A Bit of FA Talk
Posted: March 4th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 145 Comments »Free agency starts next week. I haven’t written much about it because there has been so much focus on the new coaching staff, Sam Bradford and all the re-signings. Let’s now talk about free agency.
Based on recent interviews with Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson, I do think the Eagles will make some moves. I don’t anticipate an overly active shopping spree, but Roseman has an aggressive nature. He will spend big if the right guy is available.
QB – If Pederson could get Chase Daniel at the right price, he might be interested in adding his former QB. The Eagles would then cut Mark Sanchez. My guess is that they stand pat with Sanchez, who they seem to like.
RB – I don’t anticipate a move, but that all depends on what happens with DeMarco Murray. If he gets dealt/cut, the team could add a quality RB.
WR – I’m sure the Eagles would be interested in adding a key player, but the market is less than ideal. Are you paying big money to Marvin Jones or Travis Benjamin? I’m intrigued by Mohamed Sanu, but some expect Hue Jackson to bring him to Cleveland. The Eagles will target veterans who can help on offense and STs
OL – I do think the team will go after a good starter here. I’m still doing my evaluations. It sounds like Kelechi Osemele wants more than $10M per year. Some people like Brandon Brooks quite a bit. I’m still figuring him out. Jeff Allen would be a good fit and played for Pederson the last 3 years. Alex Boone and Ramon Foster are big guys of interest. J.R. Sweezy would be an interesting RG. He is a very good run blocker.
DL – The Eagles don’t need a starter. They might not need much in the way of depth. It all depends on what they think of guys like Taylor Hart, Beau Allen and Marcus Smith. If the team can re-sign Ced Thornton, the DL will be in very good shape. Still, the DL is the key to the 4-3 and the Wide-9. If the right player is available, expect the Eagles to be interested.
LB – The Eagles need someone to push the OLBs. It would be great if the team could find the right veteran on the market. I think Najee Goode will backup at one spot. The team also needs someone to play behind Jordan Hicks.
DB – I don’t see the team going for a CB, but that depends on how the team sees Eric Rowe. If they project him moving inside to S, a CB spot opens up. I would prefer they leave him alone and pursue a Safety in free agency. There are some good options available, depending on what a team is looking for. At this point, I get the feeling they don’t want Walter Thurmond back. He is an erratic tackler and that’s not good in Jim Schwartz’s defense. There is also the question of whether Thurmond wants to play S again. It feels like he would rather play CB. There is some talk that the team might re-sign Nolan Carroll. If that happens, it gives them flexibility to move Rowe and/or add players however they want.
I think the team is most likely to spend big on a starting OG and/or Safety. Those are positions where there will be good targets and the Eagles need help.
More than I want the Eagles to be active, I want them to be smart shoppers. There are several teams with huge amounts of cap space. They could spend big and skew the prices on some free agents.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor Free agency starts next week. I haven’t written much about it because there has been so much […]
Give me G Allen and S Iloka and I will kiss Howie’s feet.
I like it, but my only worry with Iloka is he may get real good money this year. Some of the teams with crazy high cap money are looking for DB help. I can’t imagine a FA safety would come here at, or close to, what Jenkins is getting paid, but that may be what Iloka will get this year.
I wonder if McLeod might be a few million $ less
I thought McLeod was a FS like Jenkins?
Well if they signed Mccourty last year they’d have at least as much tied up in the position group last season. Maybe they are ok if it provides true stability to a position.
Might be a good idea when talking about a position that has been sodomizing us for the better part of a decade.
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Fortunately it’s not like there are only one or two quality FA safeties this year, it’s a nice group of potential upgrades for us to target
Absolutely my wish as well. Maybe a 2nd tier receiver. Curious to see what a guy like Travis Benjamin gets on the open market, as well.
Allen, or a comparable guard, makes sure we don’t overspend a 1st round pick to improve at guard. Then we can get a later round guy in a draft deep with them.
Iloka makes us set at safety for the next few years, and would drastically improve the secondary. Especially because then Jenkins can be a more movable chess piece.
Very excited to see what Howie can do.
i like Travis Benjamin, i think hes the best WR on the FA market. But i would def rather draft a guy 1st round. Starting to really like doctson. his leaping ability/hands is something the eagles have never had.
