So Long Sanchez
Posted: March 11th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 189 Comments »The Eagles dealt Mark Sanchez to the Broncos on Friday. This move was helpful in a couple of ways. First, the Eagles got a conditional 2017 7th round pick. The team also nets $4.5M in cap space, which they can now spend on adding a new player or that extension for Fletcher Cox that we keep waiting for.
Sanchez showed some promise in 2014, looking very good at times. The hope was that he would take another step forward in 2015 and push Sam Bradford for the starting job. That did not happen.
Sanchez showed little progress and the team was 0-3 in games in which he threw a pass. The team failed to score 20 points in any of those games. Two of the losses were disasters (TB, DET).
I think the Eagles were smart to move on from Sanchez. I was a bit worried when Doug Pederson spoke so highly of him after taking over as coach. There is no doubt that a new coach has to come in and praise his players, but Pederson said a lot of good things and sold me on the idea that he had interest in keeping Sanchez. Thankfully that won’t be happening.
I do think Sanchez is a good fit in Gary Kubiak’s system and he could be an effective backup for Denver. There were a lot of questions about Sanchez and his dedication to the game while he was up in NY. I head nothing but good things about him behind the scenes with the Eagles. I think he has grown up off the field. Unfortunately the results have not shown up on the field.
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Lot of us wondering why @WaltThurm3 hasn't gotten any buzz in free agency. Several people around the Eagles think Walt might be retiring…
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) March 11, 2016
That’s pretty wild. Thurmond just had his best season, finally staying healthy and playing at a high level. He does have a lot of interests outside of football and could decide to focus on them.
Good luck to Walter in whatever he does.
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The Eagles had a press conference for OG Brandon Brooks and LB Nigel Bradham on Friday. The most interesting thing Brooks had to say was when he talked about getting texts from Jason Peters, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Those guys welcomed him to the team and sold him on the idea of the OL becoming a great unit.
Offensive linemen seem to stick together more than any other unit. Must be that combination of brains and sexiness that they all have in common.
Bradham talked a lot about wanting to play for Jim Schwartz and in the same scheme that he thrived in back in 2014. It is funny how so many of these guys love Schwartz or his scheme. As Bradham pointed out, the scheme is simple. That allows players to be more aggressive. Less thinking, more attacking. It also helps with their communication. There isn’t as much to go over or adjust.
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Now that compensatory picks have been awarded by the NFL, the #EaglesDraft overall pick numbers are set. pic.twitter.com/wYD3yNH5F7
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 11, 2016
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The Eagles cut Brandon Bair.
That move doesn’t surprise me at all. Bair is a pure 3-4 DE. He’s also going to turn 32 this year.
There are other backup DL I think can play in the new system. Taylor Hart lists at 6-6, 281. He was up closer to 300 pounds last year. Hart can be a 1-gap attacking DL. Jim Schwartz loves long DL so Hart has a shot in the new system. Hart could play both DT and DE, another reason Schwartz may have interest in him.
Travis Raciti lists at 6-4, 292 and he’s only 23 years old. I think he could definitely play DT in the new system. I wonder if he could lose a few pounds and even play DE.
The Eagles need backups to a solid group of starters on the DL. Those backups will either be current guys like Hart and Raciti, free agents or rookies. Some people think Hart is a long shot to play in the new scheme and the Eagles should trade him for whatever they can get back (late round pick).
I would like to see how Hart and Raciti play in the new scheme. I hope they are given a chance to show what they can do.
We’ll find out what the Eagles think of the DT situation in the next few weeks. If the team doesn’t add a veteran or two (Nick Fairley?), they will be waiting for the draft or they might think the current backups have some potential. There are a lot of good DTs in the draft so the team could wait for that and find some good young depth.
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I don’t know if the Eagles’ website staff got direction from the coaching staff or just made guesses themselves but all the OLBs last year are listed at DE – Barwin, Graham, Smith, Means, Braman, and Long. All the 3-4 DEs and NTs besides Curry are listed at DT.
Connor Barwin ain’t no SAM
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I’m glad they’re listing him at DE.
https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/708369285459152896
I guess this was one final way for Roseman to stick to Kelly.
If several teams were interested, then why did we only get a conditional 7th next year?
Kind of what I was wondering too if there were 4 or 5 teams interested including the 49ers.
Maybe if he wins the Super Bowl it goes to a #1
Because teams were interested, not Crazy lol
Next best offer was a hot dog and a bag of Doritos.
Interested in Sanchez but maybe not at $4.5 million.
If Roseman really wanted to stick it to Kelly, he would have traded Sanchez to him.
That’s wild to think about regarding Thurmond, but I can see a lot more players retiring early while they’re still in good physical standing. I don’t know if it’s the whole CTE thing, but a lot of these dudes have so many interests outside of football.
I’m still stunned by this offseason. How the eagles managed to offload Maxwell, Murray, and Sanchez while also gaining position in picks is unfathomable. The market is now about to settle down. If Howie is able to bring Boykin back on the relatively cheap, we will have leased him out with 5th round compensation lol.
Perhaps one of the only good things Chip did, but only by accident lol.
Correct. 2nd level FA guys can be had for cheap on one or two year deals.
Don’t think it was too hard trading Sanchez — it is a high contract but not way out of line. I doubt we’ll see a return from that trade either — a “conditional 7th round pick” usually means the condition is not likely to be met. But, maybe that was the competition — perhaps Denver offered a condition which at least had a chance of happening.
I am surprised we got something of value for Murray. It may not be a ton, but moving up in in those spots in the 4th round is the equivalent of a mid 5th-round pick per the draft chart. Moving up in the first is more significant — given the contours of the draft that is probably the equivalent of a 2nd rounder.
Hey, don’t we still need a fullback?
Trey Burton.
More like Trey……… Hurt ’em.
Smells like UDFA for that.
I imagine in certain situations Curry and Cox together at DT. Curry has such incredible explosion, getting inside pressure fast would be easier because you have no choice but to put more attention on Cox, because he’s so overpowering. How do you decide to block that? I think that could be a pass rush package.
I posted about that in the last thread. Moving Curry inside in sub packages is going to get 4 of your best pass rushers on the field all at once. I don’t think there’s a guard in the league who can block Cox one on one and certainly not one that can match Curry’s first step.
And those two facts will help Barwin, Graham, and even perhaps MSIII be more effective than they would be otherwise. The presence of real playmakers, who are put in a position to make plays, makes life easier for everyone else on the defense.
BG can also rush from DT spot at times
Graham, Curry, Cox, Barwin in nickle is going to be deadly.
5 man Line on 3rd down!
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Barwin..Curry…Cox..BG…MS2…. Only rush 4, keep changing which player drops into coverage as the 2nd LB (Barwin,MS2 or BG)… Without Blitzing, we can create confusion for our opposing blocking schemes. not Knowing which 4 they will have to block… Schwartz mentioned this as our possible variation of the NASCAR Package… I will be so hype the first time they whip this out on 3rd down.. And when they start incorproating Blitzes and stunts from this package, should create a lot of Mayhem and defenders running free at the QB
Thought this was a decent draft (below), although Henry is a bit of a reach at the top. Unlike the Eagles, I’m not sold on the top guys in this draft and traded down. Didn’t want all three PSU guys but they were the best on the board at pick time…
Round 1 Pick 19 (BUF): Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama (B)
Round 2 Pick 9 (NYG): Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana (A)
Round 2 Pick 18 (BUF): Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis (A)
Round 3 Pick 14: Carl Nassib, DE, Penn State (A)
Round 3 Pick 16: Sebastian Tretola, OG, Arkansas (A-)
Round 3 Pick 17 (BUF): Austin Johnson, DT, Penn State (A+)
Round 4 Pick 2: D.J. White, CB, Georgia Tech (B)
Round 5 Pick 14: Briean Boddy-Calhoun, CB, Minnesota (B+)
Round 5 Pick 23: Beau Sandland, TE, Montana State (B)
Round 6 Pick 13: Charone Peake, WR, Clemson (A+)
Round 7 Pick 12: Antwione Williams, OLB, Georgia Southern (B)
Round 7 Pick 30: Anthony Zettel, DE, Penn State (A+)
Don’t like RB in round 1. Even at 19.
LOVE Spriggs
Think Lynch in round two is proportional for his skill/risk mix.
Dig the overall mix of players.
But I’m trying to get out of “trade down” at 8 given Howie’s words.
Yeah, and I think the offers you get to trade down on first pick are too generous. Hard to resist trading from 8-10, for example, for a second round pick.
Howie’s words are probably putting teams on notice that it will take a ransom if they want to move up, if even possible — as it should be. We should not give up a difference-maker lightly. Two seconds and a third for dropping 11 spots would be tempting of course.
