Prospects. And not just draft a QB because he is the best available. Look at this draft, Almost EVERY TEAM that didn’t over value these QB prospects came away with a guy who is an All Pro Caliber player today. Lol the one team that managed To screw up this insane pool of blue chip Talent in the Top 13 were the Lions who took Nick Fairley(FIGURES)..this doesn’t mean that Goeff, Wentz and this years class are all going to be trash, but it’s a reminder of why you better not allow QB desperation to factor into your QB prospect evaluations because there is no rule that Guaremtees each draft class will provide Franchise QB talent in round 1… If you had a top 15 pick, and you took the BPA, you have an all pro stud on your hands today… To miss out on a guy like Tyron Smith because of Blane GAbbert is a microcosm on why the Jags are still bad in 2015
.
You should be able to get a guy who will be one of your 10 best players a few years from now with a top 13 pick, hopefully we get it right regardless of the position…
is a kinda unique situation, 4-5 HOF type talents going in the top 10, and 3 QB’s that had bad situations injuries. Locker got destroyed by bad line and injuries, Gabbert was set up to fail in Jacksonville, and Ponder never had an NFL level tool set to be an elite QB.
Compare that to the 2004 draft and you come to the opposite conclusion. range of probowl QB’s and a lot of meh outside that. Wentz/Goff/Lynch are all better prospects than Gabbert/Ponder, but even then the likelihood is they bust – because most QB’s bust regardless of where they are taken.
The reward is huge, just go ask Steelers, Greenbay or the Ravens if you get the pick right.
The point is, just because you are desperate for a QB, doesnst mean a draft class will always provide one in round 1, which is why hopefully we don’t allow QB desperatipn or desperation for any other positon for that matter to creep into our prospect evaluation… Always go BPA as much as possible. We learned that lesson well drafting Jordan Hicks to a “stacked” LB group.. GAbbert had potential, but you have to Be drunk to think he would be a better QB, then can’t miss Tyrone Smith would be at LT. Id bet eveyone in Jacksonville had a higher grade on Tyrone,and they took GAbbert anyway.. If they didn’t have a higher grade on Tyrone they better not be evaluating NFL talent today
JAX did not pass on OT Tyron Smith to draft Gabbert.
Dallas took Smith with the 9th pick.
Gabbert went 10th to JAX
Sure sure, you make some great points, but Jacksonville must have been insane when they took Gabbert over Smith in the 1st round that year.
This is true, but in my opinion, it was crazy that Jacksonville passed on Tyrone Smith to draft Blaine Gabbert. It’s my opinion, you don’t have to agree, but you have to respect it.
Brandon Graham was a good draft pick, unless you have the ability to predict knee injuries.
Absolutely, fuck the knee injury, I still value Brandon Graham today…. Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t hope to end up with an Aaron Donald type force, instead of a player I like in BG.. Shoot for the stars, settle for the moon
I’m really hopeful that we can get an impact player this year at 13 regardless of what position he plays. I’d settle for a solid starter, but man… we need another top level talent on this team.
Amen… We have a decent roster in place, but we lack blue chip talent. At 13, I hope to get a player who 4 years from now will be one of our top 10 players, l really don’t care what position we draft. We need to add Talent at every position the next few years anyway, and we shouldn’t have many immediate starting needs after FA
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Normally I love trading back, but this year, I kind of like the Buddy Ryan Mantra “ONLY trade up, NEVER trade back”….. Id like to prioritize quality over quantity… It’s not like our roster is a mess the way it was in 2013 when it was so easy to make the backend of our roster because we lacked so much talent
And/or avoid McDermott’s putrid coaching.
And. I’ll take “and,” given the option.
Aaron Donald was considered too small by most of the scouts and coaches and GMs. If the Eagles had drafted him, this board and others would have screamed and moaned for months, until proven wrong. Kind of like what happened with Jenkins.
Negative. Aaron Donald would have been recognized right away as a great player.
He was my favorite defender in that class. His highlights at oitt were unreal. And you could see he still had great power/leverage even at his size.