I have trouble picturing a scenario where WR is BPA at 13.
i dont.
It wont be, Its also a waste of ressources. Look at the 4-6 best teams last year and how little they have used on WRs.
Yeah I can’t see it either considering nelson Agholar would be the top WR in this draft class. Do we really want to draft an inferior WR prospect to AGHOLAR at #13? Probably unlikely…
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Id take Zeke over these WR prospects
The question isn’t whether you like guys like Travis Benjamin or MRvin Jones, its if you like them enough to pay the absurd price tag that they will cost… And I don’t see two transcendent WRs worth pverpaying for in a big way
guess you missed the part where i said id rather draft a guy.
but i will say travis reminds me of a poor mans desean jackson. and desean was my dude!! i dont say that lightly!!
Again, not arguing that I wouldnt like to have Travis the player, but signing him when he is a top 2 WR in such a weak market is unrealistic.. Looking at Travis Benjamin is like window shopping..
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If they pay for a WR, I would think he will be more mentor than an on field contributor..
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But of course WRs will be added. We don’t even have enough WR’s to practice łet alone to go into the season, It’s highly unlikely that any NFL team would go into the season with Martino and Krause as 2 of our 5 WR.
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ISNT Tutu also a free agent?
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If we add a FA WR it will be more of a Jason Avant type of mentor, than travis Benjamin or any of the top 3 FA WRs..
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Probably unlikely that we draft a WR at 13, when there is no one in this draft who is a better WR prospect than Agholar.
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WR’s will be added, but round 2 at the earliest
again, im not arguing that they should sign travis. lol
ummm treadwell/doctson/coleman all better prospects with higher ceilings than nelson. The big thing with nelson was everyone thought he was gonna be NFL ready and make an impact in 1st year…. we all saw his 1st year. he wasnt a guy people thought had a huge ceiling.
With the sieve that is the O-line, why would you draft yet another receiver in the 1st round?
we need 2 OGs. thats it. that can be done easily in FA.
Lets see, because nelson didnt show anything, huff is a RB playing WR, with zero ball skills.
We have jordan, i feel good about him.And thats it.
We also need to add depth. And I’ll say again, drafting yet another WR in the 1st or 2nd round (if they can trade to get a 2nd) is not what this team need to spend picks on.
we have depth.
this team needs to spend picks on BPA and those WRs could very well be BPA.
I completely disagree that Thurmond is an erratic tackler. I actually thought he was a very solid wrap up tackler last year and much better than any safety they’ve had in years except for Jenkins. He always impressed me with his ability to take people down considering his smaller frame. I can’t recall any tackle attempts where he missed poorly.
Btw, I’ve been reading your blog for a long time and this is literally the first time I’ve ever disagreed with anything, so I felt the need to reply. In general, this is the best Eagles blog and possibly the best team-specific blog on the web.
PS: I would love to hear you on more podcasts or see you doing analysis on TV.
He wasn’t a sure tackler, he went for that strip too often.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of Maxwell?
No. Maxwell did go for the strip if he didn’t go full Assante. Thurmond gave better effort, but he seemed to fade down the stretch and his technique degraded.
Still, 25th out of 64 starting safeties according to this list: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/674756973930356736
I really hope they aren’t ignoring him because he’s smaller and more of a center field safety than a box safety. Such a waste if that’s the case.
Also, can you blame him for fading down the stretch? Everyone on the D did and we can blame Chip for that.
Meh, these lists don’t do much for me. Coleman was asked to play deeper than the deepest all year on a really good D and people talk like he’s actually good. I just don’t see him as a physical presence or a sure tackler
Too be fair, wasn’t this what Chip Kelly trying to instill into these players – to go for the strip.
Not sure about that. In fact, Davis came out after one of their embarrassments and said when they reviewed the film, they were going for too many strips. He said they’d correct it, but I wonder how much of that was in the film room and how much was on the field. I think the unwillingness to stop practice to teach me as a flaw in the Kelly efficiency program.
He’s ok, but he had a decent amount of missed tackles. He can’t run the alley consistently. Schwartz’s D will ask alot more from the S in the run game.