Round 1 Pick 8: Jared Goff, QB, California (A+)
Round 3 Pick 14: Landon Turner, OG, North Carolina (A)
Round 3 Pick 16: Austin Johnson, DT, Penn State (A+)
Round 4 Pick 2: Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State (B)
Round 5 Pick 14: Travis Feeney, OLB, Washington (A)
Round 5 Pick 23: Kevon Seymour, CB, Southern California (A+)
Round 6 Pick 13: Aaron Green, RB, TCU (C+)
Round 7 Pick 12: Clayton Fejedelem, FS, Illinois (B)
Round 7 Pick 30: Antwione Williams, OLB, Georgia Southern (A)
I like the Hart and Raciti talk. I’m enjoying looking at the bottom end of the roster and seeing who I’d like to have make the 53 or up their impact. The cuts should be fun as well.
I hope we get some serious growth from the 2nd year CB gang (Sheppard, Evans, Rice) and one of Bunche / Boyko.
I’m hoping Barner is gone.
If they are young guys, especially those on rookie contracts, there is almost no reason to cut them now. You would at least wait until the draft to see how you get, or let them compete through preseason. You would only cut them if you have lots of other players clearly ahead of them. If someone wants to give up something of value for Hart, like a pick in this year’s draft, that’s another story — but that’s also unlikely.
Barner is also unlikely to be gone anytime before UDFA signing period. If we trade Ryan Mathews as rumored (getting less likely as teams use up their cap space), keeping Barner is more likely. He’ll probably be allowed to battle it out in camp.
I know it doesn’t behoove us to cut any of those guys early. I just hope we don’t set a final 53 with Barner on it.
Honestly watching Peyton last year I think Sanchez is an upgrade. I am sure they will acquire another QB but with that defense 14-20 points will win them most games. The run game will be featured and play action pass is Sanchez strength. I wouldn’t own their receivers in fantasy but he can get the job mostly done on offense.
I’m not quite ready to join you in that opinion, but there are far worse depth options out there than Sanchez.
Nah he turns it over too much for it to be an upgrade for them
Yeah, Peyton was almost the worst starter in the league last year (save Foles). That defense could win with a lot of QBs, as long as they aren’t turnover machines. Sanchez… not as good in that department as you’d like, but he did have some success with the Jets in that style and is probably a better player now.
Sanchez did not play great this year, but the odd thing is that it was the defense that completely went to pieces when he came in, not the offense. I still don’t know how to interpret that. He could do OK with that Denver defense, though I’m sure the Broncos are still hunting for a more likely starting QB. It’s at least a sane fallback position if they can’t (or get a young guy who needs a while on the sidelines). Sanchez could be fine in a Pederson/McNabb situation.
Yeah, but is that defense really “that defense” anymore, considering the guys they lost?
Sanchez with Kubiak and the Denver receiving corps might be a strong match.
Sometimes I get annoyed by the impression people have of Howie as a draft guy. If you’re going to knock him for Danny Watkins then you have to give him credit for Fletcher Cox. He moved up to pick someone who is currently probably the best pure DT in the NFL and might be on his way to a hall of fame career.
I don’t think Howie is a great draft guy but I don’t think he’s terrible either. People rag on the 2011 class but the 2012 and 2013 classes were both very strong.
It’s strange how reputations are shaped. Howie is a decent draft guy and is excellent at roster management. We could do a lot worse.
You are right… HOWIE has done a lot of good via the draft, and we know about his epic busts…but he hasnt been the total TRAINWRECK in the draft that people make him out to be… Id like to see him become a little more consistent in the draft, but we can probably say that about every GM..
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We can’t afford a botched Draft. What we desperately need to is two solid drafts in a row.. Hopefully our supreme leader delivers and learns from past mistakes
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It seems like Howie has been listening to the coaches in FA. I hope that continues in the draft. Maybe new coaches get more say in bringing in guys that fit their system during FA, but the FO goes BPA in the draft. Personally, I would like a trade back if we could get Elliot in the mid first and a 2nd Rd pick, if Wentz and Goeff are gone.
For me the knock has not been on cap management or draft strategizing/board discipline/player acquisition. It has simply been the unimpressive history of the Eagles at landing starters and stars in mid to late draft rounds. That got the Seahawks to post-season wins. It’s not everyone who can view hundreds of tapes and distill them to a half-dozen – a dozen “good risks”. I remember the circus that the Andy Reid regime turned into where, whoever was doing the drafting, it looked like pintail the donkey. Tommy makes the point that Taylor Hart could possibly be an attacking DT in Schwartz’s system, and, I’m skeptical, but that would definitely add value to the 2014 draft. Add Shepherd and Reynolds to the list of starters or significant contributors, and the last two drafts are above our 10-year average. I have no idea how much HR depends on any one scout or personnel guy. Tom Donahoe has a mixed record over his career. If HR has a talent guru in his fold, he’s not letting on. If he clearly does not, why not?
Landing stars late in the draft isn’t easy though, it’s not like there’s a Richard Sherman for everyone.
Jason Kelce comes to mind as a strong late round pick of the last few years. He sucked last year but so did everyone, I’m sure he’ll bounce back.
Yeah, Kelce was a great late round find, but do you remember who we took before him? Danny Watkins, Jaiqwann Jarrett and Curtis Marsh. We also got Dion Lewis in the 5th (I believe), so he and Kelce were the only decent picks in 2011 draft. I actually feel like the last two season showed some more consistency, and the success of those drafts is yet to be determined. If we can land a great player in round one, and get an OL keeper either in one or three, and then a WR or DT in three, I will consider the draft successful at an early glance. A starter from round 5 or 6 would be icing.
I don’t think there is much of a track record — but the 2011 draft was clearly a driver in *giving* Roseman more control, so I think it’s pretty clear the bigtime 2011 mistakes were not his. MSII was almost certainly his pick though.
But yes, I think there is a presumption that since he hasn’t played the game, and is more a financial guy, that he can’t identify talent. Lurie clearly thinks otherwise. And it may also be a personality that tends to create conflict in the front office (or at least with people who used to be there). I’m sure that is where a lot of the bad press has come from.
The draft though is one area where Roseman has not proven himself over several years (mostly for lack of opportunity). I don’t think there are any major draft disasters clearly on his record yet, unless you count MSII.
I agree that 2011 was more about Reid than Roseman, but you’ll never persuade some people of that. It’s about public perception, it can get annoying when you’re reading national news takes on the Eagles and you hear the same WIP type crap about Roseman, or other things about the team for that matter.
Beau Allen is the guy I’m figuring they’re definitely going to move on from. He strikes me as a typical 2 gap type player.
He might be better as a 1 tech than NT
If he stays, he’d definitely back up Logan as a 1 tech. I just don’t know how he’ll be in an “attacking” 4-3 defense.
He’ll be fine. He’ll be used primarily in short yardage and goalline stuff and to occasionally spell Bennie, Cox can also play the 1tech if they get a 3tech they really like in the draft and Bennie misses time.
Doubt it,,, I expect beau to be here… He isn’t any more “typical two gap” than Hollis Thomas was who did fine in our 4-3
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This is a common misnomer people make a mistake with… Look at Jets NT Damian Harrison run stuffing monster signing to play on the Giants 4 man line.
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Doubt Baeu is going anywhere,… taylor Hart is the most likely to be moved
Hollis Thomas played in a different type of 4-3. Jim Johnson’s defense was about gap discipline. Schwartz will be more aggressive. While his guys will have gaps, they’re expected to get upfield and attack.
There is ALWAYS a role in a 4-3 for a run stuffer that will do the dirty work next to 3tec pass rushers like Cox… Beau won’t ever sniff the field on 3rd down but we can use a war pig like him since Schwartz lines his ends up wide, trying to funnel everything back inside where we need guys like Beau to be stout in the middle..
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More important than getting rid of beau is to get a pass rushing 3tec we can line up next to him on the second unit… Maybe beau doesn’t have a long term future here, but I be pretty surprised if he wasn’t here this year.l even with Beau, if we get rid of hart we need to add two DTs, can’t be adding 3 DTs replacing Beau too
These players really do love Jim Schwrtz…Leodis McKelvin was asked a few times what led him to sign here and he always simply responds.. “jim Schwartz”..
Adam Caplan was on the radio raving about how talking to NFL executives around the league, he hears a lot of people praising the McLeod signing saying that the Eagles got one of the top 6, 7 safeties in the league.. I knew the kid can play and is an ascending talent, but I didn’t know he is already viewed that highly around the league.
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Guess he Wasnt kidding when he said he really believes him and jenkins can become the best safety tandem in the game… Here’s hoping…
I do wonder if the Eagles end up signing Fairley to be a backup DT consider he has no market right now and Schwartz is the guy who drafted him.