To miss out on a guy like Tyron Smith because of Blane GAbbert is what Perrenial Bad teams do . . .
__________________
Dallas selected Smith with the 9th pick.
JAX took Gabbert with the next pick at 10th.
But you’re dead right that when teams reach for a player, bad things usually happen. At QB. And other positions, too.
That’s how the Eagles ended up with Danny Watkins and Jaiquawn Jarrett in 2011.
All we need is _______ and we’re Superbowl bound. Not!
Happy the Eagles made the tôugh but Neccessary decision to move on from Meco.
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So far so good for Rosemans offseason. hopefully he can get some type of trade value for Sturgis, Taylor Hart, and if there is a God, mark Sanchez(don’t hold your breath)
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I do like hearing our HC not sugarcoat things and admit that we absolutely have holes at OL that need to be addressed..
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Roseman: “we were leading the league in OL drafted from 2000 to 2013, it’s an important priority for us”… Lol backhanded slap at chip
Speaking of which, what happened with the tweets yesterday? Reuben said he hadn’t tweeted what you said, and no one in all of the Twitterverse knew what I was talking about.
I even tagged you into the conversations and you didn’t chime in?
Your first mistake was in thinking that Reuben might know what he’s talking about…
Re:
Roseman: “we were leading the league in OL drafted from 2000 to 2013, it’s an important priority for us”… Lol backhanded slap at chip
That’s not necessarily a positive lol.
It’s all Chip’s fault, right? No matter when or how.
Two day one guys, one day two guy, and a bunch of day three guys (applying current format) yielded at least 6 guys with multi-season careers? I don’t think that is terrible.
The only glaring mistake on that list is Watkins. Winston gets, somewhat due, hate over that game when Osi repeatedly fed him his jock strap while feeding McNabb hefty servings of turf. But he was a good #3 tackle.
All those OL drafted and we were still that weak at the position? Mathis and Peters weren’t even drafted.
yeah – HR pounding his small chest about drafting linemen — and then you look at the list and puke.
Very true…. But if you don’t draft them, you don’t even give yourself a chance to get it right… Im sure, the draft misses factored into how many OL we drafted…. Obviously getting the evaluation and development part is what’s important, but you don’t even give yourself a chance to win, if you don’t play the game..
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Adding to the OL dpesmt Guarentee our problems will be solved. But not addressing the OL does almost guarentee that it won’t be solved,,,
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Personally, I don’t think you can go two drafts in a row without drafting an OL, but to each his own I guess
Gardner concerns me. We could have really used him last year, but he spent the whole year laying down on the job. I don’t trust non-established guys who get hurt until I see them play well for a stretch of a few seasons in a row.
I’m so done with the unsteady line play. I’m really hoping they upgrade / fix it soon.
Agree, but I do think he would be an upgrade over Barber/Tobin. Would be thrilled with him as a backup though. I can’t predict the future but I feel very confident in saying that OL particularly G will be upgraded dramatically.
It’s really foolish and tragic how much Kelly ignored the OL. When we first got Kelly I assumed he was a coach that would really invest in the OL. Was really wrong with that asdumption, and that more then anything may have been his biggest downfall.
I guess we were spoiled in how much Reid cared/invested in the OL.
The Eagles are in negotiations to re-sign Sam Bradford, Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman said separately today at the combine.
“It’s never productive to talk about an ongoing negotiation, but we’ve been pretty clear we’d like to have Sam back,” Roseman said. “One of the great things about the combine is you get everyone together in one place. When you have pending free agents, you’re able to talk to those representatives face-to-face and eye-to-eye.”
Roseman added that the Eagles would “run into Tom Condon (Bradford’s agent) in the next couple of days.”
In addition to questions about the Eagles’ interest in bringing Bradford back, some have wondered if the quarterback wants to return. Pederson believes Bradford wants to stay in Philadelphia.
“Being a player in his shoes, you have to want to be somewhere,” Pederson said. “And I think Sam wants to be in Philadelphia.”