He’s ok and is a good starter at S. You can be a good player and not worth the capital investment due to fit reasons.
Biggest issue is his health. Finally had a season where he stayed healthy all year.
Always hate to see a team give a decent FA pay day to a very injury-prone player who finally stayed healthy. Easy could see some team giving Thurmond a decent 3-yr deal only to see him miss more than half of the time.
I really only see them pursuing one above mid-tier player – probably at OG. After that, they need to shop smart. If you wait out the initial FA rush, you can typically get solid bargains later on. Have to judge market. Guys went off board quick last year but the pace has been slower previously.
lolwut
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Kentucky redshirt junior FB Thomas Collins was arrested and charged with alcohol intoxication, criminal mischief second degree, theft and fleeing and evading after attempting to steal a parking meter.
“Here’s a bizarre story to cap off your Friday evening. According to the police report, Collins was spotted by an officer while carrying a parking meter near campus. The 5-foot-11, 238-pound former walk-on subsequently attempted to flee. Per the report, he did set down the parking meter, but escape ultimately proved impossible. A Kentucky spokesperson indicated that the program is aware of Collins’ legal issues, but will refrain from commenting or levying any sort of penalty until after this is sorted out.”
To quote Rick James “Cocaine is a hell of a drug”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bneviIHiIKs
One of the greatest movies of all time.
He must have watched “Cool Hand Luke” whole he was doing lines.
I know I may be late from the other blog, but this is the only time I get to post. 🙁
Geagle – you have one of your wishes.
https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/705791363489648640
Yeah, I considered busting out a glass of johnny Walker Blue to celebrate the momentous occasion, but ultimately that football peasant Molk wasnt worth a glass of expensive whiskey… Now if they cut Sanchez, I’ll drink to that
This is interesting. Hate to see a great coach like this go out like that, kind of like a shaming. I hate the Giants, but I respect the heck out of Coughlin.
https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/status/705886125747998721
“Sounded like a teenager trying to date his recent ex’s biggest enemy out of spite” was the way I saw it described.
In a way, this would really add a whole new level of hate for both the Cowboys and Foles.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/705815646240677889
I will be so mad if FOles joins the Cowboys,,,
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I’m starting to think that we’re being played by the Eagles with Bradford and their plans. Maybe it is Lynch or one of the other two if they drop.
Outside of the big 3 QBs, I don’t want any of the others until after round 4. Rounds 1 through 4 give a teams it’s best chance to draft starters. With starters and backup needed at OL and safety, I don’t want to see us waste a pick ona guy that’s going to be nothing more than a backup.
Big 2. Lynch is a trade down target or I don’t want him.
Lol, I forgot
https://twitter.com/975TheFanatic/status/705782016621551616
Evans looking for Howie to give him a front office job? Can always use another errand boy.
Evans irks me, and it’s interesting that he comes out so for the Eagles now.
He’ll turn against them again if they don’t sign a true fullback.
I don’t like him kissing up to us now, but I would like to see him rip Chip kelly more than he ever has,
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Who will be remembered as the more damaging Charlatan in Recent Philly sports History? Doug Collins who destroyed what little hope we had with the Bynum Trade, THANK GOD Kawhii Leonard got picked on spot ahead of us, or we would be looking back on the Buynum trade as Collins trading away Rookie Kawhii Leonard instead of trading away Vucevic which is bad enough.. All for a guy who never played a single game… Or will Chip Kelly be hated more for giving away beloved playërs like shady, Desean, and Maclin?
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Who will be remembered as the bigger Charlatan who did the most damage to our franchises? Chip or doug Collins?
Evans is heavily pot committed to the Chip bashing. He went on record on social media and the network already before Chips first season, trashing the scheme, the practice, the personel moves in completely arbitrary terms. And then he spent the next two seasons trying to tell everybody that he was right in spite of winning seasons and offensive records. What happened in 2015 was everything he could have wished for. Now he gets to continue to spew his nonsensical, opiniated hot-takes as if though he knew what he was talking about all along. He is to me the worst out of a very bad crop of players-turned-analyst, that for unimaginable reasons never get fired in spite of their complete hopelessness.
We don’t even have a fb yet
I miss fullbacks.