He has talent and ability so it wouldn’t be a bad idea… But when looking at allocation of resources I would think it’s unlikely since we still have a MAJOR need at starting outside CB that we have to pay for before the end of free agency, and we will have to pay a veteran WR as a depth signing… After addressing those two immediate needs, not sure how much cap space would be left for Fairley..
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We are going to have to add a DT whether we pay for him or draft him, but at that DT spot, a guy who brings an interior pass rush is such a bigger need for our current DT stable than another run stuffer who can’t rush the passer… So I don’t hate the idea, but I don’t see it as very likely either… But Im not against adding Talent anywhere, as long as it doesn’t cripple our ability to address much more pressing needs like corner
Which CB is there in FA worth paying for? Only 2 guys I see worth a little is Boykin and Carroll, but neither will demand much because the longer they wait, the cheaper they come
NOLAN Carroll left his Cowboys visit without a Deal!!!! bring Nolan Home, we Need him! Hard work player, who’s career is still ascending and his best ball is still ahead… Once a CB we draft proves to pass him and takes his starting spot, Nolan moves to Nickel or Dime…. Also brings quality special Team ability.
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I want nolan back. I think it’s extremely important, partly because like you said, there isn’t much better available, but mainly because he is a good player who we can count on to continue to improve, and versatile .. Nolan was solid last year, and his best is yet to come. Really don’t want to lose him. Bring him home!
Not a bad idea as long as the price is right.
I think it might be. The longer he goes without a contract he will become desperate and he had his best years under Schwartz
Saints and Jets are both reported to be interested in him.
Nolan Carrol left his visit with The Cowboys WITHOUT a DEAL!!! Whooooo hoooooo!!! Come home Nolan, come home!!! Step it up Roseman! Bring him home! We desperately need Nolan or some credible outside corner with more experience than Eric “Death” ROWE,
Good to hear. I do want him back.
I don’t see many realistic upgrades in free agency, and I don’t think its possible for us to go into the draft with this current group of corners. I credibe temporary starting outside CB has to be added before free agency and with the money we freed up from Sanchez trade, I will be annoyed if we let Nolan get away especially if they don’t get a credible replacement.
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You can’t go into a season with ROWE in his second year who hasn’t even started 16 games yet, and a rookie CB as our two starting outside CBs
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I guess can you start Leodis outside for half the season and then put the rookie in for the second half, but We would be crazy to assume that we can get a Cb in the draft who can handle playing as a rookie, Leodis has durability concerns which add to the risk.
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We have the Money, nolan wants to be here, we have a starting position to offer him, everything has aligned so I’ll be really annoyed if we lose him, especially to a Rival…. I guess Boykin would be a suitable backüp plan, but there is just no reason to lose Nolan.. Get it done, hopefully today so I can stop worrying
I could McKelvin starting on one side…
Lol, can’t imagine why none of our Gs texted him to help recruit.
Two things: 1)Hats of to Jason Kelce for not blaming his linemates from last season, but instead just spotting some relief in the person of Brandon Brooks, and then turning on the charm.
2) Anybody know why Nigel Bradham was signed to a two-year deal as opposed to 3 or 4?
Maybe he plans to use this current contract to retire and start a production company like Thurmond lol
I don’t like Bradham’s height as a long term solution at SAM backer. A 2 year deal allows you to draft a guy with appropriate Carlos Emmons type size to play that position proberly and bring him along behind Bradham.
6’2
240lbs
33 3/4 arm length.. LONG arms!
10 1/2 size hands..
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Not exactly some 5’11 Kendricks type running around playing Strongside LB… Not sure how much more height you could hope for?
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Also has plenty of experience defending TE’s under schwartz..
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Hard to know why he took a two yr deal… But speculating, I could make a case for why I would prefer a two year deal if I was in his shoes…
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He had a big year under schwartz, then declined like most Bills Defemders under Rex.. Coming off a down year, betting on yourself to raise your value while reuniting with a coach you had a lot of success under DOESNT seem like a crazy idea, especially if playërs have figured out that Roseman doesn’t hand out contracts he can’t get out of after year two or three.. If Roseman can get rid of you after two years, maybe you might as well sigń a two year deal and have the same out clause that Roseman would have in his smoke and mirror 4 yr deals..
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If you expect to play much better than you did during this past contract year, taking a shorter deal to increase your value and hit the market again in two years isn’t a terrible idea..,
Because he is unproven?
We should all tweet Carroll and make him feel wanted…
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/3/12/11211302/nfl-free-agency-rumors-eagles-nolan-carroll-philadelphia-cowboys-dolphins-cornerback
I wonder if we haven’t re-signed Nolan yet because the Patrick Robinson kid and Casey Haward are still on the market?
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Roseman has done a spectacular job so far, there is no way I see him make such a critical mistake failing to add a credible starting CB before the draft.. Im not familiar with the Robinson Kid so I don’t know what type of upgrade to Nolan he would be…I don’t Love Hayward, and would probably prefer to stay with the ascending Nolan Carrol who we know has a great work ethic and drive,,..boykin is my worst case scenario
I’d rather get Patrick Robinson but Carroll would be ok.
I agree that positional value, and allocation of resources are to be respected, It’s important, I too believe in general Philosophies/cliche such as:
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“the game is won in the trenches”
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“QB, OT, DE, CB are the positions valued above the rest”
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“you can get a RBs later in the draft, don’t take one in round 1”
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“Don’t draft Guards early”
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Generally, I believe in all These philosophies/cliche, and I think it’s important to respect value. Even when I was busy Chugging The chip kool aid, it ALWAYS drove me crazy how he would refuse to Respect “VALUE”, the allocation of resource disaster he created with his running back dream team drove me mad. Never have I seen a GM consistentky disrespect Value..
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So while its a good idea to follow these Philosophies as much as possible, there will ALWAYS be Exceptions. Every single position can be a game changer if you have a special enough players…this is the first time in like over 15 years that I have interest in the eagles considering a RB early in round 1.. Because there always exceptions.
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It’s foolish to not respect those philosophies, and it’s just as foolish to stick to them so strictly that it causes you to miss out on special playërs.. It will be Rare when I think it’s a good idea for the Eagles to take a Guard or a RB early, but when there s a Special player available, im not going to accept “you don’t draft a RB early” as an excuse for passing up a chance to add a Todd Gurley franchise Back…
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I have No problem whatsoever with Roseman going against those cliches and draft a RB of Guard Early, just Know that, if you do think a kid is Special enough to be that exception, you better be Right and that Guard better become the next Iupati, and that RB better become the next Jamaal Charles..
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Value, allocation of resources are very important, but it’s also important to not be a slave to them that costs you a chance to add special talent.. When talking about Cap space and Draft Value, too often people forget that the Name of the Game is to hit the lottery and add Special Elite talent to your team. The name of the game is to get great players. Getting proper value and Manuevering the draft well is fine and dandy, but the goal of the draft is to get Great players, that’s always going to be more important than sticking to draft philosophies… The Eagles shouldnt be afraid to draft a RB or a Guard at #8, but if they do think a kid is special enough to be the exception and draft a RB at #8, im going toe Demand that Roseman is RIGHT and that kid better go on to be one of the too bacjs in the game….
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You draft a Guard in Round 1. He better be more shawn Andrews than DANNY Watkins,,
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For a team that is in Desperate need of weapons, the Eagles better be giving some real Thought to adding what is by far the best offensive weapon in the draft in Zeke Eliiot, and there is a huge Gap between ZEKE, and whoever the second best offensive weapon is (Treadwell at WR, Henry at RB?)…
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ZEKE is NOT the best player in This years draft, so there could be a better player available when we make our pick, but they need to seriously consider adding the best weapon in the draft which fills a big need of ours and can make a big impacts in time of possession, and helping Bradford.. With the #8 pick, we need a special player wiho will grow to be one of the best 5 players on our team, and be a major part of This franchise for the Next 8 years, if ZEKE is that type of player and ends up being the best available, I hope Roseman isn’t afraid to take him.
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If you DONT have a top 5 QB, Defense/Run game is your next best choice, and whoever drafts Zeke between the Eagles, Cowboys or Giants, they will instantly have the best RB in the NFC East, and that’s not Somethng to scoff at. Take the best player regardless of position, do that, and I can live with the results
This is admittedly a tad subjective, but 1 CBS draft mocker has Eagles picking Vernon Hargreaves III, while another has Eagles picking William Jackson III. Both of these projections are made with Buckner still available on their draft lists. To me, if Buckner falls to #8 and the Eagles don’t take him, I will be inconsolable. He and Tunsill are, by far the best football players in this draft, and either one is plug him in and ride him for 10 years.