Many people predict at least three quarterbacks will be selected in the first round of the draft, namely California’s Jared Goff, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch. However,
Pederson said the Eagles’ interactions and observations with those players won’t impact their final decision on Bradford.
“Not at all,” Pederson said. “These kids are talented. There’s several, I think, can have opportunities in the National Football League. But by no means does it affect what we do in our current situation.”
Both Pederson and Roseman declined to answer whether they’d use the franchise tag on Bradford, but they also said they have backup plan in case the quarterback doesn’t return.
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2016/02/24/roseman-eagles-are-negotiating-with-bradford/
Think you can interpret the comments a range of ways, but it does seem like they will not use the tag. Some people will read that and think they are working hard to resign Bradford at the right price and want to keep him to be the franchise guy.
Could read it they want to keep him in the short term but are unwilling to commit big $$.
Could read it they are just helping the player and saying polite things and are planning to let him leave.
I have no idea which and we will not really know until mid march once free agency has started.
Free agency starts in 2 weeks it’s coming up fast.
Cant wait, very excited for that and the draft. Will be a good first indication of how Pederson plans on building this team.
Hope they get him for the right price. I think he is our best chance of winning and I’m excited to see if and how much he progresses. A full healthy offseason should do wonders for him, as would a more effecient and effective run game in which I think he will see this upcoming season.
Seattle spent the first half of the 2015 season working to convert 2 defensive linemen and a tight end into offensive linemen. Sweezy probably looked like an All-Pro in that context. Funny how they tried out Mathis, then said, “No thanks”.
At least half of the teams in the NFL are looking to upgrade their offensive line, so the Eagles better better get serious.
Seattle tries to covert a 7th round DT who lacks the skill to be an impact Dlineman but has good agility and strength pretty much every year. They always have 1-2 guys on the practice squad/roster trying to do that transition since they think they can find 2nd-3rd round raw OL talent in the 7th that they can develop into starting OL.
Think it is hugely predicated on the fact they are such a run first team which uses its OL to attack up field and really does not prioritize pass blocking, which is a bigger challenge for a DT to transition to be able to do.
Villenueva is sort of working out for the Steelers so once again there’s an exception to the rule.
Interesting how he is working out for them. Wonder if he could have worked out with Pedersons O.
I think he would work out about the same if he had 4 solid guys starting along side him.
I watched a lot of the Steelers this year. Villanueva “worked out” about as well as any of out fringe OL this year. He had 4 real starters working along side him and the OL looked good overall. They didn’t get the kind of scrutiny that the Eagles’ front did.
They had struggles along the OL due to the fact they tried to turn more into a passing team this past season more then seasons past. Will be interesting how that affects their OL this upcoming season and iflf they change their OL philosophy this offseason.
I think OL is one area you invest everything you need to in order to make sure it is not just solid, not just good, but excellent. The OL is the engine for the entire offense. The QB, the RB, the WR etc. all benefit from an excellent OL and are made to look pedestrian by a bad one. We’ve seen for years what a weak, inconsistent and shallow OL can do to a football team’s fortunes. Peters is near the end of the line and Gardner/Tobin et al. continue to be huge question marks. I’d draft at least 2 OL and also sign several FA/UDFA for competition and depth. The OL has to significantly improve for the Eagles to have any prayer that Bradford or Murray or their young WR perform to the level we need. There is no excuse for having a weak OL again, none.
Carolina had the best scoring (helped by their defense for sure), and had 2 fringe RT run maulers, and a journeyman guard. Seattle has a good blocking line but are very limited in pass protection. Arizona had the best vertical passing attack in the NFL but struggled at times with both run game and pass protection. Pats OL was a bit of a mess this year and consistently struggles to run the ball, but are decent (not great pass protectors). Steelers out of the top 5 scoring offenses has the best OL, but they were not dominant unit.
PFF’s top 3 OL’s in 2015 were Dallas, Browns and Atlanta. Hardly a murders row of offensive production.
You need great OL play in a Chip system because he leaves his OL 1v1 without support and did not/could not change calls to protect the weak links.