I miss the Dream
Leonard Weaver
https://youtu.be/3fvcHYqvuQQ
Burton I assume
This isn’t what Evans was saying during the season or at the end of the year before Kelly was fired.
Especially was critical of the talent on skill talent on offense.
Which is what bothers me about this quote.
Hard to give any credit to a guy who is only out to destroy Chip. What else would he say?
He’s like the opposite of Mark Saltviet.
That jackass crowing about anything makes me want to punch the wall until there’s a big hole in it.
Unfortunately that jackass crows about everything. He cuts other people off and he’s always right.
If they really are dead set on drafting a QB in the first round this year, I imagine they’ll be a bit more aggressive in FA than some expect.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they only really sign two projected starters in FA (OG/FB) and primarily for depth/versatility including at WR, LB, and CB/S.
Any word on what the status of Henery was going into the year and if the Eagles are possibly going to pursue a backup/camp competition for him this year?
With 9 draft picks and minimal free agents, either we’ll be trading away draft picks or limiting the amount of free agents signed.
I see them using some of those draft picks to maneuver around in this draft including trading up with one of those 3rd round picks.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Roseman trades back in the 1st round a bit to pick up an additional pick next year (say 2nd/3rd rounder) but moves up to the 2nd round/up several spots with one of the 3rd round picks.
I couldn’t agree more.
I guess what I was trying to say was I see Roseman being very active on draft day in terms of making trades with draft picks and even moving one or two veterans too.
Realistically is there a QB available at 13 even worth a 2nd round pick?
Only if Goff or Wentz fall.
Here is the one thing that has me confused. Peters is in clear decline, but we chose not to cut him. I know the long term plan in to slide Lane over to LT, so where does that leave us at T down the road? I know you can get RTs of quality later in the draft, but I hope they draft a guy who can play there immediately if Peters keeps going in and out of the lineup. I’m kind of done watching the current guys on this roster attempt to fill in at tackle because they essentially suck at it.
So ideally I wanted Peters cut and our signings to be Mitchell Schwartz, G, and S. I can deal with G and S as our signings IF we get a projected starting RT somewhere in this draft.
Peters play is not declining nearly as fast as his body is breaking down. I imagine Pederson feels that with extra attention paid to minimizing his practice schedule intensity coupled with a slower-paced offense, maybe the injuries can be cut down. I imagine that if Peters suffers through the same amount of injuries as last year, things will change I’m 2017.
I just hope we’re not coming to that realization a year two later. Lane at LT and Schwartz at RT can be confidentially predicted as a great tackle tandem for the next 5 to 7 years, what we have now cannot be. I need this team to get this line settled yesterday.
Just too many things that the teams needs to improve and not all can be done in one offseason. It makes sense that Pederson is willing to keep Peters around for another year because it gives the team the flexibility to not have to address that position this offseason with a glorified starter while still having an average starter albeit in decline.
I hear you loud and clear, but I think every other need on the team needs to be sublimated until we get the o-line fixed.
I agree there is more urgency there.
Doubt we pay a Tackle.. More likely I think is we pay a Guard, and draft a Tackle who can ideally spend a year or two at Guard if we get’more than expected out of JP.
If they find the Shawn Andrews incarnate (minus crazy), simply play him at guard…. Or force old man inside.
I feel the same way about Celek….lol.
LB is going to be an underrated, but important, free agency need for this team.
All 3 of our starters are injury prone and I’m not sure how well any of our current backups can perform in extended duty as starters.
I’d keep an eye on Nigel Bradham and Vincent Rey as guys to bring into the LB mix.
It is easy to overlook, but a lot of question marks need to work out for us to be satisfied with what we have. I have high hopes that those question marks turn into exclamation marks, but it would be wise to have options.
Indeed. And a continued supply of super aggressive special teamers.
The complication with adding Nigel Bradham is he is very similar to Kendricks, A WIL, problem is WIL is like the one LB spot that Najee Goode can play in our defense.
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If we pay for a LB, ideally he would have Strongside and MIKE versatility
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Which made the Meco cut a head scratcher. Guess Swartz wasn’t a fan.
Meco can’t run anymore. Healthy Meco would have been worth keeping.