Buckner is interesting for us, I would have LOVED to have him in a 3-4, reminds me of a Chandler Jones type…. I don’t Love him as much in a 4-3 if im building a Team from scratch, because he is kind of a 4-3 DE/3Technique DT Tweener, but when you look at the DL pieces we have in place Longterm, Buckner could be a very interesting addition…
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The BIGGEST current NEED in our front 7 is a backüp 3tec to play next to war Pig Beau Allen. this player needs to be more of a pass rusher than both Beau Allen and Bennie Logan who both Excell in the run, and Buckner could be a very interesting Fit in that Role… We would start him off on the second unit paired with Beau Allen, and he can pair with Cox in pass rushing situations.
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So while I wouldnt expect to love a Buckner type for a 4-3, he actually may be the perfect hybrid fit to pair with our existing DL players
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I hope ZEKE is in play at #8, but he isn’t the best player in this draft so if a higher graded player is available I hope we take him regardless of his position or where he fits on our depth chart as a rookie, and i would think that Buckner would have a higher grade than Zeke. Schwartz will probably love his length,
I don’t care what scheme we are utilizing. This guy will be every bit as solid as Calais Campbell, and maybe as valuable as Richard Seymour. I doubt that he falls to 8, but he’s definitely better than anybody but Tunsill, and I’d even take him over Stanley. Just my P.O.V.
Hargreaves reminds me of Mo Claibourne. Excellent college DB that just lacks the top end speed and explosiveness to ever truly be elite. If I’m picking at 8, my one must have is a player that I think has a chance to be elite. I think Hargreaves ceiling is good, while his floor is pretty high, he’s just not the type of transcendent athlete I want to spend a top 10 pick on.
Buckner would be really interesting, but I think a lot of that depends on what the team thinks of Logan. Logan is a guy that could excel in the 5-tech DT position on the 4-3 and could conceivably be locked up long term for an extremely reasonable contract. Are you content to expend such a premium resource for a player that would back up Cox at the 3-tech and may or may not be as good as Logan in the 5-tech at a substantially higher salary? If Logan isn’t in our long term plans, I’m all for it. If you project him as a LDE, then that changes everything and I’d be all for it. If not, I don’t know that he’s good enough to turn down a bookend Tackle or some of the other top players.
Overall, I’m really stumped by this draft class. Just doesn’t seem to be many transcendent players at the top.
Oh yeah, put him at end, move him around let him spell both Cox and Benny. Maybe i’ve been oversold, but I believe whoever signs this guy, they will re-sign him and pay big bucks to do so. It will make our D line expensive, but I think it is the best way to neutralize or at least minimize the damage that elite QB’s do to some of the best defenses in the league. Apart from QB, the DL should monopolize the most money, in my opinion.
Buckner is a 5tech. A 6’7 guy would get killed at DT in this defense. And he can’t win around the edge enough to be a DE. He’s Calais Campbell. He’ll be a really good 5tech. He just doesn’t fit with what we’re doing.
That’s the book on him, but he is very athletic. He has a very high ceiling imo. Is he a text book DT? No, obviously, but this kid is quick enough and strong enough to avoid getting killed, and he’s still growing. He showed serious improvement from 2014-2015, and his pass rushing is not spectacular, but he can rush the QB. I’d love to see Jim Schwartz work on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXsk88wqL0Q
His pad level is already a problem it will only be worse the further you put him inside. If you line him up at 3tech teams are going to wash him down or double team him and take him for a ride.
And at DE if you can’t threaten the edge with speed, NFL OTs will just sit and take away any counter moves. It’s Brandon Grahams problem post microfracture. There are even some 43 scheme that use a big long strong LDE but Schwartz’s system does not.
To me, you may be writing him off (for us) a scotch prematurely. I know you do more intense scouting than the average fan, of which I consider myself one, but many talent judges often seem to paddle upstream and face horrendous criticism when their projections don’t hold up. I don’t know if you sat through that SchleggDaddy piece I sent you, but someways into that he said, “AS A PROSPECT…Buckner is very similar to…J.J.Watt (as a prospect). He added the caveat that Watt has worked his ass off since joining the NFL, and there are no guarantees that a similar dedication to his craft would yield similar results for Buckner. Because of his length, strength, quickness,and mental make-up, I believe he’s on everybody’s top 10 list. I believe he’ll go to the Jags because Bradley will kill for a game-changer on D, and he’s going to have Dante Fowler coming back. Ouch!
The ceiling you are predicting for him in a 4-3 may turn out to be on the money, but I see him playing closer to 315 than 290, and if he can retain his attack posture – from a lower set – he’ll give a lot of OL headaches. He’ll blow past some of them, and engage the others with his busy, strong hands. His current pad level, imo, is a commentary on his athleticism as much as on his inability to get low. He’s been able to dominate without having to get low, and that’s a bit like trying to learn a foreign language when nobody around you speaks it. I don’t have his combine video, but I think the only question I would have for him is can he get low, use his legs, and root under heftier G’s and tackles? There is some risk taking him at 8 for Schwartz’s scheme, but he’ll almost certainly be as good as Campbell, and that is far from a bust, though it would probably be viewed as such by many Eagle fans.
Everyone says spending money in free agency isn’t something good teams do. I look at the Patriots and the Packers and it feels like they lost out on at least championship each because of their refusal to address one of their gloating weaknesses through free agency.
Free agency should be used to cover every glaring hole with a credible, reasonable starter at the most cost effective price possible so that you are freed up to go BPA at all times in the draft, and occassionally used to splurge on a premiere talent when/if they become available (DeMarcus Ware for instance).
Spadaro is hinting on twitter and in his column about the Eagles adding a safety to compete with Reynolds/Couplin/Maragos as the 3rd safety. The vibe I got was as a free agent, not in the draft.
There are still some interesting ones left surprisingly. What do you think of Rahim Moore? Didn’t he play well under Undlin? He may be nothing but I wouldn’t mind taking a look.
I like him a lot more as,a depth addition now that we have our Longterm starting safeties in place.
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Weddle and Conte are both flirting with our rivals, I want Nothing to do with either. I think nate Allen is better than Conte.
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rashad Johnson would be an interesting addition if we are going to use 3 safety subpackages, but you can’t sign him to just sit the bench. He is going to want to play, so if we like the idea of 3 safety subpackages, Id be excited to see us add him, but may cost more than we want to spend on #3 safety.
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I wouldn’t mind bringing Rahim Moore into Camp and see if he can beat out Reynolds or Couplin
Rahim Moore would be the one I go for. He’s younger and he played pretty well under Undlin when he was in Denver. He lost his job in Houston, so he may come cheap on a “prove it” kind of deal. I also think he might be good enough to push our starters a bit too if he can return to his Denver form.
Remaining UFA Safeties (Don’t know how frequently it’s updated so the could be mistakes.
Player, PFF 2015 Grade, Pos, Age, Team , Snaps
Reggie Nelson 84.2 S 32 Bengals 1092 UFA
Husain Abdullah 80.2 S 31 Chiefs 496 UFA
Walter Thurmond 79.3 S 29 Eagles 1219 UFA
Chris Conte 78 S 27 Buccaneers 758 UFA
Eric Weddle 77.9 S 31 Chargers 769 UFA
David Bruton 76 S 29 Broncos 497 UFA
Will Allen 73.4 S 34 Steelers 962 UFA
Quintin Demps 72 S 31 Texans 836 UFA
Rashad Johnson 71 S 30 Cardinals 1009 UFA
Danny McCray 67.1 S 28 Cowboys 2 UFA
Nate Ebner 65.4 S 26 Patriots 49 UFA
Taylor Mays 64.6 S 28 Raiders 322 UFA
Jamarca Sanford 64.4 S 31 Saints 105 UFA
Colt Anderson 63.5 S 30 Colts 162 UFA
James Ihedigbo 63.4 S 32 Lions 604 UFA
Sherrod Martin 63.2 S 31 Bears 24 UFA
Chris Prosinski 61.9 S 29 Bears 342 UFA
Larry Asante 61.2 S 28 Raiders 370 UFA
Ryan Mundy 60 S 31 Bears 0 UFA
Antonio Allen 60 S 27 Jets 0 UFA
Louis Delmas 60 S 29 Dolphins 0 UFA
Brandon Meriweather 59.9 S 32 Giants 850 UFA
Josh Bush 59.6 S 27 Broncos 359 UFA
Shiloh Keo 59.5 S 28 Broncos 129 UFA
Robert Blanton 58.8 S 26 Vikings 236 UFA
Sean Richardson 53.9 S 26 Packers 48 UFA
Jaiquawn Jarrett 52.6 S 26 Jets 13 UFA
Omar Bolden 52.1 S 27 Broncos 49 UFA
Craig Dahl 51.5 S 31 Giants 437 UFA
Charles Godfrey 47 S 30 Falcons 145 UFA
Remember when people wanted us to draft Taylor Mays?