But you can get good offensive line play without elite talent and elite line play in a more conventional system. Find a style and build chemistry with a good play calling and a balanced offensive game plan and a you do not need a great line.
Would Dallas get a pass on the ‘murders row’ because they lost their QB for pretty much the season? (but point taken). Eagles OL doesn’t have to be great – but they do need to be better than the OL listed in the article …
Spend next 5 years trying to get a QB then work out other spots, build D while young qb search ensues
We do not have Brady or Big Ben or Cam or Matt Ryan etc. as our QB nor do we have the quality of WR some of those teams have. Dallas did not have their QB most of the year and their stud WR was gone too for parts of the year. The Browns do not have a QB.
Bradford is an injury prone statue who is rattled by pressure, Murray is a one trick pony and our WR are inexperienced. We need a very good to excellent OL to have any chance to win anything of note and provide the opportunity for these guys to perform.
If we line up Peters/Kelce/Gardner and LJ and think we can just plug in a new OG and keep Tobin et al. around as the “depth”, next season will be a very long and painful one.
Without question. The other teams in the nfl are saying the same thing ….
I would be thrilled if they devoted a large majority of their recourses to OL this offseason.
Someone plant some weed on jalen Ramsey asap
You want him going to the Cowgirls?
He’s probably going there anyway
Cowgirls are going to get one hell of a player if they don’t reach for a QB.
It’s 2016 – can we please have a press conference where we hear the questions? HR with a few jabs at CK. It’s official. I don’t like him(not because of his jabs). Don’t like his type at all.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RoobCSN/status/702578158239748096
Oh Noz…
Andrew Krammer @Andrew_Krammer
#Vikings digging on Whitehair, who said he met with Tony Sparano twice at Senior Bowl and again here at combine.
2:40 PM – 24 Feb 2016
We weren’t going to take him at 13 and he wasn’t lasting until the 3rd round. I like the Vikings, so hope Whitehair does well there.
The Eagles should try and bring in both Schwartz brothers; get a city of “brotherly love” discount….(don’t bring up the Andrews sisters)
The one the Giants just cut is hurt too often and has way too big of a mouth. He sucks.
I’ll take Mitchell however.
The hope would be Mitchell would come cheaper….and Geoff would “compete” for a job….
That’s a lot of hope.
a boy can dream…..the whole thing was meant more in jest….since we’re retreading to the “Reid” era; why not try and sign brothers to play on the Oline…
I think Doug might be interested in Geoff as he had his best season with the Chiefs
That makes sense, but I’d really like to avoid any more starter-games missed due to injury on the line. Geoff doesn’t give me confidence.
100%, but he got the most talent of the FA group. Eagles might be interested
Pederson discussing the RB mess chip created :
“The first thing I noticed was there were 3 different types of RBs on the roster and you can’t take 3 different RB and try to make them one RB. The different style of run game I bring will utilize all 3. You got a downhill guy, a slasher and you got a quick guy in Sproles who can create mismatches. Three different guys, three different running styles. Instead of using the same plays for all 3 guys, you are going to be under center, you are going to be in two back, one back,empty. Utilize their strengths to help your offense.
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LOVE IT! The man ISNT wrong, chip did try to run the same plays with all 3RBs ignoring that they were different playërs..
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The first yeàr in KC we tried to have some of that mentality where we were going to make guys fit what we do. THAT WAS A BIG MISTAKE. We learned to adapt to the players around us. We learned to listen to guys like alex smith, Justin Houston, Berry and utilize their strengths a do weakness to help our team as a whole. You can’t put yourself in a box that way. By no means do I want to put our roster in a box. I want us thinking outside the box.
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No idea if Pederson will be a success or failure, but it is comforting to hear that he views the mistakes chip made similar to how we saw it… Thrilled to no longer have coaches married to specific schemes
Just hope that the play isn’t telegraphed by the formation or which back is in there.
I’m sure there will be entire packages for the different RB, so I wouldn’t worry about that
BGN has a report up that claims we are sniffing around top free agent safeties…. Not gonna get my ILLOKA hopes up, but an elite safety tandem would bring tears of joy out of me