Is a dead leg Meco better than a rookie Foku (who I actually liked because he went to my school)? If so…
An expensive and not very effective old linebacker that was cut? Of course that makes sense..
Especially since at this point in his career. Meco has no versatility as a 4-3 LB, he can only play the MIKE Spot, and he isn’t someone you would use in subpackages. Will always respect Mufasa, but this was the right time to move on from him
We shall see.
We already saw..do you even watch the games?
Watch the games? Stop it.. who does that?
Resigning in the first place last year was the head scratcher.
Keenan Robinson.
Sold.
Better would be “Romo will be sidelined for 4-6 and ineffective for at least 2 more, while the duct tape holds him together for another season once again tricking Jerruh into thinking they’re set at QB.”
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k609/dyskokyd/DallaslosestheDivision.jpg
Its not just the injuries.
Hicks was a rookie, and while he was very impressive we have no idea how well he will perform. Hopes are high, but lets not forget that in a not so distant past Jamar Chaney was supposed to be the next great Eagles LB. Things can change and with Hicks playing well in what, 6 games? Thats a pretty small sample size.
Kendricks have been up and down his entire career and never seemed to take that final step and play well at a consistent level. And he is still not that great against the run. Sure, he is a starter in the league, but counting on him finally stepping up isn’t particularly realistic, and we can almost be certain he will miss games and play at less than 100% in some.
Kiko is the one who played at the highest level, a true great level. Sadly it was for the Bills a couple of years ago before loads of injuries. He was horrible for us. Like, completely awful. I’d like to have hopes, but he looked pathetic and im not gonna excuse and injury prone player with he fact that he might have been struggling with injuries. Yeah, thats kinda the problem. Kiko fucking sucked, even at what he was supposed to be among the best in the league at.
One could easily argue that a starter is just as big a need as depth for our LB corps. The only player who consistently showed starting ability is Kendricks, and its not like he lit it the fuck up. If Bradham doesn’t have a huge market, i’d give him a considerable look.
Exactly.
Chaney literally had one really good game (12/19 game vs Giants in ’10 where he had 16 combined tackles). He certainly would be my all-time list of Eagles’ players who got fans really hyped up by a single game performance.
I have a lot more faith in Hicks playing at a high level next year. A lot less he’ll play in 15-16 games.
Big Bradham fan, but he is too similar to Kemdricks, guys who are best suited to play weakside in a 4-3, which happens to be the only position I think Najee is suited for. Najee is nothing more than a solid backup and ST player, but he is WAY BETTER than Anythng we have on Depth Chart behind Kiko and Hicks, so since its unlikely we can sigń two Linebackers, I dont see how we can sigń another WIL, when we don’t even have a backup Strongside or middle Linebacker… Which sucks since I really like Bradham and I like free agents like him who can play, but are coming off down years. schwartz Knowing him is a Bonus… But we have much bigger need at Strong side Linebacker because Kiko is such an Unknown. Alonso was Horrendously bad last year, but he was operating as a shell of the athlete he was when he set the league on fire with the Bills. I have no doubt that KIKO will get back to that Level, IF and ONLY IF his body will allow it. if his knee/athleticism isn’t signifiantly closer than it was last year to his pre injury level, than we are FUCKED!
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I do feel lucky that he was able to come back, take the field even at a shell of himself and get thru the season without another set back. For Kiko the question is really simple: Will he regain his athleticism now that he is two years removed from his ACL surgery like so many athletes have been able to do in the past? Or will his body NEVER be the same which has also happened to athletes? And we can’t assume either way… It also sucks that the coaches can’t see him Til mini camp. then there is the other issue that even if he does look great, we still have to hold our breath to see if he stays healthy this offseason, let alone the actual season.. there is NO ONE on our depth Chart Today that Id be comfortable calling on to start at strong side Linebacker if Kiko misses game time..
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All 3 starting LB’s have durability concerns. But we really don’t know at this point if Kiko will be able to start for us, so clearly Strong side LB is the Greatest of all our LBs needs. If we get really lucky, we can add someone who wemcan trust to backüp Kiko and Hicks, but first order of business has to be finding a credible backüp for Kiko, don’t really care how they do it..