Howie fucking Roseman.
good to see tommy agrees about giving Hart a chance in the 43. maybe he just falls down a bunch and we move him but let’s at least see what’s up before trashing a pick.
I wouldn’t turn down a demarco Murray type trade If a 3-4 team comes calling.. But if we can’t trade him, he is welcome to compete for a roster spot in camp before we decide to cut him
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/708683201569529856
Hoping this coaching staff can turn a few of the many young Fringe players on our roster into future contributors..
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1) Ideally, either Josh Andrews or Barret Jones can Develope into solid backup center for KELCE. If not, backüp center becomes a pretty big needs for us. im sure they will draft a Guard for the left side in the middle rounds, it would be great if the Guard is also a capable center.
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2) jaylen Watkins (is he even still on our roster?), JaCorey Sheppard, Randall Evans, Denzel Rice. it would be great if at least one of those young corners can be groomed into a legit NFL corner. Even if it’s just a nickel or dime.
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3) Ed Reynolds vs Couplin, can we grow into a solid NFL safety, even if it just a #3 safety?
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4) Bunche, Boyko, Dennis Kelly, Tobin. Hopefully one of these kids improves enough to still be an eagle 3 years from Now
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5) Raciti vs Hart? We may need one of these guys to make the roster as a #5 DT who only dresses in case of injury. #1 Cox, #2 Logan, #3 Beau, #4 Draft pick, #5 Raciti vs Hart..
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chip screwed up a lot, but at least he left the back end of the roster much deeper than the crap he Inheritted in 2013 when it was easy for guys like Roc and Square to make the roster.. Be great if the coaching staff can salvage a couple of these fringe players and grow them into long term Eagles… It’s a Long Shot but 4 years ago a UDFA like McLeod was ohe of these type of fringe longshots, Rams fans would have been laughed at 4 years ago if they said signing McLeod was a Huge move and that the kid would go on to become one of the best young safeties in the game and get a big free agent contract…no one thought Chase Daniels would ever last in the NFL 8 years ago,,,. So while we can’t assume or count on any of the above listed playërs being anything more than camp Bodies, if we are lucky a few hidden gems will emerge
The roster is certainly not bare (aside from Oline). It was very nice back in the day when we always seemed to have our next starter waiting in the wings. Maybe that was coaching, but I think it unfortunately was mostly personnel. We simply ignored the position since Chip took over. But, overall, I think the roster is much better than the one Chip took over (as a whole…there’s a severe lack of top end talent).
I do think Juan deserves a good chunk of credit in this area. He was supposedly relentless in working with players to get them up to speed when a starter went down. Sadly, even Juan couldn’t prepare the already threadbare oline to replace Jamal Jackson in that one playoff game against a team I won’t mention.
I agree. But, he also had bodies that weren’t pulled away from their jobs managing Kinkos to work with. I think both those things played a significant role.
It’s not easy to make Trades in the NFL, and shockingly, Howie is managing to get value left and right for guys we would want to get rid of for nothing anyway,, it’s amazing.
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I imagine that it hasn’t happened to many times in the past that a GM was able to orchestrate 3 trades in one week, amazing that all 3 trades were about us dumping contracts while inexplicably managing to move up in rounds 1 and 4, and get a 7th for a QB we would have cut…
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I don’t think he is even done yet..
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The obvious moves left are trading Ryan Mathews after drafting replacements hopefully get that 5th round pick we spent on Sproles a few years back, possibly trading Harr to a 3-4 team, and moving Sturgis in another Murray type trade..
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Im also looking for Roseman to trade for a player at some point this offseason, most likely something similar to the Sproles or Mufasa trade where we get a good but not great starting veteran for a mid round pick… But I don’t rule out the LONGSHOT chance that he manages to pull off some type of player for player trade, but I’d imagine Ryan Mathews or possibly Huff would be involves, maybe try to get Carlos Hyde, or Torrey Smith in return?… If Hart is involved in a player for player trade we would only get back a player like him who the team would cut because of a scheme change or something.. We would have to attach a high pick to Hart to get anything decent in return
Many of us are impressed by what Howie has done this FA period, and it got me to thinking about the nuances of that part of general managing. It is one thing to know without hesitation that a Fletcher Cox “is going to be paid”, but how to gauge the majority of players on the roster that are not slam dunks? Say what you want about Chip’s lack of GM skills, but to me, his dispatching of DJAX, despite the lack of remuneration, and the trading of Shady were both appropriate and hopefully serve as lessons for HR. The huge contract that Jackson was given had Andy Reid’s finger prints all over it, and HR may have been new enough at this game to give his HC what he wanted. Maybe the same held true for McCoy. In the case of the latter, the same contract may have been structured better where the big money and guarantees came early, but when Kelly acted, McCoy”s contract was still a wad of cap space. If HR is more judicious about negotiating with young and promising talents that he doesn’t want to lose to FA, his time off may have been good for him
Both jacksons and mccoys contracts were reasonable, with smaller cap hits moving into the future and had no guaranteed money left giving us ultimate flexibility. The moment they stopped performing we could have cut them for zero cap hit. Getting rid of such contracts for star players for nothing was, is and always will be ludicrous.
What Howie learned was the benefit of not doing so which left us with contracts like Murrays that has dead money counting against us even after trading him.
Both Jackson and McCoy were at the trade-or-renegotiate time. They were very large dollars, but nothing guaranteed left. At that point players with leverage will agitate, hold out, etc. in order to get a new contract. It can be harder to get those players to accept less money in new contract than was scheduled for in the previous contract, even though those amounts were basically there to force a team’s decision.
McCoy’s cap hit was immense, and if he wasn’t Kelly’s preferred type of runner, it didn’t make as much sense to carry it. As things turned out, he probably would have accepted a renegotiation which lowered the cap amount — something similar to the Buffalo deal. I think Kelly at the time was earmarking that money for Maclin, and decided he couldn’t afford both players. Thus, the trade, but it was very aggravating that once we lost Maclin we basically gave Murray similar money as McCoy would have cost.
I will note that Murray’s contract was more possible to trade because a lot more of the guaranteed money was salary, and not signing bonus — Buffalo would take a significant cap hit by trading McCoy this year, where the Eagles actually saved a fair amount. There was not a significant difference in the amount, but there was in the structure, and that difference just showed up.
Couple things. We held all the leverage in those situations and not the players. They could have either kept playing or not. None of them had started to agitate anything at that time. Both McCoy and Jackson’s cap hits were set to come down substantially after the years in which they were traded. Those cap hits were immediately turned around and spent on players at the same position for similar amounts of money. And, trading players who’s cap hit is mostly salary as opposed to signing bonus is not easier it is, in fact, harder, since the team receiving that player takes on the future contract numbers while the team trading them away takes on the signing bonus hits.
I’m guessing the agitating was beginning behind the scenes. Rosenhaus does not let that situation sit there. The decks are now stacked against holdouts but you can be sure they would miss non-mandatory events, etc. The cap hits for 2015 for both Murray and McCoy’s renegotiated deal were much lower than McCoy’s scheduled amount. I don’t think you could have swallowed the existing McCoy amount and have any hope to sign Maclin (especially when Kelly was planning on getting a QB much more expensive than Foles, and spend money on defense).
You’re guessing, but based on what? McCoy has said multiple times that he never said anything about his contract, wasn’t looking for a reworked deal and that the Eagles never approached him to rework it. Further, he stated that if they had, he would have absolutely been open to restructuring to make his cap hit smaller.
There had been rumors. He didn’t want to reduce the amount he was scheduled to get, but yes, I’m sure he would have been willing to restructure — he did in Buffalo, as you mention. I think though that Kelly wanted to keep Maclin instead, and it was an either-or. After the Jackson debacle the year earlier, they knew they had to trade McCoy before free agency otherwise the contract would have been much less moveable. Murray only happened once we lost both. Kelly lost the Maclin gamble, which I think turned out to be critical.
The options with McCoy were to either let him play out his deal and cost $12M in 2015 followed by $7M in 2016 and $8M in 2017. Higher cap hits than we would have liked, but essentially a series of 1 year deals that we could have terminated at any time with little to no dead money the moment he stopped playing like a stud.
Or, we could have restructured him to a deal that looked like Buffalos and lowered his cap hit to $5.5 in 2015, but added guaranteed money for the next two year at similar cap hits to the ones on his initial deal. Not eggregious for a top back still in his prime.
Or, we could have traded him. But, we didn’t HAVE to trade him for Alonso. We could have spent more than 20 min looking into compensation and not just accept the first name mentioned when we called Buffalo.
Overall, I think history has shown that we took the lowest possible value given those choices. Especially when you include the massive dead cap hits we took on Murray in addition to the lack of value received from Buffalo in the form of Alonso.
It’s also important to recognize the lack of cap benefit associated with McCoys trade when you consider the cap penalties we subsequently incurred in replacing him. All that cap benefit was eaten up by Murray and Mathews. Instead of having Murrays dead cap hit this year we could have just paid Maclin an extra $1M. Hell, if we just answered his phone call and made him feel valued we could have signed him for our initial deal and just moved on.
Well, yea…most restructurings are done that way. You move base salary into bonuses which will lower the cap hit and spread it out. PLayer likes it because they get more money up front and the team gets a better cap situation. Anything though would have been preferable to the contract situation we were stuck in with Murray.
Also don’t forget that we got to see what LeSean would have accepted in a reworked deal when he signed with Buffalo. He had a cap hit of $5.5M in Buffalo last year. While he also counted $3.4M in dead money for us. Ryan Mathews counted $2M against our cap last year. So between Mathews cap hit and McCoys dead money we could have just kept McCoy had we even attempted a restructure at no additional cap charge to our eventual 2015 cap.
The Eagles spent months looking for some compensation for Jackson, and this was before Chip’s power grab. And Jackson’s contract was over the top for a speed burner that disappeared in games and was never a factor in the red zone. You can call Shady’s contract reasonable, but the options of waiting that contract out would have predictably been less lucrative. Forget, for a minute how Kiko played last season. A defensive ROY who was relentless. Add to that enough cap room gained to sign – and overpay – the best CB in FA. I am not arguing that Shady had no value, but that trade got considerably more value. I don’t think contract negotiation is child’s play, and clearly Howie knows way more about it than Kelly, but I do think the sigh of relief that some of us have when a player is retained does not account for how much that particular contract might tie our hands when the need for a player is not met.
Good work getting any value for Sanchez before we had to cut him.
Value is important especially after the amount we lost the last few years:
Mathis = no return
DJax = no return
Maclin = no return
McCoy = Alonso = no return (throw-in to get Dolphins to eat Maxwell’s contract)
We need to get some more mid-level FA value, nail the 8th pick and do well in the rest of the draft to help replenish our stock of talent. That is on Roseman and the scouts, but that is only half the equation.
The other is we need to get much better at developing talent and getting them to execute at a high level on game day. This is on Pederson and the rest of our new coaching staff.
I’ll stay in wait & see mode until we see tangible results on the field. I’ll be on board when we win the first playoff game during Roseman’s two stints as GM. I like what he has done so far this off-season, but again we’ve been burned so many times I’m not putting myself in that position again until we see real progress.
I unfortunately am on board already. Glad chip is gone snd glad sanchez is gone. Didnt like either one.
I’m glad both are gone too; just not sold on Roseman and Pederson until we see tangible results
Im sold on ThisisHowieDoit. . His batting avg in all respects is very good .. peterson we have no f in idea. .. good luck to us all
The situations aren’t comparable. Mathis held out. Jackson they tried to trade so that’s completely revisionist history. They tried to sign Maclin. It’s not even remotely similar.
Huh? I was talking about players we lost for zero return which, combined with poor drafting and player development, led to the bad FA signings last season which, in turn, led to Roseman having to do the trade gymnastics this off-season.
The point is our roster needs a serious talent influx. We’ve started the process in FA, but need to do well in the draft and continue to build this team.
The mistakes of the last few years have hurt badly and cannot be repeated. Hopefully the FA we’ve signed this period pan out much better and hopefully in the future we will not need to invest so much in FA because we’ve improved a lot on drafting and developing our own.
You were discussing getting return for Jackson who couldn’t be traded. No one wanted him in trade because of his contract mainly. Teams wanted Sanchez and his contract. They got barely anything in return anyway, they wanted the cap space.
Mathis either didn’t want to be on the team with his teammates or he wanted more money and he already was getting paid handsomely. No team wanted his conteact. Didn’t he sign for much less money.
I’m not sure that Jackson could not have been traded. Any trade would have included him restructuring anyways. All we know is that no one was willing to trade with us once we made it pretty clear that we were going to cut him if we got nothing for him. Finally, even if Jackson was completely untradeable, nothing required us to cut him for nothing. We could have just had him play out his current deal. Every year after the year he ws cut his cap number came down substantially. If his salary that one year was the biggest thing blocking his trade, why couldn’t we have waited another year?
I’m sure Roseman was trying desperately to trade him. The problem was the trade happened after the main free agency period, when most teams had used up their cap space so could not take on a contract like that very easily.
And if the trade happened earlier, that would have increased leverage for Cooper and Maclin, who were both free agents — Eagles had to sign them first otherwise they stood to lose every significant WR on their roster. They ended up paying enough for Cooper as it was. If they had Maclin under contract, they probably would have been OK trading Jackson earlier which would have had a better chance. And maybe Roseman was utterly against it, which may have delayed things.
The timing of the release sucked since it came right after Shorr-Parks’ smear piece, which made it look like those were related. I don’t think Kelly wanted to deal with someone who put so much effort into non-football stuff in the offseason, really.
But yes, the whole situation combined into us giving up some very good talent for nothing. You might get away with that once, but you can’t keep doing that.
Well…sure…there were reasons why he had to be released. And, you talk about pretty much all of them. But, let’s not act like the way the FO under Kelly didn’t set these situations up.
We agree on the ultimate reasons. I just happen to think that the core of those reasons go back to Chip and created a non-winning situation when it was possible for us to set ourselves up in a much more winning situation. Or if all else fails, just keep Jackson and don’t resign Cooper. We didn’t HAVE to release him.
Mathis did not hold out. He skipped voluntary workouts. Tried to trade Jacskon and failed miserably. Tried to sign Maclin and failed to do so before FA, and ended up losing out to the Chiefs because Chip wouldn’t answer his phone. Talk about revisionist history.
We tried to trade people most assumed would be untradeable and somehow got good return. We tried to trade/sign others under chip Kelly who had tons of value and lost all of them for nothing. Those things are dissimilar for sure, but not the way you’re talking about.
Yes you’re right. He was the only player who refused to go to voluntary workouts. Why did he not attend them?
As I said they tried to Jackson. I figured everyone knew they failed. Did you need that explained?
They tried to sign Maclin longterm but it didn’t work out. Did you want to trade him at the trading deadline? He still hadn’t played the full season coming off a torn ACL. They wanted to try to keep him. That’s how the NFL works, that’s why there’s free agency in the first place.
Mathis is borderline on being a total nut job. There’s no way his lack of ability to communicate with Chip combined with his music video was going to do anything other than get him cut.
All true…but some coaches are better than others at handling the massive amount of nuts that exist in the NFL
The points I was trying to make that if we’re comparing how good Howie is at getting value to how poorly Chip was at the same, then saying we tried and failed really only supports the claim that Chip was bad at it and Howie was good.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but it seems like your saying the fact that we tried (and subsequently failed to get any value in return) absolves Chip of any blame for not getting anything in return. I simply disagree with this. I think it proves that Chip was impatient and not good at getting value for our assets.
No I don’t think we should have traded Maclin at the trade deadline mid season. It has been reported many times and even directly from Maclin himself, that the biggest reason he left was not the money, but the fact that KC made him feel wanted during the negotiation period.
Ideally, we would have signed Maclin prior to the start of FA, like we did with Jenkins, Ertz, Curry, ect. And, he never would have even reached FA. Howie has been very good at making players feel special and wanted and having them sign here without even testing the waters. Chip would not even pick up his phone has Maclin was redialing him repeatedly. If we let him get that far we could have slapped the transition tag on him or even attempted a franchise and trade scenario (no recommending to have had him play on the franchise tag). But, there were many ways to keep him from leaving for absolutely nothing.
Mathis skipped voluntary workouts every year. Yes he wanted to be released, but again we had all the leverage in that negotiation and Mathis has stated multiple times even going as far as to post his plane ticket to Philly, stating that he would have played out his year in Philly if they didn’t release him.
No one held a gun to our head to trade McCoy and no one forced us to accept an injured LB with one year of good play as compensation for him. That was all Chip. Poor value.
You wanted them to tag Maclin. I never thought that. I don’t remember that being a thing. Interesting. As far as signing him, yes I wanted that but he was talking about trading him and getting return like for Sanchez. I agree we should have signed him.