The past few weeks I’ve learned a lot on this Site…A lot about Blake, Miranda, and Gwen. Anyone using a tablet or phone without an ad block will understand this comment.
They’d immediately be the 3 best starters on the Giants O-line.
Yup. If the Eagles want to sign any decent O linemen they better look right quick about it because there is lots of competition this year. (Terrible sentence structure.)
Yeah, those blocks are 6 deep, at times
Stunned if the Eagles don’t sign at least one of the OGs they have been linked to in the past week.
Only question I have is have they identified a guy and will lock him up very early in FA or play the field a bit hoping to get more of a bargain at $3-$4M on a short-term deal (2-yr).
Good point. I’ll need to remember this when I get worked up if we’re not signing guys. I think we’ll all need to wait to see the final free agency product.
I DONT know if it will be someone who was linked to us or not,,,but I have a hard time envisioning them not adding any OL in FA and even THATS not enough, we would also have to spend a top 100 pick on the OL
Under 100 comments. . This place dropped off a cliff without me.
This place didn’t drop off without you loser. Where have you been tough guy? What happened to your Bradford predictions? Like in said 100x here you’re a coward to the fullest extent. Not one reply to any reponses to you? You’re a coward and an idiot plain and simple.
It does seem like this year there are less “holes” to fill on the roster. Is it just me or in years past wasnt the board clamouring for multiple OL, secondary and OLB picks? This year it seems like the roster is a guard and a S away from a decent if not queationable roster.
Nope nothing has changed. There’s still plenty of holes and question marks on this team that has to be addressed soon.
You my friend, are an eternal pessimist.
Nah just in tune with reality. If everything could reach its potential then the world would be in a better place.
Thats what all pessimist say. Of course you’re a realist! There are plenty of question marks but less glaring holes. This is before the draft and free agency as well. Last year the Eagles needed like 2 OL, 2 secondary, a RB, another WR, etc. This year, I feel like if the team sign a G and a S they could play. There are literally less spots to draft/sign in order to fill starting positions.
Ok..and Chip Kelly just gutted the roster but yet we have less holes to fill. Common sense goes a long way.
Right again man! Chip Kelly added NO talent to this team! Realism goes a long way too!
So Chip has added like 3 players every year not to mention that some of them might not even be here next year because of awful contracts + age. Yea that’s not any holes at all.
I didn’t say there werent ANY just less before FA and the draft. And yes he did add several good players. Lane, Bennie, Ertz, Matthews, Hicks, I still believe in Agholor, Jenkins, Sproles, Mathews. Maybe not 3 a year but that seems like an arbitrary number. If some arent here next year, so what? Time happens, unless you go to Florida and finish Ponce de Leons work.
Potentially need 4 starting OL if Peters and Kelce can’t get it together.
WRs are a crapshoot at taking the next step.
Another TE to groom to replace Celek. Burton will be a FB since this is still a WCO.
QB – still need one to develop.
DL – since we don’t have good 4-3 backup personnel
S/CB – I’m damn sure everyone including Maxwell hopes he was misused. Rowe/Jenkins is the only one penciled in to be here for the next 3 years.
LB – no one is safe especially if they continue to play like crap and get injured again.
So where are the holes that are less? Seems about the same to me for..the past 2 years.
You are misunderstanding my original comment. WE NEED MORE TALENT. The talent currently will not win a title. I was just trying to say that there are only 2 spots as of now that for sure no not have starters already in place. Before FA and before the draft…. If you do not agree, tell me mpre than 2 spots that does not have a starter on the roster as of today.
there are less “holes”
UGH. You have this same argument with every fan that says “this team isn’t quite there yet”. It gets old.
I don’t hate optimism but irrational optimism is disgusting.
No, I really dont. This team isnt going to won the Super Bowl. You must jabe me confused with someone else.
no. It’s you. This team is rebuilding – it’s more than 1 year project. They can’t do all of it in 1 year so they’re keeping people around for continuity. They may seem like less ‘holes’ because there are names in place. Expect more roster turnover next season.
Look at my above comment again. I replied to it to clarify. Its funny you said that because I dont ever recall arguing, especially this year, that the team is ready. Feel free to copy and paste.