Honestly, that was way down on my list of plans, but always an option. I think once Maclin said he wanted to come back and the Eagles said they wanted to sign him long term, everyone assumed the deal would get done. Rarely in either Banner’s or Howie’s terms have the Eagles ever lost someone that they wanted to keep. Really only Maclin and Dawkins come to mind. And, both times the players later said that they felt disrespected and unwanted and made their decision based on that.
Dawkins was a whole ‘nother issue as he was at the end of his career and got substantially more money from Denver. But, Maclin didn’t get much more from KC. I honestly feel that if they had made him feel wanted he signs that deal for $10M prior to FA even starting.
It was discussed. I think the tag number was a bit more than the Eagles wanted to spend (like Bradford this year). In retrospect though, I wish we had — that would have prevented the Chiefs from even making an offer probably.
I think a lot of Howie’s skill in getting value is pre-emptive. He does things well prior to them becoming an issue so that he’s set himself up in a favorable position. That’s why all this talk about how the Jackson, Maclin, McCoy situations were such where we couldn’t get value, just doesn’t satisfy me. Had we not locked up a lot of our players to good deals prior to FA, and people like Vinny or Jenkins left in FA this year or next, we’d probably all have the same list of excuses that they couldn’t have gotten anything for them because of the situation and the fact that they had leverage and the market was such and such…but in all those cases it wasn’t. Because….Howie. I just really appreciate that Howie is routinely able to get good value. Not always. He’s far from perfect. But, based solely on outcomes, there’s no doubt in my mind that Howie has been better at it than Chip was who I think was historically bad.
I will say that the Kiko inclusion was probably a large part of the return from Miami, which all said is probably equivalent to a mid-to-low 2nd round pick. We got definite value back from that trade and I don’t think it was Maxwell.
I slightly disagree. I think the original trade offer was Maxwell for the Dolphins 4th rd pick. The Dolphins rightfully balked at that due to Maxwell’s large contract and asked for sweeteners which ended up being Kiko and our 4th rd pick. Once that was offered, the Dolphins agreed so you’re right they liked Kiko and his cheap salary, but we did give them our 4th rd pick as well and the sweeteners were necessary so the Dolphins would eat Maxwell’s contract.
There were no 4th round picks involved in the Miami trade.
Er, we never gave them our 4th. That was the Murray trade (swapping 4th round picks).
The rumored deal was Maxwell and Kiko for swapping 1sts and Miami’s 4th. They used the Maxwell injury to get out of the 4th round pick. After taking on that salary, most of the value left coming from us was Kiko. Maxwell does not get you that swap of 1sts alone, though he was part of it. I doubt Kiko alone gets that either, but probably closer than Maxwell.
Brain fart on my part, conflated the two trades together.
Like every GM Roseman has strengths and weakness, im not sold that he is the man to take us where we want to be either yet, but im still going to fairly judge each of his individual moves and give him credit and respect when it’s do, and so far Roseman gave me everything I wanted, and he even gave me wants that I didn’t think were possible, and compensation I could even image (#8)
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Chip screwed us so bad, I had made peace with having to bite the bullet for a year with Max and Murray until we can get out of their contracts after this next season…Amazingly, he not only got rid of those contracts which allowed us to have cap space to get talent Like McLeod and Brooks, but inexplicably we made out with the #8 pick for guys we wanted to get rid of at any cost (cap dumps)
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I hoped he could save money trading sanchez instead of cutting him, and he pulled it off, I wanted SAM, and he is our QB, I wanted chase to replace Sanchez and Now it’s reality.. Locked up young players I adore…. The Only move I can disagree with is I would have liked to see another year of KIKO before giving up on hIm, but I can’t complain when we subtract kIko and the 13th pick, and add Nigel who im a fan of to begin with and now pick in the top 10..
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Im not sold on the man either, but how do I not give him his respect for what he has managed to accomplish up to this point?
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I wanted Safety and Guard to be our big FA investments. And he delivered
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He finally gave me the pleasure of seeing Riley Cooper cut and brought stability to our starting safety for the first time since Dawk
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So far So good, much respect and appreciation for what Roseman has managed to accomplish up to this poïnt, but ultimately the Only way I will be sold on Roseman is If he manages to put together back to back quality drafts which is what this franchise desperately needs.
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I know he is a Cap wizard who will always protect us with the contracts he hands out, I know I will never have to worry about the Cap as long as Roseman is here, I know he respects value and won’t get robbed in trades and contracts… But I can’t be sold on him being the architect of the next eagle team that makes it to a NFC title game unless he nails these next two drafts
How am I not giving Roseman his due “respect”? I said multiple times I’ve liked what he has done so far this off-season. But to me that is not enough to call Roseman a great GM or turn into a Howie bot. Tons of work still remains to be done to fix this team and get back to winning playoff games with regularity and compete seriously for a ring. Until I see tangible results and success, I’m remaining in wait & see mode. My feet are firmly in Missouri – show me.
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
21s22 seconds ago
#Steelers WR Martavis Bryant facing a year-long suspension for violating @NFL substance abuse policy, per source (@Dejan_Kovacevic was 1st)
What a dumbass.
59 retweets
13 likes
Everyone wondered why he fell. Everyone gushed over him this season.. Some people laughed at Kelly for #culture.
We laughed because he talked about culture and then brought in a locker room cancer in Murray.
*airplane cancer?
What does that have to do with some people who wanted to draft Bryant and complained about Kelly not taking Bryant because of character concerns. You just said Bryant was a dumbass so you agree he has character concerns.
The issue with Murray was Kelly didn’t know how to use him and his OL was not good.
I think this season will be a good barometer for what is wrong with Murray.
I shouldn’t say that was THE issue. I am really curious how he does in Tennessee to be honest.
Kelly tried to run him on stretch plays. The defense knew it and Kelly kept on doing it. Murray got frustrated with guards in his lap and nowhere to go. Many complained about Mathis departure and Peters back issue/ poor performance.
While allowing the big money CB he picked to miss curfew 10 times the night before a game without consequences.
Until Josh Huff gets his head out of his ass, there is nothing funny..
That doesn’t mean Bryant was a good choice.
Right now you can say that.., but if Bryant learns from this, and doesn’t repeat the mistake, Sacraficing one year to have a significanly better player than Huff is an investment I would make 10 of 10 times..
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If this isn’t going to be his last suspension and he doesn’t grow up, he will become the next Uber talent to waste his career… I do like his chances having a support system like the Roonies, Tomlin, and a demanding veteran QB who will demand a lot from him, more than I like a kid like Gregory’s chances of growng up sorrounded by that idiot owner, calling Greg Hardy a raging lunatic a leader is a geat impression to make on a rookie lol
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It can go either way… Some kids learn from IR and become better people because of it like the Honey Badger who a lot of people were ready to give up on him, And others never learn and piss away their careers like Justin Blacmon. Too soon to know where Martevis Bryamt is, but at least they got the football player part of the evaluation correct.. Im still waiting for our 3rd round WR who our coach has been with since he was. Teenager to do something lol
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Hopefully this is the year huff shuts us up, and Martevis Bryant and John Brown won’t matter to us anymore…
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It would be awesome if Howie secretly videotaped his war room interactions with chip and leaked them to the medial. Id love to see how
Lurie has been big on it too for years. It wasn’t just Chip.
Ahhhh, The air is so nice in Spring now that the Kelly stench is being scrubbed away. Thank you, Howie.
Man, I feel like a druggie, that crazy first day of FA was amazing, now I’m jonesing for the Eagles to make another move.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/708771936109785089
… dear god no.
Sticking with Steve’s metaphor and based on my research of watching The Wire, I believe that particular move would be referred to as a hot shot.
I’ve been trying to get into the Wire for two years now. Even bought the entire first season on DVD. But, every time I put one on I find myself day dreaming and even falling asleep halfway through.
It’s very well done. Well acted. Well written. But, I just find myself not caring at all about what’s going to happen to any of the characters, mixed with not fully knowing who many of the secondary characters are or why I should care about what’s happening to them.
Everyone lists it as one of the best shows of all time. Does it get better? Is it known to start really slow in the first season and then pick up. Or are the first 5-6 episodes actually a good barometer of the entire series and I just don’t like it as much as everyone else for some reason?
Each season has a different focus. With each season, I would curse the writers for making me figure out what was going on, and at the end of each season I would desperately want to see more.
This draft really perplexes me more than most. There’s just no one that I’m completely excited about at #8.
The QBs all have significant questions, and the top two are still supposed to be off the board before we pick. Paxton Lynch does not excite me one bit. I’d be happy with either Wentz or Goff, but neither of them make me feel like we’re set at QB for the next decade unless Ryan Tannehill is your dream QB.