I don’t have to do that. I know it was you – you argued with me and called me a pessimist as well….
So it was just you then? From like 2 years ago?
Well said
Truthfully we have more needs,that can be addressed in one offseason. However, if we aren’t decimated by injuries, Roseman has a good draft, and we hit on the FA we invest in, we should be in position to have a real shot at the division, and once you get to the playoffs, you have a shot, especially if we make the playoffs While playing our best ball in DECEMBER.
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The skins made the playoffs but had little shot of getting past round 1.. If everything falls into place, we could be a little better than that and be a threat to win a playoff game. That’s my best case scenario if everything falls into place, health, free agency, and the draft,,, but football is a funny game. It’s not a 7 game series, And if your best playërs make big plays anything can happen in the playoffs,. The Packers can be a much better team favored by 10 points to beat us in a playoff game, but if a guy like Cox has one of his dominant playmaking games like he had almòst single handedly beating Brees and the saints this year,,upsetting a better team in the playoffs won’t be unheard of… Cox is a special enough player capable of turning an entire game on its head.
Other than QB I feel like this team is in a real good spot. Doesn’t seem many agree.
I agree, we have a very well rounded and balanced roster we just lack elite talent. We need an elite offensive playmaker (RB or WR), need a QB who can win games for you when needed, and need an elite pass rusher or corner to transform the defense schematically.
However we are pretty good, young and deep in a lot of spots.
The OL is better than it showed the last 2 years, people do not realize how much stress and pressure it puts on an OL to need to win 1v1 all game, especially when you are an out gunned interior lineman with no help. Our guards loosing 1v1 to Suh and McCoy is no shame when they get schemed 0 support all game. In the run game both backs not called Murray ran effectively and we were good in short yardage. In pass pro we were close to league average as well. Was it 2013? hell no but it was not a dumpster fire.
Find some elite playmakers (they can be already on roster – Rowe/Agholor/Matthews breaking out is possible), and get decent top 15 QB play and this is a good team and roster.
On paper you are right, but reality is we need help just about EVERYWHERE these next two years with the Exception of Maybe TE.
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It’s true that on paper, we are a Starting Guard and safety away from being ok for this year, but we know Football doesn’t work that way, we would have to assume no starter will miss a game all year to feel ok about the roster, but when you really look at the totality of building a roster, we have so many needs, practically every position NEEDS to add Talent.. TE is the ONLY position I would feel like we could pass on if it happens to be the BPA at #13.. everywhere else we Need to add talent. We have so many Needs that it will take at least two offseasons to really feel great about the roster… roseman has so much work to do. so Far, he has done a great job, but we knew he is great with contracts, His Success will be determined by if he gets the draft evaluatipns correct.. NEEDS come in various forms..
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1) even if no one got hurt, we still have a few starting needs: Safety, Guard.
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2) It’s also very important to forsee Needs a year in advance. if we already Know that there are a handful of players we have to replace in a year or two like Jason Peters, Demarco, Sproles, ryan Mathews, possibly Maxwell, the well run teams try to add their eventually replacements at least a year before we have to call on them to step up.. so if we think we will want to get out of the Maxwell contract next year, we HAVE to treat that as a NEED that we hope to adress now. You want to have a replacement before you cut a starter, and avoid as much as possible situations where you cut a starter, and then have to go find his replacement. Id rather keep Maxwell an extra year if we don’t have his successor in place rather than cut him and be forced to find a CB ready to immediately start out of desperation, so while on paper we may look ok, we have so many guys that we know we will want to replace,after This year, and they all need to be treated as immediate needs if possible..
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3) then we have Question Mark Needs., for example, on paper we hope Kiko can start, but we don’t know if his athleticism will be where we need it to be now that he has more time removed from his Acl surgery.. And even if Kendricks, Hicks and Kiko all look amazing in Camp, health history says we better be prepared if they have to miss a few games next year which has been the case more often than not.. Im happy that we aren’t giving up on JP, but after all the in and out of the lineup last year, we can’t just assume he will play 16 games and act surprised when he has to miss a game and we have no one to adequately fill in..
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So we really NEED talent at most positions, if we add a starting Guard and Safety in FA, it puts us in great shape to be able to just draft the BPA at 13..
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So Realistically from the Roster building perspective, the truth is that we have more Needs that we will be able to fill this offseason, but from a short sited perspective of just this season, we,could have a chance to be able to fill enough of them that will allow us to be a playoff team this year. but for that to happen, we can’t bust on FA signings, and Roseman has to,pull one Of his best drafts out of his ass
You need yo add talent to every year. There are less starting holes to fill. Thats what I meant. Especially before FA and the draft.
On paper yes… But we have plenty of those positions where we project to have a starter at, but are big enough questions to the point where it would be irresponsible to not make sure we have a credible plan B in place…
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1a) im sure hoping Kiko’s body will be very different two years removed from his surgery, and while I also pencil him in as our starting SAM LB, how do you go into the season without having a credible back up as insurance?
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1b) We have 3 starting LB that I like penciled in to start, but when all 3 have durability concerns, how can we justify not NEEDING More than just Najee Goode on the bench?
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2) Do you envision all our starters, remaining in place to start after this next season? If there are starters you expect to get rid of after this season, it’s irresponsible not to treat them as immediate needs if possible, except for in a few positions where it’s easier to find a rookie that can start right away like RB, but there arent many positions like that.
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3) We Know Cox,Bennie and Beau will be here. if Bair and Thornton walk in FA, and determine that Hart isn’t an adequate fit in a 4-3, how can DT not be a legit immediate Need if we only have 3 DTs at the moment we can count on next year? We can NEVER get away with ONLY playing 3 DTs in a game, and we need our rotation more than ever now that Schwartz will have the DTs exploding up field all game. So technically we don’t NEED a starter at DT, but we do Most likely NEED a DT that we will need to call upon to play each and every week, and since you have to play 4 DT’s in each game, you probably NEED 5 on the roster because of injury risk..there is really no way we can go the entire offseason without adding a DT that we can put into a game right away week 1. While he won’t technically start, I don’t see how that isn’t a NEED. It’s something we have no choice but to address THIS OFFSEASON
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4) If we lose Nolan and Thurmond, how can we go this offseason without adding a CB? If we are FORCED to add a player, THATS a need. And that’s before factoring in the injury risk, not knowing what we have in JaCorey means our Nickel and Dime would be complete unknows if we lose Nolan and Thurmond which is possible. And if Roseman is itching to get out of the Maxwell contract next year, then drafting his replacement Now is absolutely a NEED.. You can’t cut a starting CB, and assume we can draft one that can start day one two months later
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5) RB ALL NEED to be replaced ASAP… Since it would suck to have to add 3 RB NEXT offseason, replacing one now is probably more important than it seems “on Paper”
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6) Are you happy with the Backups we have if Peters goes another season like last year in and out of the lineup? If not, I consider that a NEED, and I would absolutely hold it against Roseman if 33yr old JP gets hurt this year and Roseman didnt think Tackle insurance was a serious NEED
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7) are you ok assuming that Freddie Martino and Krause can be our #5 and #6 Wrs? If NOT, you can’t get away with not adding WRs. And that’s even if we assume Huff, AGHOLAR and Jordan are all ready to carry the starting load
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This goes far beyond the “talent every team needs to add each yeàr”… Many of these are legit issues that we have no choice but to address this year.. and this only begins to cover starters we already know we plan on replacing after this season, and it only addresses guys with obvious known durability concerns,,, it doesn’t even begin to address unforseen injuries like losing a player like Jordan Mathews, or Kelce, or Cox, THOSE unforseen potential NEEDS are IMO what you refer to as “the talent every team needs to add every year”… Most of the above listed issues can’t wait a year to be addressed, if that’s not a NEED, I don’t know what to call it
Agreed.
I’m really concerned with WR. We can project all we want, but I won’t feel good about it until I actually see those guys catching the ball consistently.
Same could be said about the LBs. Man if only the LBs could get it together…
or stay healthy….
true..but lets take one step at time or else Kiko’s knees might blow out again.
By “holes” Im referring to the starting line up, before FA and the draft. I am in no way stating this team ahs enough talent.
Former Eagles OL Al Wistert passed away today. Was an all-decade OT in the 1940s and should really be in the NFL Hall of Fame. RIP.