Tunsil and Ramsey are my two favorite prospects and they both will most likely be gone by 8. At 8 we’re looking at possibly Bosa, Myles Jack, Buckner, Stanley, Treadwell, Hargreaves and Zeke.
I like Bosa a lot and would be happy with taking him if he’s available, but a lot of people on here seem down on him. I haven’t seen him make many plays with a wide variety of moves or by showing an elite ability to bend around the edge. He seems to beat mostly overmatched tackles and guards with pure strength and speed. So that does concern me. But, he does have most the necessary skills at a premium position that we’re not completely set it depending on what you think of Graham and Curry. I personally think Graham can easily be improved upon and that he’d be a decent pick up to do so while not being thrown into the starting lineup as our savior.
I love Myles Jack. But again, he’s a guy that I haven’t seen do anything spectacular that just screams perennial all-pro, although there really isn’t much to complain about with his game. Plus, he plays a less premium position where we already have two decent starters and I wonder how much better our team would be with him rather than a Nigel Bradham type player. I’d be happy with this pick, but again, I’m not expecting it to really alter the overall level of our team.
Buckner is someone that I feel would be too good to pass up at 8, but plays a position that we’re already strong at and I feel like Logan is someone that could excel in Schwartz’s 4-3 while being locked up at a very reasonable rate.
Stanley is probably my top pick as far as matching need and skill. We all saw how much good Oline play can effect the entire offense and having book end tackles taken care of for the next decade would be too hard to pass up. But, how boring is it to have two top ten picks in the last 4 years and not end up with a single play maker. Plus, with Lane getting LT money, does that make him a RT and is that worth the 8th pick.
Treadwell doesn’t excite me and I think he would have been available at 13 anyways. He has the ability to be good, but he’s never going to be Dez or Julio or Demaryius. And, if I’m picking a WR at 8, that’s who I want, especially after all the draft resources we spent on WR over the past 3 years.
Hargreaves is my least favorite. Simply too slow and not enough explosion to ever be elite. High floor but subsequent low ceiling. Reminds me of Mo Claibourne.
And, Zeke is great but drafting a RB in the top ten just goes against everything I believe about positional value.
What’s everyone else think?
My biggest fear is that we’ll be sitting at 8 with Zeke, Treadwell and Hargreaves available and the other 7 top prospects gone.
If those are the top ones left the Eagles must explore every angle to try and trade down because neither of those 3 are worth it at 8. It is looking more and more likely that either a trade up for a QB is coming, if it doesn’t go that way then I see HR really working the phones to trade out. I can’t see him making the Smith mistake again.
Yea…I’m totally fine with moving up for a QB if theres someone that they are absolutely in love with. I’m fine with Stanley as the prospect of having two bookend Tackles that we can essentially plug in and forget about for the next 8 years is incredibly enticing. I’d be fine with Bosa, Buckner or Jack. The rest I’d be legitimately sad if we took at 8th overall.
lol, “there’s no one worth taking at #8, but I’m sure there’s another team dying to move up to #8.”
Buckner is the most overrated player in the draft. I would be majorly disappointed if we took him in the first round.
That honor of most overrated is Joey Bosa without a doubt. Don’t know if you watched alot of Buckner but he is the real deal.
Doesn’t it seem like most of the players this year at the top of the draft are considered to be overrated by more than just a few people.
I’ve heard people call Bosa, Buckner, Stanley, Hargreaves, Zeke and Treadwell overrated.
I actually agree with most of those sentiments. Tunsil is without a doubt the real deal at tackle and should go number 1 if TEN stands pat there. Outside of him I’m not a big fan of the rest of the top players outside of Stanley.;Buckner is absolutely worth a top 10 pick. I agree with your statement on the QBs, but if the Eagles higher ups really like Goff ot Wentz then take one. They have the luxury to have a rookie sit for a year and even possibly 2 if that’s needed with the contract just given to Daniel.
Agree completely.
I watched both Buckner and Armstead. Bosa is alright.
Agreed, Bosa was great on some really talented teams but does nothing special. Armstead I can say the same things about nothing really excites new about him. Buckner is a really good prospect and deserving to go in the top 10.
Buckner is definitely better than Armstead was in college. However, I don’t see Buckner being all that effective against NFL OL since he gets easily taken out of plays due to his pad level (lack of pass rush moves too but he can learn those).
I think Buckner will slide out of the top 10. The only 3-4 teams in the top 10 are the Chargers, 9ers, and Ravens. Chargers will take Ramsey or a QB. 9ers and Ravens could but they have bigger needs. Not to mention that this is a very deep DL draft.
I’m super biased but I think Buck is legit
Stanley is my hope as well. To have bookend tackles like we did with Thomas & Runyan is worth gold IMO. Again it may be boring, but the OL is the foundation of a good offense. As we’ve seen year after year, if the OL is bad you can have the best talent and you’ll go nowhere.
However part of the reason of moving to 8 should be that we can move up more to get the guy we absolutely want. To jump from 13 would be too expensive, but to jump from 8 should be doable. So if Stanley or Bosa or whoever the Eagles want the most is there at 5 or 6, you’ve got to go get him. They just better be right and we better be able to develop him.
I can live with Stanley, Jack, Hargreaves or Wentz. I don’t think Treadwell is still a lock to be the first WR taken anymore.
what is it that you like so much about hargreaves?
I think he can be a legit No1 CB. I think he has all the tools as well. If he was an inch taller and ran 2 steps faster in the 40; I’m not sure he makes it out of the top 10.
Yea…I’ll admit I like his tape. He has the skills, eyes and anticipation of a top CB. But, I think I might be a bit more concerned with his measurables than the people that like him.
He absolutely can turn out to be a stud. There are plenty of CBs with his size and speed combo that have succeeded in the NFL. But, they tend to be the exception more than the rule and they typically end up dropping out of the 1st round all together.
I guess I’m just wary of drafting a CB at 8th overall that doesn’t have great size 5’10 and 196 pounds and doesn’t have very good speed (4.5 forty).
I see someone that has issues with height and arm length which will ultimately limit him against bigger receivers in close quarters (the Dez Bryants of the world). And, someone that lacks ideal long speed against the DeSean Jackson’s of the world. Hargreaves doesn’t have the speed to keep up with fast receivers or recover if he is beaten. On top of that, he seemed to excel in college based on his aggressive style of play which in the NFL leaves him vulnerable to double moves and being exploited by better route runners. Recovery speed then becomes an issue and he doesn’t have enough in my eyes.
I just feel that if I’m taking a CB in the top ten, at the very least, he must check off all the boxes that would allow him to become elite at this level before I even consider him. I don’t want to waste the 8th overall pick on someone who might end up being a Sheldon Brown level CB.
I think there are more 4.5 DBs playing than people would think. There are a lot of CBs who run fast 40s and don’t pan out, same with Wrs. I think film > than measurables.
Last year people fell In love with Trey Waynes because he was 6ft with track speed when Marcus Peters was actually the better CB(5’11″/4.5 40).
If they traded back and took Apple or Jackson I could live with that as well. I just have no problem spending the 8th on Hargreaves if Jack or Stanley isn’t there.
I think most people including myself thought Peters was the better prospect, but had characters concerns
I agree. You don’t need to have blazing speed to be a good CB. But, it certainly helps.
I can’t find it at the moment but there was an extensive study posted a year or so ago on how much speed at the CB position relates to their ultimate success.
What they found was that the CBs who were most often successful (by a WIDE margin) were guys that ran a 4.4 or less. The majority of high draft picks that missed were either guys with blazing 4.3 speed that didn’t have the tape to back it up or guys that were taken high that didn’t have the speed to succeed. Then there was a second blip of successful CBs that were taken around the 4th round that had 4.5 or higher speed, and dropped solely because of their poor times. With the most unsuccessful CBs being later round guys with blazing speed.
The conclusion was that if they had blazing speed and good tape they were almost always taken high in the first round and more often than not succeeded. If they had blazing speed and shitty tape, avoid like the plague, they’re track stars and not real football players. And, if they have great tape, but were slow you should always look for these guys later to drop because they often exceed expectations and almost always out perform the guys that had blazing speed and were still around in the 4th+ round. But, very very few CBs became top notch players if they ran over a 4.55 regardless of where drafted.
Ultimately, if you’re drafting that high you should look for the guy that has both because your rate of success if exponentially higher if they can run than if they are slow.
People loved Waynes. Peters fell because he was kicked off the team….
Sounds like you really want another Byron Jones.
If you look at Schwartz type CBs, he likes em around 5-10 and Hargreaves got playmaking ability as well
Zeke, Bosa, Jack, Ramsey, Hargreaves, Goff and Wentz (Tunsil is a pipe dream)
I don’t think Ramsey makes it out of the top 5